The RELEVANT Podcast

This week, three-time Grammy winner Tori Kelly joins us to talk about her new album 'God Must Really Love Me,' written just weeks after she became a first-time mom. She tells us how it’s changed her approach to songwriting and her view of God. In RELEVANT Buzz, new research finds while Gen Z is the most church-engaged generation, it’s also the least likely to pray. What? We also take a lap...

This is the perfect episode for summer vacation season. First, Tiffany Hudson from Elevation Worship joins us to tell us about her new solo album ‘When You're in the Room,’ and the importance of “vertical” lyrics in worship music. Then rapper Parris Chariz joins us for the second half of the show. We talk about his new album ‘The World Is Watching,’ basketball and his unusual path to seminary....

This week — after the crew discusses summer vacations, cruise classes and the Jersey Shore — we talk to Jessica Koulianos, co-founder of Jesus Image, about what it actually looks like to go deeper with God instead of just consuming more church content. In RELEVANT Buzz, Team USA has turned the World Cup into a faith story, and we get into Steven Spielberg's new film ‘Disclosure Day’ and the su...

Andy Mineo and Wordsplayed are back as Magic and Bird, and tell us all about the sequel to their 2017 cult classic album. We also get into the state of Christian hip-hop, why nobody is vetted anymore, and spend a genuinely uncomfortable amount of time guessing Derek Minor's net worth to his face. In RELEVANT Buzz, the SBC voted to ban women from the pulpit and it wasn't close. Victory Boyd...

This week 2819 Church pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell joins us, the Atlanta preacher whose sermon clips have taken over your feed. He tells us why he buried his old church after losing everything during COVID and why he believes the church is running out of time to wake up. Before that convo, the guys recap a week off the grid in Montana that turned into a grown-man sleepover built around 80s actio...

This week, Johnnyswim joins us to give an exclusive look at three major projects they’re about to release. The duo has had a very busy couple of years, and surprisingly it’s not been all about music.  In RELEVANT Buzz, we bring the recent update on Mel Gibson's The Resurrection of the Christ and get some inspiration from PGA great Scottie Scheffler. In Slices, a Cybertruck owner tests his free...

This week, we talk to Brooke Ligertwood about her new album ‘Eat,’ which is unlike anything she's put out before.  In RELEVANT Buzz, we break down new data that highlights where the Church has actually been growing over the last decade — and where it hasn’t. We also tell the story of the e.l.f. Cosmetics co-founder who gave away his fortune and is becoming a priest. Plus we have a look at the...

Comedian Anjelah Johnson-Reyes joins the show to talk about her new special "Ugly Baby" and how a joke-writing class at her church kicked off her stand-up career. Then Christian UFO researcher Timothy Alberino comes on to make sense of the Pentagon's newly declassified UFO files. The cast walks through why aliens, demons and military tech are three different conversations most people a...

It’s episode 1300! In RELEVANT Buzz, we talk about Hulu’s new Christian college dating series that you need to hear to believe. We also talk about WNBA star Sophie Cunningham's recent faith declaration, Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu’s faithful pregame ritual and a new Bible movie about Daniel that’s releasing this fall. In Slices, a Wisconsin solid waste facility has an unusual speed limit, a...

This week we're joined by Hulvey, who just dropped his final album on Reach Records. He tells us why he turned down a Kanye West collab and the reason behind his new season. In RELEVANT Buzz, Theo Von gets surprisingly vulnerable on his podcast about being stuck in destructive cycles. A new study finds that 60% of Gen Z has gone no contact with friends or family. We get into why.  There's...

The week, we’re joined by one of the funniest comedians going right now — Derrick Stroup, who has a fantastic new special on Netflix. He tells us how he got his start in comedy and why keeping things clean is an intentional choice. In RELEVANT Buzz, we dive into a new Gallup study that reveals 50% more young men say religion is very important to them than did just a few years ago. There’s a lot to...

This week, we sit down with former Hillsong-ers Aodhan King and Benjamin William Hastings, who just announced a joint worship album dropping next month. They tell us about it — and also tell the unhinged story of how they met 15 years ago. (Lesson: Need pants? You might meet a new friend.) In RELEVANT Buzz, this week Lecrae became the first Christian rapper on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts (apologi...

This week, Cameron, Derek, Emily and Marty cover a ton: American Idol's Songs of Faith Night, which was way more Jesus-heavy this year than last, British Christian rapper DC3 making MOBO Awards history, and the story of Forrest Frank's new indie band having to ditch their name days before releasing their debut album. In RELEVANT Recommends, we talk to Madison Ryann Ward — an amazing, soulf...

Cameron, Jesse, Derek and Emily are all back together for a packed episode. In RELEVANT Recommends, we highlight Indie Tribe's new album, Who Do You Say I Am? and caught up with the guys at SXSW to talk about the making of the project and what it says about who they are as a group. In RELEVANT Buzz: Alabama's basketball team has been quietly building a faith culture all season that's w...

Worship leader Pat Barrett — known for "Good Good Father" and "Build My Life" — joins Cameron, Jesse and Emily to talk about his new live album 'Break Open,' why he sat on the title track for nearly a decade, and his late-in-life obsession with surfing (including an upcoming trip to Kelly Slater's Surf Ranch). He also gets honest about how his thinking on songwriting vs...

Ryan Gosling joins the RELEVANT Podcast to talk about his new sci-fi film Project Hail Mary — what made him fall in love with this story and why this one might be a "core memory" film for a generation.  Before that, Emily reports from SXSW to break down the week's biggest faith-and-culture stories: a Christian animated short film made by two Pixar animators and 200 volunteers (includin...

Colony House is back with a new album, and they sat down with Emily to reflect on 10 years of making music and what they want the next decade to look like.  In RELEVANT Buzz: Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix shares his powerful faith journey — from foxhole prayer, to sobriety and a faith that sounds like the real thing. We also bring a story flying under the radar: nearly a million Christians...

Zachary Levi — Chuck, Shazam, and now host of the new docu-drama David: King of Israel — joins us to talk about why the story of David is the one he keeps coming back to. It's a story of someone who's broken, who makes terrible decisions, and who somehow still gets called a man after God's own heart. Levi explains what sets this show apart from all the other David content out there rig...

This week, Elevation Worship's Chris Brown tells us why the band took an extra year off from releasing music — and what their new album ‘ So Be It’ sounds like on the other side of that pause. We also hear from Portland Trail Blazers chaplain Mike Tatlock, who talked to us during NBA All-Star Weekend to share what he's seeing behind the scenes: more players showing up to chapel, more genui...

This week, Zach Williams from indie-folk band The Lone Bellow joins the show to talk about their new album — including the wild story of how their van was broken into, all their recordings were stolen, and their fans raised enough money to help them start over. In RELEVANT Buzz, we show you the ongoing worship outpouring happening at Southeastern University in Florida, where students have been in...

This week, actor Milo Ventimiglia — known for 'This Is Us,' 'Gilmore Girls' and 'Heroes' — tells us why he chose to star in a new Christian movie, playing real-life worship artist Tim Timmons, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer over 20 years ago and is still defying the odds today.  In RELEVANT Buzz, the crew recaps the Super Bowl — including the incredible story of Sea...

This week, legendary Christian rapper Trip Lee tells us about his unexpected move into worship music with his new album. Before that, the crew swaps stories from last week's historic winter storm—Emily survived three days without power in freezing temps and Jesse narrowly avoided going to a fun Orlando Magic game with Cameron. In RELEVANT Buzz, we break down Jelly Roll's powerful Grammy ac...

This week, we talk to ‘Mercy’ star Chris Pratt about how faith shapes his life and career. He opens up about navigating public narratives, using his platform with purpose and why he believes being open about faith matters more than ever. In RELEVANT Buzz, the crew dives into Jelly Roll’s moving moment on 'Star Search,' why Gen Z is intentionally disconnecting from their phones and whether...

This week, we sit down with Chelsea Smith to talk about dating wisely, building a resilient marriage and navigating seasons when love feels harder than usual. She shares practical advice for singles, couples and anyone wondering if what they’re experiencing is normal. In RELEVANT Buzz, we unpack the rise of political independents among Gen Z and millennials, Brandon Lake’s  Good Morning America  m...

In this episode of The RELEVANT Podcast, we break down a surprisingly faith-heavy week in pop culture. In RELEVANT Buzz, Khloé Kardashian opens up in depth about her faith and prayer life, Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin shares why he’s returning to faith after growing up as a pastor’s kid. Then we discuss news at the other end of the spectrum: Bestselling Christian author Philip Yancey step...