A Drink With a Friend

Latest Episodes:

What’s on Tap Feb 18, 2022

Show notes

As friends do, in this episode Seth and Tsh come to table to talk about whatever. Like the nerds they are, they end up talking about Romantic poetry, the end of the world, and more. Pull up a chair and join in!

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Bitter & Sweet, Tsh’s book for Lent

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order, by Ray Dalio

“To Sleep,” by John Keats

The Art of Lent, by Sr. Wendy Beckett

Exploring Alternatives on YouTube

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Challenge Check-In Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

Seth is off social media for the first half of 2022, and Tsh is limiting most of her family’s resources to her 100-mile radius. How’s it going? What are we learning? We chat about these things, plus whether we think these practices might be a net-positive for you, too.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Bitter & Sweet, Tsh’s new book

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

The Family Garden Plan, by Melissa K. Norris

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We’re All Farm Dogs Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

Liz Gilbert once said that if she didn’t write, she’d become a farm dog and chew up the couch. Why do we partake in creative pursuits if we’re not going to profit financially from it? Lots of reasons, actually. Tsh and Seth chat with their friends Maile and Shawn Smucker about what they’ve been learning about why they have an insatiable need to create — and why every one of us needs to as well.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Seth’s latest thoughts on why he writes

The Gap

The Nine-Month Novel, led by Maile & Shawn Smucker

Video of a Novel, Shawn’s new Substack

Journal of a Novel, by John Steinbeck

The Gospel in Gerard Manley Hopkins, by Margaret Ellsberg

The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy

Nobody Reads Poetry

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Cull & Curate Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

We have SO MANY choices these days — on what to watch, what to listen to, what to read. We know well the feeling of opening a streaming service and indefinitely scrolling instead of clicking ‘play’ because of the inability to make a choice. So how do we choose? How do we all decide what deserves our attention and what we should just scroll past? After all, even with seemingly infinite choices, we still have a finite amount of time and focus. Seth & Tsh chat about how to decide what deserves a spot on our bookshelves, on our Family Movie Night agendas, and ultimately, in our personal and familial cultures.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Oatly 2021 Super Bowl commercial

Keep or Toss? from Joel Miller

Soul-Crushing, Family-Friendly Inspirational Trash from Joshua Gibbs

New West Knifeworks

Garden Maker, by Christie Purifoy

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Disagreeing Well Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

Disagreeing well is a lost art — it seems like our culture has withered down to treating one another as avatars not worthy of an opinion different than our own. But what if knowing how to disagree well not only mattered to our own personal development, but was also a tool in keeping our civilization from crumbling? Seth and Tsh talk about why disagreeing matters so much and how we can do it better.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Tiny House Coffee Roasters in Austin

Elizabeth Lesser on taking the “other” to lunch

The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles

100 Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez

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A 100-Mile Life Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

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 | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Tsh’s 100-Mile Life experiment

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

How Luxury Beliefs Hurt the Rest of Us, Too on Honestly

The CCC on Subsidiarity

Joseph Massey’s Substack

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A Social Media Fast Jan 07, 2022

Show notes

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 | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Seth’s social media habit-kicking experiment

The Social Dilemma documentary

Unhook Chrome Extension — remove YouTube’s algorithm recommendations

What I Learned Taking a Year-Long Break From Social Media

Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport

Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order, by Ray Dalio

A Nature Poem Every Night of the Year, edited by Jane McMorland Hunter

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Year-End Reflection Questions Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

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 | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

20+ Questions For a New Year

Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh

40 Reasons I’m a Catholic, by Peter Kreeft

An Immovable Feast, by Tyler Blanski (on backorder, but it’s on Schlamazon)

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

The Bear Grease podcast

The 25th: New & Selected Christmas Essays, by Joshua Gibbs

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Ordinary Beauty #3 (Holiday-ish Edition) Dec 10, 2021

Show notes

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 | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Pick up a round of drinks & help keep the show going

Come to Italy with us!

Sweet Tooth on Netflix

A Christmas Carol audiobook, read by Hugh Grant

Advent Songs by The Porter’s Gate

Ryan Holiday

Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius

George Saunders’ Substack

The Man Who Invented Christmas

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Tradition (aka Democracy of the Dead) Dec 03, 2021

Show notes

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.