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 past few months. You may want to read these books . . . or not! Either way, enjoy.  BOOKS REVIEWED: "Mother Emanuel" -- Kevin Sack "Freeing Celibacy" -- Donald Cozzens "Nobody's Girl" -- Virginia Roberts Giuffre "Sexual Authenticity" -- Melinda Selmys "There is No Place For Us" -- Brian Goldstone "The Silmarillion" -- J.R.R. Tolkien

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 and more! https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/style/teens-social-media.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/style/luddite-teens-reunion.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/opinion/teen-luddite-smartphones.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/opinion/tech-free-college-spaces.html https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/31/we-have-lost-so-much-of-ourselves-to-smartphones-can-we-get-it-back https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/opinion/how-quit-smartphone-addiction.html?searchResultPosition=1 https://www.theludditeclub.org/contact-1 https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/the-return-of-dumb-things-why-young-people-are-ditching-their-smartphones-for-mp3-players-and-digital-cameras-103012025.html https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/05/opinion/social-media-phones-mental-health.html https://calnewport.com/on-digital-minimalism/ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/2026-s-biggest-lifestyle-shift-living-life-on-analog-mode/ar-AA1Uru4L

“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 joined by Dr. Seth Scott, the head of the counseling department at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. This discussion on Christians fallacies provides a rich window into what God’s true purposes are for this people. https://ciu.edu/program/ma-clinical-counseling/

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 and more with award winning author Dr. Kelly Kapic. Dr. Kapic’s 2022 book, Your Only Human, won Christianity Today’s award that year for the best theology book. Join us for a fascinating conversation that will leave you relieved and grateful that all of us are only human. https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Only-Human-Limits-Reflect/dp/1587437031/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5FQsvhZ-UZ2HMXUzEKQlCw1w7eVZ3yUftY7hD5LT89uyjk-HmCAQ_X8o-QclDiFhROcUAIq3GOs9-J1ffrYuDTU6zUenDNkfNcugPUorDRXK0-Ih0FafpWmzfgebPooCFfH-yaDXshg-0yHEL7jdE8VN8J-zmbu54hDoz6IS1mDxAPBSIsZNhha8Gzs6DWE6J_oATt5Oj0JQrPipxVoJSk3n4-SzHoTUn03nUZJi4rg.ooLps5P4w3KDw_W-ay09w9-lnS15jto-Zv9I0HOG0Mw&dib_tag=se&keywords=your+only+human&qid=1761751361&sr=8-1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540968987/ref=mes-dp?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=FgPMM&content-id=amzn1.sym.1763b2a9-7aa6-49c2-a60b-ee230f5faf79&pf_rd_p=1763b2a9-7aa6-49c2-a60b-ee230f5faf79&pf_rd_r=62RFEJSD4174ABA35F32&pd_rd_wg=LXT32&pd_rd_r=c01c034b-4692-4c64-998b-e94a066cd8f7

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 connection to what happened on January 6th at the Capital. Every Christian should want to be informed about what Chrisitan movements are arising around us and how faithful they are to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1506497780/?bestFormat=true&k=the%20violent%20take%20it%20by%20force&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-pd-bk-d_k0_1_9_de&crid=CGHK01G9PR6V&sprefix=the%20viole

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. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/opinion/ai-therapist-suicide.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/technology/chatgpt-openai-suicide.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/health/ai-therapists-chatbots.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/health/ai-therapist-mental-health.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/magazine/ai-chatbot-therapy.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/opinion/chatgpt-therapist-journal-ai.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/opinion/chat-gpt-mental-health-suicide.html?smid=url-share https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/opinion/teen-mental-health-chatbots.html?smid=url-share

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 or not a person should attend college is a complicated one. Here are Intersect we are here to educate you and help you think through this complicated question. And of course, we do it all through a Christian lens. This topic was so big we had to do it in two parts. ‎"Your Kid Got Into College. Does She Need a ‘Bed Party’?" - NYT -- Feb, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/style/bed-parties-college-acceptance.html "Sorry, Harvard - everyone wants to go to college in the South" - Sept, 2024 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/sorry-harvard-everyone-wants-to-go-to-college-in-the-south-now-235d7934 "Americans are losing faith in the value of college - Whose Fault is That?" - NYT -- Sept, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/magazine/college-worth-price.html

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 or not a person should attend college is a complicated one. Here are Intersect we are here to educate you and help you think through this complicated question. And of course, we do it all through a Christian lens. This topic was so big we had to do it in two parts. ‎"Your Kid Got Into College. Does She Need a ‘Bed Party’?" - NYT -- Feb, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/style/bed-parties-college-acceptance.html "Sorry, Harvard - everyone wants to go to college in the South" - Sept, 2024 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/sorry-harvard-everyone-wants-to-go-to-college-in-the-south-now-235d7934 "Americans are losing faith in the value of college - Whose Fault is That?" - NYT -- Sept, 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/magazine/college-worth-price.html

"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 Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports—and Why It Matters". So, grab your Gatorade bottle and your thinking cap and enjoy the latest from Intersect. Buy on Amazon here. Email us at:  [email protected] Facebook page:  Facebook.com/IntersectPodcastNEPC YouTube Channel: Youtube.com/@IntersectPodcast Intersect Podcast is a ministry of Northeast Presbyterian Church. The views expressed on this podcast are those of Josh and Betsy Desch and are not intended to be presented as the official views of NEPC. Please see our Intersect Podcast landing page for further information. Contact us at [email protected]

"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 episode, Josh and Betsy discuss a recent book on this phenomenon by NPR correspondent Sarah McCammon. Does the word evangelical need a facelift? What can we learn from the Exvangelical movement? Buy on Amazon here. Email us at:  [email protected] Facebook page:  Facebook.com/IntersectPodcastNEPC YouTube Channel: Youtube.com/@IntersectPodcast Intersect Podcast is a ministry of Northeast Presbyterian Church. The views expressed on this podcast are those of Josh and Betsy Desch and are not intended to be presented as the official views of NEPC. Please see our Intersect Podcast landing page for further information. Contact us at [email protected]