Show Notes
The Beatles have delivered a new single some 62 years after their first one - and some 22 and 43 years respectively since the deaths of two of their members, George Harrison and John Lennon. The song, Now and Then, was written by John Lennon and was on tape with him singing over piano. But as a pre-release mini-documentary explained, until recently the technology wasn’t available to split the track up into its component parts. Whatever you think of this curio from the past, it's release raises an interesting question: how hooked are we on nostalgia? In fact, are we finding nostalgia an essential component of our lives in order to cope with an anxiety-ridden present? Or, to put it another way, is 'then' our refuge from 'now'? And will future generations increasingly yearn for how things were as they seek for a sense of stability in a fast-moving world?
More from Delorean Philosophy
In 1964, Sam Cooke famously sang this about the direction of the world; It's been a long A long time coming, but I know A change gonna come Oh yes, it will Well, that change is heard. The way we now communicate has changed forever with the advent of social media. With this change has come new challenges; we are more polarised than ever before, and the psychological health of the population is stretched - especially among younger people. As we strap in for the rollercoaster of 2024, what can we expect in an ever-changing, ever-polarised society? Change is gonna come - but will it be for the better or worse?
What if the purpose of marriage is to make us better? What if personal relational choice is a bit of a lie?
In a special Christmas episode, Steve takes some time to reflect on how Christmas - an ancient celebration - is changing as fast as the culture itself. The commercialism and pageantry of Christmas has sucked meaning from this important celebration. The earliest Christmas memories of ordinary people can be lost in this meaningless procession. But are we at risk of losing something even more significant? Are we in short supply of joy at Christmas? It certainly seems to be in short supply at the moment - so what does that mean for Christmas in the years to come?
In the run up to Christmas, Steve McAlpine looks dubiously at the West's repeated calls for 'peace on earth'. Could peace - at least as far as the West is concerned - remain beyond reach because of the direction our culture wars have taken? If calls for tolerance are now viewed suspiciously as a fig leaves for oppressive powers, so much so that we must behave in a violently intolerant way, then what room is there for peace? Instead, we may find ourselves in a society that is perpetually at war with itself because we haven't learnt the ability to forgive our enemies without requiring their total subjugation.
What word do you associate with "masculinity"? Guesses are, 'toxic' is high on the list. With so many "damaged men" portrayed in our literature - especially in schools - what hope can young boys in the global west have of finding a good role model? Perhaps it's time we broadened what the typical "man" looked like. Only when we do that will sayings like "boys will be boys" be a thing of the past.