Oh No, Ross and Carrie Ross and Carrie

the very best (also the very best opening music)

So to get this out of the way: I’m a Christian, I go to church and everything. I was attracted to this show because I love to learn about the beliefs of others, and I believe the best way to share the love of Jesus with people is to first understand their background. Well, Ross and Carrie may be disappointed in me, because I’ve become a bit of a proselyte for their podcast. I recommend it to everybody I can.

Ross and Carrie are so kind and considerate during their investigations, and they ask amazing and insightful questions that I love to consider as if I were the one who had to answer. They aren’t afraid to stand up and confront people if it comes to that (something I don’t do very well), and they convicted me to have the courage to address some ignorance expressed by people in my own life. If you can keep an open mind and accept having your own biases and beliefs challenged from time to time, and/or if you care about other people and need a healthy dose of conviction, this is a podcast for you. I think everyone has something to gain by listening.

I am hooked on this podcast since I started listening. As a rationalist and scientist, I can barely listen to someone give me a 10-second summary of their horoscope without rolling my eyes, so the idea of attending one of these sessions strikes me as impossible. This is why their tag line speaks so strongly to me: They go so I don’t have to, and I appreciate that. I listen to this podcast with my kids, because it is a workshop in critical thinking. The Gail Thackray episode (383) is a particularly splendid example of how they pull this off. Typically, one has had an experience or researched something and the other listens along with us, to the story. As it rolls out, the one of them that is the listener makes comment on the various problems as they arise, breaking down what is fundamentally wrong or harmful about the approach. In this case, Carrie recounts her attendance to a course on past-life regression healing with Gail Thackeray, and, while she does, Ross breaks down his major objections, which in this case were fascinating. Like I said, I would roll my eyes and walk away from Gale Thackray, but Ross gives respect to every person they interview or research and in this case, he kept talking about all the past-life explanations offered by Gale Thackray being “inefficient.” My kids were in the car and I backed up and replayed key sections so they could understand what he meant. He’s referring to the rule of science that you prefer the most efficient explanation. Thackray explains birthmarks as wounds of various sorts from a past life and explains conflicts with bosses as memories of those reincarnated people having tortured you in a past life. None of this is helpful for the listener or efficient, when bad feelings about your boss are nearly universal and birth marks are just how skin works sometimes. No further explanation needed. His analysis was great. When he’s telling the story, Carrie’s analyses are equally insightful. Her highlighting the current weird obsession with trauma is particularly elucidating. In their investigations, they could make fun of people, but they are kind and generous. Can’t recommend the podcast enough.