The RELEVANT Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 1319: Meryl Streep as Aslan? Plus Christian Bale's Foster Village & the Case for Boredom Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

This week, the crew gets philosophical fast. Jesse makes the case that cornhole can cure the loneliness epidemic, Derek wants to bring back boredom and we figure out how doing nothing on a flight became an achievement. Derek also plays his new single 'Lift Me Up' and explains why he built it on the old synths instead of the easy way.

In RELEVANT Buzz, Greta Gerwig cast Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan in the upcoming Narnia movie, and the comments did what the comments do. Jesse defends it, Derek explains it with potato salad and a text from someone who's actually seen the movie changes the conversation.

Then Christian Bale opens a village so foster siblings don't get split up, which makes him the real Batman. Elevation Worship and Chandler Moore's 'God I'm Just Grateful' just did something a worship song hasn't done since 'Oceans.' And Jesse brings a CDC report that says most of us are exhausted, which turns into Bob Goff quitting something every Thursday and why no one ever preaches "pray for less."

Then a new game, Take Sides, closes it out: Chick-fil-A vs. Raising Cane's, window vs. aisle, Waffle House as a life stage and Derek's very strong feelings about hot tubs.

Highlights:

01:28 — Jesse's plan to cure loneliness with cornhole

07:54 — Derek deleted social media. Bring back boredom

10:33 — Raw dogging a flight and the David Puddy origin story

17:22 — Derek's new single 'Lift Me Up' and curating Apple Music's Elevate playlist

24:09 — RELEVANT Buzz: The CDC says 3 in 4 Americans are exhausted (guess who's most tired)

29:35 — Bob Goff quits something every Thursday

32:15 — Why nobody preaches "pray for less"

34:14 — Warren Buffett hands Berkshire to his son

35:00 — The real Batman: Christian Bale's foster village opens

38:32 — Meryl Streep as Aslan? The Narnia fight

42:04 — Derek's potato salad theory of Narnia

48:34 — A text from inside the movie

50:51 — Elevation Worship & Chandler Moore crack the Hot 100

53:01 — Take Sides: Chick-fil-A vs. Raising Cane's, hot tub vs. pool

Episode 1318: Andrew Garfield, Claire Rosinkranz and the New Issue of RELEVANT Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

It's a special (shorter) episode this week! Andrew Garfield joins us — we talk about his new Paul Greengrass film 'The Uprising,' why he keeps coming back to characters who are searching and what he thinks faith has to do with justice.

Then pop artist Claire Rosinkranz talks with us backstage at Lollapalooza. She gets into the moment she says she heard God at 11 years old, what her therapist told her when she felt like she'd stopped hearing Him and why she grieves her younger self. (Plus some lighter stuff too.)

And then Cameron briefly takes us through the new fall digital issue of RELEVANT, which is out this week. Make sure to check it out at RELEVANTmagazine.com!

Highlights:

02:41 — Andrew Garfield on 'The Uprising'

15:35 — Claire Rosinkranz

25:01 — Inside the new issue of RELEVANT

Episode 1317: Cory Asbury on His Return to Worship Music, Plus Zelda's Secret Christian Past Sep 09, 2026

Show notes

This week Cory Asbury joins us. He walked away from worship music five years ago—we talk about what pulled him back and why it's different this time. His new worship record, Outsing the Angels, is out September 18.

In Slices, Jesse brings up the Tesla Cyber Cab, which is now driving around Austin with no steering wheel, no rearview mirror and no brake pedal, and the federal government has questions. (He also has a theory about what’s actually driving them.) Derek tells us how Skilla Baby’s prayer took over The Breakfast Club this week, and Marty tells the story of the 1986 Zelda art where Link is kneeling in a church praying to Jesus.

Also, water parks are the last lawless place in America, and somebody in Virginia Beach burned down a 50-foot gorilla named Hugh Mungus.

Then One Has to Go closes it out: find out what slow jams, Good Charlotte, and Fast and Furious have in common.

Highlights:

03:00 — Water parks: the last lawless place in America

06:22 — Hugh Mungus, the 50-foot gorilla an arsonist burned down

11:17 — Slices: Tesla's Cyber Cab shipped without a brake pedal, and the feds noticed

18:48 — Marty walks away from a Waymo wreck

21:38 — Skilla Baby's prayer alarm goes off on The Breakfast Club

26:06 — Link was praying to Jesus, and Nintendo of America took it out

31:53 — Bible Adventures, bootleg cartridges and the Christian Marvel comics

33:52 — Cory Asbury on leaving worship music and what brought him back

42:39 — One Has to Go

Episode 1316: SEU Worship, Anna Faris on Her Son's Faith and Ella Langley Can't Stop Talking About God Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

This week SEU Worship joins us — we talk about the SEU Outpouring and their new album 'Found in the Field.'

In RELEVANT Buzz, 'Scary Movie' star Anna Faris opens up on Chelsea Handler's podcast about her 14-year-old son and the conversations he keeps having with her about Jesus. Then the biggest artist in music right now, Ella Langley, is rewriting the record books and getting bolder about God from the stage. We play what she said at a recent show. Then there's 'Death of the Pastor's Wife,' the new Netflix series about Mica Miller, the South Carolina pastor's wife whose death became a national story.

In Slices, a 47-year-old Bay Area pastor made a college football roster and is now a defensive end at a community college. And scientists have worked out how to turn plastic bottles into protein cookies for disaster zones and deep space crews (nobody has actually eaten one yet).

We close the show with a bracket game ranking five years of Emily’s time at RELEVANT: the Eras Tour, girl dinner, jalapeño poppers, a church prom photo. It's her last episode with us, and we send her off the right way.

Coincidentally, we also let you know about some new job openings over at RELEVANTmediagroup.com.

Highlights:

02:24 — Derek on teenagers again

04:52 — The lame duck era

08:59 — Derek's Dell call center exit stories

13:37 — Jesse quits Kmart

17:06 — RELEVANT Buzz: Anna Faris on her son Jack's faith

21:58 — Ella Langley's record-breaking run and her mini sermon

26:26 — 'Death of the Pastor's Wife' on Netflix

30:33 — SEU Worship on 'Found in the Field'

38:34 — Slices: a 47-year-old pastor makes a college football roster

44:09 — Slices: plastic bottles into protein cookies

47:17 — The Emily Brown Bracket Challenge

58:34 — Five years of Emily Brown

59:37 — We're hiring

Michael Cochren, Columbia House Finally Dies & the New Church Abuse Database — Ep. 1315 Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

This week we're joined by Michael Cochren, the soul-and-blues frontman of Cochren & Co. He talks about the eight years he spent waiting on an answer from God and why he refuses to say God is good just because things finally worked out. We spotlight the band's new album, 'Runs in the Blood.'

In RELEVANT Buzz, Cory Asbury posted and deleted a shirtless workout photo, apologized for it and then got roasted by every friend he has in Christian music. Also, survivors launched the first national database of Protestant leaders accused of abuse, years after the SBC voted to build one and then let it die. And The Promised Land, the Moses workplace mockumentary that started as a YouTube pilot, just signed Lionsgate and got a second season.

In Slices, Columbia House is finally shutting down, which mostly raises the question of how it was still open, and one of us confesses to running a stack of accounts under slightly different names to get free CDs as a teenager. And a woman in New Zealand went into cardiac arrest in a supermarket parking lot, got revived by a stranger and then got a parking ticket for it.

Also in here: a follow-up on the resting heart rate situation, a public service announcement about energy drinks, and the actual reason last week's episode showed up five days late.

One Has to Go closes it out. And we're still taking answers to last week's question: What's something you wish you'd known going into your freshman year of college? Drop it in the comments or @ us. We're running your answers in a piece this week.

Highlights:

01:21 — Marty's new house and the California no-AC problem

04:07 — Is the house haunted

06:15 — The resting heart rate follow-up and a Celsius warning

07:48 — C4, Sour Patch Kids flavor and two hours of pins and needles

11:35 — David Blaine, stunt magic and the four kinds of magician

19:15 — Emily is podcasting from what appears to be a TJ Maxx dressing room

21:04 — Kohl's cash

22:13 — RELEVANT Buzz: Cory Asbury takes down the shirtless photo and apologizes

28:08 — Survivors launch the first national database of accused Protestant abusers

30:09 — The Promised Land gets a second season and Lionsgate

31:33 — Michael Cochren of Cochren & Co.

39:12 — Slices: Columbia House is shutting down after 71 years

43:34 — She died in a parking lot and still got a ticket

48:34 — Why last week's episode was late

50:05 — One Has to Go

Episode 1314: Montell Jordan, Ryan Ellis and 40,000 Pope Hats Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

This week, "This Is How We Do It" singer Montell Jordan joins us. He and his wife, Kristin, went from platinum records and world tours to planting a church, and they talk about what was missing in the middle of all that success. Also on the show, Ryan Ellis, who spent a decade writing worship music and now shows us what else he’s got. We spotlight his new album, ‘No Halo.’

In RELEVANT Buzz, Saints quarterback Drew Brees went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and built his speech around the day Christ changed his life. In other sports news, the Chicago White Sox handed out a record-breaking number of Pope hats. A new Harvard study suggests the loneliness epidemic may not be for the reasons we assume. And Stranger Things actor Caleb McLaughlin opens up about his faith journey.

In Slices, the FAA solved its air traffic controller shortage by advertising the job to gamers, and a guy in San Francisco bought a billboard for an AI chatbot that turns out to be him. One Has to Go closes it out, and we tell you about four open positions we’ve posted at relevantmediagroup.com.

Editorial Question of the Week: What's something you wish you knew before starting your freshman year? Drop it in the comments or on our socials. We'll read the best ones on next week's show and turn them into an article at relevantmagazine.com.

Highlights:

01:53 — Derek on teenage boys

04:15 — New York smells and we fix it

08:36 — Cameron's resting heart rate becomes a group intervention

17:20 — RELEVANT Buzz: Drew Brees' Hall of Fame speech

19:03 — The time Oprah tried to wipe off Drew Brees' birthmark on live TV

23:11 — The White Sox gave away 40,000 Pope hats

26:02 — Harvard says loneliness tracks with income, not gender

31:05 — Caleb McLaughlin on the faith he found on his own

34:41 — Montell and Kristin Jordan

40:30 — Ryan Ellis

47:34 — Slices: The FAA recruited gamers to run air traffic control

51:26 — The San Francisco AI chatbot that is one guy typing

59:10 — Editorial Question of the Week

59:45 — One Has to Go

Episode 1313: Lily Hooten of Housefires, Mike Posner Gets Baptized & the Rise of Solo Maxxing Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

This week we're joined by Lily Hooten of Housefires, the Atlanta worship collective, to talk about their new album House Church Vol. 001. She talks with Emily about how the record came together and where the collective is going from here.

In RELEVANT Buzz, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” singer Mike Posner is going public about finding faith, his baptism and laying out what he thinks being a Christian actually requires of him. We also get into a Gen Z trend that gives singleness a rebrand, plus the A-list artists selling mystery concert tickets for a low price to combat rising concert prices.

In Slices, The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers says he's thinking about quitting music and points at his dad as the reason, and Cameron brings a story about maybe the real reason people are stealing those Flock surveillance cameras. Somewhere in there Jesse invents the meeting poncho, which he is convinced is a great idea. And Emily has a can’t-miss announcement at the end of the show.

Editorial Question of the Week: What's a worship song lyric you can't unhear once you notice it? Drop your answer in the comments or @ us. We're reading them on next week's episode.

Highlights:

02:52 — Jesse's home alone and after 10 hours the house is already destroyed

11:22 — The meeting shirt, and the case for a back flap

16:07 — SkyMall is somehow still online

18:19 — Sharper Image vs. Brookstone, peak capitalism

22:27 — RELEVANT Buzz: Mike Posner gets baptized

28:06 — Gen Z, dating apps and solo maxxing

33:24 — Mystery concert tickets, with one catch

36:15 — Lily Hooten of Housefires

43:36 — Slices: Brandon Flowers on quitting music

47:35 — Google's AI said Flock cameras are full of gold

52:50 — Editorial Question of the Week

53:43 — Emily has an announcement

Episode 1312: Bear Grylls Takes Jesus Into the Wild, Spider-Man Breaks Every Record and Our Lolla Recap Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

This week, adventurer Bear Grylls joins us to tell us about The Chosen in the Wild, his new Prime Video series debuting Sunday. He takes the cast into Utah canyons and the Great Basin Desert, and tells us what Jonathan Roumie is actually like off camera.

We also have Emily’s recap of a memorable Lollapalooza this past weekend, Spider-Man: Brand New Day making U.S. box office history, and movie theaters having a record-setting comeback. We also get into the professor who found a way to catch students using AI on exams, and Arizona State announcing a new degree that’s getting a lot of ridicule, but Jesse thinks is a great idea. And we tell the tale of Katy Perry getting stuck in a human-sized inflatable water bottle at a recent concert.

This week’s question of the week: what's a random habit you picked up that's genuinely improved your life? Drop your answer in the comments or @ us. We're reading them on next week's episode.

Highlights:

01:25 — A father-sons weekend in New York

03:22 — The Devil Wears Prada 2, reviewed from the runway

05:44 — Lollapalooza recap: Grant Park is enormous

07:15 — The case for wheels on your feet

11:47 — Lorde, Olivia Dean and a very wet weekend

14:54 — The rain delay, a canceled set and The Neighbourhood's missing instruments

18:34 — Lolla fashion: vintage NBA jerseys and brat crop tops

20:29 — Charli xcx, "Rock Music" and what artists owe their fans

25:20 — Marty moves on up

27:26 — Sitcom shared universes

30:12 — RELEVANT Buzz: Spider-Man breaks the all-time box office record

36:05 — The professor who caught 32 students using AI

38:12 — Bear Grylls on The Chosen in the Wild

42:02 — Slices: Arizona State's influencer degree

46:49 — Slices: Katy Perry vs. a giant water bottle

50:56 — Question of the Week

Episode 1311: Tim Tebow and Kirk Cousins on Human Trafficking, Plus Grace Runkle and Dr. Phil's UFO Thoughts Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

This week we're joined by Tim Tebow and Kirk Cousins, two of the most recognizable quarterbacks in the game who have both spent years on the same fight. We talk about World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which is this week — Tebow on what opened his eyes to the scale of it, Cousins on how his faith turned into two decades of advocacy.

In RELEVANT Buzz, new research from the Billy Graham Center Research Institute found that 48% of Gen Z adults say Christians' support of Trump has made them less likely to go to church.

In RELEVANT Recommends we spotlight Grace Runkle, who is about as inspired by Elevation Worship as she is by Japanese House.

In Slices, the White House asked Dr. Phil to review the UFO files and gauge how the public would take the news, and he came away infuriated. And a woman in New York is suing McDonald's over fries that were too hot, which is either a legitimate grievance or the end of hot food as we know it.

Then it's your worst Christian breakup lines. Brother in Christ. Personal Eve. Unequal yokes. Then a quick round of "One Has to Go" gets into golden retrievers, communion bread and Sunday naps.

Then it's this week’s Question of the Week: what's your go-to struggle meal? Drop your answer in the comments or @ us, we're reading them on next week's episode.

Highlights:

00:00 — Intro / episode rundown

02:40 — Black people love hibachi and Jesse's ban from the Mongolian barbecue buffet

08:46 — RELEVANT Buzz: World Day Against Trafficking in Persons with Tim Tebow

11:50 — Kirk Cousins on faith and advocacy

14:05 — Cameras off, FaceTime etiquette and the unk defense

17:48 — Cookout has the worst menu in fast food

21:21 — RELEVANT Buzz: 48% of Gen Z avoids church because of Christian support for Trump

24:50 — RELEVANT Recommends: Grace Runkle

26:57 — Slices: Dr. Phil, the UFO files and soft disclosure

38:33 — The McDonald's hot fries lawsuit

41:45 — Your Feedback: Worst Christian breakup lines

45:50 — "One Has to Go"

49:34 — Question of the Week: What’s your go-to struggle meal?

52:55 — Outro

Episode 1310: Elevation Rhythm, Plus Baker Mayfield's Faith & Sylvester Stallone on Skipping Church Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

This week, we're joined by Davide Mutendji of Elevation Rhythm, whose new album WASHED just dropped. He tells us about the heart behind the project and how Drake became a surprising inspiration for the worship group.

In RELEVANT Buzz, the trailer for ‘I Play Rocky’ arrived, and it sent us down a rabbit hole into Sylvester Stallone's faith journey — including a conversation where he calls out Christians who think they can skip church. (Rocky would never!) We also dig into a new study finding only one in three young adults are dating even though nearly all of them want to get married (the reasons are bleak). And with the new season of ‘Quarterback’ out on Netflix, we look at Baker Mayfield's road from college wild child to a real-deal faith story.

In Slices, a school district in New York is putting a humanoid robot named in classrooms, and Jesse loves it. And Derek shows us the clip of the grandpa getting flipped by a bison this week. Plus we settle once and for all whether Medusa is in ‘The Odyssey.’

Then in feedback we have your rent-free reality TV moments, and we ask this week’s Question of the Week: what's the worst Christian breakup line of all time? Drop your answer in the comments — we're reading our favorites next week.

Highlights:

00:00 — Intro / Emily reviews The Odyssey

07:41 — RELEVANT Buzz: ‘I Play Rocky’ & Stallone's church call-out

26:14 — Why two-thirds of young adults aren't dating

33:32 — ‘Quarterback’ & Baker Mayfield's faith journey

41:25 — Davide Mutendji of Elevation Rhythm

50:04 — Slices: The robot teacher coming to New York classrooms

53:08 — Grandpa vs. bison

58:08 — Your feedback: Reality TV moments living rent-free