If you’re like me, you were baffled at first by Donald Trump’s success in his presidential bid, but I think it get it now: he’s a bully in a room full of nerds. I don’t think anyone would argue that Trump isn’t a bully; the question is why it’s working in the political sphere. In that regard, we have the system itself to blame or, more specifically, the introduction of television into politics. That’s when our democratic process shifted from... Read more
When the cohosts are away, Christian will play. Slim and Amy were out this week, so I decided to go solo. The main course of this week’s episode is my talk with co-producer of the new film, “The Finest Hours,” Jim Whitaker. He worked on “8 Mile,” “Thank You for Smoking” and many others, but we’ll talk about why this heroic story about the most famous rescue in Coast Guard history has been a passion project of his for years.... Read more
After the tragic death of one of the occupiers at the nature preserve in Burns, Oregon and the arrest of several others, this interview I did with Oregon Public Broadcasting/National Public Radio’s John Sepulvado is particularly prescient. As he states in this interview, there seemed to be no way the Malheur Preserve occupation wouldn’t end in violence (now the car), but is this what the Bundy family and others have wanted all along? what’s more, is it part of an... Read more
Author and Theologian Leonard Sweet says that everything in the bible ultimately points back to the Garden. I’m inclined to agree. Here’s an example. St. Justin Martyr, an early church father, says the following about baptism: …at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice…but may become the children of choice and knowledge (through the sacrament of baptism)… Basically what he’s saying is that when we’re born, we’re dependent on others for everything. We rely on them... Read more
Yes, Ladies and Gents. After an extended hiatus, I bring you the resurrection of the infamous Church Sign Epic Fails. Got one you think I should post? Send it to cpiatt (at) christianpiatt (dot) com. Read more
I know, I know. Cyber-ethics may not sound that riveting on first blush, but from Wikileaks and Anonymous to your kids on Youtube and every time you swipe a credit card, cyber security is everywhere. And with that incredible power comes both the potential to use and abuse it. Kinda like chainsaws. Or Bibles. Anyway… I talk with professional hacker Mike Collins this week about the ethics surrounding cyber security and encryption. Thought we’ve confounded the government’s efforts to peek... Read more
This is a different Homebrewed CultureCast show this week. First of all, apologies for the delay in release, as Amy and I (Christian) had to make an emergency trip to be with Papa Russ while he died. You’ll hear more about it in the show, actually. It’s a somewhat shorter and differently structured episode this week. For one, we’re missing Slim (he’ll be back next week), and we’re not doing an interview, recommendations and fear of the week. Instead, we... Read more
We got the call Thursday night and were on a plane from Portland to New Mexico Friday morning. Papa was dying and we needed to come soon to help care for him and say our goodbyes. Cancer was everywhere: in his bones, his one remaining kidney and other organs throughout his frail body. My six-year-old daughter wailed at the news, fearful that she would never see her Papa again, but we assured her we wouldn’t let that happen. On the... Read more
Yesterday I wrote an article about a discussion I had with my son about the instability and conflict in the Middle East. Following is a personal reflection to follow up on the article. Read the previous piece HERE. In the wake of the Paris attacks, the continuing exodus of Syrian refugees and the growing destabilization wrought ind the wake of ISIS’ chaotic grip in the Middle East, we’re all grasping for answers: How do we respond? What is their endgame? How... Read more
Read my follow-up piece written the next day about ISIS HERE. My twelve-year-old son posed this question to me over the long weekend after hearing, the public radio accounts Assad’s iron grip in Syria, Israeli-Palestinian intractability and ISIS reaching their tendrils across the Middle East. His solution: just kill the bad guys. This was, I explained, the response of a good contingency of Americans. In fact, there’s an entire political party that embraces this as an international philosophy. The NRA’s... Read more
Christian Piatt
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