Morning Mike Check

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

Mike and I have often talked about the importance of systems and institutions; how bandaid solutions lack them. How does the pop up pantry fit into this. Is it another bandaid?

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

When Helping Hurts - Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett

What have we lost as Church on Sunday has become one more thing we participate with on a screen? Mike answers with an article from The Economist. Ineffable. The Bablyonians get this one right.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul

Technopoly - Neil Postman

Perelanda - C.S. Lewis

The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard

Chesterton said, “Never let a quarrel ruin an argument.” In this episode, I ask Mike to help me digest that quote and discover how arguments, not quarrels, are important in good friendships, marriages, and workplaces.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

The Triumph of the Therapeutic - Philip Rieff

The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership - Steven Sample

“Woke” is just as polarized as one would expect given today’s climate. As usual, Mike’s take on woke culture reframes the conversation and looks at some of the commonalities it shares with America’s past awakenings.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

Coming Apart - Charles Murray

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis - J.D. Vance

The Master and His Emissary - Iain McGilchrist

While we don’t often tackle recent events, Mike and I discuss the recent $1.9 trillion stimulus package and what its implications are. As usual, Mike widens the lens on the topic and provides reason to be wary of the true cost of such a package.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

Other People’s Money - John Kay

Under a White Sky - Elizabeth Kolbert

Here is the piece on climate change and it's impact on coffee farmers Mike mentioned: https://www.crs.org/stories/climate-change-guatemala-coffee-leaf-rust.

How do we imagine self-righteousness? Where are we blind to it and how does the four-chapter Gospel widen how we imagine it? Mike walks me through the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and how it reveals something much deeper about our faith.

Books mentioned in this episode:

The Righteous Mind - Jonathon HaidtOur Bodies Tell God’s Story - Christopher WestPostwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 - Tony Just