Freedom Road Podcast

Join host, Lisa Sharon Harper, and Timothy McMahan King (author of Addiction Nation, slated for release June 11) for a profound conversation about King's battle with addiction and what it taught him about the soul of America. This is a #mustlisten, #musttakenotes, then #mustshare episode. 

Throughout the 19th century nearly every protestant denomination in the U.S. split over disagreements on the institution of slavery. Not since then have we witnessed such tectonic fissures in the body of Christ. In the 21st century, the issue is LGBTQ inclusion. Nearly every denomination in the U.S. has or is experiencing the tension. In this moment of profound division many churches are tempted to obscure their views and policies in an effort to hold divided parties together. The creators of Church Clarity believe clarity is just--and can lead to healing. Join host Lisa Sharon Harper and the creators of the Church Clarity initiative, George Mekhail and Sarah Ngu, for an honest, raw conversation full of ah-has. 

Momma Ruby Sales is back. As the nation commemorates the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and the invaluable contributions of the Civil Rights Movement, listen in and grab your pen and paper to take notes as Ruby Sales (SNCC activist and celebrated theologian) shares the pearls of wisdom she gleaned from the Southern Freedom Movement.

This month on Freedom Road, Lisa Sharon Harper, celebrates Women’s History Month with four women of the Ruby Woo Pilgrimage! Listen in as Meighan Stone (Council on Foreign Relations, Indivisible and former president of The Malala Fund), Andrea Ackerman and Melissa O’Keefe (Christ City Church DC) and Barbara Noe Kennedy (Travel Writer) reflect on the wisdom they gleaned from our nation’s foremothers‘ intersectional struggle for equality. This isn’t just history. This is straight up wisdom for right now. 

Peek behind the scenes of our #BlacknessandHistory episode with Ruby Sales (SNCC, SpiritHouse Project) with this bonus mini-episode! Listen in as Auntie Ruby and, host, Lisa Sharon Harper, rap the session. Their taped conversation was so electric that it kept going after the mics were turned off--only they weren't turned off! Sound engineer, David Dault, who also joins the conversation, captured lightening in a bottle.

Have you ever had one of those moments when it feels like everyone that experienced it just lived for a split second in another realm? We have. While recording this episode. This conversation on #BlacknessandHistory between host, Lisa Sharon Harper, and Civil Rights Movement veteran, Ruby Nell Sales (SNCC organizer, celebrated theologian and founder of The SpiritHouse Project), hits new levels of deep within the first few minutes—and they keep drilling down. More than an interview, this is a transcendent exchange—between an elder and a generation. Listen in as Sales and Harper go in on: Southern Black excellence, intersectional identities, respectability politics, the white imagination of blackness, internalized white patriarchy, beloved community, reparations and humility. Do not miss this. For your convenience and because it is that important, we’ve transcribed this episode to help you follow along and take notes. We’ve also provided links to certain terms and names to help you milk this convo for all it’s worth. Finally, this moment was so special that Harper and Sales kept going for 20 mins after the episode wrapped. We got it on tape! Watch for that bonus episode later this month! 

Join host, Lisa Sharon Harper, in this mind-blowing conversation with East Harlem pastor and author Jose Humphreys, indigenous scholar Dr. Randy Woodley, South African activist Rene' August and white Evangelical consultant Alexei Laushkin. Run and get pen and paper and #takenotes as these four Freedom Road Consultants consider the nature of justice, what justice will require of the church and share their #JusticeAgenda2019!

Host Lisa Sharon Harper welcomes guests Waltrina Middleton, Amena Brown, and Catherine Sherman to discuss how art and justice can work together

What responsibility does the church (particularly the Evangelical church) bare for the state of US public life? In this episode Lisa Sharon Harper sits down for a timely reunion with her coauthors of the book, Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith. Join Lisa as she explores the possibility of national healing through the lament and repentance of the church with guests Soong-Chan Rah, Mae Cannon, Troy Jackson.

Join us as Lisa Sharon Harper digs deep into the Pain of Patriarchy with Susan Sharkey (visual artist, #metoo⁠ ⁠/church abuse survivor) and Emily Joy (poet and co-creator of #Churchtoo).