Top Story Tonight: Jesus‪!‬ Jane Wells

Journalists from around the Roman world descend on Jerusalem to cover the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, but then some really weird things start happening. Plus, we take a closer look at Pontius Pilate, and the podcast ends with a question.

Many actors in this podcast are not Christians--it certainly was not required! But Tanis Parenteau has a very compelling story behind her reason for not believing.

Time is running out. Jesus is arrested and goes on trial, while the women in his life defend him on talk TV. Then one disciple storms out of the "The Joe Roganus Experience," and Herod Antipas calls in.

The actors in this amazing podcast always surprise me with their adlibs. Frankly, the adlibs are the best part. I asked Sheron Bellio to play "Abby," a daytime talk host similar to Oprah who interviews "The Women of Jesus" in Easter part 3 (which posts later this week). First, though, Abby surprises her studio audience with free matzo for Passover. While reading her lines, Sheron proceeds to go off script, and I can't stop laughing at the results. Here, I pull back the curtain on working as a comedic voiceover artist by revealing the raw audio of all of her takes.

Jesus is profiled on a 1st Century version of Sports Center, while Jairus' daughter is an annoying preteen on Instagram talking about her own death. Then Mary Magdalene debates Caiaphas on cable TV, while Jesus finally grants one interview - to Nicodemus.

How does one find the right person to play Jesus? Finding actor Jason Grasl was an unusual journey, and his background surprised me. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2759625/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1