No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

Can’t stop replaying what you wish you had said to someone instead? Or maybe your inner monologue won’t stop asking, "What did they mean by that comment?” Our guest today explains the function of our mental ruminations and how to stop them. Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist, and in her new book Mind Drama: The Science of Rumination and How to Outwit Your Inner Defeatist, she shares what to do when your thoughts start spiraling. Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for the abridged episode with Donna Jackson Nakazawa Join No Small Endeavor on Patreon and get: Ad-free listening for both No Small Endeavor and The Subtext Monthly bonus content including our ongoing Cardinal Virtue Series and more Weekly reflections on a good life Access to live show videos Early access to live show tickets. Your membership helps make No Small Endeavor sustainable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is Part 1 of our unabridged interview with Iain McGilchrist. Modernity has helped us to use the world. We have reduced it to resources to extract, data to process, problems to solve. While it has made us powerful, it has also left the world feeling flat, and left us feeling eerily like machines ourselves. Dr. Iain McGilchrist says this reduction is a habit of attention, and it has everything to do with the two hemispheres of the brain. One half grasps, isolates, and uses. The other holds things together, sees the whole, and senses what is alive. He argues that we've been handing the world over to the grasping side of the brain. A psychiatrist and neuroscientist who began as a literary scholar and once considered entering a monastery, Iain has spent 35 years studying how these two ways of attending shape the world we experience. The good news is that our attention can change. From his eighteenth-century home on the Isle of Skye, he invites us to see the world anew. As something living, met in an…

This is Part 2 of our unabridged interview with Iain McGilchrist. Modernity has helped us to use the world. We have reduced it to resources to extract, data to process, problems to solve. While it has made us powerful, it has also left the world feeling flat, and left us feeling eerily like machines ourselves. Dr. Iain McGilchrist says this reduction is a habit of attention, and it has everything to do with the two hemispheres of the brain. One half grasps, isolates, and uses. The other holds things together, sees the whole, and senses what is alive. He argues that we've been handing the world over to the grasping side of the brain. A psychiatrist and neuroscientist who began as a literary scholar and once considered entering a monastery, Iain has spent 35 years studying how these two ways of attending shape the world we experience. The good news is that our attention can change. From his eighteenth-century home on the Isle of Skye, he invites us to see the world anew. As something living, met in an…

It's the day we've all (mostly Savannah's) been waiting for. This week, Lee and Savannah do a deep dive into Brandon Flowers’ THRASHER! It's a record about belonging and nostalgia, and it was recorded live in Nashville by some of the greats. It's unexpectedly profound, and, in the end, Savannah just wants you to love this record as much as she does. Things we mentioned in this episode: Brandon Flowers' THRASHER Jackson Browne's The Pretender Sinners movie Dir. Ryan Coogler Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Modernity has helped us to use the world. We have reduced it to resources to extract, data to process, problems to solve. While it has made us powerful, it has also left the world feeling flat, and left us feeling eerily like machines ourselves. Dr. Iain McGilchrist says this reduction is a habit of attention, and it has everything to do with the two hemispheres of the brain. One half grasps, isolates, and uses. The other holds things together, sees the whole, and senses what is alive. He argues that we've been handing the world over to the grasping side of the brain. A psychiatrist and neuroscientist who began as a literary scholar and once considered entering a monastery, Iain has spent 35 years studying how these two ways of attending shape the world we experience. The good news is that our attention can change. From his eighteenth-century home on the Isle of Skye, he invites us to see the world anew. As something living, met in an encounter that leaves neither side unchanged. This is part three of The…

This is our unabridged interview with Alister McGrath. Science can explain the world in an incredibly helpful way, but scientific facts alone can't tell us what our lives are for. In a world shaped by modernity, it can be wildly tempting to chuck religion altogether. But with science alone, we end up in what Max Weber called the iron cage: a world fully explained, but emptied of meaning. Dr. Alister McGrath grew up in Belfast during the Troubles, amidst conflict across political and religious lines. He became an aggressive Marxist atheist, convinced that religion caused violence and science had made it obsolete. Then, as a chemistry student at Oxford, he met brilliant scientists who believed in God. He then wrestled with the fact that he couldn't prove there wasn't a God. He now holds three Oxford doctorates, in molecular biophysics, theology, and intellectual history, and is Emeritus Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford. For McGrath, faith became a reason to value science even more. This is part two…

Meryl Streep is the voice of Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Narnia adaptation. Is this a threat to Christian orthodoxy or another culture-war distraction? This week on The Subtext, Savannah and Lee discuss the casting controversy and dive into bigger questions about gender and how we imagine God. From C.S. Lewis' POV to feminine depictions of God in Scripture and church history, they explore what Christian humility, artistic freedom, and a more faithful public witness might look like. Things we mentioned in this episode: NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW | Official Trailer Hillbilly Thomists on No Small Endeavor Stephen Wilson Jr. - "billy" “Why You Should Care That Aslan is a Woman” by Liel Leibovitz Priestesses in the Church? by C.S. Lewis The Incomprehensibility of God and the Image of God Male and Female by Elizabeth A. Johnson William Paul Young on No Small Endeavor The Shack by William Paul Young Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth R. Miller The Crucifixion of the Warrior God by Gregory A. Boyd Cross Vision: How the…

Science can explain the world in an incredibly helpful way, but scientific facts alone can't tell us what our lives are for. In a world shaped by modernity, it can be wildly tempting to chuck religion altogether. But with science alone, we end up in what Max Weber called the iron cage: a world fully explained, but emptied of meaning. Dr. Alister McGrath grew up in Belfast during the Troubles, amidst conflict across political and religious lines. He became an aggressive Marxist atheist, convinced that religion caused violence and science had made it obsolete. Then, as a chemistry student at Oxford, he met brilliant scientists who believed in God. He then wrestled with the fact that he couldn't prove there wasn't a God. He now holds three Oxford doctorates, in molecular biophysics, theology, and intellectual history, and is Emeritus Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford. For McGrath, faith became a reason to value science even more. This is part two of The Ache: The Longing Modernity Couldn't Cure, a…

This is our unabridged interview with Belle Tindall-Riley. Institutional religion is off the menu for many these days. But walk to the edge of the Glastonbury music festival, and you'll find a packed field people waiting an hour in line to buy crystals, get tarot readings, and have a sound bath from a healer with singing bowls. Our religious impulses didn’t go away. They just got transferred. It seems, consumerism and individualism are so deeply ingrained that we now pay for membership in whatever community we subscribe to. We buy their trinkets, their supplements, and their merch as symbols of our belonging. Dr. Belle Tindall-Riley takes the ache underneath all of that seriously. A biblical scholar who spent four years of her doctorate on a single passage, and who grew up in rural Wales lying to her classmates about going to church, she reads each practice like manifesting, tarot, crystals, WitchTok for the true longing beneath it. She examines the limits of a spirituality that always tells you you're doing…

Is a $4,500 networking trip to Mar-a-Lago okay if it's for the kingdom? This week on The Subtext, Lee and Savannah unpack problematic Christian wealth seminars promising financial success for “kingdom impact." They explore the power of proximity, the dangers of “kingdom washing,” and what the early church might have to say about business, debt, and the pursuit of influence. Is Christian language transforming business, or simply baptizing capitalism? Things we mentioned in this episode: Come see Ira Glass on No Small Endeavor Live at the Symphony! Friendly Atheist “Christian evangelist defends $4,500 networking trip—and his “need” for luxury hotels” Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone The Gospel of High Yields: Inside Tim Tebow’s Favorite Wealth Seminar Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack Join our…

Institutional religion is off the menu for many these days. But walk to the edge of the Glastonbury music festival, and you'll find a packed field people waiting an hour in line to buy crystals, get tarot readings, and have a sound bath from a healer with singing bowls. Our religious impulses didn’t go away. They just got transferred. It seems, consumerism and individualism are so deeply ingrained that we now pay for membership in whatever community we subscribe to. We buy their trinkets, their supplements, and their merch as symbols of our belonging. Dr. Belle Tindall-Riley takes the ache underneath all of that seriously. A biblical scholar who spent four years of her doctorate on a single passage, and who grew up in rural Wales lying to her classmates about going to church, she reads each practice like manifesting, tarot, crystals, WitchTok for the true longing beneath it. She examines the limits of a spirituality that always tells you you're doing just fine. You'll come away asking questions of your own…

This is our unabridged interview with Kristin Kobes Du Mez. That "Live, Laugh, Love" sign at Target isn't just decor. It's a theological statement, and it has a 150-year history most of us have never heard. Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the New York Times bestseller Jesus and John Wayne, argues that American Christian women have been formed more by the gift aisle than by the seminary. In her new book, Live, Laugh, Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made, she traces a 19th-century promise, that submission and a positive attitude will be rewarded with blessing, as it merges with the secular philosophy of positive thinking and spreads through Christian romance novels, radio, home decor, and multi-level marketing. Lee and Kristin explore why doubt came to be treated as sin, and how a theology championed by a suffragist ended up demanding women's submission to men. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Kristin Kobes Du Mez Thank…

This week on The Subtext: Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, free speech, and the billionaire power behind the music business. Lee and Savannah unpack the controversy, looking to Dolly Parton as a guide. What happens when public outrage becomes a purity test? Is it all just “vanity politics,” or what are we actually doing about the things we say we care about? Things we mentioned in this episode: M*A*S*H* All in the Family Olivia Fox Cabane (on the science of charisma) on Armchair Expert The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane Christ in the Rubble by Munther Isaac Munther Isaac on No Small Endeavor Dr. Queenie Johnson’s Analysis on what she calls “Vanity Politics” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That "Live, Laugh, Love" sign at Target isn't just decor. It's a theological statement, and it has a 150-year history most of us have never heard. Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the New York Times bestseller ⁠Jesus and John Wayne⁠, argues that American Christian women have been formed more by the gift aisle than by the seminary. In her new book, ⁠Live, Laugh, Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made⁠, she traces a 19th-century promise, that submission and a positive attitude will be rewarded with blessing, as it merges with the secular philosophy of positive thinking and spreads through Christian romance novels, radio, home decor, and multi-level marketing. Lee and Kristin explore why doubt came to be treated as sin, and how a theology championed by a suffragist ended up demanding women's submission to men. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Kristin Kobes Du Mez⁠ Thank you to our sponsors: The Wonder Project: Subscriber…

This is our unabridged interview with Annie F. Downs. What's holding you back from your dreams? Annie F. Downs wants to help you diagnose and respond to that question. She says often what’s holding you back is rooted in something that was either stolen, killed, or destroyed. In this conversation, the New York Times bestselling author and Lee talk about her new book, Don't Let That Hold You Back. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Annie F. Downs Thank you to our sponsors: The Wonder Project: Subscriber support makes more great content like I Gotta Ask with Annie F. Downs possible. The Wonder Project subscription on Prime Video is available in the U.S. for $8.99/month or $89.99/year after a 7-day free trial. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IGottaAsk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! SEEDS: Download the free SEEDS app and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. Tickets to Nov 22nd NSE Live in…

It’s the first birthday of The Subtext! Savannah and Lee celebrate with an “Ask Us Everything” episode, answering listener questions about Bible translations, music, patriotism, how to leave your church community, and more. Thank you to everyone who made year one of The Subtext special. We love you! Send your AMA questions anytime to us @thesubtextshow on Instagram or to info@nosmallendeavor.com Things we mentioned in this episode: Join us for No Small Endeavor Live November 22 - The Schermerhorn Symphony Center Méditation from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber Down There by the Train by Tom Waits Christmas Lights by Coldplay A Change is Going to Come by Sam Cooke Pilgrim by Steve Earle Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone Kim Stanley Robinson on No Small Endeavor Consumerist corner: Stanley cup, Apple AirTag, Exfoliating Lip Balm Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram |…

What's holding you back from your dreams? Annie F. Downs wants to help you diagnose and respond to that question. She says often what’s holding you back is rooted in something that was either stolen, killed, or destroyed. In this conversation, the New York Times bestselling author and Lee talk about her new book, ⁠Don't Let That Hold You Back⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Annie F. Downs⁠ Thank you to our sponsors: The Wonder Project: Subscriber support makes more great content like I Gotta Ask with Annie F. Downs possible. The Wonder Project subscription on Prime Video is available in the U.S. for $8.99/month or $89.99/year after a 7-day free trial. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IGottaAsk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more! SEEDS: Download the free ⁠SEEDS app⁠ and take one small step today: plant your first seed and see what God can grow. Tickets to Nov 22nd NSE Live in Nashville:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/nosmallendeavor⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join…

This is our unabridged interview with Marisa Franco. Attachment theory is trendy right now, and the goal is often the coveted title of "securely attached." If you’re that, then you're always calm, never spiraling, never needing anyone to hold your feelings for you. Psychologist Marisa Franco built her career studying attachment, but when she started to look at the parts of her that weren’t so secure, she began to “approach these parts of myself that I struggle with as these parts are perfect, too.” Franco is a psychologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of Maryland and the author of the New York Times bestseller Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends. Her new book, Worth: The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment, argues that real security starts on the inside, in how you treat your own feelings, not in how well you manage everyone else's. Key Ideas Reassurance Can Backfire — Telling someone they're wonderful can leave them feeling more…

Turns out, Gen Z is talking less, scrolling more, and forgetting how to be human. This week, Savannah and Lee unpack the surprising decline in everyday conversation and why talking to strangers actually matters. Then a listener’s question prompts them to revisit Nate Bargatze drama. Does calling in vs. calling out work with public figures? And things get spicy when they dive into Meta’s $17 billion child-safety settlement, social media addiction, kids and algorithms, free speech, government regulation, and the complicated question of who gets to shape us online. Tell us what you think! DM us on Instagram @thesubtextshow Things we mentioned in this episode: ⁠Gen Zs like me are speaking 451 words fewer every day – and I know why by Esme Gordon Craig⁠ ⁠Heather Holleman on No Small Endeavor⁠ ⁠Jemar Tisby on No Small Endeavor⁠ ⁠James Lawson on No Small Endeavor⁠ ⁠Free Speech Part 1 - The Subtext⁠ ⁠Free Speech Part 2 - The Subtext⁠ ⁠The Social Reckoning Trailer⁠ ⁠The Social Network⁠ Follow The Subtext: ⁠Instagram⁠…

Attachment theory is trendy right now, and the goal is often the coveted title of "securely attached." If you’re that, then you're always calm, never spiraling, never needing anyone to hold your feelings for you. Psychologist Marisa Franco built her career studying attachment, but when she started to look at the parts of her that weren’t so secure, she began to “approach these parts of myself that I struggle with as these parts are perfect, too.” Franco is a psychologist and assistant clinical professor at the University of Maryland and the author of the New York Times bestseller ⁠Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make and Keep Friends⁠. Her new book, ⁠Worth: The New Science of Self-Esteem and Secure Attachment⁠, argues that real security starts on the inside, in how you treat your own feelings, not in how well you manage everyone else's. Key Ideas Reassurance Can Backfire — Telling someone they're wonderful can leave them feeling more alone, not less, because it collides with what they…

This is our unabridged interview with Steve Cuss. Anxiety is contagious, and most of us catch it without noticing: from a tense meeting, a hard conversation, a parent, a group chat. After an emergency, an ER doctor pulled a young hospital chaplain aside and gave him some life-changing advice: anytime somebody's heart stops, first take your own pulse. He learned that, in order to help, he needs to first notice what’s going on inside of him. Steve Cuss is a pastor, leadership coach, and author of Managing Leadership Anxiety and The Expectation Gap. He spent a crucible year as a chaplain in a level one trauma center, attending more than 250 deaths, and has spent the decades since teaching leaders and families how anxiety is contagious and can be passed between people. In this conversation, rooted in systems theory, he gives you the practical version: how to tell when reactivity has hold of you, the five false needs that drive all humans, how to see anxiety in a room instead of catching it, and how to sort what…

Six 'English' strangers try to go Amish for a month, surfacing big questions about autonomy, conformity, vanity, and discernment. This week we're talking about TLC's Suddenly Amish, a (very scripted) reality show where six outsiders spend a month living in an Amish community to see if they could actually join the church. Lee and Savannah use Suddenly Amish as a foundation for conversations around appearance and vanity, the "if it doesn't affect you, why does it matter" ethic of modern individualism, what Christian teaching has to say about all this, and whether any real community can exist without asking you to give up a little bit of yourself. Things we mentioned in this episode: A Beginner's Guide to Dying by Simon Boas Suddenly Amish on HBO Max Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anxiety is contagious, and most of us catch it without noticing: from a tense meeting, a hard conversation, a parent, a group chat. After an emergency, an ER doctor pulled a young hospital chaplain aside and gave him some life-changing advice: anytime somebody's heart stops, first take your own pulse. He learned that, in order to help, he needs to first notice what’s going on inside of him. Steve Cuss is a pastor, leadership coach, and author of⁠ Managing Leadership Anxiety⁠ and⁠ The Expectation Gap⁠. He spent a crucible year as a chaplain in a level one trauma center, attending more than 250 deaths, and has spent the decades since teaching leaders and families how anxiety is contagious and can be passed between people. In this conversation, rooted in systems theory, he gives you the practical version: how to tell when reactivity has hold of you, the five false needs that drive all humans, how to see anxiety in a room instead of catching it, and how to sort what is actually yours to carry from what is not.…

This is our unabridged interview with Michele Norris. As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Cariad’s summer staff pick — Michele Norris: Race, Your Story, 6 Words, Please Send “I wanted to create a vehicle that allowed people to talk about this allegedly toxic topic on their own terms.” - Michele Norris. Could you describe your experience of race in America in just 6 words? That’s the very thing Journalist Michele Norris asked 200 strangers to do back in 2015, when she printed a stack of postcards with these simple directions: Race, your story, 6 words, please send. What began as an exercise to spark conversation became The Race Card Project, a growing online archive comprising over 750,000 answers from Americans of every ethnicity and corner of the country. The responses are at once tender and confronting, and they hold a mirror up to a part of American life that is often felt, but rarely openly discussed.…

In this episode, Lee and Savannah talk about the ways Lindsay Clancy’s trial is sparking conversations around mental health, justice, and culpability. This week, we tackle a story listeners have been asking us to cover: the case of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother who killed her three children in 2023 after months of worsening psychiatric symptoms and a cocktail of nine prescribed medications. We dig into postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression, why true-crime audiences reach for alternate-perpetrator theories even when a defendant has admitted to the act, and how mental health plays a role in seeking justice amidst tragedy. **This episode was recorded on August 31st, 2026 prior to the declaration of the mistrial** Things we mentioned in this episode: Brandon Flowers album THRASHER Join us for a No Small Endeavor live show: September 26 - The Fisher Center at Belmont University November 22 - The Schermerhorn Symphony Center (Pre-sale available for Patreon members) Missing Me by Ayana Lage Royal…

As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Cariad’s summer staff pick — Michele Norris: Race, Your Story, 6 Words, Please Send “I wanted to create a vehicle that allowed people to talk about this allegedly toxic topic on their own terms.” - Michele Norris. Could you describe your experience of race in America in just 6 words? That’s the very thing Journalist Michele Norris asked 200 strangers to do back in 2015, when she printed a stack of postcards with these simple directions: Race, your story, 6 words, please send. What began as an exercise to spark conversation became The Race Card Project, a growing online archive comprising over 750,000 answers from Americans of every ethnicity and corner of the country. The responses are at once tender and confronting, and they hold a mirror up to a part of American life that is often felt, but rarely openly discussed. This week on No Small Endeavor, Michele tells the…

This is our unabridged interview with Kristin Neff. As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Jakob’s summer staff pick — Kristin Neff: The Power of Self Compassion Is high self-esteem crucial to human flourishing or rather a hindrance? “The biggest problem with self-esteem is that it tends to be contingent,” says Kristin Neff. “We only feel good about ourselves when we succeed.” Far too often, high self-esteem breeds narcissism, bullying, and prejudice. Kristin is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s also a prominent expert on the topic of self-compassion, which her research has found to be much more effective than self-esteem in helping people flourish. In this episode, she shares what makes self-compassion different from self-esteem, how to cultivate it, and how it can help us to flourish amidst stress, suffering, and everyday life. We also hear briefly from…

This week, we look at AI purity tests and mass surveillance, then circle back to an ongoing conversation: should social media commentary on people's bodies be off-limits? We're digging into the Hank Green AI backlash and how AI use has become a sort of cultural purity test that nobody can actually pass. Then we break down Flock’s license-plate cameras and whether safety and privacy can coexist at scale. Last, we revisit our Ariana Grande body conversation to sit with the pushback we got, and clarify our thoughts from an earlier episode. Things we mentioned in this episode: The Bombing of Pan Am 103 on Netflix Theo of Golden by Allen Levi The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell Kim Stanley Robinson on No Small Endeavor Arrival movie Scandalous Witness by Lee C. Camp Who is My Enemy? by Lee C. Camp Person of Interest tv show Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack Join our…

As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Jakob’s summer staff pick — Kristin Neff: The Power of Self Compassion Is high self-esteem crucial to human flourishing or rather a hindrance? “The biggest problem with self-esteem is that it tends to be contingent,” says Kristin Neff. “We only feel good about ourselves when we succeed.” Far too often, high self-esteem breeds narcissism, bullying, and prejudice. Kristin is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s also a prominent expert on the topic of self-compassion, which her research has found to be much more effective than self-esteem in helping people flourish. In this episode, she shares what makes self-compassion different from self-esteem, how to cultivate it, and how it can help us to flourish amidst stress, suffering, and everyday life. We also hear briefly from psychiatrist and author Curt Thompson illuminating the…

This is our unabridged interview with Oliver Burkeman. As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Lee’s co-host on The Subtext Savannah’s summer staff pick — Oliver Burkeman. In an age full of lifehacks, self-help books, and productivity gurus, many of us only end up busier and more stressed than we were before. What if there’s a better way to live a full, fruitful life? "The world is bursting with wonder,” says Oliver Burkeman, “and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder." In this episode, he discusses his New York Times Bestselling book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, dispelling many contemporary ideas about productivity, and instead suggesting a wonder-fueled, counterintuitive method for flourishing in the world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and…

Lee and Savannah discuss Christopher Nolan's Odyssey – both the social media storms that started before it hit theaters, and lessons inside the film itself. Christopher Nolan's Odyssey is a blockbuster hit, and has caused a few waves in culture. Elon Musk wants his own "historically accurate" AI version, translator Emily Wilson says the film loses the "wily" Odysseus that exists in the original, and a Christian review site suggests it is blasphemous. Savannah and Lee dig into what these reactions reveal, then talk about the film itself. Things we mentioned in this episode: The Iliad by Homer The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson Malcolm Guite on No Small Endeavor Follow The Subtext: Instagram | Threads | X | YouTube | TikTok Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter | Lee's Newsletter Follow Savannah: Instagram | Substack Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we practice the good life with a bit of rest, we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Lee’s co-host on The Subtext Savannah’s summer staff pick — Oliver Burkeman. In an age full of lifehacks, self-help books, and productivity gurus, many of us only end up busier and more stressed than we were before. What if there’s a better way to live a full, fruitful life? "The world is bursting with wonder,” says Oliver Burkeman, “and yet it's the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder." In this episode, he discusses his New York Times Bestselling book Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, dispelling many contemporary ideas about productivity, and instead suggesting a wonder-fueled, counterintuitive method for flourishing in the world. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Oliver Burkeman Thank you…

This is our unabridged interview with the Hillbilly Thomists. As we practice the good life with a bit of rest we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Lee’s summer staff pick—The Hillbilly Thomistis: Bourbon, Bluegrass, and The Bible. There aren’t many Billboard-charting bluegrass bands made up entirely of Catholic Dominican Friars, who play their shows clad in white tunics and rosaries. In fact, there is precisely one such band: the Hillbilly Thomists. “A Thomist is someone who follows the thought and theological teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas,” they explain. “We combine it with a little bit of humor about our human condition.” In this episode, they talk about their theology and vocation, as well as how they manage life on the road as priests who have taken a vow of poverty. Plus, they give live performances of some of their finest songs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with the Hillbilly Thomists⁠ Thank you to our…

What does our fascination with true crime say about us? This week, Lee and Savannah tackle listener questions. First up, they talk about the upcoming JonBenét Ramsey Netflix series, the line between justice and entertainment, and whether stories about evil can actually shape us for good. Speaking of shaping us, how does city planning around data centers form our community and character? What about Israel's conquest narratives in the Old Testament and what they mean for modern conversations about colonialism? Pack your swimtrunks, folks, because we're diving beneath the headlines in this episode! Things we mentioned in this episode: The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett The Help by Kathryn Stockett Doris Day: Her Own Story by Doris Day Holler: A Poet Among Patriots by Danielle Chapman Danielle Chapman on No Small Endeavor Shipwrecked Nightmare at Sea on Netflix Why Women Find Watching True Crime Comforting by Jessica Grose for the NY Times The Problem of War in the Old Testament by Peter C. Craigie Is Social…

As we practice the good life with a bit of rest we asked four of our team members to choose one of their favorite episodes and explain why. Lee’s summer staff pick—The Hillbilly Thomistis: Bourbon, Bluegrass, and The Bible. There aren’t many Billboard-charting bluegrass bands made up entirely of Catholic Dominican Friars, who play their shows clad in white tunics and rosaries. In fact, there is precisely one such band: the Hillbilly Thomists. “A Thomist is someone who follows the thought and theological teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas,” they explain. “We combine it with a little bit of humor about our human condition.” In this episode, they talk about their theology and vocation, as well as how they manage life on the road as priests who have taken a vow of poverty. Plus, they give live performances of some of their finest songs. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with the Hillbilly Thomists⁠ Thank you to our sponsors: The Wonder Project: Subscriber support makes more…

This is our unabridged interview with Danielle Chapman. There is a fear that keeps most of us from looking too hard at where we come from: that we will turn over the wrong rock and find something we cannot carry. In the South, a holler is the tangled place on the riverbank you are told not to go. It is also a primal yell, and, as it happens, the sound Marines make. Danielle Chapman is a poet, a lecturer at Yale, and the author of the memoir Holler: A Poet Among Patriots. She was raised largely by her grandfather, a four-star general and former Commandant of the Marine Corps, after her father drowned off the coast of Okinawa when she was three. She spent twelve years turning what began as a political critique of her past into something considerably more uncomfortable—a true telling that treats all involved as complex human beings. Key Ideas A Single Story Is Too Reductive The moment you decide someone's worst act is the whole truth about them, you've stopped being able to see anything else that's true. Be…

Can I just say something? No, really! What are the boundaries of free speech these days? The conversation continues between Lee, Savannah, and Jacob Mchangama, Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. Whether you're a free speech absolutist, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge your assumptions about the topic. Stay tuned for Lee and Savannah's debrief at the end of the episode! And remember, if you want to keep engaging with the conversation in person, you're invited to The Future of Free Speech - Global Free Speech Summit, Oct. 2-3, 2026. Things we mentioned in this episode: The Future of Free Speech - Global Free Speech Summit Oct. 2-3, 2026 Follow Jacob! Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jmchangama) | X (https://x.com/JMchangama) | Instagram (https://instagram.com/JMchangama) Follow The Future of Free Speech! Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/futurefreespeech) | X (https://twitter.com/SpeechFuture) | Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/futurefreespeech/)…

There is a fear that keeps most of us from looking too hard at where we come from: that we will turn over the wrong rock and find something we cannot carry. In the South, a holler is the tangled place on the riverbank you are told not to go. It is also a primal yell, and, as it happens, the sound Marines make. Danielle Chapman is a poet, a lecturer at Yale, and the author of the memoir ⁠Holler: A Poet Among Patriots⁠. She was raised largely by her grandfather, a four-star general and former Commandant of the Marine Corps, after her father drowned off the coast of Okinawa when she was three. She spent twelve years turning what began as a political critique of her past into something considerably more uncomfortable—a true telling that treats all involved as complex human beings. Key Ideas A Single Story Is Too Reductive The moment you decide someone's worst act is the whole truth about them, you've stopped being able to see anything else that's true. Be Curious Before You Judge Asking one more question is…

This is our unabridged interview with Annie Jacobsen. Wouldn't you rather not know how the world ends? Nine nations hold nuclear weapons, and every one of them is watched, counted, and deterred. A biological weapon needs no nation, no missile, and no submarine. The delivery system is a pair of lungs, and the barrier to entry is a working knowledge of biology and a computer. That asymmetry is why the journalist who wrote the definitive account of how the world ends in seventy-two minutes has spent the last two years on something that frightens her more. Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author who has spent more than fifteen years reporting on classified military and intelligence programs, reconstructing worst-case scenarios from the testimony of the people who built them. Her new book,⁠ Biological War: A Scenario⁠, follows⁠ Nuclear War: A Scenario⁠. She calls us to courage by reminding us that you cannot fix what you cannot face. Key Ideas Six Minutes to Decide What…

Most people who share misinformation already suspect it is false. This is a short preview of Lee's conversation with philosopher Christian B. Miller, from Books You Should Know, our quarterly series on NSE+. His new book, The Honesty Crisis, skips the easy target of lying public figures to ask a harder question: what kind of people do we become when deception gets cheap, convenient, and almost impossible to catch? The full conversation is available now on NSE+, along with ad-free episodes, bonus content, and exclusive series. Giveaway! Every NSE+ member is entered to win one of five copies of Christian's book, plus one of five signed copies of Lee's book Scandalous Witness. Every member is eligible, whether you joined three years ago or you join tonight. Entries close August 19th. JOIN NSE+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nikki Minaj thanked Elon Musk for saving free speech, so naturally, Lee and Savannah had to phone a friend to learn more about what is going on. Jacob Mchangama, Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech sat down with The Subtext to discuss everything from social media and censorship to hate speech, political polarization, and the First Amendment. They examine the real costs of protecting speech we disagree with and why history suggests those costs may still be worth paying. Want to keep learning more? Well, you're in luck because Jacob's organization is hosting a summit in Nashville, TN this fall: The Future of Free Speech - Global Free Speech Summit Oct. 2-3, 2026. Things we mentioned in this episode: Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca Europe Since Napoleon by David Thomson The Agency on Paramount+ Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Enchiridion by Gil Epictetus The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga M*A*S*H* on Hulu The Future of Free Speech - Global Free…

Wouldn't you rather not know how the world ends? Nine nations hold nuclear weapons, and every one of them is watched, counted, and deterred. A biological weapon needs no nation, no missile, and no submarine. The delivery system is a pair of lungs, and the barrier to entry is a working knowledge of biology and a computer. That asymmetry is why the journalist who wrote the definitive account of how the world ends in seventy-two minutes has spent the last two years on something that frightens her more. Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author who has spent more than fifteen years reporting on classified military and intelligence programs, reconstructing worst-case scenarios from the testimony of the people who built them. Her new book, Biological War: A Scenario, follows Nuclear War: A Scenario. She calls us to courage by reminding us that you cannot fix what you cannot face. Key Ideas Six Minutes to Decide What the nuclear chain of command actually looks like once a…

This is our unabridged interview with Malcolm Guite. A frightened knight, cornered in a castle he doesn't understand, grabs a spear he was warned not to touch and drives it into the king. And because the king and the land are one, the whole country goes barren. The rivers empty, the crops fail, nothing can be born. It's called the Dolorous Stroke, and poet Malcolm Guite first heard it at eight years old from his mother. When he protested that the knight didn't know what he was doing, that no world could work this way, his mother answered him: “I'm telling you this story because you need to know that you live in just such a world.” But there's a second half. The same spear that wounded the king is the only thing that can heal him. Guite is a poet, Anglican priest, life fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and the frontman of a rhythm-and-blues band. His latest work is Merlin's Isle: An Arthuriad, a four-volume epic retelling of the Arthurian legends in ballad form, beginning with Galahad and the Grail. He's…

What happens when a retired theology professor walks into a party full of deconstructing twenty-somethings? It sounds like the start of a joke. But really. How do we show up for ourselves and the people we love when doubt and deconstruction enter the chat? This week on The Subtext, Lee and Savannah discuss one of the more defining conversations of modern faith: deconstruction. Whether you're asking big questions yourself or walking alongside someone who is, this episode is an invitation to keep showing up with curiosity, compassion, and hope. Things we mentioned in this episode: Of Grammatology by Jacques Derrida Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta ⁠40% OFF SCANDALOUS WITNESS:⁠⁠ ⁠Use code WITNESS40. Code is good for 40% off the paperback of Scandalous Witness. Only valid when ordering on Eerdmans.com, only valid for USA shipping addresses. Code is good until end of 2026. Follow The Subtext: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Threads⁠ | ⁠X⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠TikTok⁠ Follow Lee: ⁠Instagram⁠…

A frightened knight, cornered in a castle he doesn't understand, grabs a spear he was warned not to touch and drives it into the king. And because the king and the land are one, the whole country goes barren. The rivers empty, the crops fail, nothing can be born. It's called the Dolorous Stroke, and poet Malcolm Guite first heard it at eight years old from his mother. When he protested that the knight didn't know what he was doing, that no world could work this way, his mother answered him: “I'm telling you this story because you need to know that you live in just such a world.” But there's a second half. The same spear that wounded the king is the only thing that can heal him. Guite is a poet, Anglican priest, life fellow of Girton College, Cambridge, and the frontman of a rhythm-and-blues band. His latest work is Merlin's Isle: An Arthuriad, a four-volume epic retelling of the Arthurian legends in ballad form, beginning with Galahad and the Grail. He's convinced these old stories are older and wiser than…

This is our unabridged interview Astro Teller. In a world that is increasingly dominated by profit over people, it’s easy to be cynical about the future. But what if there was a different way forward? Could capitalism, technology, and human flourishing go hand in hand, and what would it take to get us there? In this episode, Lee Camp invites Astro Teller, co-founder and "Captain of Moonshots" at Alphabet’s X, into a conversation about reshaping the business narrative. From developing sticker technology to track global goods more sustainably, to pioneering affordable ways to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, Astro shares how he thinks moonshot thinking can reconcile profit, purpose, and planetary health. Show Notes, Resources and Transcript⁠ No Small Endeavor: Exploring what it means to live a good life, with thought provoking conversations about human flourishing, theology, politics, faith, social sciences, search for meaning, meaning and purpose, practices, common good, truth beauty and goodness,…

This is our unabridged interview with W. Lee Warren. Can you change your brain? The anxious tendencies, the recurring grief, the patterns of rumination? Our guest today says you can. Dr. W. Lee Warren is a neurosurgeon and Iraq War veteran who performed 200 brain surgeries in a tent hospital during the war, came home carrying PTSD he wouldn't name for years, and later lost his 19-year-old son to murder. His book, The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery, argues that the mind can reshape the very brain it thinks through, and that no grief, trauma, or lifelong pattern gets the final word on who you become. KEY IDEAS Feelings as barometer, not navigation: Why an alarming share of what you feel isn't tracking anything that's actually happening, and the small practice that changes how you respond to it. The 90% problem: Most of what you thought about today, you also thought yesterday, and that quiet repetition is busy building the exact brain you're convinced you're stuck with. Grief that refines instead of…

What do capitalism and hookup culture have in common? This week, Lee and Savannah unpack the viral Empire State Building skywalker stunt, exploring whether power is inherently corrupting. Lord of the Rings has finally entered the chat! They break down a fascinating view on hookup culture, exploring how capitalism, attachment, purity culture, and our understanding of freedom all shape the way we think about sex and relationships. Things we mentioned in this episode: Do you really have a shirt from your town? Then Lee will wear it! Mail it to us: P.O. Box 50652, Nashville, TN 37205 Follow Lee on Substack! Skywalkers: A Love Story on Netflix The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien The Republic by Plato Colton Barnaby's video on hookup culture Being Consumed by William T. Cavanaugh 40% OFF SCANDALOUS WITNESS: Use code WITNESS40. Code is good for 40% off the paperback of Scandalous Witness. Only valid when ordering on Eerdmans.com, only valid for USA shipping addresses. Code is good until end of 2026. Follow The…

Can you change your brain? The anxious tendencies, the recurring grief, the patterns of rumination? Our guest today says you can. Dr. W. Lee Warren is a neurosurgeon and Iraq War veteran who performed 200 brain surgeries in a tent hospital during the war, came home carrying PTSD he wouldn't name for years, and later lost his 19-year-old son to murder. His book, ⁠The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery⁠, argues that the mind can reshape the very brain it thinks through, and that no grief, trauma, or lifelong pattern gets the final word on who you become. KEY IDEAS Feelings as barometer, not navigation: Why an alarming share of what you feel isn't tracking anything that's actually happening, and the small practice that changes how you respond to it. The 90% problem: Most of what you thought about today, you also thought yesterday, and that quiet repetition is busy building the exact brain you're convinced you're stuck with. Grief that refines instead of defines: What a father learns about resilience when…

This is our unabridged interview with Curtis Chang. What if our institutions, even the broken ones, are worth saving? Curtis Chang doesn't think you can understand American politics right now unless you understand one thing, and it isn't what you'd expect. It isn't policy or party. It's fear: an anxiety about future loss that “both” sides are quietly managing, with liberals afraid of having religion imposed on their lives and conservatives afraid of losing a tradition they love. Chang, the founder of ⁠Good Faith⁠ and co-author of The After Party with David French and Russell Moore, has spent his life as a bridge person, ever since he arrived from Taiwan at age three. Here, he and Lee trace that fear all the way down to our institutions, which Curtis argues are not systems to build up or tear down, but people, and therefore worth repairing. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Show Notes, Resources, and Transcript⁠ for abridged episode with Curtis Chang⁠ Thank you to our sponsors: Hiya: Receive 50% off your first order on any of their…