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Counterflow with Buck Johnson

Counterflow with Buck Johnson

By: Buck Johnson
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About this listen

 The Counterflow Podcast is a weekly show featuring discussions and interviews with people who are outside of and critical toward mainstream liberal and conservative politics. Counterflow challenges the conventional narratives sold to us as truth. The show features thinkers from all backgrounds, who do not fit into the narrow framework of fashionable opinion. The show addresses cultural, spiritual and lifestyle issues as well as philosophy and geo-politics. Host Buck Johnson (formerly of the Death To Tyrants Podcast) is a musician, firefighter and Orthodox Christian and has always had an interest and drive to go one way while everyone else runs the other direction. Political Science Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • Ep. 409 - (FIXED) Dying to the World in an Age of Distraction, with Fr. John Valadez

    Ep. 409 - (FIXED) Dying to the World in an Age of Distraction, with Fr. John Valadez
    Apr 15 2026
    In this episode, I chat with Fr. John Valadez—Orthodox priest and the man behind Death to the World—to talk about what it actually means to die to the world in a culture that's built to keep you comfortable, entertained, and constantly distracted. We get into why modern life makes it almost impossible to be still, why silence feels threatening to people, and how we've replaced transformation with validation without even realizing it. But the conversation really centers around what he's building right now— A retreat center. A real place. On real land. Set apart. A place where you step out of the noise, put the phone down, and actually have to face yourself… and God. We talk about why that kind of place is necessary right now, what happens to a person when the distractions are stripped away, and why most people have never actually experienced silence long enough for anything real to happen. It's about building something real in a world that isn't. And what it actually costs to live a serious spiritual life. For more on Fr John, go here: https://www.sttimothy.net/ And for Death to the World, go here: https://deathtotheworld.com/ For more information on the retreat center, go here: https://youtu.be/lJejv9xL5hU?feature=shared And here: https://www.meetingofthelord.com/

    Sponsor:

    Podsworth App: https://podsworth.com
    Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order!
    Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast!
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    Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

    Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

    Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

    Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

    Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Ep. 408 - The Gut and the Soul: Health, Habit, and the Passions, with Dr. Mark Faries

    Ep. 408 - The Gut and the Soul: Health, Habit, and the Passions, with Dr. Mark Faries
    Apr 7 2026

    In this episode, Buck sits down with Dr. Mark Faries, professor at Texas A&M and researcher in behavior change, to explore one of the most frustrating realities of modern life:

    Why do we know what's healthy… and still fail to do it?

    Dr. Faries breaks down the science behind human behavior—why people change, why they don't, and why most attempts at improving health fall apart over time. The conversation moves beyond surface-level advice and into the deeper issue of self-regulation failure—the internal battle between what we know and what we actually do.

    But this isn't just a conversation about health science.

    Drawing from his own journey into Orthodoxy, Dr. Faries connects modern research with the wisdom of the Church Fathers, showing how ancient teachings on the passions—especially gluttony—line up strikingly well with what we now understand about behavior, habit formation, and even gut health.

    From more from Dr Mark, go here: http://markfaries.com/

    Orthodox Youth and young adult Ministries - Removing the Veil

    Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

    Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

    Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

    Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

    Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Ep. 407 - Beyond Feelings: Truth, Asceticism, and the Orthodox Path, with Fr. Justin Havens

    Ep. 407 - Beyond Feelings: Truth, Asceticism, and the Orthodox Path, with Fr. Justin Havens
    Mar 31 2026

    What happens when faith is reduced to a feeling?

    In this episode, I sit down with Fr. Justin Havens, a missionary priest serving at St. Joseph the Hesychast Serbian Orthodox Church, to talk about one of the most important spiritual questions of our time:

    Is truth something you feel… or something you encounter?

    Drawing from years of missionary work in Utah—one of the most spiritually unique regions in America—we unpack the contrast between subjective religious experience and objective truth in Christ, and why so many people today are starving for something deeper.

    This is a conversation about:
    • the limits of emotional spirituality
    • the reality of the ascetical life
    • and why Orthodoxy is quietly exploding in places no one expected

    Sponsor:

    Podsworth App: https://podsworth.com
    Code: BUCK50 for HALF off your first order!
    Clean up your recordings, sound like a pro, and support the Counterflow Podcast!
    Full Ad Read BEFORE processing: https://youtu.be/F4ljjtR5QfA
    Full Ad Read AFTER processing: https://youtu.be/J6trRTgmpwE

    Get the new Counterflow T-shirt before it sells out! Visit https://www.counterflowpodcast.com/store or send $30 via PayPal to buck@counterflowpodcast.com with your size and shipping address!

    Donate to the show here: https://www.patreon.com/counterflow

    Visit my website: https://www.counterflowpodcast.com

    Audio Production by Podsworth Media: https://www.podsworth.com

    Leave us a review and rating on Apple Podcasts! Thanks!
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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