“You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate.”
—Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
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Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Its historical origins aside, for me, it’s a day spent with family, some of whom I don’t see as often as I’d like. When I was a kid, the hosting duties rotated among my mom and her four siblings, and a crowd of 20-30 of my aunts, uncles, and cousins gathered together for a delicious potluck-style meal, followed by hours of card games, laughter, and enjoying each others’ company. The gatherings have become smaller over the years and the format has changed a bit, but I still look forward to this holiday more than any other.
The U.S. legal system is complicated. Even if you were born and raised in the United States, you likely didn’t get a thorough overview of our legal principles in your schooling unless you went to law school. With legal topics frequently in the news, you may be left wondering about aspects of American law. Why do courts decide cases the way they do? Why don’t legal rulings always comport with what seems like common sense?
As long-time readers know, I like to listen to podcasts, particularly educational ones. In this post, I thought I’d round up some of my favorite law-related podcasts that can help you gain a better understanding of the legal concepts that shape current events and daily life in the United States. Readers, what are your favorite legal podcasts? Please tell us in the comments.
“I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.”
— Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook
A few months ago, I read about a study indicating that people are happier when they spend money to buy themselves free time (by outsourcing chores) than when they spend the same amount of money on material goods. (The study was widely covered; you can read more about it here, here, and here.) The authors reported that the reduction in time-stress resulting from paying others to perform daily tasks and routine chores led to greater life satisfaction across a wide range of income levels. In other words, even people who are not wealthy benefit emotionally from spending their discretionary money on services rather than goods. Given this information, why am I, like so many people, still cleaning my own house and weeding my own flower beds?