The Inviolability Of The Artist’s Work (Podcast)

The world recently learned that the estate of British author Roald Dahl actually allowed a team of censors to purge words and phrases from the author’s works that they deemed “offensive.” This is a terrifying escalation in the left’s war on the literary record and on artistic expression in general. The idea that censors would dare to reach back into old books and rewrite them would have been unthinkable even a decade ago. It is communist thought-policing, pure and simple. Every writer or artist should be taking steps now to protect their work from tampering by potential future vandals. If our concept of art is to have any meaning at all, the artist’s work must be seen as inviolate and sacrosanct.

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A Conversation With Will Spencer (Podcast)

I recently had a great conversation with Will Spencer, the proprietor of the site Renaissance of Men. I’m posting the podcast links here. I think you’ll find it to be a very informative and entertaining discussion. It’s available in different formats: Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

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“How Do I Expand My Social Circle In A Foreign Country?” (Podcast)

A reader who is living abroad in France is finding it difficult to meet new people. He has no desire to hang around with expats. People always revert to English when dealing with him, when he is trying to learn French. It is frustrating for him, and he wants to know if there are ways to get out of this dynamic. I offer some thoughts.

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You’ve Got The Job: Now Get In There And Do It (Podcast)

A reader asks a question. He has just been assigned to a new position of great responsibility. The previous occupant of this position was a man much older than he. Our friend feels slightly intimidated and inadequate for the new job. To complicate things, the previous holder of the position has not helped our friend, and has implied that he’s too young. Our friend asks for some advice.

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You Can’t Stampede People (Podcast)

A young woman from a conservative culture asks a relationship question. She is very fond of her boyfriend, an American man. She wants to move things in the direction of marriage, but the young man is ambivalent. He keeps putting her off. She wants to know what she can do to deal with the situation.

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Revisitations (Podcast)

We should periodically “revisit” things that once meant something to us years earlier. Every 7 to 10 years or so, we grow significantly in outlook, perspective, and attitude. Things that once meant something to us, may mean something very different to us years later. This holds true of books, movies, individuals, and many other things. To measure how far you’ve progressed, revisit old things, and see how much you’ve changed. I discuss two movies, and how my view of them has changed in the intervening decades.

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You Declare Yourself (Podcast)

Some guys think that they need to wait for some magical confluence of circumstances to exist before they can pursue their goals. The world doesn’t work like this. Sometimes you have to announce yourself, declare your purpose openly, and let your will shape the environment to your own purposes. You have to declare yourself. You’re never going to receive anyone’s permission to succeed. We use the example of Gen. Charles De Gaulle in 1940.

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Not As Bad As You Think, But Different From What You Think (Podcast)

Our minds often play tricks on us. We come to believe things are much worse than they really are. Once we get through what we’re worried about, we realize that things were not as bad as we thought–and we also realize that things ended in a way that was different from what we expected.

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