For today’s episode, let’s think about the disciples. If you were to gather up 12 of your friends for a meal, you can imagine the different characteristics and personality types that would be represented around that table. Jesus’ disciples were no different. Today we’re going to focus on one of the disciples named Peter. Before Peter encountered Jesus, his profession was a fisherman. He would have been educated at a young age to understand the Jewish laws and customs, but as he grew older he would have to have been selected by a rabbi to continue studying and learning the Jewish law at a scholarly level. If he was rejected by all possible rabbis, he would have had to enter a trade, most likely the family trade. It would have been a high and exclusive honor to have been selected by a rabbi, and the vast majority of people were not. Since Peter is a fisherman, we know that the latter was true of him. In fact, at that time his name wasn’t Peter, it was Simon.

Shapeshifters are back this week, but they have definitely met their match in a nocturnal vigilante none other than Peter Bishop! Join us this week as we take on “Reciprocity,” an episode that we don’t look back on as fondly as we remember because of the pieces of the mythology that are established but then never followed up on. We also, as always, get some phenomenal feedback from listeners like Geoff (xforce11), Eric (or Eric from Pennsylvania as you prefer), Erin, and Anna (not Torv), and ShelkyBean! Join us next time when we cover “Concentrate and Ask Again” with returning co-host DillyDally!

“A Thing About Machines” and “The Brain Center at Whipple’s” each explore the tension between humans and technology. From the second season,”A Thing About Machines,” tells the story of Bartlett Finchley, a technophobic man, who is tormented by his household appliances which eventually drive him to his demise. “The Brain Center at Whipple’s” from season five features Mr. Whipple, who automates his factory, replacing human workers with machines, only to find himself redundant and isolated.

I wanted to die. What was I supposed to do? Stand up and wave? Tell her thank you? Smile? I shrunk down in my chair, gave her a fake smile, and stared at my notebook the remainder of class. I still liked her as a teacher and found her class easy, but dreaded my seat and the attention she’d drawn to me. I appreciated the compliment on my work, but the whole situation just made me feel even more insecure. But I knew she meant well, so I didn’t have any hard feelings toward her.

On business trips, business comes first. Whether I’m traveling on my dime or someone else’s, a business trip is for business purposes. Take care of business. But I also learned that it’s okay to get out of the hotel and enjoy the sights of a city while you’re there. I should have realized this by the behavior and encounters I’d had with my boss, but it took this encounter with Jim to help me fully realize it. 

We are once again joined by frequent feedbacker Geoff (xforce11) for this episode as we discuss this absolutely incredible episode of Fringe, “The Firefly!” Listen in as we discuss how much we love Christopher Lloyd’s performance as Roscoe Joyce (keyboardist from Walter’s favorite band Violet Sedan Chair). We also reflect on the ties that this episode has to the season 3 finale’s cliffhanger as well as the themes of season 5.