Saved by the City

Religion News Service
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Roxy and Katelyn grew up in the white evangelical American heartland. Both were warned moving to a supposed bastion of secular culture would be dangerous to their faith. While navigating a city where people sleep in on Sunday mornings and the chaste motto “true love waits” isn’t a thing, the two have found a renewed, vibrant faith that has been both strengthened and stretched in the metropolis.

  1. We Asked, You Answered: Why Women Are Leaving Church

    May 28

    We Asked, You Answered: Why Women Are Leaving Church

    Can you imagine a church without women? Us either. For as long as anyone alive today has been going to church, they've found the pews populated with more women than men. It's long been a given in American society that women are more religious than men. They pray more often, they attend church more often, they read their Bibles more often. But in the past quarter century, that gap has steadily been shrinking among young adults. As more young men claimed a religious identity, fewer women did. And in 2025, according to Gallup, young men surpassed young women claiming religion is important in their lives and church attendance among the younger set is tied between genders. What's happening here? While the focus has often been on the male side of that equation (look, young men are coming back to church!), the reality is the gender flip-flop has been driven more by young women's exodus. We wanted to know why women are leaving – and we wanted to hear some real-life stories. So we asked you! On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy hear from several listeners who offer their stories of leaving church — from the slow fade to the heartbreaking betrayal. We uncover some themes and discuss our own reasons for continuing to choose church (sometimes against all odds). Thank you again to the listeners who sent in their stories. And happy summer everyone! See you next season.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min
  2. Eat the Rich! Jesus Had Something to Say About That + Malcolm Foley

    May 22

    Eat the Rich! Jesus Had Something to Say About That + Malcolm Foley

    Is it a sin to be a billionaire? What about to own a house when so many are displaced?  We're in a real "eat the rich" moment as tech billionaires flaunt their wealth on red carpets and flex their power behind presidents — all the while the wealth gap keeps growing and the AI boom threatens the livelihoods of millions. Revolutions have been fought over less. But is hating the rich biblical? Scripture certainly has a lot to say about greed — the love of money being the root of all evil and stuff like that — and the injustices it perpetuates. Yet, the invitation so often extended is to look inward and to examine one's own relationship toward money. On this episode of the podcast, Katelyn and Roxy talk to Malcom Foley about the insidious legacy of greed on countries, systems and individuals. And why the antidote can be found in true Christian community.   GUEST: Malcolm Foley is the special advisor to the president for campus engagement at Baylor University and a co-pastor at Mosaic Waco, an intentionally multicultural, nondenominational church. He is the author of "The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why The Love of Money is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create A New Way Forward." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    57 min
  3. The Wedding Industrial Complex

    May 14

    The Wedding Industrial Complex

    Were Weddings Always This...Extra?In our parents' generation, most weddings took place in a house of worship, followed by a cake and punch reception in the basement or a local VFW hall, and everyone was decked out in polyester. No one was going for a "viral moment," and videographers and photo booths weren't a thing. But something shifted in Roxy's and Katelyn's lifetimes: today, many couples feel every detail of their wedding needs to reflect their unique personalities, and the wedding industry has exploded, to the tune of $1 trillion globally in 2025. No wonder wedding planning feels by turns fun and exhausting. In this episode, as Katelyn prepares for her July wedding, and producer Jonathan prepares for his September one, we reflect on the pressures women, especially, face as they prepare; what values guide our planning; and how to stay present on the Big Day (pro tip: get a day-of coordinator if you can!).  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min
  4. The Hidden Religion in Your Self-Care Routine + Liz Bucar

    May 9

    The Hidden Religion in Your Self-Care Routine + Liz Bucar

    The evangelicals were right about yoga (kind of). Meditation, detox cleanses, sound baths, plant-based medicine ... these things were not invented by Gwyneth Paltrow. They did not appear in Brooklyn out of thin air. Many (even most?) of our favorite wellness practices have deep roots in religious traditions. What are we missing when we strip the religion from the ritual? On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy explore the well-trod path from deconstruction to wellness and why so many exvangelicals are drawn to these more physical disciplines that often originate in eastern or Indigenous traditions. But what is the line between appropriation and appreciation? Religion scholar Liz Bucar joins us to talk about the dangers and missed opportunities that come from separating these practices from their spiritual roots. Plus, Richa Karmarkar on the Hindu beliefs that shaped yoga — and why she thinks yoga can make you a better Christian. GUESTS: Richa Karmarkar is a national reporter covering Hinduism for Religion News Service. Liz Bucar is a religious ethicist and professor of religion at Northeastern University. She is the author of numerous books on religion, including her newest: “Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    49 min
  5. What JD Vance and the New Intellectual Right Want

    Apr 30

    What JD Vance and the New Intellectual Right Want

    The Brains Behind the Trump Era Vice President J. D. Vance recently criticized Pope Leo online over his criticism of the war in Iran. It was a bold move for a Catholic convert, but perhaps not surprising, given the larger ideological commitments that have shaped Vance and his milieu. In a new book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, scholar Laura K. Field tracks the intellectual leaders - scholars, policy wonks, think tankers - who have fueled Trump's political ascendancy. Ranging from Catholic commentator Sohrab Ohmari to former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Internet personality Bronze Age Pervert, Field says they don't care so much about Trump as they do about fighting liberal democracy and replacing it with economic nationalism, anti-immigration policies, and America First foreign policy.Field joined Katelyn and Roxy for a fascinating conversation about who these men are, what they want, and how they could shape American democracy far beyond the Trump era.GUEST: Laura K. Field is a political theorist as well as a Scholar in Residence at American University, a Senior Advisor for the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University, and a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institution. She's the author of Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    48 min
  6. It's an AI World, and We're All Just Living In It

    Apr 24

    It's an AI World, and We're All Just Living In It

    Don't worry, ChatGPT told us to just trust the robots...In a shockingly short period of time, AI has gone from tech novelty to a part of our everyday lives. More industries are incorporating AI into daily workflow so that employees have more time for creative work - at least in theory. Roxy's and Katelyn's respective professions (journalism and book publishing) are still figuring out the ethical boundaries around AI. Meanwhile, we've all seen the dark side of these tools: deep fakes, chatbots encouraging users to harm themselves, and platforms overrun with AI slop. Do these tools portend a bright new age or civilizational collapse? We hash it out, with minimal help from the robots and a lot more help from a leader of a D.C. think tank helping to create policies that keep these powerful tools in their place.GUEST: Meredith Potter is executive director of the American Security Fund and the American Security Foundation, the latter of which works to ensure artificial intelligence (AI) is understandable, controllable, responsible, ethical, and human-centered. She is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a double graduate of Yale University (BA, MA). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1 hr
  7. He Survived Conversion Therapy. The Supreme Court Just Made it Legal Again

    Apr 16 ·  Bonus

    He Survived Conversion Therapy. The Supreme Court Just Made it Legal Again

    A special crossover from our friends at Complexified for you this week! Tim Schrader Rodriguez spent eight years trying to "pray out the gay". He modulated his voice. He stopped listening to music with female lead singers. He sat weekly with a therapist who watched him come apart — and said nothing. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 that therapists have a First Amendment right to pursue conversion therapy with their patients, upending a Colorado ban on the practice. This isn't history, nor is it a Colorado-only case. Bans that advocates spent years winning in state after state will unravel. Amanda Henderson talks with Tim this week about what eight years inside that world actually felt like — and what it means that the one protected space survivors thought they still had is now gone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    46 min
  8. The Stranger Gospel + Bart D. Ehrman

    Apr 9

    The Stranger Gospel + Bart D. Ehrman

    What if Jesus really meant what he said? Like, including all that love your enemy stuff. The better question maybe is what would happen if Jesus's followers believed he really meant what he said — and acted on it? It could change society and, according to Bart Ehrman, it already has. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy talk with Ehrman — a New Testament scholar, agnostic atheist and somewhat unlikely defender of Jesus' most radical teachings — about how Jesus' command to care for people on the periphery shaped the moral "common sense" of the Western world. From public hospitals to disaster relief to orphanages, much of our social safety net can be traced back to Christian invention, he argues. It's a particularly urgent conversation at a time when Christianity is claimed in the name of everything from war to mass deportations to repealing women's right to vote. GUEST: Bart D. Ehrman is a distinguished professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of numerous books on the New Testament and early Christianity, including his latest "Love Thy Stranger: How the Teachings of Jesus Transformed the Moral Conscience of the West." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    54 min
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4.8
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About

Roxy and Katelyn grew up in the white evangelical American heartland. Both were warned moving to a supposed bastion of secular culture would be dangerous to their faith. While navigating a city where people sleep in on Sunday mornings and the chaste motto “true love waits” isn’t a thing, the two have found a renewed, vibrant faith that has been both strengthened and stretched in the metropolis.

Information

  • Creator
    Religion News Service
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    171
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021
  • Show Website
    Saved by the City

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