In this, our third bonus episode for 2020, Kyle and Daniel talk about what they are learning from the COVID-19 Lockdown. 

Note that this episode was recorded on April 30, 2020. Since that time there have arisen plenty of issues that Daniel and Kyle would have loved to have mentioned or talked about, including the over-abundance of conspiracy theories and, more importantly, the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide Black Lives Matters protests. As Kyle mentioned at the beginning of the episode, he and Daniel unequivocally state that Black Lives Matter. Daniel especially recommends the And Campaign’s statement for a Christian response to the killings. While two white guys talking about race would need to balanced by minority voices, an episode on racism and faith is something we would love to record in the future. 

Show Notes:

The Globe and Mail article on the Italians social life is here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-the-coronavirus-quarantine-is-social-torture-for-italians/

Here is a sample video of the Italians social distancing balcony performances: https://youtu.be/EBByYjjvNzs

The video of a theatre audience reacting to Avengers: Endgame can be found here: https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/7/21212000/watch-avengers-endgame-live-audience-reactions-captain-america-thor-hammer-iron-man

The episode from our first season about church and theatre can be found here: http://www.danielmelvilljones.com/blog/2017/6/28/the-cathedral-and-the-cinema-assumptions-season-one-episode-8

There are many articles about “Zoom Fatigue”. Here is one that Daniel found interesting: https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/a-theory-of-zoom-fatigue

Our episodes from our last season in which we interviewed Christians who live alone include “Bonus Episode: An Interview with Wesley Hill”, “Bonus Episode: An Interview with Joy Beth Smith”, and “Bonus: Interview with Barry Danylak.” Daniel specifically mentions the episode with Wesley Hill.

We mention our two last episodes: a bonus episode in which Kyle interviewed Daniel called “Love Reveals Itself” and in which Daniel interviews Kyle called “Losing Your Passion”. 

Daniel mentioned an episode of The Daily podcast that covers a coronavirus digital funeral: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-deaths-grief.html

Kyle mentioned an article about the Roaring 20s: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/i-predict-your-predictions-are-wrong/611896/

The movies Kyle describes are Misery, Witness, Sunset Boulevard, Brazil, and The Thing from Another World. You can follow Kyle on Letterboxd @thekylemarshall. 

The song Daniel described and recorded  is “I Shall Not Want” by Paul Zach and W. David O. Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKUVLy__jv4

We mention our previous season, Love in Our Times.

The two podcasts Kyle described creating are Putting It Together and Kyle and Dave vs. The Machine.

Kyle mentions Rosie O’Donnell’s live show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sePAgItK9sM

Daniel mentioned that the Greek word from which we get “apocalypse” actualy means “revealing” and here is an excellent video explaining how that works: https://youtu.be/UNDX4tUdj1Y

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsors were Park Power and Kyle’s other podcast, Kyle and David vs the Machine.

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

In this, our second bonus episode for 2020, Daniel asks Kyle about what has changed in his life. The two friends talk about how their approaches to career, creativity, legacy, and self worth are changing and growing.

Show Notes:

Kyle’s five podcasts are: 

• This podcast, Assumptions
• Creative Block
• Kyle and Dave vs The Machine
• Putting It Together
• Whatever This Is

The book on suffering that Daniel is reading is Timothy Keller’s Walking with God through Pain and Suffering.

Kyle’s business is Media Lab YYC.

Kyle’s YouTube account can be found here.

The conference Kyle attended for 10 years is VidCon.

Our last episode was a bonus episode in which Kyle interviewed Daniel is called “Love Reveals Itself.”

The artist Kyle mentions is Troye Sivan.

We mention our previous season, Love in Our Times.

The song that Daniel quotes is Your Labor is Not In Vain, recorded by The Porter’s Gate.

Kyle quotes from Roger Ebert’s reply to his review of the movie Deuce Bagalow: European Gigolo. 

Daniel quotes from Matthew 3:17: “And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Kyle quotes from John Green’s novel Turtles All the Way Down.

The book on vocation that Daniel mentions is Parker J. Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak: Listening to for the Voice of Vocation.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsors were the Park Power and Pod Power podcasts.

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

It has been a long time since we’ve sat down in front of a microphone. What have we been up to? In this bonus episode, Kyle asks about Daniel’s engagement, wedding, and marriage, with Daniel connecting the themes of Season Two to his own life. 

Daniel mentions our previous set of bonus episodes, which were released in November and December of 2017. Those episodes are called The Search for Transcendence, Daniel’s Highs and Lows, and Kyle’s Internal Struggle.

Daniel proposed to Annie on the Redwood Deck at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon.

The hymn that Daniel quotes is The Sands of Time Are Sinking.

The Steve Jobs commencement speech that Kyle refers can be found here. 

Kyle describes the films of Akira Kurosawa, many of which are found on The Criterion Channel. Kyle specifically mentions the films Seven Samurai, Ran, Yojimbo, and Rashomon. (By the way, Daniel’s favourite Kurosawa film is Ikiru.)

Kyle describes Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sunday in the Park With George and quotes from the song Move On. The book of lyrics Kyle quotes is Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. Kyle’s successful podcast on Sondheim is called Putting It Together. Kyle also quotes from the Sondheim musical Follies and the The Road You Didn't Take.

Throughout the episode we reference the themes discussed in our second season, Love in Our Times. You can find those episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

Daniel mentions Timothy and Kathy Keller’s book The Meaning of Marriage.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsor is Northwest Fest and Kyle highlights the films Scream Queen (mentioning our coverage of the film Jaws back on our episode Stories That Shape Us: Season One, Episode 2) and Angels Are Made of Light. On this episode we also highlight the podcast Let's Find Out. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

On this, the last episode of our second season, Kyle and Daniel listen to some comments and questions sent in from listeners. They discuss how social media discourages proper goodbyes, why we are good to others, and tell the story of how they became friends. 

Show Notes:

Daniel mentioned the ending of the children’s novel The Last Battle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle).

Daniel and Kyle were interviewed for patheos.com on their friendship and the origins of the podcast. We think it’s a great read and you can find it here:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rebeccaflorencemiller/2017/11/interview-christian-atheist-friends-podcast-assumptions

The Terrence Malick film Justin, Kyle, and Daniel watched was To the Wonder. Other films they watched together included the Before Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight), Home Alone, Of Gods and Men, Mighty Wind, and Her. 

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network. This week we highlighted the show That’s a Thing‽, which Kyle recently appeared on. We are also sponsored by ATBProsper.com and the podcast Otherwise.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

As we wind our way to the tail end of this season, we share feedback provided by our listeners. The questions spark conversations. We discuss what would bring us to conversion, how to understand sexual intimacy, and even masturbation. This episode also includes Kyle’s interview with Fraser Tripp.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network and this week we highlighted the Young Gaffers. This week we are also sponsored by Edmonton’s Lit Fest (use the discount code atbrocks.

Show Notes:

Our episode begins with Kyle’s interview with Fraser Tripp (https://twitter.com/frasertripp?lang=en). In that conversation Dan Savage (https://www.thestranger.com/savage-love), the Buzzfeed “I’m gay but I’m not...” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ScSlW3FCr4), and the TV Show Rosanne (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094540/). 

We briefly mention Kyle’s studio in Calgary, Media Lab YYC (https://www.medialabyyc.com).

Daniel mentioned the quote about how marriage turns strangers into families. It comes from Eugene Peterson in his book, Where Your Treasure Is, when he says “Every marriage brings two unrelated families into committed historical encounter with each other. We need to be forced out of ourselves into encounter with other sand to demonstrate with our lives that the other is an ally and not an enemy. Strangers, through the practice of adoration and detachment, become lovers. The natural rivalries that develop between people whoa re different are counters in the act of marriage and changed into alliances. Every marriage is proof that the other is not the enemy, not the rival, not the threat, but the friend, the ally, and, at best, the lover.”

The names of the three three fates in Greek mythology are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

Speaking of storytelling, our whole first season, The Stories We Tell, is dedicated to the stories that shape us.

Daniel mentioned two creeds, ancient documents that specify Christian doctrine, that provide a useful boundary as to what is Christian and what is not. If a church or denomination does not hold to any of the beliefs specified in these creeds, it’s safe to assume they are no longer orthodox. The first creed is the Apostle’s Creed (https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/what-we-believe/apostles-creed) and the second in the more specific Nicene Creed (https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/what-we-believe/apostles-creed#na)

Once again, Daniel quotes from Alan Jacobs, who in is book How To Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds says that we need to spend time around people who are like-hearted, not necessarily like-minded. Here’s a great little recap of the book: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/378-surge-toll-roads-how-to-think-and-more-1.4451013/we-need-a-survival-guide-for-thinking-because-we-re-bad-at-it-1.4458377

Daniel and Kyle briefly allude to the delightful TV series Stephen Fry in America (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307789/).

Daniel refers to a short video by Tim Keller, which can be found here: https://vimeo.com/283015823

We talk more about the ways the horror genre confronts secular belief in this episode from our first season. https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/oh-the-horror-season-one q

Our episode dedicated to the purpose of sex is Let’s Talk About Sex:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/lets-talk-about-sex-season-two

In our interview with Joy Beth Smith, she briefly alludes to masturbation, a topic she covers in more detail in her book Party of One:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview-1

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

This has been such a full season of conversations that our wrap up episode has been extended into a second episode. This time we discuss the many interviews we had this season and recap our conversations on marriage, loneliness, and community. 

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network. This week we highlighted Kyle’s new show, Putting It Together: The Music of Stephen Sondheim (https://www.albertapodcastnetwork.com/blog/2018/9/11/putting-it-together-joins-the-chorus). This week we are also sponsored by the podcast Back to School Again (https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/forbes-never-too-old-to-learn).

Show Notes:

The first part of this discussion can be found on Episode 9: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/wrap-it-up-part-one-season-two.

Our bonus episode with Wesley Hill can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview. 

Revoice (https://revoice.us/) is the conference dedicated to the LGBT+ community within the historic Christian faith. Daniel’s friend Ethan attended and wrote about it here (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2018/07/31/an-undeniable-witness-reflections-on-the-revoice-conference/). Many, many others have also written about it, including Wesley himself (https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/08/revoice-and-a-vocation-of-yes).

Our bonus episode with Joy Beth Smith can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview-1. 

Daniel mentioned his visit with Marc, a pastor from Door of Hope in Portland, Oregon (http://doorofhopepdx.org). Daniel loves this church.

Episode 6 on marriage can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dont-get-married-season-two. 

The article on marriage after heaven being compared to friendship is found here: https://alastairadversaria.com/2014/07/23/a-new-icon-of-marriage.

Our conversation on loneliness, singleness, and community was divided into two parts. Part One (Episode 7) can be found here (https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-all-alone-part-one) and Part Two (Episode 8) can be found here (https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-all-alone-part-two).

Kyle and Daniel mentioned the podcast Start Up and their five part series on church planting. The first episode of that series can be found here:  https://www.gimletmedia.com/startup/church-planting-1-the-movement. Here is the This American Life episode that includes some of that content (and features Tim Keller): https://www.thisamericanlife.org/651/if-you-build-it-will-they-come/act-one-7.

Our bonus episode featuring Nick Taniguchi and Tyler May can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interviews.

Daniel mentions Shamballa, the EDM music festival in British Columbia: https://shambhalamusicfestival.com. 

Kyle’s new podcast on Steven Sondheim is called Putting It Together and can be found here: https://buff.ly/2N8czuI.  Kyle quotes from Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods”.

Our bonus episode with Lish Veldhuijzen can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interview-with-1.

Our bonus episode with Rabbi Seth Goldstein can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interview-with-2.

Our bonus episode with Barry Danylak can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-interview-with-barry.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

It’s been quite the season and we’ve covered a lot of topics. Sex. Family. Romance. Gay Sex. So we decided it would be worth taking a step back and discussing what we learned, what we want to clarify, and what we want to explore further. This is the first of a two part episode where we talk about our first five episodes. It’s a great conversation.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their Entrepreneur Centre), LitFest Alberta, (get a discount with the coupon code APNrocks)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about Kyle’s new show Creative Block).

Show Notes:

Our first episode, We Are Family, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-family-season-two

Daniel alludes to Kyle’s conversation about legacy on our first season here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dance-dance-otherwise-we-are.

Daniel mentions the movie The Master (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560747/).

Our conversation with Barry Danylak also gets alluded to: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-interview-with-barry.

Daniel spoils (but highly recommends) the movie Paterson (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5247022/).

Daniel also mentions Andy Crouch’s book, The Tech Wise Family (https://www.amazon.ca/Tech-Wise-Family-Everyday-Putting-Technology/dp/0801018668).

Our second episode, Let’s Talk About Sex,  can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/lets-talk-about-sex-season-two

As promised, here is the infamous Monty Python sex education scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lRGIkLEYoA.

Our third episode, I Am What I Am, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/i-am-what-i-am-season-two.

We talk about the controversy around the TV show Roseanne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseanne).

Kyle discusses the movie Crazy Rich Asians (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988/).

Daniel mentions the movie The Big Sick (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5462602/).

Our fourth episode, Christians Are Bigots?, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/christians-are-bigots-season. Daniel’s apology/ clarification can be found at the beginning of Episode 6: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dont-get-married-season-two.

Kyle mentions the movie Eighth Grade (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014006/) and Bo Burnham’s song “From God’s Perspective” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgejDl0vCsU).

Our fifth episode, I’m Going to Die Alone, can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/im-going-to-die-alone-season

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

In this bonus episode, Kyle and Daniel sit down with Dr. Barry Danylak, who has spent a lifetime studying what it means to be a single Christian and whose life is devoted to working with singles in the church. They talk about Barry’s practices as a single, celibate Christian, his scholarship on sexual ethics, and his understanding of the historical context of first century sexual ethics.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their support of the Edmonton Fringe Festival)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Un Dad).

Show Notes:

Barry Danylak got his PhD in New Testament Studies at University of Cambridge. He is currently the community pastor of single adult ministries at Centre Street Church in Calgary. He holds graduate degrees in mathematics, Christian thought, and New Testament. He is the author of Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life . He speaks and teaches all over the world on biblical singleness.

Wesley Hill refers to Barry’s work in Wesley’s book Washed and Waiting.

The organization that Barry described (and that Daniel lived amongst for a week) is called Servants of the Word.

Barry is a pastor at Centre Street Church in Calgary, Alberta.

Daniel and Barry briefly allude to  Japanese trend of lonely-deaths.

Barry quotes from Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Barry referred to a conference hosted by Tyndale House, Cambridge.

Barry also quotes from 1 Corinthians 7:5: “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again.”

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

In this bonus episode, Kyle interviews Rabbi Seth Goldstein to learn a liberal Jewish perspective of the themes we’ve been discussing this season.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight the ATB Booster program)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Mess Hall).

Show Notes:

Rabbi Seth Goldstein Rabbi Seth Goldstein was reached in Olympia, Washington, where he has been the rabbi of Temple Beth Hatfiloh since 2003. He blogs at rabbi360.com, his podcast is Torah tl;dr, and has the YouTube channel “Carpooling with Rabbi”.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

In this bonus episode, Kyle and Daniel interview their friend Lish Veldhuijzen to get her perspectives on the questions we’ve been discussing this season.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their Branch for Arts and Culture)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Blue in the Face).

Show Notes:

Lish Veldhuijzen was reached in Victoria, BC where she is studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at Pacific Rim College.

Daniel (once again) quoted from Alan Jacob’s little book How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds: “These people are... not necessarily like-minded, but they are temperamentally disposed to openness and have habits of listening—and in that case are wonderfully like-hearted.”

Daniel defines his life goal as a combination of creating, collaborating, and communicating and realized this after working on a project with Lish.

Daniel referenced (and recommends) Robert Capon’s delightful book  The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection.

Lish references the Alan Watts quote: “If you will treat yourself for a while as a cloud or wave and realize that you can't make a mistake whatever you do, cause even if you do something that seems to be totally disastrous, it will all come out in the wash somehow or other.”

Lish also quotes from Eckhart Tolle.

Lish describes a conversation with her professor,  Peter Conway.

We reference our two part episode on community and loneliness, which are  Episode 7 and  Episode 8 of Season Two.

The town of Bamfield, BC gets a shout out.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.