I am a writer with a new book coming out for free called The Gospel of Zip. It’s about my dog, Zip. It’s about my 56-year relationship with my wife. It’s a how-to about what really works in life. One of the things I mention in the book is the things that are getting Genie and me through these Trump years—these years of division, these years of the failed left-wing culture war, and the failed right-wing culture war. Yes, they both failed. We’ll be talking about that, and my book talks about it. But how do we get through this time, no matter who we are, no matter what we believe? One of the things that I’m finding very helpful is to delve into history, to give some sense of proportion to the moment we’re in.
Now, there’s a lot of conspiracy theories and stupidity about history, too, that we have around us today. But one very reliable source and incredible pleasure for Genie and me is a podcast called The Rest is History, hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland, two leading British historians and writers. The great thing about this is that Dominic Sandbrook is a little bit to the right. He is a conservative who, for instance, interprets history like the Vietnam era and tells the truth about it when, for example, many Americans supported Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. The majority of people, in 1968, watching the Chicago police riots with Mayor Daley, when polled, actually supported the police—not the hippies and the demonstrators. On the other hand, Tom Holland is a historian, probably the best-known historian of ancient Roman history alive today, who has written widely on that, and he takes an opposing view.
Now, why am I mentioning this? Not to discuss their views in particular, but because here are two guys who do a terrific podcast together and represent slightly different ideological viewpoints. This is just what’s lacking in our country right now. Podcasts are usually conducted by people with very strong opinions in only one direction. I get a little bit of a hint of this when I do my podcast In Conversation with Frank Schaeffer, and I interview authors from all sorts of ideological spectrums—for instance, the editor of The Wall Street Journal, Pulitzer Prize–winning authors, scholars, ardent feminists, and people who are much more conservative on certain issues. Sometimes I hear from people who call themselves liberals that if you have someone like this on your show, they’ll never watch it again, because they are so used to things tailor-made by algorithms to suck people in, so we only listen to people we agree with.
I’m really grateful to The Rest is History to help Genie and me get through this period, because when you look at history, it illumines the moment. Things aren’t as bad as they seem—or, put another way, things have been much worse in the past, and people still survived. They got married, fell in love, had babies, pursued relationships, and made homes in the midst of worse chaos than we’re in. Another point about The Rest is History is that there’s a balanced approach to what has happened. It’s non-ideological. Even though one is more to the left and one a little more to the right, neither of them are ideologues. That’s so different from so many podcast hosts, the news media, or gatekeeper media empires like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, or Fox News. You kind of know where those people are coming from, but Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook surprise me, because they put the truth first as best they can understand it.
Another person who’s helping me get through this period is Evan Davis, who does a wonderful show every weekday called PM on BBC Radio 4. I listen every day for the full hour and often get a better view of American politics and news from the BBC than from American outlets, which tend to be more ideologically divided. It’s ironic that I go to the BBC for more neutral reporting and to Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook for balance. This is a great gift these men are giving Genie and me during these years. It’s one reason my blood pressure is still okay and I get up feeling sane.
So how does this tie in with my book, The Gospel of Zip? Zip is a dog, and I’ve learned from him that the whole idea of “survival of the fittest” is nonsense. It’s the survival of the friendliest and the most cooperative that has allowed our species to endure. As divided as we are, the reason people like Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook appeal to Genie and me—besides being brilliant narrators and funny, self-deprecating people—and the reason Evan Davis’ news is so appealing, is because there are still people out there who care about objectivity and truth.
And that’s why I’m doing something unusual: posting The Gospel of Zip for free on YouTube on November 1. I read the whole book out loud myself, so it’s also an audiobook. It will come out around the same time on Amazon in print and Kindle, priced as low as they’ll let me, but the free YouTube version is there because I want to help us get through this moment in history.
You’ll be surprised at the sympathy I give to some conservative backlash against the culture wars. There’s a lot to be said for conservative views on family and relationships, and there’s a lot to be said for things like the gay rights movement and gay marriage. What I really talk about is how, in my relationship with my wife, with my children, and with my grandchildren, I’ve found real meaning. Paying attention to love, caregiving, and communication has meant more to me than politics.
So when my book comes out, you’ll see that the message is clear: evolution’s rule is survival of the friendliest. Loneliness is deadly—scientifically, it’s worse than smoking or heart disease. What we all crave is order in our personal lives, friendships that work, and love. That’s why I hope you’ll look for my book when it comes out for free on YouTube November 1.
