In this episode I got to speak with Grafton Tanner. Grafton is an American author and academic. His work focuses on Big Tech, nostalgia, neo-liberalism, and education. He is the author of books, Babbling Corpse, The Circle of the Snake, The Hours Have lost their clock, and more recently, Foreverism. In this conversation we chat about our culture's current obsession with nostalgia in media, politics and literature. We talk about how our current cultural mood is one that doesn't want to look a the future and so plunders the past and tries to expand the present. We touch on the internet, "retrobaiting", time and a concept at the heart of his new book, Foreverism.
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39:36
Lynn Swaner on Flourishing Christian Education
In this episode I get to speak with Dr. Lynn Swaner. Lyn is the President of Cardus, a think tank in the states to dedicated to strengthening institutions for the common good. She is the editor or lead author of numerous books, including Future Ready, MindShift, and Flourishing Together. She holds a doctorate in organizational leadership and is a good friend of CEN, having spoken at a number of our conferences.We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, from a Christian understanding of flourishing to innovation and the place of research. We also talk about what it means for a Christian school to be distinctive and a core question that she talks about to help them stay on mission: what does love require?
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50:42
Jesus and the Powers with Michael Bird
Michael is an Australian biblical scholar, Anglican priest, and the Deputy Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne. He is the author of over thirty books including his latest one, Jesus and the Powers, cowritten with N.T. Wright. In this conversation, we continue in our discussion around difference by unpacking his new book, exploring nationalism, current cultural tensions, power, and veggie tales ethics.
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39:54
Mission drift and leadership with Kara Martin
In this episode I ask Kara Martin questions based on her book, "Keeping Faith: How Christian organizations can stay true to the way of Jesus." We talk about power, mission drift, leadership beyond niceness, risky faithfulness and how organisations can meaningfully enact grace, forgiveness and confession. There is a lot here for school leaders to mull over, so it could be a good one to share!Here's a link to the book:https://amzn.asia/d/3IUV5gz
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53:22
Biblical Critical Theory with Chris Watkin
This week we have some time with Chris Watkin, lecturer and researcher at Monash University. He is also the author of the award winning book, Biblical Critical Theory. This book explores how the bible shapes our imaginations and cuts across many of the binaries that exist in our culture today. In this conversation we talk about what we usually mean by critical theory, what it means to have a prophetic imagination and what it might mean that ultimate reality is personal. We’re looking forward to hosting Chris at our AGM in March, but for now, here’s my conversation with him as an appetiser.
Makerspace is a podcast run by Christian Education National, a network of Christian schools across Australia.Find out more about us at https://cen.edu.auHosted by Sam Burrows
New Zealand