The Two Cities

In this episode, we debrief our time in Boston at SBL 2025. We discuss some of our highlights from the conferences, including our favorite papers and panels, and we took the mics around the book stalls for some impromptu interviews with (in order of appearance): Dr. Eva Puschautz, Prof. James McGrath, Dr. Andy Judd, Dr. Chris Fresch, Kent Hendricks, Dr. Emily Bruff, Dr. Jason Staples, Dr. Teresa McCaskill, Prof. Sean Adams, Dr. Erin Heim, and Dr. Hannah Craven. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Sydney Tooth.

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Grace Hamman, who is an independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing, and is the author of Jesus through Medieval Eyes as well as the book that we’re discussing in this episode, Ask of Old Paths: Medieval Virtues and Vices for a Whole and Holy Life (published by Zondervan). Over the course of our conversation, we talk about the medieval understanding of virtues and vices, how they were categorized, and how they influenced medieval moral reasoning, and we learn how there's a lot that we could learn from Christians back then for our lives today. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.

In this episode, we're joined by Tim Dixon, who is the co-founder of More in Common, an organization that works to build stronger and more inclusive democratic societies that are resilient to the threats of populism and division. In our conversation, we discuss political polarization and perceptions of "the other side's" willingness to perpetuate violence for political purposes. Tim shares with us how his work has been to humanize the perspectives of other people with political views that differ from our own. As he illustrates, the data shows that we're all much more aligned than we normally think. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

In this episode, we're joined by Professor Greg Carey, who is Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theology Seminary and Moravian Theological Seminary, and the author of the book that we’re discussing in this episode: Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance (published by Eerdmans). In our conversation we talk about the meaning of Revelation in the light of its historical and cultural context, but also in the light of our contemporary contexts, especially in the United States, with its unique political and social situation. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Kris Song.

In this episode we're joined by Professor Mark Goodacre, who is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University and the author of The Fourth Synoptic Gospel: John’s Knowledge of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (published by Eerdmans). In this episode we discuss Prof. Goodacre's thesis that John knew and used each of the Synoptic Gospels. We consider how NT scholarship came to view John as independent of the Synoptic, matters of dating and how that affects the thesis, as well as alternative proposals. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, and Dr. Logan Williams.

In this episode we're joined by Professor Brandon Grafius, who is academic dean and professor of biblical studies at Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan, and he’s the author of several works on religion and horror, including the book that we’re excited to talk about in this episode, Scared by the Bible: The Roots of Horror in Scripture (published by Morehouse publishing). We discuss horrifying images in the Bible and how different sub-genres of horror films can help us think through the function and meaning of various stories in the Bible and what the terror might be doing rhetorically. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, and Rev. Dr. Christopher Porter.

In this episode, we're celebrating our 300th episode, which means that this episode is full of listener comments and questions, our responses to those questions, several examples of bloopers over the past two years, new music for the next 100 episodes, some exciting announcements and updates from the team, and the names of the winners of our nine book-bundle giveaways!Many thanks to publishing partners: Baylor University Press, Eerdmans, IVP UK (Apollos), Wipf & Stock, Zondervan, and the Pop Culture and Theology series.Team members on the episode from The Two Cities includes: Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Warne Adishian, Dr. Amber Bowen, Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Dr. Grace Emmett, Jennifer Guo, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Stephanie Kate Judd, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Rev. Dr. Madison Pierce, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song, Dr. Sydney Tooth, and Dr. Logan Williams.Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we celebrate the release of our very own Dr. John Anthony Dunne’s new book on wine in the Bible as we conclude our series on alcohol in the Bible and Jewish/Christian traditions. As we talk about the topic of wine and beer in the Bible, John shares many stories with us about his interests in wine and beer, his family background and upbringing, his experience making beer and volunteering at a vineyard, and why he was interested in writing about his topic. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Rev. Dr. Josh Carroll, Dr. Brandon Hurlbert, Dr. Grace Sangalang Ng, Stanley Ng, Rev. Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Kris Song.

CW: Adult themes and language. In this episode we're joined by Professor Edward Slingerland, who is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, and the author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization (published by Little, Brown Spark). In this conversation we discuss the role of alcohol relationally in the development of society through deepening trust and cooperation between people. Our conversation focuses on alcohol from its original developments on through to the present. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. Josh Carroll and Dr. John Anthony Dunne.