The RELEVANT Podcast

Former We The Kingdom singer Franni Cash grew up inside a cult, and her debut solo album ‘Here I Am’ is about what came after. We talk about the diary she had to hide, the day her family walked out, what she found when she met the real Jesus and what she’d tell anyone in a controlling church right now.

The crew also gets into the backlash to Carl and Laura Lentz’s latest round of interviews and what Christians actually expect from someone who is doing the work of repentance. 

In Slices, Derek takes us inside Peter Thiel’s leaked lectures on the Antichrist, where the people the billionaire says to watch are not who you’d guess. Marty brings good news for anyone who has paid an AirBnB cleaning fee and had to do the dishes anyway. Then Marty’s Life Hacks has a listener-submitted tip about your chips that the rest of us are still processing, and Derek gets some constructive feedback on the zipper location in his new music video.

An all hip-hop One Has to Go closes it out, and with two rappers on the panel, somebody was always going to get flamed.

Highlights:

02:24 — Are rappers’ gold chains secretly smart investing?

03:48 — Jesse’s on a jury, and Cameron played every card to get out of his

09:19 — Do hard times make better art? The Gulf War brought us Chingy

10:44 — Jay-Z reportedly books himself for the Super Bowl (and our guest list)

13:00 — “Can you tell me about your cult, please?”

15:32 — Introducing Unedited, our new full-interview series

16:46 — The backlash to Carl and Laura Lentz’s interviews

27:03 — “You’re only canceled until your next hit”

28:11 — Derek on why powerful people never admit they were wrong

31:32 — Franni Cash on growing up inside a cult

33:42 — What happened to the diary she kept hidden

35:57 — The night the cult jokes stopped being funny

38:21 — The burned page behind ‘Here I Am’

39:47 — Her message for anyone inside a controlling church

41:50 — Slices: Peter Thiel’s leaked lectures on the Antichrist

45:34 — Airbnb is ending checkout chores

49:53 — Marty’s Life Hacks: Should your chips live in the freezer?

54:22 — One Has to Go

58:53 — Marty’s case against Dr. Dre

1:00:53 — Marty braces to get flamed

1:08:03 — Marty’s new album gets a release date

1:10:36 — Derek’s ‘r n r’ video and some feedback on his hoodie zipper location

Former Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz and his wife Laura stayed together, and now they've written the book on it, 'Overcoming Infidelity.' We talk about the small warning signs, when leaving is actually the right call, what they've told their kids and what Carl says to the skeptics calling this a comeback tour.

Plus, Cameron is back from NYC, where Greta Gerwig previewed 'Narnia: The Magician's Nephew.’ He went in skeptical and tells us what he saw and heard. 

In Slices, Jesse makes the case for 'You Can See Everything,' the three-hour Elizabeth Holmes movie everyone is talking about and nobody is spoiling (we won't either). Derek tells us why Hulvey canceled his Amsterdam show, and Marty asks the crew to name their favorite sin, which turns into a real conversation about Philip Anthony Mitchell and what comes after the celebrity pastor era.

Then Marty's Life Hacks closes it out with a tip so wholesome we're pretty sure city hall is paying him.

Highlights:

01:41 — Cameron's report from Greta Gerwig's Narnia preview event 

06:44 — The Aslan question 

10:06 — Derek's case against the Meryl Streep casting 

17:14 — How 'Stairway to Heaven' ended up in Narnia 

24:03 — Slices: The Elizabeth Holmes movie nobody is spoiling 

34:59 — Hulvey cancels a sold-out show over what was on the venue walls 

37:28 — Marty asks the crew to name their favorite sin 

37:46 — Philip Anthony Mitchell gets honest on The Breakfast Club 

40:29 — What comes after the celebrity pastor era? 

48:18 — Derek makes room for pastors in Jordans 

49:05 — Carl and Laura Lentz on 'Overcoming Infidelity' 

52:12 — Carl on the secrets that come before the big one 

54:13 — Laura on when leaving is the right call 

56:08 — What they've told their kids (and the phone call Carl didn't see coming) 

1:01:39 — Carl's answer for the skeptics

1:06:47 — Marty's Life Hacks: Wait, the library has 3D printers?

Jamie MacDonald, fresh off winning New Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards, joins us as her new deluxe album arrives this week. We talk about what it’s like to be the biggest thing in CCM right now, reliving her testimony on stage every night and the Alaska fudge shop that can’t stop playing her record.

In RELEVANT Buzz, Instagram admits it’s been recommending Creed’s ‘Higher’ more than it should, and we think the algorithm might be trying to heal America. Drill rapper Fivio Foreign gets honest about the hardest part of his walk with Jesus, and Pope Leo says algorithms lack “the spark of humanity,” which has us asking where all the song bridges went.

Plus, Marty’s new co-working space comes with an indoor mini golf course, and his family’s Halloween costume plan leaves the rest of us in a cold sweat. Then One Has to Go closes it out: Pastor Appreciation Month downsized to a week, one severed head too many and a turkey leg that turns grown men into cavemen.

Highlights:

01:09 — Marty’s co-working space comes with a mini golf course

08:37 — RELEVANT Buzz: Instagram can’t stop recommending Creed’s ‘Higher’

10:26 — Jesse’s theory: The algorithm wants us back at Creed’s 2001 Thanksgiving halftime show

15:56 — Derek’s plan for the first Christian rap Super Bowl halftime

17:25 — Fivio Foreign goes from drill to praising Jesus (and gets honest about what’s hardest)

21:21 — Derek’s case for Fonzworth Bentley as hip-hop’s unsung hero

23:42 — Is AI art always a little cringe? Pope Leo weighs in

25:13 — Derek wants bridges and vamps back

29:21 — The architect who felt “God pushing my pencil”

32:53 — Jamie MacDonald on the long road to becoming Christian music’s biggest new name

35:37 — Why ‘Left It in the River’ hit so hard

38:29 — Playing the Ryman a mile from where she was born

40:21 — Is the pop culture Halloween costume dead?

41:07 — Marty’s family Halloween plan

45:37 — One Has to Go

47:05 — Derek on the Black church’s honor culture

50:39 — Derek has seen enough severed heads

52:26 — Seven-year-old Cameron explains street economics to his mom

54:34 — Where do the full-size candy bar houses actually live?

Irish folk trio Kingfishr joins us right as everyone's playlist turns to fall vibes. We talk about how they went from a self-described rip-off band to leaning all the way into traditional Irish music, the old farmhouse with walls thick enough to start a band in and what's giving them hope right now.

In Slices, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan says plainly that Jesus is his Lord and Savior and that he doesn't care what it costs him. Derek brings a new study about the surprising group of married couples that are having the best intimacy, and Jesse checks into sleep tourism, where people are paying huge amounts for a hotel room whose main attraction is being unconscious.

We also debut Marty’s Life Hack of the Week, and we bring back our annual Mascot Bracket Challenge!

Highlights:

00:52 — Diddy's prison perks and the only sneakers you can buy behind bars

04:47 — Derek's coffee-shop intervention for Cameron

06:02 — Marty's Life Hack of the Week: The accidental text on purpose

09:27 — Jesse, a leaking car and the cul-de-sac group text

10:37 — Derek explains who this will not work on

14:25 — Therapists, please diagnose Marty in the comments

15:33 — The steakhouse butter hack

18:50 — Slices: People are paying $1,700 a night just to sleep

23:53 — Aaron Rodgers and the darkness retreat

24:57 — Who's having the most sex? Derek has a study

27:01 — Wait, who paid for this survey?

29:06 — Are Billy Corgan and Bill Burr half-brothers?

31:50 — Billy Corgan calls Jesus his Lord and Savior

36:24 — Why our parents banned Smashing Pumpkins

37:45 — Kingfishr on trad Irish roots, the farmhouse and what's giving them hope

43:10 — The annual Mascot Bracket Challenge

45:36 — The spiritual round: Demon Deacon vs. Sun Devil

48:09 — We don't think about kangaroos enough

56:38 — The Final Four

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac joins us as NBA teams kick off training camp this week. We talk about what happens when Christians put an athlete on a pedestal, the upcoming NBA season — his 10th — and how his faith-based athletic brand UNITUS has evolved over the last few years.

In Slices, Jesse found the 26-cent coin that just sold for $17,000 and has a retirement plan for whoever works at the Mint. Derek brings the new study showing Gen Z and millennials are drinking less (while Gen X picks up the slack). And Marty explains why Gen Z is buying CDs again without owning a CD player (K-pop, mostly).

Also, Marty keeps his raw denim in the freezer, started collecting Ralph Lauren stamps and is starting to worry about what California is doing to him. Derek has questions. Plus Jesse is going to a silent disco, Cameron debunks the Christopher Nolan Darth Vader rumor and we relitigate the time Derek wore a Rodman jersey in Cameron's courtside seats.

Question of the Week: What's your creative, unexpected Halloween costume idea for 2026? Drop it in the comments and we'll read the best ones next week.

Highlights:

00:30 — Marty's "life hack" that is just backing up your phone

02:55 — Derek's NBA 2K theory of why people don't take responsibility

04:39 — Marty keeps his $400 jeans in the freezer and Derek has questions

10:44 — Why we're running the whole Jonathan Isaac conversation uncut

15:26 — Cameron apologizes to a Magic coach in a Vegas casino

17:09 — Derek wore a Rodman jersey in Cameron's courtside seats

18:28 — Does Cameron need a signature courtside look?

21:44 — Slices: A 26-cent coin sold for $17,000 and Jesse has a plan for the Mint

24:58 — Marty bought a Ralph Lauren stamp collection and is worried about himself

30:54 — Jesse is going to a silent disco

34:43 — Gen Z and millennials are drinking less. Gen X is drinking a lot more

42:20 — The Christopher Nolan Darth Vader movie is not real

44:11 — CD sales are up 59% and half the buyers don't own a CD player

48:16 — Question of the Week: Halloween costume ideas for 2026

49:34 — Jonathan Isaac on year 10, faith under the spotlight and UNITUS

This week, the crew gets philosophical fast. Jesse makes the case that cornhole can cure the loneliness epidemic, Derek wants to bring back boredom and we figure out how doing nothing on a flight became an achievement. Derek also plays his new single 'Lift Me Up' and explains why he built it on the old synths instead of the easy way.

In RELEVANT Buzz, Greta Gerwig cast Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan in the upcoming Narnia movie, and the comments did what the comments do. Jesse defends it, Derek explains it with potato salad and a text from someone who's actually seen the movie changes the conversation. 

Then Christian Bale opens a village so foster siblings don't get split up, which makes him the real Batman. Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore's 'God I'm Just Grateful' just did something a worship song hasn't done since 'Oceans.' And Jesse brings a CDC report that says most of us are exhausted, which turns into Bob Goff quitting something every Thursday and why no one ever preaches "pray for less." 

Then a new game, Take Sides, closes it out: Chick-fil-A vs. Raising Cane's, window vs. aisle, Waffle House as a life stage and Derek's very strong feelings about hot tubs.

Highlights:

01:28 — Jesse's plan to cure loneliness with cornhole

07:54 — Derek deleted social media. Bring back boredom

10:33 — Raw dogging a flight and the David Puddy origin story

17:22 — Derek's new single 'Lift Me Up' and curating Apple Music's Elevate playlist

24:09 — RELEVANT Buzz: The CDC says 3 in 4 Americans are exhausted (guess who's most tired)

29:35 — Bob Goff quits something every Thursday

32:15 — Why nobody preaches "pray for less"

34:14 — Warren Buffett hands Berkshire to his son

35:00 — The real Batman: Christian Bale's foster village opens

38:32 — Meryl Streep as Aslan? The Narnia fight

42:04 — Derek's potato salad theory of Narnia

48:34 — A text from inside the movie

50:51 — Elevation Worship & Chandler Moore crack the Hot 100

53:01 — Take Sides: Chick-fil-A vs. Raising Cane's, hot tub vs. pool

It's a special (shorter) episode this week! Andrew Garfield joins us — we talk about his new Paul Greengrass film 'The Uprising,' why he keeps coming back to characters who are searching and what he thinks faith has to do with justice.

Then pop artist Claire Rosinkranz talks with us backstage at Lollapalooza. She gets into the moment she says she heard God at 11 years old, what her therapist told her when she felt like she'd stopped hearing Him and why she grieves her younger self. (Plus some lighter stuff too.)

And then Cameron briefly takes us through the new fall digital issue of RELEVANT, which is out this week. Make sure to check it out at RELEVANTmagazine.com!

Highlights:

02:41 — Andrew Garfield on 'The Uprising'

15:35 — Claire Rosinkranz

25:01 — Inside the new issue of RELEVANT

This week Cory Asbury joins us. He walked away from worship music five years ago—we talk about what pulled him back and why it's different this time. His new worship record, Outsing the Angels, is out September 18.

In Slices, Jesse brings up the Tesla Cyber Cab, which is now driving around Austin with no steering wheel, no rearview mirror and no brake pedal, and the federal government has questions. (He also has a theory about what’s actually driving them.) Derek tells us how Skilla Baby’s prayer took over The Breakfast Club this week, and Marty tells the story of the 1986 Zelda art where Link is kneeling in a church praying to Jesus.

Also, water parks are the last lawless place in America, and somebody in Virginia Beach burned down a 50-foot gorilla named Hugh Mungus.

Then One Has to Go closes it out: find out what slow jams, Good Charlotte, and Fast and Furious have in common.

Highlights:

03:00 — Water parks: the last lawless place in America

06:22 — Hugh Mungus, the 50-foot gorilla an arsonist burned down

11:17 — Slices: Tesla's Cyber Cab shipped without a brake pedal, and the feds noticed

18:48 — Marty walks away from a Waymo wreck

21:38 — Skilla Baby's prayer alarm goes off on The Breakfast Club

26:06 — Link was praying to Jesus, and Nintendo of America took it out

31:53 — Bible Adventures, bootleg cartridges and the Christian Marvel comics

33:52 — Cory Asbury on leaving worship music and what brought him back

42:39 — One Has to Go

This week SEU Worship joins us — we talk about the SEU Outpouring and their new album 'Found in the Field.' 

In RELEVANT Buzz, 'Scary Movie' star Anna Faris opens up on Chelsea Handler's podcast about her 14-year-old son and the conversations he keeps having with her about Jesus. Then the biggest artist in music right now, Ella Langley, is rewriting the record books and getting bolder about God from the stage. We play what she said at a recent show. Then there's 'Death of the Pastor's Wife,' the new Netflix series about Mica Miller, the South Carolina pastor's wife whose death became a national story.

In Slices, a 47-year-old Bay Area pastor made a college football roster and is now a defensive end at a community college. And scientists have worked out how to turn plastic bottles into protein cookies for disaster zones and deep space crews (nobody has actually eaten one yet). 

We close the show with a bracket game ranking five years of Emily’s time at RELEVANT: the Eras Tour, girl dinner, jalapeño poppers, a church prom photo. It's her last episode with us, and we send her off the right way.

Coincidentally, we also let you know about some new job openings over at RELEVANTmediagroup.com. 

Highlights:

02:24 — Derek on teenagers again

04:52 — The lame duck era

08:59 — Derek's Dell call center exit stories

13:37 — Jesse quits Kmart

17:06 — RELEVANT Buzz: Anna Faris on her son Jack's faith

21:58 — Ella Langley's record-breaking run and her mini sermon

26:26 — 'Death of the Pastor's Wife' on Netflix

30:33 — SEU Worship on 'Found in the Field'

38:34 — Slices: a 47-year-old pastor makes a college football roster

44:09 — Slices: plastic bottles into protein cookies

47:17 — The Emily Brown Bracket Challenge

58:34 — Five years of Emily Brown

59:37 — We're hiring

This week we're joined by Michael Cochren, the soul-and-blues frontman of Cochren & Co. He talks about the eight years he spent waiting on an answer from God and why he refuses to say God is good just because things finally worked out. We spotlight the band's new album, 'Runs in the Blood.'

In RELEVANT Buzz, Cory Asbury posted and deleted a shirtless workout photo, apologized for it and then got roasted by every friend he has in Christian music. Also, survivors launched the first national database of Protestant leaders accused of abuse, years after the SBC voted to build one and then let it die. And The Promised Land, the Moses workplace mockumentary that started as a YouTube pilot, just signed Lionsgate and got a second season.

In Slices, Columbia House is finally shutting down, which mostly raises the question of how it was still open, and one of us confesses to running a stack of accounts under slightly different names to get free CDs as a teenager. And a woman in New Zealand went into cardiac arrest in a supermarket parking lot, got revived by a stranger and then got a parking ticket for it. 

Also in here: a follow-up on the resting heart rate situation, a public service announcement about energy drinks, and the actual reason last week's episode showed up five days late.

One Has to Go closes it out. And we're still taking answers to last week's question: What's something you wish you'd known going into your freshman year of college? Drop it in the comments or @ us. We're running your answers in a piece this week.

Highlights:

01:21 — Marty's new house and the California no-AC problem

04:07 — Is the house haunted

06:15 — The resting heart rate follow-up and a Celsius warning

07:48 — C4, Sour Patch Kids flavor and two hours of pins and needles

11:35 — David Blaine, stunt magic and the four kinds of magician

19:15 — Emily is podcasting from what appears to be a TJ Maxx dressing room

21:04 — Kohl's cash

22:13 — RELEVANT Buzz: Cory Asbury takes down the shirtless photo and apologizes

28:08 — Survivors launch the first national database of accused Protestant abusers

30:09 — The Promised Land gets a second season and Lionsgate

31:33 — Michael Cochren of Cochren & Co.

39:12 — Slices: Columbia House is shutting down after 71 years

43:34 — She died in a parking lot and still got a ticket

48:34 — Why last week's episode was late

50:05 — One Has to Go