Thecuriousmanspodcast

Matt Crawford speaks with author Shane Joaquin Jiminez about his novel, Bondage. Che Horowitz is on the run. A young loner raised by revolutionaries, she escapes from prison to find her sister, who has mysteriously vanished. Che’s search takes her to the one place she never wanted to return to: Las Vegas. Soon, Che is pulled into a nightmarish underworld of sadistic mobsters, crooked cops, double-dealing private eyes, and powerful men with unspeakable desires. This book reads like a chainsaw and grabs its reader by the throat and never lets go. Not only is it a great read it also causes us to think about the current state of our humanity. I believe everyone will take something different away from this book and that is the true measure of a great work.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Dr. Anthony D'Agostino about his book, Prejudice, Racism and Tribalism: A Primer for White People. We hear it all the time: Americans need to have a conversation about race. The obvious reason for that recommendation is what appears to be increasing racial polarization more than fifty years after the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s. Why is this happening at this time in history? Are these conversations only reinforcing existing attitudes and prejudices? Is it possible for White people to have a conversation about race, even with one another, without becoming angry? Is this why we (White people) have become so obsessed with military weaponry? When all is said and done, who's winning and who's losing? This book is the author's way of exploring these issues, one at a time. Prejudice, racism, and tribalism are, in a sense, variations on a theme. All people harbor prejudices. Racial prejudices are only one form among many. Raise someone in a racially homogeneous society, and similar prejudices are likely to appear. Tribal prejudices are so universal that they probably point to some biological imperative. What is racism? Is it just one of those things that we know when we see it, or is there value in defining it more precisely? Are all White people racists? Whose definition of critical race theory and/or the so-called great replacement theory do you like?

Matt Crawford speaks with author Robert D. Hicks about his book, Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War. Most histories of wounded Civil War veterans construe them as feminized men whose manhood has suffered due to their inability to provide for and raise families or engage in business. Wounded for Life complicates this picture by examining how seven veterans―six soldiers and one physician―coped with their changed bodies in their postwar lives. Through these intimate stories, author Robert D. Hicks looks at the veteran's body as shaped by the trauma of the battlefield and hospital and the construction of a postwar identity in relation to that trauma. Through his research, he reveals the changing social circumstances of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as they impacted the traumatized veteran's body. This engaging book is equal parts Civil War history, disability and gender history, and the history of the body that discloses the impact of war on a wounded warrior.

Matt Crawford speaks with Dan Mulligan the creator and founder of Tidus Wallet. Dan is the Founder and CEO of Nycrypto and Tidus Wallet. With 12 years of experience in product and digital marketing, Dan specializes in optimizing user journeys and driving customer acquisition. He holds an MBA with a focus on advertising and has served as Director and CMO for Web3 companies, S&P 500 firms, and SaaS startups. As CEO, Dan leads efforts in Product UX/UI design, marketing strategy, business development, and operational management.

Matt Crawford speaks with preacher Jim Wallis about his book, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Reclaiming Democracy. It is time says Jim Wallis, to call out genuine faith―specifically the “Christian” in White Christian Nationalism―inviting all who can be persuaded to reject and help dismantle a false gospel that propagates white supremacy and autocracy. We need–to raise up the faith of all of us, and help those who are oblivious, stuck, and captive to the ideology and idolatry of White Christian Nationalism that is leading us to such great danger. Wallis turns our attention to six iconic texts at the heart of what genuine biblical faith means and what Jesus, in the gospels, has called us to do. It is time to ask anew: do we believe these teachings or not? This book isn’t only for Christians but for all faith traditions, and even those with no faith at all. When we see a civic promotion of fear, hate, and violence for the trajectory of our politics, we need a civic faith of love, healing, and hope to defeat it. And that must involve all of us–religious or not. Learning to practice a politics of neighbor love will be central to the future of democracy in America. And more than ever, the words of Jesus ring, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”