The UpWords Podcast

Susan speaks with author Alice Fryling about her new book, Aging Faithfully: The Holy Invitation of Growing Older . The conversation ranges from "unlearning" old ways as we grow older to the beauty of rest and meditation.  Alice Fryling is a spiritual director and author of numerous books on relationships and spiritual formation, including the popular Mirror for the Soul: A Christian Gui...

Eric speaks with historian Tal Howard about Tal's new book, The Faith of Others: A History of Interreligious Dialogue (Yale University Press, 2021). They cover Tal's background with the study of history and then embark on the book's three main case studies of interreligious dialogue: Chicago's World Parliament of Religions in 1893, London's Conference on Some Living Religi...

Lea Schweitz (Upper House's Visiting Theologian for our Higher Pursuits Project) sits down with sociologist Felicia Wu Song to discuss technology, personhood, and spiritual practices, as well as Felicia's new book, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age (IVP, 2021).  Felicia Wu Song (PhD, University of Virginia) is a cultural sociologist of media a...

Returning to our ongoing conversations with Christian artists, Bruce Herman and Bobby Gross discuss the insights of modern art on the nature of God and the human condition. Much of the conversation centers on the work of Philip Guston. Many of Guston's works, including those mentioned by Bruce and Bobby, can be viewed here. Bruce Herman is a painter, speaker, and curator whose art has been sh...

In a partner episode with journalist Gordon Govier, we hear from Dr. Jodi Magness about her work as an archeologist in the land of the Bible. They cover Jodi's entry into the field of archeology and her research related to Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and synagogues. If you're interested in seeing Jodi in-person, she will be speaking at Upper House on October 23, 6:30pm on "More th...

In this episode, Reverend Mike Winnowski, pastor at Geneva Campus Church in Madison, sits down with the distinguished artist, educator, and art evangelist Steve Prince. They discuss Steve's influences, his deep engagement with Black American history, and the importance of faith to his vocation. Steve was in Madison to help promote a new collected volume, co-edited by Upper House's Associ...

In this concluding episode of our Inside Upper House series (for now), the script is flipped and Dan is interviewed by Cam Anderson, Associate Director of Upper House. Dan discusses the work he and others are doing to recover a spiritual or religious understanding of the history of the University of Wisconsin-Madison as part of a John Templeton Foundation-funded grant. The opinions expressed in th...

In this special episode, Dan Johnson, Director of Technology and Campus Ministry Engagement at Upper House, takes the reins as host as he reports on campus ministries at UW-Madison. What happened when the global pandemic forced UW-Madison to pause its in-person instruction, suspending all campus ministries in the process? How has the pandemic affected ministry at UW-Madison? Dan explores these que...

Dan talks with Susan, Upper House's communications manager, on the unique way we understand our thematic areas of interest at Upper House. We call these our pathways . For more on the graphic designer of our pathways imagery, Ned Bustard, see his website here . As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favorite podcast app or send us a comment at podcast@slbrownfoundation.org. Cred...

John sits down with Kirk Morledge, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Waunakee, WI, to celebrate thirty years in the pulpit and a career of service that includes multiple tours abroad as a U.S. Navy chaplain. Rev. Kirk reflects on his childhood in Madison, his call to ministry, the idea of "institutional ministry," and the many lessons he's learned as a pastor and leader. As alw...

How does Upper House come up with ideas for the programs we host? In this episode of Inside Upper House, Dan, Dan, and Melissa discuss the ways they each generate ideas, connect those ideas with Upper House audiences, and coordinate together to make up the program team. Cherck out our upcoming programs at upperhouse.org/events .  As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favorite podcas...

Dan talks with historian David Fields, associate director of the Center for East Asian Studies at UW-Madison. They discuss David's background and training and then dive into his 2019 book, Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea (University Press of Kentucky). For more on David see his personal website , including his " epic rap battle " bet...

Dan Johnson, our Director of Technology and Campus Ministry Engagement, shares about the ecosystem of campus ministries at UW-Madison and the ways Upper House's work complements them. As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favorite podcast app or send us a comment at podcast@slbrownfoundation.org. Credits: music by Micah Behr, audio engineering by Andy Johnson, graphic design by...

Greg Cootsona talks with psychologist Pamela Ebstyne King on her new book, co-authored with Justin Barrett, Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing (IVP Academic, 2021). They cover topics ranging from King's concept of "the reciprocating self" to the ways Christians can constructively engage with evolutionary psych...

Dan talks to the Co-directors of Science for the Church , Greg Cootsona and Drew Rick-Miller. We take the occasion here to focus on their organization, its mission, and its partnership with Upper House. Sign up for Science for the Church's weekly newsletter here . As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favorite podcast app or send us a comment at podcast@slbrownfoundation.org. C...

In this Upper House virtual event from earlier this year, Dr. Edgardo Rosado of the Ciencia, Fe y Esperanza Initiative speaks with Greg Cootsona, co-founder of Science for the Church . They discuss the particular ways faith and science are understood in Hispanic/Latinx communities, and Edgardo's research into attitudes among Philadelphia-area Latinx Christians. They also discuss contrasting R...

In this Upper House talk from September 2018, Dr. Praveen Sethupathy explains the science surrounding gene editing, CRISPR technology, and the ethical implications of gene editing from a Christian perspective. Dr. Sethupathy weighs both the promise of this technology to fight genetic diseases and improve human wellbeing, and the perils of  easier and faster capabilities for humans to modify the ge...

John talks with Mark Elsdon, pastor, entrepreneur, author, and a fellow religious worker on the campus of UW-Madison. Mark discusses his life and his new book, We Aren’t Broke: Uncovering Hidden Resources for Mission and Ministry (Eerdmans, 2021). Mark is the Executive Director at Pres House , Co-Founder of RootedGood , and owner of Elsdon Strategic Consulting . He is also president of the board o...

John and Jean discuss the recent learning cohort they led on Faith & Co. Season 2 (all documentary films available for free), as well as Upper House's broader mission to marketplace leaders in Madison and beyond.  John interviewed two of the creators of Faith & Co. in an earlier episode of the podcast: "Business on Purpose" with Randy Franz and Kenman Wong . As always we inv...

In this talk from Upper House's " Worked Up " conference in March, Paige Wiley of Made to Flourish debunks myths surrounding the meaning work, calling, and vocation. Drawing on her own experience as a recent graduate and on a biblical framework to understand work, Paige offers helpful tips and profound wisdom for anyone looking for discernment. Paige mentions the 'Worked Up&quo...

Dan sits down with Karl Johnson , executive director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers , to discuss the bigger movement of study centers that Upper House belongs to. We mention the recently published history of the Christian study center movement by Charlie Cotherman, To Think Christianly: A History of L'Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement (IVP, 2020) .  A...

John talks with author and pastor Mark Buchanan on his new book, God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul . They discuss the spiritual practice of walking in historic Christianity up to the present, and the ways that movement is at the core of Jesus' call to "follow me." For more on Mark Buchanan, see his personal website . As always we invite you to leave us a rating on your favo...

In this second installment of our new series, Inside Upper House, Dan, Dan, Aiden, and Ilya discuss podcasting at Upper House, and especially our new UpWords Student Voices podcast, which is wrapping up its first season.  Send us a message at podcast@slbrownfoundation.org. Credits: music by Micah Behr, audio engineering by Andy Johnson, graphic design by Madeline Ramsey. Send us Fan Mail CONNECT W...

Historian Lauren Turek, associate professor at Trinity University, joins Dan to discuss her recent book, To Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelical Influence on Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Relations (Cornell, 2020). They discuss the rise of organized evangelical human rights activism beginning in the 1970s and explore the complicated and surprising relationship of the activism to U.S. fo...

We're moving to a weekly podcast! Alongside our regular stream of interviews with scholars, leaders, and artists, we're adding more conversations focused on the inner workings of Upper House. Inside Upper House episodes will feature shorter conversations with Upper House staff that give a sense of all that happens at 365 East Campus Mall in Madison, Wisconsin.  For our first episode Dan,...