How has hip hop transformed Black Christianity? Dr. Erika Gault, author of the book Networking the Black Church: Digital Black Christians and Hip Hop, joins us to discuss the role hip hop plays among Black Christians. We explore how hip hop and social media have helped people who feel ostracized by traditional Black churches, connections between Christian hip hop and racial justice activism, and what the prevalence of Christian hip hop tells us about the future of Black Christianity in America.

American Jews have contributed significantly to the movie industry. But has Hollywood sufficiently depicted American Jewish life? Dr. Helene Meyers, author of the book Movie-Made Jews: An American Tradition, joins us to discuss the place of Jews on screen and how movies have contributed to shaping American Jewish identities. We explore the role antisemitism has played in the portrayal of Jews on film, if non-Jewish actors should play Jewish parts, why Barbra Streisand has been a cinematic Jewish icon for decades, and how movies with nuanced Jewish protagonists can combat antisemitism today.

Why is Islamophobia so common in the United States? Dr. Caleb Elfenbein, author of the book Fear in Our Hearts: What Islamophobia Tells Us about America, joins us to discuss what Islamophobia reveals about life in America today. We explore why anti-Muslim fear persists throughout the country, how Muslim communities have responded to Islamophobia, and how everyone can combat Islamophobia so that Muslims thrive in the United States.

What role has religion played in the CIA’s missions around the world? Dr. Michael Graziano, author of Errand into the Wilderness of Mirrors: Religion and the History of the CIA, joins us to share captivating stories about religion in America’s Central Intelligence Agency. We explore how the CIA set out to understand religious traditions across the globe in their fight against Soviet communism, what happened when the CIA profoundly misunderstood how religion functions throughout the world, and how the CIA’s ideas about Islam have changed in the 21st century.

This episode features conversations with three experts on religion and climate change who have investigated how different religious communities have responded to the climate crisis. Our discussion begins with Dr. Amanda Baugh. She has been exploring Latinx Catholics’ conservation actions and examining how environmental activism can become less centered on white Americans. Next, Dr. Adrienne Krone discusses the Jewish farming movement and how Jewish farming organizations are combatting climate change. And finally, Dr. Robin Veldman shares her findings about why Christian nationalists and evangelicals have opposed climate science. In total, they share how religious communities and others can make addressing climate change a priority.

What role has religion played in shaping sex education in America’s public schools? Dr. Kristy Slominski, author of Teaching Moral Sex: A History of Religion and Sex Education in the United States, joins us to discuss why liberal Protestant leaders wanted sex education in America’s schools. We explore what teachings sex educators promoted about gender and monogamy, how they responded to the visible rise of LGBTQ people, and why abstinence-only education became a mainstay of American sex education that still persists today.

What role has religion played in shaping sex education in America’s public schools? Dr. Kristy Slominski, author of Teaching Moral Sex: A History of Religion and Sex Education in the United States, joins us to discuss why liberal Protestant leaders wanted sex education in America’s schools. We explore what teachings sex educators promoted about gender and monogamy, how they responded to the visible rise of LGBTQ people, and why abstinence-only education became a mainstay of American sex education that still persists today.

What are evangelical men taught about gender and their place in the world? Dr. Bradley Onishi, a scholar of religion and host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast, joins us to discuss why evangelical men valorize aggressive masculinity. We also explore what evangelical men are taught about their sexual desires, how evangelical conceptions of masculinity contribute to cultures of violence, and what evangelical ideas about masculinity have to do with America’s current political climate.

For more, check out Dr. Bradley Onishi’s Revealer article “God is Ultimate Masculinity: Evangelical Visions of Manhood in the Wake of the Atlanta Massacre” at https://therevealer.org/god-is-ultimate-masculinity-evangelical-visions-of-manhood-in-the-wake-of-the-atlanta-massacre/

As travel reopens throughout the world, we are taking a look at the popularity of “Holocaust tourism.” Dr. Daniel Reynolds, author of Postcards from Auschwitz: Holocaust Tourism and the Meaning of Remembrance, joins us to discuss why millions of people travel to Nazi concentration camps and other sites of Holocaust memorialization each year, what messages Holocaust memorial sites typically promote, and how Holocaust memorial sites try to address present-day issues of antisemitism, nativism, and racism.

June 2021 marks forty years since the first identified cases of what came to be known as HIV/AIDS. In this episode we chat with Dr. Lynne Gerber about a predominantly gay church in San Francisco and how it responded to the AIDS epidemic. We discuss how that church and its minister helped a gay community devastated by sickness, death and constant funerals, and why knowing this history about the AIDS epidemic matters today.