Kwok ’n’ Roll

Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim is a writer, theologian, and professor at Earlham School of Religion. This episode discusses her forthcoming book Earthbound: God at the Intersection of Climate and Justice. She shares her experience of participating in the World Council of Churches and ecumenical conversations on the environment and climate justice for many years. She was in Assisi, Italy when Pope Leo XIV was elected. Her group went to Rome a...

Dr. Mona West, a leading queer biblical scholar and Metropolitan Community Church pastor, discusses how the Trump administration policies seek to drive a wedge in the LGBTQI+ community. Citing from the work of Judith Butler, she cautions that the LGBTQI+ community must learn to listen to and stand in solidarity with one another. She recalls the beginnings of queer biblical scholarship and her coedited volumes, Take Back the Word an...

Dr. Russell Jeung, a professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University, was a co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, which documents anti-Asian racist incidences during COVID-19 and beyond. In this episode, he discusses what prompted him to start Stop AAPI Hate. He combines his scholarship on Asian American studies with his long-time activism on behalf of the Asian American community. He shares his experience studying As...

Dr. Teresa L. Smallwood is a public theologian and Academic Dean at United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia. She discusses her book Public Theology and Violent Rhetoric Examined in a Queer Womanist Critical Ethnography. Before studying theology, Dr. Smallwood was a criminal defense lawyer for over two decades. She shares her reflections on the pushback against affirmative action and DEI programs, as well as the "No Kings" protest....

Dr. Kwok Pui Lan started her podcast Kwok ‘n’ Roll in February 2025 and produced 20 episodes. She teams up with SueAnn Shiah, a Taiwanese American songwriter, podcast producer, and filmmaker, to discuss what to consider if you want to start a podcast. They discuss the content and structure of the podcast, the editing and technical aspects, and distribution and promotion. No, you don’t need fancy equipment to start. You can begin wi...

Dr. Joerg Rieger is a distinguished professor of theology and directs the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. He revisited the book Christ and Empire, which he published 18 years ago, and discussed the concept of Capitalocene. He emphasized how capitalism has created not only economic inequity but also caused disastrous impacts on the climate and environment. He explained why we n...

SueAnn Shiah, a Taiwanese American podcast producer and filmmaker, discusses the challenges of growing up as a queer person searching for a spiritual home. She is a seminarian preparing for ordination in the Presbyterian Church USA. She shares her vision of combining her career in music and ministry. She has produced the album “A Liturgy for the Perseverance of the Saints” to help people who struggle with the church to find new mea...

Dr. Gina A. Zurlo teaches at Harvard Divinity School and has published the pioneering book Women in World Christianity using interdisciplinary, sociological, and historical approaches. She is also the author of Global Christianity and coauthor of World Christian Encyclopedia. In this episode, she talks about how she started doing quantitative analyses of world Christianity, a male-dominated field. She explains how AI can enable us ...

Dr. Roger Nam teaches the Hebrew Bible at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He teaches a course on The Bible and Asia America for college and master students. He points out that biblical figures such as Adam and Eve, Abraham, Issac, Joseph, Esther, and Ruth have to migrate to foreign lands. The Bible addresses issues such as identity, community, trauma, and justice, issues that Asian Americans care about. He highlights ...

Jiwan Dhaliwal graduated with an MDiv degree and is a global business and career coach. As a child of immigrants to Canada, she shares how she uses what she learned at a divinity school to create her own business. Jiwan coaches immigrants from racial minority communities to use their skills and talents to help others and change the world. She reveals tips for becoming an entrepreneur, managing social media platforms, improving publ...

Dr. Yii-Jan Lin became the first person of Asian descent to receive tenure at Yale Divinity School in 2024. She discussed gender, race, and biblical studies in this episode. She has used innovative approaches to studying the Bible. Her first book, The Erotic Life of Manuscripts, discusses New Testament criticism and the biological sciences, while her second monograph, Immigration and Apocalypse, explores how the image of the new Je...

Dr. Jonathan Tran, a Vietnamese American Christian ethicist at Baylor University, argues that race and racism must be understood in the larger political economy that gives rise to it. He draws on Augustine and Aquinas and contemporary scholars such as Michel Foucault, Stanley Hauerwas, Vincent Lloyd, and Kwok Pui Lan to develop his theological ethics. The changing U.S. political landscape requires new thinking about politics on the...

Dr. Catherine Keller recently published No Matter What: Crisis and the Spirit of Planetary Possibility. She discusses her theological trajectory from focusing on gender to making the connections with race, class, species, and the whole planet. Influenced by John Cobb’s process theology, Keller has written groundbreaking theology on the apocalypse, creation, intercarnation, and our last chances to save ourselves and the planet. She ...

Since he started learning from the environment, Dr. Claudio Carvalhaes, professor of worship at Union Theological Seminary in New York, has changed his teaching, research, and preaching. In one class, he asked students to wait till they heard a bird sing before the class started. He wrote the play, When Wajcha Meets Pachamama, which won the most creative production award from the New York Theater Festival. Dr. Carvalhaes works at t...

Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, who teaches at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union, asks us to wake up to the climate crisis on Earth Day 2025. She has worked at the intersection of climate justice, economy, and race and is a leader about the environment in ecumenical circles. She offers wisdom from the Bible about human beings’ relationships with the environment and describes faith-based activism. ...

Dr. Clifton Clarke, a Pentecostal church leader, theologian, and global empowerment strategist, discusses race, Black history, and the current suppression of Critical Race Theory. He explains why Pentecostalism appeals to people worldwide and the importance of developing Black Pentecostal theology. As a coach for global leadership, he argues that future leaders need to be globally competent, able to navigate Western and global Sout...

Dr. Gabrielle Thomas, who teaches early Christianity and Anglican Studies at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, discusses what we can learn from early theologians, such as Gregory of Nazianzus, to face our tumultuous time. She talks about how she combines her role as an Anglican priest and a scholar. She has interviewed women serving in ministries from different denominations in Britain and discusses gender inequality in...

Dr. Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame, discusses why the Esther Project appropriates the Jewish Story of Esther and weaponizes antisemitism. She discusses the roots of Jewish solidarity with Palestinians and her comparative study of religion and conflict in Palestine Israel, Kenya, and the Philippines. She shares her vocati...

Dr. Justin K. H. Tse's book captures the voices of Cantonese Protestant Christians from the San Francisco, Vancouver, and Hong Kong metropolitan areas as they reflect on their efforts to adapt to secular communities while retaining their identity and beliefs. It makes a critical contribution to the study of transpacific Christianity. Panelists included Dr. Melissa Borja, Dr. KC Choi, and ChanHee Heo. The book panel also discussed t...