Episode 88
December 30, 2025

The Gospel According to MarkOn the Morning of Christ’s Nativity

Hosted by Chris Piuma and Suzanne Conklin Akbari

The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

“Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled.

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

We wrap the year up by looking at a few ways people have written about Jesus. Chris revisits The Gospel According to Mark, with all its strange little moments (and looks at a few recent queer retellings of Jesus’ life story). Suzanne, meanwhile, revisits On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, John Milton’s poem about the birth of Jesus, and how its poetry makes us question our sense of time.

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88. The Gospel According to Mark / On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.

The Spouter-Inn The Gospel According to Mark (and some recent queer retellings of Jesus’ life story), and John Milton’s poem On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity. More episodes

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Show Notes.

The Gospel According to Mark, in its New International Version (which Chris reads from) and the King James Version (which Suzanne reads from).

John Milton: On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.

Our episode on Milton’s Paradise Lost and its accompanying bonus episode with Anthony Oliveira.

The audiobook reading of the Bible that Chris mentions.

Geoff Ryman: Him. We also discussed his Was in our episode on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. His hypertext novel, 253, is worth checking out too.

Anthony Oliveira: Dayspring. (An early version of a section was published in Hazlitt if you want a taste.)

Leo Steinberg: The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion (later published as a book).

Catherine Conybeare: Augustine the African.

David Townsend: The Ram in the Thicket: A Novel of Medieval Norwich.

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