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Hey Everyone! Only one more week until we drop a new show! That's right, we're about to un-hiatus. We've been working hard to craft up some new episodes and the cutest Klingon, Alexander is here to tell you about it. Plus, we're dropping a sneak peak of the next episode, "Ship in a Bottle"! It's Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes's--and now Picard's-- archenemy, and he's back to shake the Enterprise around again! We hope this holds you over until October 1st when Season 6 Episode 12 of ST:TNGeez! Not Another Star Trek Podcast drops! It's "Ship in a Bottle," and it's coming at you right about . . . next week. Even more available at: https://tngeez.com
Theoretical Nonsense: The Big Bang Theory Watch-a-Long, No PHD Necessary
Check out our recap and breakdown of Season 5 Episode 24 of the Big Bang Theory! We found 7 IQ Points!00:00:00 - Intro00:14:05 - Recap Begins00:20:50 - Russia's contributions to the global economy00:32:20 - How much urine do space suits hold and Space Diapers! 00:42:26 - Russian Breakfasts01:04:47 - Fuel leaks on rockets 01:11:04 - Fantastic Four, annual #3 from 196501:19:45 - How to get ordained online 01:26:25 - Sheldon's speech....in Klingon! Find us everywhere at: https://linktr.ee/theoreticalnonsense~~*CLICK THE LINK TO SEE OUR IQ POINT HISTORY TOO! *~~-------------------------------------------------Welcome to Theoretical Nonsense! If you're looking for a Big Bang Theory rewatch podcast blended with How Stuff Works, this is the podcast for you! Hang out with Rob and Ryan where they watch each episode of The Big Bang Theory and break it down scene by scene, and fact by fact, and no spoilers! Ever wonder if the random information Sheldon says is true? We do the research and find out! Is curry a natural laxative, what's the story behind going postal, are fish night lights real? Watch the show with us every other week and join in on the discussion! Email us at theoreticalnonsensepod@gmail.com and we'll read your letter to us on the show! Even if it's bad! :) Music by Alex Grohl. Find official podcast on Apple and Spotify https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/theoretical-nonsense-the-big-bang-theory-watch-a/id1623079414
This is part two of our Star Trek 60th anniversary series. Robert Picardo, the Emergency Medical Hologram on Star Trek: Voyager and a member of The Planetary Society's board of directors, reads a vintage letter from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry asking fans to join a brand new organization called The Planetary Society. Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Lower Decks, and Picard, joins us to talk about what the Vulcans can teach us about the discipline we'll need to survive in deep space, and shares his own experience as an amateur astronomer who contributed data to NASA's Lucy mission. Karim Diané, Jay-Den Kraag on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, talks about playing a Klingon who defies everyone's expectations of what it means to be strong. And Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, is here with What's Up, discussing Star Trek technologies. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2026-star-trek-at-60-part-2See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Drop Set: Bodybuilding Discussion on training, nutrition, motivation and more
Episode 309 of The Drop Set and we’ve got some of the best listener calls in the show’s history. Trey from the Scottish Highlands asks two great ones — what can’t you prepare for at your first bodybuilding show, and what’s gotten better and worse about the sport since social media took over. Ron from Tennessee wants to know the oldest client I’ve ever coached for contest prep and whether I do posing coaching. The answer to the first one might surprise you. Jeff from New York follows up his previous question with two more — how to recognize and address slipping training intensity before it affects your physique, and what the real hard pills to swallow are about building a notable physique. And then Trey calls back with the greatest question in the history of this podcast — which Star Trek characters would I be most worried about competing against on stage in a bodybuilding show if given a year to prep. The answer involves Vulcan discipline, Klingon genetics, a surprising sleeper pick from Enterprise, and one very unfair changeling. Then in the final segment — the conversation I tried to record last week and couldn’t get right — I get into why I don’t enjoy training right now, what I think is driving it, and the actual plan I’m putting together to fix it. Burnout, overanalysis, coaching yourself last, and why rediscovering fun in the gym might be the prerequisite for everything else. Call in and leave a voicemail with your question! 865-226-9284 Bikini Blueprint is available now at pre-launch pricing – get in while it’s hot! https://fivestarrphysique.com/bikini-blueprint/ Hypertrophy University, for all your training needs: Build Muscle Faster and Smarter with Hypertrophy University Master the ins and outs of dieting FAST with Macro Boot Camp: Make Dieting EASY with Macro Boot Camp Contest prep and body transformation coaching with Darin: Personalized Coaching Options Merch! Check out swag and workout programs: https://shop.fivestarrphysique.com/ Check me out on YouTube and subscribe to see what's coming up next: https://www.youtube.com/@darin_starr Check me out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropsetpodcast
When there's a disturbance in the Neutral Zone and the Entrepreneur is sent to investigate, a derelict ship carrying Klingon passengers explodes during an emergency beam out. But after Worf learns more about what these warriors are up to, an honorable death is the only way to save Captain Korris from Klingon justice. How is this away team like a Greatest Gen live show? What should The Rio be taking advantage of for STLV? Which sign will you not find on the door of sicksbay? It's the episode that had no spills in the studio.Support the production of our shows Members get benefits including bonus episodes and an ad-free experienceSign up for our mailing list!Get a thing at podshop.biz!The Greatest Generation is hosted by Adam Pranica and Benjamin Ahr Harrison The show is produced by Wynde PriddySocial media is managed by Rob Adler and Bill TilleyMusic by Adam Ragusea & Dark MateriaDiscuss the show using the hashtag #GreatestGen and find us on social media:YouTube | Instagram | BlueskyAnd check out these online communities run by FODs: Reddit | USS Hood Discord | Facebook group | Wikia | FriendsOfDeSoto.socialSupport the production of The Greatest Generation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Season 4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is officially in full swing, and Show 285 — "Strange Enterprises" — is our deep dive into the first seven episodes. This season has swung harder between tones than any prior run of the show: we open on a genuine dinosaur-extinction time-travel epic, detour into full-blown horror with a derelict ghost ship, throw the crew a wild bender on a pleasure planet, go full noir behind Klingon lines, turn half the bridge crew into literal puppets, nearly lose the ship to a slipstream malfunction during an off-duty shift, and close out with an omnipotent being trapping everyone in a soap opera to force them to deal with their feelings. Below, we break down each episode's plot beat by beat and get into what's working, what's weird, and where Season 4 seems to be headed. Spoilers ahead for episodes 1 through 7. Please send feedback to: GizmoSapiens@gmail.com See you on the digital Flip-side!
Could Jesus have incarnated on a Klingon world while he walked in Galilee? Jimmy Akin takes that question and eleven more from patrons — telekinesis, the Mary Celeste, Salem, ley lines — with Dom Bettinelli. The post Klingon or Time Lord Jesus? Mary Celeste? Salem Witch Trials? And More Patron Questions appeared first on StarQuest Media.
Could Jesus have incarnated on a Klingon world while he walked in Galilee? Jimmy Akin takes that question and eleven more from patrons — telekinesis, the Mary Celeste, Salem, ley lines — with Dom Bettinelli.
Dave and Andrew are taking a break so they can craft-up some new episodes! Don't worry the show will kick back in on October 1st! The boys have dipped into the archives and found a favorite episode that you might not have listened to. On this bonus episode of STTNGeez, Andrew and Dave interview Suzie Plakson who played fan-Favorite K'Ehleyr! That's right Suzie-flipping-Plakson drops by and shares insights on the late, great Klingon badass as well as sharing behind the scenes stories of her time on Trek! And yes, if you didn't know, they kill K'Ehleyr in a not so cool way, (they being the Klingons) and well, the show— and Suzie and the boys talk about it. Join us for an interview with Suzie Plakson -- K'Ehleyr! On your favorite Next Generation re-watch podcast: STTNGEEZ, Not Another Star Trek Podcast! And don't forget to pick up Susie's audio book, "The Poor Dead K'Ehleyr Show: an Audiobook for Trek Fans" at https://suzieplakson.com/Even more available at: https://tngeez.com
Deep Space Nine goes where no crossover had gone before: directly into “The Trouble with Tribbles.” We revisit “Trials and Tribble-ations,” featuring Kirk hero worship, Dax flirting across time, Bashir nearly becoming his own grandfather, and Worf absolutely refusing to explain Klingon foreheads. ▶Call us at: 323-389-7223 ▶Check out the crew's bonus shows at http://suboptimalpods.com. ▶Subscribe to the audio podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts: https://omny.fm/shows/startertrek ▶See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. ▶A Fine Alpinist Ranch Production - http://www.finealpinistranch.com ✔ SOCIAL MEDIA ✔ ▶Twitter - https://x.com/yoisthisracist ▶Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yoisthisracist/Suboptimal Premium Pods! : https://suboptimalpods.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
Between the deep discussions on Jem'Hadar life and O'Brien's familiarity with the wild habits of Klingon women, your hosts finish thir discussion of every detial in "To The Death"! While Sisko tries to keep a small ship filled with murder hobos on track, Dax gets complimented for her graceful aging, Worf once again shows his character flaw is 'getting into fights in front of his boss', and Peter finds his season four contender for the weakest moment. What is it? Listen and find out!
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
As iOS updates roll out new icons and smarter Siri voices, today's students are relying on apps that make studying more interactive, collaborative, and personal than ever! See how a fresh lineup of iOS and iPadOS apps could completely reshape your back-to-school routine. Structured: Visual daily planner with focus and accessibility features GoodNotes vs. Notability: Digital note-taking and annotation Quizlet: Study aid, flashcard maker, and AI-powered practice tests Otter: Group project meetings and lecture transcription made easy Essayist: Academic writing and streamlined reference management Duolingo: Gamified language learning for students (and Klingon fans) Notes and organization skills as keys to academic success News: iOS 27 updates, Siri voices, search improvements, better battery life App Caps: Moonlitt and Sunlitt for moon and sun tracking, CGP Grey video picks Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Rosemary Orchard Contact iOS Today at iOSToday@twit.tv. Download or subscribe to iOS Today at https://twit.tv/shows/ios-today Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord.
[SNW404] This week, Let's Talk About Treks is watching film noir through the Earl Grey super-good explanation filter. Earl Grey and jaQ` Darino discuss Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season four episode four, A Case of Chiaroscuro, including whether the season's genre experiments are working, why this alien planet is suspiciously good at recreating 1930s Earth, and how much aluminum foil it takes to dress a Klingon governor. Along the way, we investigate Chapel's extremely sloppy espionage, Kor's ever-changing forehead, M'Benga's place in the murderous-doctor rankings, and the possibility that everyone aboard the Enterprise already knows what La'an is investigating. All this and more: come find out whether the episode's morality has more shades of gray than the episode itself!
For this week's Star Trek journey we've got a pair of episodes absolutely chock full of cardboard swords and ridiculous alien misunderstandings in the Klingon-heavy donnybrook Day of the Dove, and the generation ship disaster For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky!CHAPTERS:(00:00:00) - The Nextlander Watchcast Episode 188: Star Trek: Day of the Dove and For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky(00:00:21) - Intro.(00:06:31) - Kicking things off with Day of the Dove.(00:13:27) - Who made and starred in this episode.(00:20:29) - The Klingons crash the away party, and we discuss the nature of this alien.(00:31:25) - Chekov's sudden revenge boner, and a Klingon donnybrook breaks out.(00:36:27) - Feeding the hate to feed on the hate.(00:46:50) - Convincing the Klingons.(00:50:00) - Transporting into engineering and wrapping this one up as quick as we can.(00:58:28) - Break!(00:58:46) - We're back, and it's time for an episode with a very long title.(01:02:20) - Who made this, and who was in this.(01:06:49) - Getting into the episode proper, and not believing Bones is actually going to die.(01:12:30) - The people, and their phenomenally stupid outfits.(01:20:15) - Bones gets to be the loverboy for once.(01:27:48) - Giving everyone headaches and then solving a big adventure game puzzle.(01:40:50) - Final thoughts.(01:44:21) - Housekeeping for next week, and outro.
In this Captains Quadrant review, we dive deep into Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 4's bold noir experiment, “A Case of Chiaroscuro.” Shot almost entirely in black and white, this episode blends Casablanca‑style atmosphere, Klingon occupation drama, and classic Trek moral dilemmas into one of the season's most visually striking chapters. We break down:Una's first mission as Commander and her dangerous case of mistaken identityThe Klingon‑controlled world of Mat'aar XII, its resistance movement, and the episode's heavy noir influences How the radiation from the Mat'Aaran star creates the black‑and‑white aesthetic with an in‑universe explanation The episode's biggest twists, standout performances, and what this stylistic gamble means for Strange New Worlds going forwardWhether you loved the noir homage or found it a risky Trek experiment, this review breaks down every detail — from Una's moral choices to the episode's layered allegory about resistance, identity, and the shades between right and wrong.
Reformed Brotherhood | Sound Doctrine, Systematic Theology, and Brotherly Love
In episode 502 of The Reformed Brotherhood, Tony and Jesse begin what promises to be a multi-part deep dive into the Parable of the Good Samaritan — one of the most culturally embedded and theologically rich stories Jesus ever told. But before a single character hits the Jericho road, the hosts ground listeners in something easily overlooked: the charged context in which this parable is told. A lawyer — trained, confident, adversarial — steps forward not to learn but to test. What follows is a masterclass in how Jesus turns the law back on those who wield it as a weapon. This episode covers Luke 10:21–36, explores the covenant of works and covenant of grace, the noetic effects of sin, and why the Good Samaritan is far more than a lesson in being a helpful neighbor. Buckle up. Key Takeaways The lawyer's question is self-contradictory from the start. Asking "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" smuggles a works-righteousness assumption into the very grammar of the question. Inheritance by definition is received, not earned. Jesus does not give the lawyer a new paradigm — He reorients him to the true one. The covenant of grace is not a New Testament innovation. It runs through every Old Testament covenant administration. The lawyer should have already known this. "Do this and you will live" is not a Pelagian concession. Christ is holding out the law's own terms — perfect, total, unrelenting obedience — not to suggest it is achievable, but to expose its impossibility and drive the lawyer (and us) to the only alternative: mercy. "Desiring to justify himself" is more complex than it first appears. Tony argues that the desire to fulfill the covenant of works is not inherently wicked — it is the misguided belief that one can which is the problem. This distinction creates room for reading Christ's response as genuinely merciful instruction, not merely rebuke. The noetic effects of sin mean accurate theology can be deployed in service of self. The lawyer knows the right answers and still uses them to avoid repentance. Correct doctrine alone does not save. The fundamental human problem is not ignorance — it is the will's bondage and the heart's self-love. The parable is primarily Christological, not merely ethical. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. The story is not first about mercy ministry; it is about who binds up our wounds when we are left for dead on the road, unable to save ourselves. The priest and the Levite are not exonerated by their ritual obligations. Considerable ink has been spilled trying to justify their passing by on grounds of Levitical purity concerns. The parable refuses that exit. Everyone in the story — and everyone listening — already knows what the right thing to do was. Key Concepts The Covenant of Works Is Not a Black Box One of the more quietly important arguments Tony makes in this episode is that the covenant of works was never meant to be mysterious or inaccessible. When Jesus responds to the lawyer's question by asking, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" — He does so with a visible assumption: there is a clear, knowable answer, and the lawyer should be able to give it. And he does. Love God completely, love your neighbor as yourself. The covenant of works was always coherent and comprehensible. The problem has never been that its demands were obscure. The problem is that no one — save the Mediator — has ever kept them. Jesus is not introducing a new ethical framework. He is forcing the lawyer to confront a standard he has always known and has never met. The Lawyer as a Warning to Reformed Christians Jesse closes the episode's first movement with a pointed and personal application that cuts across theological self-satisfaction. The lawyer is not a caricature of ignorance — he is a portrait of someone with accurate, affirmed theological knowledge who instinctively deploys it in the service of self-justification the moment he senses conviction. Jesse names this directly as a danger particularly acute in Reformed circles, where doctrinal precision can become a subtle mechanism of self-defense rather than an occasion for repentance. The Reformation's great recovery of grace must not become a new form of the very disease it diagnosed. Knowing the right words about total depravity, the covenant of grace, and the mediator does not exempt anyone from the need to actually be humbled by them. Theology is not armor against repentance — it is, rightly received, the road toward it. Context Is Not Just Setup — It Is Part of the Lesson Tony and Jesse both emphasize that Luke 10:21–24 is not merely throat-clearing before the real content begins. The theological statement embedded there — that the Father has hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children, that no one knows the Son except the Father or the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him — is the hermeneutical key to everything that follows. The lawyer approaches Jesus as one rabbi testing another. But Luke has already told his readers that this is not a conversation between equals debating interpretive options. It is the Lawgiver being questioned by someone who does not recognize Him. The parable that follows is not just an answer to a legal question. It is a revelation — the kind that only happens when the Son chooses to give it. Memorable Quotes You do not want to pit the law against the one who has given the law, the one whose character is represented in the law — because you're always going to get owned, and you'll get owned before you realize you've just gotten owned on multiple levels. - Jesse Schwamb Jesus is trying to sort of reorient them back to the true paradigm of grace that is present under all of the Old Covenant administrations. It's not so much a matter of developing a new framework and imposing it on this guy. It's really trying to say, 'Listen — think about this for a second. Think about the fact that, yes, you know you have to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, your whole mind, and you have to love your neighbor as yourself. You've answered correctly. If you can do those things, you will live.' — with the subtext: and of course you cannot possibly do those things. - Tony Arsenal The fundamental human problem is not primarily ignorance, but the will's bondage and the heart's self-love. It's a problem no amount of correct discipline or doctrine alone can fix apart from some kind of regenerating grace — which is exactly what Jesus is going to illustrate for us in the mercy he's about to display in this parable. - Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript Tony Arsenal: [00:00:00] This parable is not primarily about us figuring out how to do mercy ministry. Like, that's important. It's probably an outcome of this. It's probably something for us to think about. But really, this is actually Christ saying, like, "Hold on a second here, dude." Like, "Let's just think about this." Do you need someone who is going to tell you to pick yourself up off your bootstraps and cross to the other side of the street and leave you to your own devices? Or do you need someone who's gonna throw you on their donkey, who's gonna bind up your wounds, who's gonna pay the innkeeper, and is gonna pledge to pay everything that is owed for your salvation? Right? That's not too on the nose here, I think. Welcome to episode 502 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm [00:01:00] Jesse And I'm Tony, and this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey, brother. Jesse Schwamb: Hey, brother. Well, we've got a big one to talk about on this episode. We're marching further and further into all of the glorious parables Jesus told as part of His teaching. And as you and I kind of joked before we began, I mean, what did you call it? Did you say this is, uh, the big daddy? Tony Arsenal: It's the big daddy, one of the big daddy parables. Jesse Schwamb: It's one of the big daddy parables. Now, this one is probably second maybe only to the prodigal son. Yeah But in terms of its ubiquity and its kind of just common knowledge in culture, this one ranks right up there. And before I reveal what it is, which you may already know, I was thinking how so many times we look at the Beatitudes as expression of a master class in Jesus teaching the law, and I think that's true. But as I was reading and thinking about this particular parable, I thought, "I don't know. I think this one is, uh, right up there," because [00:02:00] this is like law on law. It's double law. Yeah It's law coming back at the law giver who's trying to use the law to test Jesus, and then Jesus tests him with the law that He himself gave His people. It's... I'm already getting too excited- ... and we've got something to do before we get there. But we're talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan. And so I can't imagine, can I just make a prediction up front? I, you know where I'm going with this, and probably everybody else does. Uh, this is gonna be like two conversations- Tony Arsenal: At least ... Jesse Schwamb: probably. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, at least two. Jesse Schwamb: Is that fair? Because I realize we, of course, wanna get to the parable itself, and oh, my goodness, how much ink has been spilled. Even going back to, like, if you read, like, Augustine or, like, the early church, like the Patristics, the Church Fathers, there are so much that could be said, and maybe some stuff that just shouldn't be said about all the allegorical potential intent here about these characters. But [00:03:00] there's so much amazing stuff that happens in the opening of this, that's not just the setup, but it is its own lesson, and I'm real excited actually to talk about that with you before we even get into, like, all the good stuff that everybody expects that you wanna talk about. So we're gonna do it all. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: We're gonna do it all, but it'll take time. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. I'm interested to see if we're even on the same page about where to start reading, 'cause I, I think we might not be, and that's gonna be fun. So we'll, we'll let it fly and see what happens. It'll be our own little, uh, podcast game. Jesse Schwamb: But, uh, I think- Well, I mean, we're gonna be in Luke chapter 10, but I guess to your point, we should be starting in Luke chapter one to get to this. Yeah. Tony Arsenal: Exactly. But Jesse Schwamb: we, we do have to back up quite a bit, and I was gonna ask you about that. Yeah. But I, apparently we're just gonna play that on the fly and see where we go. Affirmations Denials Segment Jesse Schwamb: But of course, the Reformers had their five solos. Chalcedon had its, what, seven withouts. We've got opinions, and we're just as confident about ours, so of course it's time for affirmations, denials, where we affirm something that we think is good or awesome or [00:04:00] we wanna recommend, and we deny, again, something that is not so great or maybe just plain annoying. So before we talk about the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Tony, what do you got for us on this episode? Are you affirming with something, or are you gonna come in with a denial? Tony Arsenal: Well, I've got two affirmations. That's fine. One is just- I will allow it ... a declaration of joy, and one is, like, a real affirmation. I, I just can't... It would be remiss of me not to share with our podcasting family that my son August and my daughter Adeline, uh, joined the visible church today as- Hear, hear ... uh, non-communicant members. Uh, Augie and Addie were baptized on the 16th of August of 2026, uh, into the visible church, into the name of Jesus Christ. Uh, was, it was just a great service. Um, it's funny because I've been- been talking with Augie. One of the thing with toddlers when you're doing something big like this is you kinda have to talk about it and practice and rehearse, rehearse it and, and get them ready for it. And up until maybe, like, I don't know, three days [00:05:00] ago, every time it would come up he would be saying, "I don't wanna be baptized. I don't wanna be baptized." And, um, you know, I, I, I, you know, I don't wanna force him to do something, but also, like, I make him eat vegetables. But, um- ... he, I, I think it was nerves, and I think something clicked in his head and all of a sudden he was very excited to be baptized. So, um, it was great. We've been talking about, you know, what baptism is, God's promise to you that if you trust him he'll save you. And so today he- Right ... he was like, "God's gonna make a promise to me to save me." So he was very excited. Nice. And he did a great job just standing quietly and listening to the pastor talk. Uh, and Addie was, was, was just a beautiful little girl, and she, um, she loved it as well. So that's just a bonus affirmation. I don't know that I could get through a podcast without gushing over that. Glorify App and Devotionals Tony Arsenal: Uh, but the, the affirmation I have, uh, this is an, an app that I think some of our listeners may have heard of. Um, some may roll their eyes at it, to be honest with you. Um, I stumbled on this because, uh, you have an Oura Ring, don't you, Jesse? Jesse Schwamb: I do. Tony Arsenal: You [00:06:00] do, yeah. So for those who don't know, an Oura Ring is like a little wearable ring that's like a, almost like a fitness tracker, but it tracks biometrics, pulse rate, temperature, all these different things, sleep. Um, there's a startup, uh, that has been doing a GoFundMe or a funding kind of thing for, uh, what they're calling like a Christian version of an Oura Ring. So it does a lot of the same things, sleep tracking, basic biometric tracking. Hmm. But it also has like alerts built in, and it's tied into an app that they use for devotionals. So it'll, it'll remind you to pray. It'll remind you, you know, bring you to an app to do a devotion. But the app it uses is a standalone app that I looked up, and it's called Glorify. Have you ever heard of this app before this evening? I have heard of Jesse Schwamb: this, yeah. Tony Arsenal: So Glorify is just a small devotional app. Uh, it's not much different than you would expect based on the name. It is connected to this, uh, to this Glorify ring, which again is, is sort of like an Oura Ring tied into this app. But this app basically is, is [00:07:00] designed to help you complete short daily devotional exercises, and they're usually very brief. They're based on a very brief, um, a very brief passage of scripture. Today's passage, uh, c- there's a quote. So today's quote is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It says, "True love does not consist in finding the perfect person, but in faithfully loving an imperfect one." Not sure why this devotional app is using a romance, uh, quote from Bonhoeffer of all people. But that was today's. Um, and the passage is Proverbs 5:15-17. So it's a, it's a devotional based on two verses, which is fine. So you read the passage. There's a very brief devotional on that passage, and then sort of a guided prayer, and they have both premium and free models. The premium model includes like you can listen to the devotional, you can listen to the prayer. Um, but just for example, today's prayer, it, it's very simple. "Loving Father, thank you for, uh, thank you because you're faithful and unchanging. In a world [00:08:00] marked by broken promises, disposable relationships, you remain the same. Teach me to reflect that faithfulness in my relationships. Help me to love with perseverance, grace, and commitment following the example of Christ. Protect marriages, strengthen families, restore what needs healing. May every relationship be marked by respect, truth, and genuine love. Shape in me a heart of integrity that honors you in both the small and significant choices of life. In Jesus' name, amen." So I think what I love about this, and this, I mentioned last week that there was, this is kind of like, sort of like the fluffy evangelical devotions. Like- Right ... there's not a ton of like solid doctrinal meat- But like, it's still nourishing. And sometimes we need a little bit of help. Sometimes we don't know what to pray, we don't know what to read, we're not sure. Sometimes in, I think in our Reformed circles, we feel like if we're not reading large portions of scripture and reading deep theological treaties or long, complex devotionals, that we're really not doing anything, and that's just not the [00:09:00] truth. So I've been using this in addition to other devotional studies I'm doing. I don't do it every day. I mean, there's some like streak functionality, kinda like habit tracking type stuff that's built into it. Um, but it's nice. It's nice to be able to pick it up, read a very short scripture, a brief devotional thought, and then have some guided prayer. I know one of the reasons I don't pray as often as I ought to is because I struggle to know what and how to pray. So even having some written prayers, I mean, this is why the Psalms are good, things like the Valley of Visions are good. Um, having some pre-written prayers that you genuinely pray but you're not having to come up with in the moment can really help. Right. So the app is called Glorify. I know it's available on iPhone. I'm not sure about Android. I'm sure it probably is. I'm sure they wanna have a pretty broad ecosystem. Um, and, and it's good. Again, it's, it's not anything fancy. It's not anything like super technical. Uh, and as I kind of alluded, like some of it's a little weird. Um, I, I didn't read the proverb. I think maybe the proverb is about romantic relationships, why they're, why they're tying in that, um, Bonhoeffer quote in, in the prayer. [00:10:00] But, um, even that, like it's pretty innocuous. And the quotes, like you don't have to read the quotes. It's not like you have to have to do that. Um, you could jump in, just read the scripture or just read the devotion and just do the prayer and you would be fine. So check it out. It's called Glorify, available on iPhone for sure. I'm pretty sure it's on, on Android. And maybe it's something you add daily, you know, this kinda thing like you do when you're on the bus or you're waiting at the grocery store, something quick you can do when you might be wasting that time just sorta sitting around or scrolling Twitter. Again, Twitter's fine. You can use your leisure time as you see fit. But if you wanna fill it with something like this, something that is more spiritual, then this would be a good option to just add a little bit of, uh, a little bit of nourishment to your diet where you might not otherwise be getting it Jesse Schwamb: I have no proof of this, but I just keep saying it anyway. It might be that we're living in the golden age of really great- ... daily worship resources. Like, something to actually cultivate, not just, like, a devotional nugget, but something that actually leads you into a pattern and a habit of [00:11:00]worship, giving your attentive focus on Jesus. And I love that. So, uh, uh, 'cause I was just thinking, like, I was trying to look back on some of our past affirmations here. We've talked about the book Walking in Faith. I just gave everybody Awake My Soul last week. You're coming in with the Glorify app. I- we've talked about Dwell, if not recently, we've talked about that for some time. It's like a great Bible reading app, and there's lots and lots of new features, by the way, coming out on that- Yeah that are fantastic. And then, yes, all these other great prayers. I, I see, like, these books on prayer, like, actually, I'm sorry, like, prayer books, I guess, as, like, a great way to kinda... It's like a jumper for your car. You know what I mean? Like, just gets you started. What a, what a lovely thing to come into a place and have a launching pad. And I've been using a lot of Into His Presence, which is a collection of Puritan prayers, sometimes because, for instance, this just happened, where I wanted to pray for someone who was just going through a rough time, a good friend of mine. And I went to that place to kinda start and frame, knowing that I was gonna sit down with him and pray, how I might be able to do that well and [00:12:00] effectively. And these things are just, like, really phenomenal resources. It's just an amazing time to have all these things at our disposal. So that's another great option. It's, it's really more about, like you and I have talked about, Tony, like, whatever gets us into that pattern, whatever gets us, like, authentically experiencing under our own volition, coming in the discipline of sitting before God in daily worship with that expression being pretty broad in its representation- Yeah is to really include something of devotional time in the scriptures, memorization, metabolation, metabolizing. Metabolation, I'm just gonna make that up as, like- ... what happens when you, when you take the scripture and metabolize it into your own life. Meditating on it and, you know, again, maybe looking through the confessions and creeds that have shaped our distilled understanding of what the scripture teaches so that we're enhancing and edifying our mind. We're also engaging the heart, and then we're engaging God and ourselves in communication with Him through prayer. I'm all for anything [00:13:00] that gets us into those rhythms, reminds us of the importance of them, and like we talked about last week, makes it so that when we think about what it means to be married to Christ, so to speak, it's not just about whipping out some kind of marriage certificate to prove that, but that we actually have a frame and a behavioral pattern that fits a married person, that- Yeah how they act, how they think, how they behave, how they communicate, they're never too far away from their lovely spouse in some way or another. And so I think that these tools are great ways to get us exactly into that kind of mindset and practice. Tony Arsenal: Yeah, absolutely. And like I said, like, I think- In our Reformed circles, we can, you know, we, we tend to be maybe a little eggheaded, and we, we tend to be a little more intellectual and, and a little more, I don't know, studious. And there's nothing wrong with that. Um, but I think sometimes it can breed a sort of, uh, elitism and arrogance. Sure. Uh, this is a perfectly valid devotional tool. Yes. Mm-hmm. And, and I think, [00:14:00] you know, kinda like the old adage, like, well, what's the best translation of scripture? Well, whichever one you're gonna read. Exactly. Like, what's the best devotional tool? Whichever one you're gonna use, whichever one's actually gonna bring you into the Word, uh, on a, on a regular basis. Um, and again, like, two verses of the scripture is two verses of the scripture that you might- Right ... not have other spent time, otherwise spent time reading. And it really is short enough, and it saves your progress. Like, you can do, you can do the quote in the morning, and then you can check the scripture on the way to the, you know, the word work, on a stoplight or whatever. Um, if you have the, the paid subscription, you can listen to this stuff, you know, on the, the bus or whatever. Um, so check it out. Glorify app, they have a ring they're making. It's in funding, I guess, if you wanna check it out, you can check that out too. I am neither affirming nor denying whatever this Glory ring is, Glorify ring. But, um, but yeah, the app is great. The, the app is free, and it's, it's worth even just checking out and adding once in a while to your day Jesse Schwamb: The glory ring or the glorify ring sounds like almost too Tolkien, even for me Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. It's the one ring to rule all of your devotions. [00:15:00] Uh, and in the, and in the morning bind them. Jesse, save me from the trail I was about to go on, and, and I was gonna speak in the language of Mordor, I think, on accident. Uh, save us from this. What are you affirming or denying? Jesse Schwamb: That's Tony Arsenal: beautiful. Please tell me it's the language of Mordor. Elvish AI and Music Pick Jesse Schwamb: Uh, no, but can I just say at the risk of really taking us really far afield so early on, which is not necessarily off-brand for us, I have done this... I, I don't know if I should be ashamed by this or I should be excited by this. But- ... um, the Elvish tongue in the Tolkien universe- Tony Arsenal: Oh, no. ... Jesse Schwamb: is like, there's several... If you're super nerdy, you'll know there's like several different kind of iterations or formulas of it, and there's no, like, official language like Klingon, but there ha- it has been studied, and basically, like, it's kind of like the Eugene Peterson of the language. Like, there's, like, just kind of a dynamic equivalent or an expression of words. Anyway, all that to say- ... there's several languages that, uh, Microsoft Copilot will just not [00:16:00] translate because it says, like, "This one, this language doesn't actually exist. There's not enough for me to do anything." Let me tell you something. Tolkien Elvish is not one of those languages, and I actually built an agent, because I have a coworker who can, uh, who can appreciate all this stuff, that takes a text, translates it into this kind of academic high-level Elvish from Tolkien, and then translates it back to English. That makes anything you're saying way better and far more poetic and just absolutely amazing. So if you wanna have some fun, go and do that with whatever your favorite AI model is. Anyway, that's free of charge. Real quick, my affirmation is more music. It just turns out I've found this band, and I've been listening to them a lot. The band's name is Thronebreaker, which is just a phenomenal name, I think, for any group. Uh, it's amazing. Uh, th- this is... I'm gonna read you their description from Spotify. It just says, "Thronebreaker is Christian metalcore built for the bruised, the doubting, and the ones still fighting their way home." And what I've really been [00:17:00] loving about them is it is kind of like Wolves at the Gate adjacent. It's really lovely music. It is melodic, so it's, there's not just that there's that kind of hard edge, but that is present in it. But, uh, the music is really lovely and beautiful, and in part that's because they're going through this, like, drip of releasing music where they're taking, like, old hymns or maybe songs if you're of a certain age like I am of kind of childhood Sunday school- And they're taking the lyrics, not the melody, and they're reimagining them. So they have two versions of Jesus Loves Me that they just released. They have the old We're Gonna Cross, a song called Glory to the King Most High. These songs are just saturated with gospel. Like, they're just all power, all encouragement, and all authority represented in Jesus Christ. They're incredible, and I've j- where I've, what I've been really blessed by is these two versions of Jesus Love Me are just fantastic. Like, they're orchestral. There is a children's kind of chorus at one point, and it got me [00:18:00] singing that song again, and really, maybe to what you were saying before, Tony, like sitting in those three words, which are really phenomenal words to hear. And so I have been surprised at how moved I've been by what really I, I first understood, of course, as a children's song with simple truth that seems, you know, depending on how long you've known some part of the gospel, obvious. And yet I found them all new again, and a, a really lovely way of just sitting in the truth of God in music that I didn't expect to find. So if you're interested in any of that or maybe just curious of what it would sound like if a Christian metalcore band took Jesus Loves Me and turned it into their genre, then honestly you should just go check out Throne Breaker. I mean, you pretty much have to at this point. Tony Arsenal: I, I don't ever have anything to add to your musical affirmations or denials, 'cause I, I just don't. What I do have to add is that Throne Breaker actually sounds like some sort of really [00:19:00] amazing, like, mace-type weapon in Lord of the Rings. Yes. Jesse Schwamb: Yes, Tony Arsenal: it does. Or like a big hammer that a dwarf carries. And I would also like to say that if you ask Google Gemini to translate something into Tolkien English, it not only will do it, it will tell you how to pronounce it. Google Elf: A ava aini Ilai amel i trona se. Tony Arsenal: What do you think that was, Jesse? Jesse Schwamb: No idea. Tony Arsenal: First of all, that was elevated Quenya, a Quenya. Yes. Jesse Schwamb: Yes, that's Tony Arsenal: the one. Classic Quenya. Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Google Elf: A leta Ilai amel aima. Tony Arsenal: I would be willing to bet... Actually, let's do this. Jesse Schwamb: Ugh. Tony Arsenal: Uh, we don't give out prizes very often. Uh, I will say to anyone who can tell me what that is, the first person that emails, uh, or, or goes into the Telegram chat, we'll do this. We'll be professional podcasters and drive people to one of our channels. Here we Jesse Schwamb: go. Tony Arsenal: The first person who goes to our telephone, our Telegram chat and tells me what that [00:20:00] means, what that, uh, Elvish means, will get a Reformed Brotherhood T-shirt. Jesse Schwamb: Oh, that is big. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: That- Tony Arsenal: So I'm gonna, I'm gonna play it one more time. Jesse Schwamb: Okay, here we go. Everybody listen. Every- All right, pull over. Stop your vehicles. Here we go. Google Elf: A leta Ilai amel aima. Tony Arsenal: There it is, everybody. Jesse Schwamb: I'm not being a cry- I have a guess, but I, I, I wanna try to win the T-shirt, so I'm gonna- Yes ... wi- withhold. All right. Uh, yeah, that's, that's super fun. Did it, um... Did you also translate it back into English from that Tony Arsenal: just to see- No, I'll do that later, 'cause that would give away the, that would Jesse Schwamb: give away the prize. Yeah, it's, it's... We'll have to save that for next week, because that, that is the fun. It creates, like, what I was doing to, to have fun with this coworker is take very technical, like, work-related emails, and I would send it through. It would go through that iterative process, and I actually loved how it, it was talking. Like, it wa- this was an email about risk, and it, it gave, like, these beautiful grand metaphors that didn't sound corny or cheesy. That's the beautiful thing. That's amazing. It [00:21:00] was like true Elvish. Like, you were just like, "I wish I spoke that way all the time about, about risk." And it, like I said, it wasn't just like... You could, you could obviously throw something in and be like, "Make this Shakespearean," or, you know, "Make this, you know, sound like, you know, Milton." This is way better. This is way better, because it's not, like, actually trying to manipulate what you're saying. It's takes, like, the dynamic equivalent of what you said, then translates it back with way more kind of poetic infrastructure while maintaining, like, the essential meaning that you have. I'm, I'm selling this too hard. Everybody just has to go out and try it. So, all right, you know what's at stake here, but here's how you have to win this. If you want a chance, if you want a chance at winning this, you gotta go to t.me/reformedbrotherhood, t.me/reformedbrotherhood, and that link will take you to the Telegram app and our little corner of it, and you're gonna find there's a bunch of chats there. You gotta go to the affirmations or denials chat, and then you gotta put in what is the translation of what Tony just played.[00:22:00] I just love... Isn't it amazing, though, that, like, y- as you discovered, there's more than one version of Elvish available? Yeah. And they do differentiate between the various kinds. This is a big deal. I learned there are actually scholars who have, like, again, filled in kind of like the details of the language- Oh, yeah taking as a basis what Tolkien had there. Yeah. So I think that this is the best. We couldn't have conceived of this if we'd actually tried and planned for it, so- Tony Arsenal: It's true ... Jesse Schwamb: it's just better that it all happened in, in real time. It's true. And, and speaking of which, I think now we get to have the fun of figuring out, uh, where in Luke chapter 10 are we gonna begin? Or should we just start in Luke 1 and just let's see how far we can get reading Tony Arsenal: in this- I could have, I could have Google Gemini read it in elevated Kenya, Quenya I did try to get it to put it in Sindarin, and it wouldn't do it for some reason. I'm not sure. Maybe this anti-Sindarin bias in Gemini, Jesse Schwamb: man. Disappointing. Tony Arsenal: It's disappointing. Jesse Schwamb: Dis- disappointing. So let's kick off some Good Samaritan talk, which again, I think is gonna take us [00:23:00] through maybe in the next couple of conversations, in part because, like I said, we're not even gonna start at, uh, verse 25 because there is so much more that needs to be said, I think, before that. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I, I think actually the proper place to start this, and I, I'm guessing Jesse probably, whether he was there or not, he probably figured out where I was going, uh, over the course of the last 20 minutes or whatever. Um, I actually think the proper place to start, at least one of the proper places to start, is in verse 21. Yeah. Um, and I- we'll talk about why that is. And I'll... I'm gonna read here, um, 21, uh, through the end of the parable. Uh, and this is Jesus talking. He says in this, uh... Well, it, this is, um... Yes, uh, I'll just read it here. "In the same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was Your gracious will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one who knows who the Son is except... No, no one knows who the Son is [00:24:00] except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Himself.'" Then turning to the disciples, he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see and did not see it, and hear what you hear and did not hear it." And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and he saw him and passed on the other side. So likewise a Levite, [00:25:00] when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. Whatever you, whatever more you spend I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" And he said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "You go and do likewise." Jesse Schwamb: I think you're right, of course, to back us up into verse 21 because I don't want to keep saying it's always a setup, but Jesus is certainly giving us like the right context in which... Well, Luke of course is the author here and as he's explaining the teaching of Jesus, he does so well to start out with some irony that we don't realize is gonna be ironic until we get to the, to verse 25 [00:26:00] when we realize who's testing Jesus, who's setting this all up. So this idea that the Holy Spirit, everybody rejoicing in the Holy Spirit and the knowledge and the wisdom, the intelligence that's revealed through the Holy Spirit to all of these lesser people and in particular here emblematic the infants That here we have kings and rulers, and in this case, this beloved scholar of the law, who all have this adventure in missing the point. They think, in fact, they're looking for the one who is to set them free, and they can't even see that it's Him who is before him. And yet, incidentally, God has already revealed all these things to the lowest, to the ones who are the most humble, the meek, the mild, the down and outs, the ones who are weak by the view of everybody else. And so it's amazing that if we just kinda, again, like blow past it into, like, just all the characters, we don't see that the teaching starts actually well above this, that even everything we're about to understand, that unfolds in our lives, ev- every spiritual incarnation and insight that we have [00:27:00] first starts with God himself in his revealing it to us both in his general revelation, but of course, in the specific revelation of his teaching. So I like that you started us there, because I, I'm with you. That's where this whole thing launches off, right? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Parables Reveal and Conceal Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and as we come into when we very, like very start of this, uh, series, the, the parable series, Jesus sort of embeds a theology of parables into this introduction, right? Or I should say Luke does. But this, uh, this is written a- as though all of this is occurring as sort of one event. Right. And likely it was, right? So sometimes, uh, in the Gospels, events are kind of, like, moved next to each other for thematic reasons. It's possible that that's the case. It seems like this may have actually just been one, one teaching, and I'll, I'll talk about why that is in a second here. Um, but at the very least, this is placed next to each other in the Gospel almost as, like a, "Here's the theology of parables. Now, here's actually that happening in real [00:28:00] time." Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Tony Arsenal: And then also, like, a parable kinda demonstrating it, right? So the theology of the parable here is that there are many prophets, kings who desire to see what it is that, that, uh, uh, the disciples are seeing, right? And all things have been handed over to the Father or to, to the Son, by the Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father. No one who knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal, right? So the, the theology of parables here presented in Luke is that the parable itself is being used as a way to reveal the Father and the Son to those whom the Son chooses to reveal it to. The Lawyer as the Fool Tony Arsenal: And that leaves us with this lawyer, um, sort of playing, playing the fool in almost like a dramatic sense, right? In a lot of drama, there's kind of like the fool character who's sort of like the foil or the idiot of the thing who's, who's unaware and is almost like made an example of, right? Um, I, I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but there's often a character in a play who's like, uh, it's [00:29:00] almost like the opposite of the everyman, right? The everyman in a, in a play- Right ... or in a movie is sort of like the outsider who things gets explained to, and he's sort of the proxy for, for the audience. Um, I think like, um, Hawkeye in Avengers is kind of the everyman. He's sort of just like this regular dude swept up in this thing, and oftentimes he's the one that, uh, the big characters are explaining things to. And really what that is is the big characters are explaining that to the audience through this proxy. There's also this concept of the fool in a lot of these plays or movies who's sort of like the dummy, the idiot of the play, who things are explained to, and it's still a way to explain it to the audience, but the character doesn't get it. And so that's kind of, kind of the role that this lawyer is playing in this, this narrative here. He, he steps forward. He's like, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answers his question, and then in this like sort of like stunning moment of, like unawareness, he's trying to justify himself. He says, "Well, who is my neighbor?"[00:30:00] As though that's a question that needed to be asked, right? I think, like, we sort of think of it as like, "Oh, yeah, that's a valid question." I actually don't think it is. Like, it's pretty obvious, in the Old Testament at least, who your neighbor is. It's the people who live immediately with you. It's the other people of Israel. It's the people in your immediate concentric circles, the people you have direct access to. Um, and so then Jesus explains it through this parable, and whether or not he gets it at the end, I guess is maybe a little bit unclear. We can talk about that as we get there. But at least in the beginning, he's portrayed as this sort of, like, fool who doesn't understand what Jesus is saying, and then this parable is taught. So it's this theology of, um, revelation to those whom it is intended to, and further obscuring from those it's intended not to, not to illuminate, which is identical. Uh, maybe it's a different flavor of the same thing, but it's the same thing as what Matthew had and what Jesus taught- Right ... in Matthew with the parables. Jesse Schwamb: Right. It definitely is, again, illustrating, again, God's divine prerogative. I think you really have to do a lot of theological gymnastics [00:31:00] to try to work yourself out of a place here that says, like, "Well, this, this knowledge is accessible to all people." Tony Arsenal: Right. Jesse Schwamb: That if somehow we just work hard enough, study hard enough, come even before God with the right attitude or do the right things, that somehow all this will be made plain to us, and that's certainly not the truth here. In fact, again, the ironic setup is you have this lawyer asking this question, which creates this strange contrast because here's a man trained in the law, and he approaches the very wisdom of God to test him while the little children already perceive what this fool cannot. So it's irony upon irony, and then I, I like what you're saying. I think, and we'll get to this to anticipate a bit, I'm reading this as he's hoping that the answer to whom is my neighbor, just like he- he's received the affirmative from Jesus saying, "Yes, you understand. Go and do these things. This is life," and we'll get to all of what that means, I think, as well in terms of the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. But I think he's hoping that the definition of neighbor is gonna mean that he has [00:32:00] already accomplished the thing then, so that if there's somehow- Yeah ... he could just set the right boundaries. He could say, "Ah, yeah, I'm already good then, Jesus. I already, already did all that stuff." So- It's wild to me that it, it all starts with, of course, like some kind of scribal specialist in the Torah, of course, likely some kind of Pharisee by theological alignment. And as I'm looking at the notes here, what I find particularly stunning as we start this out is that Luke, of course, is able to speak several times in this parable to the intent. And so he says right away with great kind of fanfare and description that the intent here from this scribal Torah person was to test or to tempt, which is the same verb used of Satan's temptation of Christ and of Israel's testing of God in Deuteronomy 6, which of course Jesus is gonna quote here later on. So it's not, of course, like sincere inquiry, like you're saying. It, it is like adversarial probing. It is like really profound setup. It is dripping with like [00:33:00] ulterior motive. It's seeking to expose Jesus as either like heterodox or as diminishing the law's demands. And I think we've talked about this before, so Tony, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure in one of the previous parables we talked about sometimes how these get set up with this kind of weird like oxymoronic setting. Inherit Eternal Life Debate Jesse Schwamb: So like this question of se- uh, uh, itself, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Jesse Schwamb: It's like more than just theologically revealing. Biblically it's self-contradictory, 'cause of course like we talked about inheritance, I think actually when we went through the, the parable of the prodigal. By definition, that's received, of course, on the ba- basis of relationship or promise. It's not earned by performance. And if the inheritance comes by a law, it no longer comes by promise, right? I think that's like Galatians. So the lawyer's question already portray- portrays like some kind of weird works righteous paradigm. E- even if you think he's really after trying to understand the true intent of God's heart [00:34:00] behind the law, he is assuming at least in this question that eternal life is some kind of wage that he can earn rather than a gift to be received by grace through faith. And that's a fundamental error that the entire subsequent exchange, including the parable, is designed to expose. It's both, like you're saying, Tony, he has not learned yet what it means to be in the kingdom of God. He's outside of that, and so he's trying... Now Jesus is bringing in this corrective action, as it were, set up in a story, but he's gonna turn the law on him, which, which I don't wanna get too excited about that yet. But he's... But essentially, here we have somebody who's the expert in the law trying to leverage the law by way of force against the one who he does not understand has all leverage and authority over him, and is in fact the law giver himself So he's gonna, Jesus is gonna drive him to see his own ability to keep the law that he claims to honor, and that's more than just brilliant. This is what the law does. You do not wanna pit the law against the one who has given the law, the [00:35:00] one whose character is represented in the law, because you're always going to get owned, and you'll get owned before you realize you've just gotten owned on multiple levels, and I think that's what basically unfolds here. Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, I have a little bit of a different take on the, the word inherit here. Um, I don't think what you're saying is wrong, um, but I think there's a little different flavor here, and actually, I, I think it, it still sort of propels us forward to the conversation we have to have, um, about the law and the gospel and the covenant of works, the covenant of grace. The, the Greek that lays under this word is, uh, it's a compound word of the word for, like, lot or portion and the word for law. And so, so the, this force of the word is more along the lines of, like, what shall I do to have a legal right to eternal life? Like- Right ... inherit, I think we hear inherit, and we think of, like, um, like what you get when someone dies, and so, like, obviously there's nothing you do to earn it, and that's certainly an element of the way this [00:36:00] word is used in some instances. I think reading this and kind of how, how the rest of the text plays out, this lawyer is coming forward and he's like, "What do I need to do to have a rightful legal claim to eternal life?" Right? We might even be able, and this is where it comes into the covenant of grace, covenant of works k- kind of paradigm. We might even be able to say that what this lawyer or this person comes forward to ask Jesus is, how do I gain, how do I gain the benefits of the covenant of works, right? Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: Yep. That's language that was developed later that's not, not, like, biblical language in terms of, like, the actual language within the text, but that's the force of what he's saying. What must I do to be a rightful legal... Uh, what must I do to have a rightful legal claim on all of the blessings of the covenant of works, is really the question that's here. And so Jesus' answer is so instructive- Right ... 'cause what he says is, "Well, what's written in the law?" Like, he, he basically says, like, "Well, you should be able to tell me, teacher- Exactly of [00:37:00] the law, like, what, what needs to happen there." And there's an assumption on Christ's part that, like, there is an answer. I think sometimes, sometimes we, we, uh, we make an error in thinking that the covenant of works was never attainable, that it's somehow this, like, um, it's almost like a black box. Like, nobody could know what we have to do to, like, obtain eternal life. That's absolutely not the assumption Jesus makes. Jesus not only knows that there's an answer, it's such a straightforward answer that he expects this scribe to be able to answer it, right? And the scribe can, right? The scribe says, "Well, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, and your neighbor as yourself," right? The summary of the law. Just good old classic Westminster larger, shorter catechism. Where's the law summarily comprehended? Summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments. And then, then again, I don't know the questions exactly, but then it also, like, says, like, "Where does Christ summarize this?" Well, you should love the Lord your God, and you should love your [00:38:00] neighbor as yourself, right? Covenant Works and Grace Tony Arsenal: So the, the lawyer comes forward and says, "What do I need to do to have a legal right to all of the blessings of the covenant of works?" Christ says, "Well, what do you think?" He says, "Well, you obey the entirety of the law." And he says, "You've answered correctly. Do this. Obey the entirety of the law and you will live." So the parable itself doesn't necessarily speak to this law, gospel, covenant of works, covenant of grace paradigm. The, the parable is used to show that not only does this lawyer know what is required of him, but that he won't do it. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: And I think that's really key, because even in the parable, within the parable itself, there are these figures that know what they should do, right? I, I think, um, we'll get into it, but there's a lot of ink spilled on almost like, um, explaining [00:39:00] why the priest and the Phar- phar- and the, the Levite almost like did the right thing by going to the other side of the room, and it points to like, well, their priestly and Levitical responsibilities, if they touch a dead body, like they can't do those things, and those things are so important. Like, there's a lot of ink spilled trying to almost explain why what they did is right, when the point of the parable is that actually we all know what the right thing to do in that sense was. And even the most righteous people in the mind of the hearers, the Levites and the priests, the most righteous people, even they don't do what they're supposed to do. Jesse Schwamb: Right. Tony Arsenal: This, this paradigm, this gospel law paradigm, law gospel paradigm, this covenant of works, covenant of grace paradigm, is so baked into the very like fabric of, of human thought that it's just there. And Christ takes this time to point out to this lawyer, like, "You know what's expected of you." And so that's why the phrase desiring to justify himself is so key [00:40:00] here. I actually think that the, the, the I don't wanna go so far as to say, like, that this person was regenerated in the midst of this conversation, 'cause I don't know that. But I actually think that there's a forward movement of this lawyer as he interacts with Christ that is optimistic. I'm optimistic about it, right? Right. He starts out trying to test Jesus, then he star- then he moves to having a desire to justify himself. I think we hear that, we read that, desiring to justify himself, we automatically think that that's a negative thing. But if we think about justifying himself in terms of what he's talking about, how do I fulfill the obligations of the covenant of works, that's not a bad thing to wanna do. Right. It's not bad to wanna obey God's law and to lay claim to His promises. It's a misguided notion of something we can't accomplish, but in itself, desiring to justify himself is to desire to fulfill the obligations of the covenant of works. That's not necessarily a bad thing. And so I think this is a merciful, a merciful [00:41:00] teaching on Christ's part. He's trying to instruct this guy to say, "Look, you can't do it. And even if you could do it, you wouldn't do it. So let's, let's talk about mercy instead and what that looks like." And that's where we get to kind of the end of the, uh, the end of the parable. Jesse Schwamb: And again, we have to remember that we know that the intent here is actually to test or try Jesus, so He's certainly being merciful by using this opportunity not to just put him on blast, but to actually provide true instruction. And of course, like, that was, to some degree, this turning the question back would've been, like, a rabbinic pedagogical technique, but theologically, this is what floors me, is from the jump, Jesus refuses to let this man treat Him merely as one more voice among competing rabbis. Yeah. Instead, He holds that lawyer to the standard of God's own revealed word by, like you said, asking not just what does it say, but how do you read it? Mm-hmm. He's pressing not just for, like, some kind of recitation, but for the lawyer's own understanding and application, and Jesus is gonna hold him [00:42:00] accountable to his own hermeneutic. So by, by the time we get the answer, we know as readers, and all those present would've understood, he already knows the right answer, and he's not ignorant to God's requirements. He already summarizes the whole moral law correctly, encompassing both tables of the Decalogue. And so I think that does lead us then to this statement that we probably should spend a little time on, like, do this and you will live, like you introduced for us. Like, what does that even mean? Because i- it's not, like, in my view It's not like a Pelagian or Arminian concession that law keeping actually saves. I mean, it is the covenant of works principle stated truly inexorably that the law as law does promise life to perfect obedience. But that's the exact problem. I, I like what you said that it's not as if we can't understand what it would be to comprehend or contemplate this perfect law and what it means to fall under the covenant of works. It's just that he also presents for us at the same time this covenant of grace in which life is [00:43:00] granted freely through faith in the mediator who alone fulfills all of these laws' demands. So it's wild in this back and forth that's happening here where it's... I don't even know if it's fair to say this is like the most incredible subtext ever. I'm imagining trying to process this in real time and realizing everything that's being said, not just listening to what's being said and like the technical answers going back and forth. But I think like you said, that the Spirit even here is at work, I would like to believe, in the life and at the heart and the mind of this lawyer who's bringing forward this question with nefarious intent first to test and to undermine, and then is being drawn in almost inexorably into this debate to more profound understanding about a covenant based on works that cannot be accomplished, uh, in perfect obedience except through the mediator who organizes and distributes liberally this covenant of grace to his children for whom he has accomplished at least passively and then actively in his obedience in life and death. And so Jesus' reply is, I [00:44:00] think, thus a very genuine like if that functions to expose an impossibility. I, I don't think he's teaching salvation by works here, of course. He is holding out the law's own terms so that the lawyer and everybody else listening, and even us as well, can discover through this narrative which is about to happen the impossibility of self-produced righteousness, which again is what this gentleman is theologically all about. He's trying to justify himself. And that is precisely the pedagogical strategy like Paul uses later when he systemizes all of this by saying that the law was our guardian or school master until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. I think- Yeah ... and it's only because God is good to us and we might sit in some of this teaching, I think this is all in play. So, so I ask you, like, have I gone too far with all this? Like, how much do you think in the real time was being processed? And maybe that's a horrible question to ask because we know the Spirit does this work of illumination and enlightenment, and we're on the other [00:45:00] side of this and have this time to sit and to kind of parse and to really kind of just be pickled in all of this. But there's so much happening here, right? Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. Uh, maybe I'll answer the question a, a little bit of a different way. I think, um- We often can think about Old Testament religion, if we wanna kinda call it that. We think about Old Testament religion as though it was totally uniform and, um, entirely legalistic. Right. Uh, my- the, the listener is gonna panic a little bit when I say this, so please don't freak out, but I, I think N.T. Wright, uh, and some of the new perspective on Paul stuff is a, a little bit helpful in this, in that it gives us a foil to sorta push against. Yes. The new perspective on Paul is this idea that, um- Paul was not saying that Judaism was legalistic and Christianity is a grace-based religion, right? He, m- [00:46:00] um, N- NPP is not, is saying, um, Paul was not correcting New or Old Testament religion. And where they go wrong is that they say that Paul actually retains this concept of covenantal faithfulness, covenantal nomism fidelity. Uh, where I think, where I think they're right is that this idea that, like, the Old Testament religion is entirely legalistic and Paul was just sort of correcting that, I think that's way too simplistic. And the reason I say that is that the Mosaic Covenant for, you know, w- and predominantly this podcast is coming from a sort of Westminster Confession of Faith Presbyterian perspective, give or take, right? The, the broad Reformed tradition would say that the, the Mosaic, uh, covenant, the Davidic Covenant, all of the covenants of the Old Testament, and we can break them up in all sorts of different ways, but all of the covenants of the Old Testament, [00:47:00] um, with maybe the exception of the Noahic Covenant, and there's some debate about that, all of those are They're not just, like, supporting structures for the covenant of grace, but they actually are the covenant of grace in various administrations. If that's true, and of course we believe that it is, if that's true, then the people of those covenants understood that on some level. Right. Right? So to think that, like, people under the administration of the covenant of grace somehow thought that they were operating under a legalistic framework doesn't make any sense. Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, Tony Arsenal: that's true. So, so where I think that applies here is I think this person coming forward, it's not as though the concept of the covenant of grace... Again, that's language that we would develop later, but the concept that God graciously saves His people by the counsel of His own will, apart from their works of righteousness, apart from their meritorious effort, that God [00:48:00] simply extends His grace and conveys the cov- the blessings of the covenant of works to those who trust in the mediator, those who trust in the one to come, the, the forthcoming serpent-crushing seed, right, if you wanna use- Right language from Genesis 3. The, the idea that God simply graciously conveys the blessings of the covenant of works to those people Um, that's not something that's alien to the Old Testament, right? It's not alien to the, even to the Mosaic economy. The most law-based of all of the Old Testament, um, covenants, even that starts with the concept that these people are God's people who he redeemed out of Egypt, right? Right. The redemption out of Egypt comes before the giving of the law, and the giving of the law is a result of the redemption out of Egypt. So to think that this lawyer comes forward, and again, this had been sort of corrupted and distorted and had become a very works-based, uh, [00:49:00] meritorious-based understanding. But the idea that this framework of a covenant of grace is totally alien to this guy just doesn't, it just doesn't, I think it doesn't play. And so I think rather than us read this as I think sometimes we do, of Christ as kind of like giving this guy, trying to give this guy an entirely new paradigm, or like the rich young ruler is very much a parallel kind of situation. We read this, this guy comes forward, he's like, "What do I gotta do to earn eternal life?" Christ is like, kinda basically says like, "Well, you dum-dum, you can't. And I'm gonna demonstrate for you that you can't by- Right ... taking sort of like this situation that you can't possibly believe that you fulfilled and telling you to fulfill it." That's the outcome of this. We'll get to that when we get to the end of the parable. Um, he's not trying to give them a new paradigm. He's trying, in my opinion, he's trying to sort of reorient them back to the true paradigm of grace that is present under all of the Old Covenant administrations. So it's not so much a matter of like [00:50:00] developing a new framework and impli- like imposing this new framework on this guy. It's really trying to say like, "Listen- Think about this for a second, dude. Think about this, right? Think about the fact that, yes, you know you have to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, your whole mind, and you have to love your neighbor as yourself, right? You've answered correctly. If you can do those things, you will live. With the subtext, which I think is what you're getting at, the subtext of, like, and of course you cannot possibly do those things. Right. Right. So what's the alternative, my friend? The alternative is not justifying yourself by somehow identifying who the person is that you have to love the most. The, the, the, um, the... Well, we'll get this when we get to the parable itself, but the, the alternative is... This will be interesting, 'cause I'm not sure that we... I don't know where you are on this, but, um, the alternative is that there's someone out there who shows us mercy. [00:51:00] Right. There's someone out there who takes care of our need despite our total inability to do so. Jesse Schwamb: That's right. Tony Arsenal: That's the alternative to the covenant of works, is the covenant of grace. I m- maybe I'm, like, hinting at it too much, so I'll just say it. Like, Jesus is the Good Samaritan, right? Like, there's something for us to learn about our own justification here and our own- Right ... like, um, our own need to be merciful, to treat people as our neighbors. But just like we talked about when we talked about, like, what does the least of these mean, this parable, uh, I'm totally, like, burying the lede for next, next week, but that's fine. This parable is not primarily about us figuring out how to do mercy ministry. Right. Like, that's important. It's probably an outcome of this. It's probably something for us to think about. But really, this is actually Christ saying, like, "Hold on a second here, dude." Like, "Let's just think about this." Do you need someone who is going to tell you to pick yourself up off your bootstraps and cross to the other side of the street and leave you to [00:52:00] your own devices? Or do you need someone who's gonna throw you on their donkey, who's gonna bind up your wounds, who's gonna pay the innkeeper, and is gonna pledge to play- pay everything that is owed for your salvation? Right? That's not too on the nose here, I think. Right. And, and I really look forward to, like, unpacking that, although maybe we don't need to now, but I think, like, this parable is so much more about how salvation works than it is about, like, what it means to have a good neighbor and to be a good neighbor. I think we get bogged down in that, and I just am really excited to talk more about, like, what I think this parable actually gets at. Jesse Schwamb: I agree, and it's happening in the contex
Last week's show was “the greatest podcasting that's ever been,” and you definitely missed it, so we decided to do the only reasonable thing: make a tribute and then immediately derail it. What starts as a joke about exclusivity turns into a full-on philosophy of “equal inopportunity” where nobody gets in, everyone is equally rejected, and reclusivity becomes a lifestyle choice we pretend is a movement.From there we bounce through the weird ways pop culture rewires our brains, including the CSI effect and the fantasy that you can always “zoom and enhance” your way to the truth. We take that same skepticism and point it at modern marketing with a fake pharmaceutical ad for Reclexa, a medication that's somehow nothing but side effects and still sounds tempting when you're tired, overstimulated, and ready to disappear for a weekend.We also step out of the bit long enough to talk honestly about audience trust and the pressure of always being serious online. The messages you send us matter, and we don't take them lightly, but we're also learning that humor can be part of the medicine when life feels heavy. Then we wrap it all in fandom chaos: Star Trek doors, angry Klingon letters, and a DeLorean that gets mistaken for basically every other universe at once.If you like comedy podcasts, sharp satire, and conversations that accidentally stumble into real mental health and burnout truths, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a laugh, and leave a review telling us which fandom you've offended by accident. Support the showYou can find us on social media here:Rob TiktokRob InstagramLiam TiktokLiam Instagram
When the D finds a human boy among aliens, the crew spends 40 minutes convincing themselves that the boy MUST be returned to his human gran. It takes a Klingon blade to the chest for Picard to consider another option. Visit our website at humanisttrek.com Support the show at patreon.com/humanisttrek Pick up your merch at humanisttrek.com/merch Support our show by visiting our sponsors & partners: Modiphius | UnderOutfit Socials: Bluesky Mastodon Discord YouTube Thanks to Star Trek Avatar Creation & Starfleet Officer maker by @marci_bloch
Welcome to Captain's Pod, a Star Trek podcast presented by Ian and Deneé! Join the crew as Ian enjoys a Klingon drinking song, Deneé hasn't seen Casablanca, and Aaron#s got puns.Next Time: Strange New Worlds: Level Five Transporter Accident (S4E5)1) Ten Forward - Thoughts on the episode; what did the crew love and what can go out the airlock! - (8:18) 2) The Jefferies Tubes- Bloopers and other goodies that didn't make it into the show. Don't tell Section 31! (1:03:21) Want early and ad-free access to the show PLUS other perks? Join the Tea-Flingers at the Ian and Deneé Patreon!https://www.patreon.com/iananddenee Connect with us!Find Aaron Dicer by searching for SiftPop!Email: iananddenee@gmail.comDiscord: https://discord.gg/cm4nxyKd2SAnd live long and Podsper!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Star Trek takes Strange New Worlds brings us a black and white Noir style episode with "A Case of Chiaoscuro"! When Una leads her first away mission as a newly promoted Commander, things don't go according to plan. She must not only play herself, but she must play a Klingon sympathizer and a resistance leader on Klingon occupied Ma'Tar. Radiation from a nearby star does not allow the characters to see color, giving the audience a Casablanca style episode. As always let us know what you think!
In Strange New Worlds S4E4, Number One gets stranded on a Klingon-occupied world that's basically Casablanca in space. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler debate the shaky black-and-white science and cheer her overdue spotlight.
In Strange New Worlds S4E4, Number One gets stranded on a Klingon-occupied world that's basically Casablanca in space. Dom Bettinelli, Jimmy Akin, and Fr. Jason Tyler debate the shaky black-and-white science and cheer her overdue spotlight. The post A Case of Chiaroscuro (SNW) appeared first on StarQuest Media.
TEX-TREK Mission 388: STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS S4E4 “A Case of Chiaroscuro” Deep Dive DiscussionThis week SNW gets B&W, with a black and white film noir story set on a planet under Klingon occupation. Does the latest Strange New gimmick win us over? Join us at our table in the smoky gin joint and let's discuss! As always, available in both video and audio-only formats.Watch on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JRqM3iHaT0Get RSS feed:https://anchor.fm/s/f37edb0c/podcast/rssApple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tex-trek/id1495605753?uo=4Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6mdZ030Klldxwn7SSc5PKpJoin our Discord server:https://discord.gg/YXPeRyQh7ySupport us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/txtrekStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 4 Episode 4“A Case of Chiaroscuro”Written by Skylar Ojeda & Dana HorganDirected by Meera MenonUna is mistaken for a resistance leader and drawn into a struggle against Klingon occupation.http://www.facebook.com/textrekhttps://www.instagram.com/txtrek/http://twitter.com/TxTrekhttps://www.tiktok.com/@txtrekEmail: fathereeactual@tex-trek.com
Of all the planets in all the galaxy, she has to crash onto mine! This week, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds takes us on a film noir-inspired adventure—but things aren't nearly as black-and-white as they seem. We'll break down the episode and give you our two cents! Also, this is your LAST CHANCE to get your hands on authentic Star Trek props! We've got all the details on the latest auction. Get ready to watch more Star Trek than ever before! We'll explain what's coming and why Trekkies are in for a serious binge. Plus, Holly Hunter teases Starfleet Academy Season 2 and gives us a glimpse at what fans can expect when the series returns. All that and more on Trekcast!News:https://trekmovie.com/2026/08/10/last-canadian-star-trek-auction-ends-tuesday-with-strange-new-worlds-and-more-memorabilia/https://treknews.net/2026/08/11/pluto-tv-launches-star-trek-pop-up-channels/https://www.tvinsider.com/1273893/star-trek-starfleet-academy-season-2-update-holly-hunter-interview/A Case of ChiaroscuroUna is mistaken for a resistance leader and drawn into a struggle against Klingon occupation.Welcome to Trekcast, the galaxy's most unpredictable Star Trek podcast! We're a fan-made show that dives into everything Star Trek, plus all things sci-fi, nerdy, and geeky—covering Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, Stargate, and more. But Trekcast isn't just about warp drives and superheroes. If you love dad jokes, rescuing dogs, and even saving bears, you'll fit right in! Expect fun, laughs, and passionate discussions as we explore the ever-expanding universe of fandom. Join us for a wild ride through the stars—subscribe to Trekcast today! Connect with us: trekcasttng@gmail.comLeave us a voicemail - (570) 661-0001Check out our merch store at Trekcast.comHelp support the show - ko-fi.com/trekcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/star-trek-podcast-trekcast--5651491/support.
When Una's first away mission as commander almost gets her caught inside Klingon space, the away team ditches the shuttle on an occupied planet and they get dressed up to try to lay low. But after she's recognized for someone whose alliances aren't black and white, Una can't end the mission without appointing a new leader for the Mataaran resistance. What's Star Trek shorthand for an oppressive society? When is Dr. M'Benga like Batman? Who do we need 500% more of on this show? It's the episode that's too cute by one quarter.Support the production of our shows Members get benefits including bonus episodes and an ad-free experienceSign up for our mailing listGet a thing at podshop.bizGreatest Trek is hosted by Adam Pranica and Benjamin Ahr HarrisonThe show is produced by Wynde PriddySocial media is managed by Rob Adler and Bill TilleyMusic by Adam RaguseaDiscuss the show using the hashtag #GreatestTrek and find us on social media:YouTube | Instagram | BlueskyAnd check out these online communities run by FODs:Reddit | USS Hood Discord | Facebook group | Wikia | FriendsOfDeSoto.socialSupport the production of Greatest Trek Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join the SNP crew this week this Thursday at 6.30pm PT / 9.30pm PT for our review of Star Trek Strange New Worlds 404 A Case of ChiaroScuro : Una is mistaken for a resistance leader and drawn into a struggle against Klingon occupation...√ SUPPORT» Patreon https://patreon.com/strangenewpod» Kofi https://ko-fi.com/strangenewpod√ FOLLOW» Instagram https://instagram.com/strangenewpod» Thread https://www.threads.net/@strangenewpod» Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/strangenewpod.bsky.social√ THE CREW» Giraffe https://instagram.com/lyrical_girafe/» Erik https://instagram.com/erikactingout/» Emcee https://instagram.com/emceefrodis/» Hawk https://instagram.com/thehawk1701d/√ STAY IN TOUCH» Discord https://discord.gg/WJPXGBXbu» Website www.strangenewpod.com» Email astrangenewpod@gmail.comMusicDiscovery by Scott Buckley | scottbuckleyMusic promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)Send us Fan MailSupport the show
Reuploaded with non-copyrighted music!Celebrating 40 years of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.Shortly after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock came out, Paramount wanted to lock down Leonard Nimoy to direct its sequel. They wanted his vision this time unlike the last film, and after an original script that included Eddie Murphy and the Klingon bird-of-prey decloaking at the Super Bowl was scrapped, the film was finally ready to go to be released. Originally planned for a December 12, 1986, release, Paramount moved it to Thanksgiving due to great test screenings. The film made $109 million - the highest grossing film for nearly 25 years for the Star Trek franchise until the 2009 reboot (since surpassed by 2013's Into Darkness).In this episode of Twin Cities Trekkies, Wes kicks off the podcast's Second Star Trek Film Extravaganza with his guest Chris (aka MemeSpaceNine) to talk about The Voyage Home.Any feedback you have can be submitted to the Facebook page (facebook.com/TCTrekkiesPod), or by emailing them at tctrekkiespodcast@gmail.com. Twin Cities Trekkies is also available on Instagram (instagram.com/twincitiestrekkiespod). Find us on Blue Sky (TC Trekkies) or TikTok (@twincitiestrekkie). You can also leave us comments in the comment section of this episode in Spotify. Just keep in mind the feedback you may give may be featured in an upcoming episode of this podcast.Twin Cities Trekkies is available on many platforms!
Starfleet needs the greatest ninja-SEAL infiltration team in the galaxy to go deep behind Klingon lines and expose Gowron - so they send space station manager Sisko, engineer O'Brien, non-changeling Odo and one of the most recognizable Klingons in history to take on the mission! Meanwhile, Dukat Dukats and Gowron Gowrons.[Episode discussion begins around 1:11:00]
It’s time for the next spin on the genre wheel, as “Strange New worlds” lurches from horror to comedy. Dave Foley is a weird alien with a weird pleasure planet. There’s a thin strand of plot and a Star Trek take on “The Hangover.” Pike gets a lot of tattoos! There’s Klingon karaoke! Someone’s wearing a Mugato suit! Most importantly, Scotty and Ortegas learn to understand each other and Spock bonds with an imaginary—or is he?—Jim Kirk. Also, prompted by the last two weeks’ genre whipsaw, Scott and Jason have deep thoughts about what we like, why we like it, and how we process stuff that doesn’t fit in our definition of the thing we like. Scott McNulty and Jason Snell.
It's time for our latest Quarkstop episode, as we dive into HOUSE OF QUARK, where Quark gets caught up in some Klingon scheming while Jessie finds her true Ferengi self. ▶Coming to Trek to Vegas? Join Tawny and the Syfy Sistas at their annual Patreon Thank You Dinner. Fri Aug 7 - Reserve your seat here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fine-alpinist-ranch-supporter-seat-pre-reservation-tickets-1992084897554?aff=oddtdtcreator ▶Call us at: 323-389-7223 ▶Check out the crew's bonus shows at http://suboptimalpods.com. ▶Subscribe to the audio podcast wherever you get your favorite podcasts: https://omny.fm/shows/startertrek ▶See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. ▶A Fine Alpinist Ranch Production - http://www.finealpinistranch.com ✔ SOCIAL MEDIA ✔ ▶Twitter - https://x.com/yoisthisracist ▶Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yoisthisracist/Suboptimal Premium Pods! : https://suboptimalpods.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We're rating one of the biggest swords around on this week's show, along with another wooden sword, a weapon of Klingon legend, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Before Captain Picard. Before the Enterprise-D. Before Gene Roddenberry stepped back into the captain's chair of his own creation... This week on The Trek Files, Larry Nemecek is joined by author and Star Trek historian Ben Robinson to examine one of the earliest surviving documents in the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation: a September 1986 memo from writer Greg Strangis to producer Rick Berman outlining the first concepts for a new Star Trek television series. The document reveals some fascinating ideas: a Starfleet Academy setting, a young captain, a Klingon observer serving aboard a Federation starship, familiar themes of friendship, diplomacy, and the Prime Directive, but viewed through the lens of Cold War politics and 1980s television. Together, Larry and Ben explore why some of these ideas disappeared, why others evolved into the Next Generation we know today, and how the process of reinventing Star Trek began long before Gene Roddenberry ultimately reshaped the concept himself. Documents and Additional References Greg Strangis to Rick Berman — Early Notes on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (September 4, 1986) Additional References Greg Strangis Rick Berman Star Trek: The Next Generation Gene Roddenberry Ben Robinson Related Trek Files episodes: Season 1, Episode 4 — Early Star Trek: The Next Generation series treatment Season 13, Episode 2 — Gene Roddenberry's response to the early Next Generation proposal
Before Captain Picard. Before the Enterprise-D. Before Gene Roddenberry stepped back into the captain's chair of his own creation... This week on The Trek Files, Larry Nemecek is joined by author and Star Trek historian Ben Robinson to examine one of the earliest surviving documents in the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation: a September 1986 memo from writer Greg Strangis to producer Rick Berman outlining the first concepts for a new Star Trek television series. The document reveals some fascinating ideas: a Starfleet Academy setting, a young captain, a Klingon observer serving aboard a Federation starship, familiar themes of friendship, diplomacy, and the Prime Directive, but viewed through the lens of Cold War politics and 1980s television. Together, Larry and Ben explore why some of these ideas disappeared, why others evolved into the Next Generation we know today, and how the process of reinventing Star Trek began long before Gene Roddenberry ultimately reshaped the concept himself. Documents and Additional References Greg Strangis to Rick Berman — Early Notes on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (September 4, 1986) Additional References Greg Strangis Rick Berman Star Trek: The Next Generation Gene Roddenberry Ben Robinson Related Trek Files episodes: Season 1, Episode 4 — Early Star Trek: The Next Generation series treatment Season 13, Episode 2 — Gene Roddenberry's response to the early Next Generation proposal
Before Captain Picard. Before the Enterprise-D. Before Gene Roddenberry stepped back into the captain's chair of his own creation... This week on The Trek Files, Larry Nemecek is joined by author and Star Trek historian Ben Robinson to examine one of the earliest surviving documents in the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation: a September 1986 memo from writer Greg Strangis to producer Rick Berman outlining the first concepts for a new Star Trek television series. The document reveals some fascinating ideas: a Starfleet Academy setting, a young captain, a Klingon observer serving aboard a Federation starship, familiar themes of friendship, diplomacy, and the Prime Directive, but viewed through the lens of Cold War politics and 1980s television. Together, Larry and Ben explore why some of these ideas disappeared, why others evolved into the Next Generation we know today, and how the process of reinventing Star Trek began long before Gene Roddenberry ultimately reshaped the concept himself. Documents and Additional References Greg Strangis to Rick Berman — Early Notes on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (September 4, 1986) Additional References Greg Strangis Rick Berman Star Trek: The Next Generation Gene Roddenberry Ben Robinson Related Trek Files episodes: Season 1, Episode 4 — Early Star Trek: The Next Generation series treatment Season 13, Episode 2 — Gene Roddenberry's response to the early Next Generation proposal
Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Sneaky Dragon – the podcast for outsiders! This week: reaching our quota; the wizard of idiots; quizlings again: the career of Jodie Foster; out of the woods; afternoon tea; sandwich trials; a narrow margarine; tangoed up and blue; Brando echh; S.E. questions; three for one; quizlings redux: the films of Francis Ford Coppola; Dave doesn’t know Jack; mega city live; rendered harmless; condiment crunch; mixed blessings; Klingon belles; the power of suggestion; Flesh forward; prop humour; everything’s Kay; Supergirl is super; no depression; orphan donor; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; participation required; senior service; record store Dave; two cats one dog; smashed hit; magical poop; and, finally, quiz whiz. Question of the Week: What is something your partner brought you around to?Sub-question of the Week: Who is an actor or actress whose performance impressed you? Thanks for listening. A modern trailer for a modern film: Some Scooby-Doo for you! Let’s get Freaky!
Season 14, Episode 30 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #4.14 "Sons of Mogh" Unlike Worf, we don't forget Alexander! Stephen is still down on Klingon episodes, but like Olivia, is intrigued by what is brewing between Dax and Worf. Edited by Olivia James, with assistance from Resound.fm It's All Been Trekked Before is produced by IABD Presents entertainment network. http://iabdpresents.com
Worf finds out that being Klingon nobility isn't all it's cracked up to be as we review "Sons of Mogh"! All that Kling-ron backstory comes back to haunt our newest Deep Sheetz Nine officer as his brother Kurn shows up with a dire request. We dig deep on Worf realizing how human he has become, the uncounted consequences of his actions, and just how many serious felonies Sisko is going to let slide on this station.
We dive into Klingon politics and theology with a Worf centric episode in "Rightful Heir". Also, a Riker transporter mishap leads to some shenanigans with Deanna in "Second Chances".
In this episode we celebrate Father's Day with the best way we know how....discussing Star Trek! We look at TNG's "Bloodlines" when Captain Picard is surprised by a possible love child. What ensues is a web of lies and deceit by the former Daimon, Bok. We also look at Voyager's "Lineage" as Belanna and Paris find out that they are going to be first Time parents. However, Belanna's childhood haunts her with memories of being picked on for being part Klingon. Being a parent is hard and in the Star Trek universe, that is no different!
Anika does 133 jumps while Liz infiltrates a Klingon ship. What could go wrong? Well, this episode is late, so... Yes, we are discussing season 1, episode 9 of Star Trek: Discovery, "Into the Forest I Go". A nice walk in the woods! Everyone comes home! Do all Starfleet captains disobey orders? Actually yes! Despite the stereotypes, the biggest exception is Kirk in TOS … and Liz has a theory about why that changed "This conversation reminds me of a Tumblr post that mildly irritated me two weeks ago…" "You can't say anything against my baby Ash, okay? He's my baby girl." We have some digressions and thoughts on the state of fandom and franchise media in the year 2026 Anika's Wonderland Corner: Cornwell, Ash and L'Rell as Knight, Death and the Devil
Were you a geek? A nerd? Did you play Magic: The Gathering, paint Warhammer miniatures, learn to speak Klingon or Elvish, or memorize whole scenes from Star Trek? If so, then good news: it might have taken a few broken eyeglasses and shoves in high school, but geek culture has finally triumphed. Dragons are cool, Star Wars has never had more fans, and everyone is geeking out over the latest sci-fi release on Netflix. How did this happen? And how have the changing demographics of geekdom affected it, for better or worse? Lifelong nerd and critic A. D. Jameson, whose geek cred is stronger than the Force itself, joins us to figure it out. This episode originally aired in 2018.Go beyond the episode:A. D. Jameson's I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing: Star Wars and the Triumph of Geek CultureRead A. D. Jameson and Justin Roman's article on sexism in gaming, “If Magic: The Gathering Cares About Women, Why Can't They Hire Any?”For more on how franchises have changed Hollywood's structure, check out Stephen Metcalf's article, “How Superheroes Made Movies Expendable”If you're looking for an escape this holiday weekend, please binge watch Marvel's Jessica Jones (reading a book would be fine, too)Listen to the queer history of comics in our second ever podcast episode, “Superheroes Are So Gay!”Tune in every other week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.Subscribe: iTunes/Apple • Amazon • Google • Acast • PandoraHave suggestions for projects you'd like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
“Richard Gere is too handsome to fight with a helmet on!” - Andrew On this week's show, we're chatting about the super-sexy, Arthurian blockbuster, First Knight! How incredible and unsettling is Gere's wig? Why is every character in this movie way too clean? Did Malagant's broke down palace have an actual bottomless pit? How great is Ben Cross in this movie? And do these Knights of the Roundtable outfits look like something a Klingon would wear? PLUS: Sean Connery's favorite movie of 2005 was definitely Robert Rodriguez's Shin Shity! First Knight stars Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Liam Cunningham, Christopher Villiers, Ralph Ineson, John Gielgud, and Ben Cross as Malagant; directed by Jerry Zucker.Come hang out in Vegas with us this summer as we do a three-night stand at ST:LV to celebrate 60 years of Star Trek and 10 years of The Nexus! We'll be at the convention Thursday, Friday and Saturday night doing three Nexus shows on Wrath of Kahn, Generations, and First Contact! Best part is, you don't need to have a convention pass to attend, each show is ticketed separately. Click through to snag your tix now!This episode is brought to you in part by Hims. Ready to reach your goals? Visit hims dot com slash WHM to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you.And by Pestie! Keep the bugs away with Pestie. Go to pestie.com/WHM for an extra 10% off your order.Be sure to visit the WHM Merch shop over on Dashery and check out all the latest show-related designs you can slap on t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs, stickers, whatever! Make your friends jealous by flaunting some WHM merch today! Original cover art by Felipe Sobreiro.
A Way with Words — language, linguistics, and callers from all over
There are word nerds, and then there's the woman who set up a folding chair on sidewalks throughout the country, cheerfully dispensing tips about grammar. She recounts her adventures in a new book. And the story of the brilliant pioneer of computing language whose name lives on in a familiar term. Plus, when you get a new haircut, beware of anyone yelling Rinktums! Noogies may follow! Also, slobgollion and slumgullion, comb graves, tearing up Jack, paging Dr. Armstrong, a brain teaser about book and movie titles, swotting up your Klingon, Parva sed apta mihi, a clever way to end a long phone conversation, and words worth inscribing in stone. See you in the funny sheet! Hear hundreds of free episodes and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org. Be a part of the show: call or text 1 (877) 929-9673 toll-free in the United States and Canada; elsewhere in the world, call or text +1 619 800 4443. Send voice notes or messages via WhatsApp 16198004443. Email words@waywordradio.org. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices