Spring Round-Up

The Mandalorian Gets Religion, why I "stan" for Dorian Gray, and lessons from anime

What’s good, everyone. Back with a quick round up of some conversations and writing I’ve done this spring:

The Mandalorian’s newest season has concluded. I’ve been fascinated with the show’s intensification of religious themes. I discuss that and the show in general on the Think Christian Podcast (YouTube | Podcast).

I was delighted to come on the Jesus Storybook Bible Podcast to talk about the power of good stories. I can’t count how many times — or how many copies — of The Jesus Storybook Bible my wife and I have read to our kids. A real pleasure to join this podcast.

Can you name one novel that changed you? That was the prompt for my conversation with medieval scholar and podcast host Grace Hamman. I picked The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and you can hear me discuss why on Old Books with Grace.

Dr. Hamman’s book, Jesus through Medieval Eyes, releases in October 2023 with Zondervan. It’s a title you’ll want to pre-order.

For the Scandal of Reading podcast — which I co-host with Jessica Hooten Wilson and Austin Carty — I discussed Phyllis Wheatley with Dr. Angel Parham. For most of us, Wheatley is greatly misunderstood. Dr. Parham explains Wheatley in context as a brilliant, subversive, and bold advocate for freedom.

For Think Christian, I wrote about the massively popular anime, My Hero Academia, and what its recent arc about the failure of public heroes might teach us.

I’ll be back soon with a reading round up. What have you been reading, writing, or enjoying this spring? Any topics or questions you’d like to see me take up in this shared newsletter space? Let your boy know.

Peace,
Claude