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Andy and Kris talk about their recent interview with an earth healer from Milwaukee. (Original interview found on https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zbK2UGpWRkG5NVqmHwq7m (Growing Beyond.)) Kris explains the basics of shamanic work and energy healing. Did you know you can hire someone to clear ghosts from your house? Dan, Andy, Jeremy and Kris all share their own experiences of "ghosts", whether they exist and what these mysteries might actually mean.

In this episode: The Legend Larry Bird is the king of everything because he refused to play games other than the game he was paid to play. Winning Time. Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman, and the line between being authentic and being a dick. Does sports exist outside of the laws of normal life? We talk about the heartbreak of the limitations of the human body as it relates to athletic achievement. Jeremy's son is wiser than all of us and when it comes to athletic success, being coachable is key, Michelle Obama says if you work hard you can achieve what you want, Is she right?

Raising children is not just raising children. It's planting the seeds for all kinds of relationships further down the road: personal, societal, cultural, behavioral, and environmental. And, as Jeremy points out, it lays the foundation for complex decision making later in life. Who we are to our kids when they are seeking to bond and what we prioritize affects what and who they bond to later. This episode dives into stay-at-home dads, Andrew Yang, universal basic income, warehousing kids, the biological drive to be close to your offspring, and how the economy has not caught up with the realizations that having close and healthy early bonding of one parent or family member creates a rich future for all.

Discussions about the evolution of parenting are endless, but we whittled it down to a couple hours for you. In this episode, Dan and Kris reveal their cigarette journeys which leads to a conversation about teenagers and rebellion. Andy shares an original poem about the bittersweet experience of watching your little girl grow up. We discuss how much has changed over one generation: the definitions of discipline, generosity, and what it means to be a good parent. We discuss the importance placed on seeing your kids for who they are, not who you want them to be...and how that was often a foreign concept for our own parents and grandparents. Also, when to get involved as a parent and when to stay in your own lane, when to keep adult kids at home and when to add a little glass to the nest.

The Squad discusses Superbowl LVI Halftime Show. Dr. Dre, Snoop, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar blow our minds. Dan runs down the list of halftime shows from the beginning of time. The Three Stooges? Yes. George Burns? Yes. Music legends sharing the stage with forgettable artists? Yes. Prince blowing our minds, Nipplegate, Shakira and J.Lo in booty wars.....It's all here.

In this episode, Dan shares an essay detailing thoughts on Netflix's Maid. We jump down a wormhole into the problems with the financial cost of raising kids in the U.S. Does the cost of living necessitate a 2 income household for parents? What position does that put people who are in abusive or unhealthy partnerships? How do you rely on a system that offers help, but it isn't quite enough? What do new parents do when they don't have the help of family or a support structure?

This episode starts with a Vonnegut passage and ends with a horrific sexist yearbook catchphrase. In between you'll hear the tale of the Higgs' Farm Sale. What's it like when an 80 year old woman sets the tone for a real estate deal and insists the priorities will be what's best for the land, what's best for relations, and what's best for the wallet...in that order. What's it like to become financial advisors to and partners with our own parents? What's it like to sell something precious because it's the right thing to do? Find out in this episode.

Part 2 of a four hour conversation about individual rights, the journey of women, trans rights, how progress changes language, and whether we really need laws to function. Kris shares more of her essay. Life in Danland (only bacon and Hamms are served) means everyone is expected to function rationally, and we need to watch for governing that oversteps. Jeremy talks about his work as a social worker with people who are surviving addictions, family trauma, and the challenges of mental health struggles. In a world where some days are just about getting to a functional baseline, how can we agree on what rationality means?

Part 1 of 2. Guest host Jeremy Higgins joins Kris and Dan to discuss transgender rights, gender identity, gender definition, and the gap in generational understanding of the language around gender minorities. Kris shares an essay on the subject of trans rights, the history of gender definitions in modern culture, the importance of the socio-cultural definition of the word woman, and how JK Rowling may not be wrong. Dan shares his thoughts about not legislating sexual orientation and Jeremy shares his experiences as a social worker who works with individuals who struggle with identity, mental health, and getting to a baseline of non-crisis living.

In this episode, Kris and Andy share original short stories....Kris talks about the Bears buying Arlington International Racetrack - a horse racing track that was in her hometown- and what it was like growing up with a gambling dad who bet on horses. Dan and Andy both are preparing their family farms to be sold, examining what is valuable and why. Andy shares a story about his experiences clearing out the property. What matters, what are we holding onto, how do we usher our parents' generation into a simpler life without so much stuff while holding onto what is precious?

In this episode, we continue discussion about what binds a community together and the very precarious line to walk between maintaining privacy and building connection. Is Dan's mom right? Is the breakdown of religion and traditional family roles causing the breakdown of a moral, supportive, and collaborative society? Or is Kris' mom right? Do you move across the country when the binds of religion and extended family end up stifling personal freedom and prohibiting choices? Or is Andy's Dad right? Farmers use manual work as a love language and there is no doubt about it- every set of hands is valuable and valued. Are heinous crimes committed because of cultural disconnect and it's all our fault? Or are they natural anomalies like a 100 year flood?

This episode has adult content beyond our normal swearing and things. We discuss horrific crimes so please keep little ears away. This episode includes a short written piece from Kris then dives right into marriage, divorce, suburban neighborhoods, and gruesome true crime. Why do some people insist that misery should be accepted in marriage? Can divorce actually be a good thing now that both genders are free to own property, work, and vote? Kris shares an unbelievable, disturbing true crime tale from her neighborhood. What happens when all the bad stuff that happens "out there" actually happens right down the block? Which groups do we identify with when every group has its issues? Is the breakdown of marriage, or the committing of a crime....is it really still all about connection and being seen?