‘The Masonic Shelf debut’

    

It’s rare I can catch a Masonic podcast at its launch, but I saw the debut of The Masonic Shelf last week, and I’m glad I did. Hosts Bradley Kohanke and Chris Williams chatted for forty-nine minutes about a book on their shelf they find exceptionally meaningful.

Observing the Craft by Andrew Hammer garners their sincere praise. Kohanke says it is the first book he recommends to new Masons who ask. If you don’t know this book, watch the conversation here:

The hosts quote from the text, and then they discuss how its ideas factor into their Masonic experiences.

The Masonic Shelf, unlike every other Masonic podcast I’ve seen, has a credited producer. Jason Reichenberg, or anyone else, can’t be expected to create a perfect show from the start, so I’d like to pitch a few suggestions:

📖 If you must post a disclaimer, have someone read it. The AI voiceover sounds cheap.

📖 Ditch the “fire” graphic in the intro/outro. Flames and books do not mix in a free society.

📖 That music is too dramatic. Swap it for something lighter and uptempo, like baroque strings, or jazz, or even something significant to Texas, their home state.

📖 I don’t mean to beat up Bro. Chris, but he ought to look in the camera once in a while. He should wear a shirt with a collar because the shapeless T-shirt looks like a barber cape. And the repeated sniffles and throat-clearings annoy the viewer.

(Easy for me to say! I always politely deflect invitations to appear on Masonic podcasts because I mumble and curse too much.)

The hosts said they wanted to create a podcast where books can be discussed, saying they didn’t know any such thing existed. Magpie readers know about M.A.G.I.—Masonic Authors Guild International—hosted by Bob Cooper and Mark Tabbert. We can’t have too many talk shows that intelligently review important books, so put both of these in your rotation.

My review of Observing the Craft, from almost exactly thirteen years ago, is here.