Episode: It's go time for Amy's favorite tablet, tablet 11 of the Epic of Gilgamesh!! It's flood time, or at least, it's time to learn about the great flood, caused by Enlil. This episode will cover the events related to the great flood, as reported by Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh seeks immortality, but ultimately, learns about his human limitations and the need for a good nap.

Hosts: Chris McKinny and Amy Balogh

Resources: We've been reading from the Penguin Classic edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Image Attribution: 7th century version of the 11th Tablet. Wikimedia Commons, accessed 1/21/2026 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tablet_XI_or_the_Flood_Tablet_of_the_Epic_of_Gilgamesh,_currently_housed_in_the_British_Museum_in_London.jpg

Episode: Jason Staples and Stephen Carlson try to ruin your Nativity! Jason discusses Stephen's essay "The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2:7." They also discuss when and how Mary and Joseph get married, the census in Luke 2:2, and ... (wait for it) ... the Spanish Inquisition.

Guest: Dr. Stephen Carlson is Associate Professor in the Biblical and Early Christian Studies program at the Australian Catholic University. He's the author of three books, The Gospel Hoax: Morton Smith's Invention of Secret Mark (Baylor, 2007), which debunked the "Secret Gospel of Mark"; The Text of Galatians and its History (Mohr Siebeck, 2014), which applied state-of-the-art computer phylogenetic software he wrote himself to produce a family tree of ninety-two manuscripts and witnesses of Galatians; and Papias of Hierapolis' Exposition of Dominical Oracles (Oxford, 2021), the most complete edition of the fragments of Papias of Hierapolis, a second-century Christian commentator. He is also the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, including his article on the so-called "inn" in Luke's infancy account (under discussion in this episode) and essays on the donkeys in Matthew's triumphal entry:

Stephen C. Carlson, “‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s Messianic Entry, Part 1: Matthew 21:5 as a Reading of Zechariah 9:9 in Light of Mark 11:1-10,” in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 81, number 1 (January 2019), pages 62-84 (link).

Stephen C. Carlson, “‘The Jenny and the Colt’ in Matthew’s Messianic Entry, Part 2: Matthew 21:7 as a Reading of Mark 11:7 in Light of Zechariah 9:9,” in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, volume 81, number 2 (April 2019), pages 235-251 (link).

HERE is a link to the article "Luke 2:2 and the Census."

Episode: In this episode, Kyle sits down for a chat with David deSilva about his two new volumes, Archaeology and the Ministry of Paul: A Visual Guide and Archaeology and the World of Jesus: A Visual Guide (Baker Academic, 2025). The two chat about the importance of material culture for understanding the New Testament, discerning between good church traditions and "other" church traditions, and whether or not it is important to get one's historical details right as a part of one's theology. Kyle also recounts his unique baptism experience, and David gushes about the Via Dolorosa.