THe Second Shepherd's Play is a famous medieval mystery play that depicts of Christ's coming to Earth in a creative way. Dr. Zina Petersen of Brigham Young University joined us to talk about the origin of the medieval story and the rich symbolism of the text, as well as Suzanne Christensen, friend of the Apple Seed who often contributes to our wealth of literary knowledge. We've paired the academic conversation of medieval Christmas traditions with some of our favorite contemporary performances of Christmas stories. Included in this episode:

Interview with Zina Petersen and Suzanne Christensen

Zina Petersen teaches courses in early British literature and language. She received her graduate degrees from The Catholic University of America in 1992 and 1997. Her research interests include the literary history of Christianity, mysticism, women's religious and spiritual writings, Chaucer, Malory and King Arthur traditions. Suzanne Christensen is the director of The Acting Company, where she exposes actors and audiences of all ages to accessible performances of classic Shakespeare plays.

The Chess Game

A fable in verse about the story of the world written by Morgan Ashton and performed by the great Ed Stivender. To learn more about Ed visit edstivender.com

A Gift

Thoughtful insights about Christmastime, gift giving, wise men and pageantry. To learn more about Kevin visit www.kevinkling.com

Don't Kill Santa

Fervent children seek to help Santa out on his Big Day. To learn more about Donald visit www.ddavisstoryteller.com