The UpWords Podcast

Many of us are taught that talking about race and racial identity in the church leads to division. Many of us would, and many still do, identify as “colorblind Christians” who didn’t see racial differences as relevant to the church. Our guest today helps us understand that “colorblindness” has tended not to be a virtue, and is especially difficult to defend in a church context that has been shaped...

Upper House's Director of Program Curation, Melissa Shackelford, sits down with our very own artist in residence Euimin Shin for a conversation to explore what it’s like to be a Christian who is also a performing artist.  Euimin Shin is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and she's the artist-in-residence at Upper House...

In partnership with Science for the Church, we listen in on a conversation between pastor Chris Dolson, who has embraced science in ministry, and professor Rick Lindroth, who is a committed scientist, and Christ follower. Chris Dolson is Pastor Emeritus at Blackhawk Church in Madison, WI, where he was previously head pastor for 27 years. Chris holds a B.S. in Biology from Indiana State University...

The importance of pilgrimages in the history of Christianity is often overlooked. Even today, millions of Christians travel every year to visit historic sites invested with spiritual meaning and power. In this episode we talk to Skye Doney, a historian and scholar of Catholic pilgrimages in  nineteenth and twentieth-century Germany. Skye’s new book, The Persistence of the Sacred: German Catholic P...

A theme we return to time and again at Upper House is whole life integration. This means we desire to see Christians who have brought their faith to bear on every aspect of who they are: their minds and emotions, their actions, and their relationships—and also their work. It can often seem like the church is the primary way to serve God, but that’s not how the Bible portrays work. In this episode,...

We live in polarizing times that seem to affect every corner of our society. Could the solution to polarization be friendship? That’s what this episode’s guest proposes. We’re listening in on a recent talk delivered at Upper House by sociologist Angel Adams Parham, titled “Civic Friendship & Christian Faith in Polarized Times.” While it might sound trite to say all we need is friendship, Angel...

How does our thinking, expectations, social pressures we feel shape our roles in life? Upper House's Susan Smetzer-Anderson and Christina Lee Kim—author of an essay titled "The 'Good' Mother" (in a new book released by IVP, titled Power Women: Stories of Motherhood, Faith, and the Academy ) honestly discuss the importance of unmasking the ideologies that compel our choice-...

Our tagline at Upper House is Think-Be-Do, which is a nod to our understanding that God cares deeply about us as whole people: what we think, who we are, and what we do. In this episode, Fellows Program Director, Eric Carlsson, discusses with biblical scholar J. Richard Middleton his personal journey exploring the concept of calling, and the advice he has for understanding what God is calling us t...

We all have a conscience, but what is it and where does it come from? In this episode, Dan interviews fellow historian Peter Cajka , who has recently published Follow Your Conscience: The Catholic Church and the Spirit of the Sixties . In this conversation, we explore the history of Christian thinking about the conscience and the parallels and incongruities in the Catholic and Protestant perspecti...

In this callback episode to 2020, we listen in on an interview with author Marilyn McEntyre , hosted by our Director of Programming, Melissa Shackelford. They discuss the immense power of words, and the ways in which they are used to high effect, but also often abused. They explored the effect of allusion, metaphor, euphemizing, and the ways in which we muddle distinct language from different cont...

Preaching is one of those things that can often be hit or miss. A person can be captivated, moved and even changed, but other times you have to fight to stay awake after 10 minutes into a message. Powerful preaching is something this week’s guest specializes in. We hosted a recent event at Upper House “Thinking Theologically About These Times” and we took advantage of having the guest speaker, Rev...

Gene Zubovich, author of the new book, Before the Religious Right : Liberal Protestants, Human Rights, and the Polarization of the United States , sits down with Dan Hummel to explore the history of liberal Protestantism and its impact on American politics through the lens of social welfare, race relations, and international relations. They take a historical journey that touches on important leade...

For this next installment of From the Vault (highlighting past talks at Upper House), we're stretching all the way back to February 2020 for a unique (and uniquely tasty!) event featuring food writer and James Beard Award winner Adrian Miller. An expert in all things soul food and BBQ, Adrian weaves into his presentation a mix of theology, history, culinary knowledge, and a passion for justic...

For this return of From the Vault (highlighting talks at Upper House), we're listening to a March 2022 event featuring theologian A.J. Swoboda. Swaboda argues that doubt and questioning, rather than signs of faithlessness, present us with an an opportunity to deconstruct and reconstruct our ideas and beliefs—to deepen in understanding about who we are and what we believe about God. For the vi...

Susan talks with Catherine Prescott about the fascinating world of portrait painting and the intellectual and spiritual tensions that reside in the work. For more of Catherine's art, see her personal website . Check out Catherine's recent Upper House talk , as well as the sessions by Alex Miranda , Wayne Roosa , and Asher Imtiaz . As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favo...

John welcomes Steve Preston, CEO of Goodwill Industries, for a conversation that ranges from Steve's childhood in Janesville, WI to his leadership of U.S. federal agencies. On the way they explore how God enabled Steve, and enables each of us, to make unexpected career choices in the service of a higher calling. Steve's April 2022 talk at Upper House is viewable here: " Leading thro...

Susan speaks with psychologist Cynthia Eriksson about the topic of suffering: how to make sense of suffering and ways social scientists have sought to understand the relationship between faith in God and coping with suffering. The conversation centers on a few forthcoming papers co-authored by Cynthia and then moves into a variety of topics. Cynthia Eriksson is associate professor of psychology an...

Dan Johnson sits down with Drew Moser, who visited Upper House last month. They talk about on Drew's passion area, the Enneagram personality typology, and how deeper understandings of personality types can lead to stronger relationships and fuller lives.  Drew Moser, Ph. D., is a certified enneagram teacher, a professional member of the International Enneagram Association, and Dean of Student...

John sits down with Christopher James to discuss church planting in the twenty-first century, the challenges facing churches old and young, and ultimately their shared optimism and hope for church renewal. They discuss Chris's book, Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil (Oxford, 2016) and the Awaken Dane grant that Upper House is co-leading with Chris and Dubuque Theological Seminary, the Wi...

John sits down with Rev. Kerri Parker to discuss everything from Kerri’s childhood and education to her recent work with the Wisconsin Council of Churches on forming church responses to COVID-19. Rev. Kerri Parker is the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches , a position she has held since 2017. Prior to leading the WCC, Kerri served as pastor of McFarland UCC in McFarland, WI an...

This episode features a recent conversation hosted virtually by the Awaken Dane initiative with noted author Parker Palmer. The discussion centers on belonging and the sense of lost belonging that pervades modern church life. Parker offers wisdom and examples from his own career on how churches can be agents of strengthening community and belonging today. Interviewing Parker are Phil Haslanger, re...

This week Dan talks to historian and UW-alumnus David Harrisville about his new book, The Virtuous Wehrmacht: Crafting the Myth of the German Soldier on the Eastern Front, 1941-1944 (Cornell, 2021). David's research examines the moral and religious worlds of rank-and-file German soldiers during World War II, raising profound questions about the ways humans justify their behavior and how relig...

Featured for the second time on the podcast, Christine Jeske joins John to talk about the anatomy of a crisis, thinking through the concept both theologically and in relation to contemporary crises in our world. Christine calls Christians not just to work to survive, but to "ask God how to fully turn to him amid the dangers, the revelation, and the opportunities of a crisis." We also lea...

Dan Johnson is joined by Justin Early to discuss the importance of practices, rhythms, and habits to a healthy life with God, and a healthy family life. Justin calls us to embrace a true freedom—not just the absence of all limitations—in relation to practices of worship and service to God. Justin Earley is a lawyer and author. His books included The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Dis...

Melissa speaks with public theologian and baker Kendall Vanderslice about the intersection of food and theology, food and church life, and the new practice of dinner churches.  Kendall Vanderslice is a graduate of Duke Divinity School (Master of Theological Studies), Boston University (MLA Gastronomy), and Wheaton College (BA Anthropology). In 2018, she was named a James Beard Foundation national...