The Two Cities

With the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) continuing to spread throughout the world, all around the world we are turning to technology like never before to facilitate our regular lives—our work, our church life, our interpersonal relationships, etc. For some of us, the majority of the people that we typically interact with are now confined to our screens and laptops, mediated through FaceTime...

Today (April 8, 2020) marks the 30th anniversary of when the hit TV show Twin Peaks first hit our television sets. Twin Peaks was a major cultural phenomenon in the early 1990s. As an innovative TV show, it was a victim of its own success, being canceled after its second season. TV viewers coming out of the 80s, accustomed to Soaps and episodic storytelling, were simply not ready for a long form n...

Today (April 8, 2020) marks the 30th anniversary of when the classic TV show Twin Peaks first aired. In our previous episode ("Twin Peaks: Why We Love It – Part One"), John Anthony Dunne and Kris Song discussed the cultural phenomenon that is Twin Peaks . In this episode, we discuss further how dreams function within the show as well as the broader work of David Lynch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

This is a follow up podcast on our earlier conversation called “Is Virtual Communion Valid?" (posted on March 25th, 2020). In that discussion we talked through the tricky issues of taking communion during this time of social distancing in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). We addressed how we should frame the conversation in terms of "less ideal and more ideal," and that even though...

The sports world is in disarray during this global pandemic. For many, sports are a perennial source of conversation and entertainment. But when there's no sports to watch, but everyone's stuck at home, that makes for a sad state of affairs in an already horrible situation. In this episode, John Anthony Dunne chats with his brother Jacob Dunne about current storylines, future possibilities, and me...

During this Coronavirus pandemic many of us are practicing social distancing, self-quarantining, and sheltering in place. It's a stressful time existentially and economically, and as a result, what we eat might not seem like much of a concern. Many of us have stocked up on non-perishable food items in case we need to stay tucked away for a few weeks or longer. During this time is it possible that...

In this episode we discuss the difficulty of doing church and being the church in the midst of the present Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19). To what extent is virtual communion valid? Given the mandates around the world to practice social distancing, and in some sectors sheltering in place, what does the communion of the saints look like in isolation? Additionally, what does the sacramental practic...

The Book of Judges from the Old Testament is quite puzzling from the vantage point of Jesus' teachings. It is full of characters who do not represent the paragons of morality that we might expect from the Bible. In fact, it is perhaps the most violent and sexual of all the texts in the biblical canon. What are we to make of this as Christians? Can we read the Book of Judges as Christian Scripture?...

Apocalpytic is a term that evokes particular images today that are foreign to what ancient apocalypticism was concerned about. At present, certain scholars and theologians use the label of apocalyptic to describe their theological projects and readings of scripture. In this episode, John Anthony Dunne talks with Paloma Herrera, who is a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen, studying apocalypt...

Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-ho) is a Korean black comedy about wealth disparity, and is the winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, which made history since it was the first international film in a foreign language to do so. In this episode John Anthony Dunne, Kris Song, and Brandon Hurlbert discuss the themes of hope, wealth, and metaphors in the film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

The Two Cities, which began as a blog in 2011 (thetwocities.com) is launching a new podcast all about Theology, Culture, and Discipleship. You can expect an eclectic array of theological integration on this podcast by professors, PhD students, and pastors around the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.