Saved by the City

Two words: chubby bunny. From the games that were downright gross to the Mountain Dew fueled lock-ins, youth group culture was its own special kinda weird. But was it good? On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy reminiscence on the lessons we learned as teens in our church basements (we shared a certain oldest daughter perfectionism that youth group culture seemed to heighten, even spiritualize). We're...

It's an evangelical origin story. Who are the evangelicals? It's a contested question with a long history of answers — answers that depend largely on who is holding the mic at any given time. In this episode of the podcast, Katelyn and Roxy examine our own roles within the traditional gatekeeping institutions of evangelicalism and reflect on how we feel about them now. We are joined by Isaac B. Sh...

Maybe beauty could be a little less fleeting? This week, Katelyn and Roxy dive face-first into the prickly subject of cosmetic procedures. They're not just for Hollywood stars and Dallas housewives anymore. But just because everyone is getting a little work done, should we? Would the Proverbs 31 woman — the biblical model for all things feminine — go under the knife? The laser? The needle? All thi...

Living large on the Lord. $150,000 on a three-day luxury retreat in Cancun. $37,000 on flowers. $13,000 on high tea. $16,000 on custom skateboards. These are just a few of the line items recently uncovered in Hillsong financial statements. Last month, a leader in Australia’s Parliament, armed with 17 binders full of documents, accused Hillsong leaders of breaking financial laws in Australia and be...

Sometimes going through the motions is the whole point. On this episode, which drops amid Holy Week, Roxy and Katelyn reflect on the beauty, meaning, and mystery they have found in the church liturgy. Instead of feeling rote, the rhythms and prayers of the church have become nourishing for us. Kind of like a favorite meal. They are joined by the Most Rev. Michael Curry, the presiding bishop of the...

But did the era of heroin chic ever really end? Low rise jeans are trying to make a comeback — does that mean the bodies that look good in them must too? (Aka: teensy tiny itty bitty very flat stomach bodies.) On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy explore how the body ideals promoted during our teen years are still informing the way we see our adult bodies. We look at how some things have changed — be...

Let's get a drink sometime! New York's a drinking town. Happy hours. Boozy brunches. Martinis and oysters. The city's social life revolves around artisan cocktails and bubbly toasts and late night dive bars. And while the pandemic may have put a screeching halt to the social side of that life, it didn't stop the flow of booze. Restaurants offered craft cocktails to go, the sidewalks became open ca...

Watch out for the Cabbage Patch Kids! Katelyn and Roxy are back for a new season of Saved By the City and are joined by guest Jinger Duggar Vuolo. Listeners may know her as one of the siblings on the reality TV show “19 Kids and Counting," or maybe from the "Free Jinger" movement online. In addition to her childhood being well-documented, Jinger also grew up within a Christian movement that was, s...

Happy holidays! In New York City, the phrase has nothing to do with a culture war and everything to do with being a good neighbor. A recent NY Times article describes the city as "a swirling kaleidoscope of faiths," and living within that colorful milieu has profoundly shaped our posture toward other religions. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss the ways New York City has exposed us to the...

The year is not over yet but we're ready to hand in the verdict. This week, Katelyn and Roxy reflect on the year that was 2022 (better than 2020!) and share some highlights and lowlights in various categories. Favorite book? Check. Favorite TV show? Yep. Favorite friendship moment? Yes please. Strangest thing you saw on the subway? Of course. Plus, we share some goals for ourselves — and the podca...

It's been 2000 years. Enough already. Abusing power is an ancient genre of sin — and using religion to justify abuse is perhaps the oldest trick in that book. We know it won't stop with this podcast episode, but, here we go anyway. Katelyn and Roxy address some of the difficulties of identifying spiritual abuse (no, it isn't just "church hurt") and examine how it has manifested in a few more recen...

Silly, shallow, serious, interstellar … we said we’d take any and all of your questions. And we get some good ones! Katelyn has been on jury duty. We had Thanksgiving break. Roxy is on vacation this week. So it seemed like a good time to let our listeners do some of the work for us. We took to social media to seek your "ask me anything" — AMA — style questions. And we totally go there. Plus, here...

We do love a journalism movie. It's been five years since the NY Times exposé of Harvey Weinstein sparked the global #MeToo movement. And the new movie, "She Said," documents the two-steps-forward, one-step-back work of investigative reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor in uncovering the extent of Weinstein's abuses.  "Pump it into my veins," is how Katelyn describes the movie.  On this episode,...

Unmarried women are ruining everything!  At least according to some people who went to Twitter, Fox News, and God only knows where else to bemoan last week's midterm election results — placing a large share of their disappointment at the feet of unmarried women, who broke strongly for Democrats. Suffice it to say, their words were not very nice. Anyway, politics aside, we think their vitriol was m...

You're still young! You're too picky! Just put yourself out there more! We've heard some doozies. And, while most friends are well-meaning (if occasionally passive-aggressive), they aren't always aware of how these phrases can bump against some tender spots. You've heard of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," but in this episode, Katelyn and Roxy bring you ... How to Lose Your Single Friends in 10 Wor...

It's the motherlode episode. Most women of a certain age (our age) have kids. They just do. And we don't. Living in that reality can be complicated — it's fun to be an "auntie," but it's not the same as being a mom — there's grief and there's gain. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy grapple with their own winding paths to life without kids. We share what's it's meant to mourn that loss while findin...

Is this real blood we're drinking? There's an old joke that a religion is a cult plus time. So are we just late comers to a very old cult? Katelyn and Roxy explore this plus all the other scary things — like aging! — in our All Hallow's Eve episode. And religion reporter Sam Kestenbaum joins to talk vampires, mummies, QAnon devotees, and groups with some cult-y vibes (including maybe ... some of t...

The midterms ... truly the spookiest season of them all. Everyone seems to be talking about Christian nationalism right now. The phrase is in the air. And, while, there's plenty of focus on the evangelical vote every election cycle, this is not quite the same.  Religion News Service, and especially religion and politics correspondent Jack Jenkins, has long been covering this new iteration of Chris...

Can men and women just be friends or does the sex always get in the way? Billy Graham and Billy Crystal both seemed to believe the answer was: nope and yes, always. A rare instance of overlap in the evangelical-Hollywood Venn diagram, perhaps. But maybe it shouldn't be? In this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss their own friendships with men: when and how they've worked — and why they sometimes ha...

Oh, the pressure of perfection. Is there anyone who reads the Bible with the intensity of an evangelical 12-year-old? So asks Charles Marsh, our guest for this episode and the author of "Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir." We resonate. Katelyn and Roxy reflect on the amped up nature of an evangelical upbringing, recalling childhood fantasies of martyrdom, the high stakes proposal of eternal salvation...

Let's be honest: Christians seem uniquely bad at having a good time. We get it: slippery slopes, dens of iniquity, roads to hell, etc. But maybe we've taken the Puritan instinct a little too far? Made everything that's fun suspect? Maybe it's time to lighten up a bit, look around at all God's created and go delight in it? Well, we'd like to give it a try anyway. This week, "fun coach" Annie F. Dow...

It all started innocently enough: with evangelistic aerobics. As many famous Christians do, Beth Moore entered ministry with a simple desire: to teach people about Jesus. In the 1980s, that meant choreographing aerobics routines to Contemporary Christian Music. (Think Jazzercise for Jesus.) It also meant teaching a women’s Bible study class at church that quickly mushroomed in size. Soon, Beth was...

American Idol: Worship Leader Edition. In the past two decades, worship music has dominated the Christian music charts, bringing churches like Hillsong into the evangelical mainstream and making millions through licensing and sold-out concerts. Worshipers come seeking a profound encounter with God and an ecstatic experience. That is often true for the performers as well. But when ministry, commerc...

Is there any hope for toxic celebrity pastors? Stories abound of pastors who started to believe their own hype – and ended up capsizing their church and hurting a lot of people. There are spiritual and relational costs to putting leaders on pedestals. But celebrity dynamics also are bad for pastors themselves. Many find themselves “alone at the top,” without real friendship and accountability, whi...

On booty photos followed by Bible verses… It’s never been easier for women with massive talent to share their work and build a community around it. Social media have democratized the work of teaching and preaching. Instagram, with its aesthetic, aspirational vibes, has proven to be the most popular social media platform for Christian women influencers. In the first episode of a four-part summer se...