Best Chris Klimek Podcasts (2024)

1
The Frayed Relationship Between Artists and the Church with Sophia Medawar 1:07:07

1h ago1:07:07

1:07:07

In this episode I speak with Sophia Medawar, a good friend of mine who lives and works in Chicago, IL. We discuss her relationship with God, her relationship with the church, what she's seeing in the lives of her artistic community and how they view the church. We also discuss the role of Christians in Evangelism, and how the standard model for chu…

1
How Artificial Intelligence Is Making 2,000-Year-Old Scrolls Readable Again 35:53

7h ago35:53

35:53

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., it covered the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under tons of ash. Millennia later, in the mid-18th century, archeologists began to unearth the city, including its famed libraries, but the scrolls they found were too fragile to be unrolled and read; their contents were thought to be lost forever. Onl…

1
Art and the Importance of How the Church Acts with Fr. Kris Rolls 59:29

13d ago59:29

59:29

In this episode I speak with my priest, Fr. Kris Rolls about the relationship between the church at artists, his own views on how the church should engage with art, and the importance of how the church does what it does, and what that communicates to the world. Fr. Kris Rolls is the Rector of Christ Church Anglican in Grand Rapids, MI, where he has…

1
Roads Scholars 25:38

14d ago25:38

25:38

As highways encroach ever further into animal habitats, drivers and wildlife are in greater danger than ever. And off the beaten path, decaying old forest roads are inflicting damage as well. “Roads are this incredibly disruptive force all over the planet that are truly changing wild animals’ lives and our own lives in almost unfathomable, unaccoun…

1
Design, Excellence, and Joy in Art with Nate Knobloch 52:56

29d ago52:56

52:56

In this episode I speak with my friend Nate Knobloch. We discuss his work as a graphic designer, his recent work in illustration, and how we honor God through excellence, and are invited by Him to joyfully play with the gifts He's given us as artists and followers of Christ. Nate works for as a Graphic Designer for Boileau & Co., and his designs ca…

1
Why We Love Eclipses 28:30

1M ago28:30

28:30

Eclipses have been a subject of fascination throughout human history, and the fact that we now have a clearer understanding of what they actually are—at least in the celestial mechanics sense—than we did in centuries past has not made them any less exciting. With the North American total solar eclipse just days away as we’re releasing this episode,…

1
The Man Behind "Manhunt" 32:50

2M ago32:50

32:50

Before it was even published in 2006, historian James Swanson’s book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer attracted the notice of Hollywood. After several prior attempts to adapt the nonfiction thriller for the screen, the first two episodes of the seven-part Apple TV+ miniseries Manhunt finally premiered on March 15, with the subsequent …

1
Art and Redemption in Video Games with John Taylor 1:09:57

2M ago1:09:57

1:09:57

In this episode I invite my friend John Taylor back on the podcast. We speak about the topic of video games. Are they art? If so, what makes them distinctive as an art form? And how do we engage with them in a redemptive way? John is an associate pastor with Crosswinds Church, and is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and Cornerstone Univers…

1
Before Beyoncé and Taylor Swift Ran the World, There Was Joan Baez 32:05

2M ago32:05

32:05

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have achieved a degree of power in the music industry that singer/songwriters of earlier eras like Joan Baez—as the folk icon tells us—never even contemplated. Six decades ago, Baez was part of a folk revival that regarded music not merely as entertainment but as a vessel for political engagement and social change. In the d…

1
The Art that Heals Us with Shaye Wilson 57:39

2M ago57:39

57:39

In this episode Shaye Wilson joins us to talk about how we engage with art in our pain. What kinds of art are we drawn to, why, and how is God present in using art to heal us? Shaye is a poet and author under the pen name lynn w. francis. Shaye has also been seen onstage with Jon several times, and is a hobbyist painter, dancer, and just about anyt…

1
How to Separate Fact From Myth in the Extraordinary Story of Sojourner Truth 38:04

2M ago38:04

38:04

The facts of Sojourner Truth’s life are inspiring: Born into slavery in the late 1790s, she became an influential abolitionist and Pentecostal preacher, transfixing audiences from the mid 1840s through the late 1870s with her candid and powerful voice, not to mention her singing. Tall and strong, Truth was physically formidable, too. No one was usi…

1
Lent for Artists 29:48

3M ago29:48

29:48

In this episode I reflect on the season of Lent, what God is doing to prepare us for Easter as we reflect on our sinfulness and His grace, and what that means for Artists. How do we embrace the uncomfortable season of Lent in our art? I also looks at my experience in Hamlet last year, and how that became an accidental Lenten practice for me, which …

1
Working with Children, Puppets, and God's Will with Chris Knobloch 52:27

3M ago52:27

52:27

In this episode, Jon speaks with Chris Knobloch, the Vice President, Director, and Writer for God's Helping Hands! They discuss Chris' experience creating art with the goal of discipling Children, what it's like to work with puppets, and the wonderful way God led Chris to His plan for him. GHH comes alongside churches, camps and communities givin…

1
How We See Oppenheimer (redux) 18:58

3M ago18:58

18:58

Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer" is no mere biopic… nor is it the first attempt to capture the father of the atomic bomb in fiction. We look at prior dramatizations of this very complicated man—including one wherein J. Robert Oppenheimer played himself!—and examine why they worked or didn't. In this episode: Physicist-turned-photogra…

1
Starting a Theatre Company and Directing "These Shining Lives" with Christine Hall 50:42

4M ago50:42

50:42

In this episode Jon speaks with Christine Hall on her experience starting Alive Theatre in Lansing, the process of directing their debut show, These Shining Lives, and her experience trying to be a professional actress. These Shining Lives is being produced by Alive Theatre in Lansing, MI, and runs from January 26th to February 3rd. To find out mor…

1
Merry Christmas With the Moms and Dads: Yuletunes Eclectic & Inexplicable XVIII — Hall Deckening, Part One 36:03

4M ago36:03

36:03

WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN EPISODE OF THE BELOVED AND INFLUENTIAL PODCAST "A DEGREE ABSOLUTE!" Yippe kai yay, Christmas lovers. It’s your buddy Chris — sans Glen this time — with yet another installment in the metronomically reliable and stereoscopicaly hi-fi-able yuletunes eclectic and inexplicable compilation series. This is installment 18 — they gr…

1
The Books We Loved 33:13

5M ago33:13

33:13

You can describe what a journalist does in any number of ways. One definition that’s as accurate as any is that a journalist is someone who liked having homework back when they were in school so much that they decided to keep doing homework for a career. That certainly describes the team here at Smithsonian magazine. We’re all big readers. So we th…

1
Movies with Cool Themes and Looking Ahead to 2024 48:06

5M ago48:06

48:06

In this episode Jon discusses two of his favorite movies from 2023, and some of their cool themes, and how he sees reflections of God in those themes. He also reflects back on the podcast in 2023, and what Artists of the Way will have going on in 2024. Thank you all for listening! Artists of the Way will return late January of 2024! If you want to …

1
When Your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Is a Civil War Hero 27:18

5M ago27:18

27:18

Photographer Drew Gardner has a passion for history. His long-term project, “The Descendants,” wherein he recreates famous portraits of historical figures featuring their direct offspring, is his most visible expression of this interest. But like a lot of people who study history, Gardner has in recent years begun to contemplate more deeply the que…

1
Art as Liturgy with Timothy Van Bruggen 1:03:05

5M ago1:03:05

1:03:05

In this episode Jon speaks with his friend Timothy Van Bruggen about their experience with liturgy, the importance of a rhythm of life to an artist, and how liturgy and art connect to each other in our life and faith. Timothy is the Executive Director of Master Arts Theatre, and is an accomplished actor and director. He has had his hands in many ar…

1
Why Wildfires Are Burning Hotter and Longer 33:01

5M ago33:01

33:01

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP28, begins this week in Dubai. A new topic on the agenda this year is how wildfires are emerging as a serious health risk not just to those in their immediate vicinity, but even to people thousands of miles away. Last summer, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted not only as far south as the …

1
Songwriting and Devotional Art with John Van Deusen 1:01:18

6M ago1:01:18

1:01:18

In this episode Jon speaks with singer-songwriter John Van Deusen. They discuss John's songwriting, how his faith intersects with his music, the importance devotional art, and more! John Van Deusen is a singer-songwriter who seeks to holistically examine the human heart, starting with his own. His music shifts between quiet acoustic sounds, pop inf…

1
How NASA Captured Asteroid Dust to Find the Origins of Life 31:00

6M ago31:00

31:00

Capturing a piece of an asteroid and bringing it to Earth is even more difficult than it is time-consuming. After four years in space, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx craft made a brief landing on the asteroid Bennu to collect samples of the ancient rock. Six months later, part of the spacecraft began its journey home to Earth, and earlier this fall, that sample…

1
Christian Community and the Importance of Shelter with Houston Coley 1:02:16

6M ago1:02:16

1:02:16

In this episode Jon speaks with filmmaker, youtuber, and podcaster, Houston Coley. They chat about his upcoming documentary about L'Abri, a Christian Organization that calls itself "a shelter for honest questions". They also unpack the topic of community, looking at God's role in community, why community forms around artistic projects, and what the…

1
Healing the Wounds of the Vietnam War 34:02

6M ago34:02

34:02

Every Veterans Day, Jeremy Redmon thinks about his father, Donald Lee Redmon — an Air Force veteran who survived more than 300 combat missions over Southeast Asia, but who took his own life when Jeremy was 14. This year, Redmon traveled back to Hanoi with a group of former prisoners of war, many of whom had flown the same missions as his dad. Jerem…

1
Disability, Community Theatre, and Christian Movies with Andrew Gommesen 53:17

7M ago53:17

53:17

In this episode Jon talks with Andrew Gommesen about his podcast and the way he has pursued art through that, the value and pitfalls of Christian movies, and his experience in continuing to pursue storytelling and acting with his disability. Andrew has hosted the Speaking4Him podcast for eleven years, where he discusses theology and culture. He reg…

1
How the Osage Changed Martin Scorsese’s Mind About "Killers of the Flower Moon" 35:11

7M ago35:11

35:11

A true-life saga involving organized crime, racial prejudice, and evolving American identity, David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the F.B.I. seemed at first glance like a perfect fit for Martin Scorsese, the beloved filmmaker whose dozens of critically adored movies include Taxi Driver, …

1
Acting, Truth, and Studying at Sight and Sound with Jordan Awe 59:58

7M ago59:58

59:58

In this episode Jon speaks with his friend, Jordan Awe about acting, finding God's truth in a performance or piece of art, and what it's been like for Jordan to study acting. Jordan is a fellow actor and has shared the stage with Jon a couple of times. Jordan has performed with HPA, Master Arts Theatre, Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, and has toured with …

1
A Brief History of Book Banning in America 26:16

7M ago26:16

26:16

Book-banning might seem like a relic of less enlightened times, but the practice is back in a big way. The American Library Association reports that 2022 saw more attempts to have books removed from public libraries than in any prior year this century — indeed, it documented more than twice as many attempted bans in 2022 than in 2021. In schools, a…

1
The Communal and Experiential in Music with Robert Nordling 58:14

8M ago58:14

58:14

In this episode Jon speaks with conductor, arranger, and music director Robert Nordling. They speak about Robert's experience working with orchestras and classical music, the way music was meant to be communal, and how music bypasses parts of our brain and captures our experiences without using a word. Robert serves as Music Director of the Baroque…

1
Those Orcas Aren't Doing What You Think 28:52

8M ago28:52

28:52

It’s not the most urgent news story that’s gripped the world since 2020, but it might be the weirdest: The last three years have seen more 400 “encounters”— many reports have used the word “attacks”—between orca whales and boats in the Strait of Gibraltar. Because the orcas are particularly fond of tearing the propellers off of yachts, the temptati…

1
Poetry, Writing, and Work with Lynn W. Francis 54:07

8M ago54:07

54:07

In this episode Jon talks to Lynn W. Francis. Lynn looks back over the process of assembling her collection a year after it's release, and talks with Jon about the work that pursuing art can be. Lynn is a poet, author, and artist. She has published a collection of poems called Me and God Locked in a Room, and Only One of Us Has the Key. You can fin…

1
Meet the WWII Battalion of Black Women That Inspired an Army Base’s New Name 37:07

8M ago37:07

37:07

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion was the only unit comprised entirely of Black women to have been deployed overseas during World War II, and it had served a critical function: clearing the backlog of mail that marked the only line of communication between American soldiers in Europe and their loved ones back home. In this episode, we s…

1
Light and Dark, Creation, and Painting with Alexis Noelle 53:52

8M ago53:52

53:52

Alexis Noelle joins Jon to talk about how she expresses scriptural themes in her art through the use of light, how her painting has helped in her walk with Christ, and how God has been leading her in her artistic vocation in recent months. Alexis is a painter based out the Grand Rapids area. Her goal as an artist is to create work that promotes con…

1
Beyond the Titanic: The Real Science of Deep Sea Exploration 34:35

9M ago34:35

34:35

After five people perished on a controversial submersible dive to the wreckage of the Titanic in June, we got to thinking about what genuine undersea exploration looks like. In this episode, we speak with Tony Perrottet, who profiled the late OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush for Smithsonian magazine in 2019, about our ancient fascination with exploring …

1
Directing and Beautiful Moments with Jo-Ellen Ming 45:09

9M ago45:09

45:09

In this episode Jon talks with Jo-Ellen Ming about directing, her upcoming show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and her views on art and truth and God's working through those. Jo-Ellen has been doing theatre for over thirty years, and has owned TrueJem Productions since 2016. She has directed several shows, some of her favorites being…

1
What Happens When the Colorado River Dries Up? 23:49

9M ago23:49

23:49

What happens when one of the nation's largest rivers dries up? Photojournalist Pete McBride tells us about the consequences of a prolonged drought in the Colorado River, which provides drinking water and electricity to millions of Americans, and shares his experience walking the river from end to end. What can we learn from the landscape revealed b…

1
Dance, Worship, and Relying on God with Casey Adams 56:33

9M ago56:33

56:33

In this episode Jon speaks with Casey Adams about her experience as a dancer, how she has experienced the power of God through prayer, worship, and dance together, and about the need for artists, and really all people, to rely on God every day, and in everything we do. Casey owns For His Glory Ballet, where she teaches dancers of all ages. She also…

1
He's (Not) Just Ken: The True History of Barbie’s Beau 25:37

9M ago25:37

25:37

He is (K)enough… or is he? With filmmaker Greta Gerwig's Barbie breaking box-office records—and devoting much of its story to Ken's existential crisis—we wondered if there's any more to Barbie's perennial plus-one. Journalist and lifelong Barbie fan Emily Tamkin talks us through Ken’s development, or lack thereof, over the decades. Read Emily’s “A …

1
How We See Oppenheimer. Plus: Smithsonian’s Inside Look at the Top-Secret Los Alamos Site 17:42

9M ago17:42

17:42

Christopher Nolan's epic new film "Oppenheimer" is no mere biopic… nor is it the first attempt to capture the father of the atomic bomb in fiction. We look at prior dramatizations of this very complicated man—including one wherein J. Robert Oppenheimer played himself!—and examine why they worked or didn't. In the episode: Physicist-turned-photograp…

1
Coming July 27: There's More to That from Smithsonian magazine and PRX 1:34

10M ago1:34

1:34

Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There's More to That, meet the magazine's journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.…

1
Healthy Community, Humility, and Writing with Susie Finkbeiner 53:09

10M ago53:09

53:09

On this episode Jon talks with author Susie Finkbeiner. Susie is the author of nine published books, and her new book the All-American is out this week! Susie speaks with Jon about the importance of healthy community as an artist, the importance of humility in the artistic life of a Christian, and about her own writing and how it has intersected wi…

1
The Importance of Art to Christians with John Taylor 1:10:35

10M ago1:10:35

1:10:35

On this episode Jon talks with John Taylor, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and resident at Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, MI. They discuss the importance of art to the Christian faith, the ways in which God can use it, and some of the theological implications of art to Christian artists. John holds a Masters of Theology with a focus on …

1
Why the Christian Faith Matters to Art with Nate and Ellie Knobloch 55:22

11M ago55:22

55:22

In this episode Jon welcomes Nate and Ellie Knobloch to talk about the importance of the Christian faith in our art. Not just how a Christian perspective affects how we make the art and how we receive the art, but actually how it makes art better as a whole and how the Christian story can be one of the most compelling and fulfilling lenses to view …

1
Being a Faithful Artist with Timothy Van Bruggen 1:04:51

11M ago1:04:51

1:04:51

On this episode Jon talks with Timothy Van Bruggen about what it means to be faithful to God in your art, and how God is faithful to us through what we create. Tim is the Managing Director of Master Arts Theatre, and will soon be hosting a podcast called Twilight Tales with Tim where he reads stories from the public domain for you to relax to, perh…

1
An Introduction to Artists of the Way 16:39

12M ago16:39

16:39

Jon explains what Artists of the Way is, what led him to want to start this podcast, and what we can expect from it in the future! Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.artistsoftheway.com/contact.html Find out more about Godspell: https://www.artistsoftheway.com/godspell.htmlBy Jon Wilson

1
The Airborne Yuletide Event [Side B] 55:14

1+ y ago55:14

55:14

WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN EPISODE OF THE BELOVED AND INFLUENTIAL PODCAST "A DEGREE ABSOLUTE!" The yulemix enters its Pierce Brosnan era with this seventeenth senses-shattering installment! It's another paradoxically digital yule (ana)log, optimized to obfuscate and illuminate your holiday season. Each side will conveniently fit onto a one side of a 1…

1
The Airborne Yuletide Event [Side A] 52:01

1+ y ago52:01

52:01

WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN EPISODE OF THE BELOVED AND INFLUENTIAL PODCAST "A DEGREE ABSOLUTE!" The yulemix enters its Pierce Brosnan era with this seventeenth senses-shattering installment! It's another paradoxically digital yule (ana)log, optimized to obfuscate and illuminate your holiday season. Each side will conveniently fit onto a one side of a 1…

1
The Computer Wore Menace Shoes 56:56

1+ y ago56:56

56:56

It's a Y2K-pop extravaganza as Chris and Glen emerge from their unplanned and unannounced hiatus to dissect 72-year-old Patty McG's brief-but-memorable guest appearance reprising the role of Number Six for (the final eight minutes of) the Season 12 Simpsons episode "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes." Cowabunga! The Simpsons, season 12, episode six — …

1
BRASS TARGET with Keith Phipps 1:46:15

2y ago1:46:15

1:46:15

Our guest Keith Phipps is not just a sterling critic and a dad — an essential component when we cover a movie as openly paternal as 1978’s post-WWII espionage thriller Brass Target. He is also the author of new book examining the career of a singularly idiosyncratic actor. A Degree Absolute! endorses Keith’s book Age of Cage absolutely. And Brass T…

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