What does it mean to be a Christian and a person of faith in today’s challenging world? How can we have meaningful dialogue across racial, cultural, religious, and political differences to address the urgent needs of our time? Join Kwok Pui Lan, a pioneering postcolonial theologian, in her conversation with leading intellectuals, courageous religious leaders, fearless activists, and inspiring artists and roll along.
Episodes
Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
Wednesday Sep 10, 2025
Dr. Carlos Mendoza-Álvarez, a street theologian in Mexico City, has taught theology in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. He discusses how his decolonial theology is informed by the marginalized and the survivors of violence and oppression. As a novice of the Dominican Order, he visited Chiapas in southern Mexico and learned about the indigenous peoples’ struggles, wisdom, and hope. His decolonial theology brings theologians into dialogue with the voices of the vulnerable and those in the peripheries. His book Resurrection as a Messianic Anticipation discusses eschatological anticipation for the Kingdom of God through the memories and grief of survivors. He also discusses Mexico’s response to the escalating conflicts between the U.S. and Latin American countries. As a seasoned theologian and activist, he shares his hope in the solidarity of the global people’s movements and the importance of learning from the wisdom of survivors in our critical time.
Dr. Carlos Mendoza-Álvarez’s book: Resurrection as a Messianic Anticipation
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Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Wednesday Sep 03, 2025
Dr. Sharon D. Welch is a scholar and activist and a former Provost of the Unitarian Universalist’s Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. A seasoned activist, she was involved in the women’s movement, peace movement, and direct activism for decades. She has worked with the Chicago League of Women Voters, the Social Enterprise Alliance, and the Community-Based Learning Collaborative, among other organizations. In this episode, she discusses what she has learned from Indigenous leaders such as Carol Lee Sanchez and Robin Wall Kimmerer, Hong Kong lawyer and democracy fighter Benny Y. T. Tai, social scientist Stanley Deetz, and Unitarian Universalist pastor Joseph Santos Lyons about social transformation, deliberative or generative democracy, and quiet generators of liberation. She offers advice to activists and scholars of the upcoming generation as they prepare to lead us into the future.
Dr. Sharon Welch’s book: After the Protests Are Heard
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Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
Dr. Vincent Lloyd is a professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University. He researches and teaches about the philosophy of religion, religion and politics, and race. In this episode, he discusses his two forthcoming books: Political Theology Reimagined and What Is Political Theology? While political theology in the past has engaged with the works of Carl Schmitt, Giorgio Agamben, and Jacques Derrida, cutting-edge scholarship in the field employs queer theory, critical race theory, and decolonial theory, etc. Lloyd explores the intersection between political theology and Black theology and discusses the book on race that he is co-authoring with Jonathan Tran. Pope Leo is a famous alum of Villanova University. Lloyd shares his hopes for the new Pope and how political theology can deepen our understanding of the relationship between religion and politics, contributing to the pursuit of justice.
Dr. Vincent Lloyd’s books: Political Theology Reimagined and What Is Political Theology?
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Thursday Aug 21, 2025
Thursday Aug 21, 2025
Dr. Tina Pippin teaches the Bible and Religion at Agnes Scott College, a women’s college in Decatur, Georgia, USA, and she will be the president of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2026. In this episode, she discusses her new book The Actual Jesus, which investigates the portrayals of Jesus in films, novels, popular media, and AI. She recalls her training in biblical studies as a graduate student in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary before its takeover by the fundamentalists and the development of Jesus research in the past few decades. The field of biblical studies has greatly expanded with the addition of women, racial and ethnic minorities, formerly colonized people, and LGBTQ persons. She offers examples of her pedagogy relating the Bible to global affairs and social concerns in her community. She also discusses her hope for future biblical scholarship.
Dr. Tina Pippin’s book The Actual Jesus
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Friday Aug 15, 2025
Friday Aug 15, 2025
Dr. Antonio Alonso is the Director of Catholic Studies at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He composed the responsorial psalm for the first Mass Pope Francis celebrated in the U.S. in 2015. A Latin Grammy-nominated composer, he discusses the difference between composing liturgical music versus secular music. He began writing music as a teenager and is the author of over 200 published compositions and arrangements. He reflects on Pope Francis’ legacy and his hopes for Pope Leo as the first pope from the U.S. Dr. Alonso is also an award-winning scholar, whose works focus on worship and ritual practices. He discusses his book Commodified Communion: Eucharist, Consumer Culture, and the Practice of the Everyday Life and is working on a second book on changes in material Catholicism in the wake of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Dr. Antonio Alonso’s book: Commodified Communion
Pope Francis in US Holy Mass
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Wednesday Aug 06, 2025
Wednesday Aug 06, 2025
Dr. Keun-joo Christine Pae teaches religion and ethics, and women and gender studies at Denison University in Ohio. In this episode, she discusses transpacific imagination in theology and ethics, and her field research on spiritual activism in Korea. As a coeditor of Searching for the Future in the Past: Reclaiming Feminist Theological Visions, she explains why feminist theology continues to be a critical tool for women-identified and gender-minoritized people to overcome violence and oppression. She helps us understand the growth of Christian Zionism in Korea, pointing to the literal interpretation of the Bible and anti-communism, as well as growing Christian nationalism in the country. As an Episcopal priest and a scholar, she discusses how churches can be involved in the pursuit of social justice.
Dr. Kuen-Joo Christine’s book: A Transpacific Imagination of Theology, Ethics, and Spiritual Activism
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Wednesday Jul 30, 2025
Wednesday Jul 30, 2025
Dr. Anthony Reddie became the first professor of Black Theology at Oxford University in its nearly 900-year history. Born in the U.K. to immigrant parents from Jamaica, Reddie describes racism in the British church and society and how black theology developed in Britain since the 1990s. He argues that Black theology in the U.K. is inseparable from British colonial history and must adopt a postcolonial stance. He offered the first course on Black theology, focusing on James Cone, at Oxford in 2023. He directs the Center of Black Theology at the Regent's Park College and works with churches and organizations to deconstruct whiteness and develop decolonial theological education and pedagogy. He will publish Living Black Theology in the fall of 2025.
Dr. Anthony Reddie's book Living Black Theology
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Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Wednesday Jul 23, 2025
Dr. Loida I. Martell is Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean at Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky. She was trained in veterinary medicine before pursuing a career in theology. In this episode, she discusses the development of Latina theology and the challenges to theological education. As one of a handful Latina in leadership positions in theological education, she looks back at her career and encourages churches and schools to value the contributions of Latinas. She is about to retire in the summer of 2025 and shares how she treats the classroom and school as a pastorate and offers advice to the upcoming generation.
Dr. Loida Martell's book
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