186. Smiles Matter, Problems With COVID Lockdowns

186. Smiles Matter, Problems With COVID Lockdowns

Author: Nick Jamell January 12, 2021 Duration: 46:30

The Covid lockdowns have ruled our lives for nearly a year. Still, there seems to be no end in sight. Despite the issues with the lockdowns, we can still have many people supporting them. But, we know there are many harmful effects with the lockdowns.  So, check out my latest interview with Ronni Peck, aka Think Too Much Mom about the Smiles Matter movement, homeschooling, Covid overreactions and more.

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Problems With The Covid Lockdowns

Many studies have found that deaths due to drugs, suicide, or forgoing care have led to many deaths. In fact, some even show that the lockdowns are deadlier in many places than Covid. With all these issues, why do we continue to lock down? Why not find a better solution? Well, I argue we should use political systems to fix this issue, and Ronni and I discuss just that.

Life Changes Due To Covid Lockdowns

We've all had to adjust to the current state of things. But, parents may have more to adjust to. Both their lives and their children's lives have been disrupted due to lockdown restrictions, and they need to figure that out. So, Ronni and I talked about what it was like for her making the adjustment. You can find out more at her blog here.

What is Smiles Matter?

Basically, Smiles Matter is a movement started to remind people that we're human beings. Instead of seeing your neighbor as a danger or vector of transmission, we should remember each other's humanity. Not only that, but we should actively seek to share human moments with each other and find ways to connect person-to-person.


Nick Jamell hosts Conversation of Our Generation, a space where urgent contemporary questions meet enduring ideas from history and philosophy. Rather than reacting to the noise of daily headlines, this podcast deliberately steps back to examine the deeper currents shaping our society and culture. Each episode is a long-form dialogue that treats topics like politics, religion, and social change not as fodder for debate, but as puzzles to be understood with patience and intellectual humility. The aim is to move beneath entrenched partisanship and surface-level takes, searching instead for clearer perspectives and foundational truths. What you’ll hear are thoughtful explorations that connect modern dilemmas to the wisdom of ancient and modern thinkers, asking how we might navigate today’s complexities with a more grounded sense of principle. This isn’t about quick answers; it’s about cultivating a more meaningful and less reactive way of engaging with the world. For anyone feeling adrift in a polarized age, this podcast offers a sustained, earnest conversation that values depth over speed, and understanding over winning an argument. Tune in for a respite from the frantic news cycle and a chance to consider what it means to be part of this particular moment in time, armed with the best ideas from across the ages.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 245

Conversation of Our Generation
Podcast Episodes
132. Is America Worth Defending? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:26
Is America irredeemable? Is it an intrinsically evil place, built on evil principles? Or, is it a place worth defending? -Frederick Douglass"A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the…
131. Book Review | The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:17
In Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway tells the story of an elderly fisherman in Cuba who's struggling to make ends meet. He's poor, and desperately so. He has a young man who helps him, and he mentors him some. -Erne…
130. Interview with the Vital Masculinity Project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:51
A few weeks back, I had the chance to sit down and talk to the guys at the Vital Masculinity Project. The conversation covered a range of topics, and was a lot of fun. They put it up on their site, and I thought while I…
129. Book Review | 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:21
In case you haven't heard me talk about Jordan Peterson, you should know I'm a huge fan. I think he's one of, if not the, greatest intellectual alive. So, reading this book was a huge joy for me. That said, even if you'r…
128. Why Marx is Wrong From Premise to Conclusion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:54
Having read the Communist Manifesto and most of Das Kapital, it is apparent where Marx goes wrong right off the bat. All of his thought is littered with bad logic, but most of all, it is built on the improper understandi…
127. Book Review | Controversial Essays by Thomas Sowell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 13:33
Thomas Sowell is one of the clearest thinkers and communicators, and has a deep knowledge on a range of topics. Controversial Essays is perfect proof of this as Sowell offers practical thoughts and solutions to a range o…
126. When Lies Spread Faster Than Truth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:37
Our world has turned its back on truth, and instead looks to the comforting story. Truth is not as important as avoiding cognitive dissonance. The idea is "if you upset me, it's not because something's wrong with me, but…
125. Book Review | Politics by Aristotle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:05
Our politics are breaking down, and has been for a while. I think that if we want to talk to each other, we’ll need to start speaking the same political language. To do that effectively, we must learn from the same canon…
124. Our Pornographic Culture [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:22
We have effectively separated the subject from the object in our culture. We no longer see other people as people, but as "bodies." This is evident from quotes I've heard and read from Ta-Nehisi Coates referring to black…
123. Book Review | Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:27
If you're looking for a better understanding of statistics and what they mean, Outliers, is a really interesting look into how trends can really affect individual outcomes en masse. I have written and talked about the fa…