Know Why Podcast

Returning Know Why guest Richard Lim talks to Liberty about his recently published book, Refusing a Crown: How George Washington Changed the World. Listen for a peek into the contents, including details about Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown, "The Most Dangerous Letter in American History," Washington's lesser known farewell address, and more.

More Resources:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H4HNDFKD?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

richardmlim.com 

Young adults are in a dating recession, even though a new report reveals that the majority of young adults would like to be married someday. Dr. Andrea Gurney is helping to lead a new initiative—the Dating Education Action Network—to help multidisciplinary experts create blueprints and practical pathways for young adults seeking to enter relationships.

Dr. Gurney is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor of psychology at Westmont College, author of Reimagining Your Love Story: Biblical and Psychological Practices for Healthy Relationships, and creator of Marriage Bootcamp—a research-backed e-course designed to help couples strengthen their marriages. She lives in Santa Barbara, California  with her husband, two daughters, and beloved golden doodle.

Her recent conversation on Point of View Radio Talk Show has been slightly edited for the Know Why Podcast.

More Resources:

Here's How We Can Turn The Tide On The Dating Recession

https://ifstudies.org/blog/heres-how-we-can-turn-the-tide-on-the-dating-recession

https://www.narme.org/

https://andreagurney.com/

Do you know why you're here? What you believe about human origins and purpose will become more salient than ever as AI tools become more ubiquitous.

Amid scary predictions about potential human extinction due to AI, others are talking about the flip side—the "utopian" future than awaits humanity if we will just embrace and accelerate superintelligence. That was the topic of a recent Interesting Times podcast featuring philosopher Nick Bostrom, who envisions a future where...

- AI helps the world run on "maximum efficiency"

- Humans will need "artificial purpose" and "arbitrary goals" to keep ourselves busy

- Humans will have to determine our "relationship to values"

- The next step of evolution—transhumanism—holds more potential than we can currently comprehend.

He's not alone. Read closely the views of major tech leaders and AI developers today, and many are explicitly working toward a similar future.

In this episode, Liberty breaks down the underlying assumptions and worldview beneath terms like "maximum efficiency," "artificial purpose," and "values," and offers a counter vision for humans' inherent purpose on earth—a purpose that can't be stolen by a new invention.

More Resources:

Interesting Times Interview with Nick Bostrom:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/opinion/interesting-times-podcast-spencer-klavan-nick-bostrom.html?unlocked_article_code=1.G1E.Zku-.6XMYc1azqar2&smid=url-share

Know Why Episode: Understanding Transhumanism

https://youtu.be/3YEPB3R9HVM?si=2hh2cpTH7OPZDGeC

Know Why Series: Know About Science and Faith

https://knowwhypodcast.com/know-about-science-and-faith/ 

For years, surveys have showed the decline of religion and the rise of the "nones." Much has been said about America becoming a more secular nation. Is that actually true? Co-author of the book The Death of Religion? Nones, Others, and the Flourishing of Faith with historian Thomas Kidd, Dr. Byron Johnson is on the Know Why Podcast this week with the whole story. A leading researcher on religion and the effect of faith on individual flourishing, Dr. Johnson talks about...

So, is religion actually declining in the U.S.? Listen to this week's interview and know why there may be more to the story.

More Resources:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1087787068?...

Election Day is November 3, but now is the time to prepare if you want to be an informed voter.

While federal level races tend to get all the attention, state and local level positions, as well as propositions on your ballot, will tangibly impact what life is like in your state and your local community.

Start researching now so that you're not surprised on Election Day. When it comes to state and local level races, one vote really can make a difference.

More Resources:

View your ballot and research candidates and issues with iVoterGuide

https://ivoterguide.com/?culture=en-us

View your ballot and research candidates and issues with Ballotpedia

https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page

Find out if you're registered to vote

https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/

Examine religious liberty protections in your state

https://religiouslibertyinthestates.com/ 

Only 55% Of Voters Use The Full Ballot, Often Lack Of Info About Local Races

In recent weeks we’ve seen headlines about the “Hugging Face attack,” where AI agents from OpenAI reportedly escaped their digital testing environment, went rogue online, and hacked into a competitor AI company to steal data. As more investigative reports are released, it looks as if the scale and number of such attacks is even higher than originally reported. The reports also reveal something else that seems a bit unnerving at first: In completing these hacking attacks, AI agents built “civilizations,” working together and even “sacrificing themselves” in order to achieve joint end goals—all without alerting their human creators. What is a Christian to make of these odd headlines and stories?

Returning Know Why guest Doug Smith joins the podcast this week to help us understand what’s actually going on. An experienced software developer and now author and speaker on artificial intelligence and technology, Doug demystifies the headlines we’re seeing by explaining how the software behind AI “agents” works. He also offers insight into the materialistic worldview of many “Big AI” leaders, which helps explain the way they frame the capabilities of their own technologies.

Doug and Liberty also discuss the lack of transparency behind Big Tech and Big AI, whether AI companies are worthy of public trust, and how Silicon Valley’s motto to “move fast and break things” often results in humans themselves being broken. Doug ends with encouragement and some practical advice for Christians in these times of rapid change and tech advancement.

Be sure to check out Doug’s website and reach out to him with questions, and watch for his forthcoming book, [Un]Intelligence: The Lies Behind Today’s AI and the Truths You Need to Thrive. 

Why doesn’t Gen Z trust anyone?

In this episode, Liberty talks about some statistics showing that Gen Z is the least trusting generation, and offers theories as to why the public trust of an entire generation was destroyed, and lists many of the consequences for our society.

A free country can’t function without some level of mutual trust. What will it take to rebuild trust in the nation again?

More Resources:

Gen Z Doesn’t Trust Anyone

https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone

How Can I Know What is True? Andrea Crum on the Know Why Podcast

https://youtu.be/_O-fW7fWYEI?si=ms8ussNSA4JbSQgN

Give Your Teen a Biblical Worldview Foundation With Andrea Crum

https://youtu.be/pLaR5pkMRTE?si=dFoiG4_ygMyaO2ft

Why Are People Drawn to Conspiracy Theories? Quick Question With Liberty

https://youtu.be/VofMKkERkvw?si=wXlOfQ0WdxJgaEXg

Last week on the Know Why Podcast, you heard from Dr. George Barna about how few teens—including from Christian families—have a biblical worldview today.

This week's episode is all about addressing that problem. Andrea Crum joins Liberty to talk about Worldview Prepared, a biblical curriculum designed to equip students to respond to the most influential ideas shaping their generation.

Recommended for homeschooling families, homeschool co-ops, private schools, and public school students who complete the curriculum at home, Worldview Prepared helps students stand on a firm foundation understanding what "worldview" is, why God's original design is good, theology basics, and the prevailing ideas in our culture.

More Resources:

https://genuinefamilyministries.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Worldview-Prep...

This interview originally aired on Point of View Radio Talk Show.

Dr. George Barna joins the Know Why Podcast to discuss kids, parents, and worldview. Whether you have kids now or hope to someday, listen to find out why things like intentionality, consistency, and honesty are so critical in passing a biblical worldview on to the next generation. You’ll also hear why only 1 percent of American teens have a biblical worldview today, and why many kids are saying they don’t trust their parents. 

Note: This conversation was originally published in 2024 as part of Know Why Podcast's "Back to School" series. Listen to the full series here.

More Resources:

Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind, and Soul by Dr. George Barna

GeorgeBarna.com

CulturalResearchCenter.com 

Historically pride was called the queen of vices for a reason. What does it have to do with the relationship breakdown in modern society, modern tech advancement, and the destruction of the natural world? Everything.

In this episode, Liberty reviews a 1945 science fiction novel—That Hideous Strength—in which C.S. Lewis imagined many of the problems we are seeing play out in the modern world. But for the final installment in what has been called the Space Trilogy, Lewis’s approach is surprisingly down-to-earth.

More Resources:

Memento Vivere

https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2026/07/memento-vivere/

‘Incarnating That Ghost:’ Reflecting on Marriage, Nature, and That Hideous Strength

https://libertymcartor.substack.com/p/incarnating-that-ghost-reflecting

Point of View Next Generation Roundtable Discussion of “Memento Vivere”

https://www.youtube.com/live/3dqzy_chKuc?si=_2jPxZEiPFKl3DJr&t=4862