Ben Smithee In this episode, I speak with good mate, Entrepreneur and CEO of the Smithee Group, Ben Smithee. We discuss the ideas around calling, vocation, creativity, and mentoring. Ben is based in New York City and married to Nicole. Ben’s firm, The Smithee Group, seeks ‘to inspire and encourage people to create generational success’. Ben’s personal vision is framed around three key insights: Honor God; Serve people; and Steward capital. Shaped around three realities Ben seeks to...

Lalitha Stables: In this episode, we take a more personal and vulnerable approach to public theology, thinking well, and the experiences that shape who we are, where we’re going, and who we’re becoming.  Recently, I spoke with good friend and Tech Executive, Lalitha Stables about cultural change, leadership, the tech industry, and the church. In a more personalized approach Lalitha and I unpack the theological dissonance that exists in many faith-based communities. Dissonance that has led...

Andre Henry:   Recently, I spoke with good friend and social organizer Andre Henry about whiteness, militant non-violence, faith, and Bob Marley. We discussed the current landscape here in the US around violence, the growing problem of white Christian nationalism, and the power of organizing people for social change.   Andre was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia – an epicenter of America’s civil rights struggle. He is an award-winning singer-songwriter fanning the flames of...

Podcast Synopsis: Dr. Howard C. Stevenson: The Racial Dance.   Recently, I spoke with Dr Howard Stevenson about racial literacy, prayer and protest, and the psychology of proximity. We discussed the integration of his work as a psychologist within the frame racial threat, the need for racial socialization, and how people deal with situations of racial threat.   Dr. Howard Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, in the Human...

Creativity and the Creative Process.   Recently, I spoke with Anna McGahan about creativity, the creative process, and imagination. We explore creativity in community, her creative process as an element of flow, and the role narratives play in our lives as humans. We recognize that all people are ‘creatives’ and discuss the creative mandate that exists in each and every one of us and how we find peace in our creative process.   Anna is an actor, author, poet and screenwriter, whose...

How to Think in Public. Recently, I spoke with Professor Stackhouse about Epistemology, Critical Theory, and Christian Ethics. We explored the nature of thinking and how, through history, people have shifted their acquisition of knowledge away from communities towards a high individualized frame of the self. In this conversation, Professor Stackhouse critiques public discourse as we explore not only what we think, but also how we think.   John is the author of ten books, the editor of...

All Suffering is Sacred. How do you engage with the process of suffering, trauma, and despair in a healthy way? I spoke with Dr. Kathleen O’Connor, Professor of Old Testament, Emerita, at Columbia Theological Seminary and explored with her how people in the Bible respond to disaster and suffering and engage in the necessary work of processing and recovering from personal crisis or collective catastrophe via the process of lament.   Dr O’Connor has written a number of books: Jeremiah: Pain...