FaithAnglePodcast

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Brad Fulton, professor of Nonprofit Management and Social Policy at the O’Neill School of Public Affairs at Indiana University, alongside Amber Hacker, Chief of External Affairs at Interfaith America. Our guests discuss the role of religious giving in philanthropy and the surprising trends that emerge from the underlying data. Out of the $557 billion dollars given annually in the United States to charities, twenty percent of the funds come from foundations. Does religious commitment influence that giving? Do we know from available data that generosity makes a person healthier or happier? Does the generation a person’s born into—say, a Boomer vs. a Millennial—impact giving patterns? They also discuss new networking tools as it relates to philanthropic giving. 

In this episode, we are joined by Jaweed Kaleem of The Los Angeles Times alongside Knox Thames, author of the new book Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom. Knox reflects on his long career advancing the cause of religious liberty around the world, including in the some of the world's most repressive contexts. Our guests assess the current state of religious freedom across different contexts, from India to Israel and Gaza, and reflect on how the eroding of religious freedom often serves as a "canary in the coal mine" for the loss of other fundamental human rights. 

In this episode, New York Times opinion columnist David French sits down with Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold of The New Yorker to discuss her brand new book, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church. These two journalists with firsthand familiarity and longstanding expertise in covering religion embark on a fascinating exploration of the book's coverage of Philadelphia's Circle of Hope, a little-known yet influential progressive evangelical movement, and how the sobering disintegration of that spiritual community mirrors broader dynamics at work in American Christianity. 

On this episode, we are joined by Elizabeth Oldfield to discuss her newly-released book Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times. After beginning her career covering religion for the BBC, Elizabeth for a decade ran a London-based think tank called Theos, which seeks to stimulate the debate about the place of religion in society, challenging and changing ideas through research, commentary and events. Under her leadership, its staff increased tenfold—and still supports podcast she hosts today, "The Sacred."

Joining Elizabeth is Damir Marusic, an assignment editor at The Washington Post. Along with Shadi Hamid, a longtime friend and advisor to Faith Angle, Damir co-founded the podcast "Wisdom of Crowds." Damir writes extensively on US politics, polarization, US foreign policy, and European affairs. Bringing a non-religious vantage point, he highlights with Elizabeth key themes in Fully Alive and the two get right into it, not mincing words even when there are differing views of sin, grace, evil, and the possibilities for human community.

Building on the legacy of Michael Cromartie (1950-2017), who founded Faith Angle Forum a quarter-century ago, MCF brings together a select group of exceptionally talented, early-career journalists for a three-day conference in the nation’s capital, focusing on the intersection of faith, culture, and journalism today. This year’s forum explored new narratives in American history, reconsidered the relationship between spirituality and vocational journalism, and examined the interplay between race, religion, and identity in diverse democracies.

In this episode, recorded at Faith Angle Miami 2024, we are joined by Brad Wilcox and Isabel Sawhill for a fascinating, timely conversation about marriage patterns, family structure, shifting gender norms, and poverty rates. In a time of deep polarization, are certain approaches better than others when it comes to exploring the benefits of marriage for children? How does marriage compare with cohabitation, and how do we avoid getting caught in culture war cul du sacs when discussing gender roles, marriage norms, and solutions that can benefit low-income families? Two seminal scholars in this field, Brad and Belle highlight themes from their decades of scholarship on these topics and, in particular, from Brad's most recent book, Get Married.

In this episode, we are joined by John Inazu, who is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion and Professor of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. This week, he published his fourth book: Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect.

John sits down to discuss differences, respect, bridge-building, and the unique role of journalism in all this, with Matt Kaminski, editor-at-large of POLITICO, and the co-founder of POLITICO Europe. Matt served as editor-in-chief of POLITICO from 2019-2023, and he’s covered international politics for more than a quarter-century, still writing regularly on global affairs today. 

Together they discuss whether it is possible to disagree in ways that somehow build bridges with neighbors, coworkers, and loved ones, and what role journalists can play in helping us see reality more clearly.

In this episode, we are joined by Sarah McCammon, National Political Correspondent at NPR, to discuss her book Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. In it, Sarah tells a compelling, personal story about family, marriage, politics, and church—and she concisely boils down insights from scholars like David Gushee, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Christian Smith, and others you’ll hear her reference. If the great de-churching currently happening in American society is most acutely felt by Gen Z and Millennials, Sarah’s story is right in the heart of that. And since no one really knows where the future is headed, one question to ask is: If evangelicals or other religious Americans leave the fold, what replaces that unique sense of purpose, transcendent faith, and community? Joining Sarah to discuss that and other urgent questions is Ruth Graham, the brilliant New York Times’ religion, faith, and values reporter.

In this episode, we are joined again by Tim Alberta of The Atlantic and Michael Wear of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, to discuss Michael's brand new book The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life. Michael has been engaging the condition of American politics for more than 15 years, after serving in the White House, helping to launch and lead the AND Campaign, and advising leading policymakers, journalists, practitioners at the intersection of faith and public policy. 

Drawing from this experience as well as the work and influence of noteworthy Christian philosopher Dallas Willard, Michael argues that our politics will only get better if we get better. The only way to transcend the current polarized morass we’re in is to deepen and revitalize our spiritual formation. Our politics is downstream of the kind of people we are.

The Spirit of Our Politics argues that the way forward is to better align our political and civic engagement with our religious commitments. And while the democratic answer for believers is never theonomy, or Christian nationalism, or privileging a majority identity—Michael and Tim sketch the contours of what faithful, integrated living might produce.

On today’s episode, we are joined by The Atlantic’s Elizabeth Bruenig for an Advent reflection with Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, assistant pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Rev. Isaac is an evangelical pastor whose life and ministry have been rooted in Bethlehem in the West Bank, where he is a theologian, Bible college dean, a leader of the peacebuilding initiative Christ at the Checkpoint, and part of the ancient but fast-dwindling community of Christians in the Holy Land. This Christmas, as there is war in the Holy Land, this sobering conversation points to the hope of the Incarnation in the midst of suffering—offered from a unique vantage point and moment, in the place of Christ’s birth.

In this episode, Luke Russert discusses his new book Look For Me There: Grieving My Father, Finding Myself, a reflection on grief, family legacy, religious exploration, and the loss of Luke's father, legendary journalist Tim Russert. Luke is joined by Carl Cannon, Washington Bureau Chief and Executive Editor of RealClearPolitics, who shares from his own experience with family bonds, faith, loss, and his personal friendship with Luke's father.

Best selling author and columnist David Brooks sits down with noted psychiatrist Curt Thompson to discuss Brooks' latest book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. Brooks' aim is to help foster deeper connections at home, work, and throughout our lives, and he and Thompson cover a lot of ground. From thoughts on friendship, depression, what it means to really listen, and how we reflect God, there's a lot here. It's a generous conversation, and one that we hope offers a kind of relational balm in our troubled time.

Christine Emba's recent piece for The Washington Post, "Men Are Lost. Here's a Map out of the Wilderness.," says something haunting about the state of gender dynamics in the country and something both our guests remind us matters equally to men and women alike. On this episode, Christine joins noteworthy scholar Richard Reeves, who recently launched the American Institute for Boys and Men. Not only do they explore their timely scholarship and writing on this topic, but they also engage the nuanced role that faith and religious institutions play in it. 

In 2009, Newsweek magazine called David Saperstein the most influential rabbi in America. For over 40 years, he was the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom, becoming America's chief diplomat on religious liberty issues. He was the first chairman in 1998 of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Joining Rabbi Saperstein is a brilliant journalist for The Atlantic, McKay Coppins, who writes regularly on politics, faith, presidential campaigns, and other stories of compelling human interest. 

In this episode, we have the privilege of hosting two brilliant thinkers on the state of race in America, and how a faith angle fits into that. Ekemini Uwan is a writer, public theologian, and activist who hosts the excellent podcast Truth’s Table. She co-wrote a book by that title, featuring Black women’s musings on life, love, and liberation. Joining Ekemini is Eugene Scott, who has been a prior guest journalist on Faith Angle’s podcast, and is currently the senior politics reporter at Axios.

Sixty years after the March on Washington and MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, how are we doing? At the outset of an election year, this conversation dives straight into that question—with signs of some real progress and signs of much, much work yet ahead.

This episode explores how the arts can help us transcend some of the worries in contemporary society, from polarization and entrenched tribalism, to our massive decline in public trust, to informational rabbit holes, to other discouraging and sometimes heartbreaking news. How do stories help us renew?  

This conversation was originally featured at Faith Angle West 2023 in Seattle, WA. and the full-length talk is linked below. Alissa Wilkinson has covered film and culture since 2016 for Vox, and she been a prolific film critic since a decade prior. Brad Winters – who speaks immediately following Alissa – is a writer, producer, and showrunner who helped direct and oversee TV dramas including “Oz” (where he started his career as a writer), “Boss,” “The Americans,” “The Sinner,” and “Berlin Station.” So we’ll hear Alissa’s reflections about how faith and Hollywood relate to one another, followed by Brad’s take as an on-set practitioner—about how he’s tried to stay true.  

Time and again in American life, technology has made room for new, better things that ease human burdens and free up RAM—think just of dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, and airplanes. Of course today, Silicon Valley represents this new frontier perhaps better than anyplace else in the world. It’s there that Carolyn Chen –  a sociologist and Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, where she’s co-directs the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion – has discovered something compelling in her new book Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley (Princeton 2022). 

Time after time, a Silicon Valley job provided what religion used to provide a Georgia Tech college student or Ohio megachurch volunteer. From company yoga studios to meditation apps, from cafeterias to enriching professional development opportunities, young, mobile, hi-tech workers allured by the perks often work 60 or 70 hour-weeks. If the company is changing the world, why go to church?

For Millennials and Gen Z in particular, the trend toward “no religion at all” or remaining agnostic on the religion survey is increasingly popular. But Trae Stephens, a venture capitalist and Partner at Founders Fund where he invests across multiple sectors and stages, argues the story is more complex. 

Enjoy these two short talks, given live to a group of 18 journalists working at outlets primarily west of the Mississippi—first on how work in Silicon Valley has come to take the place of religion once held, and then Trae on why that is, and what we can do about it.

Professor Joshua Ralston is a scholar and theologian who teaches Christian-Muslim Relations at the University of Edinburgh. His three books look at Sharia law from a Christian perspective, at the impact of global migration on the church, and at Europe’s rich religious diversity. He is engaged in the work of bridging divides between Christians and Muslims—each vast, diverse communities who often fundamentally misunderstand one another. 

Joining him is Rim-Sarah Alouane, a French legal scholar and commentator who’s nearly completed a PhD in comparative law at the University Toulouse-Capitole, in France. Her scholarship focuses largely on religious freedom, human rights in France, the balance of civil liberties and religion, and constitutional law. Listen in for a rich dialogue between a Muslim legal scholar in France and a Christian theologian in Scotland. 

Yuval Levin is the kind of thinker, policy analyst, public servant, and scholar you really want in DC. The talk you’re about to hear is one he gave to a group of 15 Michael Cromartie Forum journalists, a highly promising group of early-career journalists. The topic is declining trust in our politics, in religion, and in American journalism—and it’s a deeply insightful and challenging talk that we hope you’ll feel just as stirred by as our group did.

Guest

Yuval Levin

At the moment, 193 countries in the world hold membership in the United Nations, and, of that group, 50 are currently Muslim-majority countries. This is a data-point referenced by each of this episode's guest scholars, in their thinking about how Islam and liberalism intersect and in their reflections on the future of Islam in the modern era and on Muslim life in America.

First up is Mustafa Akyol, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. He is followed by Dalia Mogahed, who is Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Dalia previously served on President Obama’s Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and, prior to that, was for six years Director of Gallup’s Center for Muslim Studies.  

Miroslav Volf teaches theology at Yale University, where he also directs the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. He is the author of 17 books, and his 1996 book Exclusion and Embrace was named by Christianity Today as one of the 100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century. This new book, rooted in a popular Yale undergraduate course, is Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, co-authored by Matthew Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, both fellow teachers. Joining Miroslav for this conversation is Tim Alberta, a brilliant, ascending journalist and bestselling author in his own right, who is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of American Carnage. At the moment, Tim is working on a new book, provocatively titled The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. 

In this episode, we are joined by Shaun Casey, former director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs, and Rachel Donadio, a Paris-based journalist, a contributing writer for The Atlantic and a former European Culture correspondent for The New York Times. Our guests discuss Shaun's new book, Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom, which makes the case that understanding the role of religion in global politics is crucial for effective diplomacy.

In this episode, Ryan Streeter of the American Enterprise Institute and Tevi Troy of the Bipartisan Policy Center join us to discuss the history of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, as well as to provide a roadmap for the office's potential growth and impact under future administrations. 

This episode is lifted directly from one of the most fascinating sessions of November’s Faith Angle Europe, where Dr. Peter Frankopan opened a two-and-a-half-hour session available in its entirety below. Peter is the Professor of Global History at Oxford University’s Worcester College, and alongside Theresa Fallon, the founder of a Brussels think tank focusing on Russia and China, he spoke with 18 transatlantic journalists about trade, culture, and the easily-misconstrued history of the Eastern and Western worlds that have intersected in China for centuries.  

Recently, President Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring all US states and territories to recognize same-sex and interracial civil marriages. But that isn’t all the new law does: it also fortifies religious liberty protections. As today’s guests describe, it’s perhaps because the Respect for Marriage Act does both things that it garnered bipartisan congressional support. In this episode, we're joined by Tim Schultz, president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, a DC advocacy organization that has worked for the last decade to advance religious freedom in state legislatures. Tim worked closely with leaders of diverse religious minority organizations—and national gay rights lobby organizations—to help foster the conditions needed to make this law and its commitment to Christian pluralism possible. Joining him is Tim Dalrymple, president and CEO of Christianity Today, one of the country's most influential evangelical publications. 

In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Russell Levenson, Rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, TX. In conversation with Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News, Levenson discusses his new book, Witness to Dignity, about the life and faith of George H.W. and Barbara Bush who attended St. Martin’s for over fifty years.

Today's conversation is about the leadership, faith, historical record, and implications of the national security policy of Ronald Reagan. This exchange between two seasoned national security officials with unusual expertise is rooted in a hot-off-the-press new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, by Will Inboden, who is joined for this episode by Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Anne Snyder is one of Faith Angle’s newest Advisory Board members. She currently hosts The Whole Person Revolution podcast, and earlier this year she co-edited a volume entitled Breaking Ground, with over 45 short essays published throughout the pandemic. Spurring today’s conversation, since May 2019 Anne has served as Editor in Chief of Comment Magazine. She is joined by one of its current contributors, Greg Thompson, who is the co-director of Voices Underground, a Pennsylvania-based, HBCU-affiliated initiative that promotes African American cultural history through scholarly research, community experiences, and historical memorialization. This conversation explores themes from Greg's regular Comment column, "The Welcome Table", which weaves together history, race, memory, hospitality, and a theology of belonging.

In this episode, Bonnie Kristian discusses her brand new book, Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Her haunting phrase, “the knowledge crisis,” was perhaps popularized last year by another compelling book from Jonathan Rauch, the senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Jon’s 2021 book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, and as he explains in more detail, the book describes the essential conditions and institutions necessary for maintaining the basic building blocks of shared human understanding in a free society. This is a rich conversation between the two of them on how to steer clear from getting lost in the vortex of news that sometimes swirls.  

In this episode, Paul D. Miller of Georgetown University and Samuel L. Perry of the University of Oklahoma sit down for an insightful, timely conversation about Christian nationalism. Highlighting themes from Paul's newly-released book, The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism, both guests offer a historically-rooted definition of Christian nationalism, analyze journalists' coverage of this rapidly-spreading ideology, and explore key differences between Christian nationalism and generative patriotism that bears faithful witness in the public square.

If you’re an evangelical insider, the name Mike Cosper and his “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast series, published by Christianity Today in 2021, is almost certainly familiar for its artful retelling of the story of a Seattle megachurch pastored by Mark Driscoll. In this episode, Cosper, who is the director of podcasting for Christianity Today, is joined by Jon Ward of Yahoo News. Together, they examine what it is about the structure of megachurches that leaves them prone to the quick rise and fall of a charismatic leader. How does that compare to American politics—especially when our parties have weakened? And how does Mike’s 15-year experience as a pastor temper what he and his colleagues chose to see, and hold up, in this magnificent podcast that took American listeners by storm last year?

On this episode, we are joined by Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program, and Ari Goldman, Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, for a nuanced conversation about American religious pluralism and identity through the lens of Sikh theology and practice. Our guests explore themes from Simran’s recently-released book, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, and discuss how Sikh religion invites us to find joy in humility, sacrificial love, and service towards our neighbor, practices with profound implications for broader American society.

The purpose of Faith Angle is to connect religious leaders with leading journalists, and today's conversation comes at it from both sides. The setting for this conversation was a group of 19 journalists who gathered three days after the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This conversation features one of the country’s most thoughtful, publicly-minded evangelical leaders, Dr. Russell Moore, who is now a year into directing the Public Theology Project at Christianity Today. He is joined by Molly Ball, TIME Magazine’s national political correspondent.  

In this episode, twice-elected U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) joins Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson for a nuanced discussion of power and public service, contemporary media, spiritual disciplines, political stewardship, and the liturgical aspects of social media and public worship. Sen. Sasse names some fascinating things – including when and how he starts the workday; how many Elmers are in his Lutheran circle of grandparent farmers; his perspective on churchgoing; and how he looks back differently, now, on the stretch-years of early parenting. Ben is sometimes called “the intellectual of the Senate,” in the vein of the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whose desk on the Senate floor he now occupies. Conversing with him is Rev. Dr. Sam Ferguson, who in May 2019 became rector of The Falls Church Anglican – a congregation where in 1791, George Washington served on the vestry.

This episode explores how “masculinity” has shaped elements of white evangelicalism in America. As evangelicals frequently make headlines for their voting patterns and outsized political influence, this discussion will peel back the layers and go deeper—especially on issues of gender equality, racial justice, historic Christian orthodoxy, global expressions of evangelicalism, and the possibilities and limits for evangelical renewal. American evangelicalism is today navigating an important moment of reorientation and reexamination of its identity, and as our speakers highlight, it has much to learn from the history and witness of its global counterparts.

On this episode, we are joined by Christine Emba, opinion columnist for The Washington Post, and Kimberly June Miller, a licensed marriage and family therapist. Christine has just written a fascinating new book called, Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, which opens with this moral quote: “It is only by asserting one’s humanness every time, in all situations, that one becomes someone rather than something. That, after all, is the core of our struggle.”

In this provocative book, Christine raises profound questions about meaning and connection, sexuality and even spirituality, as she traces shifting generational views of sex and sexual practices in America.

How much of a role does religion play in the war Vladimir Putin launched in Ukraine? It's a complicated question, but the answer may very well be: more than most Western experts think. Our guests on this episode of the Faith Angle podcast bring decades of military, foreign policy, and peacemaking expertise to help us make sense of the horrible war now unfolding in Ukraine. Dr. Kori Schake is Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at the American Enterprise Institute, and Dr. Chris Seiple is Founder of the The Sagestone Group, as well as principal advisor to the Templeton Religion Trust. The picture in Ukraine is complex, and today's guests help us see more clearly. 

In this episode, we are joined by a world-class Anglican theologian, Dr. Sarah Coakley, and a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker, Eliza Griswold. Dr. Coakley's scholarship looks at the Trinity, "New Asceticism," Christology, power, sexuality, and the distinction of the self. Today, she is continuing her trilogy in systematics, aiming in a forthcoming volume at a robust theological examination of race. In this episode, Dr. Coakley and Eliza connect the wisdom of historic Christian thinkers with the urgent issues of a world that is today perhaps more in need of justice than ever. 

On February 2, EPPC’s Faith Angle Forum had the privilege of hosting a fascinating online conversation with Dr. Francis Collins, the country’s first Presidentially appointed Director of the National Institutes of Health to have served for more than one administration in that role.

Alongside BioLogos president Dr. Deb Haarsma and EPPC Senior Fellow Peter Wehner, who contributes regularly to The Atlantic and New York Times, Dr. Collins joined 11 journalists in conversation that included a firsthand window into the development of the mRNA vaccine, and as well as the spread of vaccine resistance among many Americans. The conversation moves swiftly and covers a lot of ground, from sociology to political religion, evolution to creation-science, choices about singing in church to assessing American institutions.

In this episode, Kelefa Sanneh, staff writer for The New Yorker, is joined by John Azumah, Founding Executive Director of the Sanneh Institute, to discuss the legacy and witness of Kelefa's father Lamin Sanneh, a leading expert in Christian theology and missions as well as Christian-Muslim dialogue. Lamin's legacy continues on through the work of the Sanneh Institute, which seeks to educate and equip religious leaders, scholars, academic institutions, and the broader public on Christian and Muslim history, theology, and possibilities for interfaith partnership. 

For this first podcast of the New Year, we are recapping highlights from Faith Angle Europe, a two-day conference of 16 international journalists and 5 speakers in France, with a window into some especially compelling insights that emerged on national populism, anti-Semitism in Europe and particularly France, impact investing and the growth of religion in sub-Saharan Africa, and finally, a big-think conversation about the commonalities faced by creative minorities in a pluralistic world. 

All three full Faith Angle Europe sessions as well as a short recap video from the forum are linked below.

In this episode of the Faith Angle podcast, Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core sits down with Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali to discuss the possibilities and challenges of interfaith partnerships in today's polarized America, each drawing from the wisdom of their personal Muslim faith. Wajahat points to the obstacles that increasing political division, anti-immigrant discrimination, and bias against those of other faiths pose to robust religious pluralism. While accepting the strain of these realities, Eboo highlights with hope the many forms in which interfaith partnership is flourishing in America today. He offers listeners an invitation to learn from and replicate promising interfaith civic engagement in their own communities. 

In this episode of the Faith Angle podcast, Edward Luce of Financial Times sits down with Bernard-Henri Lévy to discuss Bernard's newest book, The Will to See: Dispatches from a World of Misery and Hope. 

On this episode of the Faith Angle podcast, Ross Douthat of the New York Times sits down with Ryan T. Anderson of the Ethics and Public Policy Center to discuss Ross's newest book, The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery. Ross recounts this deeply personal story of loss, wrestling, and overcoming in the midst of a chronic disease, reflecting on how his conviction and rootedness in the Christian story offered strength in the face of felt pain. 

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Jonathan Tran of Baylor University and Tina Nguyen of Puck News, who explore themes of Asian American identity, political engagement, and religious formation in the United States. They discuss the development and distortions of the "model minority" myth, the impact of racial binaries on Asian American identity, the political-economic forces of racism in America, and the ways in which Asian American Christian communities are discovering a more just and redemptive way forward.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Paul D. Miller of Georgetown University and Nadine Maenza of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. On August 30, the United States' armed forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking the end of a twenty-year war. We can all recall the sickening images and stories that came out of Afghanistan during this period as well as the sobering reality awaiting those left behind. In this episode, our guests consider why events unfolded the way they did in America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and what that means for America’s presence and policy around the world.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Luke Bretherton of Duke Divinity School and Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution, who explore the religious nature of American politics and the political implications of American religion. Drawing from Christian and Muslim political-theological resources, they discuss the roots (on both the left and right) of today’s increasing pull toward illiberalism, the tendency of religion to take on the role of identity politics, and the mediating role of religious institutions in society.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Fred Davie of Union Theological Seminary and Brent Orrell of the American Enterprise Institute. These scholar-practitioners share their insights on race in America, the condition of the American church, the intrinsic dignity and potential of every individual, the importance of listening even to one’s political opponents, and the search for vocational meaning and purpose.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by John C. Green and Elizabeth Bruenig to discuss John's most recent book Secular Surge: A New Fault Line in American Politics.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Robert P. Jones and Jon Ward to discuss Robert's book White Too Long.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Andrew T. Walker and Haley Byrd Wilt to discuss Andrew's new book Liberty for All.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Curtis Chang and Julie Zauzmer to discuss the relationship between Christians and the COVID-19 vaccines.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast we present the audio from our most recent virtual event, New Tests for American Pluralism, which featured Mark Labberton and Matthew Kaemingk to discuss the question: Does religion fundamentally undermine political democracy, or enhance it?

Speakers

• Mark Labberton
• Matthew Kaemingk

Links

• Conversin‪g‬ podcast
• Called: The Crisis and Promise of Following Jesus Today
• Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear
• America Without God

Follow us | faithangle.org

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we reflect on the life and work of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948–2020)

Links

• How we can face the future without fear, together | Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
• Morality in the 21st Century
• Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
• "Why I am a Jew" by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
• Morality and the Common Good

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This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by David French and Ruth Graham to discuss divisions in modern America.

James Davison Hunter, one of the nation's foremost sociologists, sits down with NYT and Atlantic contributor Pete Wehner for a big-think conversation about our present cultural moment. A new IASC survey of 2,205 Americans, which James recently co-authored, argues that present-day American fracture along racial, religious, and political lines is more culturally profound and consequential than we think. With that springboard James offers a "climatological" view of present-day reality.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Carl Cannon and Ryan Burge to discuss the 2020 election results.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Ed Stetzer and Adrienne LaFrance.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Ken Miller and George Seay.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Andy Smarick and Tim Schultz.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Rod Dreher and Andrew Sullivan.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Mustafa Akyol and Richard Reeves.

Mustafa Akyol is a Turkish journalist and author. In June 2018, he joined the Cato Institute in Washington DC as a senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, to work on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity.

Richard Reeves is a senior fellow in Economic Studies, where he holds the John C. and Nancy D. Whitehead Chair. Richard is Director of the Future of the Middle Class Initiative and co-director of the Center on Children and Families. His research focuses on the middle class, inequality and social mobility.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Tara Isabella Burton and Jack Jenkins.

Tara Isabella Burton is a columnist for the Religion News Service, and is a contributing editor at The American Interest. She is the author of Social Creature as well as her latest book Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World.

Jack Jenkins is an award-winning journalist and national reporter for the Religion News Service where he covers religion and politics. He is also the author of the book American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Ross Douthat and Lyman Stone.

Ross Douthat joined The New York Times as an Op-Ed columnist in April 2009. His column appears every Tuesday and Sunday, and he co-hosts the Times Op-Ed podcast, "The Argument." Previously, he was a senior editor at The Atlantic and a blogger on its website. He is the author of "The Decadent Society," which published in March 2020.

Lyman Stone is an Adjunct Fellow at AEI, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and a former International Economist at the US Department of Agriculture, where he forecasts cotton market conditions. He blogs about migration, population dynamics, and regional economics at In a State of Migration.

For this conversation, we sit down with Susan Glasser, The New Yorker’s staff writer and columnist, and a journalist who participated in our first overseas Faith Angle Forum, last November. Susan is the author of two books, a 10-year veteran correspondent at The Washington Post, editor-in-chief at Foreign Policy, and founder of Political Magazine. This conversation is followed by an airing of a Faith Angle presentation from Dr. Micah Goodman, research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and the author of four books.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Tim Keller and Peter Wehner.

Tim Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is also the Chairman & Co-Founder of Redeemer City to City (CTC), which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for ministry in an urban environment. In 2017 Dr. Keller transitioned to CTC full time to teach and mentor church planters and seminary students through a joint venture with Reformed Theological Seminary's (RTS), the City Ministry Program. He also works with CTC's global affiliates to launch church planting movements.

Peter Wehner is Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and a contributing editor for The Atlantic magazine. Mr. Wehner has written for numerous other publications—including Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, The Weekly Standard, National Review, Commentary, National Affairs, and Christianity Today—and has appeared frequently as a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, CBS, PBS, and C-SPAN television. He is also the Pamela and Jack Egan Visiting Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy and the School of Arts and Sciences at Duke University.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Andy Crouch and Sarah Pulliam Bailey.

Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, an organization that works as a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship. His two most recent books—2017's The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place and 2016's Strong and Weak: Embracing a Life of Love, Risk and True Flourishing—build on the vision of faith, culture, and the image of God laid out in his previous books Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power and Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling.

Sarah Pulliam Bailey runs The Washington Post's religion vertical. She covers how faith intersects with everything, including politics, culture, education, abortion and immigration. Before joining The Post, she was a national correspondent for Religion News Service. She was also online editor of Christianity Today magazine.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Asma Uddin and Daniel Harrell.

Asma Uddin is currently an expert advisor on religious liberty to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Inclusive America Project Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and senior scholar at the Freedom Forum Institute. She is also a Berkley Center research fellow. In addition to her expertise in religious liberty, Uddin writes and speaks on gender and Islam, and she is the founding editor-in-chief of altmuslimah.com.

Daniel Harrell is Editor-in-Chief of Christianity Today. Formerly, he served ten years as Senior Minister of Colonial Church, Edina, Minnesota, and for 23 years before that as preaching minister at Park Street Church, Boston, Massachusetts. He has taught at Gordon-Conwell, Fuller and Bethel seminaries, as well as at Boston University and Harvard University. He served for many years on the Community Ethics Committee of the Harvard University Hospitals and on the Advisory Council of Biologos.

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Yuval Levin. Yuval is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He also holds the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy. The founding and current editor of National Affairs, he is also a senior editor of The New Atlantis and a contributing editor to National Review.

He holds an MA and PhD from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago.

Guest:

Yuval Levin at AEI

Links:

National Affairs

A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream

Follow Us: faithangle.org

NOTE: We had some trouble with Josh's microphone. We apologize for his audio quality.

This week on the Faith Angle podcast, we are joined by Stan Rosenberg and Alexandra DeSanctis. Stan is the founder and Director of Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford. He teaches early Christian history and patristics, and the relationship between science and religion—even producing a play about the remarkably unknown life of Charles Darwin. Alexandra writes for National Review, primarily about the trajectory of abortion policy in American life. She also hosts her own podcast called For Life, and is a frequent speaker on college campuses.

Links from this episode:

• Trump Should Be Removed from Office, Mark Galli, Christianity Today
• President Trump's Tweet
• The Flag in the Whirlwind: An Update from CT’s President, Timothy Dalrymple, Christianity Today
• Napp Nazworth Twitter announcement
• Nearly 200 evangelical leaders slam Christianity Today for questioning their Christian witness, Melissa Barnhart, The Christian Post
• Breaking News- CT v Trump, The Holy Post

Links from this episode: United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Wajahat Ali, The New York Times

1. Daniel Silliman, “LGBT Rights-Religious Liberty Bill Proposed in Congress,” Christianity Today, 12/6/19 2. Fairness for All bill 3. Congress Should Act to Balance LGBT Rights and Religious Freedom,” by Tyler Deaton and Tim Schultz, Morning Consult, March 14, 2019

Are we living through a populist moment or a populist era? Matthew Goodwin, Prof. of Politics at Univ. of Kent, joins Henry Olsen of The Washington Post for a window into highlights from his bestselling book, National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy---and its application to recent elections throughout the Western world. Book link: Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin, National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy

In this episode, we're joined by Calvin College's James K. A. Smith and NPR's Miranda Kennedy to discuss Professor Smith's newest book, On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts.

Links from this episode:

James K. A. Smith, Calvin College

Miranda Kennedy, NPR

On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, by James K.A. Smith

'Augustine: Conversions to Confessions,’ by Robin Lane Fox, New York Times

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India, by Miranda Kennedy

Interview: David Brooks on sin, Augustine and the state of his soul, by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post

Pew Research Center Survey: In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace 

In this episode of Faith Angle, we're joined by Notre Dame's Christian Smith and Slate's Will Saletan to discuss Dr. Smith's newest book, Atheist Overreach

Links from this episode:

Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame

Will Saletan, Slate

Atheist Overreach: What Atheism Can't Deliver

Three Decades Ago, America Lost Its Religion. Why?

In this of Faith Angle, we take a look at the life and legacy of Elie Wiesel with Nadine Epstein and Michelle Boorstein.

Links from this episode:

• Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post
• Nadine Epstein, Moment
• Elie Wiesel, An Extraordinary Life and Legacy: Writings, Photographs and Reflections

In the latest episode of Faith Angle, we take a look at the changing nature of marriage in America with Eugene Scott and Brad Wilcox. Eugene covers identity politics for the Washington Post's The Fix, and Brad is Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia, Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. Brad, Eugene, and Josh Good discuss trends around marriage in the current political climate; how factors like class and race affect the health of marriages; economics and the importance of gainful employment (especially for men); the connection between marriage and economic mobility; the effects of delayed marriage among young people, and much more. Links from this episode: Eugene Scott, Washington Post Brad Wilcox, National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia

How Divorce Lost Its Groove Don’t be a bachelor: Why married men work harder, smarter and make more money

Former Clinton White House Press Secretary—and now Wesley Seminary professor—Mike McCurry sits down with Washington Post Columnist Karen Tumulty, and Faith Angle's Josh Good, to discuss the faith journeys of the Clintons and Reagans; transformations in journalism; and new opportunities for congregations to directly engage the deep divide in America's political culture. Links from this episode: A private letter from Ronald Reagan to his dying father-in-law shows the president’s faith, Karen Tumulty, Washington Post, 09/14/18 Former Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry finds his faith, marries it with politics, Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 02/22/14 How My Party Found God, Mike McCurry, The Daily Beast, 07/14/17

Links from this episode:

HBO's "Foster" is disturbingly accurate, but it's missing one important thing: solutions, Naomi Schaefer Riley, Los Angeles Times, 5/7/19

Reconsidering Kinship Care, Naomi Schaefer Riley, National Affairs, Summer 2018

How Foster Care Became a Christian Priority - Just in Time, Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition, 9/24/18

Christian Alliance for Orphans

Christians Are Pro-Life After Birth, Too, Naomi Schaefer Riley, Wall Street Journal, 6/13/19

In Brokenness & Beauty…It Is Well, Jedd Medefind, CAFO2019, 5/8/19

Taming Technology, Jedd Medefind, Outcomes Magazine

On the latest episode of Faith Angle, we're joined by New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks and Comment Magazine editor-in-chief Anne Snyder to discuss the new books they've each published, their respective approaches to writing, their own marriage and faith journey, and how to cultivate communities rooted in trust that lead to individual and social transformation.

Links from today's episode:

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life, David Brooks, 4/16/19

The Fabric of Character: A Wise Giver's Guide to Supporting Social and Moral Renewal, Anne Snyder, 3/22/19

Evening Conversation with David Brooks at The Trinity Forum, 5/29/19

David Brooks' Journey Toward Faith, Peter Wehner, The Atlantic, 5/7/19

A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream, Yuval Levin, forthcoming in February 2020

David Brooks on Weave: The Social Fabric Project, The Aspen Institute, 9/19/18

Why I Write, George Orwell, 1946

The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, Peter Wehner, 6/4/19

The Magnanimous Man: In Remembrance of Michael Cromartie, Anne Snyder, Public Discourse, 9/7/17

Michael Cromartie introduction of David Brooks, The Gathering, 10/2/14

Anne’s email to David, p. 239 of The Second Mountain: "I want to reiterate that yes, grace is the central thing Christ offers, but that is the doorway. And it is to know him. I see lots of emphasis on striving in your note, and I appreciate its antidote to cheap grace. But the foundational fact is you cannot earn your way into a state of grace - this denies grace's power, and subverts its very definition. Grace must reach out to the broken and the undeserving. It must reach out to those recognizing plainly, vulnerably, their own need and emptiness. It can only find welcome in those sitting still.

We're joined this week by Dr. Shadi Hamid and Sarah Wildman to discuss the resurgent role of global Islam, the relationship between nationalist populism and Muslims, Sharia law in the Middle East, the role of religion in Western democracies, and the enduring question of how deep religious convictions can align with more lasting expressions of public pluralism

Links from today's episode:

Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam Is Reshaping the World, Shadi Hamid, 6/6/17

The role of Islam in European populism: How refugee flows and fear of Muslims drive right-wing support, Shadi Hamid, Brookings, 2/19

Islam in Modern American Society, Shadi Hamid's 2018 address at Faith Angle

Religious Conflict and the Future of the Middle East - Shadi Hamid's 2014 address at Faith Angle

First Person, Foreign Policy podcast hosted by Sarah Wildman, with Shadi Hamid, on Mohamed Morsi and the Passing of Egypt's Democratic Moment, 6/21/19

Left Populism and the Rediscovery of Agonistic Politics, Shadi Hamid, American Affairs, Winter 2018

Making Sense, Sam Harris's podcast, with Shadi Hamid, on Islamism vs. Secularism, 12/5/16

This week on the Faith Angle Podcast, we are joined by Stanley Carlson-Thies and Kelsey Dallas.

In this episode, we sit down with a Paris-based journalist, Pascal Emmanuel-Gobry, who provides insights on the changing role of religion in Europe. Amidst the rise in immigration and growing populism across the continent, is there a pluralist vision large enough to introduce healthy constraints and advance human flourishing between discrete communities? In advance of a November Faith Angle Forum, Pascal offers his best thinking.

In this episode, we sit down with The Economist's James Astill and EPPC's Henry Olsen—also a Washington Post columnist—to discuss European populism. The centre-Left will never defeat European populism if it fails to first understand it: https://unherd.com/2018/12/centre-left-will-never-defeat-european-populism-fails-first-understand-2/

At our recent Faith Angle Forum in Miami, journalists, scholars, and faith leaders came together for in-depth conversations on global poverty and injustice, faith and mental health, and race in America. This episode offers an inside look at the forum, with clips from the presentations and comments from journalists, plus an extended conversation about Faith Angle with Jon Ward of Yahoo News.

Jon Haidt offers candid perspective on today's university campuses, contemporary journalism, public discourse, and his own journey—as well as ways to better equip iGen students in their pursuit of human flourishing.

The Persistence of the Culture Wars, Russell Moore’s 2014 address at Faith Angle - https://faithangle.org/session/persistence-culture-wars/ Stop the Tax on Houses of Worship, Wall Street Journal, 11/22/18 - https://www.wsj.com/articles/stop-the-tax-on-houses-of-worship-1542918092 The Storm-Tossed Family, 2019 - https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Tossed-Family-Cross-Reshapes-Home/dp/1462794807 Signposts podcast, Russell Moore’s bi-weekly podcast about faith and culture - https://www.russellmoore.com/category/podcast/ Christine Emba, Columnist, The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/christine-emba/?utm_term=.16f9da7373da

In this episode, we sit down with AEI president Arthur Brooks and NPR's Tom Gjelten to explore increasing loneliness and disenchantment with American politics, the power of storytelling, and new ways to engage distinct audiences in pursuit of the common good.

Our Culture of Contempt, Arthur Brooks, New York Times, 3/1/19 - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/opinion/sunday/political-polarization.html Love Your Enemies, 3/12/19 - https://www.amazon.com/Love-Your-Enemies-America-Contempt/dp/1982608803 Why Was the Dalai Lama Hanging Out at the Right-Wing American Enterprise Institute?, Vanity Fair, 2/26/14 - https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/02/dalai-lama-american-enterprise-institute Be Open-Handed Toward Your Brothers, Commentary, 2/1/14 - https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/be-open-handed-toward-your-brothers-1/ Tom Gjelten, National Religion and Belief Correspondent, NPR - https://www.npr.org/people/2100536/tom-gjelten

Faith Angle is a podcast about the dynamic, enduring impact of religion in American life—even when we don't think it's in the room.