Loren Cross
Finding her footing in conversation.
Loren grew up in Berkeley, CA — in a town shaped by the university and the world that gathers around it. She married a research lawyer and became a professional chef in 1977. She studied under Madeline Karmen, a French women in Boston, and specialized in sauces. Her life was built around food, clay, and the steady rhythm of kitchen work. At home she was surrounded by books curated by her husband. Even so, she spent years assuming philosophy belonged to other people. She was interested in Greek thinkers, but “used to thinking it was beyond me because of how I grew up,” as she put it.
When she met Seth at Blue Scorcher Bakery, something shifted. She helped set up early Philosofarian talks there, hanging around the edges, listening, carrying questions of her own without quite knowing how to bring them forward.
Eventually she stepped into the conversation.
Loren and Seth discussing wondering as a kind of journey.
What She Found
Loren describes those early conversations as “mind opening.”
She liked “being able to ask questions knowing” she had “thoughtful support.”
That mattered to her — the sense that her thinking could unfold at its own pace, without needing to know where it was headed.
She once said philosophy talks with Seth and Gad were like “a long cool drink of water for a very thirsty person.” Something in her recognized the feeling of depth she’d been wanting.
She followed her thoughts out loud. She listened to others. She began to see that her way of thinking fit in the world - it always had.
Pastries and a warm mug of delicious - fuel for thinking.
How She Participated
Over time, Loren became part of the texture of those gatherings.
She brought pastries.
She poured tea.
She sat with questions, big and small — from Greek philosophy to how does imagination work?
and Are emotions a conscious link to the primal or unconscious world?
She also paid attention to the group — the way people responded to one another, the way conversations deepened as people stayed with the question instead of reaching for closure.
“Listening to Seth and Gad’s response to people responding to questions” was one of her favorite parts.
What struck her most was the experience of asking the question rather than having a ready answer.
Loren asking Seth about the Dravidian peoples.
Where She is Now
Loren doesn’t make it to Scoundrels as often these days, but she hasn’t stepped away. She still meets with us when she can, and the conversations pick up right where they always have. She’s looking forward to the day we have a space of our own — a place where following a group discussion feels easier and she can join in more regularly again.
“I was really interested in Greek philosophy but was used to thinking it was beyond me because of how I grew up…
Philosophy talks with Seth and Gad are like a long cool drink of water for a very thirsty person.”
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