Stride & Saunter

Stride & Saunter episodes:

• 10.13.2021

  Episode 274: "How Many Listeners Do You Have?"

  It’s a familiar question to many podcasters, but this ask often strikes a particularly vulnerable chord in our comparative and competitive culture. Implied within it is a number worth caring about, a baseline of significance. Unfortunately, this is a belief...

  
• 10.07.2021

  Episode 273: TV as Rich Media

  In the many decades since the advent of television, TV shows have prompted all sorts of commentary and critique. Some audiences rave over shows that others never quite get into. Parents perpetually worry about their children’s TV consumption and generational,...

  
• 09.30.2021

  Episode 272: Between These Eyes of Ink VII

  This week, we return to "Between These Eyes of Ink," a series which dissects and considers quotations and the insights they contain. For our seventh episode, we welcome Sam Whipple to help explore the idea that “Maturity: the confidence to...

  
• 09.22.2021

  Episode 271: Our Seventh Anniversary

  In spite of the unexpected shifts in recent years, this week nonetheless marks the seventh anniversary of the podcast. It’s a strange time but also quite hopeful. While this is formally Kathleen’s final episode as a co-host, I remain...

  
• 01.07.2021

  Episode 270: "Thoughts and Prayers"

  When tragedy befalls us or our communities, we’re rarely equipped to handle the sorrow, confusion or emotional gravity of the circumstances. In the modern era, this difficulty meeting the most agonizing moments has been illuminated by the utterances of “thoughts...

  
• 12.23.2020

  Episode 269: "The Extinction of the Middle Child"

  What impact does birth order have on your personality, your life and your abilities? According to some, a great deal. In particular, middle children of history are regarded for their innovation, their shrewd diplomacy and their creativity. But with changing...

  
• 11.25.2020

  Episode 268: "Citizens Need to Know Numbers"

  Making sense of our world is a profoundly human experience. Some default to artistic pursuits while others take up fulfilling hobbies and yet others still defer to the sciences. When it comes to data, however, those of us without solid...

  
• 09.25.2020

  Episode 267: Our Sixth Anniversary

  Six years ago today, in a radically different world needing very much the same things, Hector and I embarked on a discursive journey to explore the human experience and our relationship(s) to it. Though I write this in a challenging...

  
• 08.13.2020

  Episode 266: Never Nothing

  In a period where so much has slowed down or ground to a halt, previous definitions and metrics feel strange and irrelevant. Beyond the application of our past perspectives, it seems only natural to conclude that where there was once...

  
• 08.06.2020

  Episode 265: A Lonely Grandma's Plea

  How would we each respond to a call for help? Some might say they’d leap to the aid of their fellow person, while others would request more information about the hypothetical. In the era of the internet, given vast distances...

  
• 07.23.2020

  Episode 264: The Untitled Tomes of Silence

  Straightforward as it is, human silence (especially between or among others) carries a great deal of meaning. Or, perhaps more precisely, a great many possible meanings. Could those of us that are choosing not to voice or express our sentiments...

  
• 06.25.2020

  Episode 263: Start Writing

  It’s often said that history is written by the victors. I would at that it is remembered and offered to future readers by those present and observing. And where victorious parties have a necessarily skewed vision, the most powerful and...

  
• 06.18.2020

  Episode 262: For Non-Gamers — Battle Themes

  While music has been consumed since time immemorial, video games are a much less popular medium by comparison. In this entry of an ongoing series meant for non-gamers, we wanted to explore how music is used in video games to...

  
• 06.12.2020

  Episode 261: How We Speak So We Won't Have to Talk

  Reflections on how we speak when conversation is necessary, but not all that we need.

  
• 03.11.2020

  Episode 260: "Where Did You Get That Idea?"

  Even in the information-rich twenty-first century, the many mechanisms of the mind remain shrouded in mystery. Our abilities of recollection, creativity and intuition continue to astound and intrigue researchers and civilians alike. Perhaps most curious of all are the origins...

  
• 03.04.2020

  Episode 259: Bosses vs. Leaders

  Some earn the admiration of their peers and followers while others become the subjects of scorn, envy and resentment. This week, we're joined by Jason Cerf to explore this distinction in the comparison of bosses and leaders. What associations -...

  
• 02.26.2020

  Episode 258: "My So-Karen Life"

  Anyone with even a cursory experience of language can attest to its power. Words wield the capacity to lift us out of lingering darkness and to drive us into great acts of courage, love and beauty. Most immediately in our...

  
• 02.19.2020

  Episode 257: "Their Loss"

  Relationships of all sorts bring up complex emotions tied to esteem, perspective, individual needs and loss. And just like these interpersonal circumstances, our responses to the relationships of others are just as varied and nuanced. In particular, the phrase “their...

  
• 02.13.2020

  Episode 256: "Anthony Bourdain and the Power of Telling the Truth"

  For many of us, life is a journey of discovering, tracing or defending the truths we perceive. Truth is a precious commodity and one that seems all at once secure, transient and elusive. Shared truths are especially powerful and often...

  
• 02.05.2020

  Episode 255: "If Work Dominated Every Moment of Life..."

  Though people in the professional world lament the stress, energy-drain and overall toll of their jobs on their lives, most adults acknowledge work as a component of their lives. How would the world differ if work dominated every waking moment?...

  
• 01.29.2020

  Episode 254: Pity vs. Compassion

  When those around us are grappling with difficult circumstances, our responses can be very revelatory. Do we give them hope in attempts to lift them up, do we hunker down with them in the trenches? Ultimately, what is the distinction...

  
• 01.22.2020

  Episode 253: "Don't Ask Me How I'm Doing"

  “How are you?” is a common refrain in our social lives. It’s the way many of us open conversation and whether we’re seeking earnest answers or simply offering verbal acknowledgement, its familiarity is safe. But how do we adjust when...

  
• 01.15.2020

  Episode 252: Ode to an OS

  In the 21st century, digital technology is a core element in the lives of billions. For most, the devices with which we work, play and consume media illustrate this fact. Though we make do with the tools we’re given, the...

  
• 01.08.2020

  Episode 251: Artificial Intelligence and Moral Technology

  For all our prognosticating, artificial intelligence is already present and widespread in the modern world. From the online algorithms suggesting news stories or the next songs in our playlists to autofill text, the seeds of this powerful technology have already...

  
• 01.02.2020

  Episode 250: A Pale Blue Launch III

  What would you send into outer space to commemorate Earth and humanity, to a potential audience of alien life? This week, we continue an interview series to tackle that question. In each entry, we’ll interview someone about the five objects...

  
• 12.25.2019

  Episode 249: "Why I Have Coffee with People Who Send Me Hate Mail"

  Our communicative access to one another has expanded considerably in the digital era. Along with it, so has our ability to reach into the lives of others and influence them with compassion, inquiry, solidarity and unfortunately, animosity, cruelty and distrust....

  
• 12.18.2019

  Episode 248: "I Can See Right Through You"

  In our posturing and jockeying to project an image of ourselves to others, are facades and efforts are sometimes clearly perceived. In these moments, our authenticity is questioned and social conflicts can emerge. But what does this idea, captured in...

  
• 12.12.2019

  Episode 247: More Baths and Fewer Showers

  With the advent of modern plumbing, many depictions of bathrooms now feature standing showers. At a bare minimum, it’s common to have a bathtub with an added shower nozzle. Could the distinction between bathing and showering offer a practical metaphor...

  
• 12.05.2019

  Episode 246: The Questions They Let You Ask

  Curiosity has long been a defining trait of our show and of the human species. Probing questions and persistent explorations are crucial in every field from astronomy to history. But between individuals, the trait isn’t always so welcome. This week,...

  
• 11.28.2019

  Episode 245: "Is the Digital Age Making Us Petty?"

  As mobile technologies have proliferated in the 21st century, our technological toolkits have expanded in kind. Specifically speaking, apps like Venmo have allowed for quick and easy transfers of money electronically. But as writers and researchers at Harvard Business School...

  
• 11.21.2019

  Episode 244: Philosophies of Improv and Stand-up Comedy

  As long as we’ve told stories and communicated with one another, humanity has employed comedy to great and widespread effect, to the delight of many audiences. But what about the perspectives and viewpoints that they offer? How do comedians approach...

  
• 11.13.2019

  Episode 243: The Indoor Species

  According to a 2018 report by the EPA, the average American spends 90% of their time indoors. Belonging just as much to the natural, unkempt world as any other species, what does this statistic/idea say about our culture and its...

  
• 11.06.2019

  Episode 242: A Pale Blue Launch II

  What would you send into outer space to commemorate Earth and humanity, to a potential audience of alien life? This week, we continue an interview series to tackle that question. In each entry, we’ll interview someone about the five objects...

  
• 10.30.2019

  Episode 241: "Excited to Speak"

  While speech and discussion are central pillars in our species’ history and evolution, not all conversations are created equal. This week, Kathleen shares a compliment she once gave a friend who made her “excited to talk”. Examining the phrase, what...

  
• 10.23.2019

  Episode 240: No Longer Epistolary

  As communication technologies have evolved over the millennia of human history, we’ve adopted new methods of communicating with one another. And with the emergence of the new, we see older approaches reserved for more traditional or antiquated practices. So how...

  
• 10.17.2019

  Episode 239: Between These Eyes of Ink VI

  This week, we return to "Between These Eyes of Ink," a series which dissects and considers quotations and the insights they contain. For our sixth episode, we welcome Sam Whipple to help explore the idea that “Forgiveness means letting go...

  
• 10.10.2019

  Episode 238: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff V

  This week, we return to the tradition of reacting to a book of insights entitled "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". In particular, we look at chapters encouraging us to become less aggressive drivers, to tell others that we love them,...

  
• 10.03.2019

  Episode 237: Who Paid 99 Cents?

  Can we ever quantify the innate curiosity so many of us share? Perhaps unintentionally, the company Thinko did just this in October 2018 when they launched WhoPaid99Cents.com. The function of the site, in beautiful clarity, is simply to record and...

  
• 09.25.2019

  Episode 236: Our Fifth Anniversary

  Five years ago, Hector and I set out to have sincere conversations about the human experience and the countless avenues of curiosity. Week after week, various folks and myself have done our best to make you reflect, challenge conventional thinking...

  
• 09.18.2019

  Episode 235: Thordis and Tom

  ***The following episode deals with issues of sexual violence.*** Over twenty years ago, Thordis Elva of Iceland shared a teenage romance with Tom Stranger, an exchange student visiting from Australia. After a school dance in 1996, when she was 16 and...

  
• 09.11.2019

  Episode 234: "Catching Up"

  As our lives grow more complex and our social ties accommodate different schedules, timezones and obligations, a common refrain for friends (especially in adulthood) is to find the time to “catch up”. This week we welcome Leland Holcomb to explore...

  
• 09.04.2019

  Episode 233: How We Nourish Creativity

  Creative individuals have been supported in many ways across humanity’s storied history. They’re relied upon generous benefactors, municipal commissions and in modern times, crowd-funding such as Patreon. Some might argue about the value of creative work in our society, but...

  
• 08.29.2019

  Episode 232: ...And Perhaps Our Things Own Us

  As many of us are encouraged to purchase, acquire and own items and objects around them, how do our possessions affect us? What is our relationship to them and what rationale do we give to keep them around? This week,...

  
• 08.21.2019

  Episode 231: Rejection, Overheard

  Of the many great, palpable fears that connect us as human beings, the fear of rejection is high among them. But how often do we have the strange experience of learning why we were rejected? This week, we welcome...

  
• 08.14.2019

  Episode 230: The Wager

  I’ve missed the show since February and these months since have been invaluable in reflecting and recalibrating how I approach it. Here are my thoughts, coming out of that period.

  
• 02.06.2019

  Pause

  Today marks a unique day for the podcast. With a few exceptions, the show has been weekly for the last four and a half years and I’ve decided to take a break for a few months. The choice was a...

  
• 01.31.2019

  Episode 229: Between These Eyes of Ink V

  This week, we return to "Between These Eyes of Ink," a series which dissects and considers quotations and the insights they contain. For our fifth episode, we welcome Sam Whipple to help explore Plato’s thoughts on how politicians rely upon...

  
• 01.23.2019

  Episode 228: To Be Truthful

  Truth represents a foundational element in human life. Whether religious, personal, psychological or scientific, many of us live our lives in pursuit of or relationship to truths around us. We try to define, contain and create them. But what does...

  
• 01.16.2019

  Episode 227: The Fear of Failure

  We are each motivated by a bevy of ideas, instincts and influences around us. Some of us have dreams of changing the world while others want to attempt the impossible and still others hope for happiness and humility first and...

  
• 01.09.2019

  Episode 226: The Struggles of Rural America

  Recent years have illuminated many of the divides and differences within American society and culture. In particular, as citizens around the world are predicted to congregate in cities in coming decades, rural populations are worthy of consideration and conversation. This...