Saved by the City

Latest Episodes:

Women Are Shaking Up the Vatican + Claire Giangravé Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

A synod on synodality? Sign us up!

For the past three years, the global Catholic Church has been undergoing a period of discernment. One of the main issues of contention? Women's ordination.

Given our interest in women's leadership in Protestant churches, we've been very curious how that conversation happens on the Catholic side. And now that we seem to have some clarity on where the Church will land on the issue, at least in the near term, we wanted to have RNS's Vatican reporter, Claire Giangravé, give us the inside scoop.

Plus, some popcorn with the pope.

GUEST:

Claire Giangravéis a Rome-based reporter for RNS, covering the Catholic Church and the Vatican.

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Smokin' Hot Christians and Patriotic Bibles + Micha Boyett on the Dream of God Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

Limits. Schlimits.

On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy have a lot to discuss. Like how a certain subset of evangelical Christians decided purity culture was for the birds and swapped it for "real American beauty" (aka: big boobs, apparently?). Or how the KJV is the best complement to the American Constitution (ironic, no?).

But, really, we're here to talk limits — and why we're embracing them — with friend and author, Micha Boyett.

GUEST:

Micha Boyett is an author, youth pastor, podcaster and Down syndrome advocate. She is the author of the new book "Blessed Are the Rest of Us: How Limits and Longing Make Us Whole" and host of the podcast "The Slow Way" and co-host of "The Lucky Few."

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Ditch the Apps! Find a Matchmaker. Apr 07, 2024

Show notes

Do you think you’d like the person your parents picked for you?

Parents being a part of the dating or courting or marriage process is a pretty old idea that has a history in most cultures. But we’ve dropped it almost completely in the U.S. in favor of finding true love ourselves. In fact, our families — and our churches and our communities and our friends — mostly avoid meddling in our dating lives at all. When did dating get so anonymous? And what have we lost along the way? Those are the questions Katelyn and Roxy tackle in this week’s episode. And they’re joined by Richa Karmarkar, RNS’s Hinduism reporter, who gives a little peek into the revival of Indian matchmaking in the diaspora — with an American twist.

GUEST:

Richa Karmarkar is a RNS national reporter covering all things Hindu. She is a graduate of Columbia University with Master’s degrees in Religion and in Journalism. She also holds three Bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies, History, and Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Asking Better Questions + Krista Tippett Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

This episode, Katelyn and Roxy are joined by the GOAT, the legend who arguably started the spiritual podcasting genre, the longtime host of On Being, Krista Tippett. This wide-ranging conversation lingers on some of the more salient questions of our time: What is the role of faith in a technological era? Does religion only divide? How can spiritual practices make a difference in a world that needs action?

GUEST:

Krista Tippett is a journalist and Peabody Award-winning broadcaster. She created and hosts the podcast On Being and is the author of several books, including "Becoming Wise." She was awarded the National Humanities Medal by Barack Obama in 2014.

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Has Politics Poisoned Our Souls? + Michael Wear Mar 21, 2024

Show notes

Another year. Another election heckscape.

Would you talk politics on a first date? Nope. No, definitely not. What about on a 10th? Heck no. In this economy? Americans are not happy with the political landscape at the moment and the general mood going into the 2024 election is, to put it mildly, dread. We're exhausted and this presidential race is a rinse and repeat cycle that it seems no one really wants. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy wade into the shark infested waters of partisan politics — and, we ask, did we go wrong somewhere? Author Michael Wear joins us to say: yes, we did. But maybe not where you think. Wear challenges us to a more soulful politics that, gasp, takes Christianity seriously.

GUEST:

Michael Wear is the founder and president of The Center for Christianity and Public Life. He was a former White House staffer under the Obama administration and is the author of "The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life."

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Seeking Besties in a Romance-Obsessed World + Laura Tremaine Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Maybe the real soulmates are the friends we met along the way.

As marriage has become the end-all, be-all relationship, friendships have been relegated to the "nice to have" category. But at a time when loneliness is being labeled an epidemic, we wonder if this paradigm hasn't stranded us all on islands of our own making. Katelyn and Roxy look at the significant role friendships have played in our lives — especially as single adult women — and ask how we can continue to cultivate intentional community. We are joined by Laura Tremaine (whose husband is definitely not her best friend) for a look at how different types of friends can contribute to our lives (and us to theirs!). Plus, the 10 things we learned about friendship from TV shows set in NYC.

GUEST:

Laura Tremaine is the author of "The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs" and is the host of the podcast, "10 Things To Tell You."

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Blowing Up the Evangelical Bro Code Mar 07, 2024

Show notes

We're all living inside the code.

On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy recount their brushes with the evangelical bro code — that malignant workplace milieu of religion mixed with patriarchy mixed with entitlement. We discuss the nearly two hundred responses women sent to Katelyn on the topic and unpack the Three B's of the Evangelical Bro Code: Breadwinner Bias, The Billy Graham Rule and Bullying. In the end, we wonder: should women even work in male-led evangelical spaces? Is it worth it?

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The World According to GOOP + Rina Raphael Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

That's poog spelled backward.

The wellness industry has scope creep. Is it about health? Self-care? Spirituality? Mud masks? Yes, yes, yes, yes — and so much more. One thing it all seems to have in common though is that it costs money. Marketed primarily to women and promising solutions to every woe, wellness is more in the category of faith than science, but that doesn't keep millions of Americans from seeking their salvation in it ... to the tune of $4.4 trillion a year. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss the appeal of wellness products and the promises they offer — and why they inevitably fall short. Plus, we hear from guest Rina Raphael who, to her surprise, found that organized religion has the corner on the wellness market.

GUEST

Rina Raphael is a journalist writing on health, wellness, tech, and women’s issues. She is the author of the recent book "The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care."

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When God Met Country + Rob Reiner & Dan Partland Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

The Jesus thing always gets in the way.

Did you ever think Rob Reiner — director of such favorites as "When Harry Met Sally," "Princess Bride" and "Spinal Tap" — would make a movie about Christian nationalism? Inconceivable, right? Well, that word doesn't mean what you think it means and yes, he did. The documentary, "God & Country," directed by Dan Partland and produced by Reiner, is based on the book "Power Worshipers" by Katherine Stewart and features a who's who of Christian thinkers (left, middle and slightly right of the ever-shifting center).

On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy talk to Partland and Reiner about why Christian nationalism is, in fact, distinct from Christianity. And we wonder when an American flag next to the pulpit crosses over into the danger zone.

GUESTS:

Dan Partland is a veteran documentary producer and director. He has won two Emmys, for American High and Intervention.
Rob Reiner is the acclaimed director for many of America's favorite films, including "When Harry Met Sally," "Princess Bride" and "Stand By Me."

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ApocryFUN: A Midwinter Series with Tyler Huckabee + Ep. 5: Left Behind Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

The son has come and you've been ...

On each episode of this show, we talk about a popular, influential — or at least lucrative — Christian book from the 90s or 2000s (you know, our era). We discuss how the book shaped American Christianity, our own personal faith journeys, and how it has aged in our current dystopian Christian Nationalist hellscape.

In this episode, Roxy reads Left Behind for the first time and reports back to Tyler. We dig into a word salad of eschatological terms and an absolute feast of evangelical 1990s tropes — Californians and their new age mumbo jumbo, amirite? — as we look at the legacy of this apocalyptic juggernaut on evangelicalism and its politics.

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