Q&A with Rob

What do you do outside of work?

I hate to sound like a rural Texas cliché but, in truth: faith, family, and friends. I was drawn into Catholicism in 2020 and find myself spending more and more time trying to be useful to my neighbors through the Church. I’ve got a bit of an old soul and spend a lot of time pursuing what I consider to be “traditional” building (stone, brick, and timber craftsmanship), farming (regenerative agriculture and permaculture), and economics (the Austrian School). When I’m not busy working, I like to let my hair down and do a little work! I do try to spend as much time as possible outdoors with my loyal Australian Shepherd, Gus. This world that we all inhabit is genuinely enchanted and I aim to explore every square inch of it. 

Favorite podcasts?

Way too many to name! I’ve always loved folklore–the spookier, the better–so Aaron Mahnke’s Lore is always reliable. The Acres U.S.A. Podcast is the premier place for understanding regenerative agriculture, and Agrarian Futures is close behind. For placemaking and building, you’ve got The Strong Towns Podcast, Upzoned, The Messy City, The Aesthetic City, Yeoman, Passion for Craft…the list goes on. I spend more hours than I should admit keeping up with film, music, and pop culture, so the Ringerverse constantly has me in its crosshairs–Rob Harvilla’s 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s: The 2000s is brilliant. And you’ll have to torture me for my political pods…

Music you put on while you’re working?

Music goes with mood and mood with music, so it’s a new act of creation every day. I’ve been steadily cultivating an instrumental playlist called Lost in Thought for my workdays–lots of film scores from folks like Phillip Glass and Nick Cave with touches of ambience and folk from Bruce Cockburn, Andrew Bird, Brian Eno, and 1,000 others. I often get nostalgic and go back to my roots with either country-western like George Strait or 90s/00s grunge and alternative rock (The Smashing Pumpkins!!!). I’m a massive post-punk guy, so Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen and all of their successors are on constant rotation as well.

One book (or more, if you must) you'd recommend that you've read in the last 2 years?

I’m fascinated by the late Dr. Christopher Alexander so I return to The Timeless Way of Building, A Pattern Language, and his The Nature of Order series constantly. There is a Catholic thinktank called New Polity out of Steubenville, Ohio that publishes work that–religious or not–is incredibly culturally relevant–Dr. Andrew Willard Jones’ The Church Against the State and The Two Cities have got me thinking hard about the importance of friendship, solidarity, and subsidiarity this year. Finally, we recently lost both Wendell Berry and Annie Dillard so I’m in the process of honoring their many worthy contributions by taking another run through The Unsettling of America and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

Favorite childhood breakfast cereal?

Cinnamon. Toast. Crunch. Light on the milk. The crisp is delicate, so I find that creating a shallow reservoir of whole milk (higher viscosity = slower absorption) and working from the bottom of the bowl creates the most satisfying dining experience. It’s important to make use of an unusually deep and heavy dish (possibly something ceramic with adequate glaze) to facilitate easy excavation at the speed which CTC demands.  

I mean…I found that…as a child. Of course.