Give and Take

Tullian Tchividjian is the grandson of Billy Graham. He's written several award winning books. He's been a celebrated preacher and pastor. Then his life fell apart. He lost his marriage and his church and he wanted to end it all. Then he found hope. If hope is what you need, this is the conversation for you.

You can connect with Tullian at https://www.tullian.net.

Special Guest: Tullian Tchividjian.

My guest is Danielle Strickland. Her newest book, The Zombie Gospel, explores the spiritual and existential themes in the wildly popular television series The Walking Dead.

Danielle J. Strickland serves the Salvation Army in Los Angeles as the western territorial social justice secretary. Her books include Just Imagine: the Social Justice Agenda, The Liberating Truth: How Jesus Empowers Women, Boundless: Living Life in Overflow, and A Beautiful Mess: How God Recreates Our Lives. Originally from Canada, Danielle has spent over twenty years serving the marginalized, bringing hope to those caught up in addictions and prostitution in back alleys, and exerting her influence in the halls of government to see laws changed and practices transformed so that people aren't trafficked and children aren't enslaved. She is also an ambassador for Stop the Traffik (a global anti-human trafficking campaign) and Compassion International. Danielle is passionately committed to seeing God's Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. She is married and is the mother of three boys.

Special Guest: Danielle Strickland.

David Litt entered the White House in 2011 and left in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. Described as the “comic muse for the president,” David was the lead writer on four White House Correspondents’ Dinner presentations and has contributed jokes to President Obama’s speeches since 2009. He is currently the head writer/producer for Funny or Die’s office in Washington, DC. David has also written for The Onion, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, and the New York Times. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and their two goldfish, Humphrey and Camille. Full of hilarious stories and told in a truly original voice, his first book, Thanks, Obama is an exciting debut about what it means – personally, professionally, and politically – to grow up.

Special Guest: David Litt.

My guest is Darren Moorman. He's produced numerous feature films. His most recent film, Same Kind Of Difference As Me, premiers on October 20th. It stars Renee Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou and John Voight. It's based on The New York Times Bestseller that tells the story of a dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery, an upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel and a gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.

Special Guest: Darren Moorman.

My guest today is Robert P. Jones. He's the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, and the author of several books, including "The End of White Christian America." The American religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation. White Christians, once the dominant religious group in the U.S., now account for fewer than half of all adults living in the country. Today, fewer than half of all states are majority white Christian. As recently as 2007, 39 states had majority white Christian populations. These are two of the major findingsfrom PRRI’s 2016 American Values Atlas, the single largest survey of American religious and denominational identity ever conducted. This landmark report is based on a sample of more than 101,000 Americans from all 50 states and includes detailed information about their religious affiliation, denominational ties, political affiliation, and other important demographic attributes.

Special Guest: Robert P. Jones.

My guests are Deborah and Mark Parker. Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia. Mark Parker is Professor of English at James Madison University. They are coauthors of Inferno Revealed: From Dante to Dan Brown, and most recently, Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy.

Special Guest: Deborah & Mark Parker.

My guest is Alan Jacobs. His most recent book is "How To Think: A Survival Guide For A World At Odds." As a celebrated cultural critic and a writer for national publications like The Atlantic and Harper’s, Alan Jacobs has spent his adult life belonging to communities that often clash in America’s culture wars. And in his years of confronting the big issues that divide us—political, social, religious—Jacobs has learned that many of our fiercest disputes occur not because we’re doomed to be divided, but because the people involved simply aren’t thinking.

Special Guest: Alan Jacobs.

Karen Wright Marsh is executive director and cofounder of Theological Horizons, a university ministry that has advanced theological scholarship at the intersection of faith, thought, and life since 1991. Her new book is "Vintage Saints And Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith." Karen directs daily programs, writes resources and curriculum, teaches weekly classes, mentors students, leads the staff, and speaks at retreats, churches, and campus ministries. She holds degrees in philosophy and linguistics from Wheaton College and the University of Virginia. Karen lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband, Charles Marsh.

Special Guest: Karen Wright Marsh.

My guest is Herman Portocarero. He is a Belgian-born writer and diplomat of Spanish and Portuguese descent. He has published more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the Hercule Poirot Prize-winning crime novel New Yorkse Nachten (New York Nights). He is just finished his term as the European Union ambassador to Cuba. His newest book is "Havana Without Makeup: Inside The Soul Of The City."

Special Guest: Herman Portocarero.

My guest is Kieran Setiya. He teaches philosophy at MIT, working mainly in ethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind. He's the author of "Reasons without Rationalism" and "Knowing Right From Wrong." His most recent book is "Midlife: A Philosophical Guide." It comes out on October 3, 2017. You can buy the book here: bit.ly/midlifeguide.

Special Guest: Kieran Setiya.