Thanks very much to Bruce Feiler for joining me on the 5 Questions livestream to discuss his new book A Time to Gather: How Ritual Created the World—and How it Can Save Us.
In this upbeat and friendly conversation, Bruce and I discuss:
What came first, ritual or religion?
Why SEC football tailgating fits the definition of ritual
How Balinese tooth-filing ritual has much in common with modern Western dental customs
Why so many New Yorkers are jumping on the Knicks bandwagon (including someone’s wife who shall remain nameless)
See clips and leave comments below. In the mean time, subscribe to Bruce’s ‘The Nonlinear Life’ Substack here and to Paul’s ‘Reasonably Happy’ Substack here.
Some of my favorite clips
Paul asks Bruce about the sacred nature of college football tailgating (00:12:33)
“A ritual is a shared, unnecessary act, that makes us feel at home.”
Bruce on why New York has gone crazy for the Knicks (00:17:09)
“Ritual is essential and it can save us. Because, whatever the problem is—if it’s loneliness, ritual is the answer. If it’s polarization, ritual is the answer. If it’s de-civilization, ritual is the answer.”
The performative nature of life—both online and IRL (00:22:01)
“There is going to be a human response to the tech…but also, the internet can be a source of connection.”
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