Two Beers Until Phronesis Two Beers Until Phronesis

Four guys with varying experiences in the world of music talk about performing, listening to and working with music. We explore a few questions like - What are the challenges facing the music industry today? How can music shape identity and meaning? Can any genres be considered pretentious or is pretention a myth? Is there a valid argument for "culturally appropriating" music? And can pop music be considered a bad thing?

Drawing from our gigging experiences and academic study we chat about the psychology of music, its appeal as a universal language and how it can be seen as a kind of therapy.

Our thoughts summarised: https://twobeersuntilphronesis.weebly.com/thoughts-on-music.html

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Editing by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)

Connor and Jack have an increasingly drunken chat about rising streaming platforms and the decline of movie theatres. Is there something romantically irreplaceable about the experience of going to the movies or does streaming really have it all? How should one behave when attending the pictures? And are these changes actually good for the movie industry after all? Find out… maybe… probably.

Tom Cruise Rant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e5n4eJ_TVg
Colin Trevorrow's Duel of the Fates: https://youtu.be/itdfe5yQ0Hg
The "Camerawork" of Toy Story 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcZ2OY5-TeM
Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo's List: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-25710924
A New Hope Audience Reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRveOGMflo
The Palace Cinema: https://cinderpal.com/cinderford/now/
Our Thoughts Summarised: https://twobeersuntilphronesis.weebly.com/thoughts-on-cinema.html

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Editing by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)

For our 50th episode we thought we'd try something a little different… Our off the cuff conversation takes us from experience machines to belief in god, free will, happiness and humanism. We ask whether it makes sense to think of a non-religious life as meaningless and whether "unearned" or "false" happiness is desirable (or indeed, even possible). What is the relationship between meaning and happiness and is there something valuable in the pursuit of both? We'd love to have more improvised chats like this and expand on a lot of these ideas in the future.  

Articles by Connor & Nye:  
https://twobeersuntilphronesis.weebly.com/herefordshire-humanists.html
https://nyejames.com/blog/

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Edited by Connor.  
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.  
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)

This is what the wait has been for... Two drunk blokes talking about giants.  

Giambattista Vico was an Italian Enlightenment philosopher and historian who, for some reason, believed in giants. Though somewhat obscure, his ambitious work "Scienza Nuova" attempts to combine all humanities into a single subject and explain the cyclical nature of human history and has influenced countless thinkers.

Giants have featured in the mythologies and folklore of virtually every civilization. Human or other-worldly, whether a metaphor for the violent forces of nature or a relic bygone ages, giants are often used to explain magnificent phenomena. We look at common themes from Celtic, Norse and Greek myths. Despite global similarities, giants can differ greatly in their nature. Religious beliefs, storytelling, cultural attitudes and maybe even fossils can help explain how and why giants stand so tall across the stories of humanity.  

Our thoughts, summarised: https://twobeersuntilphronesis.weebly.com/thoughts-on-vico--giants.html

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Editing by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.  
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)

Why do atheists and theists never seem to convince one another? Why do modern debates about God never work? What exactly is the difference between reason and religion?  

When medieval Christians like Thomas Aquinas got their hands on the logic and rationalism of Aristotle they worked to combine their scripture with the reason of philosophy… but would it work? Years later we still try to prove and "unprove" god but perhaps there is another solution. Søren Kierkegaard, whilst struggling with his own faith seemed to suggest a reason why Christians and atheists just can't seem to get along and keep arguing past one another…  

Pencil drawing of Kierkegaard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Søren_Kierkegaard#/media/File:Søren_Kierkegaard_(1813-1855)_-_(cropped).jpg
Our essays can be found here: https://twobeersuntilphronesis.weebly.com/the-writing-room.html
Previous episode: https://youtu.be/M9uUjjTu_T4  

*Right, so we lost a bit of this episode whilst recording online… we mostly managed to cover it, apologies however for any funny sounding audio in one or two places*

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Edited by Connor.
Audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)

We've all heard of it but have you ever wanted to find out what Quantum Mechanics actually is? Well here's a Christmas treat! As promised, Nye explains QM from the ground up; starting with the history and context of why and how it was theorised. Going through all the major scientific developments and players leading up to its inception, we break down some of the relevant concepts and round it all off with a bit of a chat.

Apologies for any minor audio issues or repetition of points made in other podcasts.

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Editing, audio & music mastering / production by Nye James.
Jingles recorded by Nye (guitars) & Connor (harmonica, mandolin)