For the final episode of this year, join Michael to discuss your questions for a Christmas mailbag episode. Michael answers questions about Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans Principle,” the difference between pride concerning earned skills and narcissism concerning gifts, how Christians should approach magic in fantasy books and/or movies, what fiction Michael has been reading and why he cares about fiction, and whether or not Christians should buy cheap, plastic Nativity scenes for their yard.
Stay tuned at the end for the album version of Civilized Creature’s “Humble and Lowly,” off his excellent record Earthen Vessel, released in 2023.
Michael discusses narcissism, why it seems so prevalent among artists, and how to address it. Using an excellent podcast from Martyr Made’s Darryl Cooper called “The Underground Spirit” as his jumping-off point, Michael explores Dostoevsky and Nietzsche, the meaning of narcissism, the nature of giftedness, the struggle of prodigies, the isolation of the artist, and the resentment and pride of communities, recommending tools for addressing narcissism and pride in both gifted artists and the communities that include them. Stay tuned at the end for “I Cannot Forget,” a track from Warbler off of the record Wrestling.
LINKS
Michael interviews Roy Sneed, a missions specialist who trains cross-cultural workers in the four uses of storytelling for missions and evangelism. With seasoned wisdom and disarming humor, Roy explains his storytelling approach, telling a few of his stories along the way.
Stay tuned until the end to hear a track from Physick, “In the Whirlwind,” from the unreleased EP Shoal Creek Valley.
In this promised second part of our podcast on the problem of fame, Michael discusses how an uneven distribution of support in the arts harms patrons, patronage, and communities. He then explores some ways artists and patrons can solve this problem. Stay tuned at the end of the episode to hear “5 Year Town” by Jacob Davis Martin, from his record Ain’t It All Just Golden.
You can listen to the first part of this podcast, The Artist and the Problem of Fame, here on our website.
In this first part of two, Michael explores the problem of fame as it relates to artists. What is the problem of fame? How does it negatively affect both successful and unsuccessful artists? Stay tuned until the end to hear “I’ve Found Love in Mississippi” by Porchlight artist Trailand Eltzroth from his record For My Friends and Family.