111 episodes
Here's A Thought Jan M Flynn
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 14 Ratings
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A blogcast for people who overthink. I'm Jan M. Flynn, a writer who thinks way too much about all kinds of things, so I know what that's like. Sometimes you need a little break from your brain — so here's a chance to get out of your own head for a bit, by getting into mine. Short, weekly episodes give you a glimpse into what's been on my mind: thoughts about life, the universe, and the weird or wonderful things people do. Occasionally I'll share some short fiction or poetry. Think of this as recess for your mind. Join me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net, where you can leave a comment or suggestion on my blog page, and join my email list and receive a free download of my audio short story, "The Collector". Music courtesy of lesfm at pixabay.
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How the movie "Civil War" Helped Me Find Meaning -- Where I Wasn't Looking
Going to see the movie Civil War, the 2024 release written and directed by Alex Garland, isn't like seeing most movies. You walk out of the theater with a lot to think about -- and maybe you walk out changed.
What the experience has done for me is to help me embrace a philosophy proposed by Viktor Frankl, the 20th Century psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust and developed Logotherapy, based on the premise that a basic drive of humankind is to find meaning in life — no matter what the conditions of someone's life may be.
His most famous work is the book Man’s Search for Meaning -- published in English in 1959, an immediate best-seller and, in 1991, called by the Library of Congress one of the ten most influential books in the U.S.
If the term "tragic optimism" sounds contradictory to you, stick with me for a few minutes. You might find it as bracing, helpful -- and hopeful -- as I do.
Opening Music by Oleg Kyrylkovv from Pixabay
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music -
Why Did the Sheep Cross the Road?
In which I witness a semiannual Idaho tradition — when sheep take over a major roadway on their way to greener pastures. It's an Idaho thing.
Want to learn more? Helpful links:
Andy Little, the “Idaho Sheep King"
Idaho sheep ranchers Frank Shirts and Henry Etcheverry
Boise's Basque Block -- where you can find funky, cozy Bar Gernika and enjoy the once-every-five-years cultural Basque cultural festival, Jaialdi
A few more fun quotations about sheep (that aren't insulting to sheep):
We’re a nation of sheep. If you go out and look up at the sky, people around you will start looking up at the sky. — Alan Abel
Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats. — Sue Grafton
We are discreet sheep; we wait to see how the drove is going, and then go with the drove. — Mark Twain
The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same. — Stendhal
If Someone wants a sheep, then that means that he exists. –Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Sheep sound effects courtesy Pixabay Sound
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music -
If You're Feeling All Alone — You're Not. Science Says So
This week, we give thought to how much of us is really "us" — turns out it's way less than we thought. You really do contain multitudes.
Pardon a few technical glitches this week, thanks to a crabby audio system and a very tight schedule due to travel. Or just pretend I have hiccups.
Resource links:
First complete human genome sequence
"Dr. Martin Blaser on sacred cows, ear infections and the nature of science"
by Ashton Applewhite, American Museum of Natural History magazine
Archaea (they're not bacteria!)
Really cool if slightly horrifying PBS video on Demodex
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music -
My Classmate Didn't Just Drink the Kool-Aid: She Brewed It
The Jonestown Massacre happened 46 years ago. But to me, it feels way too close — because one of the people who died there was a girl I went to school with. She was a quiet, shy girl, the daughter of a pastor when I knew her. For years I thought of her as a duped, innocent victim. But it turns out she was one of the leaders, and an architect of the plan to have everyone drink the poison. Is there a way to make any of this make sense?
Content warning: suicide, murder, cults, sexual abuse, child murder
Reference links:
Jonestown, basic background from Brittanica: https://www.britannica.com/event/Jonestown
Maria Katsaris, Wikipedia entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Katsaris
Jonestown: The Women Behind The Massacre documentary film
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8020376/
"revolutionary suicide"
https://inthesetimes.com/article/jonestown-mass-revolutionary-suicide-socialist
"Moonies" (Unification Church)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church
Scientology/Church of Scientology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#:~:text=Scientology%20is%20a%20set%20of,or%20a%20new%20religious%20movement.
Baghwan Shree Rajneesh
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2018/spring/feature/rajneeshpuram-was-more-utopia-desert-it-was-mirror#:~:text=Named%20after%20the%20iconoclastic%20Indian,utopia%20in%20the%20Oregon%20desert.
Jonestown 45th anniversary article, Daily Journal:
https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/45-years-later-peoples-temple-and-the-peninsula/article_3b001bee-85cc-11ee-aa8d-579b5c0b7b99.html
Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple
https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/
-transcript of Charles Garry's interview with Maria Katsaris re: sexual abuse by father
https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=125494
Charles Garry, Wikipedia entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Garry#:~:text=Charles%20R.,during%20the%201978%20Jonestown%20
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music -
Haiku With Poo
A brief meditation on how my dog and I may walk the same path, yet our journeys differ. Trigger warning: contains haiku
Sound Effect from Pixabay
Haiku Music by Inner Tune from Pixabay
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music -
Sayonara, Summer Body
It's spring at last — a season that brings hope, energy, renewal — and for far too many of us the dread of swimsuit season. In this episode, I celebrate reaching the threshold of Summer Body Exemption.
Spring Sound Effect from Pixabay
Boomerang Sound Effect by Jurij from Pixabay
Support the Show.
Do you have comments to share or an idea for an upcoming episode? Need something overthought? I'd love to hear from you!
Email me at HeresAThought8@gmail.com
Or, contact me on my website at www.JanMFlynn.net
Or, DM me on Twitter: @JanMFlynnAuthor
Theme music courtesy of Pixabay Music
Customer Reviews
Highly enjoyable!
I listened to several episodes of Here’s a Thought on a long drive recently and was thoroughly entertained. They’re inspirational, witty, and thoughtful reflections on overthinking and life in general. The short episodes are perfect for when you’re short on time but also for when you have plenty of time and want to listen to several in a row. The topics are relevant to us all, and the podcaster’s voice is appealing and welcoming.
Jan’s overthinking hits the mark
Just when you thought some legislators couldn’t get any more clueless, Jan does a remarkably apt and hilarious job of helping some of them tell the difference between women and cows. To be fair, she gives credit where it is due (really?) and shows the many sides of the issue.
One of the best
Jan M Flynn is probably my favorite Medium writer and her "blogcast" features her excellent reading voice. Subscribe today.