Public theology. Human flourishing. The good life.
To prepare for family dinners and political conversations this holiday season, two guests offer us new ways of being humble and curious.
First, well-known thinker and author Malcolm Gladwell reveals why we must learn humility if we are to understand each other. “Humility is a habit,” he says. “Habit is a really important word, because if it's a habit, it means it's something that you have to practice.” Then, former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith offers powerful poems that invite us to acknowledge the full, complex, and beautiful worth of the human beings we encounter.
In this episode, listen closely for multiple ways we can cultivate humility, be curious, and have compassion despite our disagreements and differences.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Wade in the Water: Poems" by Tracy K. Smith
Similar NSE episodes:
Malcolm Gladwell: Becoming Malcolm
Tracy K. Smith and Marie Howe: Poetry as Politics
Thanksgiving Special: Conversation and Gratitude
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This is our unabridged interview with Kathryn Gin Lum.
When is the last time you heard the word “heathen”? The word was originally used to delineate between European Christians who tended to be in urban centers and pagans in rural areas.
“Heathen exists in the mind of the person doing the labeling, right? It's a label that one people foists onto another.”
Our guest today, Kathryn Gin Lum, walks us through the history of the term heathen and how it has utterly shaped the world. We discuss her book Heathen: Religion and Race in American History. The idea behind the term was wielded as a weapon to justify colonization and enslavement, and though the term has fallen out of use, she says the mental map of the world it has created has not.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Heathen: Religion and Race in American History" by Kathryn Gin Lum
"The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)" by Toni Morrison
Similar NSE episodes:
Willie James Jennings: The Christian Imagination
Eugene Cho Karen Korematsu: Fear, Home and the Asian-American Experience
Transcript of Abridged Interview
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
When is the last time you heard the word “heathen”? The word was originally used to delineate between European Christians who tended to be in urban centers and pagans in rural areas.
“Heathen exists in the mind of the person doing the labeling, right? It's a label that one people foists onto another.”
Our guest today, Kathryn Gin Lum, walks us through the history of the term heathen and how it has utterly shaped the world. We discuss her book Heathen: Religion and Race in American History. The idea behind the term was wielded as a weapon to justify colonization and enslavement, and though the term has fallen out of use, she says the mental map of the world it has created has not.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Heathen: Religion and Race in American History" by Kathryn Gin Lum
"The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)" by Toni Morrison
Similar NSE episodes:
Willie James Jennings: The Christian Imagination
Eugene Cho and Karen Korematsu: Fear, Home and the Asian-American Experience
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This is our unabridged interview with Tim Shriver.
On social media and the news, the narrative told about humanity is often one of violence, division, and dehumanization. But is that really who we are?
Tim Shriver, best-selling author and chairman of the Special Olympics, doesn’t think so. “My view,” he says, “is that the versions of our lives that most of us lead most days are much more hopeful.”
As the nephew of John F. Kennedy, Tim has known great privilege and great grief. As an educator and social worker, he has seen the countless ways that humans defy stereotypes and give grace and hope to one another. In this episode, he talks about why his life and career have led him to the conclusion that the key to a happy life is to live it for the flourishing of others.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most" by Tim Shriver
Similar NSE episodes:
Greg Boyle: Cherished Belonging
Martin Sheen: Actor and Activist
Ben Cohen: Peace, Justice, Ice Cream
Transcript of Abridged Episode
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
On social media and the news, the narrative told about humanity is often one of violence, division, and dehumanization. But is that really who we are?
Tim Shriver, best-selling author and chairman of the Special Olympics, doesn’t think so. “My view,” he says, “is that the versions of our lives that most of us lead most days are much more hopeful.”
As the nephew of John F. Kennedy, Tim has known great privilege and great grief. As an educator and social worker, he has seen the countless ways that humans defy stereotypes and give grace and hope to one another. In this episode, he talks about why his life and career have led him to the conclusion that the key to a happy life is to live it for the flourishing of others.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most" by Tim Shriver
Similar NSE episodes:
Greg Boyle: Cherished Belonging
Martin Sheen: Actor and Activist
Ben Cohen: Peace, Justice, Ice Cream
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This is our unabridged interview with Philip Mangano.
Is homelessness a problem that can be solved?
Historically, efforts made to address homelessness in the US have taken a symptom-management approach, focusing on soup kitchens, clothing drives, and medical programs. But these well-intentioned efforts often have a paradoxical effect: over time, they end up serving more and more homeless people, rather than reducing the number of those unhoused.
In this episode, Philip Mangano describes his longtime effort to approach homelessness in a new way. “I took the abolitionist frame,” he says of his renowned Housing-First Initiative. “People were homeless, so the antidote must be a place to live.”
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins
"The Innovator’s Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen
Similar NSE episodes:
Malcolm Gladwell: Becoming Malcolm
Charlie Strobel: Remembering a Life Well Lived
Musa al-Gharbi: We Have Never Been Woke
James Lawson: The Architect of the United States Civil Rights Movement
Transcript of Abridged Episode
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Is homelessness a problem that can be solved?
Historically, efforts made to address homelessness in the US have taken a symptom-management approach, focusing on soup kitchens, clothing drives, and medical programs. But these well-intentioned efforts often have a paradoxical effect: over time, they end up serving more and more homeless people, rather than reducing the number of those unhoused.
In this episode, Philip Mangano describes his longtime effort to approach homelessness in a new way. “I took the abolitionist frame,” he says of his renowned Housing-First Initiative. “People were homeless, so the antidote must be a place to live.”
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins
"The Innovator’s Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen
Similar NSE episodes:
Malcolm Gladwell: Becoming Malcolm
Charlie Strobel: Remembering a Life Well Lived
Musa al-Gharbi: We Have Never Been Woke
James Lawson: The Architect of the United States Civil Rights Movement
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This is our unabridged interview with Christian Wiman.
“Suffering, I think, catalyzes an intimacy that couldn't happen otherwise.”
Christian Wiman, renowned poet and teacher at Yale Divinity School, does not say these words flippantly. Two decades ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given a life expectancy of five years. He has lived the past twenty years in the shadow of death and the grip of despair.
In this episode, while discussing his recent memoir “Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair,” Christian explores faith, doubt, joy, and sorrow in the way only a great poet can, taking the stuff of life - the mundane, confusing, chaotic, and tragic - and making meaning out of it.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Zero at the Bone" by Christian Wiman
"My Bright Abyss" by Christian Wiman
Similar NSE episodes:
Christian Wiman: The Opposite of Faith is Certainty
Pádraig Ó Tuama: A Poet’s Work in Peace and Reconciliation
Clay Hobbs: The Wisdom of Numbering Your Days
Angela Williams Gorrell and Miroslav Volf: On Joy and Sorrow
Transcript of Abridged Episode
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
“Suffering, I think, catalyzes an intimacy that couldn't happen otherwise.”
Christian Wiman, renowned poet and teacher at Yale Divinity School, does not say these words flippantly. Two decades ago, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and given a life expectancy of five years. He has lived the past twenty years in the shadow of death and the grip of despair.
In this episode, while discussing his recent memoir “Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair,” Christian explores faith, doubt, joy, and sorrow in the way only a great poet can, taking the stuff of life - the mundane, confusing, chaotic, and tragic - and making meaning out of it.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"Zero at the Bone" by Christian Wiman
"My Bright Abyss" by Christian Wiman
Similar NSE episodes:
Christian Wiman: The Opposite of Faith is Certainty
Pádraig Ó Tuama: A Poet’s Work in Peace and Reconciliation
Clay Hobbs: The Wisdom of Numbering Your Days
Angela Williams Gorrell and Miroslav Volf: On Joy and Sorrow
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
This is our unabridged interview with Russell Moore and David French.
For the last decade of American political discourse, both the Left and the Right have each been developing fierce tribalism, in which it is increasingly costly for one to wage critique at one’s own group. Threats of canceling, doxing, and worse are everyday occurrences for those who speak out of step with their party.
Russell Moore and David French have been in the dangerous business of insider critique for a while. As conservative Christians, their criticism of the Right (specifically of Donald Trump) has cost them friends, careers, and safety.
In this episode, they discuss why they continue to do the work they do, offering insight on the landscape of politics and religion, and how we might re-frame the way we do discourse.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics"
Similar NSE episodes:
Tim Alberta: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
Kristin Du Mez Sits with David French
David French: Conservatism Without Trumpism
Russell Moore: Against, and For, the Tribe
Transcript of Abridged Episode
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
For the last decade of American political discourse, both the Left and the Right have each been developing fierce tribalism, in which it is increasingly costly for one to wage critique at one’s own group. Threats of canceling, doxing, and worse are everyday occurrences for those who speak out of step with their party.
Russell Moore and David French have been in the dangerous business of insider critique for a while. As conservative Christians, their criticism of the Right (specifically of Donald Trump) has cost them friends, careers, and safety.
In this episode, they discuss why they continue to do the work they do, offering insight on the landscape of politics and religion, and how we might re-frame the way we do discourse.
Show Notes
Resources mentioned this episode:
"The After Party: Toward Better Christian Politics"
Similar NSE episodes:
Tim Alberta: The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
Kristin Du Mez Sits with David French
David French: Conservatism Without Trumpism
Russell Moore: Against, and For, the Tribe
Want more NSE? JOIN NSE+ Today! Our subscriber only community with bonus episodes designed specifically to help you live a good life, ad-free listening, and discounts on live shows
Subscribe to episodes: Apple | Spotify | Amazon | Google | YouTube
Follow Us: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Follow Lee: Instagram | Twitter
Join our Email List: nosmallendeavor.com
See Privacy Policy: Privacy Policy
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: Tokens Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Your feedback is valuable to us. Should you encounter any bugs, glitches, lack of functionality or other problems, please email us on [email protected] or join Moon.FM Telegram Group where you can talk directly to the dev team who are happy to answer any queries.