The Two Cities

In this episode, we debrief Stranger Things Season 5 with Rev. Dr. Andy Byers, who is Tutor in New Testament at Ridley Hall of the University of Cambridge and the co-editor (with Adam J. Powell) of the volume, Religion, Theology, and Stranger Things: Studies from the Upside Down on Evil, Ethics, Horror, and Hope (published by Bloomsbury). Over the course of the conversation, we talk about our favo...

In this episode, we're joined again by Professor Hylen for part two of our conversation on gender. Prof. Hylen is Almar H. Shatford Professor of New Testament and the Director of the Women, Theology, and Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She is the most recent volume, Gender Mobility: Seven Ideas about Gender in the New Testament Period (published by Oxford Univer...

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Susan Hylen, who is Almar H. Shatford Professor of New Testament and the Director of the Women, Theology, and Ministry Program at Candler School of Theology of Emory University. She is the author of Women in the New Testament World (Oxford University Press) and Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like (published by Eerdmans), which we dis...

In this episode, we talk about our favorite Christmas movies. We give some nods to Christmas classics as well as more than a few surprises. Listen and see if your favorites end up on each of our top five Christmas films lists! Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Adishian, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Daniel Parham, Rev. Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Por...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Leslie Baynes, associate professor in the Department of Cultures, Languages, and Religions at Missouri State University and the author of the book that we're discussing in this episode, Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, we discuss Lewis's posture towards the Bible, his...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Terence Lester, who is a minister, speaker, community activist, author, and founder of Love Beyond Walls, a not-for-profit organization focused on poverty awareness and community mobilization. He also serves as the director of public policy and social change and as a professor at Simmons College of Kentucky (HBCU). And he’s the author of the book that we’re dis...

In this episode, we debrief our time in Boston at SBL 2025. We discuss some of our highlights from the conferences, including our favorite papers and panels, and we took the mics around the book stalls for some impromptu interviews with (in order of appearance): Dr. Eva Puschautz, Prof. James McGrath, Dr. Andy Judd, Dr. Chris Fresch, Kent Hendricks, Dr. Emily Bruff, Dr. Jason Staples, Dr. Teresa M...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Grace Hamman, who is an independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing, and is the author of  Jesus through Medieval Eyes as well as the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Ask of Old Paths: Medieval Virtues and Vices for a Whole and Holy Life (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the me...

In this episode, we're joined by Tim Dixon, who is the co-founder of More in Common, an organization that works to build stronger and more inclusive democratic societies that are resilient to the threats of populism and division. In our conversation, we discuss political polarization and perceptions of "the other side's" willingness to perpetuate violence for political purposes. Tim shares with us...

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Greg Carey, who is Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theology Seminary and Moravian Theological Seminary, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode: Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation we talk about the meaning of Revelation in the light of its historical and cult...

In this episode we're joined by Professor Mark Goodacre, who is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University and the author of The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (published by Eerdmans). In this episode we discuss Prof. Goodacre's thesis that John knew and used each of the Synoptic Gospels. We consider how NT scholarship came to view John...

In this episode we're joined by Professor Brandon Grafius, who is academic dean and professor of biblical studies at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, and he’s the author of several works on religion and horror, including the book that we’re excited to talk about in this episode, Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture (published by Morehouse publishing). We discu...

In this episode, we're celebrating our 300th episode, which means that this episode is full of listener comments and questions, our responses to those questions, several examples of bloopers over the past two years, new music for the next 100 episodes, some exciting announcements and updates from the team, and the names of the winners of our nine book-bundle giveaways! Many thanks to publishing pa...

In this episode, we celebrate the release of our very own Dr. John Anthony Dunne’s new book on wine in the Bible as we conclude our series on alcohol in the Bible and Jewish/Christian traditions. As we talk about the topic of wine and beer in the Bible, John shares many stories with us about his interests in wine and beer, his family background and upbringing, his experience making beer and volunt...

CW: Adult themes and language. In this episode we're joined by Professor Edward Slingerland, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and the author of Drunk : How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (published by Little, Brown Spark). In this conversation we discuss the r...

In this episode we're joined by Dr. Gisela Kreglinger, who is the author of several books on wine, namely, The Spirituality of Wine (with Eerdmans), The Soul of Wine (with IVP), and most recently, Cup Overflowing: Wine’s Place in Faith, Feasting, and Fellowship (with Zondervan Reflective). In this conversation we discuss the nature of wine as a blessing, America's fraught history with alcohol, and...

In this episode we're joined by the Very Rev’d Dr. Andrew McGowan, an Anglican priest, Dean and President of the Berkeley Divinity School of Yale University and the McFaddin Professor of Anglican Studies and Pastoral Theology, and he’s the author of Ascetic Eucharists: Food and Drink in Early Christian Ritual Meals (with Oxford University Press). In this conversation we talk about eucharistic prac...

In this episode we’re joined by Rev. Erin Jean Warde, who is an episcopal priest and recovery coach, as well as the author of the book we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Sober Spirituality: The Joy of a Mindful Relationship with Alcohol (published by Brazos). Over the course of our conversation, Rev. Warde shares a bit of her story with us and talks about the difficulty of being sober in Ch...

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Stephen R. Haynes, who is Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and the author of several books, including the one we’re excited to discuss in this episode, Why Can’t Church Be More Like an AA Meeting? And Other Questions Christians Ask about Recovery (published by Eerdmans). Over the course of our conversation, Professor...

In this episode we're joined by Professor Michael Foley, who is Professor of Patristics in the Great Texts program at Baylor University, and the author of Drinking with the Saints: The Sinner's Guide to a Holy Happy Hour (published by Regnery History). Professor explains how is book is designed to pair beer, wine, and cocktail recipes with the feasts days of the church calendar that honor var...

In this episode we’re joined by Professor Jordan Rosenblum, who is the Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Director of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, and he’s also the author of Rabbinic Drinking : What Beverages Teach Us About Rabbinic Literature (published by the University of California Press). In our conversation we discuss how t...

In this episode we’re joined by Rabbi Drew Kaplan, who is Campus Rabbi for Cincinnati Hillel, hosts The Jewish Drinking Show podcast (over 175 episodes and counting), and publishes a weekly newsletter and Torah portion sheet on drinking that covers the Tanakh, Rabbinic Literature, Jewish history, Jewish practice, and more. In our conversation we talk about the appearances of wine and beer in the M...

In this conversation, we’re joined by Professor Courtney Friesen, who is Professor of Classics and the Director of Graduate Studies in Classics at the University of Arizona and the author of Reading Dionysus: Euripides’  Bacchae  and the Cultural Contestations of Greeks, Jews, Romans, and Christians (published by Mohr Siebeck). In our conversation we talk about the Bacchae and its interp...

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Rebekah Welton, who is Lecturer in Hebrew Bible at the University of Exeter and the author of ‘ He Is A Glutton and a Drunkard’: Deviant Consumption in the Hebrew Bible (Published by Brill). In our discussion we talk about broader conceptions in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible of feasting, excessive consumption, and drunkenness, as well as look closely at passage...

In this episode we’re joined by Rev Dr Mark Scarlata, who is Tutor and Senior Lecturer in Old Testament at St. Mellitus College, the Vicar-Chaplain at St. Edward, King and Martyr Church in Cambridge, and the author of Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament (published by Cambridge University Press). In our conversation we discuss the broader role of wine in the Bible and it...