The Two-World Podcast

Ken and Jacob learn from Barney about his journey from Ohio to Japan. An interesting portrait of Japan emerges, a place where modern and traditional ways sit side by side, marked by kindness and everyday hospitality. They also swap stories of how local communities help people move, how Japanese families pass on ancestral homes and family names, and where they would live if money were no object. The episode ends with a lighthearted tale of how a small plot of land in Narita became known as Martin Park.

Join Ken, Barney, and Jacob as they talk about baptism and how differently each came to it. Ken was baptized as a baby in the Lutheran church, Barney was baptized as a young person in the Mennonite church, and Jacob was baptized as a teenager in the Vineyard church. Along the way they share photos, family keepsakes, and memories of the baptisms that shaped them. They also discuss what other Christians believe about baptism, including Catholic, Orthodox, and early Anabaptist traditions, and touch on confirmation, child dedication, and how churches help young people grow into faith.

In this episode of the Two World Podcast, Barney (in Japan) and Ken (in Ohio) swap stories about the game they love. Barney shares how his kids fell for the Guardians during a summer visit home, and Ken remembers the autographed picture that lifted his spirits during a childhood hospital stay. Along the way they talk about Red Sox history in 2004, a Hall of Fame bat day, vintage baseball cards, and the card-based baseball game Ken built in a spreadsheet. They close with postseason hopes for Cleveland and Milwaukee, and a few thoughts on the World Baseball Classic. Put a hat on, get out there, and play some catch!

Jacob, Ken, and Barney sit down to talk about forgiveness, both asking for it and offering it. They share personal stories of making amends years later, including a letter that arrived well after the moment had passed, and a gathering of pastors who sat down together after a painful split. Along the way they explore the difference between forgiving and reconciling, what Miroslav Volf's The End of Memory says about healing without forgetting, and how the Amish community of Nickel Mines chose to forgive. It's an honest conversation about why forgiveness is rarely quick, and how grace and healthy boundaries can live side by side.

Barney, Ken, and Jacob reunite after a break to talk about their shared love of board games. They swap childhood memories and trace how games have connected them with their own kids and with older generations. Along the way they highlight Tabletop Station, a mobile game library run by Ken's relatives. It's a warm conversation about how something as simple as a game night can hold family history, forge friendships, and create memories worth keeping.

Bestselling Amish romance novelist Patricia Johns returns for her third appearance on the Two-World Podcast to discuss Through the Valley, the final book in her Shepherd's Hill trilogy and her recent New York Times bestseller honor. The conversation covers the challenge of writing strong, capable women who do not fit tidy expectations, the quiet wisdom she has drawn from Amish and Mennonite life, and the real weight of divorce and forgiveness within tight knit communities. Patricia reflects on love, risk, and what it means to give her characters, and her readers, the ending they have been waiting for.

What does turning 30 actually mean? In this episode, Barney, Ken, and Jacob explore Northern Exposure's Season 4, Episode 1 "Northwest Passages" as a reference point for a wider conversation about milestones, aging, and how we mark the passage of time. Each shares where they actually were at 30, from launching a first career, to years into marriage and family life, to still figuring out what direction life was headed. They compare notes against the episode's rather bleak read on the milestone and talk about how differently that number can land depending on where you are in your own story. From there, the conversation opens up into the episode's three parallel threads: Maggie's reckoning with her past through an old river ritual, Marilyn's late-in-life decision to learn to drive, and Maurice's grandiose attempt to write his memoir. The three of them trace how each storyline offers a different lens on time. Maggie looking at where she is right now, Marilyn looking ahead to what's still possible, and Maurice looking back at what he's already done.

In this episode, Barney sits down with Ken to talk all about book clubs, what they're like, how they start, and why they matter beyond just the books themselves. Ken shares the story of his family's book club, "The Bookies," which came together in 2024 through his niece Briana. Barney offers a look at reading culture in Japan, from anonymous book covers on the train to borrowing English audiobooks through his hometown library from overseas. The two also preview an upcoming interview with author Patricia Johns ahead of the August 4th release of her new book, Through the Valley.

Barney, Ken, and Jacob share videos, recordings, and memories of spring from Ohio's red-winged blackbirds and spring peepers to Japan's swan stopovers and cherry blossom picnics. This is a conversation about slowing down, paying attention, and the people who have taught us to appreciate the natural world around us.

In this episode, we sit down with American painter Lauren Tilden, a gifted portraitist who left New Jersey behind for the hills of rural West Virginia. We talk about art, faith, farm life, and what it means to capture a person's soul on canvas. Lauren shares how three families uprooted their lives and landed on a West Virginia property where horses had literally been living in the farmhouse, and how that unlikely adventure has shaped everything since. She talks about regenerative farming, homeschooling, the surprisingly vibrant arts scene in Appalachia, and how the intensely green West Virginia landscape has already begun to change her palette.