
Theology with Baby Groot
I was the guest on an episode of God and Comics where Fr. Jonathan, Fr. Matt, Fr. Kyle, and I discussed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. We talked about the film's humor and its depiction of surrogate space families. We went in-depth into the theology of Ego the Living Planet, a character who claims a god-like mantle for himself. Does he represent inaccurate images of god in the popular imagination? Or pagan ideas of gods as scaled-up humans? Possibly the only podcas

Logan’s Crown of Thorns
In the second segment of this First Things podcast, my wife Leah and I sit down with Julia Yost to discuss the film Logan and what is says about faith, fatherhood, and the evolution of the superhero genre. We talk about the way the Western-influenced film depicts superheroes not a power fantasies but as broken people trying to do good. Hear why we think this was a moving last hurrah for Hugh Jackman and Wolverine. Listen to the segment at 21:27 in the track below: #Podcast #F

Silence and Sherlock
At First Things, I'm featured on both segments of this podcast. In the first segment, I talk about Silence (the book and the film) with Julia Yost. In the second segment, Leah and I join Julia to discuss the BBC's Sherlock, and the ways it went wrong by making its world too small—we end by imagining what guest star from a different author's detective stories could help cure the increasingly solipsistic world of Sherlock. Listen to the whole podcast below: #Podcast #FirstThin

Jack Chick’s Nightmare Theology
Just in time for Halloween, I discussed the "scared-straight"-style evangelical tracts by the late artist Jack Chick. What made these grotesque propagandistic comics such a staple of American Christian culture? What are we to make of Chick's rabid anti-Catholic fear-mongering—and his opposition to trick-or-treating and playing Dungeons & Dragons? I sit down with Julia Yost on the First Things podcast to dissect Chick's legacy. You can hear our segment starting at the 18:30 ma

Masculinity and Altar Serving
I was a guest on EWTN's Morning Glory radio program, discussing masculinity, serving as an acolyte, and Donald Trump's so-called "locker room talk." Hear me discuss my formative male role models and how altar serving represents a similar source of esprit de corps to organized sports—and how training up young men should have to do with the responsible use of fire. You can find my segment at the end of the embedded podcast, starting at the 46:50 mark. #Podcast #Theology #Charac

In Defense of Pokémon Go
I bring together my arguments in favor of Pokémon Go when I appear on Zach and Sally Crippen's show Vernacular to defend the game against the critiques they'd previously leveled at it. Listen to our discussion on the podcast here, in the second segment of Season 4, Episode 4. #Podcast #Vernacular #Games #Technology #Urbanism

Civil War, Civil Liberties
In my first appearance on the God and Comics podcast, I chat with Fr. Jonathan, Fr. Matt, and Fr. Kyle about Captain America: Civil War and the questions it raises about law and morality. When should we defy the edicts of our government? How does Captain America relate to Martin Luther King, Jr.? Listen to the podcast here #Podcast #GodandComics #Film #Superheroes