Give and Take

Conversations at the Heart of the Matter

About the show

Someone once observed that if Howard Stern and Krista Tippett had a love child, it would be Scott Jones. Scott liked that.

At "Give and Take,” Scott Jones talks with artists, authors, theologians, and political pundits about the lens through which they experience life. With empathy, humor, and a deep knowledge of religion, current events, and pop culture, Scott engages his guests in a free-flowing conversation that's entertaining, unexpected, occasionally bizarre, and oftentimes enlightening. He likes people, and it shows.

Past interviewees include Mark Oppenheimer, Melissa Febos, David French, Miroslav Volf, Dan Savage, Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rob Bell, and (yes) Krista Tippett.

Scott is the former host and producer of the popular Mockingcast podcast (https://themockingcast.fireside.fm) and an in-demand consultant on all things “pod.” He’s also the co-host, with Bill Borror, of New Persuasive Words (https://npw.fireside.fm). Scott is also a prolific writer, a frequent conference speaker, a PhD candidate in Theology, and an ordained minister.

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Episodes

  • Episode 73: The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution, with Marci Shore

    January 6th, 2018  |  1 hr 12 mins

    My guest is Marci Shore. Marci teaches European cultural and intellectual history at Yale University. He most recent book, "The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution." In this lyrical and intimate book, she evokes the human face of the Ukrainian Revolution.

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    Episode 72: Meet The Nativity, with Glen Scrivener

    December 21st, 2017  |  49 mins 47 secs

    My guest is Glen Scrivener. Glen is an Anglican minister and director of the charity Speak Life. He’s the author of several books including “321 - The Story of God, the World, and You” and “Love Story: The Myth That Really Happened.” He wrote and produced the Christmas short films Meet the Nativity (MeetTheNativity.com).

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    Episode 71: Areas of Fog, with Will Dowd

    December 9th, 2017  |  51 mins 18 secs

    My guest is Will Dowd. As unpredictable as its subject, "Areas of Fog" combines wit and poetry with humor and erudition. Will is a writer and artist based outside Boston.

  • Episode 70: Only a Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy, with Todd McGowan

    December 5th, 2017  |  1 hr 20 mins

    My guest is Todd McGowan. He teaches courses in film theory, history, and genre at the University of Vermont. His areas of interest include Hegel, psychoanalysis, and existentialism, and the intersection of these lines of thought with the cinema. He's the author of numerous books, including most recently "Only a Joke Can Save Us: A Theory of Comedy."

  • Episode 69: Obroni And The Chocolate Factory, with Steven Wallace

    December 4th, 2017  |  53 mins 8 secs

    What country makes the best chocolate? Most people would answer "Switzerland," or, if they're discerning, "Belgium" or "France." Captivated by theories of international trade but with precious little knowledge of cocoa or chocolate, Steven Wallace set out to build the Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company in Ghana―a country renowned for its cocoa and where Wallace spent part of his youth―in a quest to produce the world's first export-ready, single-origin chocolate bar.

  • Episode 68: Sexual Harassment & Sexual Desire, with Jocelyn Olcott

    December 3rd, 2017  |  1 hr 5 mins

    In the wake of so many sexual harassment and sexual misconduct allegations, we here concerns of "sex panic" and McCarthyism from some cultural critics. Many of them are actual on the cultural left. Jocelyn Olcott and I talk about this and a host of related issues in this episode of Give and Take.

  • Episode 67: Net Neutrality, with Jennifer Briney

    December 2nd, 2017  |  1 hr 23 mins

    My guest is Jennifer Briney. She's the creator and host of the wildly popular "Congressional Dish" podcast. It's like C-Span meets Comedy Central, resisting the corporate takeover of the world. We discuss the upcoming FCC decision concerning Net Neutrality and the impact it could have on consumers.

  • Episode 66: Roy Moore and The Rise of Creepy Christianity, with David French

    November 15th, 2017  |  1 hr 7 mins

    My guest is David French. David is a senior writer for National Review, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, an attorney (concentrating his practice in constitutional law and the law of armed conflict), and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We discuss a recent piece he wrote entitled "The Enduring Appeal Of Creepy Christianity." It deals with the Roy Moore senate controversy.

  • Episode 65: Is That Rhetorical?..., with Johanna Hartelius

    November 13th, 2017  |  33 mins 17 secs

    My guest is Johanna Hartelius. She is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on rhetorical theory and criticism with an emphasis on expertise, public memory, and digital rhetoric.

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    Episode 64: Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America, with David Clary

    November 10th, 2017  |  46 mins 1 sec

    My guest is David Clary. David is a news editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune and the author of “Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America,” published by Rutgers University Press on Oct. 30, 2017. The book explores how and why states have encouraged and promoted the expansion of legalized gambling in America.

  • Episode 63: Babette's Feast, with Julia Beardsley O'Brien and Abigail Killeen

    November 8th, 2017  |  1 hr 28 secs

    Babette’s Feast tells the story of how a refugee transforms a closed religious community by sacrificing all she has to throw a lavish dinner party. Through her radical hospitality, this mysterious woman converts her guests’ deeply held notions of scarcity and judgment and opens them up to give and receive abundant grace. My guests, Julia Beardsley O'Brien and Abigail Kileen, have adapted the story for the stage. This adaptation re-imagines the story you thought you knew about Babette’s singular feast: deep, funny, dangerous, sensual, and beautiful.

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    Episode 62: Philadelphia: Finding The Hidden City, with Nathaniel Popkin

    November 4th, 2017  |  58 mins 33 secs

    My guest is Nathaniel Popkin. Why is Philadelphia the “Hidden City?” What makes it distinctive in the landscape of American cities? And why does it matter? These are the questions Hidden City Daily co-founders Peter Woodall and Nathaniel Popkin and Hidden City Festival photographer Joseph E.B. Elliott seek to answer in the new book, "Philadelphia: Finding the Hidden City."

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    Episode 61: When Dust Becomes Mercy, with Tullian Tchividjian

    October 30th, 2017  |  1 hr 9 mins

    Tullian Tchividjian is the grandson of Billy Graham. He's written several award winning books. He's been a celebrated preacher and pastor. Then his life fell apart. He lost his marriage and his church and he wanted to end it all. Then he found hope. If hope is what you need, this is the conversation for you.

  • Episode 60: The Zombie Gospel, with Danielle Strickland

    October 20th, 2017  |  42 mins 15 secs

    My guest is Danielle Strickland. Her newest book, "The Zombie Gospel", explores the spiritual and existential themes in the wildly popular television series "The Walking Dead."

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    Episode 59: Thanks, Obama...My Hopey, Changey White House Years, with David Litt

    October 18th, 2017  |  41 mins 48 secs

    David Litt entered the White House in 2011 and left in 2016 as a special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. Described as the “comic muse for the president." Full of hilarious stories and told in a truly original voice, his first book, "Thanks, Obama" is an exciting debut about what it means – personally, professionally, and politically – to grow up.

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    Episode 58: Same Kind Of Different As Me, with Darren Moorman

    October 11th, 2017  |  36 mins 54 secs

    My guest is Darren Moorman. He's produced numerous feature films. His most recent film, "Same Kind Of Difference As Me", premiers on October 20th. It stars Renee Zellweger, Greg Kinnear, Djimon Hounsou and John Voight.