The Leader’s Way

Yale Professor Willie Jennings joins us to talk about the relationship between race and theology. We break down how this relationship manifests in Zionism, supercessionism, and Christian nationalism. We break these ideas down to understand where they have come from and what they are. We talk about the bizarreness of being introduced to academic theology, and we consider the ways in which theology can be harmful or lifegiving.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold joins us to talk about her new book Circle of Hope, a compelling and honest portrait of a progressive evangelical church. Griswold’s immersive journalism brings into focus how one church was impacted by division brought about by events like the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Dr. Kwok Pui Lan joins us to share wisdom from her 2023 book The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective. We talk about what a postcolonial perspective is and how it can color our thinking on topics from the history and identity of the Anglican Church to the ecological crisis and more.

The Rev’d Sarah Condon, co-host of Mockingcast, joins Hannah to talk about the twists and turns of life…in particular, vocation and grief.

Simeon Zahl, Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Cambridge, joins us to talk about the Holy Spirit. Our conversation ranges from who the Holy Spirit is to how we understand Christian experience to how the Book of Common Prayer is written with emotion in mind.

Brian McLaren joins us to share some of the riches from his new book Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart. The conversation names a feeling many of us have in our current world and helps us locate hope in the midst of it all.

Professors Amy Carr and Christine Helmer join Hannah to talk about their new, timely book, Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice. We take a moment in this season leading up to the presidential election to discuss high-conflict times and how we can move toward good conflict. We talk about how Christians can create space for conversation because of their status of belonging due to justification. We discuss how Christians can listen to each other, discuss hot-button issues, and navigate difference.

Executive Director of El Hogar Denise Vargas joins us to talk about entrepreneurship. She helps us think in an entrepreneurial way about ministry and grounds innovation in community. We also take a while to chat about Vargas’s life as a poet, to hear some of her poetry, and to talk about how poetry intersects with the work she does at El Hogar.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove joins us from the Yale Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. He describes the making of white, Christian nationalism and helps us see a different path forward, following the teachings of Jesus. He walks us through the reality of the New Right in the 1970s as a way for us to understand our positionality headed into the 2024 election.

Astrophysicist Graziella di Tulliio Zinn joins Brandon and Hannah to chat about the beauty of the stars, Graziella’s experience of being a Christian astronomer, the Big Bang, the theology of Disney’s movie Wish, UFOs, the ethics of space junk, astrology, prayer, and more.