Word and Journey

Does the show stand up to its own hype? So far, we think….yes?

Matt continues nerding out over all the foreshadowing, Moses scrounges up a scarcity narrative around language, and Aaron almost cries. We meet a False Dragon, a Feral Channeler, and a farm boy who almost becomes a werewolf. Aaron can hold a map of the world in his head, while Moses is distracted by the medium of the television show. We decide we love Perrin and are intrigued by Mat and mostly think Rand is a one-dimensional hero…at least for now.

Along the way, we discuss themes of connection and bonding, redemption, and the inner struggle when one’s primary enemy is the Taint in one’s own soul.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Matt Rensi, visit his profession profile here -

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/matthew-t-rensi-morgan-hill-ca/870502 or email him at [email protected]

For more information about Aaron Esparza, find him on Instagram at @aaronthemanajah. 

#wheeloftime #thewheeloftime #wot #robertjordan #eyeoftheworld #tworivers #whitetower #fantasy #books #reading #bookclub #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

So is the new Wheel of Time show any good? Well, we’re about to find out. Welcome to the Two Rivers, and a world of Trollocks, Aes Sedai, and Dragons Reborn!

Moses has only ever seen the show.

Matt has seen the show and read all the books.

Aaron has seen the show, read most of the books, and played the game! (By the way…there’s a Wheel of Time GAME!!)

We discuss first impressions of the show, comparing and contrasting the world of the show and the world of the books. We conclude that the show is visually stunning and, for someone already familiar with the world, it evokes a sense of wonder! For someone not already familiar with the world, the pretty scenery might have a tendency to fade into the background and be overshadowed by the character drama. (Spoiler alert - there’s lots of brooding!)

Matt is excited to finally see the story world depicted in a marvelous way. Moses feels cheated by having not read the books. Aaron compares three perspectives and the shows an appreciates the details.

Note - a “Weave” is not the same as a “Spell.”

We reflect on the world pace of world building in a show versus in the book, and how the show, on its own, has a shallow feel…at least at first…but the show builders have some skill and we all get drawn in pretty fast.

We also decide that we would not recommend this show for kids.

In spite of potentially poorly written tv characters, we are already headlong into interesting themes about gender, community, and destiny. Moses, Matt, and Aaron go on and on about all they loved, all that was disappointing, and all they are hoping to see in the episodes to come. This journey has some promise…we’ll just have to get to the next episode!

#wheeloftime #thewheeloftimee #wot #eyeoftheworld #robertjordan #tworivers #novel #book #fantasy #bookclub #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Matt Rensi, visit his profession profile here -

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/matthew-t-rensi-morgan-hill-ca/870502 or email him at [email protected]

For more information about Aaron Esparza, find him on Instagram at @aaronthemanajah. 

#wheeloftime #thewheeloftimee #wot #eyeoftheworld #robertjordan #tworivers #novel #book #fantasy #bookclub #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

Trigger warning - this chapter is DEPRESSING!! But the giggles are also out in force.

Moses, Jake, and Stephanie read the book within the book, the Book of the Brotherhood, which is the manifesto of the hoped for revolution! Turns out…it’s not really well written.

Surprisingly, not surprisingly, war is fought for economic purposes…not actually ideology. We learn that when private life is eradicated, and an individual has no significant inner life, they are highly susceptible to being manipulated.

There’s at least two types of people. Those who are not educated at all and thus are vulnerable to exploitation…and those who are so highly educated that they can make themselves believe even an ideology that has no basis in reality.

Also, good writers need to use lots of little paragraphs.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz on Instagram.

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

#1984book #georgeorwell #dystopia #books #bookclub #reading #manifesto #war #economics #revolution #writers #paragraphs #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

More hook-ups, more musings, dreams of murdering mother over chocolate, and first contact with the rebellion! It’s everything you love from the dystopian classic 1984 and more!

Our uncertain hero Winston is pursuing the revolution because he needs something to believe in. His younger partner and co-conspirator Julia seems to be in the revolution just for fun.

His job is to erase the past. Her job is to create the present and future, through creation of consumable stories. He is driven by principles and has more life experience from age. She is driven by pleasure and has more life experience from taking risks. Despite the differences, they still forge a connection.

When you don’t have a sense of history, how do you ground yourself to know what is going on today? If you don’t know where you’ve come from, how do you make sense of what is happening now?

“You don’t realize how important the past is until it’s gone.” - Steph.

Jake reflects on the observations of the Evangelical Church and how it interacts with history. He also briefly summarizes findings from the book “Jesus and John Wayne.”

As always, we come back to our ever present need for community and purpose. The 1984 world portrays characters deprived of both. Moses, Jake and Steph muse on how to preserve these things in the real world.

Moses raises the question of, what makes behavioral change sustainably possible.

Further, we reflect on the privilege of turning off our screens. We thought technology  would help us, but turns out, we might have more freedom by stepping away from it.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz on Instagram.

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

#1984book #georgeorwell #dystopia #dystopian #community #books #bookclub #reading #technology #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

“Dystopia is all about hook-ups.”

…or is it?

Here we compare and contrast a dystopian hook-up and a current day real life attempt at dating via online platforms.

We get into Winston’s backstory, and deeper into the not-so-deep character of Julia. Our two protagonists present competing ideologies of escape and hedonism versus idealism, rebellion, and activism. Talking about hedonism, of course, means also talking about food as a world-building detail.

Steph shares about her journey from Iowa to Oregon and back.

Moses talks about ritual participation in stories as far deeper than merely intellectually grasping the content.

Jake reflects on the endorphin rush of “being right,” and how that tendency can get carried away in social media, raising the question of, what do we feel like we lose if we no longer identify an enemy.

We invoke the metaphor of the cave-dweller encountering Light for the first time, and the value of exposing young people to new ideas.

We also wonder if the machine that spits out stock stories actually represents repressed sexual desire.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz on Instagram.

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

#1984book #georgeorwell #dystopia #books #bookclub #reading #sexuality #gender #mosesbernabe #wordandjourney

Here, we finally get to hear what superpowers Jake, Steph, and Moses wish they had.

Also, our protagonist Winston writes in his journal, meets a girl, and sneaks off into the woods with her.

We get to talk through sex, gender, gender stereotypes in literature, and the impact of repressing sexuality. What happens when love becomes entirely sexual?

Moses takes the time to talk about narrative burdens assigned to our sexual experiences.

Steph shares some tips for male writers writing female characters.

Jake offers to someday have us over for breakfast of cake and coffee.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz on Instagram.

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”

Does revolution make the world better? Is there a way to do hierarchy well, or is it always oppressive? Are we more enlightened than our ancestors?

Moses, Steph, and Jake toss around ideas around how to share stories, why we need to write our stories down, and how relationships are an indispensable resource. We talk about  why we need our elders, body memories, and how there is more to know that just what our intellect can tell us.

Also, in 1984 land, Winston and Julia find a secret room for doing…secret things. Winston also reflects on Big Brother and concludes that, “Freedom is the freedom to say that two and two makes four. If that is granted, all else follows.”

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

After a brief interlude....we're back! Moses, Jake, and Steph return with another lively discussion about a dystopian classic.

What happens when we lose precision of language, or language altogether? Do we really see the eventual collapse of society?

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

It's another episode! Moses, Jake, and Steph are back to talk about heroism, censorship, and the dangers of isolation!

Is Winston a hero? What makes a hero anyway?

Here we discuss active versus passive protagonists and what kinds of character arcs they can have. Turns out that not all heroic feats require swords and guns. Some heroism happens with in the inner world of one's own mind.

Here is also where 1984 gets really political, and potentially politically relevant! We talk censorship and cancel culture! Just what does that look like? It's not just book burnings and government. Sometimes it's how we filter our news feeds...which could also be an expression of good boundaries.

Perhaps the best defense against censorship is to cultivate an active, intentional and curious approach to the narratives you want to hear...and occasionally be curious about the other side too.

But here's a question - When faced with a perspective that counters our own, why do we tend to respond with defensiveness? What would it look like if we could be more curious? We share some thoughts about this.

We talk repression of emotions. We talk isolation. We talk sexual ethics! We raise the question...is our current government doing "Orwellian" things? Going deeper, we reflect on whether or not our past church experiences have had Orwellian elements to them.

Mostly, we notice how when people become isolated, they become extremely vulnerable to diabolical suggestions from powerful entities. What we have learned from our own lives, and what we see depicted in this novel, is that community and relationship take active intentional effort, especially when "The Party" works full time to prevent connection.

Moses goes on a sub-tangent about how online dating and pornography have impacted young people's arousal templates.

Finally, we raise the question - why is it important to tell our story? What is the value of revisiting the past? And on a global scale, why on earth do we need to study history? Even both sides of a historical event? What happens when we don't know who got us here or why?

Moreover, what happens when we lose capacity for privacy, loyalty, and emotion, including "Deep and complex sorrows"? Why are we better off, like Captain Kirk, to shout, "I need my pain!"?

Moses leaves us with the thought, "Telling your story is a way of preserving your humanity. Studying history is a way of preserving culture."

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/

The clocks are striking thirteen, Big Brother is watching, and the gin is freely flowing! This can only mean that the Word and Journey podcast is back for another novel!

Moses Bernabe and Jake Schwartz return and delighted to welcome editor and long time friend Stephanie Bennett to the show. With that, we plunge into what might have become one of the most oft referenced dystopian novels in our recent memory.

We are struck right away by the visionary(some might say prophetic) world building at play. George Orwell's signature of a dystopian society is a television on in every room, to watch the inhabitants. We remark on how that is no loner really fiction.

Moses, Jake, and Steph go on to talk about gaslighting and manipulation, we talk about the Two Minute Hate, rage rooms, and ritual...

Moses explores the symbolism of the Diary and the power of language, and more particularly, the power of story.

This key tip for writers comes up - "If you're not writing something, you're not gonna get anything down." - Stephanie Bennett.

Jake brings up the question, How old is Oceania? This leads us to talk about what happens when you take away people's sense of time? Their points of security? Their capacity to experience and display emotion? Their freedom to turn off their media feeds? How much freedom can we lose before we lose our humanity?

Altogether, what happens when we no longer have the freedom to ask questions about what we perceive?

We further comment on the sacred cow of Parenting and speculate about what happens when parents begin relinquishing their duties to the state.

For more information about Moses, subscribe at www.mosesbernabe.com, or support at www.patreon.com/mosesbernabe.

For more information about Jake, contact him at www.jacobrayschwartz.com or @jacobrayschwartz

For more information about Stephanie, contact her at @bennetts.edits on Instagram or her website https://www.bennettsedits.com/