A Drink With a Friend

As you remember from the last episode, Seth and Tsh are beginning two audacious six-month challenges. In this episode, Tsh shares hers — to get as much as she can and participate in day-to-day life first and foremost from her 100-mile radius. What does this actually mean? Is this something only “privileged” people can do? And like Seth’s challenge, if we all did this would our souls be more attuned to how we’re meant to live?Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Tsh’s 100-Mile Life experimentAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara KingsolverHow Luxury Beliefs Hurt the Rest of Us, Too on HonestlyThe CCC on SubsidiarityJoseph Massey’s Substack Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

To start the new year, Seth and Tsh are beginning two rather audacious six-month challenges — and you’re welcome to join in. First, they unpack Seth’s plan to swear off all social media for six months. How will he fare? Will this affect his work as a writer? And if he decides to stay off, will it affect his ability to publish books? The two friends unpack the connection between the publishing industry and social media, as well as the benefits of living a life without social media. Sacramentally speaking, would our souls be more attuned to how we’re meant to live? Or is there a benefit we’d miss?Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Seth’s social media habit-kicking experimentThe Social Dilemma documentaryUnhook Chrome Extension — remove YouTube’s algorithm recommendationsWhat I Learned Taking a Year-Long Break From Social MediaDigital Minimalism, by Cal NewportPrinciples for Dealing With the Changing World Order, by Ray DalioA Nature Poem Every Night of the Year, edited by Jane McMorland Hunter Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

As we wind down this year, it’s tempting to jump into the new things we want to do, plan, and declare for another trip around the sun. But before we jump into ideas for the next 12 months, it’s healthy and good to reflect on the previous 12. Seth and Tsh use some of the 20 questions Tsh has published on the internet for the past decade to debrief the year that was 2021. Join in!The show is taking a short break for the holidays. Look for new episodes in a few weeks — happy holidays!(Also, please note the sound quality is not up to our standards in this episode — we apologize for the inconvenience.)Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!20+ Questions For a New YearBrideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh40 Reasons I’m a Catholic, by Peter KreeftAn Immovable Feast, by Tyler Blanski (on backorder, but it’s on Schlamazon)The Spiritual Exercises of St. IgnatiusThe Bear Grease podcastThe 25th: New & Selected Christmas Essays, by Joshua Gibbs Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

It’s easy to forget the simple beauty around us, so in this episode, Seth and Tsh continue practicing the habit of noticing the gift of everyday beauty. Their choices aren’t purely holiday-specific, but there is a bent toward that which we enjoy this time of year. As always — as a listener, you’re invited to join them in this time-tested practice of recognizing the daily beauty around you, too!Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Sweet Tooth on NetflixA Christmas Carol audiobook, read by Hugh GrantAdvent Songs by The Porter’s GateRyan HolidayMeditations, by Marcus AureliusGeorge Saunders’ SubstackThe Man Who Invented Christmas Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Traditioooooooooon… Tradition! We all have them during the holidays, but why do they matter? Seth and Tsh unpack the sacramentality of leaning into even our smallest of family traditions — because they matter more than as simply “things we do every year.” Traditions remind us we’re not alone, life is bigger than we are, and that we’re time-bound creatures made with a need for routine and rhythm. They’re anchors for our souls, especially when life is hard.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Drink merch (here’s the mug)!Shadow & Light, Tsh’s Advent bookThe Scandal of Holiness, by Jessica Hooten WilsonA Curious Faith, by Lore Ferguson Wilbert Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Advent begins this weekend! Not ready? No big deal. Seth and Tsh talk about how they approach this season that starts the liturgical calendar with a lot of grace, simplicity, and anticipation of their favorite holiday traditions.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Tsh’s 2021 Holiday Gift GuideDrink merch!Shadow & Light, Tsh’s Advent bookSorrowland, by Rivers SolomonPride & Prejudice on audiobook, by Jane Austen & read by Rosamund Pike Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Hey guys — this week Seth was traveling for work and Tsh was sick. So, unfortunately, there’s no episode because Seth was sans-mic and NOBODY wants to hear Tsh talking in the non-voice-of-a-voice she’s had (trust us). We’ll be back next week with an episode for your day-after-Thanksgiving, right-before-Advent listening ears! Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

In the last episode, Seth shared a sacramental story from his life. In this one, they continue their chat with Tsh sharing a sacramental story from hers. Because after all, most of the sacred stuff in life shows up in our ordinary moments.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Try Hallow free for 30 daysTsh’s Rule of Life workshopTyphoon’s new album, Sympathetic MagicThe Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, & Women’s Work, by Kathleen Norris Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

Most of life is lived in the ordinary, so to see the sacred within it we need to pause and name it. This usually comes in the form of storytelling — when we tell family and friends the things that happen to us, we become more aware of the sacramentality n the most mundane things. For the next two episodes, Seth and Tsh each swap a story from their life to recognize and name what’s just beneath the layer. You’re invited to do the same, too, within your ordinary life.Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Try Hallow free for 30 daysTsh’s Rule of Life workshopComing Clean, Seth’s story of sobrietyTheology of Home, by Carrie Gress and Noelle MeringHonestly, by Bari Weiss — especially the episode with Ross Douthat Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe

In the last episode, Seth and Tsh chatted about what makes the art we love fall-ish. They continue the chat to talk about the flip side of that coin: what makes the creating of that art fall-ish? Art is a HUGE table here — yes, there’s writing and music-making, but there’s also homemaking, neighborliness, and doing our work well as forms of artistic expression. What does it look like to do these things in the autumnal season? What does it look like to live sacramentally as the leaves drop?Seth: Newsletter | WebsiteTsh: Newsletter | WebsitePick up a round of drinks & help keep the show goingCome to Italy with us!Try Hallow free for 30 daysTsh’s Rule of Life workshopThe All of It, by Jeannette HaienThe Way Down documentary series Get full access to The Commonplace at thecommon.place/subscribe