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Sunday Letters

Arts & Culture Podcasts

This is Sunday Letters (formally The Larb), the weekly audio newsletter on life, work, & the pursuit of happiness. Content follows the written newsletter going out to subscribers every Sunday, and topics include psychology, philosophy, society and culture. Using these as a foundation, I explore the meaning and purpose of daily work; why we do it and what would we do without it. I examine the nature of the self; who am I? Who are you? How did we get here and where are we going? In Sunday Letters I go deep and long, and if that’s your bag then I think you’ll enjoy the material.

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Location:

Ireland

Description:

This is Sunday Letters (formally The Larb), the weekly audio newsletter on life, work, & the pursuit of happiness. Content follows the written newsletter going out to subscribers every Sunday, and topics include psychology, philosophy, society and culture. Using these as a foundation, I explore the meaning and purpose of daily work; why we do it and what would we do without it. I examine the nature of the self; who am I? Who are you? How did we get here and where are we going? In Sunday Letters I go deep and long, and if that’s your bag then I think you’ll enjoy the material.

Language:

English

Contact:

+353838010707

Episodes

213 New Capitalism & The Conflict of Interests

9/12/2021
This week’s Sunday Letters brings you the final part of the Leadership Series. It’s a shorter piece than previous weeks, and in it, I take a somewhat cynical look at the trend amongst corporates to promote worker wellbeing and environmental initiatives. Are their efforts mere window dressing? I think so because, when it all comes down to it, there is, above all else, the imperative for profit. In this series on leadership, I have examined events from the past, offered expert opinion, and...

Duration:00:19:13

212 Inauthentic Leadership & The Centrality of The Entrepreneurial Image

8/29/2021
Support Sunday Letters Welcome to the penultimate essay in the Sunday Letters Leadership Series. Over the course of the series, I have brought you thoughts on the paradox of success, Machiavellianism, inauthentic leadership, and this week I’m taking a look at the centrality of the entrepreneurial image. These essays previously lived on The Lead, a publication I started on a whim a few months ago that is now moving here, with some edits, to Sunday Letters. I hope you’ll enjoy these essays...

Duration:00:27:11

Back From The Dead

5/1/2021
I've been considering bringing this bad boy back to life, and while the break has been long, it seems to make sense. I've been writing Sunday Letters since 2015, and while I occasioned to narrate some issues, or at least talk on the particular week's topic, renaming the podcast in line with the newsletter never occurred to me until recently. I launched a new podcast for Sunday Letters but to an empty room and I figured why not just get this show back on track and rename it. So that's what's...

Duration:00:17:03

EP186 The Final Episode 🙁

1/28/2020
The Larb has come to and end. New show titled, The Mental Game will launch soon. Subscribe: https://anchor.fm/the-mental-game Thanks everyone for listening over the past 2 years, I hope I'll see you on the new show. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thelarb/message

Duration:00:05:18

EP185 A Question of Free Will

7/4/2019
Read more here; https://larrygmaguire.com/illusion-of-free-will Support the podcast here; https://www.patreon.com/join/larrygmaguire? Myself and the big Russian, Dmitri Belikov hooked up last week for the first of a joint discussion on a chosen topic. This week it was Free Will. Do we have free will or are our lives determined by external forces? Are we in control, are we not? It's difficult to form a consistent and long standing answer because there are valid arguments for both free will...

Duration:00:52:45

EP184 Work

6/27/2019
Read the article; https://larrygmaguire.com/why-do-we-work/ Support the podcast; https://Patreon.com/larrygmaguire Why do we work? What is the purpose of work apart from providing us with money to buy stuff we don’t need and pay bills? Is it possible to be happy and fulfilled in our daily work or are we destined to despise, yet endure its demands on our lives? Sure, we need money in our pockets to function within the societal system, but most of us it seems, are dissatisfied and disengaged...

Duration:00:31:58

EP183 Analogical Thinking: A Method For Solving Problems

5/23/2019
Read the article here Support the show here The ability to solve problems is an essential skill for our survival and growth in the fast-paced, moment to moment shifting of modern society. No matter what the domain of expertise or work, challenges present themselves at an ever-increasing rate. And so it should be, for what is a life worth living if we never have problems to solve? We must accept that challenges are inherent in life, and so we must use our imagination and ingenuity to find...

Duration:00:32:52

EP182 The 22 Self Disciplines of Buckminster Fuller

5/6/2019
Read the article here; https://larrygmaguire.com/self-disciplines-buckminster-fuller/ Support the show here; https://patreon.com/larrygmaguire/ In 1927, Buckminster Fuller found himself in financial ruin and personal turmoil. His first child had died five years earlier, and his business had recently failed, leaving him broke with family and friends who invested in him, at a loss. He drank heavily, was depressed and contemplated suicide, then something changed. As he considered drowning...

Duration:00:35:52

EP181 Narrow And Deep

2/3/2019
Read it here; https://larrygmaguire.com/narrow-and-deep/ Support the show; https://patreon.com/larrygmaguire In today’s article, I want to get into the subject of going narrow and deep versus going broad and shallow. Some advice suggests we should diversify, be skilled in many areas – broad and shallow in other words. Contrary advice says we should focus intently on one area and become expert at that – narrow and deep. After much inner deliberation, and consideration of my views on the...

Duration:00:15:21

EP180 Ray Heffernan Creativity & Success

1/30/2019
Watch it here; https://www.patreon.com/posts/larb-live-with-24176541 Every Friday I take The Larb Podcast Live on Patreon with a guest to discuss creativity and work. Friday 25th Jan, my friend, singer-songwriter Ray Heffernan joined me to discuss the idea that to be truly happy and fulfilled in our work, we must change our transactional relationship with it, develop our creative skills and form true meaning from our work rather than treat it simply as a means to an end. We discuss the...

Duration:00:53:56

EP179 How Success Happens + Sunday Letters New Format

1/27/2019
Read me here; https://larrygmaguire.com/sunday-letters-new-format/ Support the show; https://patreon.com/larrygmaguire Sunday Letters has been on the go about 18 months or so and over the 77 odd issues, the format has been pretty much one dimensional and simple: an article. But now it’s time for change. When I started writing again I decided to forget about monetising and just write about things that interested me. That’s how it needed to be. I was tired of trying too hard, and in the...

Duration:00:33:21

EP178 Creativity with Johnny Helleland

1/17/2019
Read Larry here; https://larrygmaguire.com Support the show; https://patreon.com/larrygmaguire The Larb Podcast and all articles on the blog are accessible for free. It takes a lot of time to produce but do it because I like to. If you'd like to support the show, head over to Patreon.com/larrygmaguire and buy me a pint 🍺. In this midweek episode, you can check out chats I had last Friday on The Larb Livestream with Johnny Helleland https://www.motion-effect.com . We discussed creativity...

Duration:00:47:49

EP177 Letting It Happen

1/13/2019
Read it here; https://larrygmaguire.com/letting-it-happen/ Support the show; https://patreon.com/larrygmaguire Today’s Sunday Letters article is an extract from The Artist’s Manifesto chapter three and looks at the contrast between letting it happen versus making it happen. The popular advice and resultant often unchallenged perceptions are that if something is to materialise in our experience then we’ve got to make it happen. It’s as if our precise detailing and planning are paramount and...

Duration:00:24:04

EP176 Too Much Data

1/7/2019
Read me here; https://larrygmaguire.com/too-much-data/ Support the show; https://www.patreon.com/larrygmaguire Is it that there is too much data vying for our attention or is it perhaps that there’s too much of our attention competing for all that data? It’s an interesting consideration because you see, certain populist commentary can lead us to believe that everything out there is the problem – there are too many advertisers, marketers and media outlets who want to sell us on their idea...

Duration:00:18:04

EP175 The Anthesis Of Goal Setting

12/31/2018
Read me here: https://larrygmaguire.com Watch the rerun here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/podcast-live-of-23639595 In this the first live episode of The Larb, I'm discussing the antithesis of goal setting. The overwhelming thrust of success advice being carried on the digital airwaves this time of year leans heavily towards goal setting and New-Year New-You Resolutions. It's where gurus and "influencers" attempt to convince you to take a generally fruitless and self defeating route to a...

Duration:00:33:59

EP174 Reading: Preface The Artist's Manifesto

12/27/2018
Download the new FREE version of The Artist's Manifesto; https://larrygmaguire.com Today's episode is the second from final episode of 2018 and I'm reading from the preface to the book due for release in January '19. It was late. Joanne and the kids were asleep. As I sat at the kitchen table, at odds with myself and the work I was in, I began to write the first words of what I would later call The Artist’s Manifesto. I had recently taken a project management role with an engineering firm as...

Duration:00:21:02

EP173 Creative Isolation (Oh, and Happy Christmas!)

12/24/2018
I've been off the airwaves for about 10 weeks or so - taking a break and considering the direction of the show. So before 2018 expires I wanted to get one more show out and share some stuff happening in 2019. Read the article here; https://larrygmaguire.com/creative-isolation/

Duration:00:17:01

EP172 Political Cybernetic Organisms

10/16/2018
Read Larry here; larrygmaguire.com Support the show here; patreon.com/larrygmaguire I flicked on Twitter this morning and I watched a short video of a US politician running for election to the House of Representatives being interviewed about a comment she made about something or other. It was controversial and the reporter latched on to it. He pressed her for an answer but she maintained a robotic political response and it made me think. Political responses allow us to align with the...

Duration:00:21:35

EP171 React On Impulse Or Keep Your Mouth Shut?

10/14/2018
I want to talk to you; https://goo.gl/forms/zp1ir9G7uERtGmuE2 This week on the show I'd like to tell you a little about a new series I'm starting in January 2019. For the next 8 or 9 weeks, I'll be hooking up with people like you, people engaged in work that engages them and featuring these discussions on the podcast. So if you'd like to get involved just fill out the Google Form at the link above. Also this week, I'm discussing the rights and wrongs of reacting on impulse. Should you fly...

Duration:00:37:40

EP170 What Is An Artist?

10/7/2018
Read the article; larrygmaguire.com/what-is-an-artist Support the show; patreon.com/larrygmaguire What is an artist? What is art? How is an artist defined and who exactly gets to set the definition? Is everyone an artist like Picasso said or is it that creative genius is reserved for those fortunate enough to be blessed with talent at birth as the ancient Greeks and Romans believed? Some ideas of what constitutes art, and as a consequence, the artist, are narrow and elitist. Some, such as...

Duration:00:20:35

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