From the Page to a Podcast: The Weekly Scottish Rite Journal Podcast Returns

Matt Bowers, E.A., SRJ Podcast Host

After two years of pandemic-induced solitude, we are all out and about again, with the result being that the opportunity to find time to read something may prove less likely. The desire to listen to something while on the go is greater, whether commuting to and from work, driving to your child’s soccer game, or shopping at the grocery store. Hopefully, in the rush of our “new normal,” you will have a chance to listen to the Scottish Rite Journal Podcast, which I have the pleasure of hosting.

How are articles for our podcast selected? We try to choose articles that everyone can relate to, such as a holiday or occasion that is upcoming, for instance, Robert Aldridge’s “Jesus: Carpenter, Mason, or General Craftsman?” (in time for Easter) and SRJ Managing Editor Mark Dreisonstok’s “The Culture of Passover.” Sometimes an article we adopt serves as a reminder of something and someone we may have forgotten about, such as Van McLemore and Daniel Anderson’s piece on the work of Southern Jurisdiction PSGC Henry C. Clausen, 33º, G.C., and his government-appointed task to investigate why the U.S. was caught by surprise with the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The best part of each episode is what we can learn from it. There are some articles that could be open to interpretation in terms of their messages (Andreas Gehlert’s “The Art of Jean Baptiste Greuze, Masonic Moralist Painter”), while others are more of a straightforward history lesson (Selmin Karatas’ “Buffalo Bill: Western Legend and Fondly-remembered Mason”). Our podcast, of course, is a wonderful way to learn more about the history of Freemasonry (B. Chris Ruli’s “Tolstoy, Masonry, and the Prophetic New Age”), extraordinary members of our fraternity (Gregory Martin’s “The Masonic Music of John Philip Sousa”), and Masonic and Masonic-friendly philosophies (Simon Weissenberger’s “Quietism and the Divine Spark”).

These podcasts are doors to more education on virtually any topic you could imagine, and I look forward to providing you with more podcasts full of Masonic history, philosophy, enlightenment, and entertainment. Hopefully, the Scottish Rite Journal Podcast will encourage you to carve out some time to read the latest Scottish Rite Journal and the wealth of information it provides—right after dropping the kids off at soccer! —Matt Bowers, E.A., SRJ Podcast Host

Buffalo Bill: First Chips, Then Article, Now Podcast

Ted Bastien, 32º, Chips from the Quarry.

Buffalo Bill Cody, 32º, was once honored in an installment of the Scottish Rite Journal’s Chips from the Quarry featuring “flamboyant Wild West legends.” Now the SRJ Podcast has featured an extended article on “Buffalo Bill: Western Legend and Fondly-remembered Mason,” also from the pages of the magazine.

Leonid Pasternak, Natasha Rostova’s First Ball, Illustration of Events in Leo Tolstoy’s Novel War and Peace.

Source: Wikimedia Commons. 1893. Watercolor.

Tolstoy, Masonry, & War and Peace

The Scottish Rite Journal Podcast recently presented “Tolstoy, Masonry, and a Prophetic New Age,” an appreciation of a June 1918 article about the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy which appeared in our magazine (then known as The New Age Magazine). Also discussed is the young aristocrat Pierre’s journey into Freemasonry which takes place in Tolstoy’s world-famous novel War and Peace.T he Scottish Rite Journal Podcast recently presented “Tolstoy, Masonry, and a Prophetic New Age,” an appreciation of a June 1918 article about the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy which appeared in our magazine (then known as The New Age Magazine). Also discussed is the young aristocrat Pierre’s journey into Freemasonry which takes place in Tolstoy’s world-famous novel War and Peace.