Faith and Pop Culture

In the second to last episode of the year, we talk about the implications that come with Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros., dive deep into the newest "Knives Out" film, and more!  TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction, We Dropped the Ball! 2:37 Netflix's Newest Acquisition 17:45 Discussing Knives Out 3 46:30 Things Nyah Likes That You Should Like, Too MENTIONS: Netflix Acquisition: https://about.netfl...

Writer and Director Rian Johnson's newest film, "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" comes out on Netflix on December 12, 2025.  TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction 0:40 What is the genesis of your creative process? 2:15 Did Chesterton's "Father Brown" stories influence this film at all? 3:22 How did your Christian childhood influence this story? 5:50 How important to you was remaining authentic to...

On this episode of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast we break down the Pope's speech on the importance of cinema and examine the appearance of a PG-movie box-office takeover. Forrest Frank is back, speaking out against AI musician Solomon Ray who's songs have recently topped Christian music charts. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro 2:10 The Rise of PG Popularity 16:45 The Pope's Cinematic Speech 30:45 The So...

As a little bonus for this Thanksgiving, enjoy this conversation with a couple of the Smallbone brothers about life, music, and their newest documentary. FOR KING + COUNTRY: NO TURNING BACK is now available on  Wonder Project's subscription channel on Prime Video in the U.S. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction  3:05 What sight do you believe young people have that turn them away from God's gaze? What do...

To celebrate Thanksgiving week, we decided to post an extra special conversation! The Bensons' docu-series "Redemption" is now available on Wonder Project's subscription on Prime Video. Check it out now! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro 0:25 What made you want to make "Redemption?" And why follow Ohio State?  1:45 How did you get involved in making this doc-series?  2:33 What was it like hearing about God's...

Craig Detweiler is an author, cultural commentator, and dean of the College of Arts and Media at Grand Canyon University. He's part of the Faith and Media Initiative Coalition and his latest book, titled "Honest Creativity," talks about why AI will not replace human creatives. His contact and information is linked below.  Craig Detweiler's Instagram Craig Detweiler's Facebook Craig Detweiler's web...

With guest Joseph Holmes, writer and director of Jim vs. the Future, his debut feature, we chat about the Christian worldview and imagination as well as how the roles Christian critics and filmmakers can come together to improve the faith-based film landscape. All that and more on episode 65 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction  2:15 Jim vs the Future Elevator Pitch 5...

Check out Walker-Silverman's newest film, "Rebuilding," out November 14th, 2025! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction  0:30 What does rebuilding mean to you? 2:45 What makes Colorado so special? 4:55 What makes beauty in art so powerful? 7:50 What is the significance of the name "Dusty"? 10:05 Are there any lessons you've learned from making this film that have bled into your life now? 12:38 What do you h...

Holmes's debut feature film is released today! Check out Jim vs. the Future here . TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction  1:56 What was your inspiration behind "Jim vs. the Future"? 7:44 How did your faith influence the way you told this story? 17:20 What excites you about sci-fi and fiction genres in Christian filmmaking? 26:30 What do you hope people take away from Jim vs. the Future? Make sure to subscr...

A so-called Christian horror movie is set to release next Friday. Two fall events within a month of each other, led by Gen Z influencers, encouraged Gen Z to get off of their phones and outside in their community. All that and more on episode 64 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 1:45 Anti-Social Media Movement 10:50 Discussing "The Carpenter's Son" 23:40 Should Chr...

This week, we unpack the recent findings from this year's Teens and Screens survey and various arguments on whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween. All that and more on episode 62 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction 1:10 Teens and Screens Survey Findings 16:50 Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? 44:39 Things Daniel likes that You Should Like, Too Men...

This week, we talk about Last Days , a biopic by Justin Lin about the 26-year-old Missionary, John Allen Chau, who was killed by the very people he was trying to minister to. Director Lin is not a Christian, so how should we view a film about a Christian whom many view as a martyr? There are three possible halftime shows for the Super Bowl in February, including an alternative Christian one. Does...

Forrest Frank won't be attending award shows anymore? How do we balance humility and excellence? What does the new free-to-stream show on YouTube, "The Promised Land" teach us about genre exploration in Christian movies? All that and more on episode 61 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast!   TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Introduction and Changes 2:00 Forrest Frank's Award Show Convictions 11:06 Humility vs. Exc...

Welcome the newest member of The Collision team, filmmaker and Georgia State Alum, Nyah Carlson. How do we engage in the arts as Christians? Is Tilly Norwood, the newest AI bot actress, a big PR stunt or a real threat to filmmaking? All that and more on Episode 60 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast. To check out Micah Mondt's Music, click here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Ep14ABmGFV7mGiChED...

Pastor Josh predicted the rapture to happen September 23-24, but we're still here? Was Nicolas Cage really in "Left Behind"? In light of recent events, should Christians engage with culture by trying to subtract from or add to the world? Erika Kirk's memorial speech created ripples of forgiveness. All this and more on episode 59 of the Faith and Pop Culture Podcast. TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction 3...

Sam and Daniel are joined by Dr. Shannan Baker and Marc Jolicoeur from Worship Leader Research to talk about their work in the worship music industry, where popular worship songs come from, who's making them and what that means for the church. Find out more about WLR at https://worshipleaderresearch.com/ Links to some of the articles mentioned: https://worshipleaderresearch.com/100-of-the-top-25-w...

KPop Demon Hunters has become a full blown cultural phenomenon, is it the most Christian movie Hollywood has delivered? Cracker Barrel managed to rebrand then revert to the old brand all before we could finish our chicken and dumplings. The Wonder Project enters the streaming service, but should it? Nicholas Cage is featured in a new horror Jesus movie? All this and more on episode 57 of the Faith...

Is AI art bad? Will it kill creativity? Are there any upsides to AI? How should the church think about AI? We talk about all this and more on this week's episode with special guest Nathan Clarkson. Aside from contributing to thecollision.com Nathan is an author, actor, filmmaker, podcast and great human. Connect with him at www.nathanclarkson.me Read Nathan's piece on AI: https://thecollision.org/...

Taylor Swift announces her 12th album, Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ get's a double sequel, Christian Music is breaking Records on the Billboard Charts, Gal Gadot blames politics for Snow White failure. All this and more on this week's episode of Faith and Pop Culture. Interview with Natalie Mejia: https://youtu.be/w_tR81yEhYw Full video on Christian Music Breaking Billboard Records: https://...

We talk with conductor and filmmaker Jackson Allred about his debut film, Harmony of Freedom, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act through the unique lens of Music. How does an orchestra director end up becoming a film director for his final project? What was the process like directing a film? All this and more on this week's episode of Faith and Pop Culture. Connect wi...

Are we too obsessed with the box-office numbers? Is Sketch from Angel Studios a new template for faith-based movies to follow? Are AI disclaimers at the end of movie credits actually doing anything? All this and more on this week's episode of Faith and Pop Culture. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 RIP Hulk Hogan 08:24 The Impact of AI in Entertainment 19:15 Sketch: A New Template for Faith-Bas...

Chip and Joanna Gaines draw heat from their christian base for normalizing same-sex parents in their new reality TV show. Coldplay is so much more than a band now. All this and more on this episode of Faith and Pop Culture. Check out the roundtable with Lifetime's leading Actresses in their summer series of faith-forward movies: https://youtu.be/dWogndQZBpo TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Introduction  10:09 Su...

Today we chat with author, script writer, speaker and professor Sean Gaffney on things ranging from the differences in theater vs. movies, the need for christian story tellers in our culture and his new book Meta Story: What Marvel & The Messiah Can Teach Us About Storytelling. All this and more on this week's episode of Faith and Pop Culture. Connect with Sean here: https://gaffneyinkwell.com/ Bu...

Is James Gunn's Superman finally the Superman we've been waiting for? Returning for a second time, culture critic, author and filmmaker Joseph Holmes joins us to discuss this and other important topics on this week's episode of Faith and Pop Culture. Connect with Joseph at josephholmesstudio.com X @normalguy8 Link to The Times article mentioned: https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/james-...

We dive into why all of christian media seems to be obsessed with being 'positive' and 'uplifting' all the time and whether or not that is actually good or even biblical. Plus, the Wonder Project (House of David) is getting it's own streaming service under the Amazon umbrella so if you are planning to see season two of The House of David, you're going to have to pay for it. All that and more on th...