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Think Christian: A Faith and Pop Culture Podcast

Religion & Spirituality Podcas

How might your pop culture fandom resonate with your faith? Josh Larsen, editor of Think Christian, talks with TC writers about the latest in TV, movies, music, and more, exploring the ways popular culture and its cultivators interact with God’s story.

Location:

United States

Description:

How might your pop culture fandom resonate with your faith? Josh Larsen, editor of Think Christian, talks with TC writers about the latest in TV, movies, music, and more, exploring the ways popular culture and its cultivators interact with God’s story.

Language:

English

Contact:

616-942-9383


Episodes

What Do We Do With Paul Schrader? (TC Movie Club)

5/23/2023
Listen in as TC’s Josh Larsen and guest Jeff Munroe lead a conversation with Movie Club members about First Reformed, Hardcore, and other films from writer-director Paul Schrader. (To join the club, sign up at https://www.thinkchristian.net/movieclub) Show Notes: Josh’s video essay on First Reformed: https://youtu.be/WDNMo83_y6w Josh’s 2018 interview with Paul Schrader: https://thinkchristian.net/first-reformed-and-holy-art-an-interview-with-paul-schrader Jeff’s TC post on First Reformed’s ending: https://thinkchristian.net/a-reformed-pastor-on-first-reformed Micah Rickard on The Card Counter: https://thinkchristian.net/the-card-counter-and-flannery-oconnor

Duration:01:00:19

Abbott Elementary’s Amazing Grace

5/11/2023
With Season 2 complete, Josh, Kathryn, and Roslyn discuss all things Abbott Elementary: the way iron is sharpening iron, relationally and professionally; Ava as a child in the kingdom of God; and the school’s communal importance as a place of grace, acceptance, and belonging. Oh, and what we think about the whole Janine-Gregory thing. Show Notes Brian Howell on ‘Saint Abbott Elementary’ - https://thinkchristian.net/saint-abbott-elementary Josh, Kathryn, and Joe George discussing Abbott Elementary on the Best TV of 2022 episode - https://thinkchristian.net/podcast/best-tv-of-2022 Join the TC Movie Club - https://connect.reframeministries.org/en-us/tc-movie-club

Duration:00:29:44

Boygenius and Being Known

4/27/2023
Teaming up for their first full-length album as supergroup boygenius, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus seamlessly blend their talents to share what they yearn for most of all: “to be known so well.” Josh, Abby, and Sarah discuss the music, the universality of that longing, and a story about being known that’s found in the Gospel of John. Show Notes Micah Rickard's TC post on Julien Baker's Little Oblivions: https://thinkchristian.net/the-apostle-pauls-little-oblivions Chad Ashby's TC post on Phoebe Bridgers' Punisher: https://thinkchristian.net/phoebe-bridgerss-blip-of-faith Josh and Aarik discussing Lucy Dacus' Home Video on the TC podcast: https://thinkchristian.net/podcast/nostalgia-in-the-heights-lucy-dacus-home-video Carl Wilson's Slate review of the record: https://slate.com/culture/2023/03/boygenius-record-phoebe-bridgers-album-review.html boygenius music video directed by Kristen Stewart: https://youtu.be/XbOQMaJ1r-0 Sarah on Skinamarink and the rapture: https://www.tor.com/2023/04/13/skinamarink-the-rapture-slow-cinema-and-horror/ Join the TC Movie Club: https://connect.reframeministries.org/en-us/tc-movie-club

Duration:00:32:25

The Mandalorian Gets Religion

4/6/2023
With Season 3 delving even more deeply into The Way of Mandalore, Josh, Claude, and JR. discuss the ideas of redemption, community, and calling that are at play. Get your free copy of our Theology of Star Wars ebook here: https://thinkchristian.net/starwars Read JR.’s post on The Mandalorian Season 2 here: https://thinkchristian.net/the-merciful-way-of-the-mandalorian Listen to Josh and Sarah Welch-Larson discuss The Mandalorian Season 1 here: https://thinkchristian.net/podcast/a-theology-of-star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-the-mandalorian Read Claude’s post on My Hero Academia Season 6 here: https://thinkchristian.net/my-hero-academia-and-confession-as-a-liberating-act

Duration:00:36:41

Superhero Theology (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Superpowers and the Glory)

3/14/2023
How do the themes in superhero movies relate to Christ's teachings? How do believers reconcile superhero violence with Jesus' message of peace? In his new book, The Superpowers and the Glory, Joe George considers these questions and more. Joe joins Josh to discuss the project, as well as the latest MCU installment — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Get Joe’s book here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666731057/the-superpowers-and-the-glory/ Find a roundup of TC articles on the MCU here: https://thinkchristian.net/god-in-the-mcu

Duration:00:40:56

Oscars 2023 (TC Movie Club)

3/2/2023
Listen in as TC’s Josh Larsen and Roslyn Hernández lead a conversation with Movie Club members about four faith questions relating to the 2023 Best Picture nominees. (To join the club, sign up at https://www.thinkchristian.net/movieclub)

Duration:00:51:44

Witness (Bono’s Surrender, Belle and Sebastian’s Late Developers)

2/14/2023
How might Christian artists hold their faith while moving in mainstream circles? Josh and Aarik - critics who work in both faith-based and secular media - discuss, using the new memoir from U2’s frontman and the latest album from Belle and Sebastian to guide their conversation.

Duration:00:54:14

Best Movies of 2022

1/24/2023
From Everything Everywhere All At Once to Fire of Love to Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Josh, Abby, and JR. celebrate their favorite movies of 2022.

Duration:00:45:25

Best TV of 2022

1/17/2023
From Abbott Elementary to Severance to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Josh, Kathryn, and Joe celebrate their favorite television of 2022. Plus, listener picks too!

Duration:00:32:34

Best Music of 2022

1/9/2023
Saba. Carly Rae Jepsen. Wild Pink. Madison Cunningham. Beach Bunny. Josh, Claude, Sarah, John, and Aarik celebrate their favorite music of 2022. Plus, listener picks too!

Duration:00:38:38

Royalty (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Crown)

12/15/2022
The concept of royalty drives much of the action in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It’s also the reason for being in Netflix’s The Crown. How do these depictions of royalty stand alongside those in the Bible — including the King of Kings?

Duration:00:42:42

Antiheroes (Andor, Taylor Swift’s Midnights)

11/15/2022
On Midnights, Taylor Swift adopts the persona of an antihero (especially on “Anti-Hero”). On Andor, Disney Plus’ latest Star Wars series, Diego Luna plays one. Are either of these antiheroes reminiscent of those we find in the Bible? What can we learn from antiheroes about the human condition — and how does the gospel respond to that condition? Josh, JR., and Kathryn discuss.

Duration:00:45:05

Transcendent Spielberg (TC Movie Club)

11/7/2022
Listen in as TC’s Josh Larsen and Robert Rivera lead a conversation with Movie Club members about signs of transcendence in the films of Steven Spielberg. (To join the club, sign up at https://www.thinkchristian.net/movieclub)

Duration:00:52:08

A Christian Defense of Horror IV (Barbarian, 1978’s Halloween)

10/25/2022
Our annual Halloween show applies a theological lens to horror both new (Barbarian) and old (1978’s Halloween). Josh, Joe, and Abby discuss what Christians might appreciate about movies designed to scare us. Show Notes Sign up to receive email updates about Josh's forthcoming book, Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror: fuller.edu/fearnot Read Joe's TC post on 1978's Halloween: thinkchristian.net/looking-for-good-samaritans-in-john-carpenters-halloween Read Abby's TC post on Five Films to Help You Observe Advent: thinkchristian.net/five-films-to-help-you-observe-advent-at-home

Duration:00:39:27

Innocence (Marcus Mumford’s Self-Titled, Death Cab for Cutie’s Asphalt Meadows)

10/11/2022
How should Christians think about innocence, especially alongside the reality of original sin? Two new albums — by Marcus Mumford and Death Cab for Cutie — provide context for considering innocence lost and gospel repair.

Duration:00:35:39

Tolkien Theology (The Rings of Power)

9/27/2022
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth has captured countless imaginations, Christian imaginations in particular. Josh, Claude, and Sarah weigh in on the Lord of the Rings-based fantasy series, now streaming on Prime Video, and also dig into the new TC ebook reflecting on the eight previous screen adaptations of Tolkien’s work.

Duration:00:38:35

Christlike Masculinity (Prey, 1987’s Predator)

9/13/2022
Prey, the new Predator installment, feels fresh partly because its central female character recontextualizes the macho masculinity of the original action film. Josh, Abby, and JR. discuss both movies alongside the idea of Christlike masculinity.

Duration:00:43:58

Freedom in Surrender (Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Maggie Rogers’ Surrender)

8/30/2022
Toward the end of a summer in which many slowly emerged from COVID, Beyoncé released Renaissance, a celebratory dance album. How might Christians understand its spirit of freedom? And how does it sound alongside another new release, Maggie Rogers’ Surrender? Josh and Kathryn discuss the albums and the biblical idea of freedom in surrender.

Duration:00:26:22

TC Movie Club: The Prophetic Voice of Jordan Peele

8/16/2022
Listen in as TC’s Josh Larsen and D. Marquel lead a conversation with Movie Club members about the ways Nope, Us, and Get Out speak truth to power. (To join the club, sign up at http://www.thinkchristian.net/movieclub)

Duration:00:52:35

Gentleness (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Julia)

7/18/2022
Gentleness, a fruit of the Spirit, defines a silly little movie about a talking shell and an HBO Max biography series about television chef Julia Child. How might both encourage us to “keep in step with the Spirit” by living lives of gentleness? Josh, Sarah, and Joe discuss.

Duration:00:33:30