Religion Unplugged

Religion Unplugged culture critic, Joseph Holmes, interviews Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman, writers-directors behind the new faith-based horror movie “Nefarious.” They discuss their careers in the faith-based film industry (spanning "God's Not Dead" and "Unplanned"), working as Catholics in Evangelical spaces, and whether the world is really getting better or worse.

The seven-story temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints looms high above the Interstate 495 Beltway in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. — and someone spray-painted on an adjoining wall “Free Dorothy,” inspired by “The Wizard of Oz.” The six gold-tipped spires of the temple, originally dedicated in 1974, stoke intrigue like Emerald City in the 1939 movie starring Judy Garl...

Sergei Chapnin is a senior fellow at the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University in New York City. He’s also an art curator and journalist. He was once the executive editor at The Journal of The Moscow Patriarchate before he had a falling out with leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church over his concerns that the church was becoming too close to the state and to Vladimir Putin. Chap...

Some of the most exquisite stained glass windows in the United States filter light at the Saint Vincent De Paul Church in Bayonne, NJ. The Catholic church was predominantly constructed by Irish men and women in this working-class town, situated across the river from Manhattan, in 1894. During the 1920s, an innovative priest at the church hired a craftsman named Harry Clark from Ireland to design t...

Brent McCorkle’s ‘Jesus Revolution’ Can It Inspire A Repeat Of The ‘Jesus Movement’? By Joseph Holmes Religion Unplugged’s culture critic, Joseph Holmes, discusses Brent McCorkle’s new film “Jesus Revolution” and whether this movie can inspire a repeat of the “Jesus Movement” revival of the 70s.

Georgetown University professor Joshua Mitchell talks with  ReligionUnplugged.com  about his new book, “American Awakening,” where he explores how identity politics in America bear a some resemblance to Christianity but miss vital concepts such as forgiveness. Mitchell speaks with Paul Glader and Paul Marshall about the book thesis and Mitchell’s observations and concerns about American life. 

In this podcast, Chris Broussard of Fox Sports works as an NBA analyst who is passionate about basketball. He’s also passionate about being a Christian, helping Black youth, combating racism and making the world a better place. He sounds like a preacher, someone who oozes passion. There aren’t too many people out there who could speak with ease about God, Jesus and St. Paul one minute, then pivot...

In this podcast, Jehu Kitoli, a Kenyan member of the Nairobi Hebrew Congregation, describes his long journey to Judaism. Jehu grew up Anglican. As a teenageer, Jehu began to read the Bible and found contradictions between the Hebrew scriptures and the teachings of Paul. “I discovered that the Bible was a document given to Jews and addressed to the children of Israel, who were to be in a covenant r...

Brother Colm O’Connell, the “godfather of Kenyan Running,” is a Patrician monk from Cork County, Ireland. Brother Colm came to St. Patrick’s High School in Iten, Kenya in 1976 to teach geography. Brother Colm knew little about running or coaching when he volunteered to coach St. Patrick’s athletics team. In the 46 years he has lived in Iten, Brother Colm has coached scores of world record holders...

Senior Religion Unplugged Contributor Dr. Robert Carle is in Kenya for this episode, interviewing the Israeli Ambassador to Kenya, Michael Lotem. Lotem–along with several other ambassadors to countries in Africa and Asia– is a part of a broad expansion in foreign affairs by Israel to countries in Africa and Asia. Other recent ambassador appointments include ambassador Eitan Na’eh in Bahrain, Micha...

Religion Unplugged Executive Editor Paul Glader interviews Czech journalist Daniel Raus on the complicated dynamics of assessing religious affiliation in former Soviet nations such as the Czech Republic, which is arguably the most atheistic country on earth. We also learn about Raus’ history in radio, audio production at Radio Free Europe, Czech Radio and his recent freedom of the press award from...

Senior Religion Unplugged Contributor Dr. Robert Carle is in Baringo, Kenya for this episode, interviewing world record-holding long distance runner, Mary Keitany. She won her first world record in 2010, at the Berlin 25 kilometre race, with a time of 1:19:53. She also has won world records for races in 2011 and 2017. Now retired, Keitany talks to Dr. Carle about her history in racing, the importa...

Religion Unplugged Contributor Dr. Robert Carle is in Eldoret, Kenya for this episode, interviewing Pastor John Miaka and Pastor Philip Kipkurgat Yiego. They are accomplished runners who have competed internationally for Kenya, winning marathons in Madrid, Valencia, the European Indoor Games, the 10k road race. They have since retired from running to focus on their faith and being pastors of Pente...

Religion Unplugged Contributor Robert Carle talks to Bishop Mudenyo, who oversees a fellowship of fifty-six East African Pentecostal churches, about Kenya's 2014 regulations to crack down on scam miracles and fake pastors.  These regulations failed because they sharply curtailed the freedom of real pastors and religious leaders to serve their congregants. Mudenyo instead proposes new methods o...

Dr. Frank Wilczek is a theoretical physicist who recently received the 2022 Templeton Prize, adding to his Nobel Prize and MacArthur fellowship. He spoke with ReligionUnplugged.com executive editor Paul Glader about his religious upbringing and how it positively affected his approach to science. He also talks about how and why he became disillusioned with the religious teachings he experienced in...

Amid the leak of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion that likely overturns Roe v. Wade, ReligionUnplugged Executive Editor Paul Glader spoke with journalist and author Joshua Prager about his ground-breaking book, The Family Roe, that reports deeply on the battle over abortion in American history by telling the story about Norma McCorvey, the woman behind “Jane Roe.” Prager explains his reportorial journ...

Dr. Philip Jenkins of Baylor University shares about his research into the correlation between trends of institutional religious practice and trends of fertility. Dr. Jenkins discusses how religious participation particularly among young couples are a factor in driving fertility rates around the globe, and how this kind of statistical analysis can potentially predict global trends. Emceed by The M...

Executive Editor Paul Glader interviews Prison Fellowship's Director of Government Affairs, Heather Rice-Minus  to discuss the longevity of prison reform at a time when some conservatives and Christians are concerned about crime rising in some categories and cities. Rice suggests criminal justice reform isn’t a lost cause for conservatives, Christians or anyone. She outlines how steps towards...

Dr. Scott Kenworthy, a professor in the Department of Comparative Religion at Miami University, spoke with ReligionUnplugged’s Managing Editor Meagan Clark about the religious aspects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the complex history of Russian Orthodoxy. Kenworthy's research interests focus on the history and thought of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, particularly in modern Russia. His r...

On a stage inside a Texas megachurch worship center, a Muslim man wearing a traditional North African thobe that hung to his feet took a deep breath and began reciting passages from the Quran. The Islamic ritual in a Protestant santuary was part of a conference organized by the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, a group co-founded by a Christian pastor, a Muslim imam and a Jewish rabbi to promote inte...

Mariya Kapinos is a Ukrainian journalist and game designer normally based in Kyev. She fled her city in recent days as Russia prepared to invade. As tanks rolled into her home country, Kapinos spoke with  ReligionUnplugged.com  executive editor Paul Glader about the military, political and religious conflicts between her homeland, Ukraine, and its neighbor to the East. An alumna of The Media Proje...

Indepreet Singh volunteers with the Hemkunt Foundation, a Sikh philanthropy which during the pandemic in India works to construct makeshift clinics and oxygen-supplying centers. Singh tells his story about what running these clinics in Delhi, India looks like on the ground. Produced by Anupama Chandrashekaran with Newsreel in partnership with ReligionUnplugged.

Syed Azharuddin is part of the Students’ Islamic Organization or SIO. During the pandemic many college students studying out of hostels away from home were stranded by the lockdowns. The SIO works to provide food, funds and transport to students irrespective of their religion, in an effort to combat Islamophobic inequalities along the way. Produced by Anupama Chandrashekaran with Newsreel in partn...

Delhi, India-based Jesuit Refugee Services work with refugees from Afghanistan and Myanmar. Like many refugee communities, they face extreme anti-immigrant discrimination. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many have spiraled into deeper poverty. Jesuit Refugee Services started a women's tailoring group to help the refugees find income and safety. With earnings trickling in from hand-stitched masks...

Published from The Media Project's virtual conference, Board Member and Islam expert Dr. Paul Marshall examines the use of blasphemy laws. In his lecture, Dr. Marshall discusses how blasphemy law is used to prevent religious reformation and theological discourse, and stop popular human rights-focused policymaking from progressive Muslim politicians in Muslim majority nations through cycles of...