Essay Americana

Stephen Ludwig: Writer, speaker, and podcaster
  • 4.8 (16)
  • Personal Journals

Essay Americana provides insight into American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries covering work, relationships, history, leadership, self-identity, philosophy, politics, and psychology.

  1. 02/12/2025

    Silent Bronze

    What do we learn from our grandparents that we didn't get to know? This essay explores those questions of what we get when we ask if they would be proud of how we turned out.

    11 min

  2. 11/10/2021

    Hero?

    This essay is part of the series, "Asphalt Blackboard: Life Lessons from America's Highways." It examines how we are socially programed to respond to a crisis and what it means to be a hero.

    13 min

  3. 03/22/2020

    Stranger Relief at Thanksgiving

    In this time of COVID-19, social distancing, and sheltering in place, why not look at family dynamics in the form of a major holiday?

    29 min

  4. 10/01/2019

    Comic Book Blues

    Art, pop culture, comic books, movies, tv, and compulsive behavior. This episode deals with all that, as well as taking a hard look at when we cut out parts of ourselves in order to "fit in" and what it means to reclaim parts of our personality we should have never let go.

    29 min

  5. 07/26/2019

    What's a Life Worth?

    This month's essay looks at the fundamental question--how we determine the value of a life.

    17 min

  6. 06/06/2019

    Hallowed Ground

    What do we hold sacred? What is truly hallowed ground? A massive church that's been turned into a disco and two battlefields are the backdrop for this interesting essay about what we value and why.

    13 min

  7. 05/05/2019

    Nurse Logs

    What do we owe the past? This essay, the third from "Asphalt Blackboard: Life Lessons form America's Highways" series, explores that question from the only temperate rain forest in the world.

    13 min

  8. 03/23/2019

    Follow the Leader

    Leadership. It's the Holy Grail of the business world. It took a cold day in whitewater to teach how Americans' view leadership and a possible new approach.

    15 min
See All (14)

4.8
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Essay Americana provides insight into American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries covering work, relationships, history, leadership, self-identity, philosophy, politics, and psychology.

Information

  • Creator
    Stephen Ludwig: Writer, speaker, and podcaster
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stephen Ludwig
  • Show Website
    Essay Americana