Complexified

The American Dream… is complicated.  It always has been. For some - this dream has been a nightmare … a mirage in a forsaken desert. A myth. For others, it’s been an oasis from hardship, oppression, violence. … a vision realized through physical freedom and material success. This season on Complexified, we’re asking: Where did the myth of the American dream come from? What’s it got to do with reli...

 Denise is an award-winning Latina filmmaker and cultural storyteller. Denise is the American-born daughter of first-generation immigrants from Puerto Rico, growing up first in the Bronx and then in a mostly white community further upstate in New York. She never felt like she belonged anywhere. not white enough and American enough for the suburban community around her. Nor fluent enough in Spanish...

Dr. Butler is the founder of the seekr project, a distinctively black conversational artificial intelligence with mental health capacities, and is partner director of the Iliff School of Theology's  AI Institute, where he works to change how computers see people.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian is a political strategist, dad, and the first gentleman of the seventh congressional district in Colorado. We discuss the tension between incrementalism and revolutions and how religious ideologies influence our political mindsets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out Dr. Yetunde's books!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For more information about Dr. De La Torre, visit his website and check out all 42 of his books!  "All that you touch, you change. All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change. " Octavia E. Buter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OCTAVIA E. BUTLER - The Parable Series Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amanda and Lex talk about their favorite episodes and what they've learned in these first two seasons of the Complexified podcast! They also share the vision and what you can expect for season 3! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are approaching the holiday season, and many folks have questions and anxieties about sharing space with family members with whom we disagree based on our political understanding and involvement in the world. Sarah Holland and Beth Silvers from Pantsuit Politics talk with Amanda, and they help us approach the holidays with family and engage them in political discussions rooted in love and care....

Reverend Dr. Jennifer Leath speaks on liberation and the AME church. We hear about her journey growing up as a Quare young person knowing that she was called to preach and how she had to make choices aligned with HER TRUTH. We also dive into her decision to move to Canada and her quest to become a mother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why does the government care so much about our bodies and whether we have babies? Get nerdy with us as we talk with philosophy professor Thomas Nail, and explore the history of governments forming the populations they want to govern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rabbi Joe Black joins us in the studio to share his moving music and poetry. Rabbi Joe helps us understand what Jewish tradition teaches about abortion and shares his own story of navigating difficult life and death decisions in his own family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our conversation about religion, politics, and abortion with biblical scholar, pastor, and professor of New Testament at Iliff School of Theology, Reverend Dr. Eric Smith. Eric and Amanda talk about some of the ways the Bible is used in anti-abortion arguments and how it shapes our society and our cultural expectations. We ask what the Bible can actually teach us to understand about ab...

Iliff Student Lex Dunbar and host Amanda Henderson share their personal stories about their relationships with the anti-abortion movement and journies toward championing equitable reproductive health and justice. These stories are powerful and eye-opening - unveiling the truth behind the manipulation, harm, and misuse of religious ideals that uphold the anti-abortion movement in their missionary e...

Born in a Church, and raised moving between the worlds of poverty in Jamaica Queens, and private school in the wealthy Upper East Side of New York City, Ann Marie Benitez knows what access to healthcare looks like when you have resources, and when you dont. Listen in to learn about Reproductive Justice, and the realities people of color face when trying to access reproductive healthcare after the...

Over the last year, a number of things have happened that signal an alarming change in American life: church and state seem to be no longer separate. In this episode, lawyer, advocate, strategist, and President and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Rachel Laser tells the stories of those whose lives are directly impacted when the Supreme Court favors one religious ide...

Articles mentioned in the episode:  Understanding Christian Nationalism - Diana Butler Bass Colorado Politicians Address Christian Fundamentalists in Woodland Park - Heidi Beedle Rep. Boebert tells churchgoers to ‘rise up’ at far-right Christian conference -  Chase Woodruff DeSantis’ ‘full armor of God’ rhetoric reaches Republicans. But is he playing with fire? - Ana Ceballos Report on Christian n...

Check out Ian's podcast "The Get More Smarter Podcast" on all streaming platforms!      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rev. Dr. Jacqui’s newest book,  Fierce Love,  "is a manifesto for all generations, a universalist’s vision for mending our broken hearts and fractured world" - Get your copy TODAY!  For more wisdom from Rev. Lewis, check out her podcast "LOVE. PERIOD. WITH REV. DR. JACQUI LEWIS"  For more resources on the historical connection between anti-Black racism and abortion see the article links below:  Th...

To many, Rob Schenck is THE father of the anti-choice movement. As a young pastor, he drew headlines for a stunt in which a dead fetus was thrust at president Bill Clinton. Later, as you’ll hear, Rob had the ears – and the hearts and pens – of conservative Supreme Court justices. In this provocative conversation, Rob shares his fundamental transformation and how he came to see- and fight- the full...

With the first two episodes under our belt, Host Amanda Henderson and Iliff graduate student Lex Dunbar dig into the key takeaways they hope our listeners come away with after the first two episodes: 1) The idea that there are clear god-ordained, universal religious teachings about gender, sexuality, and marriage as we know them today is a myth. 2) Regulation of bodies, sexuality, and marriage rel...

State Representative Sam Park is a native Georgian born and raised by a single mother who instilled in him the importance of faith, family and hard work. Sam's grandparents were refugees from the Korean War who moved to the US in the early 1980's in pursuit of the “American Dream.” After receiving a Fellowship in Civil Rights and Constitutional Law from American University Washington College of La...

Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted author, pastor, activist, and public theologian working at the intersection of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal. He is the author of seven books on spirituality, justice, and theology.  Robertson has multiple publications such as TIME Magazine, San Diego Union Tribune, and The New York Times. Named by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the top faith le...

It’s been a ROUGH few years. If you’re like me, you feel overwhelmed. Worrying about what we’re living through, what scary headline we might see next  — and what we can DO about it.  Why can’t we keep our kids safe from guns? Why are voting rights under attack? Why can’t we even talk about abortion, gender, sexuality, or racism?  How we got here is not a mystery. And we’ll talk about that.  (Rob S...