When college works, it really works. Sam Dierberger is a brilliant, well-read, fascinating senior at Rockhurst University who is going to law school in August, which raises the question: does college make people brilliant? Or do some brilliant people go to college?

But what I find compelling about Sam are his many interests. Sam wrote two novels while in college. He loves literature, politics, philosophy, music, and theology. He has an album, "Them Who Haunt," available on Spotify and other places. For two years, he did the “Those Film Nerds” podcast, which was film criticism, available on YouTube, Spotify, and elsewhere. This and for the next three weeks, Sam mesmerizes me with stories, discourses on life, and much, much more.

(This episode was recorded on Jan. 20, 2024.)