Red Letter Christians Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Forging Peace: A Conversation with Scotty Utz Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

This week, we talk to Scotty Utz from RAWtools South and discuss transforming firearms into garden tools and designing faith-informed, survivor-centered rituals around gun destruction. We cover RAWTools' efforts to promote nonviolence through certification programs and their Gun Violence Awareness Month events, including the Blacksmith-a-Marathon, which honors all victims of gun violence.

Connect with Scotty

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Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Legacy of Action: A Conversation with Terry Webb Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

We speak with longtime Red Letter Christian supporter and author Terry Webb about her 94 years of life, how she's grown her faith, and her new book, "Christian Citizenship Endangered in America.” A response to Trumpism and the rise of Christian nationalism shaping U.S. policy.

Connect with Terry

Terry on LinkedIn
email:authorterrywebb@gmail.com
Terry on X: @TrustingTerry
Terry on Instagram:
Terry’s site
Terry’s Substack
Terry on Facebook

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" - Frederick Douglass Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

Originally recorded and published on the RLC Blog on July 3, 2021.

One-hundred and seventy-four years ago, abolitionist, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass gave a speech to the 600 members of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” On July 3, 2021, Christian leaders from around the country gathered virtually with Red Letter Christians to read this powerful piece together.

Read along here:

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Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Beyond Pro-Life: Shane Claiborne Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

In this solo show, Shane Claiborne marks Gun Violence Awareness Month by highlighting Raw Tools' unique mission to transform surrendered weapons into art and garden tools. Specifically, he focuses on their June blacksmith marathon—a powerful initiative memorializing the 40,000 American lives lost annually to gun violence while calling for urgent, commonsense gun reform.

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

From Streets to Classrooms: A Conversation with Brad Jersak Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

This week, we chat with Brad Jersak, from Saint Stephen's University, about living a nonviolent, justice-seeking Christianity that resists the “takeover mentality.” Instead, it acts as the church’s prophetic conscience, echoing Dr. King’s view of laws and heart-change as parallel tracks.

More about Brad

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Hope In The Face of State Violence: A Conversation with Doug Pagitt Jun 11, 2026

Show notes

This week, we revisit the archive with Doug Pagitt of Vote Common Good. We discuss the major deployment of masked federal ICE agents to Minneapolis, amid the city’s post–George Floyd organizing. We hear about the continual need for citizen action, growing clergy solidarity, and sustaining “joy” through music and art as a humanizing response.

More about Doug

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Building Safe Spaces: A Conversation with James Bigham Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

We talk with Dr. James Bigham about moral courage and practical responses to U.S. gun violence, now described as the leading cause of death for ages 1–19, with over 100 deaths daily. He describes collaborations with gun shops and training healthcare professionals, pastors, and other caregivers to address the epidemic.

More about James

Dr. Bigham's initiative: Firearm Injury Prevention: Dr. James Bigham Leads Program for Health Care Providers - UW Family Medicine

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

The Science of Organizing: A Conversation with Maria J. Stephan May 28, 2026

Show notes

This week, we talk with political scientist and civil resistance scholar, Dr. Maria J. Stephan, co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works. We discuss how she was shaped by early community and faith organizing in Vermont, and later by the documentary A Force More Powerful and global nonviolent struggles. Stephan explains research on preventing democratic backsliding and the need for sustained engagement beyond mass protests, through tactics such as boycotts, strikes, walkouts, and noncooperation.

Connect with Maria

Website: Maria Stephan
Instagram: @horizonsprjt
The Horizons Project: The Horizons Project
Nonviolent Action Resources and Training: Nonviolent Action Resources and Training

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Dignity in a Divided World: A Conversation with Tim Shriver May 21, 2026

Show notes

We chat with Tim Shriver—Special Olympics leader, disability rights advocate, and author—who explains how decades with Special Olympics athletes taught him to see people “from the inside out” and recognize dignity as universal, inherent, and not earned.

Connect with Tim

Website: Tim Shriver
Instagram: @timothyshriver
The Dignity Index: The Dignity Index
Need A Lift? Podcast: Need A Lift? with Tim Shriver - Podcast - Apple Podcasts
The Special Olympics: Special Olympics

Connect with RLC

Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/
To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org
Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians
Instagram: @RedLetterXians
Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne
Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne

Defying Empire: A Conversation with Kat Armas May 14, 2026

Show notes

On this episode, Shane sits down with Kat Armas to talk about how we meet this moment as followers of Jesus, the role of prayer and liturgy, and her new book, Liturgies for Resisting Empire.

Connect with Kat