Intersect: Where Church Meets Culture
by Northeast Presbyterian Church | Josh and Betsy Desch
One thing is constant about this moment in history in which we are living: change. We see huge cultural shifts happening all around us, and when coupled with the ever burgeoning place that technology holds in our lives, it’s sometimes hard to stay on top of the ways in which our world is changing. Our goal at "Intersect" is to dissect cultural trends that we are experiencing in our increasingly global world through the lens of a gospel worldview, with a good dose of humor. How are we as Christ followers to live faithfully in this cultural moment? Join us for thoughtful conversation, goofy news stories, and lots of laughs!
Episodes
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"From Indiana to Columbia - An Interview with Bryce Worrell" — Season 09, Episode 02
"From Indiana to Columbia - An Interview with Bryce Worrell" — Season 09, Episode 02
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"This is 100!" — Season 09, Episode 01
Episode #100, here it is! After 8 years, Josh and Betsy have reached the top of Mount Everest. Okay, well, actually they have just recorded episode #100 of Intersect. Take a tour down memory lane as they blitz through those one hundred episodes category by category. Categories include memorable...
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"Sports Gambling Will Kill Us All" -- Season 08, Episode 10
"Sports Gambling Will Kill Us All" -- Season 08, Episode 10
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"Should Josh LooksMax??" - Season 08, Episode 09
"Should Josh LooksMax??" - Season 08, Episode 09
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Spring Reading Roundup — Season 08, Episode 08
The sun is shining, the bees are buzzing, and Josh and Betsy are still reading various and sundry books. Listeners and viewers of Intersect Podcast have always appreciated their book reviews, so on this Spring Reading Roundup Josh and Betsy each share about three books they have read over the…
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6 Months with a Flip Phone??!! Breaking Down the Downgrading Movement
Betsy has now had a flip phone for two months! Josh wants to know if this is realistic. Can she keep it going? Do we have to all have smart phones? If you will never get rid of your smartphone what can you do to be less addicted and chained to it? Are we losing boredom and does that matter? This...
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Debunking Christian Fallacies, with Dr. Seth Scott
“All sins are the same.” “I can do all things through Christ…” “All our works are filthy rags…” “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” There are a lot of bumper sticker slogans that Christians toss around. But are these statements biblically accurate? On this episode Josh and Betsy are...
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You're Only Human, with Dr. Kelly Kapic
Are limitations good or bad? Are limitations a result of humanity’s fall into sin, or a part of being a creature? Is it wrong to try to transcend our limitations? Shouldn’t we try to be as productive as possible and to optimize our health and lifestyle? Josh and Betsy dive into these questions…
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What's All This About Christian Nationalism?
Have you heard about Christian Nationalism? What is it, who believes it, and what impact does it have? In this episode Josh and Betsy review the book, The Violent Take It by Force, by Matthew D. Taylor. This book explains the rise to power of Independent Charismatic Christians and their…
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Should ChatGPT Be Your Therapist
Artificial Intelligence . . . It’s here. We are all using it. Should we be? Does it matter? What are the benefits? What are the risks? Is ChatGPT your friend? It’s the AI episode. Brought to you totally by two people with real human brains! Listen in and let us know what you think....
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Is College Still Worth It? Part 2
College. To go or not to go? There are few topics that bring up strong opinions and anxiety for modern parents than the question of college. Josh and Betsy take a deep dive into the research on college and evaluate the crucial college question from a variety of perspectives. The choice of whether...
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Is College Still Worth It? Part 1
College. To go or not to go? There are few topics that bring up strong opinions and anxiety for modern parents than the question of college. Josh and Betsy take a deep dive into the research on college and evaluate the crucial college question from a variety of perspectives. The choice of whether...
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 07 — “Take Back the Game…” Are We Ruining Kids Sports? A Book Review
"Take Back the Game..." Are We Ruining Kids Sports? A Book Review — Season 7 Episode 7 Josh and Betsy tackle the issue of kids' sports in America. How should Christians navigate the challenging waters of youth sports? This episode is a book review of Linda Flanagan’s 2022 book, "Take Back the…
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 06 — “Exvangelicals: Leaving the Evangelical Church”
"Exvangelicals: Leaving the Evangelical Church — Season 7 Episode 6" Book Review! "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church" by Sarah McCammon. Why are so many people leaving the American evangelical church? Huge numbers of people, especially those under forty,...
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Exvangelicals: Leaving the Evangelical Church — Season 7 Episode 6
Book Review! "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church" by Sarah McCammon. Why are so many people leaving the American evangelical church? Huge numbers of people, especially those under forty, are leaving the evangelical tradition of their upbringing. In this...
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"Providence Home: An Interview with Christy Cox" — Season 07, Episode 05
Men in America are struggling. Since the pandemic, media has been reporting on so called “deaths of despair” which particularly afflict men. These are deaths from suicide, drugs or alcohol abuse. In this interview, Josh and Betsy spotlight an amazing local ministry seeking to bring the light of...
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 05 — “Providence Home: An Interview with Christy Cox”
"Providence Home: An Interview with Christy Cox" Men in America are struggling. Since the pandemic, media has been reporting on so called “deaths of despair” which particularly afflict men. These are deaths from suicide, drugs or alcohol abuse. In this interview, Josh and Betsy spotlight an…
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 04 — “Wrap Up Some Hope for Christmas”
"Wrap Up Some Hope for Christmas" In this festive episode of Intersect, Pastor Josh Desch and his wife Betsy discuss the cultural and spiritual significance of Christmas. They delve into Christmas songs, movies, and traditions, analyzing how each depicts the holiday season. They then discuss how...
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"Wrap Up Some Hope for Christmas" -- Season 07, Episode 04
In this festive episode of Intersect, Pastor Josh Desch and his wife Betsy discuss the cultural and spiritual significance of Christmas. They delve into Christmas songs, movies, and traditions, analyzing how each depicts the holiday season. They then discuss how the real theme of Christmas is...
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 03 — “David French: My Journey as a Christian to the New York Times”
"David French: My Journey as a Christian to the New York Times" In today’s episode, Josh and Betsy are joined via phone by David French – a well-known writer and political commentator. David is an attorney, a former senior editor of The Dispatch, a professor at Lipscomb University, and a frequent...
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"David French: My Journey as a Christian to the New York Times" — Season07, Episode 3
In today’s episode, Josh and Betsy are joined via phone by David French – a well-known writer and political commentator. David is an attorney, a former senior editor of The Dispatch, a professor at Lipscomb University, and a frequent columnist for The New York Times. David discusses his work at…
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 02 — “Reading Round Up”
"Reading Round Up" Josh and Betsy are back with more book recommendations. Each of them shares briefly about three books they read this summer. Log onto Amazon, open your Kindle, or get out your library card -- and let us know what you think of these books! Betsy reviews: "Over the Edge: Death in...
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"Reading Round Up" -- Season 07, Ep. 02
Josh and Betsy are back with more book recommendations. Each of them shares briefly about three books they read this summer. Log onto Amazon, open your Kindle, or get out your library card -- and let us know what you think of these books! Betsy reviews: "Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon"…
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"How Much Would You Pay for Your Cat's Kidney?" - Season 07, trial Episode 2
Animals. We love them. We love learning about them and having many of them, especially cats and dogs, as pets. However, has America gone too far in our love for our four-legged furry friends? Would you pay $15k to extend your pet’s life? How should Christians think about pet ownership? Josh and...
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"What Does Identity in Christ Mean?" -- Season 07, trial episode 03
In Christian circles, we frequently hear that we need to put our ‘identity in Christ’ — but what does that even mean? How are Christians supposed to do that? Is that the only lens through which we should see the Christian life? Interacting with a recent article by public theologian Anthony…
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YouTube Season 7, Ep. 01 — “Which Vacation is Better: A Cruise, or an All-Inclusive Resort?”
"Which Vacation is Better: A Cruise, or an All-Inclusive Resort?" Welcome to the Official Launch of the "INTERSECT: Where Church Meets Culture" YouTube Video Show! While most of our episodes will dive into meatier topics, today Josh and Betsy Desch have some fun with one of their (in)famous...
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“Metaverse Madness” — 604
"Metaverse Madness" Have you heard about the metaverse? Are you living in the metaverse already? Why is Facebook now called Meta? And do you need to take out a second mortgage and buy the new Apple Vision Pro glasses? Josh and Betsy are here to guide you through all these issues and more, so…
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"Which Vacation is Better: A Luxury Cruise, or an All-Inclusive Resort?" -- Season 07, Ep. 01
Welcome to the Official Launch of the "INTERSECT: Where Church Meets Culture" YouTube Video Show! While most of our episodes will dive into meatier topics, today Josh and Betsy Desch have some fun with one of their (in)famous debates: Which Vacation do you think is better -- a Cruise on a Luxury...
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“A Bridge Too Far — Assisted Death in Canada” – 603
"A Bridge Too Far — Assisted Death in Canada" Who has the right to determine when they die? For most of history, taking one’s own life has been viewed as something society should prevent at all costs. Yet in Canada today, assisted suicide is on the rise. In fact, the government has made it a…
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“F·R·I·E·N·D·S, Friendship, and the Secret Sauce” – 602
"F·R·I·E·N·D·S, Friendship, and the Secret Sauce" “The passing of Matthew Perry, the actor known to so many as "Chandler Bing" on the popular TV Show "FRIENDS", has the world talking about this show again. Josh and Betsy offer their take on why this iconic show has remained nearly as popular…
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“Throwdown: Is the Casualization of Clothing Good or Bad?” – 601
"THROWDOWN - Is the Casualization of Clothing in Our Culture Good or Bad?" “Josh and Betsy are ready to rumble! In this debate style episode they take opposite sides on the question of whether or not the casualization of clothing in America has been a good thing. This episode was prompted by the...
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“A Christian Perspective on Mental Health” – 512
"A Christian Perspective on Mental Health -- Are Mental Health Professionals the New High Priests?" Mental health is an area of constant growth and awareness in our country. We have certainly seen the demand for mental health services increase since COVID. So how should Christians navigate these...
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“Every Human Has A Story” – 511
"Every Human Has A Story" Stories. We read them, we watch them, we live them. Every person has a story, and every person has to make sense of life in terms of a story. That is to say, everyone believes some story about how we got here, what is our purpose, and what happens when we die. We are...
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“Résumé Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues” -510
"Résumé Virtues vs. Eulogy Virtues" Have you heard of the difference between ‘résumé virtues’ and ‘eulogy virtues’? This distinction, first brought to the public’s awareness by NY Times columnist David Brooks, is worth contemplating for all of us. What are we living for? What virtues are we...
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“Cultivating Intellectual Humility over Intellectual Suspicion” – 509
"Cultivating Intellectual Humility over Intellectual Suspicion" PCA pastor and writer Derek Radney joins Josh and Betsy to talk about our culture of suspicion and bad faith readings of those we disagree with. Why has our culture become so polarized? When should we confront others? What does it…
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“You Are Not Your Own… and Why That’s a Good Thing” -508
"You Are Not Your Own... and Why That's a Good Thing" Oftentimes we hear about the benefits of home ownership, but what we don't think about is that our culture is constantly talking to us about self-ownership. We are all constantly hearing the message that we belong to ourselves, and no one…
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“The Gospel According to Elf (The Movie)” -507
"The Gospel According to Elf (The Movie)" Have you seen the movie "Elf", the 2003 comedy starring Will Ferrell? Josh and Betsy love that particular film. But more than the movie, they love one theme that radiates throughout the movie and throughout the Bible: hope. We live in a cynical age. In…
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“David French on the Fracturing of Evangelicalism” -506
"David French on the Fracturing of Evangelicalism" Josh and Betsy are joined by nationally recognized writer, speaker and constitutional lawyer David French to discuss what is happening inside of the American Evangelical Church. What makes an evangelical? Why is there so much division? What…
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“Why Can’t We Be Friends? A Conversation about Toxic People” -505
"Why Can't We Be Friends? A Conversation about Toxic People" Our culture now regularly labels people and statements as "toxic." What does toxic mean in this sense of the word? Should we cut toxic people out of our lives? Is our culture evolving in a positive way or is this a concerning trend?…
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“Why Are Americans Becoming More Isolated and Does It Matter?” -504
"Why Are Americans Becoming More Isolated and Does It Matter?" New research shows that more and more people are retreating into their interior worlds. In others words, we are becoming less social people. We are interacting with other people less than prior generations. Is there a price we are...
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Exploring Trauma – A Review of the Book “The Body Keeps the Score” -503
Exploring Trauma - A Review of the Book "The Body Keeps the Score" Josh and Betsy engage a heavy, but extremely important topic in this episode, that of trauma. It’s easy to believe that trauma is just about what we can remember with our minds, but ground-breaking new research has shown that…
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“Singleness, Celibacy, and Christian Ministry with Rev. Dr. Greg Johnson” -502
“Singleness, Celibacy, and Christian Ministry with Rev. Dr. Greg Johnson” Josh and Betsy are joined by Greg Johnson, the Lead Pastor at Historic Memorial Presbyterian Church in Saint Louis, to discuss the topic of singleness, celibacy, and Christian ministry. Has the American evangelical church...
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“The Restorative Power of Silence” -501
“The Restorative Power of Silence” Season five is here! Josh and Betsy kick off the new season by discussing the power of silence in our lives. Why is silence hard? What good can it do for us? Drawing on the insights of Dallas Willard, they present a strong case for building in times of silence…
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“Staying Dapper as a Dad” -417
“Staying Dapper as a Dad” The finale is here! Josh and Betsy are joined by Andrew Eckstrom to talk about how to stay dapper as a dad of four kids. In addition to discussing this important topic, they talk about Andrew’s efforts to raise money for cancer research and the importance of men being in…
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“From Branding Products to Branding Ourselves” -416
“From Branding Products to Branding Ourselves” Social Media . . . these days, platforms like Instagram are the dominant channel through which many brands advertise. But in our quest to gain followers and get likes, have we become the product? Are we now branding ourselves? And if so, what impact…
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“Wake Up, People…You’re a Miracle” -415
“Wake Up, People...You're a Miracle” What an amazing universe we live in! There are over 100 billion galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars. In this episode, Betsy and Josh discuss the book, Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, By Dr. Neil deGrasse…
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“Clothing, Consumption, and the Christian Life” -414
“Clothing, Consumption, and the Christian Life” Clothes, we all own plenty of them, and they help define who we are. But why have clothes gotten so cheap? What is the story behind the clothes we wear? Where were they made? Who made them? And should we care? Josh and Betsy bring a Christian...
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“Football vs Fútbol” -413
“Football vs Fútbol” Are you ready for the debate of the century? Josh and Betsy are back to debate one another on this question: Which sport is better, American Football or what the rest of the world calls Football/Futbol? Producer Billy Grooms serves as the debate judge and picks a winner at…
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“Learning to Love the Gospels, Part 2” -412
“Learning to Love the Gospels, Part 2” Josh and Betsy are back with Dr. Dan Doriani to discuss what makes each of the four gospels unique. Dan also shares about how he came to love the gospel of Matthew, and what gospel stories are deeply meaningful to him. Finally, he shares a bit about his own...
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“Learning to Love the Gospels, Part 1” -411
“Learning to Love the Gospels, Part 1” Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We all know about the four gospels. But do we love them? And what's wrong with just reading other parts of the Bible, like the Psalms or Paul's letters, while not focusing on the gospels? Josh and Betsy are joined by Dr. Dan...
About this show
One thing is constant about this moment in history in which we are living: change. We see huge cultural shifts happening all around us, and when coupled with the ever burgeoning place that technology holds in our lives, it’s sometimes hard to stay on top of the ways in which our world is changing. Our goal at "Intersect" is to dissect cultural trends that we are experiencing in our increasingly global world through the lens of a gospel worldview, with a good dose of humor. How are we as Christ followers to live faithfully in this cultural moment? Join us for thoughtful conversation, goofy news stories, and lots of laughs!
Hosted by
Northeast Presbyterian Church | Josh and Betsy Desch
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