The Subtext: If You’re Not Terrified, You’re Not Paying Attention

No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp

Lee Camp

Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy

4.8 • 556 Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When fear becomes the price of being “informed,” how do we tell the difference between paying attention and being emotionally hijacked? After a trio of viral Threads posts seem to declare that terror is the only appropriate response to our moment, we dig into how social media turns unprocessed fear into a public spectacle, and why outrage and panic are increasingly treated as signs of intelligence or moral seriousness. Drawing on mental health research, media studies, and theology, we ask whether constant distress actually helps us engage the world more faithfully or quietly numbs our capacity for compassion and action. Things we mentioned in this episode: Books + Articles: ⁠We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat⁠ ⁠Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth⁠ ⁠The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson⁠ ⁠A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson⁠ ⁠Night by Elie Wiesel⁠ ⁠A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly⁠ ⁠Media and compassion after digital war: Why digital media haven't transformed responses to human suffering in contemporary conflict by Andrew Hoskins⁠ ⁠We Have Never Been Woke by Musa al-Gharbi⁠ Shows + Movies: ⁠Run Away⁠ on Netflix ⁠Stranger Things⁠ on Netflix ⁠The Prince of Egypt⁠ Songs + Podcasts: ⁠If You Believe by Rachael Lampa (A Walk to Remember Soundtrack)⁠ ⁠Dare You To Move by Switchfoot (A Walk to Remember Soundtrack)⁠ ⁠Musa al-Gharbi interview on No Small Endeavor⁠ ⁠Munther Isaac interview on No Small Endeavor⁠ Follow No Small Endeavor to be notified when Lee's episode with Kim Stanley Robinson drops! Follow The Subtext: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Threads⁠ | ⁠X⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ | ⁠TikTok⁠ Follow Lee: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠ | ⁠Lee's Newsletter⁠ Follow Savannah: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Substack⁠ Join our Email List: ⁠nosmallendeavor.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, Lee. Welcome to our show.
0:01.5	Hello, Savannah.
0:02.2	Welcome to our show.
0:03.3	So grateful to be here.
0:04.4	Yes, indeed.
0:05.3	In these cozy chairs. Very cozy. That was smart. You got rid of the pillows. I'm feeling very, like, nestled in at the moment. You can just toss those. Yeah, I might toss them in a minute if it doesn't work out for me. Lee, tell me, what are the vibes at the moment? where do you bring it in? The vibes at the moment.
0:23.4	I am doing okay.
0:25.5	Life is full at the moment with moving parents.
0:32.7	And so that means a lot is stirred up
0:34.9	and as far as like needing to attend to things and so just a lot of
0:39.1	where are they moving they're moving into assisted living that's right this is a big move a big move
0:45.1	yes so we're grateful that they decided to make this move yeah but of course it means helping them
0:51.9	do all that goes along with the move so that is occupying a lot of my mental energy at the moment.
0:59.0	How long had they been in their current home?
1:01.5	20 years, this year.
1:04.6	20 years.
1:05.0	It's a lot of stuff.
1:06.5	Fortunately, the home that I grew up in that they lived in for probably 30 years or more, they moved from 20 years ago.
1:15.8	So it's not nearly as much as it could have been from that other move.
1:20.4	Like all of your stuff.
1:21.6	Yeah, yeah, yeah, that would have been a lot.
1:23.2	How about you?
	...

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