Why does localism matter? What does a need to know our local farmers have to do with our souls? Why are our neighborhoods better when we buy and invest as locally as possible (even when it’s a small amount)? Tsh and Seth talk to Hadden Turner, a 20-something British agrarian writer, who has a few things to say about living locally. * Hosts: Tsh Oxenreider and Seth Haines * Guest: Hadden Turner * Where You Are Is Where You Are * Refuge of Authenticity * And the Fields Fall Silent * Tir: The...

Living within your 100-mile radius means living small and local—choosing to, as best possible, participate, buy, and invest our time in only that which is immediately around us, within roughly a hundred miles. There’s no way to do this perfectly, and that’s okay. But is it worth the effort? Probably. * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Create Your Rule of Life * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Acedia is our modern-day dragon — the desert fathers and mothers named it “the Noonday Devil.” What is it, really? And how do we fight it? Tsh talks with Harrison Garlick, a Deacon with the Diocese of Tulsa, to unpack the ladder of love we have to climb to slay our dragon. * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Guest: Dcn. Harrison Garlick * Harrison’s podcast, Ascend: The Great Books Podcast * The Intellectual Life, by AG Sertillanges * The previous episode: Flourishing & Acedia * Create Your Rule of...

We've talked about rootedness; now we're moving up the plant stalk to flourishing: thriving, growing well, and generally being who we're supposed to require good roots in good soil. But what's possibly the biggest threat to said flourishing? The ol' noonday devil acedia. What is it? How does it affect us so much? And how do we fight it so we can get back to flourishing? Let's talk about that. * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Bitter & Sweet: A Journey Into Easter * First Light & Eventide: A...

You are a tree. You are also not a tree. You are on a journey. You are also not on a journey. We use metaphors all the time to describe life, and funnily enough, so does the Bible. Joy Clarkson unpacks why we use metaphors, and she and Tsh also get into why we need to be rooted — and open to change. * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Guest: Joy Clarkson * Joy’s new book, You Are a Tree * Create Your Rule of Life * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Comment on this episode (for Commonplace...

We’re starting a new season with a few changes — Tsh Oxenreider unpacks what you can expect this spring by way of the season’s theme: rootedness. What does it mean to know who you are, whose you are, and where you belong? How do we become more rooted in an ever-digitized world? * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Create Your Rule of Life * Ascend: The Great Books Podcast * Young Heretics (another good but unmentioned resource for unpacking old texts) * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Come to...

In this final chat of the year, Seth and Tsh work through a few of her end-of-the-year questions—and you’re invited to do the same. They’re tougher than they initially seem! * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Tsh’s end-of-the-year reflection questions Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

‘Tis the season to have more options than possible to read, watch, and listen to. Authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider share what they're currently imbibing in this department, along with what's in their queue for the holidays. * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider * Buy a round of drinks * Tsh's 2023 Holiday Gift Guide * Six Reads for Advent on Tsh's Substack newsletter * Winter Fire, by Ryan Whitaker Smith * Christmas Karol, by Faith Moore * Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis * This...

Whether you're a seasoned Advent adherent or a barely-even-heard-of-it curious onlooker, Advent really is for everybody. Writer Tsh Oxenreider shares why Advent, as well as the rest of the liturgical calendar, really is a gift to us, even in (especially in?) our insanely busy and information-packed world. She also shares a brief introduction to the season, as well as a few ideas on how to get started (sharing an excerpt from her Advent book!). * Host: author Tsh Oxenreider * Tsh’s Advent...

Why hope? Because we have no other choice. A few years ago, Amber Haines entered a season of pain and despair when she resigned from her role as church curate and walked out those doors for the last time. Since then, she and Seth have been learning that hope requires a recognition of the deep-down things. Writers Seth, Amber, & Tsh Oxenreider talk about why we HAVE to hope, even when (especially when?) things are bleak. * Guest: Amber Haines * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh...

Social media isn't great for us, neither individually nor collectively. Know what's better? Substack. Not just for writers or creators — for readers and listeners, too! That means you. Writers Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider share why they dig this bright spot on the internet, and why you should, too. It's not perfect, but it’s doing a good thing. * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Merch * Go to Greece with Tsh! * Buy Seth’s new...

We officially live in a world with AI, like it or not. It’s been around quite awhile, but its ubiquitous presence is escalating, and quickly. How shall we then live? Is there ethical space for AI? Writers Tsh Oxenreider and Seth Haines have thoughts. * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Merch! * Come see Tsh next Thursday, October 5 at Fabled Bookstore * Tsh’s latest: First Light & Eventide * Seth’s upcoming: The Deep-Down Things *...

Why is adding beauty to our everyday lives worth the time and effort? Tsh Oxenreider talks with fellow writer Katy Carl about why the ongoing, noble pursuit of beauty (in its truest form) is essential for ALL of us. They also chat about grad school while raising kids, AI (of course), and other such sundry. * Guest: Katy Carl * Host: Tsh Oxenreider * Katy's new book, Fragile Objects * Tsh’s latest: First Light & Eventide * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Merch! * Mariane...

We’re back for a new season of chatting over drinks! Writers Tsh Oxenreider and Seth Haines discuss the old idea of Ignatian examen and how it applies to us moderns. Also, why morning and evening bookends are a great idea. * Hosts: authors Seth Haines and Tsh Oxenreider * Buy a round of drinks * Recommended reads * Merch! * Tsh’s latest: First Light & Eventide * Seth’s upcoming: The Deep-Down Things * How to pray the examen   * Scientifically proven benefits of gratitude * “The Want of...

No need to panic; the podcast isn’t ending! It's simply time for a summer break. In this episode, Seth and Tsh chat about some of their favorite finales: the last lines of books, the final songs on an album, the ultimate episodes in a TV series. What makes a good ending? And what helps us forgive a story's less-than-ideal finale? Drink episodes will take a brief hiatus for some offline summer revelry, but never fear—episodes will pick back up again soon! * Seth’s Newsletter & Website *...

Stories (the good ones, anyway) tell us more than an entertaining tale—they tell us why the world is the way it is, as well as the way it should be. In this way, fiction is often more real than non-fiction. Everyone should read fiction, especially folks who want to know how the world works and how we're called to make it better. Seth & Tsh unpack why good stories do just that. * Seth’s Newsletter & Website * Tsh’s Newsletter & Website * Pick up a round of drinks * Our recommended...

Is reading good books, watching good movies, and preferring good art a matter of subjective taste or objective reasoning? And if it’s objective, does that mean there’s a wrong preference for these things? Even a …moral wrong? Tsh talks with one of her favorite current thinkers and writers, Joshua Gibbs, about what it means to wisely know the difference between mediocre, common, and uncommon things, and why it matters beyond mere taste that we love that which lasts. * Love What Lasts, by...

Both Seth and Tsh's oldest children are graduating high school this month, and just like the cliché, they can't believe how fast time has flown. Here are a few things they'd tell themselves when they were younger and in the early, exhausting stage of parenting younger children. * Seth: Newsletter | Website * Tsh: Newsletter | Website * Pick up a round of drinks * Our recommended reads * There’s ONE spot left for Ireland — will you claim it? * Ted Lasso * The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1, 2,...

Continuing with (what the numbers say is) this show’s most popular series, in this episode, Seth shares more of why he became Catholic. If he could sum up a major reason why he and Amber led their whole family into the Church, it's this: matter matters. (…And again, don't worry, it's not to pressure you — Tsh and Seth and just telling their stories.) * Seth: Newsletter | Website * Tsh: Newsletter | Website * Pick up a round of drinks * Our recommended reads * Why is Seth Catholic? Part 1 *...

We've reached a fever pitch with smartphones, and more and more people aren't sure what to do anymore with these computers in our pockets. Is it time to throw them in a river and "downgrade" to older school flip phones? Some folks are. Autumn Kern is one such person, and in this episode, she chats with Tsh about why she'll never go back. She makes the case that smartphones are turning us into gnostics, they're depleting us of our virtue, and they're depriving us of true community, instead...

It's still the question Tsh and Seth get more than just about any other... They each began answering this question in earlier chats, but it involves an answer that may take a lifetime to share... In this episode, Tsh shares more of her journey to the Catholic Church, why it wasn’t just switching a “denomination,” and why the telos of the idea of a global church led her to recognize that Jesus established it in a particular way for a particular purpose. All Christians were Catholic for most of...

On the trails, in silence of an adoration chapel, in the practice of shrugging our shoulders, in the dirt of the earth, in art, bread, a feast with our friends. In other words: practice. This is where Seth and his wife Amber have learned to search for signs of hope, even during a season of recovery, pandemic chaos, political turmoil. Tsh talks with Seth about this idea — looking for hope in the midst of a world that tips toward despair — and why doing so changes everything. Seth and Amber...

C.S. Lewis wrote a newspaper column as a series of letters from a demon writing to his nephew training for his role as …well, a demon. Screwtape advises Wormwood how to best attack his “patient” — an unassuming young man — and his tactics aren’t what we’d expect. Tsh shares with Seth why she loves this book so much, why it’s still relevant (perhaps more?) today than it was when it was first published during the height of World War II, and why all of us need to read it. In fact, if you’re new...

Isn’t it weird to travel with people you’ve never met? Tsh thought so, too, until she started leading pilgrimages. Now it’s one of her favorite things she does. She chats with her friend Bond Strong, who went on Tsh’s 2022 pilgrimage to Italy. They talk about why travel makes them love their home even more, how their love for travel only grew once they became parents, what they loved most about their time in Italy, and why you — yes, YOU — should go on Tsh’s 2023 pilgrimage to Ireland....