Give and Take

Mark C. Mattes (PhD, University of Chicago) is professor of philosophy and religion at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. His newest book is Martin Luther's Theology of Beauty: A Reappraisal . Many contemporary theologians seek to retrieve the concept of beauty as a way for people to encounter God. In this volume, one of today's leading Lutheran theologians argues that while Martin Luther'...

My guest is Jamie Wright. After finding her faith at a suburban megachurch, Jamie trades in the easy life on the cul-de-sac for the green fields of Costa Rica. There, along with her family, she earnestly hopes to serve God and change lives. But faced with a yawning culture gap and persistent shortcomings in herself and her fellow workers, she soon loses confidence in the missionary enterprise and...

My guest is Yang Huang. Her debut novel Living Treasures won the Nautilus Book Award silver medal in fiction. Her newest book is My Old Faithful. Evoking both the drama of familial intimacy and the ups and downs of the everyday, My Old Faithful introduces readers to a close-knit Chinese family. These ten interconnected short stories, which take place in China and the United States over a thirty-ye...

My guest is Adam Hamilton. Adam is the senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. His newest book is Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times . It's a book for persons and communities desiring find hope and serenity in an anxious age. To find out more about Adam and w...

My guest is Roland Merullo. He is the acclaimed author of twenty previous books, including the international favorite "Breaking with the Buddha", now in its twentieth printing. Against a landscape of good humor, intrigue, and spiritual fulfillment, The Delight of Being Ordinary showcases the uniquely charming sensibilities of author Roland Merullo. Part whimsical expedition, part love story, part...

My guest is Chaim Saiman. He's a Professor of Law at Villanova University Law School, and is an expert in Law and Religion and Jewish Legal theory. He wrote a fascinating piece for First Things a few years ago called The Halakhah of Jesus' Trial. In it he reflects on the only piece of Talmud that talks about the trial and death of Jesus. Special Guest: Chaim Saiman .

My guest is Gail Straub. Gail is the Executive Director of the Empowerment Institute, which she co-founded in 1981. Her most recent book is The Ashokan Way: Landscape's Path into Consciousness. The natural world has the power to awaken, restore, and transform us, and nowhere are these capacities more evident than in the thirty-six luminous essays that make up The Ashokan Way. Written in the form o...

My guest is Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. He is a celebrated spiritual writer and sought-after speaker. A native of North Carolina, he is a graduate of Eastern University and Duke Divinity School. His newest book is Reconstructing The Gospel: Finding Freedom From Slaveholder Religion . In it he argues that just as Reconstruction after the Civil War worked to repair a desperately broken society, our c...

My guest is Daniel Bessner. Daniel is the Anne H.H. and Kenneth B. Pyle Assistant Professor in American Foreign Policy in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. His new book is Democracy In Exile: Hans Speier and the Rise of the Defense Intellectual. Daniel works on intellectual and cultural history, U.S. foreign relations, the history of democratic t...

My guest is Kathryn Moeller. She is Assistant Professor of Educational Policy Studies and an affiliate of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her newest book is The Gender Effect: Capitalism, Feminism and the Corporate Politics of Development. In it she examines how and why U.S. transnational corporations are investing in the lives, educations, and...

My guest is Stanley Hauerwas. He is Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law at Duke University. Professor Hauerwas has sought to recover the significance of the virtues for understanding the nature of the Christian life. This search has led him to emphasize the importance of the church, as well as narrative for understanding Christian existence. His work cuts across disciplinary lin...

My guest is Douglas Campbell. He's a professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. His most recent book, Paul: An Apostle's Journey , invites the reader to relive the story of Paul's action-packed ministry, and follow the the development of Paul's thought throughout both his physical and spiritual travels. Special Guest: Douglas A. Campbell .

Dr. Chris Kutarna is the co-author of Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of Our Second Renaissance , a best-selling, internationally acclaimed book published by Bloomsbury and St Martin’s Press. Among other predictions, Chris publicly foresaw the outcome of the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum on EU membership (Brexit) and the 2016 election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. H...

Tullian Tchividjian is the grandson of Billy Graham. He's written several award winning books. He's been a celebrated preacher and pastor. In recent years he's not just preached the message of grace, he's also confessed his deep need for it amidst his own struggles. In this episode he reflects on the memory of his recently deceased grandfather, Billy Graham. You can connect with Tullian at https:/...

My guest is Catherine Price. She's an award winning writer and science journalist. Her most recent is entitled How To Break Up With Your Phone . It's all about changing your relationship to your phone so that you can be more present to yourself and the world around you. Special Guest: Catherine Price.

My guest is Larry Ruhl. His first book, Breaking The Ruhls ,is a profoundly personal account of the impact of complex trauma on a man’s life. Larry Ruhl’s father sought comfort from his only son, smothering him not only with his affection, but his sexuality―blurring critical boundaries that would prove deeply debilitating. Larry’s mother, with her spiraling, ever-changing mental illness kept the f...

My guest is James Chappel. He's a professor of History at Duke University. His first book is forthcoming in the Spring of 2018. It's called Catholic Modern: The Challenge of Totalitarianism and the Remaking of the Catholic Church. It examines the Catholic Church's changing relationship with modernity in the 20th century. Special Guest: James Chappel.

My guest is Claire Dederer. Claire is the author of two critically acclaimed memoirs: Love and Trouble: A Midlife Reckoning and Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses , which was a New York Times bestseller. Poser has been translated into 11 languages, optioned for television by Warner Bros., and adapted for the stage. Dederer is a long-time contributor to The New York Times. Her essays, critic...

My guest is Ryan Egli. Ryan Egli is the Director of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Biblical Theological Seminary. He planted a church two years ago that had to close its doors. On this episode he shares that story. Special Guest: Ryan Egli.

My guest is Chaim Saiman. He's a Professor of Law at Villanova University Law School, and is an expert in Law and Religion and Jewish Legal theory. He also wrote a fascinating piece in the Atlantic about the most recent Star Wars film. It's called "Why The Last Jedi Is More 'Spiritual' Than 'Religious'." You can find the Atlantic piece here: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/1...

My guest is the Reverend Dr. Kenyatta R. Gilbert. Kenyatta is Associate Professor of Homiletics at the Howard University School of Divinity. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from Baylor University and both his M.Div. and Ph. D. in Practical Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary. We talked about the legacy of Martin Luther King and what it means today. Dr. Gilbert specializes in the h...

Doug Pagitt is an Author, Speaker, Podcaster, Organizer, Pastor, Ultra-Marathoner, Goodness Conspirator & Possibility Evangelist. He recently did a limited run podcast with another Pastor who voted for Donald Trump and still remains a Trump supporter. The dialogue is honest, passionate and generally fascinating. You can find UnTrumped here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/un-trumped . It's also...

My guest is Marci Shore. Marci teaches European cultural and intellectual history at Yale University. She's the author on numerous books, most recently The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution. In this lyrical and intimate book, she evokes the human face of the Ukrainian Revolution. Grounded in the true stories of activists and soldiers, parents and children, Shore’s book blends a na...

Glen Scrivener is an Anglican minister and director of the charity Speak Life. He’s the author of several books including “321 - The Story of God, the World, and You” and “Love Story: The Myth That Really Happened.” He wrote and produced the Christmas short films Meet the Nativity . He also has a podcast called The Evangelist's Podcast . He lives in Eastbourne, UK, with his wife, Emma, and daughte...

My guest is Will Dowd. As unpredictable as its subject, _ Areas of Fog _combines wit and poetry with humor and erudition. A fun, breezy, and discursive read, it is an intellectual game that exposes the artificiality of genres. Will Dowd is a writer and artist based outside Boston. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, as a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship; an MS from MIT, as a J...