Thinking Fellows Podcast: “New Year, New You”
Episode Date: January 12, 2023
Hosts: Scott Keith (A), Caleb Keith (B), Adam Francisco (C), Bruce Hillman (D)
Podcast Theme: Weekly lay-level conversations about theology, philosophy, Christian history, and apologetics.
Overview
In this lively, candid roundtable, the Thinking Fellows break from their usual New Year’s resolution talk to reflect on the books, news, pop culture, and personal milestones of 2022—and look ahead (hopefully and skeptically) to 2023. Each host shares favorite and least favorite reads, big cultural happenings, TV and film reviews, accomplishments and goals, all with a dose of humor and authentic, relatable banter.
Meet the New Cast
- Bruce Hillman joins as the newest Thinking Fellow and 1517’s "Scholar in Residence" (A: 00:45).
- Bruce: “I tried to negotiate for Big Cheese, just couldn't do it.” (C, 01:07)
- Remote recording is now embraced (“Covid broke him,” jokes Scott) (A & B, ~01:39)
- The show now centers the four hosts, with occasional guests from the 1517 fellowship.
Books of 2022: Favorites and Frustrations
Caleb Keith (B)
- Theological: Justification by the Word by Jack Kilcrease (B, 06:08)
“I found a lot in it that was confirming some of the stuff that I read and deal with with Paulson in Outlaw God all the time. And so it was a good book. And I think it was like very lay accessible too.” (B, 06:30)
- Non-Theological: Conservatism by Yoram Hazony
“I did not agree with the entirety of the book. It challenged me. But I agreed with some of the main problems that he identified...Conservatives having sort of a philosophy of politics but living and teaching their children to behave like liberals.” (B, 07:32)
- Couldn’t Finish: Chesterton’s works
“I just...it just wasn’t connecting for me.” (B, 09:06)
Bruce Hillman (D)
- A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell (D, 09:50)
“His observation was pretty profound... Why do people on different ends of the ideological spectrum...line up on the same sides over all sorts of different issues?” (D, 10:34)
- Discusses underlying worldviews about human nature as the source of political divide.
- Non-Fiction Favorite: River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler (D, 14:34)
“It was just a great story about what China’s really like...the China of the poor people and how they were treated.” (D, 16:15)
- Least Favorite: Rarely dislikes, finishes even “horrible” books out of stubbornness.
Adam Francisco (C)
- Biography: C.S. Lewis by Alister McGrath
“...the way McGrath writes...kind of takes you to Oxford, a little bit of Cambridge. And I liked it.” (C, 17:56)
- Cultural/Political: Fools, Frauds and Firebrands by Roger Scruton; Strange New World by Carl Trueman
“Trueman goes into...it’s no longer the case that we try to conform ourselves to nature...but it’s basically the world is made themselves based on the way they feel.” (C, 20:15)
- Other Rec: Defend Us in Battle (story of Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor), a moving memoir about sacrifice and virtue (C, 22:22)
- Least Favorite: Marx’s essays—“I had to put that stuff down.” (C, 22:36)
Scott Keith (A)
- Theology: The Myth Made Fact by Louis Markos (A, 23:12)
- Appreciates the lay-level guide to Lewis’s classical/mythological influences.
- Biography: Coolidge by Amity Shlaes (A, 24:12)
- Surprised by Calvin Coolidge’s significance in US history.
- Big Impact: What to Expect When No One’s Expecting by Jonathan V. Last (A, 24:45)
“None of [our cultural worries] are worth worrying about unless you are really worried about the lack of children. It’s not just on a moral front...it’s on an innovation front.” (A, 25:11)
Major Events of 2022: Best, Worst, or Weirdest
Caleb: Elon Musk Buys Twitter (B, 28:18)
- “It made the Internet fun again for a little bit, and it's amazing how much it distracted the news on the left and the right for two months.” (B, 30:14)
- Notes the absurd tribal reversals and spectacle.
Bruce: The Death of Queen Elizabeth II (D, 30:32)
- “It was sort of a symbolic end of Christian Britain and the Christian west as far as a cultural enterprise.” (D, 31:37)
- Sees her passing as the capstone on a fading Christian culture.
Adam: The Invasion of Ukraine (C, 32:56)
- “If it continues to escalate...with an 18 year old son who’s just itching to do something...I worry about international things now.” (C, 33:13)
Scott: Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion (A, 34:02)
- Advances in fusion could change energy politics, with the bonus twist: “They need an element called helium three...which is on the moon. I created this hilarious picture of Elizabeth Warren calling Elon Musk...to answer for his crimes...then another senator offering him $10 billion to mine helium 3.” (A, 35:04)
Pop Culture: TV and Movies
TV Shows
- Bruce: Squid Game (D, 37:19)
"One of the only shows I’ve ever watched I was literally nervous and on the edge of my seat watching some episodes...It’s not for the children." (D, 38:52)
- Adam: Not much TV besides “kids’ shows” (Cocomelon, Baby Shark, Bluey); started but never finished Yellowstone, Jack Ryan (C, 39:19–39:44)
- Scott: Yellowstone prequels—1883, 1923 (A, 40:23)
“Just get through the over narration by the annoying daughter and you’ll be okay.” (A, 40:23)
- Also notes “docudramas” about recent millennial-era cons like the Theranos story (The Dropout).
Movies
- Scott: Top Gun: Maverick is “the right answer.” (A, 44:21)
“A really good movie will sort of take you out of all of your worries about the actual world for a while and just sort of suck you into the movie and what's going on in the movie.” (A, 46:53)
- Bruce: Did not like Top Gun: Maverick, finds recent movies mostly lackluster (D, 44:08)
- Caleb: The Batman (B, 44:52)
“There were things about it...I liked the long detective noir part of it...they tried to do something different.” (B & D, 45:15)
- Critiques over-reliance on trauma and repeated story formula.
- Adam: “All Quiet on the Western Front” but admits not finishing any movies. Prefers TV these days (C, 47:12).
New Year's Resolutions and Surprising Achievements
- All hosts generally hate New Year’s resolutions; they mock the tradition. (A & D, 49:04)
Big Personal Wins in 2022
- Caleb: Biked a solo century (100 miles) at high altitude, despite chronic pain. (B, 50:03)
"My back was hurting so much. I...I just really, really wanted to stop. And I finished it anyways." (B, 51:30)
- Adam: Quit higher education after 20+ years; received purple belt in jiu jitsu. (C, 53:12)
“I don't know if I'm proud of myself, but I'm pretty happy about it.” (C, 53:26)
- Scott: Returned to fitness, lost significant weight, completed a mountain bike triathlon at 50. (A, 53:43)
“It was...difficult and it still is difficult. It's still like a daily sort of thing that I think about and now get accused of overdoing it the other way.” (A, 54:33)
- Bruce: Self-deprecating humor: “I will never impress myself. I'm too much of a neurotic person to ever impress myself...” (D, 52:54)
Looking Ahead: 2023 Goals and Hopes
- Bruce: Excited to begin new role at 1517, tap into creativity after 16 years pastoring. Wants to write more. (D, 56:17)
- Scott: Inspired to finally write a new book (not essays or compiled works). (A, 56:58)
- Caleb: As the 1517 Podcast Network grows to 20+ shows, his goal is to stabilize and organize internally. (B, 58:06)
- Adam: Simply “wants to survive.” Also, hopes to complete a book and improve health. (C, 59:21)
Final Reflections and Hopes (60:19+)
- Caleb: Hopes for more meaningful adventures and growth experiences for his young family; wants to replicate special moments from recent travels, but anticipates new challenges with growing children (B, 61:18)
“My goal is to like try to figure out a way to do that that isn't miserable for the baby and my wife because that was...amazing.” (B, 62:07)
- Bruce: Entering a season of transition and adjustment—new job, new home.
“I’m looking forward to that. I’m anxious about getting into that new rhythm and what that will look like, but it’s like an anxious slash excitement.” (D, 63:56)
- Scott: With growing family all nearby, hopes everyone recognizes their unique situation and works to preserve it.
“My kind of hope is now that we have it, that we sort of all appreciate it enough to want to work on keeping it.” (A, 64:53)
- Adam: Hopes for a smooth, pain-free transition as foster children return to their mother.
“The big hope is...a smooth, as pain-free of a transition as possible.” (C, 65:13)
Notable Quotes & Timestamps
- “All good ideas ought to be stolen and copied.” – Scott (A, 04:29)
- “It's fun in the way that, like, Trump 2016 was fun, where it's like, the world's kind of burning and it's...funny.” – Caleb (B, 29:12)
- “For anyone...who thinks like Christianity still is a cultural thing that isn't lost yet, I feel like...this was the final symbolic end...” – Bruce (D, 32:19)
Tone and Takeaways
The Thinking Fellows’ easy rapport fuses high-level insight and lived experience, traversing topics from the fate of culture and church to why it’s so hard to find a good movie these days. Their playful, self-deprecating tone (especially regarding resolutions and aging) carries gentle wisdom: meaningful accomplishments come from steady habits; culture and faith demand active stewardship; and lasting change often springs from small, less-than-glamorous choices.
For those who missed the episode: you get a warmly sarcastic, culture- and faith-savvy look at a year in review, with practical wisdom, wit, and camaraderie—no need for New Year’s resolutions required.