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30 Degree Shift
30 Degree Shift episodes
- Missing the Garden for the Peas
In This Episode
How I make my coffee
Black-eyed pea pods look vaguely alien
Inspecting vs. seeing
Read the Full Essay
https://30degreeshift.substack.com/missing-the-garden-for-the-peas
Related Reading
The 30 Degree Shift — The outdoors is full of interesting moments, like how when we made mowing harder, it also became more fulfilling.
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly exploration of absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human released every Wednesday at 11:11am.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson.
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe9 min - Get Ready With Me for Lunch With the Neighbor
In This Episode
The three versions of myself hiding in my suitcase
Fashion, insecurity, and self-expression
Whether our outfits are masks, uniforms, or something else entirely
Getting dressed to have lunch with the neighbor
Read the Full Essay
https://www.30degreeshift.substack.com/get-ready-with-me-for-lunch-with-the-neighbor
Related Reading
The Cell Phone— A wedding invitation, an old cell phone, and an unexpected conversation become an exploration of forgiveness, identity, and the versions of ourselves we leave behind.
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly exploration of absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human released every Wednesday at 11:11am.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson.
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe10 min - Pick Up the Cone
In This Episode
A lesson from an old boss
A missed opportunity on a Washington D.C. bus
Why small acts matter
Read the Full Essay
https://www.30degreeshift.substack.com/pick-up-the-cone
Related Reading
Understanding Doesn’t Solve Anything — From special relativity to a horse named Side-Salad, I’m exploring why “everyone having their reasons” is the most painful truth in the world, and how leveraging the mass of a character's baggage allows us to see the light.
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly exploration of absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human released every Wednesday at 11:11am
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson.
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe6 min - Ode To a Water Oak
Episode Summary
A baby squirrel. A pack of curious dogs. A towering water oak that had become too dangerous to keep standing.
This episode is about grief, responsibility, mercy, and the strange ways certain moments stay with us long after they should have faded. Sometimes the right thing hurts. Sometimes it doesn't hurt enough. Either way, life keeps asking us to let go.
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly exploration of absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human, published every Wednesday at 11:11am.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe8 min - Show and Tell
In This Episode
Why meaningful experiences resist language
How sharing changes memory itself
The limits of communication
The Parthenon and the illusion of perfection
Journaling as a personal monument
Shared versus solitary awe
Why humans keep trying to express the inexpressible
Read the Full Essay
https://www.30degreeshift.substack.com/show-and-tell
Related Reading
If you’re interested in my attempts at describing the indescribable, check out It’s Loud, But Not Loud Enough
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift collection of essays exploring absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human, published every Wednesday at 11:11am.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe9 min - The Cell Phone
Episode Summary
I went to a wedding expecting discomfort and left carrying less than I arrived with.
This episode starts with a DND group during COVID, moves through a divorce I didn’t fully understand how to process, and ends years later with a forgotten cell phone in a wedding bathroom and a conversation I never expected to have.
Read the Essay
Related Reading
It’s not all trauma in here. If you want to read about how my 65-year-old roommate learned to love mowing the lawn, check out “The 30 Degree Shift”
About 30 Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly series exploring absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human.
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe14 min - It’s Loud, But Not Loud Enough
In This Episode
The strange physical feeling of true darkness
Small thoughts that surface when there’s nothing left to drown them out
Read the Full Essay
https://www.williamtorgerson.com/30-degree-shift/its-loud-but-not-loud-enough
Related Reading
If this resonated, a companion piece is:“The 30-Degree Shift”
About 30-Degree Shift
30-Degree Shift is a weekly exploration of absurdity, perception, and the quiet mechanics of being human.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe10 min - What I Learned by Staring at a Dog Dick for Five Hours
What This Episode Explores
- Why we avoid asking for help even when it’s clearly needed
- The gap between solving a problem and admitting we can’t do it alone
- How pride disguises itself as independence
- The role of discomfort in forcing clarity
- What accepting help actually looks like in practice
Core Idea
Sometimes the hardest part of solving a problem is letting someone else see your struggle.
Read the Full Essay here
Curious why the dogs have such a complex scedule?
Read another fun adventure
Start Here
If you’re new, check out my short essay “The 30-Degree Shift,” which explores how difficult tasks can be weirdly appealing.
About the Show
30-Degree Shift explores the small distortions in everyday life and what can happen when you follow that feeling instead of ignoring it.
Credits
Written and narrated by William T. Torgerson
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe14 min - The 30 Degree Shift
What This Episode Explores
Why harder tasks can feel more satisfying than easy ones
The difference between efficiency and engagement
How routine compresses memory and makes time feel shorter
Why we choose “faster” options that aren’t actually faster
If you’re new to 30-Degree Shift, this is a good entry point into how these essays approach everyday systems and strange patterns
30-Degree Shift explores the small distortions in everyday life, those times you say “hmmm that’s interesting.”
If this idea sticks with you, there’s more like it each Wednesday at 11:11am
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe6 min - When Did Compromise Become Dangerous?
Episode Notes
When Did Compromise Become Dangerous?
“Compromise” didn’t always mean losing something.
At some point, it stopped feeling like resolution, and began feeling like risk.
This episode traces how a word tied to agreement and settlement came to signal exposure, and what that shift reveals about how we relate to each other now.
In this episode
How “compromise” moved from solution to liability and what we give up when compromise becomes something to avoid
Read the full essay:https://williamtorgerson.com/30-degree-shift/when-did-compromise-become-dangerous
More from 30-Degree Shift at 30DegreeShift.com
Written and narrated by William T. TorgersonPart of 30-Degree Shift
Get full access to 30 Degree Shift at 30degreeshift.substack.com/subscribe13 min
About 30 Degree Shift
From the publisher's feed
Weekly essays from beyond The Rift with audio from the author, Enjoy 5-10 minute reads/listens every Wednesday at 11:11am.
rel="noopener noreferrer">30degreeshift.substack.com