On this week's podcast, anthropologist Susannah Crockford explains why she believes part of the root of climate change may be buried deep inside of evangelical Christianity.
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To say the least, Indiana Fever star Sophie (“Do the Sophie”) Cunningham’s quotes about trans athletes and women’s sports has ignited a firestorm in sports, politics, social media and the elite press. In this case, the sports world includes the small, struggling WNBA.
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The political time machine has now landed in similar journalism terrain. During this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, we discussed several important news reports, including this Religion News Service feature: “‘They’re not real pastors’: As clergy run as Democrats, Republicans question their faith.”
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The Visual Commentary on Scripture is an online resource from King’s College London, which combines theology, art history and Biblical scholarship to pair artwork from all across the stylistic and historical map with Judeo-Christian texts.
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The bottom line: If reporters are going to cover moral and religious issues in a state like Utah, at some point they need to talk to experts on the religious element that, for many people, remain at the heart of these questions.
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Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” was made for a religious landscape that looks very different from Homer’s original audience. Does the movie manage to honor the beliefs of the source material — or does it impose modern values on the ancient epic?
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An ethics professor breaks down a recent study exposing religious bias in all major AI models. He thinks throwing out all bias is a bad idea.
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The World Cup is Planet Earth’s most-watched sporting and cultural event. No one should be surprised that it receives waves of news coverage and that religious beliefs and customs affect some of the drama and tensions. Thus, this week’s “Crossroads” podcast focused on religion news at the 2026 tournament — what was covered and what was not.
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The way right-wing commentators talk about Islam has changed in the last few years. The same pundits who once criticized Islam are now defending it. To find out why, Matthew Peterson spoke with journalist Matthew Schmitz.
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The Cambridge Dictionary defines this phrase — “Is the pope Catholic?” — as an idiom used, in a humorous or provocative manner, to say that the “answer to a question you have just been asked is obviously ‘yes.’”
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The United States had its 250th birthday last week. And, in the last few episodes we have tried to understand the role of Christianity in America’s founding. But what kinds of Christians were the first Americans? And what role did Catholics, Jews and Atheists play in the Revolution? Were there muslims or Hindus on U.S. soil in 1776?
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There’s that question again: How can mainstream media cover this story? Do elite journalists want to cover it? Is it cynical to thinkthat this story could, finally, end up on the front page of The New York Times if, and only if, it can be framed as yet another failure linked to Orange Man Bad?
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As Independence Day approaches, this week’s Religion Unplugged podcast episode features culture critic Joseph Holmes and his investigation into the faith of our first president.
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Bethany Christian Services has reversed its 2021 policy allowing LGBTQ couples to foster and adopt, reaffirming a traditional Christian definition of marriage. The decision raises questions about religious liberty, employment and legal challenges, media coverage and the broader struggle of faith-based organizations navigating cultural and political conflicts.
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Please rise, for the hymn of the day: “Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don’t win, it’s a shame. For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, At the old ball game.”
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To understand what it’s like to be a Christian while approaching death, Culture Critic Joseph Holmes spoke with actor and writer Victoria Jackson. Jackson suffers from terminal breast cancer, and, with the knowledge that her life is going to end, she recently wrote “Not Dead Yet,” which tells the story of her life, her faith and how she is dealing with dying.
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African American religious practice is so much more complex than Christianity. Matthew Peterson spoke with Harvard Prof. Ahmad Greene-Hayes about his recent book, “Underworld Work,” which explores Black spirituality following the Civil War through to the Jim Crow era in the South.
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Matthew Peterson speaks with reporter Joseph Maina about how African AI developers are using their skills to in church services and how pastors view the rise of artificial intelligence.
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In this week’s episode, we tackle Pope Leo’s first encyclical and what it means for AI, politics and, more importantly, Catholic doctrine.
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Joseph Holmes speaks with the director of “Cast Aside The Clouds” about why she wanted to make a film about a Bahá'í/Muslim love story, her own journey with the Bahá’í faith, and the unity and conversations she hopes will come about as a result of its release.
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