PODCAST

The Professor"s Bayonet

Jason Dew

Book reviews and social commentary

arts books

All Episodes

00:04:33

Episode 12 - Dark Night of the Soul

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/05/07

Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross Sixteenth century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, writes that “[i]f you purify your soul of attachment to and desire for things, you will understand them spiritually. If you deny your appetite for them, you will enjoy their truth, understanding what is certain in them.” To the material world, St. John of the Cross attributes spiritual qualities that only an intentional wandering through the desert can reveal. We must embrace what he calls an

00:03:48

Episode 11 - In Order to Live

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/04/30

Park’s memoir about her escape from North Korea exposes a plethora of evil that is difficult to fathom. Only a couple of weeks past her thirteenth birthday, she was almost raped by a Chinese broker moments after Park and her mother crossed the Yalu River, fleeing the Hermit Kingdom. Had it not been for her mother insisting that the broker take her instead, an unspeakable horror would have taken place. Even so, the pair could not avoid being trafficked. They were sold repeatedly and, by Park’s own

00:04:23

Episode 10 - Exorcism

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/04/23

For me, it has always been a head-scratcher when I hear some folks claim to be spiritual but not believers in God – to claim the existence of ghosts but not their Creator – to appoint godparents for their children but have no idea what godparents are truly for. They are behind the existence of all things supernatural, yet they struggle with having any relationship with God whatsoever. They decorate for Halloween but don’t go to church. They watch the latest Conjuring movie but silently disparage

00:03:34

Episode 9 - Misery

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/04/16

It was not Chekhov’s critique of Tsarist Russia that captured my attention. As the working-class sledge driver Iona transports cruel and dismissive patrons around the frozen streets of 1886 St. Petersburg, Russia, I was struck by the sense that there was much more happening – that the actions and dialogue were all very surface level – that Chekhov was telling a story within a story. Yes, the bourgeoisie who shout orders and abuses at the poor protagonist are framed in a critical light. Chekhov

00:03:50

Episode 8 - The Modernists, the Postmodernists,...

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/04/09

I belted out the song like any other grunge wannabe in the early 1900s, but I had no idea what I was saying. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain likely did not know what he was saying either. Content wasn’t the point. Explosive expression was. The Nevermind album both shook the music world and shaped the culture for years to come. Grunge gave way to nouveau punk, and that genre, as all genres do, eventually became so mainstream that suburban girls from well-to-do families began to dye their hair and resist

00:03:42

Episode 7 - The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/03/26

A few years back, I was on a spiritual retreat at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia where I experienced an epiphany about my place in this world. God, I realized, does not need me. The sun will rise and fall without me. The tides will ebb and flow without me. The flowers will bloom. The rivers will flow. My presence in creation is not needed for creation to do its thing. I am, however, very much wanted. Just as everybody listening to my voice right now is wanted, so, too,

00:03:37

Episode 6 - Information to Those Who Would Remove to...

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/03/12

American individualism was simply the result of people trying to hold on. Far from their normal resources, early pioneers who wanted lives free from entrenched social and political hierarchies – lives where they could be whatever they wanted to be, live however they wanted to live – also had to learn skills well outside their wheelhouse. Tailors became loggers. Lawyers became furniture builders. Housewives became nurses. All by necessity. All in order to survive. What once was called the New

00:03:28

Episode 5 - The Inferno

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/02/27

Most folks have at least heard of Dante’s fictional descent into the bowels of hell. Accompanied by ancient Roman poet, Virgil, the fourteenth century Italian poet travels circle by concentric circle toward Satan himself, witnessing along the way a vast host of punishments meted out, in many cases, to the political and social elites of Dante’s time. It is a colorful and harrowing allegory that continues to entertain and edify scores of readers. When I taught this years ago, it occurred to me and

00:03:50

Episode 4 - The Hail Mary

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/02/13

Of late, I have been reflecting on death – the inevitability of my own and that of so many loved ones throughout my life. It is heavy – indeed, antithetical to how we understand ourselves and others, especially those we hold most dear. How can such a fate befall this person or that? They were so full of life … so unique … so precious … beloved. My aunt, for example, just passed. She was only 69, but she had been in a dark place for quite some time. She suffered from dementia and hardly

00:03:38

Episode 3 - Leaving Boyhood Behind

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/01/30

I am puzzled by the crisis of manhood we are currently experiencing in the United States – the same nation that forged alphas out of the wilderness, spearheaded efforts to defeat the Nazis, stepped up to the communists, and held out its muscular arms to welcome all of those seeking safety and shelter. Once upon a time, teenage boys vied over who would get to sit shotgun, were quick to the contest, and determined in the race. Now, they barely want to get their driver’s licenses, choosing, instead,

00:03:20

Episode 2 - The Allegory of the Cave

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/01/16

I did not know that the Eastern Orthodox Church maintains that Christ was born in a cave. Though this is not found in the Bible, ancient iconography nevertheless makes this assertion. One might be tempted to dismiss this claim as trifling; however, when we look at Christ’s mission as a whole, we see common bookends: His earthly life began in a cave, and His glorious resurrection occurred in a cave. But what of it? Why might this be significant? In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” we find a group

00:03:06

Episode 1 - Squire and Daniel

The Professor"s Bayonet ·

2024/01/02

Once in a while, a book comes along that cuts through all of the noise and speaks directly to something so central about the human experience – loss. Boone a.k.a. Rawspoon gifts us with a tale about two donkeys whose simple and innocent friendship is suddenly rocked after one of them is sent away. This event is not presented as death, per se, allowing young readers and listeners the grace to make their own connections; however, to more seasoned individuals, the insinuation is clear. There is a

92 results

The Professor"s Bayonet

All Episodes

Similar Podcasts

Start The Breakthrough Full Audiobook Now, Thriller Fans!

thebookvoice.com

Get Hooked On The Life-Enhancing Full Audiobook Experience!

thebookvoice.com

西四五条

主播郑捕头

Podcast Patapoe

0d0a

On Mic Podcast

Jordan Rich