How does one remember to breathe and project kindness during a long drive? How does one keep their calm and remember that we are all on the same spinning rock in space together? How does one let go of being cut off and potentially smashed against the center divider by a semi-truck making a break for it in bumper-to-bumper traffic?

When I get in the car, I unwrap my Mala Beads from my wrist while speaking the mantra, “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be at peace.” And then place them on my dashboard. When I leave the car, I pick them up and put them back on the same way. It seems to be working.

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Every time I go to write and save a “podcast roundup” post, I start hearing this in my head…

Consider it the theme song!

And…now I’m missing Disneyland again. …sigh…

Moving on! It’s time for the (not so much weekly these days) Podcast Roundup!

Episode #5

This week’s drive into the city was exciting in the usual California way (read: TRAFFIC), mostly due to construction and an accident. But it was still productive. Not only did I get to visit a friend, enjoy a great lunch out (once we found a restaurant that was not closed due to staffing problems), and a chance to exercise purchasing restraint at Target, but I also got to listen to some great podcasts and (practicing patience and letting go) spent some time on the phone with friends and family as well. It doesn’t get better than that.

I’ll do my usual short takeaway from each podcast, but there was so much more. I’ll also mention any books I’ve added to my TBR list that were influenced by the episode.

Secular Buddhism – #154 Taking the Long View

WAR = We Are Right

CATO Daily – Harm Reduction amid COVID-19

Lack of context in news coverage (statistics are purposefully misleading if you don’t add the denominator) is causing suspicion.

BBC Bookclub – Tayari Jones – An American Marriage

I found this podcast last week and I’m not sure it’s a good idea to keep listening. It’s adding way too many books to my TBR list! It is a great way to find new novels to read though! I don’t think I would have picked this one up, if I hadn’t heard the author talking about with other readers.

Book Added to TBR List: “An American Marriage” by Tayari Jones

CATO Daily – The Rocky, Necessary, ‘Trump-Biden’ Afghanistan Withdrawal

Some more neutral insight into the Afghanistan mess.

The Minimalists – #302 The Advice Epidemic

It’s not love, it’s ego.

Quote: “Politics is the art of making your selfish desires seem like the national interest.” – Thomas Sowell

This guy keeps coming up lately. Yes, his book is on my list, along with a biography.

BBC Thinking Allowed – Coal Mining – Luddism

I listened to this one for about twenty minutes, had no idea what they were talking about and then skipped it.

BBC In Our Time – Culture – Shakespeare’s Sonnets

I love watching Shakespeare’s plays but never got into the sonnets. They’re poetry and I’m not a poetry fan, too abstract for my little brain, I guess. But an interesting point came up. The sonnets were published in 1609, after being written throughout several plague closures in London.

Philosophy Bites – Arash Abizadeh on Thomas Hobbes’ Ethics

My thoughts: Hobbes was a nut. Life is not “nasty, brutish, and short” without a controlling state. Humans are social animals. We will censor and maintain ourselves to stay within the good graces of a social group. We do not need to be controlled. Who hurt you, Thomas Hobbes?!

BBC Bookclub – Tahmima Anam – A Golden Age

The life of a mother during a revolution? Sign me up.

              Book Added to TBR List: “A Golden Age” by Tahmima Anam

And there you go, another great round-up! I love podcasts. They add so much to by drive, input I crave during a time that I can’t read. Technology win!

Click back to my previous post, Buddhism, Economics, Racism and More: Podcast Roundup #4, for more.