Virtue In The Wasteland Podcast

Dan and Jeff banter about technology and how we might have to fight killer robots.  We discuss the ways in which American society benefits from technology but also the need for true human associations.

We interview psychologist, Dr. Betsi Little-Van Fossen about the ways in which social networks, especially technology, affect our lives.  We also follow up on some aspects of evil, garnering insights about important historical experimental work in the field.  

After the first episode, we needed to have a bit more fun.  Here we discuss the nature of humor, share our list of topic comedies and comedians, and talk about the ways in which laughter is a sign of wisdom and transcendence.  We don't recommend you watch or listen to all the pop culture artifacts we discuss--especially with your mom--but we use these as a catalyst for understanding why it is important to take our engagement seriously, without failing to laugh at ourselves. We argue that humor is important for religious and political contexts.

We interview documentarian and former radio and television host Zeke Piestrup about his new film Apocalypse Later: Harold Camping vs The End of The World. After attending the premiere, we liked his work.  But we were just as intrigued with the story behind the filmmaker. Zeke exemplifies many of the virtues we are seeking in this podcast, so we are glad to present this as our first Bonus B-Side. Dan and Jeff love B-Sides in music, so we expect these to be some of the most interesting shows we release. Nonetheless, as they go into depth with professionals and professors, listeners can look at each topic to determine and select the in-depth conversations they think are most appealing.

We discuss the complexity of evil, especially by investigating its portrayal in film The show sets up the context for the podcast in general, and so it emphasizes the darker aspects of our culture.  Don't fret though, future episodes will cover toopics like humor and interviews with artists. Go to virtueinthewasteland.com for show notes or further information.  Please subscribe and give us a rating to help us get underway.