The story is stories of substance frequently ask us to explore worlds that challenge us and are uncomfortable. But is there a way to tell a true tale about the disturbing world of child-trafficking that can also inspire hope? Today, we discuss revealing light in a story of darkness.

Alejandro Monteverde is a screenwriter, producer and director from Tampico, Mexico, whose films include the award-winning Bella, the world war 2 film Little Boy, and in July this year, his most recent film Sound of Freedom will be released by Angel Studios. 

You can get your tickets to sound of freedom now at angel.com/tickets.

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.

The story is that those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it. That’s why two children, twins by birth, and surnamed Tuttle, travel throughout time and space to learn from the giants of history principles of freedom, economics, and government. What inspired the Tuttle Twins adventures and how are they inspiring millions of people, young and old, to think deeper and differently about the world around them?

Connor Boyack is the president and founder of the Libertas Institute, a non-profit think tank dedicated to building a freer society. He is also a public speaker and author of over 30 books, including the mega-successful Tuttle Twins books, on which the hilarious and educational animated Angel Studios’ show Tuttle Twins show is based. You can watch the first season of Tuttle Twins for free in the Angel app. www.angel.com/tuttletwins.com 

You can find out more about Connor and all his many undertakings at https://connorboyack.com/

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.

The story is that laughter is the best medicine, but this intangible tonic is often the byproduct of the suffering of its developers—comedians dealing with personal demons. Today, along with DryBar comedian Jeff Allen, we explore how these hilarious humorists are sometimes, sadly, truly dying for laughs. 

Jeff Allen is an American stand-up comedian who regularly appears on TV and Radio, being featured on America’s Got Talent, Netflix, Amazon, and Dry Bar Comedy among others. His humor, based on his own life experience, has given laughter and encouragement to millions of people.

For more about Jeff Allen, check out jeffallencomedy.com

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.

The story is that science and religion are at odds—that they are incompatible, or at least, that they rely on distinct methods of knowing, and ne’er the twain shall meet. Yet throughout history, and still today, many scientists ARE believers in God or ascribers to a religion. How do they deal with the apparent contradiction, and how do their peers deal with them? Today we discuss the curious, but not uncommon case of “Being a Scientist and a Believer.” 

Michael Behe is an American biochemist, author, and an advocate of the controversial principle of intelligent design. He is a professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. He is also a devout Catholic with nine children. 

Learn more about Riot and the Dance at Angel.com/riot. 

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The story is that comedy is a second class art form, not that it doesn’t require great skill, but that it is not as “important” as dramatic, “serious” works. And while what tugs our heartstrings remains mostly constant over the millenia, what tickles our funny bone seems always in flux. What is this unstable element whose byproduct—laughter—has been called the best medicine? Today we explore the somewhat subjective healing power of comedy. I’m Joel Ackerman. This is Lightwise.

Whitney Call and Stacey Harkey are American comedians, actors, and original cast members of Studio C, a sketch comedy television show, kind of a clean, family friendly Saturday Night Live, that has run for fifteen seasons. They are co-founders of family-friendly JK Studios, and also stars of Angel Studios’ sitcom “Freelancers.” You can watch the first two seasons free in the Angel app.

Check out JK Studios!

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The story is that when most Germans were falling for Hitler’s lies, or were too afraid to fight against them, a sixteen-year old boy recognized the truth, and began a peaceful resistance to shed light on the gross sins of Hitler and the Nazi regime. He rallied a couple of his teenage friends around him to join him in the cause until he was eventually found out, caught, and stopped. Today, we explore the story and importance of “Truth and Conviction.”

Matt Whitaker is an American film and TV writer and director, and a specialist in the WWII genre. His credits include the critically acclaimed war films Saints and Soldiers and Instrument of War. In 2002, Matt and a film crew traveled to Germany with the last surviving member of a teenage Nazi resistance group for the PBS documentary “Truth & Conviction: The Helmuth Hübener Story.” Now, twenty years later this powerful story will be produced as an upcoming dramatic series “Truth & Conviction” with Angel Studios.

Stay up to date on the "Truth and Conviction" series by visiting angel.com. 

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.

The story is that about 4,000 years ago, early in the second millennium BC, God spoke to the prophet Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering in the mountains of Moriah. According to the scriptural account, Abraham journeys three days, builds an altar and binds his son upon it, and is stopped by an angel only after he has taken the knife to slay his son. It is one of the most startling and controversial accounts in all of scripture. Today we explore the story of Abraham and Isaac and its significance even 4,000 years later.

David Helling is an American screenwriter and director, and a veteran of the Marine Corps who served two years in Iraq. For over a decade he has made short films adapting stories from the Bible. His debut feature-length film “His Only Son” centering on the account about Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 was finished in 2022, and will be released by Angel Studios Easter 2023.

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.

The story is that there are a few big questions: who are we? Where did we come from and why are we here? And what is coming? Science and religion have different approaches to answering these questions, with science often abstaining from prognosticating and offering more philosophical responses, but science fiction, on the other hand, often boldly goes where science has never gone before. Today, we discuss the complicated relationship between “Science Fiction and Religion.”

Barna Donovan is a professor and director of the communications and PR master’s program at Saint Peter’s University. Among the courses he teaches are Mass Media Theory, The Conspiracy Theory Film, The Horror Film, The Science Fiction Film, Asian Films, Mass Media Law and Ethics, and many others.

For more information on "The Shift", Angel Studios upcoming Sci-Fi film with religious themes, check out angel.com/theshift.

Check out Barna Donovan's most recent book, Confirmation: Investigations of the Unexplained  here.

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Download the Angel app on your phone or streaming device and begin watching the content that inspires the podcast. You can also watch the Lightwise podcast at angel.com/lightwise.