Word and Journey
Episodes
That Hideous Strength - Humanity versus The Head
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Part III of the Ransom Trilogy may be one of the finest pieces of speculative(dare I say - predictive) literature ever written.Building on the prior t...
Perelandra - Faith, Science, and the War for Paradise
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In part II of the Ransom Trilogy, Ransom again makes a voyage through Deep Heaven, this time to Perelandra, or as we know it, Venus. This time he goes...
Out of the Silent Planet - Moses and Rousseaux go to Deep Heaven!
03 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Part I of the Ransom Trilogy by C. S. Lewis! And we say the "Ransom" Trilogy rather than its other common name, "The Space T...
The Miserable Monster's Moral Cliff - Frankenstein, Part 3
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
"The story [of Frankenstein] is nothing like the costume; it's much better."Here we come to the conclusion of the classic novel Frankens...
"The Monster Had Potential!" Frankenstein Part 2
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Moses, Joel, and Caleb are back with Dr. Frankenstein and the Fiend!We continue discussing Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein. Here we deep...
Frankenstein part 1 - What is a Monster?
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is routinely included among the top 10 most important works of literature in the last thousand years.Now Mose...
Red Rising, Lightbringer - with Mike Savara
03 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To commemorate Labor Day, here’s an episode about a slave uprising gone glorious! Mike Savara is a good friend and extraordinary social worker, gove...
How Fantasy Kills but Imagination Saves - Wheel of Time, Season 2
17 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Matt are back with the last half of Wheel of Time, the show, Season 2. Here we discuss more of the themes. The Wheel of Time show follows a ...
Wheel of Time Season 2
17 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moses Bernabe and Matt Rensi return to discuss Amazon Prime’s adaptation of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series Wheel of Time as the show plods th...
Heroism of Presence - Wheel of Time Season 1(from the archives)
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Wheel weaves as the wheel will! Welcome back to our discussion of the Wheel of Time! Originally, when the Wheel of Time show came to Amazon Prim...
Screwtape's Toast and Democracy Roast
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Jake meet up for the finishing touches of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Here we consider the desire for a long and comfortable life...
6 Ways to Go to Hell - The Screwtape Letters commentary, Volume 3
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Here we almost finish The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Screwtape and Wormwood continue to hound the Christian on his spiritual journey. They try ...
The Demon Dialogues - Screwtape Letters Commentary, Volume 2
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We’re back with more thoughts on The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. Moses and Stephanie pull out their writer and editor lenses to talk about the...
My Dear Wormwod.... - The Screwtape Letters COMMENTARY, Volume I
17 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to bel...
Heros on Trial - Hunters, Season 2, RESOLUTION!
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
And the saga of the Nazi hunters finally draws to its end! What makes a hero? Can a person be considered heroic, even if they do the same horrendous ...
Forgiving Dark Histories - Hunters Season 2, part 2
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Jake offer more commentary on the Amazon Prime show Hunters, Season II. This season comes with thick layers of intrigue, drama, lies, betra...
No One Owns Truth - Hunters Season 2, pt 1
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
More Nazis, more intrigue, more explorations of human-nature-under-duress, more drama - yes, dear listener, it’s Word and Journey’s commentary on...
Inheritance with a Twist. Hunters, Season 1, Part III
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Who are we really? Are we an ethnicity? Are we the horrors enacted upon us? Or could we be the manner in which we respond to darkness....with ligh...
The Rituals that Bind Us. Hunters, Season 1, Part II
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Jake continue their review of the hit Amazon Prime show Hunters, which follows the adventures of a group of Nazi Hunters in New York in ...
Why We Need Remembrance. Hunters, Season 1, Part I
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The only difference between heroes and villains is who sells more costumes at Halloween." - Jonah Heidelbaum, Hunters, Season 1. ...
The Saving of Dorian Gray - a review of the movie "Picture of Dorian Gray", with Joel Sommer
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Joel are back, with dad jokes in tow! We read the book Picture of Dorian Gray…and then we watched the 2009 Film Adaptation with Colin Fir...
How Beauty Killed Us - The Conclusion of "Picture of Dorian Gray," with Joel Sommer
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you ever feel like, when you finish a book, it’s like a break-up?Sometimes we feel this way. Sometimes it’s a good break-up…and sometimes not...
The Deadliness of Secrets - Picture of Dorian Gray part 3, with Joel Sommer
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's late at night and the Dad-Jokes are out in force! Moses and Joel establish that “Picture of Dorian Gray” is a story about deplorable c...
Sacrament or Silly? A review of "Jesus Revolution," with Rousseaux Brasseur
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rousseaux and I are spiritual grand-children of the Jesus Movement, from which came the Calvary Chapel churches, whose origins ...
Dorian Gray's Portrait is the Opposite of an Icon - Picture of Dorian Gray part 2, with Joel Sommer
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a story about people being together and not seeing each other. Here we follow the life and death of Sibyl Vane, an actress, and the object ...
Why We Need Ugly Things - Picture of Dorian Gray, with Joel Sommer
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"What happens in Oscar Wilde's bedroom stays in Oscar Wilde's Bedroom." "...unless it happens on the stage, and then we cal...
Good Stories and How to Find Them, with Deacon Nicholas Kotar
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a book good? And how does a story grow from being a good book to a great one, or earn the rank of classic literature? Is i...
Death, Reconciliation, and Why We Need to Read Books - The Passage Finale, with Justin Nichols
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you could make 10 people immortal, who would you pick? If you could make some people immortal and not others…should you? Who gets to choose? As w...
Why We Need Our Names - The Passage, with Justin Nichols
16 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Nics are back at it again - we’re almost done with The Passage, and the action is getting intense! More interesting, though, then car chas...
How to Make a Monster, or Find a Family - The Passage Part IV, with Justin Nichols
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you make a monster? No, it’s not through viral injections, nor radiation, nor supernatural curses - Monsters are made by hate, anger, resentm...
How the Whale Saved Us - a review of Avatar: The Way of Water, with Aaron Kelsay.
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're getting on the IFS Soapbox and blowing the Orthodox Trumpet and Woking Ourselves and unpacking Trauma and pondering the essence of being Human.....
How Tradition Gets Us Through the End of the World - The Passage Part III, with Justin Nichols
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you write an epic? Moses and Nics(aka Rhys and Justin) analyze the writing style of Justin Cronin and reflect on how he brings the world and ch...
How to Die Well - The Passage Part 2, with Justin Nichols
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the episode where everyone is dead. In the book The Passage, by Justin Cronin, it took thirty-two minutes for the world we know to end. The “...
How Isolation Kills Us - The Passage Part I, with Justin Nichols
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Growing up, what was your favorite bookstore?” For Nics, as a kid, it was the school library, and public library. For Moses, as a kid, it was Boo...
Ebenezer Scrooge - Miser or Monastic?
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Holidays! My holiday of choice is the Nativity of our Lord, otherwise known as Christmas. This year, I commemorated the season by reflecting on ...
Nativity Stories We Loved and Lived, featuring the Word and Journey Cast
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For this episode, I gathered together friends and family to reflect on stories we have loved, that have become part of our holiday traditions, that ha...
Why We Need Our Inner Children - Boy's Life CONCLUSION with Eric Shane Love
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“There’s these stories, they live in us, they gotta come out!” More on how to write a book, AND how to market a book, even while also reading go...
Why We Need Editors, and the Mechanics of Establishing Trust with the Reader - Boy's Life part 3, with Eric Shane Love
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Crucial to every work of fiction is a good editor. Moses and Eric are back, and talking about writing! We discuss why we have editors, how to make goo...
Why We Need the Fantastical - Boy's Life Part II, with Eric Shane Love
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Eric published a book! He shares bits of his journey of self-publishing and marketing, which, he says, was harder than actually writing the book. Word...
The Age Before the Internet - Boy's Life, with Eric Love
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do you get inspirited to write a novel? Do you dream a dream? Work a challenging job? Live through major world events? How about all of the above?...
Fight Club Finale!
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
All the twists are revealed as we conclude this epic and chaotic tale. Here at the end, we wonder - just what is Chuck Palahniuk teaching us? We refle...
Project Mayhem and the Search for Father God - Fight Club part 4
30 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy raises the really good question of, should we be concerned about a group that doesn’t allow itself to be questioned? And we conclude…YES! T...
Self-Destruction, Freedom, and Fighting as if You're Dead - Fight Club part 3
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
fight club part 3 Is Fight Club literature? Can we fairly call it a classic? Just how does a story transition from being a story that is written down ...
Fight Club part 2 - Why You Need to be Punched in the Face
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode marks the birth of the first Word and Journey baby! Jeremy becomes a father and Moses gets to be an uncle! Let the Dad-Jokes freely roll…...
Fight Club, part I - Why We Need Struggle, with Jeremy Pasimio
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Tyler gets me a job as a waiter, after that Tyl;er’s pushing a gun in my mouth and saying, the first step to eternal life is you have to die.” ...
Bower Lodge, and the gift of poetry, with Paul Pastor
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I could say "I finished a book of poems." But does one ever finish such things? Does one not rather linger long on word and page taking in favored mom...
The 1984 Conclusion!
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s here! After much delay and interruptions, that one terribly dystopic and scrutinized year is coming to an end - we are finally finishing 1984! ...
June Reading List
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy June! Here’s a list of what I’m reading this month. Check out the full episode to hear brief commentary on each, as well as a few choice exc...
Kindred, a review, with Cree Gordon
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here it is, friends, that time when we talk about slavery, racism, and how we as fellow humans have responsibility to each other! In today's special e...
BONUS SERIES - On the Road: Wheel of Time, Part II
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does the show stand up to its own hype? So far, we think….yes? Matt continues nerding out over all the foreshadowing, Moses scrounges up a scarcity ...
BONUS SERIES - Enter the Two Rivers: Wheel of Time Part I
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So is the new Wheel of Time show any good? Well, we’re about to find out. Welcome to the Two Rivers, and a world of Trollocks, Aes Sedai, and Dragon...
The Manifesto Episode!! 1984, part 2, chapters 9-10(the one with the loooong paragraphs)
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Trigger warning - this chapter is DEPRESSING!! But the giggles are also out in force. Moses, Jake, and Stephanie read the book within the book, the Bo...
The Privilege of Turning Off the TV. More from 1984.
11 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More hook-ups, more musings, dreams of murdering mother over chocolate, and first contact with the rebellion! It’s everything you love from the dyst...
The Truth about Dystopian Hook-ups, and why enemies give us endorphin rushes. 1984 continues...
04 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Dystopia is all about hook-ups.” …or is it? Here we compare and contrast a dystopian hook-up and a current day real life attempt at dating via ...
Sex and Gender in Dystopia! 1984 section II, part I
28 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here, we finally get to hear what superpowers Jake, Steph, and Moses wish they had. Also, our protagonist Winston writes in his journal, meets a girl,...
When We Lose Our Stories - 1984, chapters 7-8
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” Does revolution make the wor...
Precision of Language, and Perception of Reality. 1984, chapters 5-6
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a brief interlude....we're back! Moses, Jake, and Steph return with another lively discussion about a dystopian classic. What happens when we lo...
Censorship, and What Rafiki Taught us. 1984, chapters 3-4
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's another episode! Moses, Jake, and Steph are back to talk about heroism, censorship, and the dangers of isolation! Is Winston a hero? What makes a...
Why we need time, feelings, and to turn off our screens. George Orwell's 1984, chapters 1-2
14 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The clocks are striking thirteen, Big Brother is watching, and the gin is freely flowing! This can only mean that the Word and Journey podcast is back...
Bonus Episode - The Pilgrim's Progress: an in-depth journey with Rousseaux Brausseur
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Moses teams up with long time friend Rousseaux Brasseur for a deep dive into one of the greatest classics in the Protestant tradition - The Pilgrim’...
The Great Ones, the Bright Place, and the Conclusion of the Most Fantastic Bus Ride - The Great Divorce Finale!
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Moses finally pitches his story! Details within. At the same time, Moses and Jake begin the conclusion of the Great Divorce! Our protagonist continues...
Love, Lizards, and the Problem of Evil - The Great Divorce Chapters 11 - 12
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a brief delay, we're back! Here we learn that Jake has a secret passion for Chinese cooking shows. Here we also meet more ghosts and hear more s...
George MacDonald, Hyacinth Bucket(boo-kay!!) and why we need community to be saved. The Great Divorce, Chapters 9-10
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are again, getting off the bus from hell. This is the chapter where we see a division among the characters and rising stakes! Why do some peop...
Impressive Cynicism and the Hard Bitten Ghost - The Great Divorce chapters 7-8
28 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Moses and Jake are back with more ghost stories! And Bright People stories. And metaphors and social commentary inspired by imagery provided by C.S. L...
Honest Opinions and Unimpressive Relationships. The Great Divorce, chapters 5-6
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Blessed Nativity! We are continuing our trek out of Grey Town into the land of the Bright Ones! Today we discuss our honest opinions! Did we really co...
Internal Space - The Final Frontier! (The Great Divorce, chapters 3-4)
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We're back and on the road from hell to heaven! Just what is real here? Just what does it mean to be real? To be realer than real? Moses and Jake take...
Pilot! The Great Divorce, Chapters 1-2
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's our first episode ever! We are delving into C.S. Lewis's famous allegorical tale, The Great Divorce. Moses and Jake share their initial thoughts ...
A Trailer! A Preview! A Foreshadowing!
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hi! My name is Moses Bernabe, counselor and healer by day, writer by early morning light, lover of stories all the time. And this is the Word and Jour...