{"store":{"baseInfo":{"podcastTitle":"The Thinking Reed","slug":"tomvierra","podcastDescription":"

A philosophy podcast for everyone. The main idea is for us to get to know some of the most interesting thinkers that ever lived. Each episode is part of a series on a certain thinker/writer. Episodes are fairly short (about 15-30 minutes), but long enough to get you thinking. We explore a wide range of thinkers and writers, both ancient and modern. Pascal, Plato, Dostoevsky, Seneca, Nietzsche, Rousseau, Shakespeare, Camus, Melville -- just some of the names we will encounter together.

","podcastLogo":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor.jpg","podcastShareLogo":"https://d2bwo9zemjwxh5.cloudfront.net/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor_1200x628.jpg?s=9f576f7a57f8005cd9d44f30bbed9f24&e=jpg","podcastUrl":"https://tomvierra.podbean.com","podcastCanSearched":true,"feedUrl":"https://feed.podbean.com/tomvierra/feed.xml","theme":"elegant","podcastDeepLink":"https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-whttp-14cd671?from=usersite","removePodbeanBranding":"no","brandingLogo":null,"timeZone":{"timeZoneId":10,"gmtAdjustment":"GMT-06:00","useDaylightTime":0,"value":-6,"text":"(GMT-06:00) Central America","daylightStartTime":"Second Sunday Of March +2 Hours","daylightEndTime":"First Sunday Of November +2 Hours","timezone":null},"podcastDownloads":null,"totalEpisodes":14,"showComments":true,"iOSAppDownloadLink":null,"customizeCssUrl":null,"androidAppDownloadLink":null,"showPostShare":true,"showLike":true,"author":"Tom Vierra","enableEngagementStats":true,"shareEmbedLink":"https://admin5.podbean.com/embed.html?id=pbblog-whttp-14cd671-playlist","language":"en","sensitivitySessionExpireTime":3600,"podcastApps":[{"name":"Apple Podcasts","link":"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-thinking-reed/id1873647471","image":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/fs1/site/images/admin5/apple-podcast.png","title":null},{"name":"Podbean App","link":"https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-whttp-14cd671?from=usersite","image":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/fs1/site/images/admin5/podbean-app.png","title":null},{"name":"Spotify","link":"https://open.spotify.com/show/6MPBIlCRoVPxsJq27Zjv1u","image":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/fs1/site/images/admin5/spotify.png","title":null}],"components":{"base":[{"id":"MainStyle","val":"light"},{"id":"Font","val":"Geometric Humanist"},{"id":"SecondaryFont","val":"Geometric Humanist"},{"id":"PlayerColor","val":"#428200"},{"id":"PlayerStyle","val":"player1"},{"id":"PlayerWave","val":"show"},{"id":"Favicon","val":null},{"id":"CookiesNotice","val":"hide"},{"id":"CookiesNoticeContent","val":"

Cookies Notice

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies.

"},{"id":"EpisodePageListenOn","val":"hide"},{"id":"EpisodePageCustomizeComponent","val":"hide"}],"home-header":[{"id":"HomeHeaderTextColor","val":"#000000"},{"id":"HomeHeaderBackgroundColor","val":"#ffffff"}],"page-header":[{"id":"PageHeaderTextColor","val":"#ffffff"},{"id":"PageHeaderBackgroundColor","val":"#868686"}],"episode-list":[{"id":"EpisodeListType","val":"grid"},{"id":"EpisodesPerPage","val":10},{"id":"EpisodeStats","val":"show"}],"navigation":[{"id":"NavigationFontColor","val":"#000000"},{"id":"NavigationBackgroundColor","val":"#e9e9e9"},{"id":"NavigationSearch","val":"show"},{"id":"NavigationLinks","val":[{"id":"Home","type":"Link","value":"/","text":"Home","subitems":[]},{"id":"Subscribe","type":"Link","value":"https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/18KqaGfaAuDq","text":"Subscribe","subitems":[]},{"id":"Profile","type":"Link","value":"https://www.podbean.com/user-l3k2lVu8qTK2","text":"Profile","subitems":[]}]}],"footer":[{"id":"FooterType","val":"Footer2"},{"id":"FooterFontColor","val":"#ffffff"},{"id":"FooterBackgroundColor","val":"#000000"},{"id":"FooterCopyright","val":"Copyright 2025 All rights reserved."},{"id":"SocialMediaLinks","val":{"facebook_username":"","twitter_username":"","instagram_username":"","youtube_username":"","linkedin_username":""}}],"customize-container1":[],"customize-container2":[]},"allLinks":[],"mainStylesDefaultSettings":null,"defaultCustomizeComponents":null,"scripts":[],"metas":null,"appConfig":{"package":"com.podbean.app.podcast","app_store_id":973361050,"app_name":"Podbean","scheme":"podbean"},"customizeCss":null,"canEditCss":null,"enableJsCodeInCustomizeContent":false,"enabledIframeCodeInCustomizeContent":true,"sectionMaxCount":10,"enableEditorLink":true,"enableEditCookiesNotice":true,"siteRedirectToFeed":false,"podcatcherRssUrl":null,"showFeed":true,"showTopBar":true,"enableWebSiteLike":true,"organizationName":null,"organizationPageLink":null},"backToListUrl":"/","tinymceLoaded":false,"listEpisodes":[],"userLikedEpisodes":[],"userLikeCheckedEpisodes":[],"topBarIframeLoaded":false,"listTotalCount":0,"listTotalPage":0,"listPage":0,"listType":"all","listValue":"","listName":"","pageLoading":false,"apiBaseUrl":"https://tomvierra.podbean.com","apiV2BaseUrl":"","apiCommonParams":{"t":"6a255b25","clientSignature":"32d4af803c6ca1fc074a489aaacc3fa0","u":null,"customizing":null},"apiCommonHeaders":{},"comments":[],"commentsTotalCount":0,"commentsTotalPage":0,"commentsPage":1,"commentEpisodeId":"pb27576726-riuzm","episode":{"id":"pb27576726","idTag":"riuzm","title":"Episode 4: Pascal, Why We Love Distractions","logo":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor_300x300.jpg","shareLogo":"https://d2bwo9zemjwxh5.cloudfront.net/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor_1200x628.jpg?s=9f576f7a57f8005cd9d44f30bbed9f24&e=jpg","largeLogo":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor.jpg","previewContent":null,"content":"

In this episode we explore Pascal's famous statement that all of our problems come from our inability to sit alone quietly in a room. Why does he say this? Why do we love distractions? Why would we do anything to get away from being alone with our thoughts? Enjoy!

","publishTimestamp":1771447918,"duration":1491,"mediaUrl":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/h4p7mrabzm9eubkc/Episode_4_Pascal_4_edited6c2c9.mp3","mediaType":"audio/mpeg","shareLink":"https://admin5.podbean.com/embed.html?id=pb-riuzm-1a4c996","likedCount":0,"deepLink":"https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-riuzm-1a4c996","transcriptUrl":null,"permalink":"/e/pascal-aloneness-misery-and-distractions/","downloadLink":"https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-riuzm-1a4c996?download=1","fallbackResource":null,"fallbackResourceMimetype":null,"downloadCount":45,"status":"publish","hasMoreContent":false,"chaptersUrl":null,"explicit":false},"episodeShareLink":null,"deepLink":"https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-riuzm-1a4c996","playlist":{"episodes":[],"current":0,"start":0,"stop":0,"playing":true,"playerLoading":true,"playbackRate":1,"playbackRateIndex":1,"volume":1},"toasts":[],"confirm":null,"customizeEditorFormZIndex":999,"lastRequestTime":null,"validateChangesOnBeforeunload":true,"windowWidth":1000,"VITE_FS1_CDN_URL_PREFIX":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/fs1","reloadStats":false,"userIdEncrypted":null,"userProfilePicture":null,"username":null,"isVerified":false,"loadUserInfo":false,"loginUrl":"https://www.podbean.com/site/user/login?return=https%253A%252F%252Ftomvierra.podbean.com%252Fe%252Fpascal-aloneness-misery-and-distractions%252F&rts=6039acbe9b01c4dd7279d4d55dfaf801e1ec3b64","recaptchaV3Loaded":false,"recaptchaV2Loaded":false,"likesLoaded":false,"commentLikeMap":{},"commentOffset":0,"widgetCommentsLoaded":false},"episode":{"id":"pb27576726","idTag":"riuzm","title":"Episode 4: Pascal, Why We Love Distractions","logo":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor_300x300.jpg","shareLogo":"https://d2bwo9zemjwxh5.cloudfront.net/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor_1200x628.jpg?s=9f576f7a57f8005cd9d44f30bbed9f24&e=jpg","largeLogo":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/21812849/Web_Photo_Editor.jpg","previewContent":null,"content":"