The Troubadour Podcast
298 episodes - English - Latest episode: 24 days ago -"It is the honourable characteristic of Poetry that its materials are to be found in every subject which can interest the human mind." William Wordsworth The Troubadour Podcast invites you into a world where art is conversation and conversation is art. The conversations on this show will be with some living people and some dead writers of our past. I aim to make both equally entertaining and educational.In 1798 William Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge published Lyrical Ballads, which Wordsworth called an experiment to discover how far the language of everyday conversation is adapted to the purpose of poetic pleasure. With this publication, he set in motion the formal movement called "Romanticism." 220 years later the experiment is continued on this podcast. This podcast seeks to reach those of us who wish to improve our inner world, increase our stores of happiness, and yet not succumb to the mystical or the subjective.Here, in this place of the imagination, you will find many conversation with those humans creating things that interest the human mind.
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Episodes
Artful Convo: Women's Fiction vs. Men's Fiction W/Shar Lemond
January 17, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 28.7 MBSend us a Text Message. Shar Lemond (sharlemond.com) is the author of the new novel "Travel Secrets Book One: Rio De Janeiro. We had a great conversation about the differences between women's lit and "mens lit" (which doesn't really exist exactly). We also discussed the nature of femininity and masculinity and how to portray valuable themes in great works of literature.
PT 3: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi
January 16, 2019 08:00 - 2 hours - 79.6 MBIn part 3 of our 4 part series we explore "Rappaccini's Daughter," one of Hawthorne's most famous short stories. Whether we understand it or not, our American culture is heavily shaped by Science Fiction. It is arguably the closest we get to a literary genre. It's power is so immense that our views of things like the lone-billionaire scientist (think Musk) and the doting old intellectual (think Bernie) still follow us around today. When we look to scientists to solve all of our ecological...
PT 3: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi
January 16, 2019 08:00 - 2 hours - 79.6 MBSend us a Text Message. In part 3 of our 4 part series we explore "Rappaccini's Daughter," one of Hawthorne's most famous short stories. Whether we understand it or not, our American culture is heavily shaped by Science Fiction. It is arguably the closest we get to a literary genre. It's power is so immense that our views of things like the lone-billionaire scientist (think Musk) and the doting old intellectual (think Bernie) still follow us around today. When we look to scientists to so...
Taken or The Equalizer, which is more romantic?
January 11, 2019 08:00 - 26 minutes - 12.2 MBSend us a Text Message. This one may be better in video since I watched two trailers. But the audio is good too. https://www.facebook.com/kbarbera/videos/10157073720104781/
Random thoughts and a quick reading of "Advertisement" to Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge
January 04, 2019 08:00 - 22 minutes - 10.1 MBSend us a Text Message.
What We're looking for in Submissions to Troubadour Magazine
January 04, 2019 03:00 - 27 minutes - 12.6 MBSend us a Text Message. This was an impromptu facebook live I did on the first day I started receiving submission for the magazine.
A Conversation on Poetry, Rap, and Art With Jeremiah Cobra
January 02, 2019 21:00 - 52 minutes - 24.1 MBSend us a Text Message. Jeremiah is a poet living in Souther California, who writes what I would call Romantic literature. On this show we discussed the nature of poetry, spoken word and wrap, and his forthcoming book, which is in the genre called "slave-narrative." I also have a book recommendation for him and for you in this conversation. A Victor Hugo book that is often overlooked. Enjoy this conversation with Poet Jeremiah Cobra. Get Jeremiah's book of poetry and short stories "Beaut...
Ode to Psyche by Keats W/Special Guest Stacey Reay
December 29, 2018 21:00 - 1 hour - 45.8 MBSend us a Text Message. This marks Stacey's second time on the podcast and this time we chatted about the first of John Keats' "Ode" Poems, Ode to Psyche. One of the keys to using this poem in our real life is to ask ourselves if it is possible to maintain a passionate love affair throughout our entire lives? Does passion have to fade? Can it remain eternal? What role does the imagination play in this process? Stacey Reay is a popular youtuber who teaches literature and poetry across the...
An Epic Conversation about the Epics of Homer with Patrick Reasonover
December 27, 2018 14:00 - 1 hour - 45.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Patrick came back to talk more about literature and art. This time we focused on Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats
December 25, 2018 01:00 - 2 hours - 57.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Have you ever thought this about a romantic partner: "Is she or he The One?" Likely, if you're over 25, this is a question you've seriously contemplated. But how do we get a sense of The One? Where does it come from? What shapes our unique individual desire for The One? The One is an ideal. it's why so many mates seem to "fall short." They are actual, temporal, real, while The One is ephemeral, unreal, imaginary. Should we give up The One for the actual? Do we hav...
A Conversation with Ayn Rand Institute's CEO Tal Tsfany
December 17, 2018 05:00 - 1 hour - 33.7 MBSend us a Text Message. On this wide ranging conversation, Tal and I chatted about the role of art in cognition, The Romantic Manifesto and a special ARI announcement for this summer's event!
A Conversation with Patrick Reasonover
December 13, 2018 22:00 - 51 minutes - 23.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Patrick is partner at Just Add Firewater https://justaddfirewater.com/ and co-founder/president of Taliesun Nexus http://talnexus.com/ Patrick is working to change the culture. Today we talked about how to do that and why literary art is essential to that end.
The Rucka Rucka Ali Conversation and The Role of Comedy in our Life
December 12, 2018 05:00 - 3 hours - 96.8 MBSend us a Text Message. On this episode I have the world famous doctor of all things comedy and Youtube star Rucka Rucka ALI! His parody videos get millions of views on youtube. Make sure to watch his video on The History of Philosophy! https://youtu.be/39Em6t0G7Fc Subscribe on Youtube or visit him at ruckasworld.com We began our conversation on the nature of Comedy and Tragedy and quickly moved into how our minds work, what is naturally innate in humans, how to think about literature and...
PT 2: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi
December 08, 2018 05:00 - 2 hours - 74.5 MBSend us a Text Message. On this episode I'll be reading the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A scientists deepest desire and motivation is to master nature in the same way that the artist represents nature. In this episode we will explore the deeper motivations of Hawthorne's character creation: The Mad Scientist. We will explore the nature of art and science, literature as an artform, science fiction as a genre, and how all of these ideas converge within Hawthornes sh...
I Stood Tip-Toe Upon a Little Hill by John Keats
November 29, 2018 05:00 - 20 minutes - 9.59 MBSend us a Text Message. A reading of the poem by Keats. I STOOD tip-toe upon a little hill, | The air was cooling, and so very still, | That the sweet buds which with a modest pride | Pull droopingly, in slanting curve aside, | Their scantly leaved, and finely tapering stems, | 5 Had not yet lost those starry diadems | Caught from the early sobbing of the morn. | The clouds were pure and white as flocks new shorn, | And fresh from the clear brook; sweetly they slept | On th...
Butterflies, Sci-Fi, and Nathaniel Hawthorne
November 26, 2018 05:00 - 2 hours - 62.4 MBSend us a Text Message. On this episode we take a detour from the four Hawthorne Sci-Fi stories to explore a critical symbol in literature and science fiction: the Butterfly. That's right, the butterfly. I'll be telling you the myth of Cupid and Psyche and reading the poem "Ode to Psyche" By John Keats. By the end of this episode you will have a better understanding of how symbols can be used by a master storyteller to add to a story, the similarities between symbols, allegories, metaphor...
Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi (Part 1)
November 12, 2018 19:00 - 2 hours - 69.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Do you really know what a scientist is? A literary genre brings up new and important questions. Questions critical for a society and for your own individual life. What are your limits? Can you go too far? Should you strive boldly or react tamely? These are a few questions Hawthorne and others addressed in the 19th century. In this episode (one of four) I will show you why it's important not to take words like scientist for granted and how our current society is ...
Feminism Ruins TV: A Discussion of Veronica Mars
November 05, 2018 05:00 - 48 minutes - 22.2 MBSend us a Text Message. This episode is best watched on youtube: https://youtu.be/pWwjMHGNu6w
BLOOM! Poetry
October 31, 2018 04:00 - 43 minutes - 19.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Often to understand poetry, it helps to compare two poems of a similar subject. On this episode I will be comparing a new poet to an old one. The new: Jeremiah Cobra is a writer and poet living in Souther California. He recently published his first book of short stories and poems in a compilation, "Beauty and Perspective." I'll be reading and discussing his poem A Flower's Bloom. The old: William Blake (1757-1827). Blake is one of the great Romantic poets of th...
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
October 30, 2018 04:00 - 55 minutes - 25.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Read by Kirk Barbera
Lost Boys Case File #1836924
October 25, 2018 04:00 - 32 minutes - 14.9 MBSend us a Text Message. "An essential text for anyone who seeks to understand the United States Social Democracy from the years 2022-2034." -Christopher Billings, The Afternoon Telegraph "In this historical labor of research, the Jefferson Group has rescued the voices of the untold number of young boys from the grave." - Robert Spindler, The Soloist "He has mastered this distressing material and convincingly tells the terrifying truth about the U.S.S.D terror." -Greg Thick, The Caller
Why I Distrust "Studies" Used in Arguments and Articles
October 24, 2018 04:00 - 34 minutes - 16 MBSend us a Text Message. If we've ever had a conversation, or if you've ever heard me have a conversation, you may notice that I will not accept as an argument a "study" you cited. I've even been made fun of for saying that I don't trust "stats." (Yes I'm using scare quotes on purpose). The reason for this is simple. Stat and studies and research papers may be well done. Just as easily they may be inaccurate, false, misleading and untruthful. Creating a truthful and rigorous scientific stud...
Conversation #2: the evil of "the other side of the aisle"
October 17, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 61.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Today I'll be speaking with my friend Hernando Arce about a controversial issue: the evil of "the other side" of the aisle. We tend to think "Those guys over there are the bad ones!" "The lefties are destroying free speech," I commonly hear. Today, we will be conversing about free speech and how to keep our country united, despite our differences. Controversial Conversations is a new show where I will be discussing hot topic issues with those with whom I disagree. W...
An Atheist and a Catholic converse on Abortion.
October 16, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 36.5 MBSend us a Text Message. On this new show Kirk Barbera sits down with guest Eric Robert Morse to talk about a very controversial issue: abortions. Eric is a Catholic and Kirk is a non-believer. Tune in and comment along with us!
A Nation of Pain: Kavanaugh and #metoo
September 28, 2018 19:02 - 41 minutes - 19.1 MBSend us a Text Message. During the Senate hearings Senator Chris Coons used a phrase that I think is correct. After having received numerous messages from female friends who said that they too had been sexually abused, he said it is clear that we are in a "nation of pain." We are. And like any kind of pain, we should ask what causes it. Rather than blame individual actors or patriarchal structures, I claim there are other cultural causes. The only way forward is to understand the true cau...
Is San Antonio Truly A Good Place to Live?
September 25, 2018 00:52 - 2 hours - 61.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Today my guest is Faris Virani, the President of The San Antonio Young Professionals: http://sayp.us/ As you may know, I've decided to sell my stuff and go around talking to people about controversial topics. One reason for leaving is the opportunity to be more flexible and stretch my abilities as a writer and media producer. But another reason I'm leaving is I just don't like San Antonio. Faris gives a good defense of San Antonio. And I admit it's a big city with a...
The Road Not Taken -- With Guest Dan Pontefract
August 31, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 27.7 MBSend us a Text Message. Dan is that unusual creature, the C-level exec who loves poetry. Or, perhaps he is not. Perhaps, there are many more individuals in corporate jobs who spend their evenings amongst great poets and scholars. We tend to think of life as having a series of crossroads: go down the corporate path and leave behind the artistic path. Be a scholar, or an athlete. A mom or a business owner. But, often, the best the greatest lives come from the greatest combinations. And Dan...
Success Poems #2: The Emigrant Spirit
August 26, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 36.3 MBSend us a Text Message. America is no longer a country of immigrants. This unfortunate situation has nothing to do with borders or immigration policies, but the death of the spirit that made this country great. The word immigrant has been ruined by politicization. When we think of immigrant we tend to see the poor and the wretched. many immigrants in fact are poor and wretched—that's why they're immigrating. On the political left we hear about the tragedies of immigrants as they came to Am...
For Five Minutes I Lived (short story)
August 15, 2018 04:00 - 24 minutes - 11.1 MBSend us a Text Message. Every neighborhood has one. That old, beaten down house that someone ought to take care of. What goes on in those houses? Sarah was 17 and she knew what went on in The House in her neighborhood. Almost every day after school she would stop and look down into the basement searching for what she had seen 9 years prior. Was it real? Was he real?
Success Poems #1 The Success Paradox
August 14, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 28.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Can you unravel the success paradox in Napoleon Hill's favorite poem "Success" By Berton Braley? Philosophers both ancient and contemporary go to great lengths to create problems they hope that no one can solve. One of their favorites is the paradox. Simply put, a paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. This will be our goal today: to explore an ancient p...
Jordan Peterson's 12th Rule & Homeric Glory
August 05, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 76.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Rule 12: Pet a Cat When You Encounter One on the Street This podcast I seek to answer Jordan Peterson's fundamental question posed in Chapter 12: "Is there any coherent alternative given the self-evidence horrors of existence? Can Being itself, with its malarial mosquitoes, child soldiers, and degenerative neurological diseases truly be justified?" With reference to: *Homeric heroes and gods in The Iliad and The Odyssey *Peterson's own unique literary criticism *Bl...
Jordan Peterson's 11th Rule & Kipling's 37 Conditions for Manliness
August 01, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 54.9 MBSend us a Text Message. What is masculinity? Why is it under attack today? These are the fundamental questions addressed in Jordan Peterson's Rule 11: Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding. We'll be exploring the life of MAN from Ancient Greece to modern time. We'll be talking about wildly different men like *Demosthenes of Ancient Athens *Winston Churchill *John Adams *Thomas Jefferson *George Washington *And Your everyday men like me! Are there conditional requirements to...
Jordan Peterson's 10th Rule & The Lost Jiukiukwe Tribe
July 28, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 77.1 MBSend us a Text Message. Rule 10: Be Precise in Your Speech. Here are just a few of the topics we will be covering on this episode about poetry, language, perception, philosophy and anthropology. *Robert Frost and Jordan Peterson's differing view on meaning *Frost's Mending Wall poem *A conundrum from Germany circa 1939 *The lost Jiukiukwe Indian tribe near the Orinoco *The basic nature of language *The Second Coming poem by William Butler Yeats *What we can learn about precision and clarit...
The Manhunt by Simon Armitage -- With Guest Stacey Reay
July 26, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 30.4 MBSend us a Text Message. There's a youtube sensation going on in England. Her name is Stacey Reay and she teaches Poetry. Her channel is a must watch if you have children in school and even if you just want to understand a poem more thoroughly. Visit her channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJhuqpyhE8NzYZFkwTzi_7g Stacey and I will be discussing a poem she chose, "The Manhunt" by Simon Armitage. We dive into the story of a woman who is trying to find the man she loves. He is right befo...
Jordan Peterson's 9th Rule & The Imitation of Socrates
June 30, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 54.6 MBSend us a Text Message. In this episode we will be exploring Peterson's rule "Assume that the person you are Listening to might know something you don't." it's a lesson we should all take to heart, especially those (like myself) who are so inclined toward totalitarian certainty. While certainty is achievable, it is anything but easy. More appropriate should be our desire to understand other ideas, and how to entertain those ideas, without necessarily accepting them. In that no greater tool...
Jordan Peterson's 7th Rule; The Pieta Versus Rizpah
June 18, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 72.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Rule 7 is "Pursue what is Meaningful (not what is expedient). As surface advice, this is great. Yet what is more important than cliche advice are the underlying reasons for integrating this advice into your life. Why should one pursue what is meaningful, in the face of Peterson's foundational proposition: "Life is Suffering?" What does meaning mean? Where does it come from? How do you pursue it given the trials and tribulations of life? Is life suffering? Or can th...
Jordan Peterson's 8th Rule and Pixar Animations
June 17, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 40.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Peterson's 8th Rule "Tell the Truth (Or at least don't lie) is important not only for avoiding disaster but for building a new you! That's what Ed Catmul, founder and president of Pixar, did. He was honest with himself that he was not a good enough animator to become a professional. So he pursued something else: computer science. By the mid 1970s he had his PHd and his dream: to create the first feature length animation movie done completely on a computer. Of course...
Romantic #6: London by William Blake & 18th Century Progressives
June 11, 2018 04:00 - 29 minutes - 13.5 MBSend us a Text Message. Today I'll be reading the poem "London" by William Blake. A poem that showcases a deeply progressive sentiment that many of the romantic artists of the 18th and 19th century held London BY WILLIAM BLAKE I wander thro' each charter'd street, Near where the charter'd Thames does flow. And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. In every cry of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice: in every ban, The mind-forg'd manacles I he...
Romantic #5: The Tyger by William Blake & The Problem of EVIL
June 10, 2018 04:00 - 30 minutes - 13.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Today we will explore how a philosopher would explain the famous "problem of evil" and how a poet would discuss the same problem. Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies. Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy he...
Romantic #4: The Clod and the Pebble by William Blake
June 09, 2018 04:00 - 42 minutes - 19.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Are you a clod or a pebble? The Clod and the Pebble BY WILLIAM BLAKE "Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease, And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair." So sung a little Clod of Clay Trodden with the cattle's feet, But a Pebble of the brook Warbled out these metres meet: "Love seeketh only self to please, To bind another to its delight, Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a Hell in Heaven's des...
Jordan Peterson's 6th Rule, School Killers, The Pebble and the Clod
June 08, 2018 04:00 - 2 hours - 55.2 MBSend us a Text Message. Eric Harris, one of the Columbine killers, was a young man who had his house in order. He was good with the ladies. He had several close friends, including Dylan Klebold (fellow Columbine Killer). He recently received a promotion. Though he had recently been punished for breaking into a van with his compatriot Dylan, Eric had graduated from the "diversion program," as one of the more distinguished young men. The judge who saw him believed him to be a fine young man wi...
Jordan Peterson's 5th Rule, The Socrates Problem, and William Blake
May 21, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 50 MBSend us a Text Message. Whether or not you are a parent, ask yourself this question. If you had to choose for your child which would you prefer: Outward success or inner happiness? In Jordan Peterson's rule 5 "Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything That Makes You Dislike Them," Peterson gives his answer clear as day. At least it is an answer. In this discussion of Peterson's book "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote To Chaos," I bring up the stories of Sleeping Beauty versus Petronilla, William...
Romantic #3: The Three Minstrels by Thomas Chatterton
May 19, 2018 04:00 - 46 minutes - 21.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Today I'll be working through the very challenging romantic poem "The Three Minstrels' By Thomas Chatterton. Remember, our aim is not to "appreciate" art but to understand it.
Romantic #2: The Castaway by William Cowper
May 15, 2018 04:00 - 40 minutes - 18.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Today I'll be reading and discussing William Cowper's last poem "The Castaway." The poem is about a real life incident of a man who fell overboard, but in the hands of a great poet this accident of life becomes a powerful and tragic universal metaphor. Do you see the secret message in the poem? Follow along and let's find it.
Romantic #1: To the Nightingale By William Crowper
May 14, 2018 04:00 - 35 minutes - 16.4 MBSend us a Text Message. us feels a winter during spring. We are beaten down and saddened by pain and loneliness (a form of emotional pain). Poetry often cannot solve one's problems, but it can be a salve. It can make you feel better, wake up your spirit, and build your emotional reservoirs. But only if you know how to read. In this video is my reading of this poem. I've included the poem by Cowper. It is my claim that you do NOT need any specialized knowledge, training or experience to w...
Invictus by William Earnest Henley
May 11, 2018 04:00 - 12 minutes - 5.62 MBSend us a Text Message. How to build an indomitable character (according to Napoleon Hill). Today I read and discuss the poem "Invictus" by Henley
Napoleon Hill's Favorite Success Poems
May 10, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.26 MBSend us a Text Message. Today I'll be reading the poem "Success" by Ralph Waldo Emerson and talking about the importance of defining success for yourself.
A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
May 08, 2018 04:00 - 26 minutes - 12.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, believed that poetry and literature were tied to success. Why do you think he included several poems in his mega-success book ON getting rich? Today we will explore a poem called "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Napoleon Hill's Favorite Poem on SUCCESS
May 08, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.01 MBSend us a Text Message. Napoleon Hill wrote one of the first self-help books "Think and Grow Rich." Within it were some selected poems. But Hill liked many poems, from complex Shakespearen sonnets to simple everyday poems. Today I'm going to very briefly read one short poem called "Success," which is about aiming high and defining your belief about success. Even if you're not someone who likes poetry, if you like success, or Napoleon Hill, I can promise you'll enjoy this poem.
Mending Wall by Robert Frost (short)
May 07, 2018 04:00 - 20 minutes - 9.62 MBSend us a Text Message. Mending Wall by Robert Frost and my newest "grappling" with Jordan Peterson's 4th rule for life. Also I refer to my latest podcast episode of Jordan Peterson's fourth rule of life: "Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today." Can be found here