Shifting Culture

We live in a world flooded with stories, opinions, and noise, and I find myself wondering which ones are actually worth giving our attention to. In this conversation, I sit down with mythologist and storyteller Martin Shaw to explore why some stories shape us toward life while others quietly hollow us out. We talk about myths that function like prayers rather than spells, why Jesus taught through parables, and how stories still have the power to form us into more loving, grounded human beings.
Martin shares his own unexpected journey back to Christianity through a long wilderness vigil and reflects on grief, evil, beauty, and the kind of attention that makes something holy. This is a conversation about becoming human again, about learning how to see clearly, and about allowing the story of Jesus to break our enchantments and draw us toward love.
Martin Shaw is a writer, mythographer and Christian thinker. He’s Visiting Scholar at the Divinity Faculty of Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the Temenos Academy. Author of seventeen books, Dr Shaw is the director of the Westcountry School of Myth and founder of the Oral Tradition and Mythic Life courses at Stanford University. His book Bardskull was described as “rich and transgressive” by Erica Wagner in The Sunday Times and was Book of the Day in The Guardian. A hugely respected oral storyteller, Shaw has toured internationally numerous times, and led symposiums at both Oxford and Cambridge University, Robert Bly describing him as “a true master, one of the very greatest storytellers we have.” 
His more recent work is what he describes as a developing “Christian mythopoetics”—a reminder of the depth and mysticism latent in this middle-eastern mystery religion. Shaw converted to Eastern Orthodoxy after a 101-day vigil in a Dartmoor forest. He still lives nearby to the wood, writing and teaching. The Irish Times call Martin “a seanchaí, an interloper from the medieval.”, Charles Foster adding, “there’s Shaw and there’s everyone else.”
Martin’s Book:
Liturgies of the Wild
Martin’s Recommendation:
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

In this episode, I talk with Father James Martin about his new memoir Work in Progress and the ways our ordinary jobs shape who we become. We explore summer work, vocation, grief, perseverance, and how faith is formed not just in churches, but in kitchens, factories, offices, and everyday life. Jim reflects on loss, discernment, and the slow work of becoming human, and together we talk about where God shows up in suffering, in work we enjoy, and in work we endure. This conversation is an invitation to look back on your own story, pay attention to the unfinished edges, and notice how grace has been present all along.
The Rev. James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author and editor at large at America, the national Catholic magazine. Martin was born in Plymouth Meeting, PA. He attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. He received his Bachelor's Degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. He worked in corporate finance for General Electric for six years before leaving and joining the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits). Martin was novitiate in Boston where he worked with seriously ill at a hospital in Cambridge. He also worked with hospice patients at the Missionaries of Charity in Kingston, Jamaica and at a school for poor boys, Nativity Mission School, in New York City. He was ordained a Catholic priest in June 1999 in Chestnut Hill, Ma. On Nov. 1, 2009, he pronounced his final vows as a "fully professed" Jesuit in New York City. Martin is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestseller, "Jesus: A Pilgrimage".
Fr. Martin's Book:
Work in Progress
Fr. Martin's Recommendation:
Sacred Fire
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

In this episode, I talk with Lori G. Melton, author of Journey with a Giant, about the practice of walking with spiritual giants from history as a way of formation. We explore slowness, silence, pilgrimage, and what Lori learned by walking with Fred Rogers, including why listening is love, why presence matters more than productivity, and how paying attention to the person in front of us reshapes faith. This conversation offers a grounded, countercultural vision of discipleship rooted in companionship, attentiveness, and trust.
Lori G. Melton is an author, spiritual director, podcaster, and retreat leader with a life-long passion for walking with God and helping others grow in their relationship with Him. 
She and her husband Bryan are the founders of the Sanctuary at Bear Creek Retreat Center in Allegan, Michigan. Lori is the host of the Sanctuary Stirrings podcast.
Raised as an Episcopalian and educated in Catholic schools, Lori came to Christ through an Assembly of God youth group and has spent her adult life in non-denominational Bible churches. One of her greatest strengths is her appreciation for diverse Christian denominations.
Lori was born in Niagara Falls, New York (Yes, one of the Eight Wonders of the World!), played competitive badminton in high school (Don’t laugh, it is a sport), and is the other half of a twin-sister combination. When she’s not writing, speaking, or welcoming retreat guests, she loves spending time with her six grown children and three adorable grands. 
You can find Lori on Facebook and Instagram, and at her website, lorigmelton.com.
Lori's Book:
Journey with a Giant
Lori's Recommendation:
In Search of God's Will
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

The Desert Elders didn’t flee the world to escape it. Some left because Christianity had become comfortable, aligned with power, and disconnected from real transformation. In this episode, I am joined by Lisa Colón DeLay to explore the wisdom of the early Christian desert mothers and fathers and what their lives teach us about spiritual formation today. We talk about attention and restlessness, judgment and humility, silence and prayer, and how habits slowly form, or deform, the soul. You’ll hear the story of Abba Moses, who moved from violence to mercy, and learn why real change doesn’t come through information or performance but through patience, repentance, and faithfulness over time. This episode is for anyone trying to take Jesus seriously in a noisy, restless, and divided world and looking for a way of life that actually leads to transformation.
Lisa Colón DeLay is an author, the podcast host of Spark My Muse podcast, consultant, teacher, Substack writer, and spiritual companion known for focusing on spiritual growth, the inner life, and connection. She holds a Masters Degree in Spiritual Formation
Lisa's Book:
The Way of the Desert Elders
Lisa's Recommendation:
The Holy Ordinary
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

In this episode, I sit down with neurosurgeon and author Dr. Lee Warren to talk about how our thoughts shape our brains and, over time, our lives. Lee draws from neuroscience, Scripture, and his own story, serving as an Army surgeon, living with PTSD, and walking through the loss of a child, to help make sense of why so many of us feel stuck in anxiety, fear, or reactivity. We talk about what Lee calls “self-brain surgery,” the practice of learning to think about our thoughts instead of being ruled by them. We explore the difference between the mind and the brain, why most of our daily thoughts aren’t actually true, how trauma rewires us, and how healing can too. We also talk about gratitude, attention, habits, and spiritual warfare and why slowing down and responding with intention matters more than trying to fix everything at once. This conversation is about building resilience, telling the truth about what’s happening inside us, and finding a more hopeful way forward. 
W. Lee Warren, MD, is a neurosurgeon, an award-winning author, an Iraq War veteran, and the host of The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast. He teaches the art of connecting neuroscience, faith, and daily practices for leading a healthier, better, and happier life. www.DrLeeWarren.com
Lee's Book:
The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery
Lee's Recommendation:
Gradually Then Suddenly
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube

Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show