Stories 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

Persuasion

Episode 226 | What We Make of Our Stories

Frankenstein, 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.com/adchoices

Episode 225 | What We Make Of Others

In 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 224 | What We Make of Our Suffering

If 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 through Mary Shelley’s classic story Frankenstein, identifying what the themes of this 19th-century classic has to say about life in the 21st century.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 223 | What We Make of Our Time

In 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 222 | What We Make of Ourselves: A Read-Along Series

Do 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 221 | Imposter Syndrome

Our 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 220 | Rebuilding Community, with Adam Gustine

In 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 and former vice president of content at the Veritas Forum, where she spent almost a decade working with Christian academics at leading secular universities. Learning to have honest, charitable faith dialogue is a passion for Rebecca, whose latest book is titled The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims. This conversation covers a whole host of topics related to engaging others in matters of faith by showing up with your whole self—differing beliefs and all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 219 | Real Conversations with Rebecca McLaughlin

In 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 your whole self—differing beliefs and all.

Episode 218 | Real Relationships, with Rachel Pieh Jones

When 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 office, back to school, back to our faith communities. But after a year away, are we ready to show up?

Episode 217 | Showing Up

Over 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.

Episode 216 | Nature is Healing

Some 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?

Episode 215 | Sustainable Living

In 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 between longing and fulfillment? How do you dare to hope when the world is so harsh and cares nothing for your good work? How can you sustain hope in the face of it all? How can you not be chilled until your heart slowly freezes over?" Keep the conversation going on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook.

Episode 214 | Interlude

Last 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.

Episode 213 | Survival Instinct

In 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 metaphor for our personal flourishing? What can the natural patterns of sowing and reaping and tending and harvest show us about life? How can we find shared ground in the human desire to flourish? Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we find common ground together.

Episode 212 | Garden Variety, with Sarah Pabody

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