Hand Craftsmanship in the Digital Age – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Hand Craftsmanship in the Digital Age

Strother Purdy

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/41d. Total Eps: 20

Interviews with craftsmen of all stripes to understand what they do, and what kind of satisfactions they get from their work. No nudity at any time.

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Apple

Data updated on 04/07/2026

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
17/07/2026
#95
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
16/07/2026
#93
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
15/07/2026
#88
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
14/07/2026
#85
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
13/07/2026
#81
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
12/07/2026
#76
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
11/07/2026
#62
🇨🇦 Canada - Crafts
10/07/2026
#56
🇩🇪 Germany - Crafts
01/07/2026
#98
🇩🇪 Germany - Crafts
30/06/2026
#98

Spotify

No recent rankings available

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 28%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Latest published episodes

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From my upcoming book The Joy of Workmanship

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 • Duration 43:30

The Joy of Workmanship is now complete, and heading to a publisher soon--with a little luck. Here's a description and the introduction. Let me know what you think!

Episode 14: Jennifer Benner's peaceful gardening escape

Friday, December 13, 2024 • Duration 47:05

Jennifer Benner is a master gardener, book author, and former editor at Fine Gardening magazine. I challenged her with the idea of gardening as a craft, and the result is this interview. This peaceful escape that Jenny jokes she is addicted to has given her more than a career and a living. We talked about how gardening changed her as a person, how the beauty of an object comes from the effort we’ve put into making it, or participating in its creation. There is a world of difference between understanding a garden as a service, or a product, and as a process. Much more comes from gardening than the garden itself. Enjoy!

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Episode 13: Abe Chaber and the pursuit of "It's beautiful"

Tuesday, February 20, 2024 • Duration 02:15:16

Abe Chaber is a master gunsmith of best grade shotguns, having apprenticed under Carl Kruger. His work is beyond superlative, and recognized worldwide as among the very best.

The challenges of gunsmithing, using only hand tools and traditional materials to maintain 18th and 19th-century authenticity in his repairs and reproductions, cannot be underestimated. Abe works with different steels, iron, copper, gold and silver, wood and horn, leather and many other materials each with their own properties, using only files, saws, chisels and hammers.

What has kept Abe at his bench for over 50 years? How does he "just do it"? And what two words from his teacher encapsulate everything he works for?

It's a long interview, over 2 hours. Listening in installments is permitted.

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Episode 12: Ian Kirby: The Quiet Acceptance that Comes from Designing Thoughtfully from Nature

Friday, December 1, 2023 • Duration 01:44:25

Ian Kirby's storied career as a teacher, designer, and hand craftsman with great skills of workmanship is the foundation of this interview. We talk of many things, from

lessons such as to never make a piece of furniture without a purpose; how drawing from nature, not from other artists or craftsmen, is key to understanding good design; how students have changed since the 1970’s; how nothing in nature is truly ugly, and nature is our visual capital; the American v. the English way of learning woodworking; the problems of the designer not being able to afford his own work; that a pantry is essential in a good kitchen; and how through our work we set a standard for living.

Visit Ian's website iankirbydesign.com to learn more.

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Episode 10: Ben Heineman: Self-taught furniture and cabinetmaker on what leads to mastery.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 • Duration 01:19:35

Go see Ben's work at benswoodshop on Instagram, then you will have all the context you need for a discussion with him about mastery, beauty, making things, and what keeps him going, making things that people will treasure in their lives.

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Episode 11: Denise Keim and Chip Reid On Seeing and Being Seen

Monday, October 30, 2023 • Duration 01:32:30

Cell phones make photography the most democratic of arts. You take pictures, don't you? What is the thrill of the click for you?

Denise Keim, an amazing professional street photographer, and Chip Reid, attorney-by-day and talented photographer by night (and weekend-day) discuss who they are, what they do, their attitudes towards their work, how their work shapes them, has opened doors for them and fulfills their lives, and, in the end, if the Kardashians are beautiful.

Doesn't the search for, and creation of, Beauty reminds us that we’re all part of a greater narrative?

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Episode 9 3/4: On Hating Your Job v. Finding Meaning, Satisfaction and Joy in it. Is there a Secret Ingredient?

Friday, October 20, 2023 • Duration 31:21

The corporate lawyer told me he hated everything about his job except the paycheck. I wondered how he could live that way. I find such satisfaction and meaning in my simple cabinetmaking work. Other craftsmen seem to feel the same--though words to describe this secret ingredient are few and vague.

Between interviews, an exploration of the goals of this podcast and the accompanying book.

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Episode 9: Paula Sparks on Carpentry, Jewlery Making, and the Innate Drive to Make and Fix Things

Monday, January 16, 2023 • Duration 54:41

Paula Sparks is my wife's best friend. She has spent her life either working with her hands or teaching how to use them in a range of trades. From furniture stripping and repairing, to jewelry making, to residential carpentry, we talk about throwing creativity into mundane work, quieting the inner chatter, the dullness of office work, and how comparison is the thief of joy.

Enjoy!

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Episode 8: Alex Alexopolous and Lauren Scott on the craft, art highs and lows of restaurant work

Thursday, December 29, 2022 • Duration 01:11:25

Alex and Lauren are my former neighbors, sadly moved away. Though their backgrounds and experience are rich and varied, they have one thing in common-- they have been (and Lauren still is) part of the "restaurant world." Lauren as a high-end restaurant server, and Alex was an owner and manager. What do they have to say about "working with their hands"? Is restaurant work a craft? Does it involve the same things, or not? Is it "mind work" if not hand work? Be prepared to learn lots about what goes into a nice meal, with much practical and wise insight into what really matters in a good life, how the setting of a table is a craft, if not an art, to create a seamless dining experience; the social tolerance that working in close quarters teaches us; that Patience! is as key to their work as to any; and the the shelf that Lauren created out of nothing.

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Episode 6.1 Followup with Mark Clement on wisdom earned from our hands

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 • Duration 15:25

Mark sent a follow up email on the kind of wisdom he pulls away from hand work that was compelling enough to share and comment on. Only 15 minutes!

Hand Craftsmanship in the Digital Age – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Hand Craftsmanship in the Digital Age – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify