Category: Podcast

Ask Isaac: God, Too Many Ideas, and Talking to Parents About Dropping Out

This was probably my favorite episode to record to date!  In this edition I take on the Big Ones:

  • What is your viewpoint on God and Christianity? (The answer to this one comes as an addendum to the previous Ask Isaac episode.)
  • Any advice on how to keep your ideas fresh from what you read? Do you keep some kind of an idea-to-do list?
  • How do I convince my parents to let me do something other than college?

Submit your own questions any time!

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 33: When To Not Read A Book and Why Curiosity Is Like The Blob, with TK Coleman

TK Coleman comes back to talk about one of his greatest passions – books.  How do you find a good read?  How can you can give yourself over to curiosity and follow your intellectual desires?

I try hard to insult and goad him into admitting he wastes too much time on weird books with no payoff, and he remains composed and artfully defends time spent on books…and makes me look like a big jerk by not engaging my insults.

Check out TK’s blog on readings and ideas he explores at tkcoleman.com.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Ask Isaac: Religious Beliefs

After several listener questions about the what and why of my religious beliefs, I decide to answer.

I recorded this months ago, but never aired it. I don’t like to talk about my religious beliefs for two primary reasons:

1) They are ever evolving and I want the permission to freely change and not have people try to hold me to what I’ve thought in the past.

2) Every word on the topic is loaded and everyone has different meanings and feelings behind them. It’s really hard to convey anything concrete without being misunderstood. It’s tiring and too easy to offend or get people distracted by small details and lose the ability to talk about the stuff I’m more interested in.

But I decided to just get it out there, at least in a very general sense, since several listeners have now asked. This is not about what I think you should believe. It is only a description of my own take.

I’m sure there’s something for everyone to disagree with in this one!

Ask you own question via the website.  This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 32: Isaac on the Tom Woods Show, Discussing Praxis and Creating Alternative Experiences

Tom Woods brings me on his show to talk about Praxis and the road from theory to practice through creating alternative experiences for people here and now. We talk about what makes a successful Praxis applicant and how to figure out which path is right for you. Tom is a historian, author, Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and a popular podcaster.

Check out tomwoods.com to learn more.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 31: Is It OK to Sell Your Kidney? Your Child? Your Vote? James Stacey Taylor Says Yes

Are there things that shouldn’t be paired with money?

James Stacey Taylor and I discuss controversial philosophical questions concerning adoption, organs, votes and even personal identity. We look at best and worst case scenarios and how allowing markets would compare to the world we have today.

James is a philosopher, author and Associate Professor at the College of New Jersey. You can find out more about him here.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Ask Isaac: Things I’ve Learned, Craft Beer, Time Management, Future Goals, and ‘General Ed’ for Kids

First, a big shout-out to the podcast production intern Lav Kozakijevic!  Lav has been doing great work on editing, show notes, and a variety of other things.  He already makes me and the show better, and he just got started.

Today I take several audience questions, submitted via palmet.to/ask-isaac.  (Oh, and I realized I totally forgot to answer the one about my favorite craft beer.  It’s Bells.)

Today’s questions:

  • Lessons from running Praxis?
  • Do you believe the craft beer industry is in a bubble at the moment that will soon pop, and what do you think will happen if it is? Also, what is your favorite brewery?
  • How do you manage having so many children and running a business, writing, speaking, etc?
  • Challenges as an unschooling father?
  • Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Is it valuable to think in those terms?
  • To what extent is “general ed” valuable? Is any common educational structure at the early ages a good thing, and if it is, what does that look like?

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 30: Penelope Trunk on Startups, Being a Brand, Homeschooling, and Career Trends

Author and blogger on careers, entrepreneurship, and education, as well as founder of four companies, Penelope Trunk joins me to talk about her past and current projects. We talk about writing, unschooling, startup mentality, trends in career development, and how to be honest with yourself when it comes to your future. Her latest startup provides online courses that help people manage their careers.

Check out her stuff here.

And her new startup Quistic here.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Ask Isaac: College, Books, Startups, and Unschooling Challenges

I take some great questions submitted via the website:

  • You went to college — when and how did you decide it wasn’t the best path for most people?
  • Reading list for someone who is interested both in philosophy and business?
  • Do you think startup is becoming a buzzword? Would it be better to just create a business?
  • Challenges you face as an unschooling parent? Surprises?

This and all episodes are also available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 29: Chris Nelson on Superhero Movies

Why have superhero movies gotten so good in recent years? How has Marvel managed to bring the genre to a mass audience while keeping comic purists (mostly) happy? Where is the trend going?

My good friend and comic book aficionado Chris Nelson comes back to the show to discuss these weighty matters.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 27: Michael Gibson on Leaving Academia to Pursue Ideas

Michael Gibson was pursuing a PhD in philosophy when it struck him that the really big ideas weren’t being advanced within the walls of academia. He left, got into the tech world, and found himself running investor Peter Thiel’s fellowship program for young college droupouts. He’s recently co-founded his own venture capital fund to support young people who want to work on big ideas outside of the classroom.

We discuss his love of literature and philosophy, how he wound up in Silicon Valley, and what it looks like to operate outside the status quo.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 26: Jeremy McLellan on Doing Comedy

I’m always impressed and fascinated by comedians.  It’s a tough gig. Jeremy McLellan is a comedian in Charleston, SC who never stops writing material.  In addition to performing several times a week he is constantly sharing bits and jokes (there is a difference) on Facebook.  He’s also running for mayor of Charleston on a popular platform of issues like the need to re-institute prohibition and seal off Charleston’s borders to protect the inhabitants from neighboring cities.

We discuss how he got into comedy, how he prepares for a show, and his goals with his craft.  You can find him on Facebook here.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.

Episode 25: Lehla Eldridge on Unschooling in Italy

Author, illustrator, cafe owner, world traveler, and unschool mom Lehla Eldridge joins me to talk about raising kids in another country and taking big, adventurous leaps.

Lehla and her husband run the website unschoolingthekids.com and are the authors the book Unschooling: The 6 Keys to Our Children’s Future. They are both from England, but spent 15 years in South Africa working in the film industry then owning their own cafe and raising kids before eventually settling (for now) in Italy.

We discuss the challenges of making big life and career moves, how they discovered alternative education, and what it’s like unschooling three kids on a daily basis.

This and all episodes are available on SoundCloud, iTunes, and Stitcher.