What is the history of evangelical queer activism? William Stell, author of Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity, joins us to discuss what gay evangelical activists set out to achieve. Who were some of the most prominent evangelical gay activists and what were their goals? How did evangelical leaders and institutions respond to this activism? What led to the decline in evangelical gay activism such that many people today cannot imagine it was ever a viable movement? And, what is the state of evangelical queer activism right now?

How is vaccine hesitancy in America like a religion? Kira Ganga Kieffer, author of Unvaccinated Under God: Religion and Vaccine Hesitancy in Modern America, joins us to discuss connections between vaccine hesitancy and religion. What factors contributed to large numbers of people expressing skepticism at pharmaceutical companies and medical authorities? What led to an alliance between vaccine-hesitant Americans and religious conservatives? How have predominantly Black churches tried to promote vaccines as safe? Why did the Covid vaccine become such a prominent religious freedom issue? And, what needs to happen so that vaccine-preventable diseases are not a danger in the United States?

What is contributing to the number of Puerto Ricans converting to Islam, and what is the longer history of Latino Muslims in the Americas? Ken Chitwood, author of Borícua Muslims: Everyday Cosmopolitanism among Puerto Rican Converts to Islam, joins us to discuss Puerto Rican Muslims. How do Puerto Rican Muslims navigate life as a religious minority in Puerto Rico and throughout the United States? How do they approach being a racial and ethnic minority in predominantly Muslim spaces? How do they blend their Puerto Rican ethnic identity with their Muslim religious identity? And, what do Puerto Rican converts to Islam reveal about religion in the Americas today?

What was life like in Gaza before October 7, 2023, and what has it been like since the ceasefire at the end of 2025? Gilbert Achcar, author of Gaza Catastrophe: The Genocide in World-Historical Perspective, joins us to discuss Gaza today and historically. How do the Palestinians in Gaza view Hamas? Why did it become politically complicated to call the mass death and destruction in Gaza a genocide? How does the situation in Gaza have global implications? And, what needs to happen in Gaza, in Israel, and around the world to greatly improve life for Palestinians today?

Why do so many white evangelicals, the religious group with the highest gun ownership rates in the country, believe they have a “God-given right” to possess firearms? William Kole, author of In Guns We Trust: The Unholy Trinity of White Evangelicals, Politics, and Firearms, joins us to discuss evangelicals’ fixation with gun access. Why don’t mass shootings, even in schools, provoke more than “thoughts and prayers” from most evangelicals? How do ideas about race and gender contribute to white evangelicals’ insistence on having unrestricted access to firearms? And, what can we do to address America’s gun problems and get enough evangelicals on board so that it will have a real political impact?

What does it mean to be intersex, and how have religious communities responded to the presence of intersex people? M. Wolff, author of Body Problems: What Intersex Priest Sally Gross Teaches Us about Embodiment, Justice, and Belonging, joins us to discuss intersex activism. What do intersex activists want from the medical field, religious communities, and the broader society? How did the Catholic Church react to the presence of an intersex priest? And what can everyone do to be more supportive and inclusive of intersex people today?

Why turn to the Bible to look for insights on transgender people and gender variation, especially when so many anti-trans people use the Bible to justify bigotry? Joseph Marchal and Melissa Harl Sellew, two editors of the book Trans Biblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture, join us to discuss what it means to do a trans interpretation of the Bible. What does the Bible have to say about gender variance? Why should cisgender people care about transgender interpretations of the Bible? And, as anti-trans rhetoric and policies proliferate, what can thinking about transgender people, the Bible, and religion help us with right now in today’s political climate?

How are some religious communities working to support and protect undocumented immigrants in the United States? Barbara Sostaita, author of Sanctuary Everywhere: The Fugitive Sacred in the Sonoran Desert, joins us to discuss why some religious people believe it is their duty to help migrants. What specific things are religious communities able to do for undocumented immigrants? What is life like for someone who takes sanctuary within a religious community? And, what can people who are outraged by ICE raids and deportations do to help immigrants today?

What is the history of Black Catholics in the United States, and what are the most pressing issues facing Black Catholics today? Tia Noelle Pratt, author of Black and Catholic: Racism, Identity, and Religion, joins us to discuss Black Catholics and racism in the Catholic Church. In what ways does the U.S. Catholic Church perpetuate systemic racism? How have Black Catholics tried to combat this racism? And, what should the Catholic Church and individuals do to address racism within Catholicism today?

Why have sex scandals been such a common feature of Protestant leadership in the United States? Suzanna Krivulskaya, author of Disgraced: How Sex Scandals Transformed American Protestantism, joins us to discuss the history of public sex scandals among Protestant pastors. What do these scandals say about the culture? How have disgraced ministers tried to rehabilitate their careers following scandals? And, what do recent sex scandals involving ministers like pastor Carl Lentz say about today’s culture, masculinity, and Protestant Christianity in America the 21st century?