Faith Angle

Latest Episodes:

Mapping the Faith-Based Initiative: Ryan Streeter and Tevi Troy Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Ryan Streeter of the American Enterprise Institute and Tevi Troy of the Bipartisan Policy Center join us to discuss the history of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, as well as to provide a roadmap for the office's potential growth and impact under future administrations.

Guests

Ryan Streeter

Tevi Troy

Additional Resources

"The False Choices Facing the Republican Party," by Ryan Streeter

"The Life and Times of the Faith-Based Initiative," by Tevi Troy

Peter Frankopan: China’s New Silk Roads Jan 16, 2023

Show notes

This episode is lifted directly from one of the most fascinating sessions of November’s Faith Angle Europe, where Dr. Peter Frankopan opened a two-and-a-half-hour session available in its entirety below. Peter is the Professor of Global History at Oxford University’s Worcester College, and alongside Theresa Fallon, the founder of a Brussels think tank focusing on Russia and China, he spoke with 18 transatlantic journalists about trade, culture, and the easily-misconstrued history of the Eastern and Western worlds that have intersected in China for centuries.

Guests

Peter Frankopan

Additional Resources

"Past Is Prologue in China," full length Faith Angle Europe 2022 session with Peter Frankopan and Theresa Fallon

The New Silk Roads: The Present and Future of the World, by Peter Frankopan

Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research

Tim Dalrymple and Tim Schultz: Respect for Marriage Act Dec 19, 2022

Show notes

Recently, President Biden signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring all US states and territories to recognize same-sex and interracial civil marriages. But that isn’t all the new law does: it also fortifies religious liberty protections. As today’s guests describe, it’s perhaps because the Respect for Marriage Act does both things that it garnered bipartisan congressional support. In this episode, we're joined by Tim Schultz, president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, a DC advocacy organization that has worked for the last decade to advance religious freedom in state legislatures. Tim worked closely with leaders of diverse religious minority organizations—and national gay rights lobby organizations—to help foster the conditions needed to make this law and its commitment to Christian pluralism possible. Joining him is Tim Dalrymple, president and CEO of Christianity Today, one of the country's most influential evangelical publications.

Guests

Tim Schultz

Tim Dalrymple

Additional Resources

"Everything You Need to Know About the Respect for Marriage Act," by Carl Esbeck in Christianity Today

1st Amendment Partnership

Christianity Today

Respect for Marriage Act

Rev. Russell Levenson and Kelsey Dallas: Witness to Dignity Nov 30, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Russell Levenson, Rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, TX. In conversation with Kelsey Dallas of Deseret News, Levenson discusses his new book, Witness to Dignity, about the life and faith of George H.W. and Barbara Bush who attended St. Martin’s for over fifty years.
Guests

Russell Levenson

Kelsey Dallas

Additional Resources

Witness to Dignity: The Life and Faith of George H.W. and Barbara Bush, by Russell Levenson

"People of faith, pessimism and American politics," by Kelsey Dallas

Elliott Abrams and Will Inboden: The Legacy of Ronald Reagan Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Today's conversation is about the leadership, faith, historical record, and implications of the national security policy of Ronald Reagan. This exchange between two seasoned national security officials with unusual expertise is rooted in a hot-off-the-press new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, by Will Inboden, who is joined for this episode by Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Guests:

Elliott Abrams

Will Inboden

Additional Resources:

The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink, by Will Inboden

"Remembering Mikhail Gorbachev," by Will Inboden

Greg Thompson and Anne Snyder: On Hospitality, Imagination, and Writing Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Anne Snyder is one of Faith Angle’s newest Advisory Board members. She currently hosts The Whole Person Revolution podcast, and earlier this year she co-edited a volume entitled Breaking Ground, with over 45 short essays published throughout the pandemic. Spurring today’s conversation, since May 2019 Anne has served as Editor in Chief of Comment Magazine. She is joined by one of its current contributors, Greg Thompson, who is the co-director of Voices Underground, a Pennsylvania-based, HBCU-affiliated initiative that promotes African American cultural history through scholarly research, community experiences, and historical memorialization. This conversation explores themes from Greg's regular Comment column, "The Welcome Table", which weaves together history, race, memory, hospitality, and a theology of belonging.

Guests

Additional Resources

Reparations: A Christian Call for Repentance and Repair, by Gregory Thompson and Duke Kwon

The Whole Person Revolution Podcast , with Anne Snyder

Bonnie Kristian and Jonathan Rauch: On the Knowledge Crisis Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Bonnie Kristian discusses her brand new book, Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Her haunting phrase, “the knowledge crisis,” was perhaps popularized last year by another compelling book from Jonathan Rauch, the senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Jon’s 2021 book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, and as he explains in more detail, the book describes the essential conditions and institutions necessary for maintaining the basic building blocks of shared human understanding in a free society. This is a rich conversation between the two of them on how to steer clear from getting lost in the vortex of news that sometimes swirls.

Guests

Bonnie Kristian

Jonathan Rauch

Additional Resources

Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community, by Bonnie Kristian

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch

”What’s Wrong with Christian Nationalism?” with Paul D. Miller and Samuel Perry Sep 16, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Paul D. Miller of Georgetown University and Samuel L. Perry of the University of Oklahoma sit down for an insightful, timely conversation about Christian nationalism. Highlighting themes from Paul's newly-released book, The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism, both guests offer a historically-rooted definition of Christian nationalism, analyze journalists' coverage of this rapidly-spreading ideology, and explore key differences between Christian nationalism and generative patriotism that bears faithful witness in the public square.

Guests:

Paul D. Miller

Samuel L. Perry

Additional Resources:

The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism?, by Paul D. Miller

The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, by Samuel Perry and Philip Gorski

Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, by Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead

Mike Cosper and Jon Ward: On ”The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

If you’re an evangelical insider, the name Mike Cosper and his “Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast series, published by Christianity Today in 2021, is almost certainly familiar for its artful retelling of the story of a Seattle megachurch pastored by Mark Driscoll. In this episode, Cosper, who is the director of podcasting for Christianity Today, is joined by Jon Ward of Yahoo News. Together, they examine what it is about the structure of megachurches that leaves them prone to the quick rise and fall of a charismatic leader. How does that compare to American politics—especially when our parties have weakened? And how does Mike’s 15-year experience as a pastor temper what he and his colleagues chose to see, and hold up, in this magnificent podcast that took American listeners by storm last year?

Guests

Mike Cosper

Jon Ward

Additional Resources

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill Podcast, by Mike Cosper

Testimony: Inside an Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation, by Jon Ward

Simran Jeet Singh and Ari Goldman: The Light We Give Aug 09, 2022

Show notes

On this episode, we are joined by Simran Jeet Singh, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program, and Ari Goldman, Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, for a nuanced conversation about American religious pluralism and identity through the lens of Sikh theology and practice. Our guests explore themes from Simran’s recently-released book, The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, and discuss how Sikh religion invites us to find joy in humility, sacrificial love, and service towards our neighbor, practices with profound implications for broader American society.

Guests

Simran Jeet Singh

Ari Goldman

Additional Resources

The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, by Simran Jeet Singh

The Search for God at Harvard, by Ari Goldman