The Subtext

Still recovering from the midterm? Same. Take a breather and join Lee and Savannah for a conversation about faith, politics, and having an existential crisis at the ballot box. What does it look like to vote like Jesus? Or maybe the better question is: what if the real test of Christian faith isn’t how we vote, but whether our politics look anything like Jesus?

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Get your tickets for No Small Endeavor Live on November 22nd!

Prayer in Open D by Emmylou Harris

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe

Say Nothing on Disney+

Collusion by Luke Harding

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Sharon McMahon on No Small Endeavor

Scandalous Witness by Lee C. Camp

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This episode has been living rent-free in our heads since season 3 of Nobody Wants This dropped on Netflix, so we're putting it back in your feed.

What can a Netflix rom-com about a rabbi and an agnostic podcaster teach us about love, faith, and compromise?

In this episode, Savannah and Lee dive into the Netflix series Nobody Wants This, a smart and surprisingly tender rom-com about an agnostic podcaster (Kristen Bell) and a rabbi (Adam Brody) trying to make love work across lines of faith and conviction. The conversation unfolds into bigger questions: How do we love people whose choices we disagree with? When does compromise in a relationship become self-betrayal? Can married people be friends with people of the opposite sex? And what does it mean to convert to a different religion?

This episode originally released on November 12, 2025.

Things we mentioned in this episode:

⁠The Chosen by Chaim Potok⁠

⁠My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok⁠

Easy A

Saved

⁠Rainn Wilson on No Small Endeavor⁠

⁠Soul Boom by Rainn Wilson⁠

⁠Silence by Shusaku Endo⁠

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It's the day we've all (mostly Savannah's) been waiting for. This week, Lee and Savannah do a deep dive into Brandon Flowers’ THRASHER!

It's a record about belonging and nostalgia, and it was recorded live in Nashville by some of the greats. It's unexpectedly profound, and, in the end, Savannah just wants you to love this record as much as she does.

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Brandon Flowers' THRASHER

Jackson Browne's The Pretender

Sinners movie Dir. Ryan Coogler

Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth

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**This episode was recorded before the release on the new trailer** Meryl Streep is the voice of Aslan in Greta Gerwig's Narnia adaptation. Is this a threat to Christian orthodoxy or another culture-war distraction?

This week on The Subtext, Savannah and Lee discuss the casting controversy and dive into bigger questions about gender and how we imagine God. From C.S. Lewis' POV to feminine depictions of God in Scripture and church history, they explore what Christian humility, artistic freedom, and a more faithful public witness might look like.

Things we mentioned in this episode:

NARNIA: THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW | Official Trailer

Hillbilly Thomists on No Small Endeavor

Stephen Wilson Jr. - "billy"

“Why You Should Care That Aslan is a Woman” by Liel Leibovitz

Priestesses in the Church? by C.S. Lewis

The Incomprehensibility of God and the Image of God Male and Female by Elizabeth A. Johnson

William Paul Young on No Small Endeavor

The Shack by William Paul Young

Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth R. Miller

The Crucifixion of the Warrior God by Gregory A. Boyd

Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by Gregory A. Boyd

Where's Mommy - Gregory Boyd

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Is a $4,500 networking trip to Mar-a-Lago okay if it's for the kingdom?

This week on The Subtext, Lee and Savannah unpack problematic Christian wealth seminars promising financial success for “kingdom impact." They explore the power of proximity, the dangers of “kingdom washing,” and what the early church might have to say about business, debt, and the pursuit of influence. Is Christian language transforming business, or simply baptizing capitalism?

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Come see Ira Glass on No Small Endeavor Live at the Symphony!

Friendly Atheist “Christian evangelist defends $4,500 networking trip—and his “need” for luxury hotels”

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone

The Gospel of High Yields: Inside Tim Tebow’s Favorite Wealth Seminar

Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond

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This week on The Subtext: Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, free speech, and the billionaire power behind the music business. Lee and Savannah unpack the controversy, looking to Dolly Parton as a guide.

What happens when public outrage becomes a purity test? Is it all just “vanity politics,” or what are we actually doing about the things we say we care about?

Things we mentioned in this episode:

M*A*S*H*

All in the Family

Olivia Fox Cabane (on the science of charisma) on Armchair Expert

The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane

Christ in the Rubble by Munther Isaac

Munther Isaac on No Small Endeavor

Dr. Queenie Johnson’s Analysis on what she calls “Vanity Politics”

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It’s the first birthday of The Subtext! Savannah and Lee celebrate with an “Ask Us Anything” episode, answering listener questions about Bible translations, music, patriotism, how to leave your church community, and more.

Thank you to everyone who made year one of The Subtext special. We love you! Send your AMA questions anytime to us @thesubtextshow on Instagram or to [email protected]

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Join us for No Small Endeavor Live November 22 - The Schermerhorn Symphony Center

Méditation from the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet

Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber

Down There by the Train by Tom Waits

Christmas Lights by Coldplay

A Change is Going to Come by Sam Cooke

Pilgrim by Steve Earle

Little Girl Blue by Nina Simone

Kim Stanley Robinson on No Small Endeavor

Consumerist corner: Stanley cup, Apple AirTag, Exfoliating Lip Balm

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Turns out, Gen Z is talking less, scrolling more, and forgetting how to be human.

This week, Savannah and Lee unpack the surprising decline in everyday conversation and why talking to strangers actually matters. Then a listener’s question prompts them to revisit Nate Bargatze drama. Does calling in vs. calling out work with public figures? 

And things get spicy when they dive into Meta’s $17 billion child-safety settlement, social media addiction, kids and algorithms, free speech, government regulation, and the complicated question of who gets to shape us online. 

Tell us what you think! DM us on Instagram @thesubtextshow

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Gen Zs like me are speaking 451 words fewer every day – and I know why by Esme Gordon Craig

Heather Holleman on No Small Endeavor

Jemar Tisby on No Small Endeavor

James Lawson on No Small Endeavor

Free Speech Part 1 - The Subtext

Free Speech Part 2 - The Subtext

The Social Reckoning Trailer

The Social Network

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Six 'English' strangers try to go Amish for a month, surfacing big questions about autonomy, conformity, vanity, and discernment.

This week we're talking about TLC's Suddenly Amish, a (very scripted) reality show where six outsiders spend a month living in an Amish community to see if they could actually join the church. Lee and Savannah use Suddenly Amish as a foundation for conversations around appearance and vanity, the "if it doesn't affect you, why does it matter" ethic of modern individualism, what Christian teaching has to say about all this, and whether any real community can exist without asking you to give up a little bit of yourself.

Things we mentioned in this episode:

A Beginner's Guide to Dying by Simon Boas

Suddenly Amish on HBO Max

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In this episode, Lee and Savannah talk about the ways Lindsay Clancy’s trial is sparking conversations around mental health, justice, and culpability. 

This week, we tackle a story listeners have been asking us to cover: the case of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts mother who killed her three children in 2023 after months of worsening psychiatric symptoms and a cocktail of nine prescribed medications. We dig into postpartum psychosis and postpartum depression, why true-crime audiences reach for alternate-perpetrator theories even when a defendant has admitted to the act, and how mental health plays a role in seeking justice amidst tragedy.

**This episode was recorded on August 31st, 2026 prior to the declaration of the mistrial**

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Brandon Flowers album THRASHER

Join us for a No Small Endeavor live show: 

September 26 - The Fisher Center at Belmont University

November 22 - The Schermerhorn Symphony Center (Pre-sale available for Patreon members) 

Missing Me by Ayana Lage

Royal College of Psychiatrists: Postpartum psychosis

Wicked: For Good - The Subtext

I Study Women Who Kill Their Children. Lindsay Clancy Deserves Mercy. NYT Opinion by Michelle Oberman

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