Jeff interviews Dan about his upcoming book: Monsters. 

Spoken word artist Emily Joy joins us for a discussion of the ways in which poetry might change our world and help us gain empathy for those whose voices are sometimes silenced or ignored. We chat about Nashville weather, growing up in the evangelical world, adolescent sexuality, and the experiences of women in Christian communities. Our guest doesn't mince words or pull punches, so expect a lively conversation.

Check her work out at emilyjoypoetry.com, or buy her albums on Bandcamp or iTunes. 

This year, we are trying out yet another Lenten challenge: reading poetry or listening to it read instead of watching t.v. or playing background music. On this show, we discuss the ways in which poetry can inspire the imagination and also create silence and space for reflection and insight. We talk a bit about psychologist Paul "Stormy" Fairweather, lots about T. S. Eliot, especially his poems "The Hollow Men" and "Ash Wednesday". We also chat a bit about the Superbowl and Jeff's Broncos. Jeff read a list of global poetry, recommended by our colleague Adam Lee. Here's that list, since Jeff had a hard time with the pronunciations:

Ten poets I'd want to spend 40 Days Reading

Tomas Tranströmer (Sweden)
Wislawa Szymborska (Poland)
Ko Eun (South Korea)
Czeslaw Milosz (Czech)
Anna Akhmatova (Soviet Russia)
Fernando Pessoa (Portugal)
Derek Walcott (Trinidad)
Octavio Paz (Mexico)
Anne Carson (Canada)
Nikki Giovanni (USA)

virtueinthewasteland.com

1517legacy.com

Why does every attempt at a perfect society always become such a drag? We discuss Jeff's run in with some KKK fellows, Zizek's book, Living in the End Times, the backstory to utopian literature, such as that of Thomas More, and some interesting examples of utopian societies.

Is there an ultimate sublime reality outside of our own opinions, emotions, and sentiments? We think so, but it isn't always easy to identify and like the good. Sometimes we are misguided intellectually, sometimes our hearts are in the right place. Such is life in the wasteland. The medicine is virtue. 

We discuss:

Dudes that Know (DTK), Zizek's Living in the End Times, C.S. Lewis' Abolition of Man, aesthetics, virtue theory, Aristotle, the ethics of belief, ethical habituation, elitism, Yelp, and the democratization of cultural criticism online and through social media. 

Can we really study war no more? Or is war inevitable, a natural and irremovable aspect of our human nature? We don't come to a final answer, but we explore the tough elements of the question with Dr. Caleb Karges, who specializes in military history and war in the eighteenth century. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of St. Andrews.

We also throw in a brief bit about the theories of Mark Juergensmeyer on cosmic violence, and René Girard on mimetic violence.

We share our reflections, review, and theories, regarding Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Joining us via Skype (sorry the audio gets weird once again because of connections) is Ted Giese, who writes thoughtful film reviews, when he isn't serving in his role as pastor (or maybe, that's part of the role). Spoilers abound, as you might expect from the title.

The first half is Jeff and Dan, the second half is Jeff and Ted.

Rev. Giese is associate pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Born in Edmonton, he grew up just outside the city in Stony Plain Alberta were he attended St. Matthew Lutheran Church and School. In his travels he has lived in Prince George, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art from NSCAD in Halifax, a Masters of Theological Studies Degree (2000) and a Masters of Divinity Degree (2007) from Concordia Lutheran Seminary Edmonton. For eight years (1998 - 2006) he worked at Andy's Valleyview IGA in Edmonton, five of those years as a manager. From 2004 to 2006 he also worked as the night manager at Ronald McDonald House in Edmonton. 

Here's his film review site: http://lutheran-church-regina.com/news?topic=37466 

What stories really mattered in 2015? What can we expect in 2016 in culture and politics?