We live in a time where many people do not have shelter physically or emotionally. Lynn and John circle the meaning of home and ponder many of the situations where people are displaced or discarded into a fragile way of being. Losing a friend or family member can chip away at the idea of home. How many wish to disappear or run away? How do we carry the idea of home as we journey through life? Humans crave places where they are welcome and can thrive. We invite our listeners to think about where and what those places are for you.

Ah, the subject that obsesses the whole world much of the time. The Unruly ones muse on the contradictions and expanse of this enormous topic. Wars have been fought over it, lives begun and ended because of it, desperate acts committed in the name of it. Love may conquer all and make the world go round, but it’s complicated: it never fails to both delight and bedevil us and all manner of emotions in between. So, in the spirit of the thing that humans just can’t do without, we present you with not just Love! but “Love?” 52. Love? (September 2025) Episode Summary Ah, the subject that obsesses the whole world much of the time. The Unruly ones muse on the contradictions and expanse of this enormous topic. Wars have been fought over it, lives begun and ended because of it, desperate acts committed in the name of it. Love may conquer all and make the world go round, but it’s complicated: it never fails to both delight and bedevil us and all manner of emotions in between. So, in the spirit of the thing that humans just can’t do without, we present you with not just Love! but “Love?”

Who hasn’t felt this way? Especially as 2025 grinds on! The world is indeed ‘too much with us late and soon.’ The Unruly duo tiptoe through the thickets of impulse and reason as we explore this intriguing topic. We all wish we could take a break, stop time for a bit, reconnoiter somewhere else. We discover that actually we can, through creative work, being in nature or with dear friends, experiencing something new, anything that gets us into a flow. Try it and breathe a little easier.

50. Levity and Gravity (July, 2025) Episode Summary John and Lynn ride the rollercoaster of levity and gravity, for what it tells us about how the ludicrous often stalks the grave moments of our lives. One provokes the other. People who take themselves too seriously often make us snicker, after all. In this episode we meet someone bemoaning the shortage of Belgian endive as the world falls apart, surely levitatious in the extreme, and Jesus and the devil communing on the side of a cliff for just a short time, a humorous take on those notorious opposites. Satire is the tool of debunking the doom scrollers, as old as language itself. Be brave and eavesdrop as one poet tells us, and be astonished and bemused at what you’ll hear––and feel.

The Unruly duo probe the joys of speaking your mind, or calling for change, or protesting an unfair move, or standing up for yourself, and so many other urgent responses to our polarized times.  We found it intriguing to let it rip on this one and see where poetry, prose, music and patter would take us on this basic human urge. Frustrated? Speak up! Curious about the why? Speak up! Wishing for someone, something, else? Speak up! Want to make a point? Speak up! We even invoke ee cummings, who brings forth the plants and animals and the earth speaking up. Enjoy pondering all the possibilities…including silence.

Episode Summary Oh, those two strange twins, beauty and beast, slink by each other, twine about each other, live inside nature, people, animals, the cosmos. Beauty brings the beast into focus; the beast makes us long for beauty. The Unruly duo plunge into hurricanes, urban grit, human greed, and the Bard as we perform poems, prose, songs, and instrumentals for evidence of these strange bedfellows. Think how the tension between the two haunts the boulevards and the beaches of our perception. Take it in stride, but be aware (beware?)….

We grow up with stories of Greek, Egyptian, and Roman gods, as well as those of many other cultures. These myths and stories give us human conflicts and dilemmas, a sense of moral purpose, and more than a healthy dose of cautionary tales. Children love and fear a gruesome fairy tale, and those feelings of delight and dread stay with us. Ancient stories and local lore are the stuff of drama and song, and tools for living in many cases. Lynn and John dive into some of these stories and look for the truths buried there as well as outrage and amazement. Along the way, we see that human fears, desires for power and beauty, and the seven deadly sins have been around for millennia. The more things change, as they say, the more they stay the same. Enjoy. And ponder.

We can’t escape judgment. Each day we make decisions, some tiny like which is the best route to the store, or big like should we get a divorce? The Unrulies discover that judgment provokes judgment. Judging others causes them to judge us, and a cascade of judgment can soon ensue among families, friends, co-workers, and even strangers (why is that strangely dressed man coming toward me?) Social media has ratcheted up split-second reactions. So, take some time, consider and pause before you harsh someone’s vibe (lest you poke the wasp’s nest of retaliation). And, occasionally, allow enough distance to see humor in the rush to judgment. Insert deep breath here.

Lynn & John take on the unique and sometimes essential relationships that we have with neighbors and neighborhoods. Some neighbors become family, others are those we simply greet or wave to, others keep their distance. Neighborhoods develop a culture of friendliness and behavior, depending on who lives there, and the culture includes the pets and birds and animals who live within the ‘hood. What obligations do neighbors share? What is considered neighborly in your enclave of city or rural dwellers? Take a moment with us to reflect on how you fit into the landscape where you live with the denizens you live among.

As John and Lynn mark their fourth year of The Unruly Muse (!), they turn to an antidote to the bumpy beginning of 2025: harmony. Never have our overheated earth and erupting political tempers needed balance and harmony more than now. How does happiness intersect with harmony? A balanced life spans relationships, the natural world, the worlds of music and art, and the way of the world in general. Harmony implies interaction as the word comes from joined or fitting together. Take some time, breathe freely, take a walk, spend time with a friend or loved one, commune with your deep nature. We are all capable of stirring up peace if we but give ourselves a chance. Happy 2025!

The Unrulies tease out the slow buildup leading to break ups as well as the more explosive moments where there is no way out save breaking up. And then there’s the occasional relief brought by freedom and new possibilities. Countries break up, people do, geography shifts, and ideas fragment. We couldn’t build up or change without breaking up first. So fasten your seat belts…

As fall flirts with the onset of winter, and Halloween calls out spirits and mischief, what could be more timely than for John and Lynn to address Unruly Thoughts? ...those careening, colliding, mental gyrations that disturb our focus and disrupt our dreams? In this episode, unruliness calls out the lack of control we have over our speeding minds, images and past, present, and future tumbling over one another. Living inside our heads and hearts is always an adventure, and we hope you will savor your own wild wanderings as you listen to this month’s poems, songs, fiction, and patter. Leap into your unconscious mind and enjoy the ride!

Episode Summary The Unrulies progress in no uncertain terms (!) through the doubtful zone, that pause between yes and no, the moment before agreement or disapproval settles. Doubt is a necessary state of weighing the odds, figuring out the costs or benefits, jumping across the crack or stepping on it. Can we even get to certitude without passing through doubt? Do some people get stuck in the neverland of doubt? We explore the terrain freely through our music and poems and fiction. Will you enjoy it? We have no doubt.

40. Behind the Curtain (August, 2024) The Unruly Ones dream about the world that is out of sight, the places and things and feelings that we conceal from view. The Wizard of Oz hid his smallness from view. The theater curtain, when closed, creates great expectations for the audience. And then when pulled open or lifted we have a magic moment of suspense: what will be revealed? What can we see? Opening the eyes or blinking cause a kind of curtain to open to our inner selves, and perhaps the soul. Join with us as we take a tour of the unseen possibilities Behind the Curtain.

In this episode, John and Lynn search for the soothing moments, the healing balm, the uplifting. In a world fractured and fractious, a country aching for change and most of all relief, possibilities occur that can lessen the load and lead to equanimity. We find comfort in song, music, connection with others, the natural world, and childhood dreams of unbounded time. Join us in our explorations. Ahhhhh…

Our Unruly theme sends the duo to examine Regret, not one of the seven deadly sins but surely one of the most painful of emotions. We’ve all wished we could have done something differently, turned that corner sooner or later, said goodbye differently, not said goodbye at all. How does time affect the impact of regret? When we look closely at regret, we find reasons for everything and, often, acceptance. Song 1: You Told, composed and performed by John V. Modaff. Poem 1: “The Wicked Stepmother Tells Her Story,” published in bosque journal and later in We Were Meant to Carry Water as “Frail Cradle.” https://tinacarlsonpoetry.com/ Fiction: “Cautionary Tale” by Lynn C. Miller, author of, most recently, The Lost Archive: Stories (2023), from a novel in progress. www.lynncmiller.com Feed the Cat Break: “The Rear View” JVM. Poem 2: “I Could Taste It” by Marjorie Saiser, whose book, The Track the Whales Make won the High Plains Award. Saiser's Losing the Ring in the River (University of New Mexico Press) won the Willa Award for Poetry in 2014. www.poetmarge.com Song 2: No Fly Zone composed and sung by JVM Episode artwork by Lynda Miller Show theme and incidental music by John V. Modaff, BMI The Unruly Muse is Recorded in Albuquerque, NM and Morehead, KY Produced at The Creek Studio NEXT UP: Episode 39, “What is Healing?”

The Unrulies ponder the role of machines in our lives, from the simple lever to the wheel and beyond. Through poems, fiction, songs and patter we explore humanity’s reliance on machines to keep us alive, for convenience, for new knowledge and also the risks that they pose. We leapfrog from cars and droids to climate disaster, nuclear accidents and A.I. Who is driving who, the humans or the machines? Hopefully the world will stay in its orbit in any case. To paraphrase Marshall McLuhan, yesterday’s machines and technologies become today’s art. Look around you to see the wonder of the machines you live with and exclaim “That’s a Rembrandt!”

36. The Family (April, 2024) John and Lynn dive into the complicated bonds of family. Who do we consider family? Those we let into this tight circle can criticize and appreciate us both and still stay members. Every family has its rituals of sorts. What keeps this unit from spinning out so far that the people making it up lose their connection to each other? Our poems and songs, fiction and patter this month tackle both the glue and the mysteries of this most ancient institution. There are limits to membership but what are they and how can they be dissolved or reinforced? Take a deep breath and cast a keen eye onto your own family configurations. Keep the faith and don’t forget humor which makes the whole thing hang together!

Episode Summary The Duo peep over the fence to regard the topic of strange bedfellows. What are these unusual pairings by the way? We see them in marriages, in politics, in friendships, in happenings that make us ponder. They are certainly incongruous, which can be a delight, a surprise, or a shock. Contrast makes the everyday occurrence come into the frame, so we’ve decided we need a little strangeness to make life make sense. We veer from the mythic to gentle humor, to deep meditation. Enjoy life’s paradoxes and keep an eye out for the ones that pop up in your life. Also, watch out who stands beside you!

The Unrulies contemplate an essential aspect of human beings––the ability and desire to forgive––yet one rarely written about. Without it, relationships would fail, slights create chasms in friendships, and moral acts lose their ground. In public life, is it considered “weak” to forgive? Is the act of forgiving instead full of grace? We doubt many regret their acts of forgiveness, but here we peer into the crannies of motivation and ponder how hope and acceptance and forgiveness connect. We wish you much giving and receiving of forgiveness in 2024!