You may find yourself noticing trigger warnings these days. Mike helps connect the dots on the relationship between “being triggered” and conscience and how we ought to be mindful of the idols we’re likely blind to. Books mentioned in this episode: Idols for destruction - Herbert Schlossberg

There are many out there who are suspicious of the COVID-19 vaccine but this connects to a much larger trend: the overarching suspicion of authority. In this episode, Mike sheds some light on why this suspicion exists and how it’s only a recent manifestation of a much older characteristic of western civilization. Books mentioned in this episode: A Great and Godly Adventure - Godfrey Hodgson The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America - Louis Menand The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War - Louis Menand Slouching Towards Bethlehem - Joan Didion

I used to view my faith as an overflowing bucket with the point being to go to places and let my faith spill over. More recently I’ve realized the image in my head is more of a sponge, absorbing the pain and suffering around me. Mike provides some good feedback on this take and its connection to spiritual formation, knowledge, and discipleship. Books mentioned in this episode: The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West

Once unheard of, unionization has become a novel trend in the tech world. On this episode, Mike and I discuss some of the history of unions, how “returning authority” is a truer naming than “empowerment”, and how one might go about institutionalizing a return of authority.

Mike’s mentioned a few times now, he’s doing this all for his grandchildren. In this episode we talk about why and what he hopes for them as they grow up in the faith. Books Mentioned In This Episode: The Strange Death of Europe - Douglas Murray The Madness of Crowds - Douglas Murray

If you haven’t read Mike’s post on good bones, you may want to start there. In this conversation we go a bit deeper into Mike’s faith background, what makes for good bones in a church, and what we ought to put our hope in moving forward. Books Mentioned In This Episode: A Secular Age - Charles Taylor

In a previous conversation, Mike said once you codify a mission statement, it dies. In this episode I ask what he meant by this and how we ought to make sense of corporate mission statements and values. Books Mentioned In This Episode: On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior

Mike has written on Common Good Capitalism and in this episode I pick his brain in an effort to better comprehend how he understands Common Good Capitalism as well as what exactly we can do with it. Books Mentioned In This Episode: The Master & His Emissary - Iain Mcgilchrist Other People’s Money  - John Kay The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism - Max Weber Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun on the Job - Dennis Bakke The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy - David Smick

Imaginative literature has played a big role in Mike’s faith journey. More recently, I’ve come to see the value of it myself. During this episode Mike and I talk about how imaginative literature has shaped his faith and why it’s an important practice in developing a wondrous faith. Books Mentioned In This Episode: Walden Two - B.F Skinner Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis Myth of Certainty - Daniel Taylor Proper Confidence - Lesslie Newbigin Poetic Diction: A Study in Meaning - Owen Barfield Our Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher West

Mike and I end up journeying through a number of different topics on this episode but all center around the initial question, “how does one vote well today?”. As usual, Mike drives to the root of the question and provides some helpful commentary on the political climate we find ourselves in. Books Mentioned In This Episode: The Years of Lyndon Johnson - Robert Caro Madness of Crowds - Douglas Murray