Oh, the philosophical times they are a-changin’!! “But HOW!?” you ask. With the seasons… And you thought it was all footnotes. Silly philosopher ..read more

Preeeetty self-explanatory this time. Ryan goes over 10 things he hates, doesn’t like, despises, etc., in nonfiction books. Harland does his best to disagree.  Next episode: 10 things Ryan hates about devil’s advocacy! Jk. -Dawds #1 Maps & Legends – Chapter Maps #2 Show, Don’t Tell, Nonfiction-style  #3 Style & Substance – Epigraphs #4 In The End – Footnotes & Endnotes #5 Size Matters – Book Length #6 E-mail Is Fine – Interviews & Narratives #7 Story Time – Stories, Yes; Dialogue? Nah #8 Apology Unaccepted – Using kid gloves with the reader around technical material ..read more

Whoo boy! Ryan is back in the swing of things with his kids in school and sports and ballet and covid and everyone’s FREAKIN OUT! Harland is on a journey through the red states lookin’ for a poker game or two. Apparently, Austin is nice…and hot. But they’re back with your best interests in mind. Except there is no “mind” and they don’t know what your interests are, let alone your best ones, because you won’t tell them. That’s why they’re doing a review of some core ideas. Now that they have 27.7 listeners they have to onboard all 26.7 of you newbies!  They cover a framework they call “Mo ..read more

“Make a clear concise description of your podcast” they advise for this input. Umm… good luck with that.  ..read more

Another letter. Another obsessive and compulsive repeating of oneself over and over again. Ryan replies to Harland’s reply because he can’t help but indulge in his thoughts and justifications. Maybe Ryan misses the point. Maybe he’s on point. Tune in to find out ..read more

No one needed this. Few people wanted it. But here it is, world. Basically, we’re standing near an on-ramp to the infosphere holding a black markered cardboard sign which reads, “Will podcast for beer – God jest you ..read more

Here I am,  never-minding my own business when I stub my toe on a liter litter bottle full of semantics.  Well how’s about that?!  It’s from my old buddy old pal Sci-Guy Ry– what a nice surprise! I should really not Dawdle too long and get back to him, lest remain least on the list of priorities!   Feel free to listen in, dear old friends.   ..read more

We Dawdlers are as advertised. But we’re back. Don’t get all excited. In this new kind of episode Ryan Writes Harland a “letter.” Will Harland write back ..read more

The value of history is that one has the chance to make sense of their present circumstances. How did we get to now? Can we come up with the best solutions to our problems if we think we understand how those problems arose in the first place? Fingers crossed. In 1959, author and scientist, C.P. Snow, gave a lecture on what he saw as a problem in the West. Two intellectual and influential cultures had formed and become entrenched; one, a literary culture and the other, a scientific one. If they had anything in common, it didn’t matter for the commitments they had made to their respective vocat ..read more

What is a dream? How do we come to form “cherished aspirations” as one dictionary put it? Why do we bother? And how can such aspirations be American? How can such aspirations be shared widely? Equality, egalitarianism, opportunity. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For whom do these bells toll? Is it a good dream? And does one “have to be asleep to believe it”? In this long short, the Dawdlers take on a request from a listener and discuss “The American Dream ..read more