Training the Soul in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty—One Stanza at a Time
59 Mirror Mirror
The Ark hosts a vigil for Kilts’s dead roosters, who died valiantly protecting their hens from the now infamous fox. So what happens in a world without roosters guarding the flock? In this episode the Professor and her grieving Goth challenge the audience to look at the mirror image of their own understanding, starting with the Barbies who have not been 'liberated' but have in fact simply been surviving the collapse of patriarchy. We take a turn towards the early church, and how the patriarchy of Alexandria challenged the imperial dogma of Arian Christianity to see Christ as both Human and God. And finally, we read from Peter Novick's book _The Holocaust In American Life_ to see the aspect of this story that has defined Jewish identity in United States. Confused? Join us to look at image reversals and the formation of identity.
58 Conch Wars
The Ark continues its meditations from Atomic Myths to reflect on the Conch Wars of Cancel Culture. Pausing to reflect on their meeting in Milo's Telegram chat room in a Lord of the Flies frenzy over who holds the conch, RFB expands on the power of speech over group behaviour. How does rhetoric influence people to go to war for Empire, as happened in Rome? Do the stories people tell about the imperial border wars really hold up against the reality of empire? Join us to see why stories set the course for empires, and why contesting imperial myths will get you cancelled. Beware the conch!
BasedCon 3: Lies, Damned Lies, and History
Those who do not study history may be doomed to repeat it, but those who do are doomed to repeat the things they read in history books. The more history you read, the more you learn how little historians know, until you really get in trouble by arguing about things that everyone is convinced MUST have happened (like the evils of the Spanish Inquisition or the glorious reign of King Arthur) but for which there is conflicting or no evidence. What do you do when your alt-history threatens to get you deplatformed…for knowing too much history? Professor Rachel Fulton Brown is here to help. With Hans Schantz as Student.
57 Atomic Myths
The Professor muses on her origin story in New Mexico’s enchanted land—the isthmus between the Anglo and Hispanic and native American cultures, and the border between the Holy Virgin and Oppenheimer’s bomb. What did the atomic explosion do to the imagination of the West? Does the theory of relativity have Westerners captivated in relativism and incapable of claiming that there is only one Truth? Could the Incarnation of God in Christ be the cure to the fear that was conjured at the Trinity Site in 1945?
56 “What Was I Made For?”
The Ark pauses to reflect on the Professor’s post-Barbie realization that the Millennials are enduring a special kind of trauma. In the Roe v Wade Western world, every baby born was approved by somebody's choice. But what does this decision mean for Millennials who grew up wondering what they were made for? How has that generation developed in the knowledge that they were created “on demand”? Join us to reflect on the Millennial Mind, and what must happen to make life again.
55 He’s Kenough!
The Ark wants to party like Barbie again, this time with Ken! Our second part of this movie analysis takes the Professor and the Pigeon into the layers of the sexual roles depicted in the film. We talk sexual tension and competition in the Kendom, the hidden Theosophy of Barbieland, the failed relationship between Ken and Barbie, and how Lego proved the difference between how boys and girls play with their toys. Could it be that Ken wasn't Kenough and the film totally failed the Kens? Let's play!
54 Here Be Barbies
The Ark turns pink for Girls Nite as the Professor and Pigeon review the billion dollar doll that has everybody talking about her. Is this film another piece of Hollywood feminist propaganda, or have Greta Gerwig and her crew achieved a masterful subversion in storytelling made for women who have grown up in the post-Boomer Barbie World? Join us to find out what Barbie is really all about. Are you ready, Ken? Let's party!
53 A Story for Little Bears
Season Two of the Mosaic Ark begins, and the Professor and the Pigeon are thinking about gemstones. We begin the stream by reflecting on the role of mining in the nations of the Anglosphere, and how identity was formed in the search for precious stones. We think about the identification of lifeforms by Charles Darwin on his journey across the seas to find the mystery of our origins. What kind of origin story are we all referring to in the modern West? And can storytelling help us see more clearly than other forms of perception? We celebrate the launch of our second season with a reading from the Dragon Common Room’s adventure story AURORA BEARIALIS. Watch for the Albatross!