<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Distilled Wanderer]]></title><description><![CDATA[Some of the best conversations happen while sipping good whiskey with great friends. Distilled Wanderer seeks to be a place for just that. So welcome to our "porch", lets open a bottle of the good stuff, and talk about life.]]></description><link>https://www.distilledwanderer.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pGFC!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcaf99ae5-d2e1-4a6e-b485-76b7235260f5_1024x1024.png</url><title>Distilled Wanderer</title><link>https://www.distilledwanderer.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:44:27 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.distilledwanderer.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Bradley A Bowden]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[bradbowden32@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[bradbowden32@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Brad Bowden]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Brad Bowden]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[bradbowden32@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[bradbowden32@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Brad Bowden]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Welcome to Distilled Wanderer]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pull up a chair, share a glass, and have conversations about things that matter.]]></description><link>https://www.distilledwanderer.com/p/welcome-to-distille-wanderer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.distilledwanderer.com/p/welcome-to-distille-wanderer</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Brad Bowden]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 03:36:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!pGFC!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcaf99ae5-d2e1-4a6e-b485-76b7235260f5_1024x1024.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most of us have those memories.</p><p>The times you sat around a fire, on a front porch, or just at a kitchen table. It&#8217;s just you, your close friends, and a bottle of whiskey, wine, good beer, coffee - the type of drink doesn&#8217;t matter. The conversation doesn&#8217;t necessarily have a set direction.  It doesn&#8217;t need one. This is just you and those close to you, sitting around, talking life.</p><p>That&#8217;s the point.</p><p>There are multiple ways that people bond, but eventually, if you are going to get to know someone, you need to talk. Some of the best conversations that I have ever had in my life have been around a bottle of good whiskey, a cigar, and nothing else. No pretense. No expectation. Just the freedom to pause, and be in the moment with the person across the table from you and get to know them.</p><p>About a year and a half ago I went to visit my dear friend and the guy who will pop up on here from time to time, Eric, out in the midwest. Eric and I have known each other for quite a few years now, but what struck me after that visit was how easy it was to just get back into talking about life with him. He and I have always been intellectual peas in a pod and enjoy talking about the deep things in life. Eric is an honest-to-goodness historian and I have a working knowledge of history, so that has always helped. However, each of us has a deep need to understand and that has always helped us to not be afraid of diving deep into conversation together.</p><p>That&#8217;s what Distilled Wanderer aims to be.</p><p>What can you expect from Distilled Wanderer? I (Brad) have such a random array of interests and things that catch my fancy that you can expect one day that I&#8217;m diving deep into some obscure theological issue and the next I&#8217;m unpacking the latest developments in the NCAA&#8217;s NIL debacle (I have thoughts....many thoughts on that). But isn&#8217;t that what those kitchen table conversations are? Conversations that start with &#8220;Hey, did you hear about...?&#8221; and &#8220;What are your thoughts on...?&#8221; Those are the fulfilling conversations that we are looking to have here.</p><p>So, welcome to the front porch. Pull up a chair and fill your glass.</p><p>Welcome to Distilled Wanderer.</p><p>-BB</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.distilledwanderer.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.distilledwanderer.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><h2></h2><p></p><div><hr></div><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.distilledwanderer.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Distilled Wanderer! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>