Breadbox Media

The Counter Position Episode 37: On Brisket, The Beautiful Sobering Nature of Families, and Literary Inspiration to Use the Tools of the Mission Ad Gentes in Our Own Backyard.

In this episode Andrew reflects on a long day of cooking Texas style brisket with Chris Stefanick and on being sobered by the amount of work family takes. Then, he muses on The Sparrow and the characters’ use of anthropological, linguistic, and cultural observational tools to decode an alien civilization and wonders whether some of those same tools from the mission Ad Gentes could be helpful in understanding the unchurched and dechurched in our country.

The Counter Position Episode 36: Life as Battle, the Strata of Being, and the Common Sense of Believing in Demons

In this episode Andrew muses on the idea of life as battle. With the help of Fr. Jacques Phillipe, St. Paul, and some ontological musing, he explores the big big picture of life in enemy occupied territory, who that enemy is, and why it makes sense to believe in them, all in reflection of having dropped his own guard in that very battle.

The Counter Position Episode 35: On Beauty, Discontent with Apologetics, and The Acquisition of Gas Stoves

In this episode a very tired Andrew gives more late night post-lecture musings, but this time on the nature of beauty, how our making effects our longing, with many interesting rabbit trails, including a redux on his secret making of hot dogs as a kid and the new stove he’s getting just in time for Fall. This one, good and bad, is classic Counter Position goodness.

The Counter Position Episode 34: How to Become a Better Christian According to Someone Who Knows Better Than I Do

In this episode Andrew throws down some late night musings on his good friend Kenn Cramer’s talk he had just went to. One part book report, one point meditation, one point muse-fest, Andrew covers how to love people while they are hating you, how to see yourself as God sees you, what real humility looks like, personal development in the spiritual, and many many other things in the context of the project of chasing down perfection in the midst of our brokenness…and he didn’t choke up or cry while talking about his friend Kenn moving.

The Counter Position Episode 33: Introducing Breadbox Media!

In this episode Andrew explains to the listener why he is now saying Breadbox Media instead of Real Life Radio, adds a rule to the drinking game, does a Counter Position catechesis on the theology of the Eucharist, explores his personal history of breadboxes and finds the roots of his culinary obsession in roasting hot dogs on the gas burner, and finally, tabernacle as Wardrobe/Narnia rerevisited. (Yes that's a Metallica reference)

Episode 32: Turntables, Fire, Meat, and the Counter Position Drinking Game

In this episode Andrew continues to muse and explore the analog vs. digital metaphor in light of Fr. Jose Medina's article, tells a story about a prostitute, gripes about the millennial's ability to listen to tiny speakers, gushes about an old Patagonian man who is right about fire and meat, but wrong about freedom, and introduces the first 8 rules for the new Counter Position Drinking Game!

The Counter Position Episode 31: Walking on Water

In this episode Andrew continues his musing on digital media's influence in our lives into an extended reflection on the metaphor of water, swimming through Fr. Jaques Phillipe, David Allen, and Romano Guardini.

The Counter Position Episode 30- From Amazon, Facebook, and Porn to the Dating Apocalypse of Tinder

In this episode Andrew explores the sources of our digital habits and their culmination in new modes of personal interaction, primarily tracing the habits we acquired by using online shopping, online pornography, and social media and their natural end in the real physical and emotional use on persons being enabled among the young by things like Tinder. Then, he muses on bigger more global examples with Google, Facebook, and the media and how they can manipulate our perceptions. Get out your tinfoil hats. (or don't)

The Counter Position Episode 29: Weekly Wrap-up, Pulling the Trigger, Empty Buildings, and Men Without Chests

In this episode Andrew vents giddily about looking at empty buildings and the reemergence of old ideas, conjures the prophetic ghost of C.S. Lewis with the help of a blogger, gives a tentative high five to some non-religious people fighting porn, and rants about the shock about killers like James Holmes and how they are the logical end of the worldview we’ve fed this generation.

Original Airdate: 08/21/15

The Counter Position Episode 28: Numb Hearts, Right Brains, and Better Rhetoric

In this episode Andrew travels from the condition of his own heart, to the mismatch of method and audience in the culture war, and ends up repeating his call for the Church to try something new.

Original Airdate:  08/20/15

The Counter Position: Episode 27 Wealth, Tongues, and Other Randomness

In this episode Andrew bounces from updates, to stories stolen from a wealthy man, to tongues vs. traditionalism and what they have in common, and so much more. Classic random goodness Counter Position style.

The Counter Position Episode 26: Lust, Unreality, and Engaging the Real

In this episode Andrew continues the discussion of Ideation vs. Incarnation, gushes over and reads an article from Bad Catholic, reads rare Guardini and an obscure quote from recovery literature all to explore our addiction to unreality and lust as a negative view of love and a limitation of a false notion of freedom.

Original Airdate: 08/18/15

The Counter Position Episode 25: Ideation & Incarnation

In this episode Andrew muses on the joys of pulling the trigger, the risk of letting things out of your head, and the similarities to the gift of existence in God's creating and in The Incarnation.

Original Airdate: 08/17/15

The Counter Position Episode 24: Missing The Mark or Failing Your Way to Discovering Yourself

This episode features Andrew at his ADD best, as he explores what we can learn from what we fail at, what we are bad at, and what we just can’t quite shake over the years and how that can be a clue to what would be your passion if your heart and will weren’t so numbed and you could actually feel it.

Original Air Date: 08/13/15

The Counter Position Episode 23: Vulnerability & Encounter

In this episode, prompted by the stories of risk and reconciliation in the last episode and a truly striking episode of the Catching Foxes Podcast, Andrew explores how real vulnerability as a mode of life can be a place of encounter for those around us. He covers the need to look like you have it all together in the Catholic world, the shame silence around porn addiction, Kenn Cramer’s arresting blogs on his suicidal ideation and past sexual experimentation as search for identity, and says it’s OK to say you are not OK.

Original Air Date: 08/11/15

The Counter Position Episode 22: Airplane Seat vs. Fat Guy: A Study in Conflict as Encounter

In this episode Andrew turns some nasty comments from an airplane seat mate into a chance for relationship, then goes into a show long rabbit trail about the KKK, Rwandan Genocide, forgiveness as encounter, and how treating someone with dignity can confuse them into the Kingdom of God.

The Counter Position Episode 21: The Beachisode!!! 08/07/15

In this episode Andrew takes the Counter Position party to the beach, fun and awkward photo shoot, celebrity chefs, more shameless praise for Fuse, AJ's Market redux, Waze vs. Cops, Come on Google Maps you're better than this, Solvang, "The Date", Waze for the win, startling a college girl on accident, Wren the bestest God daughter, and Beacon Coffee VTA. Beach time!

The Counter Position Episode 20: “Oh, so you understand?” + Mea Culpa 08/06/15

In this episode Andrew explores the joys of people watching, stealing good ideas, connects with the owner of an amazing business who’s name he forgot (Called AJ’s Market btw), and offers a story about how he fell flat on his face while doing what he supposedly knows how to do.

The Counter Position Episode 19: Buddhists, Big Ideas, and Bishops.

In this episode: Scary lovely suburban Buddhists, strange comfort from the Dally Lamb-uh, pork shanks and big ideas, old nuns holding up the world, the dream team, wow I’m actually good at this, I’m ready for my close up, hangin’ with the Bishop, and straight lounging’ on a lounge.

The Counter Position - Episode 18: Planes, Trains, and Vanagons 08/03/15

Andrew loads up the Calix/Counter Position wagon train and heads out West. Free booze on a plane, traffic, cool shops, Inn-N-Out Burger, babies, wine, fire, Andrew's favorite place in the universe, Thomas Aquinas College, Failed interview is a van down by the...ocean, La Superica, the 101, Santa Cruz, a beast named Trogdor, and Buddhist Meditation.