The Minimalists

Joshua and Ryan discuss the disconnection between designers and users, producers and consumers, and tech elites and the rest of us with author and professor Ramesh Srinivasan, and they answer the following questions:

How do I narrow down what tech is most appropriate for me from the plethora of tech that’s available? (10:21)

How do we deal with the constant intrusion of advertising in our lives that hitchhikes on our tech? (15:47)

What are the ramifications of tech companies selling user information? (25:05)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan talk about what minimalism looks like when it’s taken to its extremes with YouTuber Youheum Son, and they answer the following questions:

Once it seems like you’ve minimized everything, where do you go from there? (05:12)

What foods and utensils are in an extreme minimalist’s kitchen? (10:54)

What is the minimum number of physical items you need to survive? (17:53)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan expand on how to live—not just survive, but thrive—through these unsettling times. They discuss societal panic, fundamental habit shifts, and the appropriate actions we should take in the midst of a pandemic, and they answer the following questions:

How should we address the societal panic during the pandemic? (06:16)

What things that we’ve taken for granted will now fundamentally change as a result of the pandemic? (16:00)

What actions should we take right now? (29:26)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan discuss the appropriate preparation and response to societal crises with the Director of Entrepreneurial Education for the Foundation for Economic Education, T.K. Coleman, and they answer the following questions:

Are we preparing needlessly for problems that won’t exist? (07:11)

How does the free market respond to a crisis? (09:56)

Why aren’t there sufficient tests for COVID-19? (21:11)

Are there some countries that are handling the pandemic better than the United States? (23:09)

Why does tribalism often take precedence over community? (35:22)

Is government incompetence and overregulation just as harmful to our health as the virus itself? (44:32)

Are some government regulations appropriate and helpful? (47:31)

How can we effectively use incentives instead of regulations? (52:38)

How effective are masks and respirators against the virus? (1:06:42)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan discuss the appropriate preparation and response to societal crises with the Director of Entrepreneurial Education for the Foundation for Economic Education, T.K. Coleman, and they answer the following questions:

How likely is a minimalist to survive in a catastrophe? (23:07)

How do I quarantine for 2-6 weeks as a minimalist? (39:15)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan discuss particularly difficult topics, including trauma, bereavement, traumatic stress, sorrow, and even traumatic death with professor, trauma/grief counselor, and researcher Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, and they answer the following questions:

How do I overcome the trauma of my past to address the challenges of the present? (07:54)

How do I overcome the negative feelings attached to items so I don’t needlessly replace them? (19:10)

Is it helpful to remove mementos of a lost loved one to overcome trauma and grief? (33:20)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan talk about interior design, feng shui, the calmness of clutter-free spaces, and how to have a minimalist home that’s not boring with designer, entrepreneur, and Queer Eye star Bobby Berk, and they answer the following questions:

When I have more space than I have belongings to fill it, how do I appropriately address that empty space? (02:09)

Is there a way to effectively stage a home for sale in a minimalist fashion? (12:08)

How do I make a room feel cozy while maintaining a minimalist aesthetic? (20:26)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan get back to basics for spring cleaning and discuss decluttering, organizing, and letting go of excess stuff, and they answer the following questions:

How can I help my parents embrace decluttering? (01:01)

How do I tactfully tell my family I don’t want to inherit their belongings? (10:57)

How can I save mementos and still be clutter-free? (20:48)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan talk about minimalist fashion, capsule wardrobes, cleaning out your closet, and the pros and cons of trendy clothing with author, blogger, and podcaster Courtney Carver, and they answer the following questions:

How can I be a minimalist and still keep up with the current fashions? (08:01)

How do I find sustained satisfaction with my current wardrobe despite the onslaught of new stylish temptations? (15:10)

How do I ensure my clothes last longer? (24:28)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support

Joshua and Ryan talk about desire, yearning, craving and impulse and lust and longing and aspiration with author, theologian, and philosopher Peter Rollins, and they answer the following questions:

How do I commit to a desire? (11:27)

How do we make time for our desires? (19:36)

Is it unhealthy for someone to lust and yearn for others outside their marriage? (34:10)

Detailed show notes: minimalists.com/podcast

Support The Minimalists: minimalists.com/support