EXPLORACAST

Everybody is talking about AI and many of these conversations are laced with fear and uncertainty. For today's podcast, the Exploracast team is joined by Dr. Mike McCullough as they begin talking through not only the fears but also some of the enormous positive possibilities that AI may bring. Where do you stand on AI? 

The Camino de Santigo, also known as The Way of St. James, dates back to the 10th century and has been long considered one of the most important pilgrimages in Christendom.Exploracast is pleased to welcome our guest, Scott Wojahn, who completed one of the routes earlier this year. Listen to histhoughtful reflection on what was found on this pilgrimage and in many ways, what he continues to discover these months later.

Oxford Languages defines lamentation as "The passionate expression of grief or sorrow, weeping". In this episode, we have a passionate (maybe even a bit heated!) discussion about how to fully express "grief or sorrow" without falling prey to the urge to throw in the towel and give up trying to change what's bothering us if it is, in fact, changeable.

It's easy to get overwhelmed at how things are in the world right now. That makes it understandable and, in some ways, reasonable to feel like checking out and avoiding all the mess. We get it. In this episode, the Exploracast teamsteps back for a moment to offer a more general but also personal view to how we, as caring citizens like you, experience this difficult time. 

There are many old narratives on what it means to be a "real man". We all know the long lists of what real men do and don't do, express and can't express. feel and shouldn't feel. The question is whether this so-called "toxic masculinity" is ultimately healthy and good for the person who approaches life this way or the people with whom they are closelyassociated. 

I believe that the only way things don't ultimately get better in a difficult time like this is when people lose hope and disengage in working to make the world a better place. So, in today's podcast we discuss the powerful value of hope and the kind of hope that strengthens us and motivates positive change.

Who do you trust to tell you the truth outside of your closest friends and family? Are you operating on a basic assumption that people in power are as prone to telling lies as much as they are the truth? Maybe the path to power nowadays,unfortunately, includes a willingness to lie when it is more expedient than truth telling. 

It used to be that a lot of one's identity was wrapped up inwhat one did for a living. For many people that remains true and not so much along gender lines as it used to be. Is this a bad thing? Is it bad to achieve and feel pride in one's achievements? Can it go too far and what happens whenone retires or can no longer do that thing which supplied identity?  These are the questions that drive today's conversation. 

Where is home for you? Is it a place? Is it a group of people? Is it a state of mind? Maybe you're feeling a little "homeless" in some ways at this point in your journey. Today's episode takes on this very nuanced and emotionally fraught subject of the "longing for home". 

Has the world finally killed kindness or is it possible for it to again be on the rise? Is it possible to be kind and strong at the same time or does one necessarily preclude the other? We talk about kindness with the deep hope that it is not dead, and that it can yet be a healthy AND functional way to live.

In this episode, we take on what might be the elephant in the room. We are, admittedly, from that demographic that has held power in this country for a long, long time. We're white, we're male, and we're certainly NOT young! Does the worldwant/need more of the same old same old or could we perhaps offer up something a little different despite how we look and sound? You decide!