The Christ and Pop Culture Podcast Network: Recent Episodes

Christ and Pop Culture

Christ and Pop Culture's network of shows acknowledge the good, the beautiful, and the true in music, movies, television, and the rest of pop culture.

Sarah and Kevin explore a dystopian sci-fi story in the form of Landscape with Invisible Hand, the latest movie from Cory Finley adapted from an M.T. Anderson novel of the same name, about a pair of teens who live under a vaguely benevolent alien occupation that's drained the planet of its jobs and resources. For the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin talk about another story that has to do with finding love in a hopeless economy: Charlie Chaplin's 1936 film Modern Times.

Have thoughts about the movies we reviewed? Send us an email at seeingandbelievingcapc@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Follow us on Letterboxd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we give thanks for whodunnits. Sarah and Kevin assemble in the drawing room to get to the bottom of the mystery at the heart of Rian Johnson's new mystery, Glass Onion. Then, Kevin introduces Sarah to Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece High and Low.

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Sarah and Kevin report on Maria Schrader's film She Said, a dramatization of the investigative journalism by Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan) that brought down Harvey Weinstein in 2017. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to Sandi Tan's 2018 Netflix documentary Shirkers, about the creation and loss of her 1992 student film of the same name. Both of this week's movies interrogate power imbalances and the places where women are made unwelcome in film; Kevin and Sarah discuss how both movies go about that task.

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Jessica hosts fellow Flannery O'Connor fan, Karen Swallow Prior to discuss the author's final Novel, The Violent Bear It Away. The pair discuss O'Connor's use of her characters as God's friends, or the ones who suffer. They are not treated as a "Pollyana" but as characters that suffer which in turns prepares them to receive grace of God. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah test the limits of friendship in their review of The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh's movie about a friendship that suddenly vanishes. Sarah gives a capsule review of the latest Marvel movie, Ryan Coogler's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Finally, for the Watchlist segment, Kevin introduces Sarah to the 1991 comic book movie, The Rocketeer. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Chris Smith to discuss Georges Bernanos' 1936 novel Diary of a Country Priest . Together they talk about the way the novel draws upon the literary history of historic individualism. Works referenced: Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos

Information on the Host: Jessica Hooten Wilson is a Senior Fellow at Trinity Forum, the inaugural Visiting Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University, and the author of several books, including The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints, Learning the Good Life: From the Great Hearts and Minds that Came Before, and Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov. Learn more about Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson. Information on Chris Smith: is a member of the Englewood Christian Church community on the near east-side of Indianapolis. He is also the editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He regularly writes and speaks on topics related to church, community and God’s reconciliation of all things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin review the 2021 horror-drama movie Agnes, directed by Mickey Reece.

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Kevin and Sarah take a trip down memory lane with two deeply personal movies. First up is Armageddon Time, James Gray's memoir about growing up in New York City in the early 1980's. For the Watchlist segment, Sarah introduces Kevin to Andrei Tarkovsky's own semi-memoir film Mirror. Mirror can be watched on YouTube Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Jack Heller to discuss Ernest Gaines' 8th novel published in 1993, A Lesson Before Dying. Together they discuss the themes of preparing ourselves for our own deaths and what is a person worth. Works referenced: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Information on the Host: Jessica Hooten Wilson is a Senior Fellow at Trinity Forum, the inaugural Visiting Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University, and the author of several books, including The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints, Learning the Good Life: From the Great Hearts and Minds that Came Before, and Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov. Learn more about Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson. Information on Jack Heller: Dr. Jack Heller received his Ph.D. in English from Louisiana State University in August 1997. His primary research interests include Renaissance drama, Shakespeare, other 16th and 17th century literature, religious studies, and African American literature. Dr. Heller’s other interests include attending movies and live theater, traveling, baking bread, reading (that never gets old), and the music of Bob Dylan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah take on a super-anti-hero in their review of Black Adam, the DC Comics passion project of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Then, in the spirit of Halloween, Kevin introduces Sarah to the Danny Boyle zombie movie 28 Days Later for the Watchlist segment. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Claude Atcho to discuss Zora Neale Hurston's 1938 novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain which Claude discussed in his work Reading Black Books which promotes conversations about African-American literature and life with Christian theology, faith, and how these two worlds enrich one another. Works referenced: Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston

Information on Host: Jessica Hooten Wilson is a Senior Fellow at Trinity Forum, the inaugural Visiting Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University, and the author of several books, including The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints, Learning the Good Life: From the Great Hearts and Minds that Came Before, and Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov. Learn more about Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson. Information on Claude Atcho: Claude is the Vicar (Planting Pastor) for the Charlottesville church plant of the Diocese of Christ Our Hope, ACNA. Previously, Claude lived in Memphis, TN where he served as pastor of a multi-ethnic church, Fellowship Memphis. He's the author of Reading Black Books: How African-American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just, forthcoming from Brazos Press in Summer 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah spend some time with two spectacular performances in two separate movies about two singular women. First is Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár in Todd Field's new film TÁR, which centers around a composer-conductor whose star is rising, but whose past might be catching up with her. For the Watchlist, Kevin and Sarah dissects Gena Rowlands' performance as aging actress Myrtle in the 1977 John Cassavetes film Opening Night.

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Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Joy Clarkson to discuss Eugene Vodolazkin's. Together they discuss the themes of trauma, imitation of Christ, and living as a Holy fool. Works referenced:

Laurus by Eugene Vodalaskin.

Information on Host:Jessica Hooten Wilson is a Senior Fellow at Trinity Forum, the inaugural Visiting Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University, and the author of several books, including The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints, Learning the Good Life: From the Great Hearts and Minds that Came Before, and Giving the Devil his Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov. Learn more about Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson. Information on Joy ClarksonJoy Clarkson is a doctoral candidate in theology at St. Andrews University, researching the ways art can be used to prepare ourselves for a good death. She hosts a weekly podcast that aims to give people an arsenal of good stories, music, and images with which they can courageously, wisely, and beautifully navigate life. Learn more about Joy Clarkson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin review Andrew Dominik's Blonde, which adapts Joyce Carol Oates' 2000 novel of the same name. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Kevin and Sarah review Chinonye Chukwu's film Till, about Mamie Till-Mobley's pursuit of justice after the 1955 lynching of her son Emmett. Then for the Watchlist, Kevin introduces Sarah to Charles Burnett's debut feature film, Killer of Sheep. Watch Killer of Sheep on Archive.org Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whodunnit? And are these movies any good? Kevin and Sarah investigate David O. Russell's latest, Amsterdam, in which three friends (played by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington) who delve deep into a conspiracy that mostly actually happened. Then for the Watchlist, Sarah and Kevin talk about Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Andrew Peterson to discuss The Book of the Dun Cow. Together they discuss the themes of "creation care" and how Walter Wangerin, Jr.'s fantasy novel from 1978 teaches us how to love the earth we have been blessed with better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's War Movie Week on the podcast. First up, Kevin and Sarah review The Woman King, a historical epic about the all-women Agojie warriors of the Dahomey Kingdom in 19th century West Africa. For the watchlist, they take on more recent fare, as they sort through Kathryn Bigelow's controversial 2012 movie Zero Dark Thirty. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah take on two historical dramas this week. First, they look into Olivia Wilde's thriller movie Don't Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine. Along the way, they discuss the power of writing and metaphor, and whether or not Don't Worry Darling manages to maintain the tension in the midst of its gorgeous setting. For the Watchlist, Kevin and Sarah go exploring with Michael Mann's 1992 historical epic The Last of the Mohicans. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson is joined by Claude Atcho and Austin Carty to discuss the purpose and future of the podcast. Why should we be reading and thinking about great fiction? What are the questions we get about reading fiction? How’ll the podcast change to bring people into this community? Join us for this podcast and be a part of the Scandal of Reading! Works referenced: Moses, Man of the Mountain by Zora Neale Hurston. Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset The Pastor’s Bookshelf: Why Reading Matters for Ministry by Austin Carty Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just by Claude Atcho Blue Light Jazz by Donald Miller Go Tell It on the Mountains by James Baldwin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Kevin dive into the creative lives of June and Jennifer Gibbons, the women at the center of the new biopic The Silent Twins. But does the movie do justice to its subjects? For the Watchlist segment, Kevin introduces Sarah to Tamara Jenkins' 2007 movie The Savages, in which two siblings played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman find themselves suddenly and unexpectedly caring for their aging father. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Kevin, two unabashed Tolkien nerds, discuss the first two episodes of the new Lord of the Rings TV series, The Rings of Power. Then, they embark on a journey into the Cartoon Network TV miniseries Over the Garden Wall. Along the way, they talk about the importance of myth and fairy stories, and whether or not the two TV shows live up to Tolkien's ideals. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this bonus episode, Sarah and Kevin count down the movies they're most looking forward to in the upcoming awards season. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah is joined by guest host Abby Olcese to talk about George Miller's fantasia Three Thousand Years of Longing, in which a narratologist played by Tilda Swinton meets a djinn played by Idris Elba. For the Watchlist segment, Abby introduces Sarah to the 1977 Peter Weir film The Last Wave. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lions, no tigers, and bears, oh my. Kevin and Sarah take on Beast, a movie in which Idris Elba fights a lion. After tangling with the latest blockbuster (and each other), they then turn their attention to the Werner Herzog documentary Grizzly Man. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah tackle Bodies Bodies Bodies, Halina Reijn's Gen-Z satire about 20-somethings at odds with each other… but will Kevin and Sarah split over their review too? Next up, Sarah introduces Kevin to Peter Weir's 1975 film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah return from a restful vacation to review a high-octane action movie, Bullet Train. Will the movie hit its target, or is it really a slow train to nowhere? Then, Kevin and Sarah turn their sights toward another high-adrenaline movie premise for the Watchlist segment. This time, it's the bank robbery in Sydney Lumet's 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah saddle up and get spooky with Jordan Peele's latest movie, Nope, about two ranch caretakers played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer who investigate mysterious goings-on with their horses. Then, our intrepid hosts follow a wagon train west as they discuss Sidney Poitier's 1972 western, Buck and the Preacher. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah take on a pair of buddy movies this week. First up: the Tollywood smash hit RRR, which features a friendship for the ages at the center of India's fight for independence. Then they discuss Shane Black's 2005 movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a black comedy noir set at Christmastime in L.A. Along the way, Kevin and Sarah ask themselves: which one of the hosts is the straight man, and which one's the loose cannon? Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The god of thunder and director Taika Waititi both return to the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder. Kevin and Sarah decide whether the series has managed to harness lightning again, or if the romance has finally fallen flat. Next up, they take on romance of a different kind in Jonathan Demme's screwball/road trip movie Something Wild. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a feature-length take on the YouTube shorts about a tiny sentient shell. Kevin and Sarah discuss whether the movie is a successful adaptation. Then, they talk about the 2010 French animated film The Illusionist, a lovely movie about magic and maintaining a sense of wonder in a world that doesn't value either one.

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Does The Black Phone get a ringing endorsement from Kevin and Sarah, or is the line dead? They discuss Scott Derrickson's latest horror film, and whether it's successful in adapting the short story of the same name. Then they turn their attention to Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Apocalypse preparation scenarios make an unexpected appearance. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Kevin and Sarah take on a David Cronenberg double feature. First up is Cronenberg's latest, Crimes of the Future, which presents a dystopian world that questions what it means to be human. Then, Kevin introduces Sarah to one of his favorite horror movies, the 1986 version of The Fly. Be afraid…be very afraid. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jurassic World Dominion asks: what if dinosaurs invaded modern-day Earth? Kevin and Sarah talk about whether or not the movie's answer to its own question is any good, or if the film was trying to do too much at once. Then, Kevin and Sarah explore another movie about a scientist grappling with hubris, the 1931 classic Universal monster movie Frankenstein.

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Are men okay? That's what Kevin and Sarah want to know after recording this week's episode. First up is Alex Garland's latest movie Men, which takes on questions about sin and gender for better or worse. Then for the Watchlist, they discuss Charlie Kaufman's 2015 stop-motion movie Anomalisa. Follow us on Twitter @SeeBelievePOD Support the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah feel the need…the need for speed…and for Dad Movies. First, in a review of Top Gun: Maverick, they ask whether a sequel 25 years in the making is worth it. For the Watchlist, they ask whether Philip Kaufman’s 1983 film The Right Stuff does, indeed, have the right stuff. Many dad jokes are made. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah take on a Patreon subscriber's pick as they review last year's melodrama WParallel Mothers, starring Penelope Cruz in an Oscar-nominated role. For the Watchlist, they discuss another family drama, Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 masterpiece Tokyo Story. The difference between drama and melodrama is hashed out. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah catch up on their indie movies with Jane Schoenbrun's debut, We're All Going to the World's Fair. For the Watchlist, they pivot to the 1984 dance movie JFootloose. Kevin has his doubts about Kevin Bacon. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah dive into another parallel universe with the latest Marvel movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Then, they keep the conversation going with feedback from listeners about past episodes. Finally, they bring on guest Elijah Davidson, who introduces them both to the French New Wave film Jules and Jim. Sarah has a grand unifying theory about the MCU. Listeners can sign up for Elijah's film devotional project Come & See at https://elijahdavidson.com/seeingandbelieving. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin and Sarah discuss whether his new meta movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent manages to live up to its title. Then they have a standoff over the latest Watchlist pick, Face/Off. Kevin gets animated about doves. Check out the Seeing & Believing Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the second reading of the series (Volume I: Chapters 4–7), in which the characters and their suffering take center stage. Shelley’s rich descriptions of the inner turmoil provide readers insight into how suffering can alter a person’s ability to function. Her story is raising those age-old questions about why suffering exists and what causes it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If we were to choose one word to describe modern life, busy would be a top contender. We are a busy people—busy making a living, busy making a name for ourselves, busy being busy. This is why productivity hacks are all the rage. We need better ways to make the most of every moment. But is this the point of it all? Does all of our ambition produce a life worth living? This is one of the questions being explored in Persuasion's fall series, What We Make of Ourselves. Week by week we will work through Mary Shelley’s classic story Frankenstein, identifying what the themes of this 19th-century classic has to say about life in the 21st century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the background of the story, starting with what we've gotten wrong due to the many cultural adaptations. Hollywood has taken a seed of Mary Shelley's classic and grown an entirely new story that overshadows the original. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you consider yourself a reader? That answer isn't so easy to come by. How many books do you need to read a year—or a month—to qualify as a true reader? And does it matter what kinds of books you read? Do mystery novels count? What about young adult fiction or business books or graphic novels? Do you need to have read all 100 of the top books ever written to confidently claim you are a reader? If you've ever felt like an imposter when it comes to be well-read, this conversation is for you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A common critic cliche is to say that watching a bad action movie feels like watching somebody else play a video game, but what Free Guy supposes is, “What if we treated that not just as an okay thing but as an actual goal?” Part Wreck-It Ralph, part The Matrix, part The Truman Show, Shawn Levy’s new film features Ryan Reynolds as a smiling, innocent person who finds out that he’s not a person after all but a background character in a video game. Or can he be both? Wade and Kevin log on to see how well Free Guy answers these questions! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guys take a turn for the roguish with this week's episode, as they talk about the latest adventure for DC's #1 band of psychos and misfits, The Suicide Squad. Erstwhile MCU director James Gunn switches teams for this reboot of the much-reviled 2016 film of (almost) the same title, and the question on everyone's mind (or least Wade and Kevin's) is "Does Gunn manage to spin straw into gold?" Given Gunn's trademark taste for off-kilter third-string comic-book characters and amoral antiheroes, it certainly seems like a good match, but does everything go according to plan? Or is the stink of 2016's iteration of the Squad too hard to wash off? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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After his foray into creating a superhero cinematic universe, M. Night Shyamalan is back to his bread and butter — spine-tingling chillers — with Old, the movie about how seaside resorts and beach vacations are the absolute worst. A family goes on vacation, discovers a beach that causes everyone to age unnaturally fast, and encounters many other obstacles that can't be divulged due to spoilers. Wade and Kevin take a look to find out where Old fits into Shyamalan's checkered career and determine just how many years will be taken off their lives by the end of this week's episode. Grab your water wings and join them! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A story about the spiritual realm and the souls that populate it. A quiet vibe reminiscent of Hirokazu Kore-eda. A cast including Winston Duke, Benedict Wong, Zazie Beetz, and Tony Hale. How could Seeing & Believing say no? Wade and Kevin take a look at the ethereal debut feature from Japanese-Brazilian director Edson Oda to see if these elements result in a film as wonderful as its constituent parts sound. Join them on their excursion into a world before life and death! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a long time away, the MCU makes its return to Seeing & Believing! Wade and Kevin take a look at Scarlett Johansson's swan song as Black Widow in a prequel that takes the superspy on a globetrotting adventure to reconnect with family members, stop an evil villain from using super-soldiers to control the world, and make peace with her checkered past. The guys discuss Black Widow's place among the Avengers cast, how well this new film serves as a sendoff to the character, and what the story signals about the future of the franchise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It wouldn't be summer at the movies without sci-fi action blockbusters. Director Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) and star Chris Pratt fill that gap with The Tomorrow War, which imagines a near future where a near-apocalyptic conflict with an alien species forces humanity to recruit soldiers from the population of today's present. Threads of fatalism, family complexities, and hope are threaded through the film among action setpieces and time-travel shenanigans, and Wade and Kevin are on the case to discuss how well the film strikes a balance between heady themes and good old-fashioned blockbuster thrills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our world came to a screeching halt with the pandemic. Schedules that used to be packed to the brim opened wide, creating unexpected space. Now that the world is opening up again, we have the opportunity to decide if the ways we had been in community before the pandemic are the ones we even want to return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guys enter the sun-baked Mediterranean world of Pixar's latest film in this week's episode! Luca tells the story of a young boy named Luca (Jacob Tremblay) who, along with his best friend Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), dreams of acquiring a Vespa with the prize money from a big race and seeing the world. The only thing standing in their way? Luca and Alberto are secretly sea monsters. Wade and Kevin discuss where Luca fits into the ever-growing ranking of Pixar films and explore the film's themes of self-acceptance, ambition, and friendship. Come on in, the water's fine! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the summer miniseries called Showing Up. Each episode explores the challenges we face to show up in the world. Erin and Hannah invite Rebecca McLaughlin to help us learn how to show up in conversations despite our differences. Rebecca grew up in the United Kingdom and holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge as well as a theology degree from Oak Hill College in London. She is co-founder of Vocable Communications and former vice president of content at the Veritas Forum, where she spent almost a decade working with Christian academics at leading secular universities. Learning to have honest, charitable faith dialogue is a passion for Rebecca, whose latest book is titled The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims. This conversation covers a whole host of topics related to engaging others in matters of faith by showing up with your whole self—differing beliefs and all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a lot of ways, the new musical In the Heights has finally hit theaters at the perfect time. As businesses fully reopen again and people prepare to get out of the house, what could be more of a fun summer activity than a fun summer musical. Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu helms this film version of the Lin-Manuel Miranda Broadway hit about an NYC neighborhood, its denizens, and their dreams of love, success, and belonging. Wade and Kevin dive right in to examine the hype and whether the film lives up to it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the summer miniseries called Showing Up. Since 2004, Rachel has lived in Djibouti, a primarily Muslim country, where she and her husband run a school and where they enjoy cross-cultural, cross-religious relationships. Rachel shares from her recent release titled Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus. The conversation covers a whole host of topics related to developing strong relationships by showing up with your whole self—differing beliefs and all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March of 2020, none of us could have known the level of disruption we would be facing. In addition to the reality of illness and death, we also had to face a new way of going about our daily lives. Our daily routines were shattered and reformed to meet health protocols. Work, school, worship, community, sports, culture—every aspect of life was shaken. Now, more than a year later, our world is opening up once again. We're heading back to the office, back to school, back to our faith communities. But after a year away, are we ready to show up? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disney tries to drum up some sympathy for the devil with their latest live-action film to delve into the background of an animated villain. In Cruella, Emma Stone stars as the fabulous fashion magnate in her younger years, matching wits with the icy Baroness von Hellman (Emma Thompson). So is Cruella actually evil, or was she just drawn that way? Wade and Kevin are on the case, analyzing the film's themes and discussing the merits of this prequel romp to 101 Dalmatians. Plus: listener feedback on Saint Maud and weekly recommendations! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's the line between religious devotion and religious obsession? That's the question that Wade and Kevin explore with their review of Saint Maud, the religiously themed shocker from writer/director Rose Glass. Glass makes her feature debut with this story of a nurse named Maud (Morfydd Clark) providing hospice care to a dying professional dancer (Jennifer Ehle). Maud has a second mission on top of her duties as a nurse: in addition to caring for her patient's body, she also takes it on herself to save her soul. But do the disturbing visions that Maud is experiencing point to a darker element in her guileless belief? The guys take on these thorny issues in a discussion about how successfully Glass probes the depths of faith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Sicaro" writer Taylor Sheridan returns to the director's chair with "Those Who Wish Me Dead" starring Angelina Jolie. Wade and Kevin review this thriller where a fire watcher (Jolie) is on the run with a young boy who is holding evidence in a complicated mob trial while pursued by two assassins while outrunning an out-of-control forest fire. Does the film burn bright ahead of the summer blockbuster season or is it simply a pile of smoking ash? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the past year, as communities implemented social distancing protocols, daily life came to a screeching halt. People stayed home to work remotely or attend virtual school. Without all our usual human hustle and bustle, wild creatures began roaming more freely. People began sharing photos of whales in harbors and goats running through towns. The conclusion? Nature is healing itself now that the humans are no longer interfering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some days life cruises along the course of your well-laid plans and everything runs like clockwork. Other days—most days, perhaps?—life takes a detour off the beaten path and you get lost in the wilderness and stuck in the muck. Life works great, except when it doesn't, which is more often than not. So what can we do in response? Do we bother making plans when they are likely to get turned inside out anyhow? Do we let chaos reign and become accustomed to the wild ride of life? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's almost May, which means the action extravaganzas are finding their way to theaters and streaming for the blockbuster season. Warner Brothers kicks things off in a big, bloody way with its stab at resurrecting the Mortal Kombat franchise for filmgoers. This time, the story they build around the gory video game brawler involves a washed-up MMA fighter named Cole (Lewis Tan) who discovers that his dragon-shaped birthmark has landed him in the thick of centuries-old blood feuds and a high-stakes fighting tournament. Does this Simon McQuoid's film score a flawless victory, or is it another fatality in the history of misbegotten game-to-film adaptations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With a slight lull coming between awards season and blockbuster season, Wade and Kevin pause for a retro review of a film regarded by many critics as the best directorial one-off in cinema history. Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter offers an iconic villain in Robert Mitchum's Harry Powell, a corrupt preacher in Depression-era West Virginia who sets his sights on a widow and her two children in the hope of claiming a $10,000 windfall that is hidden somewhere in their home. Part thriller, part American fairy tale, and part expressionist visual feast, the film gives the guys plenty to dig into, from its shadowy cinematography to its unique commentary on religion at its worst and its best. Special thanks to show supporter Eric Johnson for selecting this film for us to review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin round out their Oscar coverage with a review of the final remaining Best Picture nominee: Emerald Fennell's scathing Promising Young Woman. Starring Carey Mulligan as a vigilante of unconventional methods, the film takes dead aim at sexual predators, their enablers, and the culture that empowers both groups. The guys also turn their attention to the upcoming ceremony and offer their picks for what will win, what should win, and the surprises of an unusual year for filmgoing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oscar season may be long over, but the Oscars themselves are just peeking over the horizon. Wade and Kevin catch up with one of the Best Picture nominees that eluded them at the end of 2020: Florian Zeller's film adaptation of his own play The Father. Featuring Anthony Hopkins as an elderly man dealing with dementia and Olivia Colman as his long-suffering daughter, the film pairs its melodrama with slippery filmmaking that draws the audience into the protagonist's world, causing us to question our perceptions just as he does. Visit the Seeing & Believing Patreon page Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the coming of spring, there's a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, which means two things: movie theaters are becoming an option once again, and blockbusters are being released to take advantage of them. One of the most anticipated of the season so far is Adam Wingard's follow-up to Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong, which pits the titular beasts against each other in a monster mash of epic proportions. Wade is back in the hosting chair to review the film with Kevin, as they examine whether the film delivers the giant-monster goods as well as whether it is successful in other areas. Break out the "Team Godzilla" and "Team Kong" t-shirts and get ready for a huge episode of Seeing & Believing! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not every day that a franchise's fanbase is able to will a movie into existence, but that's exactly the rare occurrence that is under consideration on this week's episode. With Wade away from the hosting chair, Kevin is joined by Detroit critic Chris Williams to discuss Zack Snyder's Justice League (not to be confused with its predecessor, 2017's Justice League). After the 2017 film saw director Zack Snyder exit the project due to a family tragedy and Joss Whedon come on board to complete it, the finished product was greeted with tepid reviews from critics and widespread disappointment from fans. Rumors of a "Snyder cut" swirled, saying that Snyder's plans for the film were more ambitious and just plain better than the theatrical release. After numerous fan petitions, Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. reached an agreement where Snyder, working without a paycheck, could finish his cut of the film as he saw fit, premiering it on the brand-new HBO Max streaming service. That big day has arrived, and now Kevin and Chris face the question: Was the wait worth it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the last episode, Erin and Hannah discussed the hurdles and struggles we face in our attempts to cultivate goodness, finding another point of shared experience in the brokenness of the world. In keeping with that conversation, we're taking a brief Interlude from our larger series, FINDING COMMON GROUND, and invite you to listen in as Hannah Anderson reads an excerpt from her recently released book, TURNING OF DAYS: LESSONS FROM NATURE, SEASON, AND SPIRIT. "How does one live in this place between longing and fulfillment? How do you dare to hope when the world is so harsh and cares nothing for your good work? How can you sustain hope in the face of it all? How can you not be chilled until your heart slowly freezes over?" Keep the conversation going on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disney+ keeps the big releases rolling with Raya and the Last Dragon, an animated adventure about a fantasy world teetering on the edge of apocalypse, with magical dragons holding the key to saving humanity from encroaching outside evil ... and also from itself. Featuring Kelly Marie Tran (The Last Jedi) and Awkwafina (The Farewell) as the two title characters, the film celebrates the virtue of trust; Wade and Kevin dig into it to see if the film is also worthy of celebration. Also, don't miss the announcement of a new book giveaway: Chris Hayes and Cody Benjamin's Why We Need the Movies, published just this year, takes a look at cinema culture in the era of streaming and COVID, and we're offering the chance to win free copies for all Patreon subscribers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week we discussed our shared call to cultivate goodness in the world. While that is true, it's not the whole picture. Because as we work, we also find another shared experience. We all struggle in our work. We encounter barriers and failures. We grow weary. The world experiences disasters and pandemics. And we are left holding the brokenness of this life, wondering what to do next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week's special double-length episode, we offer something for lovers of blockbuster sci-fi/horror and indie sci-fi dramas. Wade and Kevin sit down with fellow critic Sarah Welch-Larson to talk about her brand-new book, Becoming Alien: The Beginning and End of Evil in Science Fiction's Most Idiosyncratic Film Franchise. In a fascinating conversation, they discuss the intersection of the Alien film franchise, Christian theology, and the philosophy of evil, as well as the role of Christians in film criticism. The guys then turn their attention to Little Fish, the new film from Chad Hartigan (This Is Martin Bonner). Olivia Cooke and Jack O'Connell star as a married couple trying to survive a pandemic (sound familiar?). The nature of this pandemic? A neural disorder that gradually erases the victim's memories of past experiences, special skills, and relationships with loved ones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Erin and Hannah explore our shared desire to find meaning through our work and in life. Our work may be more mental than physical, but whatever it is, we hope it means something more than a paycheck. We want to thrive on all fronts, to see our work take off and produce a harvest we can enjoy and share with others. To illustrate this truth, Sarah Pabody from Triple Wren Farms shares how her flower farm teaches her about the deeper truths of work and meaning. How is gardening a metaphor for our personal flourishing? What can the natural patterns of sowing and reaping and tending and harvest show us about life? How can we find shared ground in the human desire to flourish? Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we find common ground together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Believing closes out Black History Month with a look at the buzzed-about new film that is based on the true story of the death of Fred Hampton. Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah features two powerhouse performances from Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and LaKeith Stanfield as Bill O'Neal, the man who worked to bring down Hampton's revolutionary operation in Chicago from the inside. But do these powerhouse performances result in a good film overall, and does the film do justice to the life and political convictions of a man like Hampton? Listen to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Communicating with others is something we're born doing. We emerge from the womb with limited skills, of course. Our skills grow in time, from wails to words and eventually to full sentences and fully nuanced, complex ideas. But that's not all it takes to communicate well. We can use all the skills at our disposal—verbal and nonverbal—and still experience a breakdown in communication with others. In the past few years, these breakdowns have become seemingly more common. We wonder what has changed and why we are unable to connect well with others as we once did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Death has been a constant thought this past year, due to the pandemic that continues to rage among us and around the globe. It's rare in our society to think much about the end of our days. We tend to press on with our plans until death disrupts us, when it jolts us to the reality that all of us are living on borrowed time and breath. From dust we came, to dust we will return. The earth grounds us, binds us together in this shared fate, creatures, and creation. While we attempt to stay nature's course on our fleshly forms, creation pays no mind. Its rhythms of death and decay can be seen all around, as foliage and creature both are welcomed to final rest to become one with the dust. As Ash Wednesday approaches, we dust our foreheads remembrance of our fleeting nature. We are given sacred space to reflect on the limits of this life and these feeble frames. The sorrow of death will be present, of course, but our limits beckon us to remember our place in God's creation. When we repent of our attempts to outrun death, we are able to embrace the space God has appointed us in this life. Here we are called to till the soil of our lives, and plant goodness, and tend the seed to harvest. God calls His creatures to cultivate His creation and make something beautiful out of the days we're given. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, but the only love affair that Seeing & Believing has time for is that between Ralph Fiennes and archaeological excavations. Netflix's The Dig tells the true story of how a widow (Carey Mulligan) teamed up with a working-class excavation expert (Fiennes) to make one of Great Britain's greatest archaeological discoveries on the eve of World War II. Wade and Kevin dig into the film (heh) to examine its themes of time, the fleeting nature of life, and the ways in which the past can give meaning to the present and even the future. Todayís episode of Seeing and Believing is sponsored in part by The Good Book Company, publisher of Steve McAlpineís book Being the Bad Guys. The Good Book Company is giving away 5 copies of Being the Bad Guys to CAPC members! For a chance to win, become a member at ChristAndPopCulture.com by February 17. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erin and Hannah kick off a new series called Finding Common Ground. Each episode will consider a different aspect of natural revelation and how the world around us gives us the common ground we seek—and desperately need—with our fellow humans. Despite the rifts we feel with others ideologically, there is still much we have in common. By turning our eyes to the creation and its rhythms, we find commonality in our shared human experience. We can look to the patterns God embedded in the natural world as markers for our own experiences. Seasonal patterns, life stages, natural laws—things like these remind us that something greater is happening in the universe, regardless of our personal differences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not every day that a new Denzel Washington-starring film gets released, especially when that film has been a quarter-century in the making. John Lee Hancock's screenplay for The Little Things has been floating around since the mid-1990s, and it's finally been released now, on HBO Max, with Hancock himself at the helm and a freshly minted Golden Globes nomination under its belt. Washington stars as an erstwhile detective whose haunting past mistakes have relegated him to an exile as a sheriff's deputy in a small California town. But when a spate of serial killings in Los Angeles intersect with his path, he teams up with Rami Malek's star investigator for a cat-and-mouse game with a man (Jared Leto) who may or may not have something to do with those killings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The show eases off the accelerator to focus on a single film this week. Acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) is back with a new film for Netflix that positions itself as the anti-Slumdog Millionaire. Adapted from Aravind Adiga's novel of the same title, The White Tiger tells a story of a lower-caste servant in India (Adarh Gourav) who chafes under the yoke of his family's poverty and does what he thinks he must in order to get ahead. Part Goodfellas, part Parasite, Bahrani's latest takes aim at the wealth disparities of modern India and examines how festering class resentments can boil over into violence, anger, and injustice from rich and poor alike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In his continuing journey to give an award-worthy performance in every existing film genre, Tom Hanks is back in 2021 with his first crack at a Western, Paul Greengrass's News of the World. Based on the novel about a traveling newsreader in post-Civil War Texas, the film asks the question: can Hanks's persona as "America's dad" heal tensions in a divided country? Wade and Kevin also take a closer look at the family drama Minari, which placed on both of their top 10 lists of the year in last week's episode. In their deep-dive review, the guys explore the film's take on the American Dream and its effect on the American family. Music interlude by Onycs, "Together." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our holidays are usually marked by all kinds of festivities. There are family gatherings, dinners with friends, work parties, community celebrations, church programs, and more. But this year? Most of these are cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. We will miss out on gift exchanges and cookie swaps and catching up with friends and family. It's disappointing for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing and Believing heads to the British Isles this week with a pair of films poised to make their way into the end of the year awards talk. First up is Tomm Moore and Ross Stewarts's Wolfwalkers, the new project from the highly esteemed Cartoon Saloon. A mixture of myth and magic, Wolfwalkers uses stunning animation to tell the story of a young girl caught between the forces of prior allegiances and new friendships. After that, Wade and Kevin tackle Armando Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. Will this fresh take on Charles Dickens' classic work be an adaptation to remember? Find out on this episode of Seeing and Believing! Music interlude by David Crickett, "Confession." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanksgiving is typically full of feasting and family and friends. But this year? For most of us, gathering with others to enjoy our typical feast is off the table due to the global pandemic. Even if you are able to celebrate with your immediate family, the day is likely to be tinged with emptiness. And emptiness has a way of diminishing our gratitude, even on Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With family gatherings just around the corner (or not) for Thanksgiving, Wade and Kevin take a look at a couple of new family dramas that are just hitting streaming platforms this week! First up is Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy, starring Amy Adams and Glenn Close. How does the cinematic adaptation of J.D. Vance's bestselling memoir fare in its transition from page to screen? The guys also review The Nest, Sean Durkin's follow-up to his psychological thriller Martha Marcy Mae Marlene. In its story of a married couple (Jude Law and Carrie Coon) fighting the slow unraveling of their family, does Durkin's new film prove to be a worthy follow-up? Music interlude by Tymat, ìOut of Oxygen.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a new miniseries titled Happy, Thankful, People. Each episode of the series includes a special guest who has something specific to share about how we can clear some of the hurdles that come with the holiday season. Barnabas Piper joins this episode to discuss our expectations of seasonal happiness and joy. In Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life's Most Elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality (The Good Book Company, 2020), Barnabas offers a biblical framework for living a grounded, hopeful, and genuinely happy life—even in the midst of the holiday frenzy and even in a year like 2020 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dust off your chess sets and start reminding yourself of the difference between pawns and bishops because the world of competitive chess is the talk of the town again. Netflix's lends some midcentury glamour to the cerebral, famously nerdy pursuit with its new miniseries The Queen's Gambit, featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as a fiercely ambitious chess prodigy who strives to excel in a game that is well-known for being male-dominated. Does the literary adaptation from Scott Frank and Allan Scott succeed at making the think-iest of board games into an absorbingly cinematic experience? Wade and Kevin also turn in a retro review this week to commemorate the passing of Sean Connery. Connery's iconic screen presence often elevated the movies he starred in, and the guys take a look at the Rudyard Kipling adaptation The Man Who Would Be King to see whether they can define exactly what that screen presence consisted of. Tally ho! Music interlude by Vlad Gluschenko, "Warm Days." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Believing spend some time on the HBO streaming service this week! First up is Robert Zemeckis's try at remaking Roald Dahl's classic children's book The Witches. Transplanting the story to the 1960s American South and featuring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, Zemeckis's new film aims to refresh Dahl's tale of grotesque witches plotting to transform the world's children into mice. Wade and Kevin also take some time with David Byrne's American Utopia, which records the Broadway show masterminded by Byrne, frontman of the Talking Heads. What does the show have to say about technology, divisions in American society, and human connection? And can it impress Wade, avowed Byrne enthusiast and fan of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense? Music interlude by Rasmus Soderberg, "Friends and Foes." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sofia Coppola directs the first of several films for A24 and Apple+, On The Rocks which Wade and Kevin review first. The film reunites Coppola with Murray and brings in Office alum Jones as a Father/Daughter pair who are intent on catching Jones' fiancé in the act of betrayal while wrestling with Murray's own history of infidelity. The second half of the show reviews Ben Wheatley's remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca starring Lily James and Armie Hammer. Does the film live up to the legacy or does the ghost of the titular character prove to be too daunting a task? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Election Day inches closer, Seeing & Believing devotes some time to a movie about the fallout from another chaotic election season: the riots that surrounded the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Aaron Sorkin writes and directs The Trial of the Chicago Seven with his usual verbal flair; does he find the cinematic flair to match? Wade and Kevin also look to the future of moviegoing over the next few months and do their best to identify the upcoming films that you should watch out for on streaming, on VOD, or even (if conditions are right) in theaters. Plus, Wade offers a capsule review of the latest Liam Neeson-starring action flick, Honest Thief. Music interlude by Evan Schaeffer Music Studios, "Mary Mood." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their For God and Country series. Each episode has tackled an aspect of how faith and politics collide. This final conversation looks at the value and power of a single vote, the one we've been entrusted with for each item on our ballot. Voting truly is a privilege, but in these politically charged days, the weight of casting our vote in the right way is heavy indeed. There is fear and guilt all mixed together, and it's used by both sides to sway us to choose the way that benefits their party. In addition, Christians also struggle with the burden of making the right choice—the one that honors God and His ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's documentary week here on Seeing & Believing, featuring two new films from Netflix. Wade and Kevin dig into Dick Johnson Is Dead, an intensely personal new film from Cameraperson director Kirsten Johnson. By turns irreverent, playful, and deeply emotional, Johnson's film explores the prospect of death and what it means to say goodbye. The guys also spend some time with The Social Dilemma, a sobering documentary about smartphones, social media, and the dark underbelly of the technology that powers them. Music interlude by Fuscation, "SHAI." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the amount of turmoil that's typically associated with political conversation and engagement, it can be very tempting to look for a reprieve. Every issue truly is connected to the common good that we're called to work toward. But when every conversation turns into a politically charged exchange, it's quite tempting to demand that others stop being so political all the time. While tempting, however, what is really behind our wish that others don't be so political? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Detectives are the name of the game on Seeing & Believing this week. Netflix's new film starring Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown has arrived, adding to the Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe with Enola Holmes. Brown plays the famous Sherlock's younger sister, who embarks on her own sleuthing adventure involving the disappearance of her mother and political intrigue in late Victorian England. Corrupt detectives figure into the episode as well, as Wade and Kevin draw the curtain on their film noir review series with a look at the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Racial reckoning, a threatening pandemic, devastating wildfires... our country is practically pulling apart at the seams. In the middle of all this, we're facing the usual fervor associated with a presidential election. Except this isn't like other presidential elections, because of heightened turmoil of our times makes the discord all the more obvious. Emotions are running high. Everyone is looking for reason to take offense—and no one has to look very long or far to find it. The climate feels oppressive and hopeless. So for those who find hope in their Christian faith, it seems the best response to all this is to simply preach the gospel. Certainly if we just focus our energy on getting more people saved, that will solve everything. Certainly Jesus can fix this mess... right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Perhaps during this series you've become open to the idea that political engagement is an avenue for kingdom flourishing to bring about the common good. And perhaps you've also clarified the sort of nation you want to build with your political engagement. Now we move from theory into practice, because political engagement will actually require you to dig into the system we have in order to make the world better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Wade on vacation, Kevin calls on Sarah Welch-Larson this week to help make sense of Charlie Kaufman's latest brain-bender. I'm Thinking of Ending Things, now streaming on Netflix, features Kaufman's trademark metafictional flourishes and thematic concerns; does it stand alongside Synecdoche, NY and Anomalisa in pulling off the balancing act between "challenging" and "inscrutable"? Sarah also takes the time to talk about one of the all-time great noirs, Carol Reed's postwar mystery The Third Man. Music interlude by The Surface of the Deep, "We'll Be Fine" Used by permission. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the For God and Country series. In this conversation, Erin and Hannah look to the pain points Christians are feeling and use them to unearth the way fear can sway our political leanings. In Christian circles, there has been increasing concern about religious rights and freedoms, as well as rally cries to take our nation back for God. To help us understand the factors feeding these ideas, Hannah speaks with Sam Perry, who has done significant research on Christian nationalism. Together with Andrew Whitehead, Sam authored a book of his findings titled Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Sam addresses the growing conflation of Christian faith with nationalism, which at its core is political idolatry. Because we are so accustomed to these messages and stances within the Church, we can become blind to how we've adopted ideals and stances that are contrary to the gospel. Is it truly our mandate to take America back for God? Are Christians under persecution in the United States—or is it just a loss of privilege and status? Should Christians focus on protecting our own rights or is it more important to reach others with the love of God found in Jesus? Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we learn to think more clearly about the intersection of faith and politics. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The calendar says that summer is drawing to a close, but Seeing & Believing refuses to accept it! Blockbuster season goes on as the guys take the plunge on the Disney+ exclusive Mulan, the latest live-action remake of a Disney animated feature. The "Summer of Darkness" also continues with a review of Brick, Rian Johnson's 2006 debut, which sets the familiar hard-boiled detective story in a high school. Music interlude by ALPH, "It's That Kinda Night." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off their fall series called For God and Country. Each episode of the series will tackle an aspect of how faith and politics collide. To get the conversation started, Erin and Hannah host fellow Christ and Pop Culture writer Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is a seminary student and bright thinker with a new book releasing September 8 from InterVarsity Press titled The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor. She wrote this book to help fellow Christians recognize the formative power of the political forces all around us and then to help us recover historic Christian practices that shape us in faith so that our political engagement is more effective. Considering the stress most people experience in political conversations, this is one area we could all grow in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brush up on your air-guitar skills and get your SoCal dude-accents ready, because Seeing & Believing embarks on another excellent adventure this week. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter may be getting a little long in the tooth, but that doesn't mean they can't bring their iconic slackers back for another victory lap around time and space. Wade and Kevin review Bill and Ted Face the Music to see if the Wyld Stallyns still have a spring in their step after all this time. They balance out the frivolity with the somber neo-noir classic Chinatown, the next installment in the Summer of Darkness. Music interlude by mad bello, ìBon Voyage.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humor has been rather hard to find in 2020. We've had month after month of very serious happenings. When the world is falling apart, laughter feels wrong—even callous. Serious things call for a serious countenance... right? In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a late summer miniseries called Getting By. Each episode of the series includes a special guest who has something specific to share about how we can get by in life considering the world as it is today. Luke T. Harrington joins this conversation to help us see the value of humor—especially in dark times. His latest release from Thomas Nelson is titled Murder-Bears, Moonshine, and Mayhem: Strange Stories from the Bible to Leave You Amused, Bemused, and (Hopefully) Informed. This nonfiction humor book looks at some of the odd tales in the Bible, examining and casting new light on some of the Bible's stranger moments. Luke's work flows from a truly unique perspective on life and faith. And that perspective is one we all need if we are to move forward and remain emotionally stable during life's trials, both personal and societal. Humor is good for our psyche—relieving stress and disarming our defenses. Although humor may not come naturally to us, we can borrow the lens from friends like Luke. Is it OK to chuckle at the absurdities we see in the world? How about the ones we see in Scripture? Does humor discount suffering and sorrow? How does humor enrich our faith? Conversation touches on the importance of humor and how our faith can actually be strengthened when we learn to take ourselves—and life—a little less seriously. Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we learn how to get by together. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As election season spins up in earnest, the guys get into the spirit of the season with a new documentary. Boys State explores what happens when over a thousand bright high school boys from Texas get together to form their own two-party government: is it more Frank Capra or more Lord of the Flies? Also on the docket is the next installment in the "Summer of Darkness" film noir marathon, featuring the first major noir to be directed by a woman, the great Ida Lupino. Music interlude by Idyllic, "Cogitation." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our current moment of political, social, and even religious upheaval has been isolating in many inexplicable ways. COVID-19 restrictions have eliminate many of our opportunities to build friendships and network with colleagues. Many of us are now working, schooling, and worshiping from home, severing limiting our social circles. As a result, psychologists are reporting higher rates of depression. More than ever, we can see the crucial role community and connectedness contribute to our well being. We need friends. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their Getting By summer miniseries. Each episode of the series will include a special guest who has something specific to share about how we can get by in life considering the world as it is today. Gina Dalfonzo joins this conversation to help us see the value of nurturing friendships even in the most dire of circumstances. Her latest release form Baker Publishing, The Remarkable Friendship Between C. S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers, provides a template for us. While Lewis is well known due to his Chronicles of Narnia series, Sayers may be relatively unknown. She was a wildly successful mystery novelist, best known for her Lord Peter Wimsey Series. This friendship is set against the backdrop of World War II; the unrest and uncertainty of their time parallels that of ours. By looking at their friendship—developed primarily via letters over a 15 year stretch—provides a picture of how we too could develop or maintain deep friendships even during difficult times. Conversation touches on the powerful way friendships can feed and shape our souls—as well as the trajectory of our very lives. Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we learn how to get by together. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Back from their one-week break, Wade and Kevin continue their Summer of Darkness series on film noir by crossing the Atlantic to check out Elevator to the Gallows, the Miles Davis-scored noir that launched the careers of director Louis Malle and star Jeanne Moreau. Also lighting up the screen this week is the new release Tesla, an unconventional, postmodern biopic featuring Ethan Hawke in the role of the enigmatic, withdrawn inventor.

Music interlude by h3h h4hgar, ìWater.î Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In polite conversation, when someone greets you and asks how you are doing, the typical, benign reply is to say you "are doing just fine, thanks." But today, that reply feels disingenuous at best, considering the global pandemic, the racial reckoning across our nation, and the general polarization in society. Saying we are doing just fine, even when we're not, lines up with our country's indefatigable spirit. We are a nation of overcomers and go-getters—people who suck it up and keep moving ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After four months of navigating COVID-19 worries and addressing societal inequalities, it seems that most of us are embracing the reality that our world is forever changed. We're learning new ways to work, build community, celebrate milestones, and more. But none of it is easy or second nature. It's actually quite difficult. Most of us are getting by... but just barely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two very different kinds of family melodramas are featured in this week's episode. First is actor James D'Arcy's directing/screenwriting debut, the Liam Neeson-starring Made in Italy, about a roguish artist, his estranged son, and the dilapidated villa in Italy they try to sell together. The other film this week is about a roguish salesman who gets involved in some family drama of his own when he tries to help a woman kill her husband for the insurance money. The "Summer of Darkness" series on film noir continues with one of the most famous noirs ever made, Double Indemnity! Music interlude by The Fisherman, "Summer." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Seeing & Believing kicks off a new series on film noir! Our "Summer of Darkness" begins in a slightly unconventional place with the Humphrey Bogart-starring In a Lonely Place, about a hotheaded screenwriter whose romance with a neighbor hits a rough patch when the police accuse him of murder. The thing is, maybe he is guilty? The guys also spend time with another dark story, the Dave Franco-directed thriller The Rental, about a group of friends who become the targets of a psychopath during a weekend at a seaside AirBnB. Music interlude by Kat, "Peak." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether your tastes run toward the blockbuster or the literary, there's a review for you this week. Wade and Kevin sit down with Netflix's superhero-adjacent action flick The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron as the leader of a band of immortal, Wolverine-like warriors. They also take some time for Flannery a documentary chronicling the life and work of one of the foremost Christian fiction writers of the 20th century. Music interlude by SPELLWRKS, "Sirius." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Laughter is a gift. An excessive blessing without a practical purpose. Other things can bring relief, connect us with each other, and reveal our faults, but laughter does these things with playfulness and joy. What does it look like to receive and give this form of grace? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kelly Reichardt's latest film has finally made its way to a home release, and the guys are ready for it! First Cow, a period piece about two friends trying to eke out a living in the hardscrabble Oregon Territory by milking a rich man's cow on the sly, has a lot to say about our present moment. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin think it's one of the best films of the year! Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin also like Palm Springs, the Hulu original film starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin enjoy the film's riff on the Groundhog Day premise. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin are having a strange sense of deja vu all of a sudden. Listen to find out why Wade and Kevin are really committing to this bit. Listen to find out! Music interlude by the Grumbles, "Hard Drive Hero." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a story of getting burned out on comedy and learning to love it again. It's not a success story, but an enjoyment story that comes through accepting limits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In any other summer, a Tom Hanks-starring, Tom Hanks-written movie about World War II would be the biggest movie of the weekend. This is not a typical summer, but Wade and Kevin are still interested to see what Hanks serves up with Greyhound, a thriller about a naval captain braving the high seas of the Atlantic while fending off a swarm of German U-Boats. The guys then turn their attention to another period piece, Andrew Patterson's 1950s-set sci-fi flick The Vast of Night, about a sleepy New Mexico town that receives some unexpected visitors. Music interlude by Knos, "Daydream." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s hard to acknowledge an offensive joke. You’ve failed on two fronts: you weren’t funny and your words were harmful. It contradicts stories we tell ourselves, like “I wouldn’t make a racist joke” or “I couldn’t be sexist.” In this episode, Ben shares how the practice of confession has helped him recognize his own harmful material and the structural inequality of the comedy industry.

Written and recorded by Ben Fort. Produced by Jonathan Clauson. Art by Seth Hahne. Music by Ben Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether you're in the mood for a quiet family drama or a silly over-the-top comedy, Seeing & Believing has you covered for the Independence Day weekend. First up is The Truth, Hirokazu Kore-eda's follow-up to his Palme d'Or-winning Shoplifters and his first non-Japanese-language project. With a star-studded cast that includes Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke, and cinema legend Catherine Deneuve, Kore-eda continues to examine the familial bonds that people forge or are born into. On the sillier side of things is the Will Ferrell comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, about a hapless Icelandic duo that dreams of representing their country at Europe's most famous (and most flamboyant) song-and-dance event. Music interlude by Pacific Beach Vinyl, "Tambalan." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can we joke about? How far is too far? Our answers tend to be personal, which makes it hard to discuss why some humor is offensive. In this episode, Ben shares his search for an ethical framework that allows for great comedy, lines up with his Christian faith, and makes sense to collaborators with differing beliefs.

Written and recorded by Ben Fort. Produced by Jonathan Clauson. Art by Seth Hahne. Music by Ben Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Believing has a seasonal special for you this week! With the presidential election looming on the horizon, Wade and Kevin take a look at the latest cinematic political satire, this time from the mind of former Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The guys also celebrate the 45th birthday of Jaws with a retro review. In case you needed another reason to avoid going to the beach, Steven Spielberg's killer-shark classic just might do the trick. Music interlude by Kalle King Kong, "Victor." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Great comedians feel effortless, but behind each laugh is a lot of work. What is the work of humor, and what does that mean for us as we create and cultivate our own laughs? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spike Lee’s latest film for Netflix has been causing a sensation, and this week Wade and Kevin check it out. Da 5 Bloods, a sprawling look at the legacy of the Vietnam War for black Americans, is Lee’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning BlacKkKlansman. The guys do a deep dive on Da 5 Bloods‘ themes and startling spiritual vision. On the more low-key side of things, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island just hit on-demand streaming. Does it make SNL’s Pete Davidson a movie star? Listen to find out! Music interlude by cShri, “from my heart.” Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner from YouTube Audio Library Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedians and late-night hosts have increasingly been pausing the jokes to sincerely address events and issues. This raises interesting questions about humor. What is the relief of laughter, and is that enough for a hurting world? Have we been asking too little of comedians, or are we now asking too much? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buckle up for terrible space puns, because they're in plentiful supply in today's episode. Wade and Kevin tackle Space Force, the new comedy series from Netflix, Greg Daniels, and Steve Carell. With Carell taking on the clenched jaw and jingoism of the first commander of America's fledgling outer-space military program, this series takes a stab at transplanting the workplace antics of The Office into a top-secret military installation. The guys also go on a voyage into the mind of famed writer Shirley Jackson with Josephine Decker's unconventional biopic about her, starring Elisabeth Moss. Music interlude by David Crickett, "Vegetarian." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, two favorite filmmakers of Seeing & Believing, have a new film out, so of course, the guys are on the case! Wade and Kevin take a close look at the Dardennes' story of a young teenager who is attracted to Islamic fundamentalism, and they discuss its spiritual underpinnings, its compassionate perspective, and where it falls in the Dardennes' body of work. The guys then turn their attention to Kitty Green's #MeToo drama, The Assistant, a riveting look at the struggles and compromises of a young woman who works for an unscrupulous executive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many people are still homebound these days, which means it's a perfect time for an escapist movie about two friends traveling to picturesque locations and eating at incredible restaurants. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are back for a fourth go-round with the Trip to... series, this time retracing Odysseus's steps through the Mediterranean paradise of Greece as they crack jokes, verbally spar with each other, and confront the specter of aging. The guys pair this rich meal with the modest indie drama Driveways, featuring one of the final film performances of the late, great Brian Dennehy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fresh off their "2020 auteurs" series, Wade and Kevin get back to basics with a review of a freshly released film: Josh Trank's biopic of Al Capone. Trank returns to small-budget indie filmmaking by writing, editing, and directing this unconventional examination of the last year of the infamous gangster's life. Faced with his own physical and psychological deterioration, Capone has to deal with the consequences of his immoral past and his paranoia-laced present, and the audience is along for the ride. Music interlude by Idyllic, "Internal." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin wrap up their series of director retrospectives with a look at the work of America's foremost purveyor of immaculately framed family dysfunction: Wes Anderson. The guys look ahead to the upcoming The French Dispatch by working their way through Anderson's filmography, from Bottle Rocket to The Grand Budapest Hotel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first rule of David Fincher movies: you always talk about David Fincher movies. The second rule of David Fincher movies: you always talk about David Fincher movies. In this week's episode, Wade and Kevin look back at the career of the director of Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, and more! Listen in to find out which of Fincher's films rise to the top in the guys' personal rankings. Music interlude by Logic Psychedelic, "Afternoon." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin continue their series on modern directors with upcoming new releases with a retrospective on the filmography of Kelly Reichardt. Reichardt is a powerhouse of indie filmmaking whose quiet, unassuming style belies the sharpness of her storytelling and observational abilities. From River of Grass to Certain Women, Wade and Kevin rank Reichardt's films as they look forward to the day when they can catch Reichardt's 2020 release, First Cow. Music interlude by Only August, "The Rain." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the South Korean marathon in the rearview mirror, Wade and Kevin look to the future: specifically, the new movies coming in 2020 from some big-name directors! With Christopher Nolan eking out a win in the listener poll, the guys prep for his upcoming summer release Tenet by taking the long view of his career, from Following to Dunkirk. Listen in for their thoughts on Nolan's thematic concerns, signature filmmaking choices, and a ranking of his entire body of work! Music interlude by southfence, "Caught You Cold." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guys bid a sad but fond farewell to their South Korean movie marathon this week, closing with Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine. It is the story of a woman who turns to evangelical Christianity after suffering a loss, it's a very appropriate film to add to your Holy Week viewing. Plus: a preview of what's next for the show and a request for feedback! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re a people that loves to manage every scenario and have backup plans for every contingency. So what happens when the whole world screeches to a near halt and all the data we’ve used for decision making is no longer valid? Well, for most of us, this has produced a not so insignificant level of anxiety. As much as we like looking ahead toward the next thing, it’s tough to come to terms with something when the variables are unknown. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their Growing Viral: Well-Being in the Age of Corona series. For this conversation, Erin and Hannah discuss how we accept our new reality that is largely unknown to us. Despite experts best guesses, no one knows how long the pandemic will last, what impact it will have on our society for the future, or if our global economy will recover. Our normal may be long gone, leaving in its place room for something new. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Loss and grief are central to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve lost loved ones, jobs, freedoms, and security. Some have lost their wedding dates or vacations. Some have lost sleep or a sense of purpose. Discouragement is common as we all scramble to find meaning in the midst of a crisis. This collective grief weighs upon our society, stretching it thin. For this conversation, Erin and Hannah discuss the discouragement we are all experiencing. Without schedules to hem us in, we wander aimlessly through our days, wondering if there’s any reason to get up early or get dressed or even shower. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

COVID-19 has taken away so much from us, including our sense of control. Our plans have been cancelled, and our movements are restricted. We can no longer go where we want when we want with whomever we choose. Loss of control may make us angry or fearful or frustrated (or all of those!). In its absence, we begin to play games of If Only or What If in an attempt to regain a bit of what we’ve lost. For this conversation, Erin and Hannah discuss the loss of control we are all experiencing. From rebelling against the restrictions to compulsively adhering to them, we all react differently to the way this pandemic is exerting its power over our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anger is on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic—and for good reason. Almost every aspect of our lives has been upended. We are now working and learning from home. All of our public gatherings have been cancelled or postponed, from weddings to funerals to sports to graduations. We have been asked to stay home with our family unit—and the lack of variety is enough to get on our last nerve. Anger is certainly understandable in this viral age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world is grappling with a pandemic that is changing life as we know it. We are grieving the loss of loved ones. Those who have recovered are facing uncertain long-term health conditions. The global economy is struggling along with unknown ramifications for millions of employees. As the coronavirus runs its course, the only thing we know for sure is that life as we know it is forever changed. Yet, facing this reality is no easy task. John Starke joins this conversation to help us look at our use of denial in this season and how lament offers a more fruitful way forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unless you’ve been offline or off planet, you are aware of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It is the major historical event of our time, affecting everything from work and school to church and community. We are all scrambling to figure out how to live and operate under a new normal—one without a playbook to reference. With all the upheaval, each one of us faces challenges and sorrows; life will not be the same again. Our only option is to find ways to adjust and grow and find stable footing in the One who holds every tear and hears every cry. This introductory conversation parses out two aspects of the current pandemic. First, there is the pandemic itself and all the ways we’ve had to alter our lives because of it. Second, there is the social phenomenon and how the changes we’re forced to make are impacting our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With spring approaching full flower, Seeing & Believing reviews a movie that's all about the passage of time and the seasons. Kim Ki-duk's critical favorite Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring is next in the South Korean movie marathon! As the film quietly unspools the story of a Buddhist monk and his young protege over the course of decades, it attempts to capture the human condition of beauty, depravity, and all. Join Wade and Kevin as they explore the film's rhythms, spiritual vision, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Believing keeps the South Korean movie marathon rolling with one of the fountainheads of South Korean cinematic history this week. Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid is often cited as one of the biggest cinematic influences on a whole generation of the nation's filmmakers. Wade and Kevin investigate a film that is simultaneously so famous in its country of origin but so little-seen in the United States. Join the guys as they experience the film's unpredictable story of an unstable housemaid who upends the lives of an ambitious music teacher and his family for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If the meaning and purpose of home wasn’t top of mind before our Go Home! series began, it certainly is now. Of course, most of that credit belongs to the worldwide spread of COVID-19. Government leaders around the world have recently initiated Shelter in Place and Safer at Home policies to flatten the coronavirus curve. And suddenly, going home—and staying there—has become THE issue of our day, regardless of your gender, religious camp, or philosophical stance.

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode of the series explored the common assumptions regarding the home, both in the church and in society. This particular conversation is the series finale, giving Erin and Hannah the chance to tie together various threads from the series and their guests. Of course, the main discussion point is how the coronavirus pandemic has revealed unhealthy imbalances in how home and marketplace operate. Now that the economy is taking a hit, COVID-19 tests are hard to come by, and healthcare costs are skyrocketing, our society is being forced to face what has always been true: our culture prioritizes the economy’s well being over the very people who contribute to it. Even so, the crisis we face provides new opportunities to center our homes and families on kingdom values and priorities while also using our gifts and skills to serve as well as provide a livelihood. How do we need to adjust our priorities for home and family in the days ahead? Is it possible the marketplace can adjust for the flourishing of our families? Listen in for more on questions like these as we explore common presumptions and fallacies about home and family in this finale of the Go Home! series. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hot off the heels of Bong Joon Ho's Academy Award run, Wade and Kevin weather quarantine with the beginning of a South Korean cinema marathon. First up is Bong's 2010 film Mother, a story of murder, money, and parental obsession. The guys also offer film/TV recommendations for those who now face much more time at home. Join along with the marathon by tweeting us your thoughts about Mother and Bong Joon Ho's other work on Twitter at @SeeBelievePOD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If home is truly where your story starts, then our family members are the characters that make the story come to life. Every family has its own narrative, its own way of functioning and operating together. Those patterns profoundly affect us, for good and for ill. And sometimes, even long after leaving our childhood home, those family ties can even bind us a bit too tightly, causing us to live in ways we’d love to be free from. Home is where our story begins, but home sweet home isn’t always the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guys explore more family-friendly realms in this week's episode! First up is Pixar's riff on fantasy tropes, Dungeons & Dragons, and fraternal bonding, the colorful Onward. Equally colorful is Autumn de Wilde's take on Jane Austen's airy Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the matchmaking socialite who faces a romantic reckoning of sorts when a match goes wrong. Do these movies offer quality escapism for turbulent times, or do they leave something to be desired? Listen and find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does our perception of home affect the way we go about our work? One way is by adopting marketplace values and priorities and yielding our home life to achieve those ends—often to the detriment of our home life. The fallout of elevating the market above all else can even be seen in companies founded as an alternative to the traditional workplace, such as multilevel marketing businesses. A few weeks ago, news broke about the financial and operational difficulties at LuLaRoe, a women’s clothing company offering its consultants the opportunity to work from home. Because LuLaRoe consultants are primarily women, this business is presented as a way for them to build their own business on their own time. In reality, consultants report the impossible grind and monetary investment required to achieve success. Here again, home bows to the almighty dollar and the pursuit of the American Dream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two women filmmakers are highlighted on the show this week! First up is Celine Sciamma, whose critically acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire has finally had its wide release. Do Wade and Kevin fall within the critical consensus on this one? Another acclaimed filmmaker, Dee Rees of Mudbound fame, offers her follow-up to that film with another Netflix release, an adaptation of Joan Didion's political thriller The Last Thing He Wanted. Music interlude by the Bright Skies, "Tokyo." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When John MacArthur told Beth Moore to “go home,” it revealed much about his framework for how the church and home should operate and who is responsible for each sphere. This perspective seems to see the spheres as quite separate. The church has a purpose and a mission, and the home has a purpose and a mission, but those only overlap because the biological family is the building block for both. But what if this framework undercuts the church as the family of God with brothers and sisters working together to build it?

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode of the series explores the common assumptions regarding the home, both in the church and in society. This particular conversation centers on the family of God and the relationships we have with each other as spiritual siblings. Certainly the biological family is important and needed for stable homes and societies. Within the church, however, the biological family is to yield to something greater: our church family. To help sort out this distinction, Erin and Hannah invite Laura Fabrycky to the conversation. Laura has immersed herself into the missional life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who saw the spheres of church and home as united in both purpose and operation. Bonhoeffer’s vision for the church operating as the family of God in the world is refreshing in light of the Go Home mandate. What does it look like to make the family of God primary? How did Bonhoeffer’s perspective of home and mission inspire his relationships and work? How did Jesus respond when the crowds elevated His biological family above the family of God? Conversation touches on questions like these, exploring common presumptions and fallacies in an attempt to find our way home. Listen to the latest episode in the Go Home! series, then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After weeks of agonizingly paring their favorite films of the past decade down to a list of ten, Wade and Kevin are finally ready to share what they think are the finest examples of cinematic art to come out since 2010. Which films most closely captured the zeitgeist from this eventful decade? How did the guys weigh them against personal favorites? All those questions, and more, are answered in this long-in-the-making episode. Music interlude by Wayne John Bradley, "Blessed." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dissect the notion that families are under attack. Many a Christian leader has presented evidence of this war, pointing to everything from Hollywood films to dual income families to divorce rates. They discuss the possibility that these issues are not causing the breakdown of the family but are instead a response to something that has already happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The guys are back on the comic-book beat this week! Harley Quinn isn't exactly a superhero or a super-villain in Cathy Yan's Birds of Prey, but the Margot Robbie-starring film still looks to have some anarchic fun. On the more serious side of things is Horse Girl, the Sundance-featured film (written by and starring Alison Brie) about a disturbed young woman trying to find solid footing in a life filled with difficulties. Music interlude by Scurvy Rickets, "Breaks Upon." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 25 is back for 2020 with a different format (and possibly a different title?). Host Jonathan Clauson returns with guests Kaitlyn Schiess and Tyler Burns. Starting the show with a brief recap of the biggest events in January 2020, we go deep on the death of Kobe Bryant and how that impacts the conversation around #metoo, the black community, and the "white gaze" around the death of Kobe and other prominent figures in the black community. We also talk about the Iowa Caucus (not the fiasco) and how the turn around and the emerging ways in which the younger generations approach voting, canvassing, and using the social media outlets to be involved in the democratic process.

Theme music by Lee Rosevere and used under CCLI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can’t think about home without thinking about the people in it. Our most formative and important relationships are rooted here, an inextricable part of what we conceive of when we think about home. In our modern society, home is most often associated with the nuclear family: parents and children. This modern conception isn’t the only framework available to us, however, nor does it provide home for all people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's an episode of dynamic duos this week! Director Os Perkins follows up his horror flick The Blackcoat's Daughter with Gretel and Hansel, a dark reimagining of the Grimm brothers' (already pretty dark) fairy tale about two intrepid youngsters and an evil witch. The guys also take some time to hang out with two of St. Peter's successors with their review of The Two Popes, the acting showcase that nabbed its stars, Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins, two Oscar nominations. Music interlude by madbello, "Tonight." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our understanding of home affects everything about us, both individually and collectively. Home is vital to us all, but determining its value in a market-based society is fraught with troubles. Salary.com has attempted to help by giving stay-at-home-moms (or dads) a $160K valuation. The intent is to elevate the status of the home maker by giving it a professional-level salary. Our need for the marketplace to validate our home life tells us more than we may care to admit. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into their new series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way. Each episode will explore the common assumptions regarding the home and both in the church and in society. This conversation centers on home making—looking at the value we place on domestic life and the building of the home as the calling and vocation of us all. The church has tried to value the home by assigning it as women’s work. By claiming the home as the woman’s place and home making as a woman’s highest calling, the church initiates an unnecessary and unhelpful hierarchy that negates the varied experiences of women. In so doing, the church has sidestepped the role men play in home making and has assessed value according to marketplace standards. Is it possible to establish a vision for the home that is separate from cultural influences, both in the church and in the marketplace? How can we better approach the needful and important work of home making so that both women and men are fulfilling their proper role there? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a new episode of Seeing & Believing, innit? The guys review The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie's return to the "verbose Cockney gangsters" genre. Is it a triumphant return? Also on the docket: Makoto Shinkai's animated follow-up to his trans-Pacific hit Your Name. Weathering with You is another teen romance, this time centering around a runaway and his relationship with a young woman who possesses the supernatural ability to control the weather. Music interlude by Bu, "Wind." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Disagreements within the church are often and many, and in today’s digital age, that drama often spills out to the interwebs. Last fall, one in particular dominated Christian social feeds for several weeks that included Pastor John MacArthur and Bible teacher Beth Moore. It all started when MacArthur, as part of a panel discussion, was asked to play word association and was given Beth’s name. His two-word reply—“Go home.”—was met by laughter from the crowd and followed by his argument for why Beth (and all who listen to her) are in biblical error. As the clip of his comments made the social media rounds, it sparked afresh the debate over a woman’s place and role in society, within the church, and in the home. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a new series titled Go Home! Finding Our Way to explore the common assumptions regarding the home and both in the church and in society. The way that we frame our definitions of home will shape how we operate in the world as well as in society and within our own families. It’s crucial that we parse out what contributes to our perspective, because that will inform the narrative of the stories we tell—and the ones we live out day to day. Even if we agree with MacArthur’s mandate, what does that mean, practically speaking? How does this directive affect men and women not only in the home but also in the church, in the workplace, in society? Where does our concept of home come from, and is it possible for it to be perfectly sanitized from cultural influence? Conversation touches on questions like these as an introduction to the series. As we explore our definitions and categories that influence our sense of home, we can better process our reactions to mandates like the one given by MacArthur and determine our reaction to women like Beth Moore who are challenging our preconceived notions of proper church structure. Listen in for dialogue on topics like these in the entire Go Home! series, then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We round out our coverage of the big Oscar players with this week's episode. First up is the World War I epic 1917, which has been wowing audiences by presenting all of its action as one single, unbroken take. Then Wade and Kevin take on Bombshell, which netted acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Charlize Theron for their portrayal of journalists fighting back against the harassment of disgraced Fox News head Roger Ailes. Are these two films worthy of the accolades they've been receiving?

Theme music by Alexander Osborn and Lindsey Mysse. Used under Creative Commons license 3.0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Erin Staza returns this week, along with Kevin McLenithan, K. B. Hoyle, Tyler Burns, Kathryn Freeman, and Tyler Glodjo to solidify The 25 for 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin have spent the last year watching movies, and now they're ready to share which ones they thought were the cream of the crop. With fellow critics Jeffrey Overstreet, Joel Mayward, Sarah Welch-Larson, and Steve Norton sharing their own number-one picks, the guys close out 2019 with a bang in this can't-miss episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The staff at CaPC sit down to shape the Christ and Pop Culture Top 25 cultural artifacts from 2019 that celebrate the good, the true, and the beautiful in pop culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ring in the New Year (a couple of days late) with a new Seeing & Believing! This week, Wade and Kevin review a couple of films that had Christmas releases. Greta Gerwig's Little Women adapts Louisa May Alcott's much-adapted novel; does her perspective set her film apart from the crowd? Meanwhile, Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems casts Adam Sandler as a self-destructive jeweler who takes the audience on a tour of his attempts to score big, pay off his debts, and pull the wool over everyone's eyes. The guys contemplate whether Sandler's Oscar hopes are justified and whether the film provides roller-coaster thrills or just roller-coaster nausea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode features conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating the season. The first two episodes—A Hallmark Christmas and A Die Hard Christmas—cover all things merry and scary, yet in unrealistic narratives. This installment cuts through the make believe to reveal some truths about our current culture that couldn’t be received otherwise. This animated show is devoid of adults, leaving the Peanuts gang—mere children—to do the heavy lifting. And they deliver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is the end of an era as Wade and Kevin visit a galaxy far, far away to see the end of the Skywalker saga with J.J. Abram's return to Star Wars with The Rise of Skywalker. Then the duo takes a short hop back in time to examine the docu-drama from director Clint Eastwood Richard Jewel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every holiday season, a heated debate renews over the validity of calling the 1988 movie Die Hard a “Christmas movie.” The action-thriller is about a terrorist plot that takes place on Christmas Eve and is foiled by its hero, played by Bruce Willis. Technically, since the story takes place on Christmas Eve, it is a Christmas movie. The pushback is that it doesn’t have the typical seasonal elements viewers associate with Christmas: no magical/fantastical North Pole, no Santa and reindeer, no kids or elves. But it does have something threatening Christmas and our notions of peace on earth and goodwill toward men—a threat that takes on a real-world form rather than a magical one. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode features conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating the season. The first conversation, A Hallmark Christmas, covered our desire for goodness and predictability at Christmas. This installment begins with a discussion about the Christmas Spirit and how we’ve leaned hard into the merry-and-bright aspect of the season, almost to a fault. That’s why the nontraditional Christmas film Die Hard gets so much grief—it forces viewers to see the world for all it is—both good and evil, and evil doesn’t stop just because the calendar says December 25. Erin and Hannah use the Die Hard story to launch discussion about Christmas-like films that present realistic terrors. How does the action-thriller genre depict a more realistic backdrop for the Messiah’s birth? Why do we long to sanitize the nativity scene and the Christmas narrative? When we refuse to acknowledge the very real terror and brokenness in the world today, how does that weaken the rescue Jesus provides? Conversation covers everything from the historical backdrop of Jesus’ birth to the definition of the Christmas Spirit. Listen in for dialogue on topics like these for the Christmas mini-series, then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Noah Baumbach's new film about a wrenching divorce carries the title Marriage Story, but the new film from Terrence Malick could be titled the same thing, with its narrative of an Austrian couple facing down burgeoning nationalism in their rural village and governmental oppression from the Nazis. Wade and Kevin tackle Malick's latest, probing at its spiritual explorations and discussing Malick's unique moral vision. They then relocate to sunny, modern-day California and its abundant open spaces for a discussion of Baumbach's film, examining what it has to say about family, divorce, fidelity, and understanding.

Music interlude by Jack Nash, "Under the Tracks." Used under Creative Commons license 3.0. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christmas cards, gift wrap, ornaments, decor—Hallmark certainly has a corner on Christmas. But in the past few years, Hallmark has practically owned the Christmas romance space. Its annual Countdown to Christmas begins in late October, when a new film rolls out each day for 40 days and previously released films play 24/7. Hallmark Christmas movies are extremely popular to watch—and to mock for their formulaic, saccharine-sweet plot lines. Even fans readily admit the stories are predictable. But is that all bad?

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson start a new mini-series called A Persuasion Christmas. Each episode will feature conversation about a specific way pop culture is shaping our mindset and approach to celebrating Christmas. This first discussion focuses on the heavy influence of Hallmark-type movies upon those who love them and those who love to hate them. How might such predictable stories point us to all that’s good and true and beautiful? Are such movies only an escape from a world desperate for something deep? Is it possible that these movies might actually strip us of cynicism if we allow them to? Conversation covers everything from Hallmark’s formula for success with its presumed audience and the possibility that Hallmark might be the spiritual director we need right now. Listen in for dialogue on topics like these in the kick off for this Christmas mini-series, then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a few weeks in theaters, Martin Scorsese's latest magnum opus is streaming on Netflix, and the guys are on the case. They examine where The Irishman falls in Scorsese's body of work and discuss the themes that arise in its story of regretful mobsters. Another awards-season hopeful, Trey Edward Shults's Waves, gets the Seeing & Believing treatment as well. Does Shults's story of an black family dealing with ambition, tragedy, and relational pressure sink or swim? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with movies about dysfunctional families and the legacy of colonialism? Rian Johnson's crowd-pleasing whodunit Knives Out is first on the chopping block this week—can it live up to its star-studded cast and the promise of a throwback mystery? Johnson's film is followed by a sequel to the movie that launched a thousand memes and childhood singalongs: Frozen 2. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff are back for another adventure, this time in an enchanted forest that contains mysterious secrets from Elsa and Anna's past. Wade and Kevin dig into the songs, the ice powers, and the story of the follow-up to one of the biggest animated films of the decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with movies about dysfunctional families and the legacy of colonialism? Rian Johnson's crowd-pleasing whodunit Knives Out is first on the chopping block this week—can it live up to its star-studded cast and the promise of a throwback mystery? Johnson's film is followed by a sequel to the movie that launched a thousand memes and childhood singalongs: Frozen 2. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, and Kristoff are back for another adventure, this time in an enchanted forest that contains mysterious secrets from Elsa and Anna's past. Wade and Kevin dig into the songs, the ice powers, and the story of the follow-up to one of the biggest animated films of the decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mister Rogers mania continues into 2019, as the Tom Hanks-starring A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood hits theaters this weekend. Seeing and Believing reviews Marielle Heller's new film and adds an interview with Joanne Rogers herself into the bargain. Wade and Ms. Rogers chat about what it was like to have known and loved the remarkable Fred Rogers, as well as see the outpouring of interest in him after his death. The guys then turn to something a little faster-paced, James Mangold's Ford v. Ferrari. Does the Matt Damon/Christian Bale film satisfy Wade and Kevin's need for speed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pursuing the creative life in the digital age offers plenty of new opportunities and its fair share of challenges. The ease with which digital platforms allow us to reach our audience and share our work breaks down entry barriers that used to keep creators and makers isolated and unnoticed. But that easy access goes both ways—artists are now forced to install security measures for personal safety and carve out quiet spaces for proper development of their craft Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin continue exploring the supernatural with the novel/movie sequel Doctor Sleep along with indie darling, Light From Light. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A common struggle among artists of every genre is finding a way to connect their work with the a wider audience. Finding a way to increase reach and impact is often associated with knowing the right people and having enough funding… and neither of these are a given, even for the most talented creatives among us. The digital age gives us greater access to markets and outlets, but that doesn’t mean the right people will find us or take notice.

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson continue their series called The Creative Process by inviting Erik Lokkesmoe to a conversation about marketing reach and impact in creative work. Erik’s passion for spreading great stories and finding ways to promote good storytellers led him to launch Aspiration Entertainment, a marketing company that has worked on many films including Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Silence, and First Reformed. Because Erik has a knack for improving the reach and impact of good work, we’ve invited him to share ideas for being good stewards of the work we produce. Conversation covers everything from a theology of marketing to abandoning the transactional nature of our work. Listen in for dialogue on issues like these as we process the role of reach and impact in the creative process, then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Believing wades into Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit, set in Nazi Germany, and The Lighthouse, from the director of the The Witch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Persuasion, Erin and Hannah continue The Creative Process series with Mike Cosper talking about productivity in creative work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Critic Ryan Holt returns to the show to help Kevin explore the bonkers plot of Parasite and Wade sits down with Wired senior writer Brian Raftery Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Angelina Jolie returns in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, and Wade and Kevin also offer their first-time impressions of 1973's classic, The Exorcist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Persuasion has a guest! Sara Groves joins us for a conversation about the role and importance of authenticity as part of our series The Creative Process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seeing & Beleiving is seeing double this week with Ang Lee's Gemini Man starring Will Smith and Vince Gilligan's El Camino starring Aaron Paul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Persuasion has a guest! Helen Lee joins us for a conversation about voice development, reaching your audience, and handling rejection as part of our series The Creative Process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin take a look at Todd Philips' Joker to see what all the controversy is about. They also offer their review Takashi Miike's First Love. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Persuasion has a guest! Kendall Vanderslice joins us for a conversation about time constraints, consumption, and investing the hours needed to hone your craft as part of our series The Creative Process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade & Kevin review Renée Zellweger's Oscar bid this year with Judy Garland in Judy along with indie darling, The Peanut Butter Falcon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you make space for creative work? Artist Michelle Radford joins Erin and Hannah for a conversation about making room for the creative life in this episode of The Creative Process series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade and Kevin tackle two big spiritually themed projects: James Gray's Ad Astra and HBO's The Righteous Gemstones. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Persuasion is back! Erin and Hannah kick off a new series of episodes called The Creative Process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kevin is back with Wade to review The Goldfinch from director Donna Tartt. They then list their top 5 Fall/Winter movies for 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wade is joined by Blake Collier to review "It Chapter 2" and a retro review of "The Dead Zone". It's all things Stephen King on Episode 216. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices