Persuasion
117 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 99 ratingsA podcast where fine ladies, rational minds, and the best kind of company gather to discuss all sorts of ideas and issues.
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Episodes
Episode 229 | What We Make of It All, with Karen Swallow Prior
November 09, 2021 09:00 - 29 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin and Hannah end their reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein with professor Karen Swallow Prior. The trio look back at the life of Mary Shelley and explore the context of the novel's place in literature, Mary Shelley's life and situations, and the lessons we can still glean for today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 228 | What We Make of Destiny
November 02, 2021 08:00 - 37 minutesDestiny and fate are central to Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein, which inspired our fall Persuasion series, What We Make of Ourselves. In this episode, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the sixth and final reading (Volume III: Chapters 5–7), as Victor and his creation wrestle with fate and if they have any say whatsoever over the course of their lives. Now at the end of Victor’s story, destiny is seen as the flip side of the ambition that launched us into this tale. Christians espec...
Episode 227 | What We Make Of Our Mistakes
October 26, 2021 08:00 - 39 minutesMistakes and regret are central to Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein, which is inspiring our fall Persuasion's series, What We Make of Ourselves. In this episode, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the fifth reading (Volume III: Chapters 1–4) and Victor’s ongoing struggle with his decisions and the resulting fallout thereof. His inner turmoil is on display for us, giving a snapshot of his tortured mind and soul. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 226 | What We Make of Our Stories
October 19, 2021 08:00 - 40 minutesStories and storytelling are central to Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein, which is shaping our fall Persuasion‘s series, What We Make of Ourselves. In this episode, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the fourth reading (Volume II: Chapters 5–9) and the stories shared by each of the characters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 225 | What We Make Of Others
October 12, 2021 08:00 - 39 minutesFrankenstein, which is the foundation of our fall Persuasion's series, What We Make of Ourselves. In this episode, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the third reading (Volume II: Chapters 1–4), exploring the characters’ expectations of and dependence upon others. Shelley’s novel, while falling in the goth/horror genre, spends considerable time addressing the fallout we face when our connections with others are strained or severed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...
Episode 224 | What We Make of Our Suffering
October 05, 2021 08:00 - 39 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the second reading of the series (Volume I: Chapters 4–7), in which the characters and their suffering take center stage. Shelley’s rich descriptions of the inner turmoil provide readers insight into how suffering can alter a person’s ability to function. Her story is raising those age-old questions about why suffering exists and what causes it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 223 | What We Make of Our Time
September 28, 2021 08:00 - 37 minutesIf we were to choose one word to describe modern life, busy would be a top contender. We are a busy people—busy making a living, busy making a name for ourselves, busy being busy. This is why productivity hacks are all the rage. We need better ways to make the most of every moment. But is this the point of it all? Does all of our ambition produce a life worth living? This is one of the questions being explored in Persuasion's fall series, What We Make of Ourselves. Week by week we will work t...
Episode 222 | What We Make of Ourselves: A Read-Along Series
September 21, 2021 08:00 - 38 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the background of the story, starting with what we've gotten wrong due to the many cultural adaptations. Hollywood has taken a seed of Mary Shelley's classic and grown an entirely new story that overshadows the original. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 221 | Imposter Syndrome
September 14, 2021 08:00 - 29 minutesDo you consider yourself a reader? That answer isn't so easy to come by. How many books do you need to read a year—or a month—to qualify as a true reader? And does it matter what kinds of books you read? Do mystery novels count? What about young adult fiction or business books or graphic novels? Do you need to have read all 100 of the top books ever written to confidently claim you are a reader? If you've ever felt like an imposter when it comes to be well-read, this conversation is for you L...
Episode 220 | Rebuilding Community, with Adam Gustine
June 29, 2021 08:00 - 34 minutesOur world came to a screeching halt with the pandemic. Schedules that used to be packed to the brim opened wide, creating unexpected space. Now that the world is opening up again, we have the opportunity to decide if the ways we had been in community before the pandemic are the ones we even want to return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 219 | Real Conversations with Rebecca McLaughlin
June 22, 2021 08:00 - 37 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the summer miniseries called Showing Up. Each episode explores the challenges we face to show up in the world. Erin and Hannah invite Rebecca McLaughlin to help us learn how to show up in conversations despite our differences. Rebecca grew up in the United Kingdom and holds a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge as well as a theology degree from Oak Hill College in London. She is co-founder of Vocable Communications...
Episode 218 | Real Relationships, with Rachel Pieh Jones
June 15, 2021 08:00 - 30 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the summer miniseries called Showing Up. Since 2004, Rachel has lived in Djibouti, a primarily Muslim country, where she and her husband run a school and where they enjoy cross-cultural, cross-religious relationships. Rachel shares from her recent release titled Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus. The conversation covers a whole host of topics related to developing strong relationships by showing up with y...
Episode 217 | Showing Up
June 08, 2021 08:00 - 31 minutesWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March of 2020, none of us could have known the level of disruption we would be facing. In addition to the reality of illness and death, we also had to face a new way of going about our daily lives. Our daily routines were shattered and reformed to meet health protocols. Work, school, worship, community, sports, culture—every aspect of life was shaken. Now, more than a year later, our world is opening up once again. We're heading back to the ...
Episode 216 | Nature is Healing
May 11, 2021 08:00 - 36 minutesOver the past year, as communities implemented social distancing protocols, daily life came to a screeching halt. People stayed home to work remotely or attend virtual school. Without all our usual human hustle and bustle, wild creatures began roaming more freely. People began sharing photos of whales in harbors and goats running through towns. The conclusion? Nature is healing itself now that the humans are no longer interfering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...
Episode 215 | Sustainable Living
May 04, 2021 08:00 - 36 minutesSome days life cruises along the course of your well-laid plans and everything runs like clockwork. Other days—most days, perhaps?—life takes a detour off the beaten path and you get lost in the wilderness and stuck in the muck. Life works great, except when it doesn't, which is more often than not. So what can we do in response? Do we bother making plans when they are likely to get turned inside out anyhow? Do we let chaos reign and become accustomed to the wild ride of life? Learn more abou...
Episode 214 | Interlude
March 25, 2021 14:04 - 10 minutesIn the last episode, Erin and Hannah discussed the hurdles and struggles we face in our attempts to cultivate goodness, finding another point of shared experience in the brokenness of the world. In keeping with that conversation, we're taking a brief Interlude from our larger series, FINDING COMMON GROUND, and invite you to listen in as Hannah Anderson reads an excerpt from her recently released book, TURNING OF DAYS: LESSONS FROM NATURE, SEASON, AND SPIRIT. "How does one live in this place b...
Episode 213 | Survival Instinct
March 09, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutesLast week we discussed our shared call to cultivate goodness in the world. While that is true, it's not the whole picture. Because as we work, we also find another shared experience. We all struggle in our work. We encounter barriers and failures. We grow weary. The world experiences disasters and pandemics. And we are left holding the brokenness of this life, wondering what to do next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 212 | Garden Variety, with Sarah Pabody
March 03, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutesIn this episode, Erin and Hannah explore our shared desire to find meaning through our work and in life. Our work may be more mental than physical, but whatever it is, we hope it means something more than a paycheck. We want to thrive on all fronts, to see our work take off and produce a harvest we can enjoy and share with others. To illustrate this truth, Sarah Pabody from Triple Wren Farms shares how her flower farm teaches her about the deeper truths of work and meaning. How is gardening a...
Episode 211 | Universal Language, with James Bietler & Richard
February 24, 2021 14:28 - 34 minutesCommunicating with others is something we're born doing. We emerge from the womb with limited skills, of course. Our skills grow in time, from wails to words and eventually to full sentences and fully nuanced, complex ideas. But that's not all it takes to communicate well. We can use all the skills at our disposal—verbal and nonverbal—and still experience a breakdown in communication with others. In the past few years, these breakdowns have become seemingly more common. We wonder what has cha...
Episode 210 | Dust to Dust
February 16, 2021 09:00 - 34 minutesDeath has been a constant thought this past year, due to the pandemic that continues to rage among us and around the globe. It's rare in our society to think much about the end of our days. We tend to press on with our plans until death disrupts us, when it jolts us to the reality that all of us are living on borrowed time and breath. From dust we came, to dust we will return. The earth grounds us, binds us together in this shared fate, creatures, and creation. While we attempt to stay nature...
Episode 209 | Finding Common Ground
February 10, 2021 09:00 - 39 minutesErin and Hannah kick off a new series called Finding Common Ground. Each episode will consider a different aspect of natural revelation and how the world around us gives us the common ground we seek—and desperately need—with our fellow humans. Despite the rifts we feel with others ideologically, there is still much we have in common. By turning our eyes to the creation and its rhythms, we find commonality in our shared human experience. We can look to the patterns God embedded in the natural ...
Episode 208 | People People, with Chris and Elizabeth McKinney
December 01, 2020 09:00 - 33 minutesOur holidays are usually marked by all kinds of festivities. There are family gatherings, dinners with friends, work parties, community celebrations, church programs, and more. But this year? Most of these are cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. We will miss out on gift exchanges and cookie swaps and catching up with friends and family. It's disappointing for everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 207 | Thankful People, with Dustin Crowe
November 24, 2020 09:00 - 30 minutesThanksgiving is typically full of feasting and family and friends. But this year? For most of us, gathering with others to enjoy our typical feast is off the table due to the global pandemic. Even if you are able to celebrate with your immediate family, the day is likely to be tinged with emptiness. And emptiness has a way of diminishing our gratitude, even on Thanksgiving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 206 | Happy People, with Barnabas Piper
November 17, 2020 09:00 - 33 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a new miniseries titled Happy, Thankful, People. Each episode of the series includes a special guest who has something specific to share about how we can clear some of the hurdles that come with the holiday season. Barnabas Piper joins this episode to discuss our expectations of seasonal happiness and joy. In Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life's Most Elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality (The Good Book Company, 2020), Barn...
Episode 205 | Don't Waste Your Vote
October 14, 2020 08:00 - 36 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson wrap up their For God and Country series. Each episode has tackled an aspect of how faith and politics collide. This final conversation looks at the value and power of a single vote, the one we've been entrusted with for each item on our ballot. Voting truly is a privilege, but in these politically charged days, the weight of casting our vote in the right way is heavy indeed. There is fear and guilt all mixed together, and it's us...
Episode 204 | Don't Be So Political, with Kathryn Freeman
October 06, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutesWith the amount of turmoil that's typically associated with political conversation and engagement, it can be very tempting to look for a reprieve. Every issue truly is connected to the common good that we're called to work toward. But when every conversation turns into a politically charged exchange, it's quite tempting to demand that others stop being so political all the time. While tempting, however, what is really behind our wish that others don't be so political? Learn more about your ad...
Episode 203 | Just Preach the Gospel
September 29, 2020 08:00 - 40 minutesRacial reckoning, a threatening pandemic, devastating wildfires... our country is practically pulling apart at the seams. In the middle of all this, we're facing the usual fervor associated with a presidential election. Except this isn't like other presidential elections, because of heightened turmoil of our times makes the discord all the more obvious. Emotions are running high. Everyone is looking for reason to take offense—and no one has to look very long or far to find it. The climate fee...
Episode 202 | Toeing the Party Line
September 22, 2020 08:00 - 37 minutesPerhaps during this series you've become open to the idea that political engagement is an avenue for kingdom flourishing to bring about the common good. And perhaps you've also clarified the sort of nation you want to build with your political engagement. Now we move from theory into practice, because political engagement will actually require you to dig into the system we have in order to make the world better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 201 Bonus | Interview with Sam Perry
September 19, 2020 08:00 - 32 minutesErin Straza and Hannah Anderson invited Sam Perry to Persuasion to share about his research with Andrew Whitehead on Christian nationalism. Their book, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, helps us understand the driving factors that define and lead to Christian nationalism in our country. For episode 201 of the For God and Country series, Sam explains how Christian nationalism is a form of political idolatry that we must be aware of and reject. Learn more ...
Episode 201 | Taking America Back for God
September 15, 2020 08:00 - 42 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dig into the For God and Country series. In this conversation, Erin and Hannah look to the pain points Christians are feeling and use them to unearth the way fear can sway our political leanings. In Christian circles, there has been increasing concern about religious rights and freedoms, as well as rally cries to take our nation back for God. To help us understand the factors feeding these ideas, Hannah speaks with Sam Perry, who ...
Episode 200 | For God and Country? with Kaitlyn Schiess
September 08, 2020 08:00 - 39 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off their fall series called For God and Country. Each episode of the series will tackle an aspect of how faith and politics collide. To get the conversation started, Erin and Hannah host fellow Christ and Pop Culture writer Kaitlyn Schiess. Kaitlyn is a seminary student and bright thinker with a new book releasing September 8 from InterVarsity Press titled The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neig...
Episode 199 | Getting By... with Luke T. Harrington
September 01, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutesHumor has been rather hard to find in 2020. We've had month after month of very serious happenings. When the world is falling apart, laughter feels wrong—even callous. Serious things call for a serious countenance... right? In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson kick off a late summer miniseries called Getting By. Each episode of the series includes a special guest who has something specific to share about how we can get by in life considering the world as it is today....
Episode 198 | Getting By... with Gina Dalfonzo
August 25, 2020 08:00 - 42 minutesOur current moment of political, social, and even religious upheaval has been isolating in many inexplicable ways. COVID-19 restrictions have eliminate many of our opportunities to build friendships and network with colleagues. Many of us are now working, schooling, and worshiping from home, severing limiting our social circles. As a result, psychologists are reporting higher rates of depression. More than ever, we can see the crucial role community and connectedness contribute to our well be...
Episode 197 | Getting By... with Wendy Alsup
August 19, 2020 08:00 - 48 minutesIn polite conversation, when someone greets you and asks how you are doing, the typical, benign reply is to say you "are doing just fine, thanks." But today, that reply feels disingenuous at best, considering the global pandemic, the racial reckoning across our nation, and the general polarization in society. Saying we are doing just fine, even when we're not, lines up with our country's indefatigable spirit. We are a nation of overcomers and go-getters—people who suck it up and keep moving a...
Episode 196 | Getting By
August 11, 2020 08:00 - 32 minutesAfter four months of navigating COVID-19 worries and addressing societal inequalities, it seems that most of us are embracing the reality that our world is forever changed. We're learning new ways to work, build community, celebrate milestones, and more. But none of it is easy or second nature. It's actually quite difficult. Most of us are getting by... but just barely.
Episode 196 | Just Getting By
August 11, 2020 08:00 - 32 minutesAfter four months of navigating COVID-19 worries and addressing societal inequalities, it seems that most of us are embracing the reality that our world is forever changed. We're learning new ways to work, build community, celebrate milestones, and more. But none of it is easy or second nature. It's actually quite difficult. Most of us are getting by... but just barely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 195 | Looking Ahead in a Viral Age
April 09, 2020 13:00 - 32 minutesWe’re a people that loves to manage every scenario and have backup plans for every contingency. So what happens when the whole world screeches to a near halt and all the data we’ve used for decision making is no longer valid? Well, for most of us, this has produced a not so insignificant level of anxiety. As much as we like looking ahead toward the next thing, it’s tough to come to terms with something when the variables are unknown. In this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Ander...
Episode 194 | Finding Goodness in a Viral Age
April 09, 2020 12:00 - 29 minutesLoss and grief are central to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve lost loved ones, jobs, freedoms, and security. Some have lost their wedding dates or vacations. Some have lost sleep or a sense of purpose. Discouragement is common as we all scramble to find meaning in the midst of a crisis. This collective grief weighs upon our society, stretching it thin. For this conversation, Erin and Hannah discuss the discouragement we are all experiencing. Without schedules to hem us in, we wander aimlessly th...
Episode 193 | Releasing Control in a Viral Age
April 09, 2020 11:00 - 30 minutesCOVID-19 has taken away so much from us, including our sense of control. Our plans have been cancelled, and our movements are restricted. We can no longer go where we want when we want with whomever we choose. Loss of control may make us angry or fearful or frustrated (or all of those!). In its absence, we begin to play games of If Only or What If in an attempt to regain a bit of what we’ve lost. For this conversation, Erin and Hannah discuss the loss of control we are all experiencing. From ...
Episode 192 | Seeking Justice in a Viral Age
April 09, 2020 10:00 - 32 minutesAnger is on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic—and for good reason. Almost every aspect of our lives has been upended. We are now working and learning from home. All of our public gatherings have been cancelled or postponed, from weddings to funerals to sports to graduations. We have been asked to stay home with our family unit—and the lack of variety is enough to get on our last nerve. Anger is certainly understandable in this viral age. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...
Episode 191 | Practicing Lament in a Viral Age, with John Starke
April 09, 2020 09:00 - 36 minutesThe world is grappling with a pandemic that is changing life as we know it. We are grieving the loss of loved ones. Those who have recovered are facing uncertain long-term health conditions. The global economy is struggling along with unknown ramifications for millions of employees. As the coronavirus runs its course, the only thing we know for sure is that life as we know it is forever changed. Yet, facing this reality is no easy task. John Starke joins this conversation to help us look at o...
Episode 190 | Pursuing Wholeness in a Viral Age
April 09, 2020 08:00 - 34 minutesUnless you’ve been offline or off planet, you are aware of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It is the major historical event of our time, affecting everything from work and school to church and community. We are all scrambling to figure out how to live and operate under a new normal—one without a playbook to reference. With all the upheaval, each one of us faces challenges and sorrows; life will not be the same again. Our only option is to find ways to adjust and grow and find stable footing ...
Episode 189 | Finally Home
March 24, 2020 09:00 - 41 minutesIf the meaning and purpose of home wasn’t top of mind before our Go Home! series began, it certainly is now. Of course, most of that credit belongs to the worldwide spread of COVID-19. Government leaders around the world have recently initiated Shelter in Place and Safer at Home policies to flatten the coronavirus curve. And suddenly, going home—and staying there—has become THE issue of our day, regardless of your gender, religious camp, or philosophical stance. In this episode of Persuasion...
Episode 188 | Family Ties, with Aundi Kolber
March 17, 2020 08:00 - 32 minutesIf home is truly where your story starts, then our family members are the characters that make the story come to life. Every family has its own narrative, its own way of functioning and operating together. Those patterns profoundly affect us, for good and for ill. And sometimes, even long after leaving our childhood home, those family ties can even bind us a bit too tightly, causing us to live in ways we’d love to be free from. Home is where our story begins, but home sweet home isn’t always ...
Episode 187 | Home + Work, with Rachel Anderson
March 11, 2020 23:31 - 50 minutesHow does our perception of home affect the way we go about our work? One way is by adopting marketplace values and priorities and yielding our home life to achieve those ends—often to the detriment of our home life. The fallout of elevating the market above all else can even be seen in companies founded as an alternative to the traditional workplace, such as multilevel marketing businesses. A few weeks ago, news broke about the financial and operational difficulties at LuLaRoe, a women’s clot...
Episode 186 | The Missional Home, with Laura Fabrycky
February 25, 2020 12:58 - 39 minutesWhen John MacArthur told Beth Moore to “go home,” it revealed much about his framework for how the church and home should operate and who is responsible for each sphere. This perspective seems to see the spheres as quite separate. The church has a purpose and a mission, and the home has a purpose and a mission, but those only overlap because the biological family is the building block for both. But what if this framework undercuts the church as the family of God with brothers and sisters work...
Episode 185 | Family Values
February 18, 2020 09:00 - 38 minutesIn this episode of Persuasion, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson dissect the notion that families are under attack. Many a Christian leader has presented evidence of this war, pointing to everything from Hollywood films to dual income families to divorce rates. They discuss the possibility that these issues are not causing the breakdown of the family but are instead a response to something that has already happened. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 184 | Home Bodies, with Wesley Hill
February 12, 2020 09:00 - 44 minutesYou can’t think about home without thinking about the people in it. Our most formative and important relationships are rooted here, an inextricable part of what we conceive of when we think about home. In our modern society, home is most often associated with the nuclear family: parents and children. This modern conception isn’t the only framework available to us, however, nor does it provide home for all people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Episode 183 | Home Making
February 04, 2020 15:32 - 39 minutesOur understanding of home affects everything about us, both individually and collectively. Home is vital to us all, but determining its value in a market-based society is fraught with troubles. Salary.com has attempted to help by giving stay-at-home-moms (or dads) a $160K valuation. The intent is to elevate the status of the home maker by giving it a professional-level salary. Our need for the marketplace to validate our home life tells us more than we may care to admit. In this episode of Pe...
Episode 182 | The Road Home
January 28, 2020 16:04 - 38 minutesDisagreements within the church are often and many, and in today’s digital age, that drama often spills out to the interwebs. Last fall, one in particular dominated Christian social feeds for several weeks that included Pastor John MacArthur and Bible teacher Beth Moore. It all started when MacArthur, as part of a panel discussion, was asked to play word association and was given Beth’s name. His two-word reply—“Go home.”—was met by laughter from the crowd and followed by his argument for why...