Essay Americana

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? 

Essay Americana captures snapshots of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Topics covered include work, relationships, history, leadership, self-identity, and others. This episode looks at the positive consequences of unlearning a well intentioned lie all mothers tell their children.  

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. 

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.     

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

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. 

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.

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. 

Changes to rural Montana, the Great American Road Trip, and becoming unmoored from you daily life all teach something about modern American life. 

A memorial service serves as the backdrop for a reflection on church culture and who gets to stand behind the alter. 

We see the end results on the television, but what's it like to cover a major tragedy? 

iTunes and Spotify have robbed us of something, but have they given us something in return? This essay explores the power of music, nostalgia, and technology and how each impacts the other and what it might mean to you.

An evening at a nightclub with a journal ends up providing insight into what night clubs teach us about ourselves—the good, the bad, and our society as a whole.