The Barn Philosopher
by The Barn Philosopher
Latest episode
225 - Be Fruitful and Multiply: Faith, Family & God's Plan
225 - Be Fruitful and Multiply: Faith, Family & God's Plan
About this podcast
Welcome to The Barn Philosopher—where life’s quirks, curiosities, and occasional absurdities meet thoughtful reflection and a good dose of humor.
Join Shelby and Ridge as they dive into the kinds of conversations that resonate with the modern man: relationships, faith, everyday dilemmas, and those head-scratching questions that make life interesting. Shaped by their Y chromosomes and evolving Catholic faith, these two bring a refreshing, honest, and often hilarious perspective on what it means to navigate today’s world.
From deep dives to light banter, no topic is too big—or too small—for the barn. Whether they’re unpacking life’s complexities or finding meaning in the mundane, you’ll find surprising insight around every corner.
So pour a glass, light a pipe, and enjoy the journey. And if you like what you hear, don’t forget to rate, follow, and share—because every barn door opens a little wider with your support.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 225 episodes
- 225 - Be Fruitful and Multiply: Faith, Family & God's Plan · 42 min · Episode 225In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Rita and Joan join Shelby and Ridge for a conversation about family, faith, and the little people who turn your life upside down. Ridge…
- 224 - Not PDA, Rather PDF: It’s Not You, It’s Me · 23 min · Episode 224In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Shelby, Ridge, Rita, and Joan get together for what starts as a simple question and quickly turns into an investigation. Ridge reveals…
- 223 - The Joys of Aging: Creaks, Pops & Planned Obsolescence · 28 min · Episode 223In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and Shelby talk about the joys of getting old—or at least all the weird stuff that starts happening to your body along the way…
- 222 - Rita and Shelby In Marriage Court: AI Pulled us Into Vacations Somehow? · 52 min · Episode 222In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Rita and Shelby take our marital disagreements to Marriage Court, with ChatGPT serving up the cases and putting us on the spot. From…
- 221 - Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner: When Do We Speak Up? · 23 min · Episode 221In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge brings a phrase he's been chewing on: “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” It's a phrase that sounds simple enough, but something about…
- 220 - A Nation United, A Nation Divided: Remembering 9/11 · 25 min · Episode 220In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, I sit down with Rita to talk about where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001. Shelby was working in construction, going…
- 219 - Abortion, Miscarriage & Three Liters of Soda: Ridge Explains Shelby to Shelby · 15 min · Episode 219Podcast Description In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Shelby sends Ridge a cryptic message containing three things that seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with each…
- 218 - One More Beer Before We Go: Freiburg im Breisgau · 22 min · Episode 218In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Rita and I are nearing the end of our trip through Germany, sitting under the trees at a lively biergarten in Freiburg im Breisgau. It's…
- 217 - 100 Years From Now: What Will They Know About You? · 32 min · Episode 217Podcast Description In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and I ask a couple of questions that aren't really about us at all. If someone found a time capsule from your…
- 216 - Advertising 101: Stop Wasting Your Money on Me · 23 min · Episode 216Podcast Description In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and I take on something neither of us particularly enjoys: advertisements. Shelby has reached the point where…
- 215 - Between Episodes: Life With Ridge & Shelby · 24 min · Episode 215In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and I just catch up on life. I give an update on the old truck I'm restoring, Ridge talks about getting closer to welcoming a new…
- 214 - A Romanian, a German & Two Americans Walk Into A Bar: An Interview Abroad · 15 min · Episode 214In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and Shelby introduce a recording Rita and Shelby made while traveling through Germany. We were sitting in a biergarten when Rita…
- 213 - Dad Jokes: How Bad Could It Get? · 26 min · Episode 213In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Ridge and I set out to do something simple: tell dad jokes. That plan lasted about five minutes. We start by talking about the difference…
- 212 - Guilty Pleasures: Rotten Hooves, Corn Cob Pipes & Sandy Cheeks · 1 h 5 min · Episode 212TJ is back in the barn, and this conversation takes a long, strange road from monk-made beer to some of the internet's more questionable guilty pleasures. Shelby brings special…
- 211 - Cutting Your Losses: When It's Time to End the Vacation · 40 min · Episode 211This is a good topic because there's something very relatable about realizing you don't have to finish a vacation just because you paid for it. I'd lean into the "cut your…
- 210 - Trivia With Rita: Couples Who Guess Together, Lose Together · 44 min · Episode 210Rita and Shelby decided to test their knowledge against a little trivia—and quickly discovered that confidence and correctness are two very different things. It all started when…
- 209 - Owala & Obtainable Consumerism: Buy It, Finance It, Replace It · 40 min · Episode 209Rita and Shelby start with a simple question: Why do we keep buying the next cool water bottle? From the crazes of the 1990s to today's Owala cups and whatever comes next, they…
- 208 - We're Better Fighters Than Mom: The Sleepover That Went South · 29 min · Episode 208In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Shelby and Rita talk about a grandkid sleepover that didn't exactly go according to plan. Two of their grandkids came over for the night…
- 207 - Shelby's Cousin Arthur: Somehow We Both Turned Out Okay · 10 min · Episode 207In this episode of The Barn Philosopher, Shelby sits down with his cousin and good friend Arthur for his first appearance on the show. Just one year apart, Shelby and Arthur grew…
- 206 - Ridge Goes Full Night Shift: Joan Loses a Bet · 33 min · Episode 206Ridge's wife didn't think he could do it. Three nights chaperoning a kids retreat, staying awake from 11 PM until 7 AM to make sure the kids weren't getting into trouble. Fresh…
