Hi listener, I'm a little under the weather, but in between cloudbursts I wanted share some soft takes on being sick. I know I need them, so hopefully you find them helpful too.

I'm back to my regular soft takes, but this time on another personal note. I've dealt with depression my whole life and I wanted to share how I get by, how it gets easier, and other general soft takes. If this is too heady of a topic for you in your current headspace, please feel free to skip it.

Ok listener, just one more hard take before I get to regular programming. The concept of masculinity has been with me my whole life, and along with has come a bunch of BS that I'm constantly astounded by. In this episode I explore some aspects of masculinity that I think we should retire.

As always, if you've got your own similar or contrary opinions I'd love to hear them, so lemme know whaddya think.

This episode is the start of something different. Just as soothing is helpful, so is getting riled up at things I believe we need to get riled up about. So I'm giving some hard takes on money, why it's B.S. and how to cope with that (ya got me, there's some soft takes in this one).

In this episode I get a little personal and share my experience on living with autism. I discovered this late in life, and I believe it's been helpful to know though not without a few upsets. There's plenty of soft takes and wandering tangents, but hey, that's what this is all about!

I mentioned a few books and resources in the audio file, so here they are:

"Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian's Guide to Autism." by Pierre Novellie

"Unmasking Autism" by Devon Price, PhD

The Double Empathy problem, article by Dr. Damian Milton

These days I've been working hard at exercising my body and mind, but there's another aspect of my life that needs attention, and that's my soul or spirit. How can we get back to that, and how can we exercise a part of ourselves that's unique? Let's explore.

After a hiatus I've returned to podcasting, and it seems the world is way more fiery than previously. So how can we get through this? I honestly have no idea but I'm excited to find out. Welcome back to Anti-Inflammatory Rhetoric.

Taking breaks, such a favorite topic of mine, and also one of the hardest things for me to do. So it's well deserving of some soft takes. It can grant perspective, it respects your energy, and it's great practice if you're self-care challenged.

Also, two bits of news!

One: I'm taking a short break from future episodes, and will be back to recording in a couple weeks.

Two: I'd love to hear what soft takes you'd like to hear, so send me an email, letter, or message in your favorite format if you have a soft take you'd like me to take on.

Thanks for listening!