One of the strange wonders of Marcus’ life is that the core of his after-degree theological training came to him through the medium of publicly funded radio programming, almost all of it curated by David Cayley. For over 20 years, Cayley was a producer for a program entitled simply, “Ideas” at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  Always clear, always careful, always genuinely seeking after the Good, David Cayley has deepened and enriched the public conversation in this country and well beyond it. “What is worth understanding is worth being understood well by everyone,” said Northrop Frye, one of Cayley’s many interviewees. Cayley made a career of helping the Canadian public understand ideas with philosophical heft, and, perhaps even more challenging in the present milieu, ideas of great spiritual significance. We were delighted to have Cayley’s warm and iconic voice on The Ferment. Episode References: David Cayley’s programs on several thinkers and themes: Ivan Illich Rene Girard Simone Weil After Atheism Between Two Ages William Blake David Cayley’s books: Ivan Illich in Conversation Rivers North of the Future Ivan Illich’s work: Deschooling Society Marcus’ book: Life at the End of Us Versus Them The New Left: a loosely organized progressive movement that emerged in the 60’s and 70’s that emphasized personal initiative over state reform. Think home-schooling, organic food, intentional communities and back-to-the-land experiments. Cayley features some of the important voices of this movement in his first documentary series for CBC Ideas, Between Two Ages William Blake’s mythological figure, Urizen Eric Voegelin – (the tragedy of the western tradition is the separation of theology and philosophy – theology takes a propositional form, e.g., web article by Yotam Hotam) Bruce Cockburn “The ones who know don’t have the words to tell/ and the ones with the words don’t know too well” – from “Burden of the Angel/Beast“ Thomas Merton, Gethsemani Abbey, Merton’s monastery, and St. Therese of Lisieux, the “Little Flower,” one of Merton’s inspirations Alana’s song, Little Flower, from the album Point Vierge: Little Flower I will be your monk, little flower Show me what to do, little flower Pray for me, little flower Pray for me

In the late winter of 2016, Alana Levandoski and her family traveled to Beausejour, Manitoba to give a concert in a small country church, one of the oldest buildings in the rural town. Alana was promoting her album, Behold, I Make All Things New.The acoustics were gorgeous, and attendees were hungry for an authentic, living voice to sing songs of praise and longing in the century-old, near-defunct sanctuary. A little group called Saint Julian’s Table was trying to keep alive the embers of a worship life in the building of Saint James Anglican, a local parish that had ceased to gather. The experiment of Saint Julian’s Table would die within a year. But the next morning, Alana had a conversation with the group’s convenor that would birth The Ferment podcast.  Alana had connected with Marcus Peter Rempel previously as a Kickstarter backer of his book, Life at the End of Us Versus Them: cross/culture/stories. After breakfast at Ploughshares Community Farm, where Marcus homesteads with his family and some fellow Christian agrarians, Alana and Marcus got to talking about collaborating on a podcast that would call itself “The Ferment” – referring both to a moment of social unrest, and to the magic that preserves the integrity of good, homegrown food by feeding a good culture instead of by sterilizing and killing bad culture. Like good wine or good sauerkraut, it took a while. Now it’s time to taste and see if this thing is good! In this episode, Alana teaches and sings her way through the church calendar as a Christ narrative. Consider it the starter culture for The Ferment. Episode References Richard Rohr’s Living School Alana’s discography Hildegard Von Bingen Frederich Buechner’s sermon series “The Birth”: The Shepherd The Innkeeper The Wise Man saint benedict’s table Anglican Church You Are Stardust – children’s book St. Benedict’s Monastery Truth & Reconciliation Commission James Finley

James Alison might insist that he is “fairly clearly not an authority, and often just a silly old queen,” but underneath his mirth and modesty lies an exceptional theological depth. America: The Jesuit Review hails this institutional outsider as an authority who “belongs on any short list of the most important living Catholic theologians.” In this conversation, Alison addresses himself to a generation that has good bullshit detectors, but little social glue, speaking into the challenge of how to cultivate a togetherness no longer defined over against the “baddie du jour.” Questions of catholicity, original sin and the high priesthood of all believers are dealt with in due course. An uncloseted priest from the edges of the Roman Catholic Church speaks into central issues for our time. Episode References: James Alison’s websites: jamesalison.co.uk / forgivingvictim.com James Alison’s book: The Joy of Being Wrong Matthew Fox’s book: Original Blessing Duncan Derrett, NT scholar Ojibway Elder – The Ojibway, or Anishnaabe, as they call themselves in their own language, are one of the main original people groups in Manitoba. Their territory stretches far east into Ontario and Quebec and south into Minnesota. Alana’s song, The Heart of God, from the album, Behold, I Make All Things New: The Heart of God has been revealed The Heart of God has been revealed To bring love not hate Pour out not dominate The Heart of God has been revealed. The Heart of God has been revealed The Heart of God has been revealed To forgive not blame To make whole not shame The Heart of God has been revealed. Halleluja, Halleluja, Halleluja, Halleluja The Heart of God has been revealed

The hosts introduce the vision of The Ferment and share their excitement about future interviews. They discuss their transition from music to farming and reflect on their experiences. They explore the fear of disconnection in the podcast world and the significance of finding a sense of belonging. They explain the origin of the podcast name, 'The Ferment', and its metaphorical meaning. They announce upcoming interviews with openly gay theologians and a concert recording by Alana. The episode ends with a recitation of a poem about celebrating good and truth.