Faith Improvised

In this episode, I talk about what I've been up to the last six months, and I introduce what I'm going to talk about in this upcoming season: Paul's letter called Ephesians. I also mention a number of scholars and journalists whose work I have benefitted from: Timothy Snyder, Anne Applebaum, Jason Stanley, Tom Nichols, Andrea Chalupa, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Sarah Kendzior, and John Ganz.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about enjoying some good beers sent from a listener, and about the importance of showing up.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about Anne Applebaum's new book, Autocracy, Inc.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about a bunch of things, but especially Salman Rushdie's memoir entitle Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder.

In this episode, Steve and I discuss the March 29, 2024 episode of the Ezra Klein Show, on which Ezra interviewed political journalist John Ganz. Ganz's new book, When the Clock Broke, is a survey of political and cultural developments in the 1990s that gave rise to the sorts of resentments and grievances at work in the upcoming election.

Steve and I talk about passion and reason in the populace, and the place of expertise in politics.

Steve and I talk about a bunch of stuff, but especially about what we've learned about teaching.

In this episode, Steve and I continue our conversation about who we are and what we do, along with a bunch of other stuff.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about our identities in relation to our jobs and careers.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about a bunch of stuff, but especially about the notion of chosen family.

In this episode, I give some updates about the last month or so, and Steve and I talk about the football playoffs and about our experiences in public education.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about a bunch of different topics, but especially some recent lessons in perspective.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about how holding onto a right perspective helps us deal with our suffering.

In this episode, we ended up talking quite a bit about Johnny Marr's autobiography, Set the Boy Free, and the sort of person Marr embodies. He stayed focused on what he loved--playing guitar--and remained committed to those around him, which kept him from losing his perspective on life. I also mentioned a few books: Underland, by Robert Macfarlane; Empire of Pain, by Patrick Radden Keefe; Devi...

In this episode, Steve and I talk about some of the healing dynamics associated with our practice of taking long walks and the healing power of laughter.

In this episode, Steve and I reflect on our personal transformations over the last 25 years, and the emotional, relational, and intellectual dynamics involved in those.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about how painful situations can be catalysts for growth, and under what conditions that can happen.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about certainty and uncertainty, reflecting on Mark C. Taylor's comment, in his book, After God, that "Certainty is the symptom of death; uncertainty, the pulse of life."

In our conversation, Steve and I mention a few books: Mark Tessler, A History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; Elias Chacour, Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel; Sandy Tolan, The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East; Ari Shavit, My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel; Anne Applebaum, Twilight of Democra...

Steve and I talk about why and how American Protestantism--especially white evangelicalism--is so individualistic. We mentioned a few books: Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations; Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America; Ijeoma Oluo, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America.

In this episode, Steve and I talk about some articles we've read recently on conspiracy theories, and relate those to intellectual humility and arrogance. We also mention the following books and articles: "Google Isn't Grad School," by Arthur Brooks, from The Atlantic, July 2023; "What Conspiracy Theorists Don't Believe," by Tim Harford, from The Atlantic, July 2023; The Death of Expertise, by Tom...

In this episode, Steve and I discuss the novel and the film adaptations of "True Grit"--their similarities and differences, and how the Coen version fits their vision of life in a cold, indifferent universe. We mention this article about the film by Stanley Fish, and the book by Adam Nayman, The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together.

In this episode, Steve and I continue talking about happiness, with some references to the Book of Job and A Serious Man.

In this episode, I begin a series of conversations with my best friend, Steve Watkins, about pursuing happiness, wholeness, and healing. We mentioned a few books in this episode: Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harper, 2015), and Pema Chödrön, Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion (Shambhala, 2018). We also mentioned the be...

In this episode I talk about how I came to the view that evangelism is not the task of the church.