Inappropriate Conversations

TalkBack 40: Other High Crimes

With the second Senate impeachment trial of my lifetime scheduled to start any day now, I've chosen to schedule this TalkBack episode in advance for future release. That's a risky move. Who knows what might happen between now and then? To me, that's one of the challenges of dealing with current events on a podcast intended to be more evergreen than the news of the day. And the impeachment covered in this podcast is more than 20 years old now!

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/40-other-high-crimes/

 

TalkBack 15: Declaring War on 'Just Say No'

From an endgame perspective, the so-called "war on drugs" was never intended to generate the equivalent of permanent prisoners of war in the form of mass incarceration, but that is probably the true face of the political strategy that seemed to directly target my generation. The focus came after the Summer Of Love crowd, hitting instead the younger brothers, sisters, and cousins. It's hard to cite any wins because "Just Say No" as a campaign was far more about the image than the results, pure style over substance. Perhaps it was only about winning electoral strategies. I say this because I first had to resist this facile nonsense before I could commit myself to truly resisting any temptations to "experiment" with drugs. 

Yes, "temptations" is plural. This issue was never so simple that "just say no" was credible advice. And that was just part of the problem that persists today. Other parts include the false equivocation about the relative dangers of different substances, and whether keeping people alive long enough to get the help they truly need was ever among the goals (hint: evidence suggests it was not).

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/15-declaring-war-on-%e2%80%98just-say-no%e2%80%99/

 

222: Displeasure

To our shame, our society still tends to teach women to separate themselves from their sexuality, treating pleasure as something regrettable while looking the other way with a "boys will be boys" shrug about men pursuing pleasure. Even within committed relationships, this has unfortunate and unnecessary consequences. Wise women have spoken against this, and their counsel is well worth considering.

Different Drummer: Ruth K. Westheimer

 

TalkBack 14: Sex Education the Protestant Way; Then, Not Now

Considering how prominent sex is on the logo for Inappropriate Conversations, I haven't touched that topic as often as I could. I may explore some reasons why in the next Inappropriate Conversations recording for #IC #222. We'll see. In the meantime, this past episode from 2010 provides valuable background information, recalling a time when the church taking sex education seriously did not have anything to do with protesting, banning, or undermining it.

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/14-sex-education-the-protestant-way-then-not-now/

Happy 2020!

Walk The Earth 57

Whether spirituality has become a private matter because churches are using spirituality to attack and exclude?

TalkBack 30: Establishment of Religion

The previous TalkBack episode included the beginning of an essay called "Should Amendment Stand a Prayer of Success?" It was written in 2000 and shared on this podcast in 2010. Inappropriate Conversations #30 is the rest of that argument. 

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/30-establishment-of-religion/

 

TalkBack 29: My Prayer for a Football Game

As far as I can tell, Inappropriate Conversations #29 is the most downloaded episode in the history of this podcast. I'm not sure why a wide-ranging perspective on the concept of school prayer would get such a response, but I'm pleased to share it here.
This episode also qualifies under the heading of topics too large for one recording, so I'll share #IC 30 next, soon, to complete the thought.
I describe myself as a radical moderate, using terminology very loosely, and this topic provides a pretty good example. This first episode in particular shares a counterpoint to my position, and most of the 2-part arc is me providing information and criticism to what might be considered my own camp. I believe I have credentials as a Christian to share what Jesus taught to other Christians, for example.
And this was just the beginning of the podcast, from the first year in 2010.

http://www.inappropriateconversations.org/e/29-my-prayer-for-a-football-game/