FYI I hear “Woody’s Roundup” play in my head each time I write “podcast roundup,” so there…now you do too. Cue the music!

Yesterday’s podcast time, as usual, was far more productive and enlightening on the drive out than on the drive home. There are two reasons for that. The drive out is early in the morning when I’m at my most refreshed and alert. On the way home, I’m getting tired. I’ve talked, walked, ate, and shopped all day long and now I’m ready to be quiet and reflective. THIS is why I do an all-day adventure like this every week. It’s a sweet process that does my heart good.

I’m excited to share the roundup with you this week. I found a new podcast I enjoy, but I’m still looking for new ones, so shoot them my way if you know of any. And I discovered a couple new books to read, too!

Let It Be 001: Legacy

I took copious notes on this one, so many ideas popped into my head as these two women chatted. My favorite idea was “Don’t leave behind a mess.” Just like any time in your life, at the store, in the restaurant, or at home with your loved ones, when you leave this planet, do your best not to leave behind a mess.

The big takeaway here was the idea of that we build two lives: a resume life and a eulogy life. Here’s a TED talk (only five minutes) of David Brooks explaining it.

Quillette Podcast: Christopher J. Ferguson on Racist Orcs, Ableist Adventures, and Non-Binary Monsters

This one wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, and I’m glad of it. I’m not a DnD person, never have been. I’m not that kind of geek, but I know people who are. I had a lot of thoughts while I listened to this one too, like:

It’s strange lately how much we’ve changed our stories over the last thirty years. We’ve moved away from good guys and bad guys and focused more on how people change and relate. All those “bad guy” origin stories.

Do you play games online or in person? Do you have an avatar? Did you create it to look like you, or do you have an alternate personality? Do you play to escape everyday reality, or to connect and explore?

Here’s a link to Christopher J. Ferguson’s paper, Are orcs racist? Dungeons and Dragons, ethnocentrism, anxiety, and the depiction of “evil” monsters, if you’d like to check it out.

No Stupid Questions 84: Why Do We Find So Much Meaning in Meaningless Coincidences?

Humans…we love to connect things. It’s how we learn and change our environment. At the beginning of the show, they started talking about watch the new season of Succession (great show, by the way) and WE’RE watching the new season too! Coincidence? Here’s the weirder part. Yesterday morning, my husband moved aside a magazine I had open on the table. It was open to an ad for a cruise line and he mentioned the strange coincidence between us watching the show and the current plot crisis. (Insert Twilight Zone music)

People I (Mostly) Admire: 60: Cassandra Quave Thinks the Way Antibiotics Are Developed Might Kill Us

THIS was a good one. Cassandra Quave is a fascinating person with a lot of interesting ideas. She talks about her life and how she got where she is. I’m going to get her book “The Plant Hunter” to hear more of it. She has this crazy idea about balancing the body, remembering that medicines were first derived from plants, and that maybe all these sciences should be communicating with each other instead of competing.

BBC Bookclub Abir Mukherjee

I heard “crime novel” and almost moved on, but then I heard a Scottish accent from a name like Abir and wondered what the story was. I was not disappointed. His book “A Rising Man” is also now on my TBR list. It’s a crime/historical novel, based in India in 1919. I love listening to author’s talk about their books and the BBC Bookclub is always wonderful.

Let It Be 002: Entitlement

This one…hmm…I’m not a fan of these words “entitlement” and “deserve.” When people start throwing them around, I tend to tune out. It was my last podcast of the drive. I was tired, so I had a hard time getting past my distaste.

Here’s my take on things like this.

My perception of karma is like a giant tapestry, the warp and weave of which we all create with our lives. Everything happens because of something else that has happened, some of which we can control, most of which we cannot.

Make people’s lives around you a little easier by not being rude and obnoxious. It complements the colors of the thread around you, creates sparkles and highlights in the bigger picture.

That’s it for this week. I hope you found something you liked in all those links. Let me know if you have a favorite podcast, no matter the subject or genre. I’m always searching for more listening material.

Oh! And more thing…

I finished a journal today, so tomorrow is new journal day. Don’t you just LOVE new journal day?!

Want more podcasts? Check out my previous posts, Thought Wrangling: A Podcast Roundup or Rivers, Narrative, and Racism: A Podcast Roundup