A Drink With a Friend

Latest Episodes:

In the Silence Apr 02, 2021

Show notes

What could be said of Good Friday that hasn’t been said for thousands of years? Today is a day for listening more than talking, for hearing from God more than telling God all we know. Today is a day of mystery, and it’s good for us to sit in the mystery without constantly searching for answers. Seth & Tsh reflect on the goodness that Jesus is God and they are not.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders

Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline

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FONO Mar 26, 2021

Show notes

We know what FOMO is — but what about FONO? We’ve all been going through the same collective experience with the pandemic, but as it hopefully winds down (🤞), we might all go through a somewhat surprising form of re-entry (similar to a cross-cultural experience). Seth and Tsh unpack what it means to be hesitant to return to normalcy, knowing full-well that there really is no going back to it. What does it mean to live in a post-pandemic world? And what good stuff can we take with us from our lockdown lives?

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

Zero Waste Home, by Bea Johnson

Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron

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Pointing at the Sky Mar 19, 2021

Show notes

Why does good writing matter, and why does the motive behind the writing matter? Seth and Tsh unpack the previous episode’s topic with Seth’s editor, Stephanie Duncan Smith. The three of them talk about what makes for good reading and writing, why we need better (new) stories, and with Stephanie’s business perspective, the sacramental act of bleeding on paper. This chat’s not just for writers.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

Stephanie Duncan Smith: Newsletter | Twitter | Instagram

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

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City on Fire, by Garth Risk Hallberg

Stranger Planet, by Nathan W. Pyle

Sara Billups on Instagram

The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

Escaping Into the Open, by Elizabeth Berg

A Burning in My Bones, by Winn Collier

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The Sheer Beauty of the Craft Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

Seth and Tsh are primarily writers; it’s the craft they know best and the work they love most. In this chat, they use the art of writing as a springboard to talk about the art of doing all sorts of creativity just for the sake of doing it, for the love of its beauty. Woodworking, music, gardening, even business and other forms of work… We all need to create beauty in our lives for its own sake. How do we balance the work necessary — and the need to earn a living — with the sheer beauty of why we love it in the first place?

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

Leisure: The Basis of Culture, by Josef Pieper

Chef’s Table - Season 3, Episode 1

A Burning in My Bones, by Winn Collier

Heather King’s blog

Murder Among the Mormons

The Daily Poem podcast - Wendell Berry’s Sabbath Poem III episode

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Living Right In It Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

Tsh is joined by none other than her husband, Kyle! He’s the general contractor of their own fixer-upper renovation, so in this chat they talk about the hidden beauty found behind old walls and wires. What does it mean to live in your own 1935 renovation project that’s taking four years (and counting)? There are lessons everywhere about knowing your land, knowing your walls, and doing the dirty work so your family can live congruent with your values.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

GK Chesterton’s quote

Gone podcast from Parcast

Garden Answers on YouTube

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For God’s Sake, Go To Work Feb 26, 2021

Show notes

(Bonus points if you get this episode title’s reference…) We all have to do it, and even many of the super-wealthy still choose to do it — clearly, it’s not just about bringing home a paycheck. But why bother working well? How do we find meaning in the thing we spend a whole heckuva lot of our waking hours doing? It goes far beyond holding a title of significance or having some surface form of influence.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux, by Heather King

"Against Decoration," by Mary Karr (reprinted in Viper Rum)

WandaVision on Disney+

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Thrive vs. Survive Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

Seth is in Arkansas and Tsh is in Texas, which means this week they've been covered under a blanket of snow and ice. It took a while until they could even record at all, but once they did, they did a quick check-in before the power went out again, followed by a more leisurely chat about what it means to survive vs. thrive. What do moments like this — and even moments like the global pandemic — teach us about what it is we truly need to live another day?

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux, by Heather King

It Is Right and Just, by Scott Hahn & Brandon McGinley

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The Longest Lent Feb 12, 2021

Show notes

How do we approach this new season of Lent when it still feels like Lent? We’ve globally experienced the longest Lent of our collective lives, and yet here we are, with Ash Wednesday once again in just a few days. Seth and Tsh talk about their own personal experiences, plus ways recognizing Lent can STILL be good and necessary for all of us.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

Goodbye Stranger, by Alanna Boudreau

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Creating ＞ Consuming Feb 05, 2021

Show notes

'Creator' the noun can collapse on its own weight, especially on the internet — but this word doesn't only apply to social media influencers, artists, or inventors. We're all creators. And, as Seth and Tsh are joined around the table by their friend, Haley Stewart, the three talk about whether we just might all be hard-wired in our nature to join in the act of creation more than participating in our culture's default of consumption.

Seth: Newsletter | Website

Tsh: Newsletter | Website

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

Come to Italy with us!

A Circle of Quiet (The Crosswicks Journals Book 1), by Madeleine L'Engle

The Summer of the Great-Grandmother (The Crosswicks Journals Book 2), by Madeleine L'Engle

The Irrational Season (The Crosswicks Journals Book 3), by Madeleine L'Engle

Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journals Book 4), by Madeleine L'Engle

Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, by Madeleine L'Engle

Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer, by Henri Cartier-Bresson

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

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The Persuasive Power of Beauty Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Dostoevsky said it will change the world. Confucius said everything has it, but not everyone sees it. Shakespeare, Plato, and others wondered if it was in the eye of the beholder. Beauty matters in our everyday lives; it’s not an extra “nice to have.” But where do we find it? What do we do with it? How does it affect our ordinary lives? And is it subjective or objective?