What holds us together when the truth feels like it’s unraveling?

This is the fourth audio installment of No Shortcuts to Now — a podcast weaving myth, memory, philosophy, and political reflection into a slow-burning meditation on meaning in an age of disinformation and democratic drift.

In this episode: volcanic awe, Marcus Aurelius, epistemology, spiderwebs, childhood wonder, and chocolate chip cookies — all spun into a meditation on the silken threads that tether us to one another, and to reality itself.

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What happens when a mythic trickster strikes a nerve of shame in a would-be king?

In this bonus Field Note from No Shortcuts to Now, we track tremors in the mask of power — from Trump’s eerily calm reaction to Musk’s Epstein jab, to the symbolic meaning behind heavy makeup, shame, and the authoritarian gaze. This is a meditation on myth, masculinity, and the deep fault lines beneath political performance.

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What do myth, media, and mischief have in common? As NPR and PBS come under fire, this episode explores Norse tricksters, family rituals, and the collapse of public storytelling.

In this episode, we gather at a mountain trailhead where Norse tricksters, family rituals, and public storytelling collide. As NPR and PBS come under direct attack from the current administration, we follow Ratatoskr — the mythic messenger squirrel — through the tangled roots of Yggdrasil and into the heart of modern political punditry. From Norse myth to media suppression, this is a meditation on where the climb begins… and what’s already been lost at the base.

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What happens when a child’s curiosity runs headlong into silence, science, and myth?

In this episode, a boy’s volcanic obsession becomes a meditation on childhood awe, forbidden questions, and the slow erosion of wonder in an incurious world. From mythic gods to marriage beds, from Mt. Etna to Pompeii, this story asks what we hand down — and what we bury.

🎧 Waypoint 1.2: Trees of Forbidden Knowledge

A tale of bedtime eruptions, redemptive fire, and the small prophet in the backyard park.

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What does it mean to raise a child under looming political fire?

🔥 From volcanic awe to authoritarian spectacle, this episode blends myth, memory, and parenting in a time of rising strongmen.

🎧 Waypoint 1.1: Vulcan’s Evangelist — Raising a Son in the Shadow of a Strongman

Myth, memory, and volcanic awe converge as a young boy’s obsession with fire sparks a meditation on parenting, power, and political erosion.

From Mt. Lassen to Pompeii to Trump’s birtherism, we trace the strange echoes between bedtime stories and authoritarian spectacle.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit noshortcutstonow.substack.com

No Shortcuts to Now — Myth, Memory, and Meaning in an Age of Authoritarianism

This is the trailer for No Shortcuts to Now — a podcast weaving myth, memory, and political reflection into a slow-burning meditation on power, story, and resistance.

In under 3 minutes, you’ll hear what this project is about: waypoints, field notes, and a search for meaning in a time of shortcuts, misinformation, and strongmen.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit noshortcutstonow.substack.com