Ericast.com Podcasts - DWEEB THOUGHTS

From Ericast.com, the various "dweeb thoughts" of Eric M. Larson - commentary usually related to philosophy and (of?) technology, all pointing to the goal of "supporting learning".

Ericast 345 - Ending The Charade 10/31/2025

Ericast 344 - Well, Now What? 10/25/2025

Ericast 344 - Well, Now What? I'm still here, but a lot has changed over the past few months. Not a lot of substance in this episode, but a quick status update. Wondering what that is? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment! In this episode, I reflect on the time since our last show in March 2025, which marked our 20th anniversary and was episode 343—making this one 344. I confirmed it! A lot has changed since then. My dad entered home hospice in February and passed away in May at age 90. It wasn’t a tragedy, but it was a major life transition for our world. As an only child I didn’t have to negotiate with siblings, but I did have to handle everything myself. Thankfully, my wife was incredibly supportive throughout. Much of my summer and fall was consumed with managing the estate, dealing with decades of antiques, and addressing deferred maintenance on the house. Meanwhile, Chloe started her freshman year, and I’ve been teaching a couple sections of a “Welcome to College” class. Before Dad passed, I learned that "the voice of the Ericast" in our intro and outro of the Ericast died in April. He had breathing issues, called 911, and didn’t regain consciousness. It’s strange hearing his voice now, but I’m keeping him in the show as a tribute to his love of radio. On a lighter note, I posted on Facebook this week about finding my vintage 1970s light-up pumpkin in Dad's storage closet, which is the same one I had seen in an antique store years ago. It’s surreal seeing childhood items in antique shops; it really makes me feel the passage of time. I’m not feeling old, but I’m aware that I have more years behind me than ahead. There’s joy in seeing the next generation grow. Candela, now 22, gave a presentation at Minnnebar (a Minnesota "BarCamp") in May, just before Dad passed. Her talk on “followership” was insightful and well-received. She used Star Trek as a metaphor and explored how being a great follower can be just as valuable as leadership. I was proud not just as her dad, but because it was genuinely a good presentation. I mentioned last time that I was working on a machine learning class for my AI master’s program. I still haven’t taken it. I planned to this fall, but the professor sent out prep materials that reminded me I need to brush up on Python (fine) and linear algebra (not fine). As someone homeschooled by humanities-focused parents, that’s more than a bit daunting. The Ericast is still the “weekly podcast that comes out once a month, a couple times a year.” I’d like to change that. But for now, I want to leave you with this: if you appreciate someone, tell them. Send a message, write a letter, just let them know. I almost forgot to mention fireworks! Chloe and I went to two PGI (Pyrotechnics Guild International) shows in Iowa. After the first night, I had what I think was my first migraine—visual effects but no pain. Turns out sleep deprivation, dehydration, and staring at explosions can do that. So, that’s where I’m at—grateful for the past few months, but wondering “now what?” /episode/index/show/ericast/id/38776460

Ericast 343 - And, We're 20 03/03/2025

Ericast 343 - And, We're 20 One of the things about getting old is you only realize it when you look in the metaphorical rear-view mirror. That happens to people, and to podcasts. How many years has it been? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment! No apologies for how long it's been. Welcome to the weekly podcast that comes out about once a month every quarter, I'm your host Eric Larson, 701-645-3742 may or may not still work as the Listener Feedback Line, and you deserve some updates. To my right, on the floor of Studio A (my den) is the original Ericast computer, which still runs -- boots into Windows XP, or if I switch it in the bios, it boots into the new "Windows 7" operating system on a separate 160GB hard drive that I bought on a Black Friday sale at Best Buy and then needed an escort out of the store because I used the trick of getting rung up in a department rather than up front by picking up a little $7 mustache trimmer. I think I still have that in a box somewhere, because I'm the kind of person to keep a sentimental mustache trimmer. Tangent on why calling it a "den" is okay but a "man cave" (which is literally the same thing) is tacky? When the Ericast started 20 years ago, I was on a career path but fresh into a career pivot, wrapping up a Master's degree, starting a family, and looking at pillars in the local tech community who were in their 50s and dialed in to the latest technology and this new "social media" thing. Now, my last career adjustment is about 8 years behind me, I'm in the middle of a second Master's degree, the family we had started is starting to leave the nest, and I'm wondering what's next. The one consistent anchor in my life and yours has been this podcast and its original vintage Blogger website template. Updates on it having been two years since Mom passed, and helping Dad with his home-hospice stage. /episode/index/show/ericast/id/35507060

Ericast 342 - Re-telling AI Stories 10/01/2024

Ericast 341 - The AI Summer 09/28/2024

Ericast 340 - How was March? 04/01/2024

Ericast 340 - How was March? What's a few weeks among friends, right? But this is a very special time of year around the Ericast, so I've got reason to put out an episode. Wondering what it is? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment! This is not the promised "Follow-up on Hope" episode that I have sitting in fragments on my hard drive. Instead, here are some life updates. If you don't want those, skip this episode, but if you do then you'll miss the hamster-themed song after the outro. It's our birthday! The Ericast was created in March of 2005 as I had switched jobs and was wrapping up my Master of Arts in Human Resource Development. Nineteen isn't all that special a number, unless you're Paul Hardcastle, and if you get that reference then you are my people! But, I did indeed follow up on what I may or may not have mentioned in a previous episode or two - what's just a click away for you is months ago for me - and right now I'm taking two classes in the Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence program. Yup, why not pick up a second Master's degree, right? This semester it's "Python" (which I got into early) plus "Data Analytics and Visualization" which I didn't get into until after the first class had passed so that's been a bit of a trip. If you're interested in that stuff, I'm happy to talk about it. If not, I won't bore you. It wouldn't be the Ericast without talking about the weather. In late February it was 65 degrees, which is very, very unusual for Minnesota. You can do your own research on how warm it's been here but, trust me, it was warm. Then people started saying "Winter is over!" and of course we got a March snowstorm because that's how Murphy's Law works, but it wasn't that bad - less than a foot of snow here in the Twin Cities, and it's basically melted clear. I might have mentioned that Dad picked up RSV in December which isn't great when you can see "90" on the horizon, but after a couple months in a care center for rehab he's back in his home. In February we observed a year since Mom passed away. That "is what it is'' as they say. Still lots of stuff to go through and decisions to be made. It's not quite so morbid as "dust in the wind" but I was telling Dad tonight that there are things like boxes of letters she sent home from college. That's interesting. I have some of those myself kicking around somewhere. But who cares? We tell ourselves that "the next generation" will but they're busy making their own memories, not reading through someone else’s. Almost a year to the day, Chloe had a second ear surgery - a "tympanoplasty" to repair her ear drum. Last year things went great with the left ear so, hey, why not do the right one? Candela is the opposite end of the spectrum for family surgeries and when she got her wisdom teeth out last week it was her first IV, first anesthesia, first prescription medications even. A couple weeks ago I was able to go to a talk by a name I'm sure long-time Ericast listeners must recognize because he's someone I did quite a bit of work with years ago. That was a weird feeling to flash back to events and conversations from 20 years ago... So, that's where things are at. And the website Suno.ai is bringing me joy. So, we'll wrap up with something from that. /episode/index/show/ericast/id/30618508

Ericast 339 - What Is 'Hope'? 01/15/2024

Ericast 338 - A New Intro? 12/31/2023

Ericast 337 - The Prodigal Song 12/28/2023

Ericast 337 - The Prodigal Song You knew I wouldn't be able to just leave a "missing song" sitting somewhere in my brain, right?. Wondering if I found it? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment! As you might imagine, I'm not recording this on Christmas Eve, but I'm approaching the concept of teasing the notion of going back to an old Ericast plan of "batching" episodes -- something I never really did, particularly because I like these to be "timely," but in this case I want to capture my enthusiasm because... wait for it... I found the song! I still love AI more than any healthy human should and I'm still playing with it. You might have noticed that last week's show notes included a summary of what the show was about. That was AI generated and edited in tiny ways by me. This week, I got to wondering what the ElevenLabs default voices are like. I put in the show notes and it said, "This is a lot - you might want to do it as a 'Project' instead!" ...and when I clicked on that, of course it costs money. So I figured, "how confused can it get?" You have to realize that, when it went viral that the default TikTok voice "Jessie" (based on , a Canadian radio host) decided to pronounce "Beyoncé" as "Bee-YONK," it brought me a deep hysterical joy... so this rendition of last week's show notes is just perfect. I love every second of it, including my "enthushiazm" for "aqueering" books that remain "untowch-ed". I have to admit I absolutely love that voice. There's a hint of "Boston Brahmin" combined with "bored valleygirl" - "Recently, Eric attended a conference in Las Vegas..." I love it. That reminds me that I need to get around to watching the movie "Her," I guess? Anyway, that was last week, and I only spent a day or two spinning on that and trying to figure out the song before I hit on the magic phrase of searching the Ericast.com website for the phrase "closed with a song" because I knew I had mentioned it and I knew that was one of the things that was noteworthy. The podcast was "" from Philip Isaac. It disappeared in the middle of 2020, in peak pandemic, and I have no idea where he went. I think the podcaster I knew in Florida was a different one... so, maybe a goal for 2024 is to track him down? But we're not here for a former podcaster. We're here for his song, which was "Help You Out" by Leonell Cassio and sung by Jonothon Robins. Since the lyrics might be a bit hard for you to make out, and since you know I love a chance to use an AI voice, I include a reading of them courtesy of "Adam" from ElevenLabs. I can help you out I can help you out Here we go, here we go again Trying hard but you wanna be my friend In a place to hide and no one to run to Here we go, here we go again Call my bluff imma be until the end Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to If you don't wanna change In a place to hide and no one to run to If you don't wanna change I can help you out [repeats] Here we go, here we go again Time is up and im calling up my friends And no one to ride and no one to ride to Here we go, here we go again Call me up and you wanna be my friend Im the one you ride, im the one you ride to If you don't wanna change In a place to hide and no one to run to If you don't wanna change I can help you out [repeat] Song Credits: Help You Out (ft. Jonathon Robins) by Leonell Cassio / leonellcassio Creative Commons-Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported - CC BY-SA 3.0 Free Download/Stream: /episode/index/show/ericast/id/29261428

Ericast 336 - Shelf Help Advice 12/21/2023

Ericast 336 - Shelf Help Advice I wonder how long I can go before we officially consider that I've "podfadedm" but this is something I love to do and I'd like to get better at that. Wondering what I might be able to do to pursue that goal? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment! I've got a bit of an excuse for not doing an episode last week, because I was in Las Vegas for a conference. Its new name was "AI Con," focusing on Artificial Intelligense, which is a topic I'm absolutely fascinateg by. But the actual name of the conference was the "Ultimate Wealth Camp" which has been around for a few years and is... well, it's a thing. And the same thing that gets me wound up in those is what keeps me from getting these podcasts out. It's not that I don't have enough ideas: It's that I have too many ideas, and I follow them to the point I get derailed. So, you get a 10-minute episode, and eventually you'll get Darcy's followup story of the muskrat that joins the Navy... sometime later. Speaking of, what does AI think I said in this episode? Here's its summary of the transcript: I love podcasting, and I've been wondering how long it'll be before I officially "pod-fade." I want to improve and pursue this passion further. In episode 336, titled "Shelf Help Advice," I discuss my inclination towards self-help interests, ranging from business ventures to personal development. Despite my enthusiasm for acquiring books and PDFs on these topics, they often end up untouched on my shelf or hard drive. I admit to having a cluttered physical space, exacerbated by dealing with my mom's belongings. The organizational challenges extend to my thoughts, and I speculate that I might have ADHD based on familiar symptoms. This mental tendency prevents me from structuring and organizing my podcast content, even though generating ideas isn't an issue. Recently, I attended a conference in Las Vegas, initially named AICon but known as the "Ultimate Wealth Camp." Despite its marketing allure, my experience there was more interesting in unexpected ways. While leaving the hospital tonight where my dad is recovering from RSV (not COVID or flu but a severe cold) I tried to download a PDF offering life advice for 2024, emphasizing organization, yet that didn't work. As I navigate through life's complexities, I express my struggle to find the right framework or mental model to declutter my mind. My penchant for diving deep into topics, illustrated by today's search for a previous royalty-free song, sometimes hinders my podcasting productivity. I share my inner struggle with finding the right balance between perfectionism and completion, acknowledging that "done is better than 'maybe slightly better'." Despite my recent lapses in podcasting, I express a commitment to improving not just for my audience but also for personal growth and discipline... /episode/index/show/ericast/id/29177588

Ericast 335 - What's Five Months? 08/30/2023

Ericast 334 - This Doesn't Exist 03/31/2023

Ericast 333 - Cheerful Cocktail Swords 03/18/2023

Ericast 332 - The Artificial Voice 03/07/2023

Ericast 332 - The Artificial Voice Wondering if our new robot overlords are going to provide a better future for us? Let's give it a spin. Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment As you probably figured out by now, this episode is artificially generated based off short voice sample from the last episode. I made sure to not include any of the parodies of the Marines content or else my presentation would sound a lot more dramatic than it usually does. However, what I'm finding is instead I sound incredibly depressed. I'm really not. My friend Eeyore says I sound fine to him. But, maybe I shouldn't be listening to a donkey. This also gives me the opportunity to try out some Steven Wright jokes: I spilled spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone. I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. So I said, "Got any shoes you're not using?" It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it. I have no idea if those are really jokes from Steven Wright but a page on the Internet said they were. I also realized that a simple typo - did you catch the one a minute ago? - makes me say things that I'd never actually say. But, you'll also notice that there isn't a single "um" or "ah" or misspoken thing, which I think is a first for the Ericast in its 18 years. Happy Birthday to us, by the way. As I joked with Candela when she turned 18, "this means that now you can be tried as an adult". Otherwise, age is just a number... which is, like, literally, yeah, that's what it is. Like, by design. That's how it works. Anyway, we've been doing this show non-stop (except for extended delays) for 18 year and I never thought that this kind of technology would be a click or two away. Maybe 18 years from now I'll finally have my flying car. Oops. Another typo. Or maybe I meant to say "18 year". You'll never know. Except you do, because that makes no sense. I think this is my chance to experience my lifelong dream of being on National Public Radio. "You’re listening to... The Delicious Dish, on National Public Radio. It’s Christmas season again, our favorite time of the year. I got real freaky this year. I’m asking Kris Kringle for a wooden bowl, some oversized index cards, and a funnel. I like to leave Santa some tap water and rice. If Santa’s anything like me, Christmas foods really reek havoc on the ol’ digestive system." As you've probably figured out, I'm running these paragraphs in chunks and playing them back as I go to make sure this hasn't gone totally off the rails. And I just realized that's a terrible cliche to use, considering some of the disasters the nation's rail system has experienced so far this year. Anyway, this is a tool from a company called "Eleven Labs" and I'm having fun with it but frankly it's really pretty disturbing how good it is. My cadence is off, sure, but if I threw a statement in here that I recorded myself, I don't think you'd spot the difference. Unless I was REALLY enthusiastic!!! That might do the trick. But, apparently, if I capitalize something it just becomes dramatic and breathy instead of enthusiastic. I wonder if that would help with my N P R career. "Sitting in for Terry Gross I'm Eric Larson and this is FRESH AIR." Hmmmmm. Anyway, longtime Ericast listeners will remember the "Ericast from the keyboard" episodes where I would bounce an email, probably one from my Blackberry - remember those? - through a couple blog and email services until it would do a text to MP3 service and then drop into the Ericast feed. This could basically do that, except it's my voice, except that it's not quite "normal". However, this is based on a single training file grabbed from last episode, so maybe I can make it better. I'm going to put this experiment to an end for now because frankly it's getting a little disturbing to listen to myself say things that I never actually said. I'd love to hear what you think - 701-645-3742 is the listener feedback line as always. Or, go out to Eleven Labs and sign up and generate a fake speech file with some of your feedback and email it to me... but calling is probably simpler. /episode/index/show/ericast/id/26149326

Ericast 331 - The Cheating Marine 03/01/2023

Ericast 330 - The January Rollercoaster 02/01/2023

Ericast 330 - The January Rollercoaster This year has not started out the way I expected. Want some family updates and a couple calls? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment I'm down to the last few minutes of January and would like to wrap up my day, so here's how things have gone. And if you've got things to share, 701-645-3742 still works (as this episode will prove!) We had "great expectations" kicking off on the very first day of January. Then my birthday came, when we got a bunch of snow and Dad went into the hospital with what turned out to be pneumonia. He bounced back pretty well but was left with some muscle weakness so he's in a rehab care center for that. But the person you don't want getting pneumonia is my mom, because she's had lung issues for years so that's the thing that's going to get her. Well, spoiler alert, she went into the hospital last week with "severe pneumonia" and is now on comfort care with hours -- maybe days, definitely not weeks -- left. So, wow, that was a wild swing of events and means that I don't know how we'll I'm going to be maintaining the Ericast schedule in the months ahead. Maybe I'll be a lot more regular as a place to reset and connect with all of you, and maybe I'll be juggling way too many other things. We'll see. I'll tell more stories about Mom another time, but for now I'm going to see if I can return to the tradition of the last week of the month being "listener feedback"... like the call from Chad that seems like it might be referencing our last episode. And we can always count on Matt in California. If you've got your own feedback to share, you know what to do! 701-645-3742 or email or catch me on the flipside socials. Bonus: Here's someone's compilation of the AT&T commercials that I mentioned at the end of this episode. Remember, this was in the mid 1990s... like, closing in on 30 years ago... /episode/index/show/ericast/id/25794411

Ericast 329 - Don't Use Negatives 01/09/2023

Ericast 328 - Great 2023 Expectations 01/02/2023

Ericast 328 - Great 2023 Expectations Let's kick off the new year with rundown of what's in my podcatcher and a couple tips for organizing the next 365 days. Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment Who's out there? I don't want to be the weekly podcast that comes out once a month (or once a quarter) - let's see if we can make it weekly! Listener Matt has already engaged and inspired me - anyone else left? Digital Dan? Jonzer? Chad? Rob? This is a "personal podcast" which is a phrase I use not as a patent-troll dodge but because this is a bit of communication with me, as a person. I wish all my friends did something like this. If you do, let me know and I'll listen! A bit of housekeeping: I found our missing episodes from 2005. I'll be updating the blog and they might pop back into the feed depending on how Feedburner handles that. Yes, Feedburner is still working! Also, at some point (maybe for our birthday in March?) I should switch things over to "https" because even though we're not really passing interesting hackable stuff around, today's web browsing environment likes that. In fact, Google complains with "Your site is not mobile friendly!" and I should consider a different Blogger template... but there's only so much I want to do to break the site (and, frankly, the "mobile" perspective on a podcast homepage is a weird world because podcasting is happening through directories and podcatchers...) Tech tip of the day: If a website behaves in goofy fashion, take a look at "http" vs. "https" and see if that makes a difference. Those organizational tips I promised. 1) I'm going to read "". 2) Cut up a calendar and tape it to your wall with blue-tape (which is a particular kind of masking tape that doesn't dry out or tear off paint) so you can see the year laid out visually. Mine is in the hallway outside Studio A because it's dead space (can't hang a picture or a whiteboard) but very visible. What am I listening to right now as we start off 2023? Marketplace Tech - I've been listening to this for years and years, ever since it was on the radio as "Future Tense" with Jon Gordon as host. This is basically the "Ship of Theseus" of podcasts because not a single thing about it is the same as it was 20 years ago yet I still think of it as the same one. https://blogs.publicradio.org//futuretense/2010/04 Techmeme Ride Home (Matt in California gets full credit for turning me on to this one and it's terrific) The Jordan Harbinger Show - I come and go with this one and it's back in the rotation The New Evangelicals Podcast - nobody will listen to this because the non-religious will think it's a church-thing and the religious people will think it's WAY too irreverent. That makes it exactly right. Plus or minus 10% if you hear something from that host I probably agree with it, quite possibly with a hearty passionate agreement Daily Boost Motivation and Coaching - heard about it on the Jordan Harbinger Show. Great if you want a smooth, 10-ish minute daily musing My own church doesn't have a podcast (their sermon videos are online) but I do listen to podcasts from: Our former church The new church of the former pastor of our former church, which he started after he was caught in a scandal and resigned and promised he wouldn't start another church The "competing" church which opened a satellite campus just a couple miles away That church's "leadership podcast" because the hip thing to do if you're a megachurch is start a "leadership network" I really don't mean to sound cynical here; there are good folks in these communities, but there's also some flawed stuff -- sometimes to the level of "toxic" -- and I think it's important to know what's going on with the people you're connected to, both good and bad. The Fairly Spiritual Show - Doug Bursch hasn't put out an episode since May of 2022 and I keep hoping that he'll come back, just like the Ericast has time and time again. You're never really done until you declare that you're done, like... The Reply All Podcast - I don't listen anymore, because in June they announced that they were done and that their episode 189 would be their last. Zestology: "Energy, Vitality and Motivation" - this is another one that comes and goes from my feed. Social Media Secrets with Rachel Pedersen - nationally known in social marketing circles but happens to be based here in the Twin Cities, and I listen to her more for the random "life advice" insights than the professional marketing tips since I'm not doing professional marketing. What's missing from last year? Hal Elrod, Jeff Sanders, Mark Mason, Ray Edwards, Brian Hardin, Michael Hyatt. Great content, good people, not always 100% correct about everything, nobody ever is. But there's only so much "intake" I can do before I need to focus on some "output". But, all of those people have content that I can download and stream on demand. I just did with Ray Edwards, and got the update on him and his Parkinsons and the "deep brain stimulator" that he had implanted and is doing terrific things for him. So, just because there's not a "constant automatic subscription" doesn't mean I can't check in once in awhile. And you can do the same. The key is, I really do want to hear from you. Call 701-645-3742. "Oh, I don't want to bother him with a call!" Really, it's no bother at all! "Okay, but I don't want to try to verbalize a message!" That's okay - shoot me an email, or a text, or whatever. Just let me know how you're doing. If things are good, that's good. If they're not, I'll take the conversation wherever you like, including just leaving things sit at a place where life is rough. That's okay to. I've got a growing list of podcast topics that I'm looking forward to working on... so, until next week, take care! /episode/index/show/ericast/id/25477653

Ericast 327 - Merry Christmas, 2022! 12/26/2022

Ericast 326 - And... it's August 09/01/2022

Ericast 325 - Seventeen Years Young 03/11/2022

Ericast 324 - Who's Mr. Erzman? 11/02/2021

Ericast 323 - Well... Maybe Not 10/29/2021

Ericast 323 - Well... Maybe Not I had a great plan for a series in August... and then September... and then October. Want to know about a series you're not going to hear? Here's your show. Website viewers: Podcast listeners: Everyone: Call 701-645-ERIC (701-645-3742) and comment This episode isn't lighthearted. Here's a key takeaway for you: If you're in a community, organization, business, family, or political fellowship that you value and appreciate... and someone has an objection to it... you should listen to that objection. You don't need to agree with it. But if you dismiss it out of hand, you do that at your own peril. If you know anything about me, and if you don't then you're about to learn, you'll realize that in college I came to identify as "Christian" and that my particular denomination or "flavor" was "Evangelical". In the past couple years, I've realized more and more that there are some things that are extremely broken in the "Evangelical church". I've got friends who say, "Yeah, obviously, that's why I'm not a Christian!" I've got friends who say, "Yeah, it's really sad, and I do what I can to make the church a better representation of what Jesus told us to do." And I've got friends who have now chosen to leave my life and make themselves former friends who say, "Nuh-huh! No, there aren't problems! That's just what Satan wants you to believe. We are SO persecuted!" That's what I was going to talk about. But, I'm not going to -- at least not in the four-part series I had in mind -- because it's just too depressing a place to put myself into. But I am, on occasion, going to use this podcast to do a little bit of "awareness raising". Because I've got friends somewhere between that second and third category who are truly, sincerely, oblivious to the harm that's happening inside their churches. Because I'm not in their church, I can see it. They can't. Jesus is known for a phrase that has always sounded odd to me "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Like, who doesn't have ears? Well, I guess we all have ears... but I've found that not everybody hears with them. I'll close with an example. And I have to give a trigger warning to my listeners with a heart for the LGBT community, that this clip is painful and hurtful to them. But that's not why I'm sharing it, because that's no surprise - if you know anything about "evangelical theology" you know that "tolerance" is a stretch, let alone love and affirmation. (And I know that there are some who, with a few extra words to make it flowery, would say that intolerance is actually loving, and we're not going to go there right now.) Instead, I want you to listen very, very carefully to this clip from a youth ministry program. Remember it's not a random, off-the-cuff conversation -- these are prepared remarks which were then edited and produced and distributed. This is intentional doctrine, recorded in 2021 and shared with teenagers as part of a program answering the question "Is it a sin to be gay?" Trust me, this is an accurate representation of what you'll hear talking to the average person in this church. Put yourself in the shoes of a typical teenager as they list off examples of the "sins" that people struggle with. And hence the title of the podcast episode that I'm not going to do: "Is Depression Sinful." If you weren't listening carefully, replay the last few seconds. We've established that in this worldview, it's a sin to be attracted to someone of the same sex. Now, it's not a sin to be "attracted" to someone of the opposite sex because that's God's design, but if it's "lustful" attraction, that's sinful. And deceit is a sin. But what's tucked in the middle of that list. Depression. If forced to confront it, you can say, "No, Eric, they don't mean that depression is sinful, just that it's a challenge that teenagers face?" And if you truly, sincerely insist on believing that, there's nothing I can do to change your mind. All I can tell you is... No. That's not what they're teaching. They're teaching that "depression" is a sin -- maybe it's self-indulgence, maybe it's for attention, maybe it's because you've been deceived by the world, but the solution is to "get right with God." I have a problem with that. In fact, teaching that depression is a sin might bump up against that other sin of "deceit" that they mentioned. I don't have any power to change the hearts and minds of people who believe things like this. But I do have a chance at pointing it out to people who deny it happens in their church. Trust me, it happens. And when it does, and you hear someone like me point it out, and you see the response that people like me get in return... maybe say, "hey, should we listen to what he has to say?" /episode/index/show/ericast/id/20978276

Ericast 322 - Defining 'Work Performance' 07/17/2021

Ericast 321 - That Was Unexpected 03/18/2021

Ericast 320 - Happy Valentine's Day! 02/20/2021

Ericast 319 - A Couple Potatoes 12/31/2020

Ericast 318 - A Kind Word 12/01/2020

Ericast 317 - One Year Ago 11/05/2020

Ericast 316 - The Quarterly Update 10/24/2020

Ericast.com Podcasts - DWEEB THOUGHTS

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