Dennis and Julie appreciating happiness.  What are the happiest years of your life?  Do you think that your presence in other people’s lives makes them happier?  Few people realize that they are in the happiest time of their life when it is occurring.  Dennis philosophizes: “If you’re happy and you know it… clap your hands.”  At what age do you think about the past more than the future?  Dennis talks about being in Rush’s shadow for much of his radio career. 

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1. Dennis and Julie breakdown special treatment: extra time for tests, pre-boarding, and service animals.  Compassion in the micro leads to cruelty in the macro.  Dignity prevents Dennis and Julie from taking advantage of these special accommodations.  They expose the self-esteem movement… high self-esteem is great if it is morally rooted.  You must earn your self-esteem, or it is worthless.  Other topics include: shame; pride in being real; and cheating. 

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Dennis and Julie discuss being a character… looks can be deceiving.  Dennis’ nature is to play… but his friendship with Allen keeps him accountable and therefore more productive.  Dennis decided at a young age, after watching the Diary of Anne Frank, to channel his emotions into action.  Dennis’ “sanity preserver” is his belief in an afterlife.  How can you function without a belief in God?  How does thinking about death change as you age?  Do you have any regrets?  Dennis recalls some experiences from Yeshiva.  Monitor yourself… be interesting. 

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Dennis and Julie tackle: can a thought be a sin; lust versus having an affair; Dennis talks about his “Christian envy” when was growing up… “guilt over thought” snapped him out of it; Julie talks about her curiosity/flirtation with Judaism… it’s powerful to have a religion centered on referring to God rather than Jesus; people have done evil with “good thoughts,” and conversely good things have come from “bad thoughts”; intentions versus actions; capitalism versus communism; can one “do good” without “good thoughts”; how does one know if their thoughts are “good or bad”; actions are far more important than thoughts; the thought that God judges you is infinitely more comforting than the thought that God loves you; does God punish people’s sinful thoughts; under what circumstances is lustful thought not “bad” or sinful?

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Dennis and Julie discuss one of the benefits of having people in your life… it can help you to understand yourself.  Asking interesting questions of people can help them to understand themselves.  Are women more aware than men… what are the differences in the way the sexes pay attention.  Dennis shares his love of street photography.  Julie references a takeaway from: I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself: One Woman's Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris - Glynnis MacNicol… don’t let the blows of your childhood hit you too hard as an adult.  Other topics include: How much are we a product of our childhood; The “baggage” issue; Is your nature more powerful than your nurture; We are the stories we tell ourselves; There is liberation in giving your parents the benefit of the doubt; blame; The butterfly effect; Meeting Dr. Laura; punishment for sins; Julie asks Dennis if he believes in a “cosmic scaffolding”; there’s no such thing as “one” lie.

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Dennis and Julie dedicate this episode to prayer.  Does prayer play a role in your life?  What does prayer mean, and how does prayer in Judaism differ from Christianity?  Define what it means to have a “relationship” with God?  What does God want you to do?  Do you talk to God?  Does God talk to you?  Is God difficult to love?  Do you listen to God?  They discuss the difference between praying for others versus praying for yourself.  Are you “close” to God?  Do you love God?  Is obedience to God more important than loving God?

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Dennis and Julie ask did you have trepidation on your wedding day?  The famous are rarely significant, and the significant are rarely famous.  Is fame significant?  Is fame a uniquely American pursuit?  Let’s say you do get into a good college… then what?!  You need an “inner” life to be happy, the “outer” stuff won’t get you there.  Once you get what you want, it may not be what you thought it would be.  What role does God play as the engineer of your life?  Other topics include: vehicular misadventures; acts of heroism that go unnoticed daily; Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder; cigar lounge experiences; and clown parties!

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Divorce, Dignity, and Demons
Dennis and Julie start with the decline of “Mrs.”  Topics include: affinity groups; changing last names upon marriage or divorce; it is not the divorce that damages children… it is what happens after the divorce that damages children; how the parents treat each other matters; dignity matters… spreading dignity is contagious; everyone needs to develop “shock absorbers,” or else they’ll be crushed by life; people have demons; a painless life is not possible; Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina principle – “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”; “Giving it up to God” is misunderstood.

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Dennis and Julie analyze the power of the aural and the visual.  Is it inauthentic to have a bookshelf full of books that you haven’t read?  Social media has bred an increase in posturing, posing, and homogenization in humanity. What does it mean to be an individual?  Is being authentic and being an individual synonymous?  Where does individuality end and “being a nut” begin?  Other topics include: Exacerbated Posturing; The Uniform of Nonconformity; Know Thyself; Wherever you go, there you are; Clothing matters; Dennis listens to some rap; Popular is the antidote to individuality; Dennis has bars?!

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Dennis and Julie ponder whether it’s harder to come out as gay or as conservative in 2024.  Conservatives are mischaracterized as racist and homophobic… but there is great diversity on the Right side of the aisle.  Do you know the origin of Dennis and Julie’s unlikely and unique friendship?  Conservatives are mischaracterized as simple-minded religious zealots… but the Right is more intellectually formidable than the Left.  Other topics include: Jonathan Haidt’s study – conservatives know liberals better than liberals know conservatives; The Humanist Manifesto; Atheism versus Belief; Dennis’ question to Christopher Hitchens; Uncomfortable reality; Clarity, accuracy, and honesty are paramount; Lies are the root of evil; The writing process behind Prager U’s five minute videos; The definition of prayer in Hebrew.

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Dennis and Julie discuss smoking, micro versus macro topics, and what motivates people to have affairs?  Is being shallow required in certain situations in life?  “Being informed is a moral obligation,” - Aaron Prager. Should we judge people… if so, when and whom?  Are you a decent and moral person in the micro and the macro? Other topics include: universalism vs relativism; generation values/morals… like sending thank you notes; gradations of sin; private versus public speech – humans beings are pressure cookers – private talk is a release of the pressure; the golden road – the middle between extremes – the extreme is so tempting; “the purity death spiral,” - Jeremy Boreing.

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