Saved by the City

Journalist and broadcaster Krista Tippett discusses faith in a technologically advanced world, the impact of spiritual practices, and the importance of asking meaningful questions. The hosts explore Tippett's journey into podcasting, her ability to provoke thought, and the role of curiosity in transformative conversations.

Another year. Another election heckscape.Would you talk politics on a first date? Nope. No, definitely not. What about on a 10th? Heck no. In this economy? Americans are not happy with the political landscape at the moment and the general mood going into the 2024 election is, to put it mildly, dread. We're exhausted and this presidential race is a rinse and repeat cycle that it seems no one really wants. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy wade into the shark infested waters of partisan politics — and, we ask, did we go wrong somewhere? Author Michael Wear joins us to say: yes, we did. But maybe not where you think. Wear challenges us to a more soulful politics that, gasp, takes Christianity seriously.GUEST: Michael Wear is the founder and president of The Center for Christianity and Public Life. He was a former White House staffer under the Obama administration and is the author of "The Spirit of Our Politics: Spiritual Formation and the Renovation of Public Life."

Maybe the real soulmates are the friends we met along the way.As marriage has become the end-all, be-all relationship, friendships have been relegated to the "nice to have" category. But at a time when loneliness is being labeled an epidemic, we wonder if this paradigm hasn't stranded us all on islands of our own making. Katelyn and Roxy look at the significant role friendships have played in our lives — especially as single adult women — and ask how we can continue to cultivate intentional community. We are joined by Laura Tremaine (whose husband is definitely not her best friend) for a look at how different types of friends can contribute to our lives (and us to theirs!). Plus, the 10 things we learned about friendship from TV shows set in NYC.GUEST:  Laura Tremaine is the author of "The Life Council: 10 Friends Every Woman Needs" and is the host of the podcast, "10 Things To Tell You."

We're all living inside the code. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy recount their brushes with the evangelical bro code — that malignant workplace milieu of religion mixed with patriarchy mixed with entitlement. We discuss the nearly two hundred responses women sent to Katelyn on the topic and unpack the Three B's of the Evangelical Bro Code: Breadwinner Bias, The Billy Graham Rule and Bullying. In the end, we wonder: should women even work in male-led evangelical spaces? Is it worth it?

That's poog spelled backward.The wellness industry has scope creep. Is it about health? Self-care? Spirituality? Mud masks? Yes, yes, yes, yes — and so much more. One thing it all seems to have in common though is that it costs money. Marketed primarily to women and promising solutions to every woe, wellness is more in the category of faith than science, but that doesn't keep millions of Americans from seeking their salvation in it ... to the tune of $4.4 trillion a year. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss the appeal of wellness products and the promises they offer — and why they inevitably fall short. Plus, we hear from guest Rina Raphael who, to her surprise, found that organized religion has the corner on the wellness market.GUEST Rina Raphael is a journalist writing on health, wellness, tech, and women’s issues. She is the author of the recent book "The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care."

The Jesus thing always gets in the way.Did you ever think Rob Reiner — director of such favorites as "When Harry Met Sally," "Princess Bride" and "Spinal Tap" — would make a movie about Christian nationalism? Inconceivable, right? Well, that word doesn't mean what you think it means and yes, he did. The documentary, "God & Country," directed by Dan Partland and produced by Reiner, is based on the book "Power Worshipers" by Katherine Stewart and features a who's who of Christian thinkers (left, middle and slightly right of the ever-shifting center).On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy talk to Partland and Reiner about why Christian nationalism is, in fact, distinct from Christianity. And we wonder when an American flag next to the pulpit crosses over into the danger zone. GUESTS: Dan Partland is a veteran documentary producer and director. He has won two Emmys, for American High and Intervention. Rob Reiner is the acclaimed director for many of America's favorite films, including "When Harry Met Sally," "Princess Bride" and "Stand By Me."

The son has come and you've been ...On each episode of this show, we talk about a popular, influential — or at least lucrative — Christian book from the 90s or 2000s (you know, our era). We discuss how the book shaped American Christianity, our own personal faith journeys, and how it has aged in our current dystopian Christian Nationalist hellscape.In this episode, Roxy reads Left Behind for the first time and reports back to Tyler. We dig into a word salad of eschatological terms and an absolute feast of evangelical 1990s tropes — Californians and their new age mumbo jumbo, amirite? — as we look at the legacy of this apocalyptic juggernaut on evangelicalism and its politics.

Are you happy enough?On each episode of this show, we talk about a popular, influential — or at least lucrative — Christian book from the 90s or 2000s (you know, our era). We discuss how the book shaped American Christianity, our own personal faith journeys, and how it has aged in our current dystopian Christian Nationalist hellscape.In this episode, Tyler and Roxy wonder who is the most hedonistic of them all — like, in a Christian sense. In 1986, John Piper wrote Desiring God and introduced the American church to "Christian hedonism," a phrase that has not lasted nearly as long as his famous farewell to Rob Bell. Even so, it was a book that loomed large over Christian publishing and launched Piper as an early voice in the neo-Reformed space.

This podcast will change your life.On each episode of this show, we talk about a popular, influential — or at least lucrative — Christian book from the 90s or 2000s (you know, our era). We discuss how the book shaped American Christianity, our own personal faith journeys, and how it has aged in our current dystopian Christian Nationalist hellscape.In this episode, Tyler and Roxy travel back in time to an era of 5 step growth strategies, acronyms for all things and Hawaiian shirts. AKA Southern California in 2002. It's the year the mega-bestseller Purpose Driven Life hit the shelves and the pews — and everywhere in between — offering a message to counteract middle class ennui and promising eternal significance to boot. How does this apolitical, seeker-sensitive, self-help influenced approach stand up now?

Paintball never looked so holy.On each episode of this show, we talk about a popular, influential — or at least lucrative — Christian book from the 90s or 2000s (you know, our era). We discuss how the book shaped American Christianity, our own personal faith journeys, and how it has aged in our current dystopian Christian Nationalist hellscape.In this episode, Tyler and Roxy become the men God created them to be with Wild at Heart, John Eldredge’s 2001 bestseller that challenged dudes to rock for Jesus and destroy anyone who got in their way. Squint just a little and you can see the direct through line from this book to modern evangelical ideas around gender, masculinity and Jordan Peterson.