Father James Alison, calling in from his home in Madrid, is one of today's leading Catholic theologians and is perhaps the world's leading expert on the deep thoughts about victimization and scapegoating (and terrorism and politics) that we associate with the great Rene Girard. Tom, Val and Dave join him in a freewheeling conversation about all of this.

Richard Rohr, among others, teaches us that healthy lives make fundamental changes between their first and second halves. Val, Dave and Tom look at the ins and outs of how that's been true for them and what that has taught them

Friendships are, in the end, right up there as the most important parts of our lives. But they look different in different stages of life. Dave, Val, Tom and Grace Schmelzer--Dave's wife and noted friendship thinker--talk about friendships in all their richness. 

Rene Girard, who died last year, has taken Blue Ocean's leaders by storm with his bold theories about what the Bible and great myths tell us about the stakes of life. Tom, Val and Dave walk you into the awesomeness.

Great artists often come with questionable moral baggage. Woody Allen and Michael Jackson have faced serious charges. Picasso was a womanizer and narcissist. And... You know... Bill Cosby. Val, Dave and Tom kick around the stakes for those of us who love great art and entertainment.

Non-churchgoers stay away from churches, among other reasons, because they're afraid they'll be judged and controlled. This seems particularly true in what, in a podcast a couple weeks back, we called "bounded-set" settings. Is there a whole different way of thinking about sin that works a whole different way?

The shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando rocked most of us, but perhaps especially those of us who are LGBTQ. Tom's church in Iowa City, called Sanctuary, put together a remarkable gathering to help process the trauma. You'll hear from some participants, gay and straight, about their experience there.

Lisa Cypers Kamen has hosted a robust 350 podcast episodes of Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio, in which experts teach her how to be happy. Val, Tom and Dave have her distill the best advice for you and then they kick around how God fits into a happy life.

Dave, Tom and guest Katie Imborek start to kick around how a centered-set approach to faith has proved to be the most powerful spiritual practice they've stumbled upon--and how it's shaping a new movement of churches.