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The Subtext
By Tokens MediaSociety & Culture
The Subtext episodes
- Should the Church Have Reputation Managers?
What happens when a church starts thinking like a brand, and hires people to protect its image?
In this episode, we explore the rise of reputation management inside religious institutions, starting with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its growing ecosystem of influencers, media strategy, and image control. From the “second Mormon moment” on social media to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, we ask what it means when faith communities adopt the tools of PR and branding. Along the way, we look at how reputation management can shape not just perception, but truth, connecting it to broader questions of power, storytelling, and what gets protected (or buried) in the name of a larger mission, including the complicated legacy of figures like Cesar Chavez. When reputation matters most, who pays the price?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
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42 min - Everyone Hates Poetry with Donovan McAbee
Lee and Savannah welcome a guest on this week’s episode to discuss why everyone hates poetry! In the hot seat is professor and poet Donovan McAbee, who recently published Holy the Body, a collection of poems exploring loss, grief, and doubt. Together, they talk about the beauty of uncertainty and how poetry can be the translator of life’s darkest experiences. If you liked the selected poems McAbee read on this episode, make sure to pick up a copy of Holy the Body!
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Holy the Body by Donovan McAbee
Selected Poems by Seamus Heaney
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Viola Davis on Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Falling by James L. Dickey
Praying Drunk by Andrew Hudgins
Models of the Church by Avery Dulles
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57 min - Is Social Media a Calling?
Is being an influencer on social media a calling? Can public-facing work align with a life of service? In this episode, Savannah and Lee unpack a viral influencer video and explore what it means to have a dream, how it connects to vocation, and what it really means to make an impact in the world.
Things we mentioned in this episode:
NYT Cooking Black Sesame Rice Krispies Treats
Dept. Q
Paradise
Cup of Tea by Kacey Musgraves
Who is My Enemy by Lee C. Camp
The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
The Summer Day by Mary Oliver
Markings by Dag Hammarskjold
The Pretender by Jackson Browne
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49 min - WAR! Part TWO!
Back by popular demand! Class is back in session this week as Lee and Savannah walk through Dispensationalism for Dummies, Christian Nationalism, and Just War Tradition in light of our current moment. So grab your notebooks and pens because you’re going to need them! What do you think? Do we need a part 3?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser
Man in the High Castle
The Just War Tradition by Daniel Bell
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57 min - Multi-Level Marketing
Let’s talk about the billion-dollar industry that turns friendship into a sales funnel, and women into its favorite target.
They show up in your DMs with compliments before they show up with a pitch. They promise community, purpose, and financial freedom. But behind the glossy before-and-afters and the "girl boss" energy, multi-level marketing companies have a darker history, and a devastatingly predictable math. This week, Savannah and Lee trace the origins of MLMs from a vitamin salesman in the 1930s all the way to your Instagram inbox, unpack why women have always been the primary target, and ask the harder questions: what happens when community gets weaponized for profit, and what does it mean that 99% of recruits lose money, and keep recruiting anyway?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Strangers by Belle Burden
Savannah's new album Songs of Peace in Times of War Apple Music | Spotify
Humoresque by Antonín Dvořák
AI Series on No Small Endeavor releases on April 6th!
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30 min - WAR! What Is It Good For?
What happens when dispensational theology or Christian nationalism directly informs foreign policy without critical reflection or moral accountability?
In this episode, we get to hear from the Professor himself, Lee C. Camp, as he takes the podium to trace the historical roots of Christian nonviolence, exploring how followers of Jesus have wrestled with war and peace across the centuries. Savannah and Lee examine reports that more than 200 complaints have been filed by members of the U.S. armed forces regarding commanding officers invoking “God’s divine plan” to justify military action. These stories raise a pressing question at the intersection of faith, power, and policy: War—what is it good for?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Jemar Tisby on No Small Endeavor
Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace by Roland H. Bainton
Christian attitudes to war, peace, and revolution: a companion to Bainton by John Howard Yoder
Who Is My Enemy? by Lee C. Camp
With God on Our Side by Bob Dylan
Also: pre-save Savannah's album!
Some of our sources!
US troops were told war on Iran was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’, watchdog alleges (The Guardian)
MRFF Inundated with Complaints of Gleeful Commanders Telling Troops Iran War is “Part of God’s Divine Plan” to Usher in the Return of Jesus Christ (MRFF)
Jemar Tisby on Threads
Why Would Some Christians Be Excited About War With Iran? Benjamin Cremer on Substack
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48 min - When did U2 Get So Political?
With their new EP Days of Ash, U2 turns up the volume on grief, protest, and hope. What exactly are they trying to say?
This week on The Subtext, we dive into U2’s new Days of Ash EP. From Holocaust memory and lament in “The Tears of Things,” to Iranian resistance in “Song of the Future,” to questions about politics, rights, and God’s power in “American Obituary,” we explore how theology, politics, and art intertwine in U2’s latest offering to the world.
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Surrender by Bono
Days of Ash - U2
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr
With God on Our Side - Bob Dylan
Stream Savannah's new single "God Have Mercy" (it's beautiful!)
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51 min - America’s Next Top Model
What does it actually look like to take responsibility when you’ve shaped a culture that harmed people? Is saying “I’m sorry” enough?
This week on The Subtext, we revisit the cultural reckoning around America’s Next Top Model and ask what meaningful accountability looks like for those who shaped, and benefited from, harmful beauty standards. Is acknowledging harm enough, or does repentance require repair? Turning to the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, we explore a biblical model of costly repentance that doesn’t just confess wrongdoing but restores what was taken.
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Ben Cohen on No Small Endeavor
(don't forget to leave us a review!)
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43 min - The Moral Line: Can We Separate Art from the Artist?
When the artists, authors, and celebrities we admire disappoint us, where’s the line between appreciating their work and endorsing their behavior?
After the Grammys reignited the “stay in your lane” debate, we revisit the question: Do we tell celebrities to be quiet because we don’t want to wrestle with what they believe? A listener email pushes us deeper, prompting us to ask what we do when artists we admire act immorally or hold views we reject. From Philip Yancey’s recent confession to pop culture figures like Andrew Huberman and Brad Pitt, we explore whether moral failure cancels insight, whether grace eliminates consequences, and how social media tribalism intensifies the dilemma. Can we separate art from the artist? Or are we always participating in what we platform?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Hunter Biden on the Shawn Ryan Show
You've Got Mail
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35 min - A Valentine's Day Special
Do we have to change something fundamental in ourselves to make a marriage work? In this Valentine's Day special episode of The Subtext, Savannah and Lee discuss the show Couples’ Therapy and the balance between self-betrayal and people-pleasing. And as Stanley Hauerwas says, “Love is not all you need.”
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Curt Thompson: The Work Beneath Lasting Love on No Small Endeavor
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22 min
About The Subtext
From the publisher's feed
A pop culture podcast from an internet expert, Savannah Locke & an ethics professor who doesn't own a cell phone, Lee C. Camp. On The Subtext, Savannah brings a pop-culture moment (celebrity drama, internet debates, viral shows), and together they ask a deeper question: why does any of this actually matter? Each week they dive into the headlines and investigate what they reveal about our culture, our theology, and the lives we’re living online.
It’s a conversation between someone who lives very much on the internet and someone who lives mostly off of it, and that tension makes for surprisingly meaningful dialogue. Come listen as we go beneath the headlines and beyond the obvious.
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