That’s What I Meant To Say

This Guy Knows What He Wants

I was recently asked by Deacon Steve Wehr at my home parish (St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in Minneapolis) for a personal conversation about, well, me. Steve asked me about my upbringing, my military service, my musical endeavors, marriage, faith, and how I discovered and was drawn to Orthodox Christianity. This is not some tidy conversion story, but a life shaped by vocation, risk, patience, and the slow recognition of home. Get full access to That's What I Meant to Say at jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe [https://jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

When the Truth Feels Like an Attack

Why do people cling to beliefs even after they’ve been proven wrong? In this episode, we explore what happens in the mind when deeply held beliefs are challenged, why facts alone often fail to persuade, and how emotional investment shapes what we accept as true. Drawing on decades of psychological research, this conversation unpacks why corrections sometimes backfire, why empathy matters more than argument, and how curiosity can open doors that confrontation slams shut. If you’ve ever wondered why misinformation spreads so easily, or why difficult conversations go nowhere, this episode offers clarity—and a more hopeful way forward. Key Themes * Why the brain treats belief challenges like physical threats * How emotional reactions precede logical reasoning * Why more evidence can sometimes make beliefs stronger * The difference between explaining a belief and defending it * Why timing matters when correcting misinformation * How and why detailed corrections can unintentionally backfire * The “truth sandwich” method and why it works * Age, emotion, and susceptibility to misinformation * Motivational interviewing as an alternative to confrontation * Why empathy changes minds more effectively than argument * Winning relationships versus winning debates #BeliefChange#Misinformation#CriticalThinking#Psychology#TruthAndMeaning#CognitiveBias#EmpathyMatters#That’sWhatIMeantToSay#fakenews Get full access to That's What I Meant to Say at jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe [https://jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Why Being Right Feels So Good (And Costs Us So Much)

Why do intelligent, well-informed people so often talk past one another? Why do we cling to our beliefs, even when presented with overwhelming evidence that on the surface disproves them? In this episode, we explore a phenomenon known as “Confirmation Bias.” This is the tendency to favor information, even blatantly false, that supports what we already believe to be true. Drawing on research from Harvard University, MIT, and Stanford University, the conversation examines why false information spreads faster than truth, why being proven wrong can literally feel painful, and why facts alone rarely change minds. Rather than focusing on a single event, although it would be easy to do so, this episode looks at how we receive information itself, and why we might do well to question our own certainty in an increasingly polarized world. Get full access to That's What I Meant to Say at jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe [https://jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Protestants v. Catholics in America's Founding Era: When Certainty Becomes the Threat

The American Founders are often remembered as champions of reason, restraint, and religious liberty. But beneath that story lies a less examined assumption: a deep certainty about which forms of belief were acceptable—and which were dangerous. In this episode, we revisit some of the important documents of that era, namely Federalist Nos. 10 and 51 and explore how fear of factions, combined with cultural and religious certainty, may have planted seeds of the very instability the Founders hoped to prevent. Rather than treating certainty as a virtue, this conversation asks whether it can quietly become a liability, not just politically, but spiritually and culturally as well. Resources & References * The Federalist Papers– Federalist No. 10 (James Madison on factions) [https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed10.asp]– Federalist No. 51 (Checks, balances, and human nature) [https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed51.asp] * Gordon S. Wood, [https://amzn.to/4qIaxQo]The Creation of the American Republic [https://amzn.to/4qIaxQo] * Philip Hamburger, [https://amzn.to/4sVYCQS]Separation of Church and State [https://amzn.to/4sVYCQS] * John Courtney Murray, [https://amzn.to/4pSOF3I]We Hold These Truths [https://amzn.to/4pSOF3I] #FederalistPapers #AmericanFounding #ReligiousLiberty #PoliticalPhilosophy #ChurchAndState #Certainty #JamesMadison #ThatsWhatIMeantToSay Get full access to That's What I Meant to Say at jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe [https://jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Non-Wall That Has Marginalized Christianity from the American Public Consciousness

Most Americans assume the founders intended a rigid wall between church and state. In fact, many Christians even consider it a great blessing. Yet the historical record tells a more complicated and far more interesting story. In this episode, we examine how the Establishment Clause was originally understood, why the founders opposed state churches while wholesale embracing religion in public life, and how modern interpretations, notably from 20th Century Supreme Court decisions, diverged sharply from those assumptions. #ChurchAndState#FirstAmendment#EstablishmentClause#AmericanFounding#ReligiousFreedom#SupremeCourt#Constitution#PoliticalHistory#CivicVirtue#ThatsWhatIMeantToSay Get full access to That's What I Meant to Say at jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe [https://jamesdnewcomb.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]