Contemplating Life with Chris Young
"Contemplating Life" is a podcast by author, assistive technology developer, and disability advocate Chris Young. Each week we will explore a variety of topics including disability, religion, politics, entertainment, and whatever else I can think of. Please support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/contemplatinglife
Episodes
In this episode, I bemoan the lack of new or innovative content on broadcast TV based on the offerings of this new fall season. We also take a statistical look at the recent Emmy awards and notice that the few broadcast and basic cable shows nominated did not earn any wins. AppleTV+ and other streaming services dominated the landscape. Although all of my podcasts are listenable, this one includes charts and spreadsheets that you ma...
While proofreading my previous episode, I realized the theological point I was making was also a commentary on the political divisiveness we find in our country today. Here are my thoughts regarding ways that the teachings of St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians delivered a poignant message that is applicable to our secular society today. You don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate the wisdom of his message.
Links...
In this episode, I depart from my original plans to continue turning my old Scripture lessons into podcast episodes. I’ve been going through old audiocassettes and downloading them to my computer, and I found some long-lost lectures that were key to my faith journey as a foundation of the lessons taught in the Catholic Church for 30 years. I hope to return to presenting more of those lessons and upcoming episodes soon.
Links of Inte...
This episode is the final installment in a four-part series on Catholic Tradition. When I used to teach this lesson, it included a tour of the church. While I can’t do that with you physically, I want to try to cover the same material with you. We'll discuss in more detail what you can expect to find in a Catholic Church, including an overview of the items the priest uses during Mass, as well as a discussion of priestly vestmen...
This is a supplement to Episode 97.. It is from a video of an encounter I had with Catholic theologian Dr. Ernie Collamati. It discusses how to deal with our conscience when it differs from the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Here’s that exchange.
Links of interest
Dr. Ernie Collamati at Saint Regis College: https://www.regiscollege.edu/about-regis/find-us/faculty-and-staff-directory/ernest-collamati
Episode 97
In this episode, I present material based on the second lesson I taught in my local Catholic parish inquiry program for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the most important Catholic tradition – the celebration of our Sunday liturgy, the Mass.
Links of Interest for this episode
Handout materials for this lesson: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130708591
In this episode, I present material based on the second lesson I taught in my local Catholic parish inquiry program for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we continue to explore the connection between Scripture and tradition. We will then take a deeper dive into Catholic traditions as they relate to the Sacraments.
Links of Interest for this episode
In this episode, I present material based on the second lesson I taught in my local Catholic parish inquiry program for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we explore the Catholic Church’s approach to authoritative teaching based not only on Scripture alone, as the Protestants do, but on a combination of sacred Scripture and sacred tradition.
Links of Interest for this episode
In this special episode, I discuss some striking similarities between Star Wars: Andor Season 2 and recent events in Serbia. I will return to the series of religious topics next time. Although I always make these podcasts listenable, I recommend you check out the YouTube version because I put a lot of work into editing video clips.
Links of Interest for this episode
Star Wars: Andor TV series on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...
In this episode, I wrap up part three of my series based on the first lesson I taught in my local Catholic parish inquiry program for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we explore how Scripture scholars use historical critical methods, textual analysis, and knowledge of ancient languages and cultures to help us understand the original intent of the Sacred Authors.
Links of Interes...
In this episode, I continue a multipart series in which I adapt some of the lesson plans I used as I taught the Catholic faith for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we explore how Scripture looks at historical events through God’s eyes and not from a human perspective. We will also debate how and when to use God’s Divine Name.
Links of Interest for this episode
In this episode, I continue a multipart series in which I adapt some of the lesson plans I used as I taught the Catholic faith for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. In this episode, we try to understand how Scripture was created from oral traditions. We engage in an exercise where we write some Scripture of our own.
Links of Interest for this episode
In this episode, I continue a multipart series in which I adapt some of the lesson plans I used as I taught the Catholic faith for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories. Having already talked about God in the last episode, this time we discuss human beings, a brief introduction to the use of mythology in Scripture, and the metaphorical use of angels and demons.
Links of Interest
In this episode, I begin a lengthy, multipart series in which I adapt some of the lesson plans I used as I taught the Catholic faith for 30 years. I’m not here to convert anyone. I’m just sharing my stories.
Links of Interest
RCIA/OCIA on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Christian_Initiation_of_Adults
Change from RCIA to OCIA: https://www.ncregister.com/cna/forget-rcia-meet-ocia-us-bishops-approve-big-name-change
Sometimes the people we admire turn out to be completely opposite of what we expect. Can we still respect them for the good that they’ve done when they revealed themselves to be something completely different? That’s the question I try to answer about my fandom of Elon Musk in this episode.
Links of Interest
Bill Cosby on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby
“Why Is There Air?” Cosby comedy album on Wikipedia: https://...
This rather lengthy episode wraps up the reviews of most of the Oscar-nominated films for this year. I’m sorry I didn’t have time to do a better job but I was out of commission with the flu for about 10 days and just didn’t have time to do the kind of job I usually do. The Oscars will be presented Sunday, March 2 on ABC-TV and I wanted to get this episode out before the awards were presented.
Links of Interest
This is the first of my abbreviated reviews of Oscar-nominated films for 2025. After several weeks of talking about Broadway musicals, fantasy, and fairy tales, we finally get around to discussing “Wicked.”
Links of Interest
“Wicked Part 1“ (2024) film on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/
"Wicked: For Good" (2025) film on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19847976/
This is the final in a multi-part series inspired by the hit movie musical Wicked–Part 1. The series will explore musical theater, fairy tales, and fantasy in general.
Links of Interest
“Wicked Part 1“ (2024) film on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/
Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(Rodgers_and_Hammerstein_musical)
This is the third in a multi-part series inspired by the hit movie musical Wicked–Part 1. The series will explore musical theater, fairy tales, and fantasy in general.
Links of Interest
“Wicked Part 1“ (2024) film on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/
Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_(Rodgers_and_Hammerstein_musical)
Richard Rogers on Wikipedia: https://en.wikip...
This is the second of a multipart series inspired by the hit movie musical “Wicked–Part 1.” This series will be about musical theater, fairy tales, and fantasy in general.
Links of Interest
“Wicked Part 1“ (2024) film on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937) on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/
“Cinderella” (1965 TV special) on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057950/
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