January 15 - 21, 2017
1. Hidden Brain - "Getting Unstuck"
"Getting Unstuck" is the perfect episode if you find yourself frustrated with a lack of resolve regarding promises made at the start of the new year. It's also more broadly applicable to anyone who has struggled to find a direction in life, or who has set out on one path only to be stymied somewhere along the way. By no means does this offer a one-size-fits-all solution to such a quandary, but it does present a helpful perspective from which to take stock of ones present circumstances.
2. Love and Radio - "No Bad News"
In a post-9/11 world, it can be difficult to empathize with the 'other' - particularly if that 'other' is someone widely considered to be a malicious dictator with little regard for humanity. I always strive to humble myself and assume everyone has some inherent amount of redeeming goodness, and this episode somewhat confirms that assumption. At the same time, however, it challenged me and had me questioning the power of a personal relationship to transcend a regard for the greater good. The setting for this story is a bit dated, but that doesn't prevent it from packing a punch.
3. Code Switch - "Obama's Legacy: Callouts and Fallouts"
I'm a little late on this, as Obama has now left the White House, but if you are interested in some healthy reflection over the past eight years this is still definitely worth checking out. Some of it may seem familiar, though as someone who wasn't as in touch near the beginning of the administration I found some things to be completely new to my ears. It's astonishing what people got away with when referring to the most powerful person in the country. What's not surprising is that there was a lot of coded or I-didn't-mean-it-that-way racist undertones when prominent people talked about former president Obama. Regardless of how history views the legacy of Obama's policy, let us hope that the forces of time have a little more nuance and lack the racial bias that seeps into a lot of contemporary critiques.
"Getting Unstuck" is the perfect episode if you find yourself frustrated with a lack of resolve regarding promises made at the start of the new year. It's also more broadly applicable to anyone who has struggled to find a direction in life, or who has set out on one path only to be stymied somewhere along the way. By no means does this offer a one-size-fits-all solution to such a quandary, but it does present a helpful perspective from which to take stock of ones present circumstances.
2. Love and Radio - "No Bad News"
In a post-9/11 world, it can be difficult to empathize with the 'other' - particularly if that 'other' is someone widely considered to be a malicious dictator with little regard for humanity. I always strive to humble myself and assume everyone has some inherent amount of redeeming goodness, and this episode somewhat confirms that assumption. At the same time, however, it challenged me and had me questioning the power of a personal relationship to transcend a regard for the greater good. The setting for this story is a bit dated, but that doesn't prevent it from packing a punch.
3. Code Switch - "Obama's Legacy: Callouts and Fallouts"
I'm a little late on this, as Obama has now left the White House, but if you are interested in some healthy reflection over the past eight years this is still definitely worth checking out. Some of it may seem familiar, though as someone who wasn't as in touch near the beginning of the administration I found some things to be completely new to my ears. It's astonishing what people got away with when referring to the most powerful person in the country. What's not surprising is that there was a lot of coded or I-didn't-mean-it-that-way racist undertones when prominent people talked about former president Obama. Regardless of how history views the legacy of Obama's policy, let us hope that the forces of time have a little more nuance and lack the racial bias that seeps into a lot of contemporary critiques.
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