En Route: A Journey of Faith, and Modern Life

In this episode, Dennis does a potpourri of events from Liz Cheney to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Dennis looks at how bullshitting from the boardroom to the White House can threaten democracy.

The 2020s is a time period where Black Pride seems nowhere to be found.  What happened?

A lot of pastors are leaving the ministry and it has only worsened during the pandemic.  Why?

What happens when the last person of integrity is pushed out of the GOP?

In this episode, Dennis uses his ADHD/Aspergers brain and takes on a potpourri of issues

Why does the Interstate Highway System matter?  What made it so amazing?  Why is it so unappreciated today?  How is it learning from its past mistakes?

The following is the audio version of a meditation Dennis did for his congregation yesterday, looking at the murder of George Floyd from a religious standpoint. Show notes: Evening Prayer (Midweek Vespers) for April 21, 2021 Written Version from the Church website Press Release from the Minneapolis Police Department Be sure to rate us and leave a review at your favorite podcast platform.  That makes it easier for others to find us.  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com. website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite Facebook:  YouTube Channel

Dennis reflects on the guilty verdict of former Minneapolis police Derek Chauvin.  Show notes: The complicated relief of the Chauvin verdict (Vox) Why Chauvin’s conviction matters (Vox) Chauvin’s Conviction Is the Exception That Proves the Rule (The Atlantic) 'It upsets me': Black man reacts to White friend's traffic stop (CNN) The Trial of Derek Chauvin- Advisory Opinions Podcast Anti-Anti-Chauvinism (The Bulwark) A 50-year Downward Spiral (Medium) Episode Transcript Be sure to rate us and leave a review at your favorite podcast platform.  That makes it easier for others to find us.  Questions? Send an email: denminn@gmail.com. website: spheresofinfluence.org Twitter: @CompanyPolite Facebook: 

No matter who you are, at some point you are going to get sick. Who will pay those doctor bills.  In this episode, we look at why the center-right should take up real health care reform. Consider signing up for News of the Sphere, this is where you will find articles of interest and listen to past episodes.  To signup, go to https://newsofthesphere.substack.com/. Questions? Send an email to denminn@gmail.com.  Show Notes: Nixon and Universal Health Care The Swiss Health System The Singapore Healthcare Model

Can conservatives believe in an active government that can help people in need?  Throughout history, the center-right has believed that government can address issues like inequality and also believe in the importance of a free market.  In this episode, Dennis talks about why it's necessary for conservatives to believe in "one nationism" again. Articles of Note: America Needs a “One Nation” Movement by Chris Vance The Working Hypothesis by Oren Cass Beyond Growth by Abby McCloskey Republicans Used to Put Ordinary Workers First—and They Should Again by Brian Stewart Working Class Republican by Henry Olsen Does Anyone Really Believe Free Market Fundamentalists Are ‘Running the Show’? by Jonah Goldberg The Case for Common-Good Capitalism by Marco Rubio Grand New Party by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam

Is America a good nation?

Dennis is looking for religious leaders to interview to share their experiences during the pandemic.  If you are interested, send an email to denminn@gmail.com Episode Notes: Pastoring Through A Pandemic by Western Seminary The Pandemic and the Decline of the Church by David Epps What Kind of Churches Will Survive the Pandemic? by Bob Whitesel What clergy said when influenza closed churches in 1918 Birmingham, Alabama News, April 17, 2020 Adventists and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic By Michael W. Campbell

Another mass shooting is another opportunity to get into another culture war.  Dennis talks about a time when people could come together and create good gun policy and why that is impossible these days.  He ends by talking about the treatment Dr. Deborah Birx has received for her time on President Trump's Coronavirus Taskforce. Background Articles: Gun Control is A Misfire by Marc Cooper Guns and Culture by Dennis Sanders Why I Carry A Gun by David French The Hard Lesson of Dr. Birx by Megan Ranney Shame  on Deborah Birx by Jonathan V. Last Questions or comments? Email me at denminn@gmail.com

Why did Donald Trump win in 2016?  Was it racism? The stress of the American working class? Could it be both?  In this episode, Dennis shares his own working-class roots, how the demise of manufacturing has altered towns across America and how the two major parties ignored the problems of the working class.  Dennis believes Donald Trump was a warning to the governing classes to pay attention to the needs of the American worker or get ready for another strongman in the White House. If you have a question or response to this or any episode, share it via email to denminn@gmail.com.  Visit our website at spheresofinfluence.org. Episode Notes: Workers Are People, Not Widgets: An Epilogue by Amber Lapp The First White President by Ta-Nehisi Coates Donald Trump, Class Warrior by Clive Crook Why They Loved Him by Farah Stockman Richard Rorty’s 1998 Book Suggested Election 2016 Was Coming by Jennifer Senior How the American Left Lost Hope by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-Century America by Richard Rorty Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller Photo credit: Sitdown strikers at the Fisher Body Plant Factory Three in Flint, Michigan. Library of Congress. Public Domain.