Plain Talk

(New for 2008: The Plain Talk conversations are now available for free download; visit the catalog description pages to get them.)

I always enjoy good conversations, not only the ones where I participate but also the ones where I just sit and listen. The best of them happen when attention turns to a topic on which the conversationalists are knowledgable and passionate. In those circumstances even the most reticent and tongue-tied of people become articulate, eager to share wisdom with their listeners.

My favorite interview program was William Buckley's Firing Line, not so much for the heady subjects discussed or the deep knowledge brought to the table by the participants, but just because the discussion was more of a conversation than an interview. With fifty minutes or more at their disposal, Buckley and his guest could spend as much time as they thought was appropriate chasing down a detail, spinning a tale, or arguing a point. Over the years I thought I came to know William Buckley quite well, and during a program his guest would gradually, steadily take on real human dimensions in my mind.

My least favorite interviews are, well, just about every other kind. Once I was interviewed for an article about a friend and teacher I admire greatly; I was dismayed but not surprised to see fifteen minutes of talk reduced to a single short quote. And I was quite surprised to learn that for the "in-depth" interviews that are heard on National Public Radio news programs, an hour of conversation will be reduced to five minutes of airtime—no surprise, then, that much of an "interview" will actually consist of commentary by the reporter, explaining to us exactly what the interviewee meant.

For awhile I've thought that it would be a good thing to produce a series of recordings where the participants would have the time and luxury of telling their story in a detailed and reflective way. Then in 2005 a community of Christians began to form online, folks who were not only pursuing an agrarian way of life but were eager to share with others what they were learning on the journey. Given our focus on agrarianism here at Cumberland Books, these Christian agrarians were just the sort of folks we wanted to talk with. In November 2005 I put a boxful of recording equipment together and headed out for a weeklong journey around the Midwest, stopping in Missouri and Kansas and Iowa and Minnesota and Indiana to talk with people about what they've done, what they've learned, and where they're headed next. It was an exhilarating experience for me, and I hope that some of that quality has been captured in the recordings.

The Plain Talk series is an effort to capture some of the power of a good, long conversation with someone who knows what they are talking about and has a passion to edify others on the subject. The name is intentional; it is meant to suggest that the talk will be simple and straightforward even if the topic is deep or abstract, and it is also meant to suggest that the talk will be helpful to those who want to live a plainer, i.e. simpler life. Although the series is likely to center on agrarian themes, that isn't a strict limitation. Eventually we hope to broaden the range of topics discussed to include many other areas that play an important role in the good life—literature, poetry, music, doctrine, culture, history, and more. But we think these initial recordings are a good start, and will repay the listener handsomely for his time.

The recordings come on CD and are $5 apiece. (To buy all fifteen CDs, choose The Complete Plain Talk Series .)

The third round of Plain Talk recordings was done in July 2006. I spoke with three ladies whose thinking I first became acquainted with through their weblogs. (To buy all three CDs, choose Plain Talk: Third Series .)

The first round of Plain Talk recordings was done in November 2005, when I made a week-long circuit of the Midwest. (To buy all six CDs, choose Plain Talk: Second Series.) Folks I talked to included:

  • Thomas McConnell, the pastor of a small church in Missouri that is actively engaged in the hard and joyful work of creating a community founded on the principles of biblical agrarianism.
  • Christina Fuller, who prepared for a career as a social worker but found herself inexorably guided into a life centered on husband and family and dairy cows. Join us for some plain talk about contentment, providence, and good food.
  • Jim Cutler, who gave up a career in high technology, bought a farmstead, renovated an old farmhouse, and slowly began building a multi-generational family business that raises and sells clean food.
  • John VanDyk, an old friend who spoke with me about the difficulties of rural living, the challenge of developing skills we weren’t raised with, and the need to temper our ideals with reality.
  • Tom Scepaniak, a man who is not only carrying on the family farm with his father, but has taken it in new directions by rejecting the propaganda spewed out by Big Ag, looking instead to the past for ways to make his farm healthier and more productive.
  • John Mesko, who gave up jobs both as a university extension agent and as a corporation man, and has begun to explore the possibilities of small scale farming and the joys of living an agrarian life and teaching others about it.

The second round of Plain Talk recordings was done in January and February 2006, during three brief trips north and east. (To buy all six CDs, choose Plain Talk: First Series.) Folks I talked to included:

  • Russ Nellis, who with his wife, three children, parents, and other family members, has been working since 1998 to establish a self-sufficient homestead in northern Wisconsin.
  • Chad Degenhart, a thoughtful and well-read young father of six who joined me to discuss a topic that may seem dull but in fact is one of the thornier issues that must be faced by those aspiring to a pre-modern life: insurance.
  • Cheri Shelnutt, whose family was convicted by God's word that they should become self-sufficient, and so moved from the city to a small farm in Tennessee where after seven years they now grow almost all their own food and medicine.
  • D.J. Hammond, an old friend who over the past five years has left behind the corporate life and worked diligently and faithfully to establish the sort of small family farm that will provide the life he wanted for his children, and for their children after them.
  • Dave Black, a seminary professor, equestrian, New Testament scholar, surfer, farmer, portrait artist, missionary, who many know best as the writer of Dave Black Online, the very popular website where he regularly posts his essays and updates a weblog
  • Nathan Black, the twenty-two year old manager of a 120-acre working farm and retreat center in south central Virginia that he and his parents Dave and Becky Lynn Black have been working to establish for the past five years.