The Commonplace

By Tsh Oxenreider

What's The Commonplace about?

Noticing what's still beautiful, good, and true in the world. Because it's there—if you have the eyes to see.

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LAST EPISODE

A Social Media Fast: Update

04.01.2022

It's about halfway through Seth's challenge to stay off social media for the first six months of 2022. How have the first three months been? Will anything change for the next three months? He and Tsh talk some more about ...

The Commonplace episodes:

04.01.2022 A Social Media Fast: Update It's about halfway through Seth's challenge to stay off social media for the first six months of 2022. How have the first three months been? Will anything change for the next three months? He and Tsh talk some more about ...
02.18.2022 What’s on Tap As friends do, in this episode Seth and Tsh come to table to talk about whatever. Like the nerds they are, they end up talking about Romantic poetry, the end of the world, and more. Pull up a chair and ...
02.11.2022 Challenge Check-In Seth is off social media for the first half of 2022, and Tsh is limiting most of her family’s resources to her 100-mile radius. How’s it going? What are we learning? We chat about these things, plus whether we think ...
02.04.2022 We’re All Farm Dogs Liz Gilbert once said that if she didn’t write, she’d become a farm dog and chew up the couch. Why do we partake in creative pursuits if we’re not going to profit financially from it? Lots of reasons, actually. Tsh ...
01.28.2022 Cull & Curate We have SO MANY choices these days — on what to watch, what to listen to, what to read. We know well the feeling of opening a streaming service and indefinitely scrolling instead of clicking ‘play’ because of the inability ...
01.21.2022 Disagreeing Well Disagreeing well is a lost art — it seems like our culture has withered down to treating one another as avatars not worthy of an opinion different than our own. But what if knowing how to disagree well not only ...
01.14.2022 A 100-Mile Life As you remember from the last episode, Seth and Tsh are beginning two audacious six-month challenges. In this episode, Tsh shares hers — to get as much as she can and participate in day-to-day life first and foremost from her ...
01.07.2022 A Social Media Fast To start the new year, Seth and Tsh are beginning two rather audacious six-month challenges — and you’re welcome to join in. First, they unpack Seth’s plan to swear off all social media for six months. How will he fare? ...
12.17.2021 Year-End Reflection Questions As we wind down this year, it’s tempting to jump into the new things we want to do, plan, and declare for another trip around the sun. But before we jump into ideas for the next 12 months, it’s healthy ...
12.10.2021 Ordinary Beauty #3 (Holiday-ish Edition) It’s easy to forget the simple beauty around us, so in this episode, Seth and Tsh continue practicing the habit of noticing the gift of everyday beauty. Their choices aren’t purely holiday-specific, but there is a bent toward that which ...
12.03.2021 Tradition (aka Democracy of the Dead) Traditioooooooooon… Tradition! We all have them during the holidays, but why do they matter? Seth and Tsh unpack the sacramentality of leaning into even our smallest of family traditions — because they matter more than as simply “things we do ...
11.26.2021 Advent Advent begins this weekend! Not ready? No big deal. Seth and Tsh talk about how they approach this season that starts the liturgical calendar with a lot of grace, simplicity, and anticipation of their favorite holiday traditions. Seth: Newsletter \| ...
11.19.2021 A Quick Note Hey guys — this week Seth was traveling for work and Tsh was sick. So, unfortunately, there’s no episode because Seth was sans-mic and NOBODY wants to hear Tsh talking in the non-voice-of-a-voice she’s had (trust us). We’ll be back ...
11.12.2021 The Second Story In the last episode, Seth shared a sacramental story from his life. In this one, they continue their chat with Tsh sharing a sacramental story from hers. Because after all, most of the sacred stuff in life shows up in ...
11.05.2021 The First Story Most of life is lived in the ordinary, so to see the sacred within it we need to pause and name it. This usually comes in the form of storytelling — when we tell family and friends the things that ...
10.29.2021 Autumn-ish Art-ing In the last episode, Seth and Tsh chatted about what makes the art we love fall-ish. They continue the chat to talk about the flip side of that coin: what makes the creating of that art fall-ish? Art is a ...
10.22.2021 Autumn-ish Artists Stuff has a season, and that includes art. What makes music, movies, books, and visual art fall-ish? Seth and Tsh each share musicians, writers, and visual artists they’re digging as the temps dip and the colors change. Living sacramentally naturally ...
10.15.2021 Talking to Our 20-Something Selves If we knew then what we know now, would we be better off? Or is there something redeemable about the mistakes we all make when we’re younger? Seth and Tsh answer a listener question about any wisdom they might have ...
10.08.2021 Screen Fasts #2 Continuing the conversation about screens, what does it look like in our homes to live sacramentally in a culture immersed in the digital world? There’s no one easy answer. Seth and Tsh, both parents of teens and tweens, talk with ...
10.01.2021 Screen Fasts #1 Seth and Tsh start a two-part conversation about what Seth is learning from a month-long digital detox (Tsh takes one every July, too, so she has her own experiences). What does it mean as writers and creators? Is it even ...
09.24.2021 Come to Italy With Us! Buon venerdì! Seth and Tsh finally spill the beans… They’re leading a pilgrimage next summer to Italy, and EVERYONE is invited. Yep — that means you and your friends! They’d love to journey with you to a slice of land ...
09.17.2021 Matter Matters When you grow up hearing that this world will one day fade away, it’s hard to reconcile why, then, there’s so much astounding beauty everywhere. Seth and Tsh unpack why our invisible souls aren’t the only things that matter. (Gnosticism ...
09.10.2021 Ordinary Beauty #2 In this episode, Seth and Tsh pull on the thread they started weaving earlier this year, practicing the art and habit of noticing the everyday beauty around them. (After all, it’s not optional if we want to live a sacramental ...
09.03.2021 Steeped in Stories The books we read in childhood have the power to transform us lifelong. So what do we do with the classics that are so good yet have those problematic bits because they’re products of their era? Do we avoid giving ...
08.27.2021 Listening to Our Childhoods There’s a purity to our childhood perspectives, and if we’re quiet enough, we can still hear them whisper to us. What do our first experiences with beauty, goodness, and truth tell us about what’s really there? Seth helps Tsh unpack ...
08.20.2021 Dunbar’s Number After a short summer break, Seth and Tsh are back! To kick off another season, they talk about many vs few: why does it matter how many people we follow online, friends we stay connected with, names we know, or ...
07.16.2021 Real Rest It’s not just the not doing of something… It often takes a certain proactivity to truly rest. Seth and Tsh talk about what it looks like to rest physically, emotionally, spiritually, and even sensory rest (which we all need more ...
07.09.2021 Real Play It’s a kid’s m.o. to play; it’s how they learn and walk through life. But we adults need to play, too, and some of us (
07.02.2021 Ordinary Beauty #1 Recognizing beauty is a habit, and it’s also not optional if we want to live a sacramental life. In this episode, Seth and Tsh share specific examples of beauty they’re currently witnessing in their lives, and you’re invited to notice ...
06.25.2021 Slaying Dragons Good stories matter — we all know this. But how do these good stories shape us, form our imaginations, make us better parents, and remind us what really matters? Why do the best stories sacramentally peel back the surface to ...
06.18.2021 Alive People, Alive Art Two episodes ago, Seth and Tsh talked about artists who are no longer alive but still live on through the great art they left us. As a follow-up, in this episode they chat about the artists who are very much ...
06.11.2021 A Traveler’s Mindset What’s the difference between a vacation and a pilgrimage? A roadtrip to see extended family and stepping somewhere sacred? So much of it has to do with our own mindset about what we’re doing in the first place. ‘Tis the ...
06.04.2021 Dead People, Alive Art Our modern culture loves the here-and-now, preferring all our focus tilts towards the latest trends, the newest relevant art, the loudest and most attention-getting current Thought Leader™. But… Will this work and these ideas endure? Some of it, possibly. But ...
05.28.2021 Arguing ＞ Quarreling It’s a good thing to have disagreements, but we often forget to have a learner’s posture when we hear the “other side.” Are we surrounding ourselves only with sources and ThoughtLeaders™ that confirm our already-held biases? Or are we willing ...
05.21.2021 Rituals Matter (even Silly Ones) Routines are going to the grocery store on Tuesday mornings, listening to that one podcast in the school pickup line, and brushing your teeth twice a day. What, then, are rituals? Seth and Tsh unpack why they matter — because ...
05.14.2021 Farther In the last episode, Seth & Tsh talked about the benefits of slowing down our lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. A major benefit is to not burn out — so we can go farther for longer. What does that ...
05.07.2021 Slower Walking is good for us, but it takes a while — it’s not the most efficient mode of transportation. But it’s not about efficiency; that’s not the point. What about the other stuff in our life that can benefit from ...
04.30.2021 The Other Two Rs We all know we’re supposed to care about the environment — but what does that look like with a sacramental posture? And what do we do about it besides tossing our plastic and cardboard in the recycling bin? Seth and ...
04.23.2021 Hope ＞ Isolation After some tragic news a few weeks ago about a friend of Seth’s, he and Tsh unpack what it means to live in our current reality of isolation. So many people are lonely, hurting, or have lost their way, and ...
04.16.2021 A Morning Routine (on a Good Day) Tsh was on a crazy-tight book deadline this week, so in this episode, Seth is talking to none other than his wife Amber! She shares her morning routine when the day’s going well: daily examen, prayer, poetry, and the things ...
04.09.2021 A Rule of Life St. Benedict of Nursia created a rule of life for his monastic community, and over a thousand years later we still look to it for inspiration. In this episode, Tsh walks Seth through a method of creating his own personal ...
04.02.2021 In the Silence What could be said of Good Friday that hasn’t been said for thousands of years? Today is a day for listening more than talking, for hearing from God more than telling God all we know. Today is a day of ...
03.26.2021 FONO We know what FOMO is — but what about FONO? We’ve all been going through the same collective experience with the pandemic, but as it hopefully winds down (
03.19.2021 Pointing at the Sky Why does good writing matter, and why does the motive behind the writing matter? Seth and Tsh unpack the previous episode’s topic with Seth’s editor, Stephanie Duncan Smith. The three of them talk about what makes for good reading and ...
03.12.2021 The Sheer Beauty of the Craft Seth and Tsh are primarily writers; it’s the craft they know best and the work they love most. In this chat, they use the art of writing as a springboard to talk about the art of doing all sorts of ...
03.05.2021 Living Right In It Tsh is joined by none other than her husband, Kyle! He’s the general contractor of their own fixer-upper renovation, so in this chat they talk about the hidden beauty found behind old walls and wires. What does it mean to ...
02.26.2021 For God’s Sake, Go To Work (Bonus points if you get this episode title’s reference…) We all have to do it, and even many of the super-wealthy still choose to do it — clearly, it’s not just about bringing home a paycheck. But why bother working ...
02.19.2021 Thrive vs. Survive Seth is in Arkansas and Tsh is in Texas, which means this week they've been covered under a blanket of snow and ice. It took a while until they could even record at all, but once they did, they did ...
02.12.2021 The Longest Lent How do we approach this new season of Lent when it still feels like Lent? We’ve globally experienced the longest Lent of our collective lives, and yet here we are, with Ash Wednesday once again in just a few days. ...
02.05.2021 Creating ＞ Consuming 'Creator' the noun can collapse on its own weight, especially on the internet — but this word doesn't only apply to social media influencers, artists, or inventors. We're all creators. And, as Seth and Tsh are joined around the table ...

Older episodes

The Commonplace

What's The Commonplace about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Commonplace episodes:

A Social Media Fast: Update

What’s on Tap

Challenge Check-In

We’re All Farm Dogs

Cull & Curate

Disagreeing Well

A 100-Mile Life

A Social Media Fast

Year-End Reflection Questions

Ordinary Beauty #3 (Holiday-ish Edition)

Tradition (aka Democracy of the Dead)

Advent

A Quick Note

The Second Story

The First Story

Autumn-ish Art-ing

Autumn-ish Artists

Talking to Our 20-Something Selves

Screen Fasts #2

Screen Fasts #1

Come to Italy With Us!

Matter Matters

Ordinary Beauty #2

Steeped in Stories

Listening to Our Childhoods

Dunbar’s Number

Real Rest

Real Play

Ordinary Beauty #1

Slaying Dragons

Alive People, Alive Art

A Traveler’s Mindset

Dead People, Alive Art

Arguing ＞ Quarreling

Rituals Matter (even Silly Ones)

Farther

Slower

The Other Two Rs

Hope ＞ Isolation

A Morning Routine (on a Good Day)

A Rule of Life

In the Silence

FONO

Pointing at the Sky

The Sheer Beauty of the Craft

Living Right In It

For God’s Sake, Go To Work

Thrive vs. Survive

The Longest Lent

Creating ＞ Consuming