The Kindlings Muse

Darren Aronofsky's film and first blockbuster, "Noah," has Russell Crowe playing the lead, but is it anywhere close to the Genesis account or just "Gladiator" on a boat? Why is Hollywood tackling this epic tale? Is the God story still visible in Aronofsky's film? Is Noah the broken hero we see in today's leaders? Recorded Live at Hale's Ales in Fremont, listen to this lively discussion Dr. Jeff Keuss, Jennie Spohr, Dr. Christine Chaney, and movie critic Jeffrey Overstreet.

Why would a book written in the middle of the 1st century be an important book for us today? The Rev. Earl Palmer unfolds the background, various approaches and misunderstandings of the last book of the Bible - The Book of Revelation – through his commentary: 1,2,3 John, Revelation: The Preacher's Commentary. Listen to this informative, in-depth discussion with Earl Palmer and Dick Staub recorded live at the Walker-Ames Room, Kane Hall at the University of Washington.

The film Low Down is based on Amy Albany’s memoir Low Down: Junk, Jazz, and Other Fairy Tales from Childhood with Elle Fanning, Glen Close, Flea, Peter Dinklage and directed by Jeff Priess. The film follows Amy’s experience and story growing up with a jazz musician and drug addicted father in the 1960s and 1970s. In the long line of films about addiction, Low Down helps us see through the eyes of a teenaged girl. Is there more to our story than suffering? Is knowing you aren’t alone in suffering good enough or is there more to hope for? Listen to host Dick Staub, Author and Professor Dr. Jeff Keuss, and  Josh Staub - Visual Effects Supervisor at Disney Animation - as they discuss Low Down in this Live from Sundance Film Review.

Considered  at one point for KindlingsFest 2014 “Come To Your Senses,” Norwegian film “Blind” by director Eskil Vogt  follows the story of Ingrid who has become blind in adulthood and her perceptions of reality without sight. The film explores our understandings of seeing. Do we really see those closest to us or do we only see our imagined perception of them? What does it mean to be truly seen? Are we only truly revealed when we are seen by another person? It’s a controversial film, in part, because of it’s graphic imagery, but this very issue provokes a need-to-hear discussion between our film reviewers. Listen to host Dick Staub, Author and Professor Dr. Jeff Keuss, and  Josh Staub - Visual Effects Supervisor at Disney Animation - as they delve into a film they all feel is a must see but struggle to recommend viewing it because of the nature of the issues it addresses. In the end, is this a film you must see? Listen and find out! If you are interested in more of conversations like this come join us at KindlingsFest as we use sight, sound, taste, and more to explore what it means to “Come to Your Senses.”      

John Slattery's directorial debut, "God's Pocket" stars the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman in one of his quieter roles as Mickey Scarpato, outsider to the Boston neighborhood known as God's Pocket. "Mickey Scarpato's crazy stepson, Leon, is killed in a construction “accident,” and Mickey quickly tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when a local columnist comes sniffing around for the truth, things go from bad to worse. Mickey finds himself stuck in a life-and-death struggle compounded by a body he can't bury, a wife he can't please, and a debt he can't pay." - Sundance Film Institute   Listen to host Dick Staub, Author and Professor Dr. Jeff Keuss, and  Josh Staub - Visual Effects Supervisor at Disney Animation - in this in depth review about a film that about a neighborhood that appears God has forgotten. Is there life after death and who will remember you? Is redemption possible and what does it look like? How do we navigate the crushing weight of powers that go beyond our capacity to change?

“The Overnighters" by Jesse Mosse is one of four films reviewed as part of our The Kindlings Muse at Sundance 2014. The film is described as: "Desperate, broken men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor risks everything to help them." As with most descriptions it falls short of the complexities and questions this compelling documentary forces viewers to consider. What are the consequences of providing a home for the homeless? What happens when a pastor focuses his care on outsiders while failing to face the troubles in his own life? Listen to host Dick Staub, Author and Professor Dr. Jeff Keuss, and  Josh Staub - Visual Effects Supervisor at Disney Animation - discuss their experience watching a film that examines what happens when a church, a pastor, and a community try to understand the best way to care for the influx of humanity that has come to their small town with the rise of the fracking industry in North Dakota.    

Young Adult Fiction is the leading fiction genre globally.  Stories of young people seeking purpose and deep connection are everywhere.  What do stories like Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Fault in Our Stars say about teenagers search for meaning? Listen to this live podcast with our host  Dr. Jeff Keuss, author of Blur: A New Paradigm for Understanding Youth Culture, Kindlings producer and author Jennie Spohr as well as award winning authors Maureen McQuerry and Michael Gruber for a lively, provocative discussion.

"Allow a text to make its own point." Each month Earl Palmer  discusses a book every thinking human should read. Working with An Experiment in Criticism (Canto Classics) by C. S. Lewis - a book in which Lewis gives the reader guidelines in how to read any book with an open, critical approach - Earl Palmer discusses how reading the Bible through this lens will have significant impact on one's understanding.      

“Our Histories are not written, they are spoken through stories, they are told through our songs.” In this Sundance Film Review, Dick Staub and Dr. Jeff Keuss discuss and review "This May Be The Last Time." Director Sterlin Harjo’s first full length documentary explores the heritage of Native American song, told through the sound sand story of the Seminole and Muskogee (Cree) tribes in Oklahoma. What are these songs? Are they adopting a white man’s religion or is it something they have made into their own? In the search for understanding the disappearance of his grandfather in 1962, Sterlin Harjo unveils the tension between the Christianity and Native tradition of his home. He finds a native generation trying to carry forward their story through song that is intertwined their Christian heritage. Listen to this in depth review live from Sundance 2014.  

This year's Oscar Nominated Films are less about the blockbuster and more about the human story: "American Hustle," "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Gravity," "Her," "Nebraska," "Philomena," "12 Years a Slave," and "The Wolf of Wall Street." What do these films say about God, us, and our darkness as well as our potential for light? With host Dr. Jeff Keuss and panelists Jennie Spohr, Dr. Christine Chaney, and Heath Ward.

With the release of Joshua Tree, U2 reached rock fame. More significantly, perhaps, BONO emerged as a prophetic voice in culture and in the church. He once said of his Christian faith: "It is what gives me the strength to get up every day and put forth a hundred percent of my energy." Bono's influence on faith and culture has been immense and host Dick Staub explores the impact on this podcast with the assistance of our esteemed guests. Dr. Jeff Keuss is Associate Professor of Christian Ministry at Seattle Pacific University, where among other things he teaches courses in Theology and Popular Culture. He received his PhD at University of Glasgow where he served as a Senior Lecturer of Practical Theology and Director for the Centre for the Study of Literature, Theology and the Arts. Nigel Goodwin is a British actor and founder of Genesis Arts through which he has invested his life in serving the artistic community in its quest for making better art. Originally Recorded in Winter 2008

There are a plethora of commentaries interpreting the person and divinity of Jesus. How do you know who is reliable? What measures should you take into consideration when considering who to trust? Earl Palmer continues his monthly discussion with Dick Staub and a live audience, digging into a books that every thinking human should read. In this conversation he compares and explores  The Gospel of John: A Commentary By Dale Bruner and Faith Seeking Understanding: Essays in Memory of Paul Brand and Ralph Winter By David Marshall. .

Windrider co-founder and host Craig Detweiler interviews the director, Alrick Brown, co-producer Deatra Harris and Lori Macklin, a friend of the production of Kinyarwanda, a remarkable true story of the Mufti of Rwanda, the most respected Muslim leader in the country, who in the 1994 turmoil issued a fatwa forbidding Muslims from participating in the killing of the Tutsi. As the country became a slaughterhouse, mosques became places of refuge where Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis came together to protect each other.

Why does the music of film endure, sometimes longer than the films? What is it in the score, the soundtrack that we connect with so deeply that we will sometimes forget the film but purchase the the music? Are we moved by films or moved by the music in them? with Dr. Jeff Keuss, Jennie Spohr, Jeffrey Overstreet and composer Marty O' Donnell.

Earl Palmer begins 2014 rightly – exploring different kinds of Love and how they shape our connections, communities and world view. Using Pope Benedict XVI's  Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) and The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis with references to Edward Steichen's The Family of Man, Earl discusses Love as Eros and Agape in theory, degree, faith and practicality of everyday life. Is Love merely feeling or does it encompass more?