Embryo adoption invites new questions, international students return to US colleges, and psychedelic churches offer alternatives to traditional religious communities.
This week on The Bulletin hosts Russell Moore and Nicole Martin explore questions of belonging as they head behind the news headlines to deeper conversation about adoption, international student ministry, and psychedelic spiritual experiences. Special guests Cameron Lee Small and CT’s Kara Bettis Carvalho discuss the complexities of embryo adoption. Greg Jao of InterVarsity stops by to offer ideas on integrating international students into our church communities, and New York pastor Aaron Bjerke shares the gentle path of Jesus that can attract those longing to escape life’s struggles.

For show notes and more info, visit:
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/bulletin/embryo-adoption-international-students-psychedelic-church
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Wombs, Shrooms, and Classrooms

The Bulletin is a podcast for Christians seeking insights into the events, questions, and people that are shaping their world. Each episode will help Christians consider the intersection of faith, culture and spiritual formation. Subscribe today!

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Trump’s verdict, Never Bidens, historic flags, and this summer’s must see movies.
This week on The Bulletin, producer Clarissa Moll and Mike Cosper talk to Matt Marten and Daniel Silliman about the Trump guilty verdict. Next, special guest Michael Wear joins the show to discuss Nikki Haley’s endorsement of Donald Trump and the rise of disenchanted voters. Next, conversation shifts to Justice Alito’s controversial flags and the power of symbols to shape and articulate belief. Finally, resident Hollywood expert, Kutter Callaway, joins Clarissa for a preview of this summer’s must-see movies.
Today’s Guests:
Daniel Silliman is a journalist and a historian. He is the news editor for Christianity Today, the author of a history of bestselling evangelical fiction, and teaches humanities at Milligan University. Daniel spent several years as a crime reporter outside Atlanta before pursuing higher education in Germany, earning a MA from Tübingen University and a doctoral degree from Heidelberg University. He has reported and edited news coverage for CT since 2019.
Matthew Martens is an experienced litigator of complex, high-stakes criminal and civil matters, with more than twenty jury trials in both state and federal courts in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois and California. He is the author of Reforming Criminal Justice.
Michael Wear is the Founder, President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution based in the nation's capital with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. Michael is the author of The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life, a paradigm-shifting book that advances a vision for spiritual formation in the context of political life. Michael’s first book, Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America, offers reflections, analysis and ideas about the role of faith in the Obama years and what it means for today. He has co-authored, or contributed to, several other books, including Compassion and Conviction: The AND Campaign's Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement, with Justin Giboney and Chris Butler. He also writes for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Catapult Magazine, Christianity Today and other publications on faith, politics and culture.
Kutter Callaway is the William K. Brehm Chair of Worship, Theology, and the Arts, as well as associate dean of the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, and associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Seminary. He is author and contributor to several books, and his most recent book is Theology for Psychology and Counseling: An Invitation to Holistic Christian Practice (Baker Academic, 2022). Some of his past titles include Techno-Sapiens in a Networked Era: Becoming Digital Neighbors (Cascade, 2020), which he coauthored with Fuller’s Associate Professor of Church in Contemporary Culture Ryan Bolger; The Aesthetics of Atheism: Theology and Imagination in Contemporary Culture (Fortress Press, 2019); and Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue (Baker Academic, 2019).

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer: Clarissa Moll and Matt Stevens
Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill and Raed Gilliam
Editing and Mix: TJ Hester
Music: Dan Phelps
Show Design: Bryan Todd
Graphic Design: Amy Jones
Social Media: Kate Lucky
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Blowin' in the Wind

The fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s death, Iran’s president’s death, and bird flu
This week on The Bulletin, producer Clarissa Moll and Mike Cosper talk with therapist Sheila Wise Rowe and CT’s Nicole Martin about the fourth anniversary of George Floyd’s death and how race relations have shifted since 2020. Foreign affairs analyst Hadeel Oueis joins the show to talk about the death of Iran’s president and its impact on the region. Wildlife biologist Will Miller drops by to chat about H5N1 bird flu, and Jessica Hooten Wilson shares why Flannery O’Connor still matters as a new biopic about her life arrives in theaters.
Resources Mentioned:
Why African American History Matters
Remembering Steve Albini
The Bulletin Episode 57: That’s Just, Like, Your Opinion, Man | Christianity Today 
Today’s Guests:
Nicole Martin serves Christianity Today as chief impact officer after serving on its board of directors. Nicole oversees three major strategic initiatives that are shaping the future of CT including The Global Initiative, the Big Tent Initiative, and the Next Gen Initiative. 
Sheila Wise Rowe is a graduate of Tufts University and Cambridge College with a master’s degree in counseling psychology. She has over thirty years of experience as a Christian Counselor, Spiritual Director, Educator, Writer, and Speaker. Sheila has counseled women, children, couples, emerging, and established leaders and taught counseling in Massachusetts, Paris France, virtually. And for a decade in Johannesburg, South Africa where she also ministered to homeless and abused women and children. Sheila’s essays can be found in numerous blogs, newspapers, journals, and books. In 2020 she authored the award-winning book, Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience. Recently she wrote Young, Gifted, and Black: A Journey of Lament and Celebration and has co-authored the soon to be released, Healing Leadership Trauma.

Author and media personality Hadeel Oueis leads Arabic communications on behalf of The Center for Peace Communication. An advocate for liberal democracy in her native Syria during the historic uprising against Bashar al-Assad, she subsequently relocated to the United States and developed her career in Arab media as an analyst of American foreign policy. She serves as a reporter the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, and now hosts biweekly programs on two leading independent news networks in the region: Iraq’s Al-Sharqiya and Yemen’s ATV. She appears frequently as a commentator on some of the region’s largest indigenous outlets as well as the Arabic editions of the BBC, Deutsche Welle, and Al-Hurra. Oueis holds a BA in sociology from the University of Aleppo.
William Miller, Ph.D., is a wildlife biologist and professor at Calvin University. His research interests include One Health, landscape ecology, and wildlife diseases.
Jessica Hooten Wilson is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University (’23) and previously served as the Seaver College Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University (’22-’23). She co-hosts a podcast called The Scandal of Reading: Pursuing Holy Wisdom with Christ & Pop Culture, where she discusses with fellow authors, professors, and theologians with Claude Atcho and Austin Carty. She is the author of Flannery O’Connor’s Why Do the Heathen Rage?: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a Work in Progress (Brazos Press, January 23, 2024) among other works.

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer: Clarissa Moll and Matt Stevens
Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill and Raed Gilliam
Editing and Mix: TJ Hester
Music: Dan Phelps
Show Design: Bryan Todd
Graphic Design: Amy Jones
Social Media: Kate Lucky
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Something in the Way

AI priests, a polarized church, and women and alcohol.
This week on The Bulletin, hosts Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore talk with David Zahl of Mockingbird about artificial intelligence -- ChatGPT -4.o and AI priests -- and the need for embodied presence and wisdom. Next, they tackle the latest challenge in church polarization, this time in the Presbyterian Church in America. Last, special guest Ericka Andersen joins the show to shed some light on the hidden struggles of women who are alcohol-dependent.
Today’s Guests:
David Zahl is the director of Mockingbird Ministries and editor-in-chief of the Mockingbird website. Born in New York City and brought up elsewhere, David graduated from Georgetown University in 2001, and then worked for several years as a youth minister in New England. In 2007 he founded Mockingbird in NYC. Today David and his wife Cate reside in Charlottesville, VA with their three boys, where David also serves on the staff of Christ Episcopal Church. He is the author of A Mess of Help: From the Crucified Soul of Rock N’ Roll and co-author of Law and Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints). His most recent book, Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technlogy, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What To Do About It, appeared in 2019 from Fortress Press. 
Ericka Andersen is a freelance writer, podcast host and owner of Pitch and Publish Writing Company. She is the author of "Reason to Return: Why Women Need the Church & the Church Needs Women" and "Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected From the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma and Mental Illness." She has been published multiple times in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post and more. Ericka is a weekly columnist at WORLD Magazine and a freelance reporter for Christianity Today. Prior to freelancing, Ericka worked for National Review Magazine, the Heritage Foundation and in communications for the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill. 

Resources Referenced:
SobrietyCurious.com

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer: Clarissa Moll and Matt Stevens
Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill and Raed Gilliam
Editing and Mix: TJ Hester
Music: Dan Phelps
Show Design: Bryan Todd
Graphic Design: Amy Jones
Social Media: Kate Lucky
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clergy on the Rocks

Peru permits euthanasia, Florida frets about national security, and Kristi Noem is in the doghouse.
This week on The Bulletin, Mike Cosper and producer Clarissa Moll discuss Florida’s new laws restricting Chinese citizens from real estate transactions and employment at state universities. Conversation turns next to Peru’s first exemption for medically assisted suicide and the growth of the global right to die movement. Finally, we talk about dogs -- our own and Governor Kristi Noem’s, to be exact. Can the vice presidential hopeful remain a viable candidate after the release of her new book No Going Back? Special guests Skot Welch and Karen Swallow Prior join the discussion.
Today’s Guests:
Skot Welch is the principal/founder of Global Bridgebuilders, a firm focusing on organizational development, cultural transformation and inclusion. Prior to the launch of Global Bridgebuilders, Skot served as Vice President of Business Development and Benchmarking Services for DiversityInc magazine in New Jersey, where he worked with many of the Fortune 500’s biggest global brands across a broad range of industries. Skot’s most recent book is Unfractured: A Christ-Centered Action Plan for Cultural Change.
Karen Swallow Prior, Ph.D., is the author of The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis and On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books, among other titles. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, First Things, and various other places. In addition, Dr. Prior is a columnist for Religion News Service, a contributing editor for Comment, a founding member of The Pelican Project, and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. 
Resources Referenced:
When Buying a Home Is Treated as a National Security Threat - The New York Times
The Art of Dying: Living Fully into the Life to Come
Who Will Comfort Me? The Total Care of Cicely Saunders | Acton Institute

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer: Clarissa Moll and Matt Stevens
Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill and Raed Gilliam
Editing and Mix: TJ Hester
Music: Dan Phelps
Show Design: Bryan Todd
Graphic Design: Amy Jones
Social Media: Kate Lucky
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Springtime And The Livin’ Ain't Easy

College students protest and the United Methodist Church splits
We’re recording live this week from CT’s quarterly staff meeting with special guests CT president and CEO Tim Dalrymple and news editor Daniel Silliman. Host Mike Cosper and producer Clarissa Moll discuss the escalating student protests on U.S. college campuses -- why students are gathering and how free speech rights shape university discourse. Then, the United Methodist Church met this week to remove all LGBTQ limitations from its books. Should conservative churches within the denomination stay, or should they go?
Today’s Guests:
Timothy Dalrymple is a former national champion gymnast who turned to academia following an accident in college where he broke his neck. He studied at Stanford University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he made suffering a key theme of his research and teaching in modern Western religious thought. Dalrymple was a key player in the launch of patheos.com, an online marketing place of religious ideas, and he pioneered many of the techniques that led Patheos to become the world’s largest platform for multi-religious conversations. In 2013, he founded Polymath, a creative agency that services businesses and nonprofits serving the world. Dalrymple currently serves as Christianity Today’s President and CEO, the flagship evangelical media ministry founded in 1956 by Billy Graham.  
Daniel Silliman is a journalist and a historian. He is the news editor for Christianity Today, the author of a history of bestselling evangelical fiction, and teaches humanities at Milligan University. Daniel spent several years as a crime reporter outside Atlanta before pursuing higher education in Germany, earning a MA from Tübingen University and a doctoral degree from Heidelberg University. He has reported and edited news coverage for CT since 2019.

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today
Executive Producer: Erik Petrik
Producer: Clarissa Moll and Matt Stevens
Associate Producer: McKenzie Hill and Raed Gilliam
Editing and Mix: TJ Hester
Music: Dan Phelps
Show Design: Bryan Todd
Graphic Design: Amy Jones
Social Media: Kate Lucky
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wombs, Shrooms, and Classrooms

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