The Ride Home with John and Kathy

This week’s snowstorm and Proverbs 16:9: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” … GUEST Rev Josh Brown … lead pastor, Bellefield Church in the Oakland district of Pgh … Bellefield.org

He Died For Our Sins… GUEST Anne Kennedy ...author of “Nailed It: 365 Sarcastic Devotionals for Angry and Worn Out People” ... She blogs everyday at her substack “Demotivations w Anne”... Anne lives in upstate NY where she mothers 6 children and lives with her husband, an Anglican priest.

9 functions of the middle prefrontal cortex: the part of the brain that, at the end of the day, make us uniquely human … GUEST Dr Curt Thompson … psychiatrist in private practice in Falls Church, VA ... author of “The Soul of Shame: Retelling the Stories We Believe About Ourselves” and "The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community"

Tips for dating online in 2026 … GUEST Lisa Anderson … Director of Boundless and Young Adults at Focus on the Family, and hosts “The Boundless Show” weekly podcast and radio show.

Agriculture: Called to Relationship" … GUEST Steve Montgomery … Along w his wife & 4 kids, Steve started Lamppost Farm in Columbiana OH w a mission to use agriculture to reach/ teach others … they practice regenerative agriculture and invite people to find out where their food comes … In 2025, he started a company called Fireberry to plant farms as a means of providing the highest quality food to members of communities.

Agriculture: Called to Relationship" … GUEST Steve Montgomery … Along w his wife & 4 kids, Steve started Lamppost Farm in Columbiana OH w a mission to use agriculture to reach/ teach others … they practice regenerative agriculture and invite people to find out where their food comes … In 2025, he started a company called Fireberry to plant farms as a means of providing the highest quality food to members of communities.

The Oscars noms are out… GUEST Abby Olcese… writer on film, pop culture and faith … she’s written for Think Christian and RogerEbert.com… author of “Films for All Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies”.

GUEST Robert Royal ... author of "The Martyrs of the New Millennium: The Global Persecution of Christians in the Twenty-First Century."

The Future Is Human: And Our Art Should Reflect It ... GUEST Ryan Peter ... writer, ghostwriter, writing coach, Indie author & journalist ... ryanpeterwrites.com.

Where did the Apostles preach the gospel after Pentecost? Did they really go into "all the world"? And what happened after they died? Do we know anything about the 1st few centuries of the church? … GUEST Fr Tom Soroka … St Nicholas Orthodox Church, McKees Rocks.

Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith … GUEST Ericka Andersen … freelance writer, podcast host and owner of Pitch and Publish Writing Company … author of "Reason to Return: Why Women Need the Church & the Church Needs Women" and "Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness” … she’s a weekly columnist at WORLD Magazine and a freelance reporter for Christianity Today.

Profanity in public life: 3 reasons it’s become normative … GUEST Paul J McNulty ... spent over 30 yrs in Washington DC as an attorney in public service and private practice ... In 2005, the US Senate unanimously confirmed Paul McNulty to the positon of Deputy Attorney General, the second in command at the US Department of Justice, and the Chief Operating Officer of the department’s 100,000 employees … he’s also just finished his tenure as the 9th president of Grove City College.

From two midwives in Egypt to Martin Luther King… GUEST Jeff Jacoby … Op-Ed Columnist and Assoc Editor, The Boston Globe.

MLK Day ... GUEST Eddie Jones … co-founder of Wilkinsburg's "Eternal City" Church.

On fasting … GUEST Rev Kurt Bjorklund ... Senior Pastor, Orchard Hill Church.

Reading Black Books: How African American Literature can make our Faith more Whole & Just… GUEST Claude Atcho … is pastor of Church of the Resurrection in Charlottesville, VA ... he’s taught AfrAmer lit at the college level and is a regular writer & podcast contributor for “Think Christian” … he’s also written for Christ & Pop Culture, the Gospel Coalition and “The Witness: A Black Christian Collective”.

Getting your kids into Scripture … GUEST Drew Dyck … acquisitions editor at Moody Publishers … author of “Just Show Up: How Small Acts of Faithfulness Change Everything (A Guide for Exhausted Christians)” & “Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible & Brain Science,” “Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying,” and “Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Church… & how to Bring Them Back”

If Jesus Wasn't Enough for Philip Yancey, Is He Enough for Me? ... GUEST Alan Noble ... associate prof of English at Oklahoma Baptist Univ, cofounder & editor-in- chief of Christ & Pop Culture, and an advisor for the AND Campaign ... author of the latest, “On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living” … also “You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World” and "Disruptive Witness" and one of my fav essays ever, “On Living”

This Week in the Nation’s Capitol (Minnesota/ICE … + … Venezuela, Greenland … + … DOJ opens criminal probe into Fed Chair Powell … + … Iran protests … + … Impeachment references removed from Trump exhibit at Smithsonian) … GUEST Greg Clugston … SRN News White House Correspondent.

Tonight’s playoff game at Acrisure v the Texans… GUEST Jim Wexell … is in his 30th season covering the Pgh Steelers and has spent more than 40 yrs covering Pgh sports (since graduating from Pitt in 1983) … his latest book is “Pittsburgh Steelers: An Illustrated Timeline” … other works include “Polamalu,” “On the Clock,” and “Steeler Nation,” and has covered the team in 4 SuperBowls www.steelcityinsider.com.

The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our Future and Shape Our World … GUEST Joel Miller … former publishing executive with a twenty five year career in writing and editorial … chief content officer of Full Focus … His substack is Miller’s Book Review.

Winter sowing: planting seeds in container with lids made from milk/ water jugs, clamshell containers … preparing the garden for spring, adding compost and mulch … + … Planning for the season by ordering seeds … tomato seeds bred by a late WVU professor when he was 100 years old … GUEST Doug Oster … Editor, Gardening with Doug.

Have you been captured by a cause?… GUEST Rev Bill Glaze ... Bethany Baptist Church, Homewood.

Becoming Part of God’s Family.… GUEST Carmen Joy Imes … Associate professor of Old Testament at Biola Univ and author, most recently, of “Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters”

Taking Religion Seriously (new book) … GUEST Charles Murray … is a policy analyst educated at Harvard and MIT, who has, over his long and distinguished career, been a best-selling author and social scientist … Among his many books are “The Bell Curve, “Human Accomplishment,” and “Coming Apart” … he is currently the Hayek Emeritus Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

For the Love of Women … GUEST Dorothy Little Greco ... writer & photographer who lives outside Boston ... The author of "Making Marriage Beautiful," and most recently, “Marriage in the Middle: Embracing Midlife Surprises, Challenges & Joys” … Dorothy & her husband lead marriage workshops/retreats, speak at conferences nationwide.

AI generated content becoming much more difficult to detect. Will be a big theme of 2026 I think.... GUEST Chris Martin ... author of “Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media” … and most recently, “The Wolf in Their Pockets: 13 Ways the Social Internet Threatens the People You Lead” … his substack is chrismartinfyi … Chris lives outside Nashville w his family.

The tangled legal web of

U.S. v Maduro.… GUEST Prof Bruce Antkowiak… law professor at St Vincent College.

This Week in the Nation’s Capitol … GUEST Greg Clugston … SRN News White House correspondent.

Meet the Gen Z Pastor… GUEST Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra … senior writer and faith-&-work editor for The Gospel Coalition … also coauthor of “Gospelbound: Living with Resolute Hope in an Anxious Age” and editor of “Social Sanity in an Insta World”.

Venezuela … GUEST Dr Daniel Bennett … Associate Prof and Chair, Department of Political Science and Assistant Director, Center for Faith & Flourishing, John Brown University.

This Week in the Nation’s Capitol (-Military targets Venezuela / oil tankers … + … Trump puts name on DC’s Kennedy Center … + … Congress leaves town without extending healthcare subsidies … + … Trump to ramp up domestic travel & economic speeches in 2026) … GUEST Greg Clugston … SRN News White House correspondent.

Why the Creator Entered His Creation at Christmas ... GUEST Astrophysicist & author Dr Hugh Ross … senior scholar & founder of Reasons to Believe, an organization that researches & communicates how discoveries about nature harmonize w the words of the Bible … his books include “The Creator & the Cosmos,” “Why the Universe Is the Way It Is,” and “Improbable Planet”.

ChatGPT & the Savior of the World (substack) … GUEST Anne Kennedy ...author of “Nailed It: 365 Sarcastic Devotionals for Angry and Worn Out People” ... She blogs everyday at her substack “Demotivations w Anne”.

Come Home for Christmas … GUEST Dr Amy Peeler … The Kenneth T Wessner Chair in Biblical Studies and Prof of New Testament at Wheaton College … also Assoc Rector at St Mark’s Epis Church, Geneva, IL … author of “Women and the Gender of God”

Loose connections … GUEST Dr Tim Muehlhoff ... Prof of Communication at Biola Univ ... author of “Winsome Conviction: Disagreeing Without Dividing the Church,” winner of the Award of Merit in Christianity Today’s Best Books of 2022 list … Tim’s ”Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World," was CT Book of the Year in the category of evangelism/apologetics in 2019.

Christmas and New Babies… GUEST Mischa Willett … author of "The Elegy Beta," and "Phases" ... His poems, essays, translations, and academic articles appear widely ... He teaches at Arizona Christian University.... Follow his work at mischawillett.com

The Vanishing Church: How the hollowing out of moderate congregations is hurting democracy, faith, & Us (new book soon to be released)… GUEST Dr Ryan P Burge … Prof of Practice at Washington Univ in St Louis at the John C Danforth Center on Religion & Politics … author of “20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America,””The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going,” and co-author of “The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?”… His newest book is “The American Religious Landscape: Facts, Trends & the Future” … substack: Graphs About Religion and he tweets at @ryanburge.

Gov of NY signs assisted suicide bill … GUEST Dr Charles Camosy … Prof at the Catholic Univ of America in the nation’s capitol … Charlie taught at the Creighton Univ School of Medicine and in Fordham Univ’s theology department, & is author of “Beyond the Abortion Wars,” and “Resisting Throwaway Culture” … his most recent book is “Living and Dying Well: A Catholic Plan for Resisting Physician-Assisted Killing” … Charlie advises the Faith Outreach office of the Humane Society of the US & the pro-life commission of the Archdiocese of NY.

4:10 PM - Nativity scenes by governments, Establishment clause stuff .… GUEST Prof Bruce Antkowiak … law professor at St Vincent College.

4:35 PM - The joy I didn’t expect on a Saturday morning … GUEST Amy Julia Becker … helps people reimagine the good life through her writing and speaking on disability, faith, and culture at amyjuliabecker.com …author of “To Be Made Well,” “White Picket Fences,” “Small Talk,” and “A Good and Perfect Gift” … guest opinion writer for national publications and hosts the Reimagining the Good Life podcast.

5:10 PM - The Gospel acc to Scrooge … GUEST Rev Jay Slocum … rector, St Thomas Anglican Church, Gibsonia.

4:10 PM - Christmas on the screen … GUEST Abby Olcese (ol-CHESS-ee)… writer on film, pop culture and faith … she’s written for Think Christian and RogerEbert.com (she’s from Kansas City) … author of “Films for All Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies”

5:10 PM - Focus on the Family Year End Giving … GUEST John Fuller … cohost of the Focus on the Family broadcast heard by million around the country … also heard on Focus on the Family Minute, Focus on the Family Marriage podcast and Focus parenting podcast … author of “First-time Dad: the stuff you Really need to Know”