Episode 23

In this episode, Peter and Paul tackle Fatherhood – not their own, but what their fathers gave them – or choose not to. Paul talks about the idea of fatherly “guidance” as both empowering, in that it gives structure and direction, but also limiting, because it carries expectation. Paul shares that his father didn’t take a strong interest in his academic or career development, but at the same time didn’t criticize or minimize his eventual choices. So, Paul was unguided but also liberated. Pete talks about his own father in Manchester, a man of deep scholarship and formidable intellect who invited the young Pete in for discussions of Shakespeare and glimpses of annotated folios of plays, such as Richard the Second. After the commercial break, the guys return for a discussion of choices, particularly how decision fatigue can affect our thinking. Paul mentions The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz and sets up this question: Do we need to make good choices all the time, on a continual basis, or does a successful life hinge on only one or two critical decisions? Peter takes us back to Elizabethan times for the answer!