Enjoy it While it Lasts

This week’s Newsish didn’t unfold the way I expected. I sat down with a full list of stories to cover, but one story — an ICE agent killing a woman in Minnesota — refused to be just another headline. This episode stays with that story and the questions it raises: about repeated patterns of force, about official narratives that contradict what we can see for ourselves, and about what it does to us when we’re asked to accept those contradictions as normal.
This is not a comprehensive news roundup. It’s a deliberate pause to examine how power is exercised, how it’s justified, and why moments like this leave so many of us feeling exhausted, frustrated, and unsure how to respond.

I’m back after a busy holiday stretch with a personal check-in.In this episode, I talk about celebrating my wife’s doctorate, a family trip, my son’s birthday, how Christmas and New Year’s Eve went this year, and what winter break looked like with the kids home.
I also take a few minutes at the end to talk about what’s coming up on the show — including the start of a new NFL Playoff arc and some upcoming interviews and deep dives.

I'll read Chapter 1 of the Wind in the Willows to you.
"The River Bank"
Mole explores the river for the first time. He meets his new best friend, Water Rat, and a couple other animals for the first time.

Where did Christmas really come from — and why do we celebrate it the way we do?In this episode, I explore the many historical influences that shaped Christmas, including pagan winter customs, Roman festivals, Christian theology, evolving traditions, Santa Claus, and the rise of modern consumer culture.
The real story isn’t that Christmas was “stolen” or invented in one place — it’s that it was built slowly, layer by layer. This is a history-focused look at how we got here, and why Christmas still means different things to different people.

Christmas memories, traditions, and the chaos that comes with them. Tricia and Herman talk about music, lights, decorations, parenting, Elf on the Shelf struggles, and the way Christmas feels as both a kid and a parent. A laid-back conversation about nostalgia, family, control, anxiety, and trying to keep the magic alive

I was raised Christian, believed deeply, and spent years trying to reconcile faith with logic, morality, and lived experience. In this episode, I walk through how church, doctrine, history, and unanswered questions slowly shifted my beliefs—from certainty to skepticism, and eventually to agnosticism. This isn’t an attack on religion, but an honest account of questioning, letting go of certainty, and choosing curiosity, humility, and compassion over absolute answers.

This weeks Newsish start's with nature - from activity along the Ring of Fire, to a new mold in Chernobyl that may be repairing human's damage. We cover the shooting in Australia and the hero that emerged, discuss the murder of Rob Reiner including the president's response, and break down the Diddy doc and 50 Cent's petty aftermath.
We touch on the failed Paramount bid, hacked roombas, struggling Dallas sports teams, and a wild college football coaching scandal, before winding down with local stories, restaurant news, and new animals in the Waco zoo. 

Reading has been a constant in my life and an important form of entertainment as well a shaping force on who I am. I walk you through my life through what I read and what that's meant for me. I tell you why certain things clicked for me, and how each stage of reading has been different. I tell you about the struggle to focus as an adult, and how hard it can be to find the time to read, and tell you how I have used audiobooks to hold on to an important aspect of my life. I'm not trying to tell you what or how to read, I'm telling how reading has been important to me, and how I have tried to hold on to it.

This is bonus content featuring my kids talking through Attack on Titan Season 2. We recap what happens, they react to the biggest reveals, and speculate on what it all means - from the Beast Titan's introduction, the Armored and Colossal Titan's Identities, to Ymir, Historia, and the question of where Titans come from. 
Fair warning, the audio quality isn't my best. It's a bit muddy, but I've cleaned it up as much as I could. The episode is just over 20 minutes, and it's worth a listen if you want to hear an 8 and 9 year old unpack the complexities of Attack on Titan

Jesse, known as Pinky to his friends, opens up about the moments that shaped his life. He lost his father at sixteen, and grew to question God afterwards. He became a father at a young age and tried to live up to his own expectations. Jesse is open about how the pressure of a failing relationship and the fear of losing his son led him to an incident of self harm. We talk about what led up to the incident, how it changed the course of his life, and also what he's done to grow from it. His is a story of loss, regret, family loyalty, and rebuilding a life