Laura Zifer Powell seemed to be doing everything right. A top-tier student and Division I athlete at Duke University, she was driven, disciplined, and outwardly successful. But beneath the surface, something was missing. The more she achieved, the emptier she felt. And when a health crisis brought everything to a halt, the questions she had avoided for years finally caught up with her: What is all this for? What’s the point of being good if it still doesn’t satisfy?

In this candid conversation, Laura shares her journey from moral pragmatist and religious skeptic to a confident follower of Christ. She opens up about the moment everything changed—a late-night plea to a God she wasn’t sure existed, and the quiet unraveling that followed.

If you've ever asked, “Is this all there is?” or wrestled with the gap between outward success and inward emptiness, Laura’s story offers more than answers—it offers hope.

Guest Bio:

Laura Zifer Powell is a Christian apologist, writer, and speaker. She is the founder of An Affair with Reason and co-host of the Knight and Rose Show podcast. She graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s in public policy, earned her master’s degree from Denver Seminary, and is currently working on her Doctor of Ministry in Public Theology from Birmingham Theological Seminary. She has ministered in over thirty countries on five continents and has seen first-hand how false worldviews harm and destroy God’s image bearers, while the Christian worldview leads people and societies toward human flourishing. As an apologist, she shares evidence for the biblical worldview and discusses how our worldview ought to impact every area of life, from our relationships to our public policy and economics. Her blog, previous interviews, and speaking request form can be found at her website, www.AnAffairWithReason.com, and her 20-lesson online course, Islam Foundations, is available at womeninapologetics.com.

Resources Mentioned:

Laura’s Resources:

• An Affair with Reason: https://laurazpowell.org/

• Knight and Rose Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@knightandroseshow

• Knight and Rose Show: https://knightandrose.podbean.com/

• Islam Foundations course: https://womeninapologetics.com/islam-foundations-course/

Books Laura Recommends:

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Frank Turek & Norman Geisler
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
How Now Shall We Live by Chuck Colson & Nancy Pearcey
Is God Just a Human Invention? by Sean McDowell & Jonathan Morrow
The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas & Mike Licona

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Measuring how much beer is in the fridge with Alan