Episode 61 - Bentham’s Selfie

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Jim takes on philosophy’s “Trolley Problem,” discusses Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant, Bentham’s utilitarianism and Kant’s categorical imperative, and learns of Bentham’s rather unique idea of how he might be useful even after death.

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

Episode 60 - All Creatures

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

We lay the groundwork for a discussion of the ethical treatment of animals, including their use in the food chain, in entertainment, in research, in product testing, in zoos and wildlife parks, and in hunting, including our own experiences and changing points of view as we have been Making Our Way.

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

Episode 51 - Roma, Martin, & Barbra

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Dee presents 3 people who have had a significant influence on her as she has been Making Her Way: Roma Hayward, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Barbra Streisand.

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Episode 50 - Dave, Bev, & Jane

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Jan presents 3 people who have had a significant influence on her as she has been Making Her Way: David McMahon, Bev Minn, and Dr. Jane Goodall.

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Episode 49 - Jonah

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Host: Jim

Jim explores the book of Jonah from a non-traditional point of view.

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Episode 48 - Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Hosts: Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim

Heresthetics. Plus, shouting across an 8-lane highway, a bit of Jordan Klepper. The structure of effective rhetoric: ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos. A speech from British Prime Minister Hugh Grant. A speech from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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Hosts: Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim

Social media getting a bit contentious? With the national dialogue approaching DEFCON 2, we take a look at how to negotiate contentious conversations without losing principles and without losing face.

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Episode 46 - An Epic Adventure - III

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Hosts: Jan, Rob, & Jim. Guests: Lillian & Larry Harrison

Jan, Rob, Lillian, & Larry complete their journey aboard Viking’s Grand European Tour with some of the lighter moments in Amsterdam (what Red Light district?), Cologne (Kölsch Beer), and Vienna (an unexected bather in Stadt Park). Plus, they offer their perspectives on their goals in travel.

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Hosts: Jan, Rob, & Jim, with guests Lillian and Larry Harrison. Jan, Rob, Lil, and Larry continue their epic adventure with Viking’s Grand European Tour. In this episode, they relate how the Holocaust formed a common thread on their journey from Amsterdam to Budapest

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Episode 44 - An Epic Adventure - I

Hosts: Jan, Rob, & Jim, with guests Lillian and Larry Harrison. Jan, Rob, Lil, and Larry retell their epic adventure aboard a Viking River Cruise - the Grand European Tour from Amsterdam to Budapest. In this episode, they evaluate their experience with the Viking Cruise Line.

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Hosts: Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim 

2025: a rough start. Stoicism (Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus), and what we really can control. Post-election despondency. The New Orleans incident. Addiction to 24/7 news. Update on Pip. “Laundry Love.” Peter Singer’s moral imperative.

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For the New Year, the group shares a memory of Jimmy Carter, welcomes some classics into a new year of public domain status, mulls over New Year’s resolutions, and Rob remembers his Scrabble® matches with his mom, with a shout out to Nigel Richards (New Zealand).

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Episode 59 - Companions

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Jan & Rob, Dee & Jim talk about companion animals they have known, some of whom do well in the home, others not so much.

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

Jim raises the "secret about Santa" question; presents USPS Operation Santa; reads some actual letters to Santa, and one letter from Santa that Mark Twain wrote to his daughter Susie; and concludes with some thoughts from the famous "Yes, Virginia" editorial from 1897.

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Jim guides us on a quick tour of Matthew’s and Luke’s 2 birth narratives, shows how they  differ, and provides a context in which we can receive both, even with their contradictions.

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Episode 39 - Carpe Diem

We look at Detroit's old Hudson’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the hazard of marching behind horses; the World Chess Championship between Ding Liren and Gukesh Dummaraju; and the passing of Tony Campolo.

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Episode 38 - Honor Flight

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Continuing from Episode 37 - And They Were Heroes, we meet again Master Sergeant O’Neil Ducharme (Marines), veteran of WWII and the Battle of Okinawa, and Mark S. Welsh of the West Central Florida hub (chapter) of Honor Flight, an organization dedicated to providing veterans the experience of visiting Washington, D.C.

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In commemoration of Veteran's Day, we visit with 2 veterans of World War II. One is Frank Robb (Uncle Frank to Jan & me), who fought in the European theater in the Army. Frank is no longer with us, but Jan and Rob conducted an interview with him in 2010, portions of which we share here. The other is O'Neil Ducharme, U.S. Marine (retired), who fought the Battle of Okinawa. Neil is joined by Mark Welsh. Together, they work with Honor Flight, which provides flights to Washington, D.C., for veterans so they can visit the various monuments and memorials honoring their service.

In this Part I, Frank speaks of coming ashore at Omaha Beach on D Day plus four. Neil talks about his experiences on Okinawa's Sugar Loaf Hill as a stretcher bearer, and of his role in the post war occupation of Japan.

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Episode 36 - "...a republic, if you can keep it." (part 2)

With the election in a couple of days, we look back to a memorable campaign ad from 1964, and discuss where each of us fits on a the political spectrum, with an emphasis on progress by working from the center (à la Kennedy & Hatch). We fact-check a Facebook post, look at the Electoral College over the past 35 year, and yet explore reasons for feeling positive.

A poem from W.H. Auden concludes the episode.

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Episode 35 - “A Republic…” (part 1)

With the election days away, Making Our Way deciphers the mysteries of the ballot, talks blue vs red, left vs right, Democratic vs Republican, and Liberal vs Conservative, and looks at the track record of the 2 past administrations on the COVID response and the economy.

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Episode 34 - Wycliffe’s Bones

“Knowledge is Power.” In the wake of The Black Death in the 14th century, the translation of scripture into the vernacular signals a power shift in Europe at the dawn of the Renaissance.

Along the way, we meet John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, & William Tyndale.

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Dee remembers her Uncle Paul, and the interesting people he met. Dee & Jim talk about surviving Hurricane Milton, and how their anniversary plans to New Orleans were gone with the wind.

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We're under Hurricane Milton as we post this. It comes ashore just to our south in about 2 hours. Coincidentally, the episode was planned long ago to be about hurricanes. Written and recorded in the wake of Hurricane Helene, Jim recollects a week of coincidences while working Hurricane Andrew relief in Homestead, Florida, in 1992, with one very meaningful meeting along the way.

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Episode 58 - Imago Dei

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

Jim wishes a happy birthday to the universe - 7002 years old on Sunday, April 27th, 2025. He also takes a look at Johannes Kepler, the Parthenon, the Imago Dei (image of God) from Genesis 1, and sees an unexpected connection between “Dei” and “DEI.”

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

Yes, students can achieve great things under the care of the right teacher, but the best teachers will tell you they are better at their job because of the students they've taught. So, students really do create the best teachers.

In this back-to-school episode, Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim remember outstanding teachers they've had, and the teachers among us remember our outstanding students.

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A conversation with our friend, Emaniel Brifil ("EB"), whose parents arrived in Miami from Haiti via raft in 1979. We talk family, history, values, and the unfortunate direction of certain current political rhetoric, and EB offers a corrective note on Haitian cuisine.

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"The Summer of George" or, "How I spent my summer vacation." 3 of us had near normal vacations, with some major RV repairs and some major Air Canada delays. 1 of us stayed home and cared for the dogs. The one, however, received some excellent news to make up for it all.

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"A date that will live in infamy"? 12/7/1941.
"The Lone Gunman"? 11/22/1963.
"The Second Plane"? 9/11/2001.

Jan, Rob, Dee, and Jim explore the meaning of the second plane and its impact on their lives, and reflect on various responses, religious and secular, to that horrific day.

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In this season finale, Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim offer a few parting words, that is, a few words about parting from the church of their ancestors and of their upbringing.

Not a departure so much as a provoked adventure. Let's call it an invitation to continue making their way.

Watch this space.

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Years in the making, we finally have Jennifer Hoosier as our guest. Her varied life has taken her from her student days at the University of Florida, to teaching in the public schools, to working at The Salvation Army's Florida headquarters, to teaching in China, to an appearance on Jeopardy, and to Kennesaw State University administration.

Recorded May the Fourth, so there might be a Star Wars quiz along the way.

Join us in delightful conversation in this, our season's penultimate episode.

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Troubling trends in communities of faith, as those who claim no religious affiliation, known on surveys as Nones, now rate as the largest "denomination" in the U.S.

What do you look for in a faith community? Or is that not an issue?

Join the conversation with Jan, Rob, Dee, & Jim, currently at their favorite café.

(Still trying to remember how "Groundhog Day" got in this one.)

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Jan & Rob, Dee & Jim check their depth perception of history, and take a U.S. Citizenship test. 95.7% of all immigrants seeking naturalization citizenship pass this test. That number for natural-born citizens? Somewhat less. Would you pass? Did our panelists pass? 

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Jim goes rogue.

Here's a Cheyne Reaction to the "God Bless The USA Bible," removing outdated or offensive statues from the public square,  saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and the rise of Christian Nationalism.

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Pop Quiz! Jan & Rob and Dee & Jim match  their views against the general public (or at least against a Family Feud test audience)  against each other, discover how well they know their way around the world they've traveled, and even venture into the cosmos.

Plus, Jim offers a Cheyne Reaction to the slightly speculative side of eclipse mania.

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Episode 57 - National Parks

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

We conclude our discussion of our National Parks experiences; the economic argument for National Parks; Niagara Falls: a cautionary tale; Nature as witness to Creation; Ranger talks; Rob’s career goal; the Canadian Rockies; and dogs in the National Parks.

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

And now, the final installment of our series on Tanzania, where Jan & Rob are joined by Sandy & Russell Dobney to discuss the sights and sounds, cultures and controversies of their African adventure through O.A.T. (Overseas Adventure Travel) with their excellent tour guide is Eki.

Today, we visit a public school, talk about the controversial practice of female genital mutilation, learn about the public’s attitude towards albinism, and enjoy the group’s final reflections on their once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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Jan & Rob, with our guests Sandy and Russell, recount their time with the Maasai in Tanzania - the people, their culture, their singing, and, as Russell would learn first hand, their unique building materials.

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Jan & Rob return -  Sandy & Russ in tow - with captivating accounts of their Tanzanian Tour. Encounters with The Big Five: Elephant, Lion, Cape Buffalo, Rhinoceros, and Leopard. Encounters with the roughest roads outside of Detroit. And one encounter with the Tanzanian health care system.

Not to be missed: Russ's description of The Ugly Five.

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Our true life "When A Stranger Calls" story, with a twist. So terrifying, Jan didn't even remember it happening.

Plus, Dee's brush with greatness when she literally brushed Princess Diana.

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As a follow-up to "A Reasonable Faith" (Season1, Episode 13), we present further reflections from Jan, Rob, Dee, and Jim on their journey of faith from their earliest memories of religious education to today. A lot has changed, naturally. What have they kept along the way?

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This is our take on reaction videos. What are we reacting to today? The Flat Earth.

Really?

Really.

Who knows? Maybe they have some good ideas.

Maybe.

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Robert Schumann's "Träumerei," from Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), frames a heart-wrenching story of courage, resiliency, and luck, and of the continuing witness of Anita Lasker-Wallfisch.

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Jan & Rob preview their upcoming journey with Sandy & Russell Dobney to Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro, Ngorongoro Conservation Area and crater, and Serengeti National Park -  a trip made possible through a legacy from Rob & Sandy's mother Kathy.

They promise to return, when, in a future episode, we'll compare expectations with experiences.

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Nietzsche: God is dead.
Freud: God is dad.

What is our view about God? It's been a few years since Sunday School, and our views on spiritual matters have - what? - morphed, drifted, transformed? Would our younger selves even recognize us today?

We take a moment to assess our spiritual journeys. How on earth did we end up here?

There are questions, a few answers, and more questions.

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The Gang of 8 makes a surprise return visit for some more reflections on the esoteric world of British Brass Bands, especially those within The Salvation Army. Those in the  know will know this leads us inevitably to stories about, and music of, Eric Ball. Along the way: Erik Leidzen, Derek Smith, Leslie Condon, and more.

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Episode 56 - Dad’s Camera

Official transcript: https://www.cheynemusic.com/transcripts

A conversation about our National Parks, Dad’s Zeiss Ikon camera, a bit of Richard Dawkins, and cash flying out of a Cadillac on a mountain.

Links:

Making Our Way is hosted through buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com

More information about Deanna & Jim Cheyne is here: https://www.cheynemusic.com

Thanks for listening. Share with your friends. Find this and more at cheynemusic.com/podcast.

Our guests this week, Faith & Ian Anderson, and Joan & Campbell Robinson, represent the excellent  brass band tradition for which The Salvation Army is justly famous.

Plus, Joan Robinson reveals a remarkable connection to the very beginnings of William Booth's Army.

Also, the Grammys? The Emmys? The Oscars? Forget 'em. This is the coveted Barry Tone Award. The envelope, please...

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How old is the earth? What shape is it? Was there ever a worldwide flood? Simple questions for some. For others? Points of friction - and contention - between faith and science.

Mattea concludes her visit with an overview of her life as a geologist, and how (and why) she uses laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. (Hope I pronounced that correctly.)

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Age meets youth as Mattea McRae takes us on a fun-filled tour of her nascent career in geology, from exploring the emerald mines of Colombia to searching for gold in the Kerr-Addison Project of Ontario. Isn't this how Indiana Jones got started?

The discussion lays a foundation for our developing look at the relationship between emergent thinking and inherited faith.

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We conclude our series on books with a look at some less stellar experiences we've had with reading: The Hollow Earth? The Protocols? Others?

Plus, a preview of our next episode as we begin a conversation on the possible intersection of faith and reason.

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