Host Dick Staub is joined by a live audience at Taproot theatre in Seattle’s Greenwood district who had just seen the theatrical production of C.S’ Lewis’ The Great Divorce (adapted by George Drance). This work of fantasy portrays Christian perceptions of the life after death allegorically and  follows one individual’s journey from hell/purgatory (”the grey town”) to heaven and salvation. We are joined by three esteemed guests , Rabbi Mark Glickman (Congregation Kol Shalom on Bainbridge Island, WA) Rev Patricia Hunter (An associate in ministry at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, WA.) and Taproot co-founder and Director Scott Nolte.

 

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Dick Staub welcomes you to the annual Theology of Academy Award Nominees show in which we ask three questions of the best picture nominees: 1) Where is God or Who is God in this film? 2) What is the human condition/dilemma addressed in this film? 3) What is redemption in this film and how is it found? On our panel is Jeffrey Overstreet, film critic and  author; Jennie Spohr, producer of The Kindlings Muse and Gregory Wright, managing editor of Hollywood Jesus.com & Past the Popcorn   and publisher of W. John MacGregor’s West of the Gospel, due to be released this summer. The ten nominees are: Avatar: An Education; Up in the Air; Inglourious Basterds; A Serious Man; Hurt Locker; Up; District 9; Precious and The Blind Side.

 

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Dick Staub interviews Ralph Winter, a Hollywood film producer who has produced blockbuster movies such as the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Star Trek series.  Films on his resume, stretching back to 1982, have earned more than four billion dollars at the box office worldwide. Winter is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

 

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The Dry Land features a tight, well-written script and outstanding performances as it tells the heartfelt story of a veteran and his family and friends, all of whom are dealing with unforeseen changes in his life when he returns home from the Iraqi war. After seeing the film Hollywood news writer Bob Fischer said, Put “The Dry Land” on your must see list if you are going to be at Sundance. Host Craig Detweiler interviews Producer Heather Rae, writer/Director Ryan Piers Williams and cast members Ryan O’Nan and Jason Ritter.

 

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Host Craig Detweiler interviews writer, Director Thabo Wolfaardt (UCLA) and Producer Melanie Blair about their film Joburg, the story of a young newspaper vendor who struggles to care for his ailing brother. A pregnant woman discovers a terrible secret about her fiancé. At the height of their desperation, these two worlds collide in a life-altering event. Winner of the Director’s Choice Award at Angelus Film Festival.

 

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Dick Staub discusses The Gospel According to Motown with guests Dr. Jeff Keuss a professor at SPU and an engaging interpreter of theology in popular culture. Rev Jennie Spohr ordained Presbyterian pastor, producer of the Kindlings Muse and a gadfly on a myriad of issues and Chris Estey who has been writing about music in Seattle since 1986. He has written for The Rocket, The Stranger, Seattle Sound Magazine, and other publications. He has worked at labels since the late 90s. (Or the alternative bio: Driving Mrs. Estey crazy with music and conversation about it; giving her a break tonight by talking about it with other people someplace else besides their apartment.) Motown was a record company founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. More than a record company it was really a movement that played an important role in the racial integration of popular music featuring African-American artists who achieved crossover success. It launched The Motown Sound ~ soul music with a distinct gospel and pop influence.

 

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In this show host Dick Staub and Earl Palmer discuss the most quotable of all American literary figures, Mark Twain, who was fiercely independent, consistently critiqued religion, yet was married and devoted to his wife who was a very devout Christian and counted Christians among his best friends. Did he believe more than he let on?

 

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The fact that you’re reading this column, likely means you are a reader. I don’t mean a reader, as in you are capable of reading, I mean someone who loves to read and reads a lot each day.

My father was a clergyman who started his career in Bly, a rough and tumble, logging town in Southern Oregon. I remember as a four-year old sitting in a clearing in the woods and watching a deer at a salt lick, while dad sat on a tree stump reading. By the time I was a teen we had moved to Fullerton, California and dad went back to school part time to get an M.A. in English Literature. Books were piled everywhere.

I don’t remember a day when my parents weren’t sitting in adjacent chairs reading books and stopping occasionally to share some pithy excerpt. I read eagerly in school and remember how delicious it was to learn a new word like “fiddlesticks.” It was a long word, the longest I knew until I encountered Mississippi, and it sounded vaguely illicit, which is the kind of word a pastor’s son is sure to treasure. Read more

Dick Staub hosts the annual Kindlings Muse Christmas show at Hales with guests including artist Kathy Hastings, producer & actor Jennie Spohr, poet & novelist Maureen McQuerry, theologian, Jeff Keuss, actor Carlo Nakar, and singer/songwriter Mark Mohrlang.

 

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In this show host Dick Staub and Earl Palmer discuss Fanny Crosby whose story is told in Edith Blumhofer’s, “Her Heart Can See” America’s Songwriter. Story of Her Life and Her Songs:” Fanny Crosby was a hymn writer and poetess who wrote 9,000 hymns.. Blind, deeply committed to the poor, friend of the rich, famous and US Presidents, she was smart as a whip and unimpressed with the likes of P.T. Barnum (who tried to hire her!).  Crosby’s lyrics have inspired and informed the spiritual journey of millions.

 

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