Religion Unplugged

The Media Project
  • 5.0 (13)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Religion explored through candid conversations and original reporting. This podcast is powered by The Media Project, a network of more than 1,000 journalists worldwide. TMP acknowledges that religion is growing and becoming more, not less important in the world.

  1. 3D AGO

    What Do the 2026 Oscars Have to Say About Religion?

    2025 was a big year for film. Theaters drew people in for a wide variety of stories. Moviegoers saw thrillers like Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Josh Safdie’s “Marty Supreme.” They saw the returns of beloved characters with James Gunn’s “Superman” and James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire & Ash.” They embraced the strange with “Bugonia,” the romantic with “Materialists” and the tragic with “Frankenstein.” But, as has been increasingly the case in recent years, droves of moviegoers also showed up to films with heavily religious themes. Faith based studios and directors produced a variety of faith-forward movies with family-friendly animated movies like “David“ or “Light of The World” and more mature films such as “Guns and Moses” or “The Last Rodeo. But faith also appeared in many religiously unaffiliated Hollywood films, such as the latest installment of the “Knives Out” franchise which focused on the murder of a controversial catholic priest and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which explored the clashes of spirituality and conventional religion. As the Oscars are fast approaching this weekend, Religion Unplugged’s Culture Editor Jillian Cheney and Film Critic Joseph Holmes sat down with public intellectual and theologian Paul Anleitner. Paul is the President and CEO of Goodmakers, and the author of “Based on a True Story: Vibe Shifts, the End of Deconstruction, & the Reboot of Meaning,” which comes out this summer and is available for pre-order now.  Jillian, Joseph and Paul talk through the spiritual and religious themes of some of this years’ most beloved Oscar Nominees including “Sinners,” “Train Dreams,” “One Battle After Another” and “F1.” #oscars #goodmakers #podcast #paulanleitner #traindreams #sinners #f1 #onebattleafteranother

    56 min

  2. MAR 3

    What Maduro's Capture Means For Religious Freedom in Venezuela

    On January 3rd of this year, in the middle of the night, U.S. special forces broke into the Home of Venezuela’s President, Nicolás Maduro, and abducted him and his wife. U.S. military presence in Venezuela had been creeping up for months—with much of it being attributed to cartel suppression. But, when President Trump posted an image on Truth Social depicting Maduro in a Nike Sweatsuit and a blindfold aboard the USS Iwo Jima, many Americans were left wondering, "What happens next?" and, just as crucially, "Can the U.S. Government do that?" But while human rights advocates from around the world cautiously celebrate the downfall of the authoritarian dictator, life for many Venezuelans has not changed radically, and the regime Maduro was a part of remains in power through his Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez. Another part of that regime that may have outlived Maduro’s rule is the Venezuelan Government's bribery of certain churches. Under Maduro, extra cash and remodeled church buildings were exchanged for pastoral support of the government. And for the churches that refused to bow the knee, there have been multiple cases of intense verbal harassment, leading many to consider Venezuelans as having a suboptimal form of religious freedom—despite a constitution which protects that liberty. For this week’s podcast, I spoke with Knox Thames and Anna Lee Stangl. Knox worked in the U.S. State Department under both Obama, and Trump as a Special Advisor for Religious Minorities. He is also the author of Ending Persecution and International Religious Freedom Advocacy. Anna Lee is the Head of Advocacy and Team Leader of Latin America at Christian Solidarity Worldwide USA. Thames and Stangle talked through religious freedom before and after Maduro, the way Venezuelan politics has been shaped by the nations around it, Trump’s confusing justification for keeping Maduro’s Vice in power, and concerns for Latin American religious liberty at large. Tags: #venezuela #maduro #religiousfreedom #humanrights #liberty #freedom #church #christianity #latinamerica #latino #venezuelans

    31 min

  3. FEB 24

    What Changed The Faith-Based Film Industry?

    Christian movies have a pretty negative reputation. They are criticized for being cheesy, preachy, poorly acted, poorly written, and generally prioritizing lesson-teaching over entertainment or artistic excellence. But, in recent years, their Rotten Tomatoes scores have been on a steady uptick. The critical reviews contain more of the nuance given to secular films, and, en masse, viewers seem to be more positive about their experiences. So, what’s happening? The tide that has turned in the faith-based film industry is multifaceted. The studios have become willing to give Christian directors bigger budgets. Writers have started telling stories with more complicated heroes and honest portrayals of life. Skilled and well-established actors like Patricia Heaton, Zachary Levi, Kelsey Grammar, and Dennis Quade are being hired One of the innovators behind the industry’s compounding improvement is Andy Erwin. Andy Erwin and his brother Jon helped found Kingdom Story Company in 2019. The studio has been responsible for some of the biggest and most positively reviewed Christian films to date—including Jesus Revolution, Sarah’s Oil, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  But the Erwin brothers’ breakout hit was 2018’s “I Can Only Imagine.” The film follows MercyMe’s vocalist Bart Millard from his childhood growing up with an abusive father to his creation of one of the most popular contemporary Christian songs of all time. Now, they’re back with the sequel, “I Can Only Imagine 2” which came out in theaters last week. Religion Unplugged’s Culture Critic, Joseph Holmes, sat down with Erwin to better understand where the Christian film industry is headed and why the story of “I Can Only Imagine” needed to be expanded on. 
I Can Only Imagine: https://icanonlyimagine.com

    17 min

  4. FEB 17

    Debunking The Myth That Jews Are Bad At Sports

    This year’s Winter Olympic Games are filled with Jewish athletes. They can be found in hockey goals, cross country slopes, bobsleds, and skating competitions. But, despite a robust representation in Milan and an even more significant representation in the Paris games of 2024, the stereotype that Jews are bad at sports has not fully vanished. The stereotype is a very old one, but it was probably made most popular by none other than Hitler himself. It has become such a popular delusion that even many Jewish writers and entertainers have adopted it. In order to understand how this stereotype began, and why it is so egregiously incorrect, I sat down with Writer and Radiologist Michael Meyerson. Michael was a tennis player in his younger years and began researching and writing about Jewish Athletes in his spare time as a way to debunk the stereotype Michael’s 300-page book, “Tragedy & Triumph” details the stories of countless jewish athletes who competed in the Olympic Games. Michael explores the constant struggle that Jews have had throughout history to be respected in athletic circles—and it turns out to be much bigger than just the infamous Hitler games. Notably, Michael’s book covers several athletes whose stories have made it into major films such as Chariots of Fire and The Boys In The Boat. He even touches on Martin Reisman, the hustling table-tennis player whose life inspired last year’s critically acclaimed Marty Supreme. Michael and I talked about his purpose in writing the book, the strange moment when gliding was considered an Olympic Sport, the reason many Jews are so good at fencing, and much more. Tragedy and Triumph: https://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Triumph-Second-Olympics-Perspective/dp/0645343250

    29 min

  5. FEB 10

    Why Nathan Clarkson Thinks He's The Worst

    In the Apostle Paul’s 1st Biblical letter to Timothy, Paul writes that Christ came into the world to save sinners. He follows that up by stating that he is the foremost sinner. This is sometimes translated as Paul being “chief of sinners” and even as him being, plainly, “the worst.” It’s this idea that Christian actor, writer, and podcaster Nathan Clarkson uses to justify the title of his new book: “I’m The Worst.” Nathan’s work goes against the cultural current. In an age where many loud voices urge us to put away thoughts of self-criticism and turn instead toward radical self-acceptance, Nathan argues that to truly value ourselves is to understand where we have failed and where we need to grow. Furthermore, Nathan encourages his readers to spend less time bemoaning the people who are making the world worse and more time actively working on what we can do to make the world better. Nathan has acted in The Purge, Silicon Valley, FBI: Most Wanted, Past Lives, and many other movies and TV shows. In addition to acting Nathan has produced multiple feature films through his production company, Clarkson’s Creations. He is also a Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author for his book Finding God in Hollywood, among others. Religion Unplugged’s Culture Critic, Joseph Holmes regularly co hosts a podcast with Nathan called The Overthinkers, so this week, the pair sat down on our podcast, to discuss Nathan’s personal cycles of failure and self-improvement, the ways we villainize the people who differ from us, and how a self-critical mindset can still coincide with self-love.

    32 min

  6. FEB 3

    Inside South Africa's Pastoral Sex Abuse Crisis

    South Africa has a sexual abuse crisis. And while many of these attacks occur on the streets or in the home, every month, several cases of rape take place in churches and are perpetrated by pastors. The assaulted individuals come from every ethnic group, age, social class, and even gender. For over a decade, tens of thousands of South Africans have been violated in their communities. To better understand South Africa’s abuse crisis and how faith communities are involved, I sat down with Vicky Abraham. Vicky is an investigative journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. In addition to her work at Religion Unplugged, Vicky’s work has appeared in The Roys Report, the Mail & Guardian, City Press and many other publications. Vicky’s article last week, entitled “South Africa’s Gender-Based Violence Crisis Reaches The Pulpit” details the incredible range of sexual violence that is occurring at the hands of the person who parishioners often trust most, their pastor. Abuse of teenagers is incredibly frequent, with many abusers having been abused in adolescence themselves and then perpetuating the cycle of sexual violence. But Vicky noted that even very elderly people and babies under a year old have fallen victim to abuse.  Vicky walked me through the complex path that victims often have to walk in order to report their abuser. When brought to church authorities, many victims are rebuked and told that what they say is going to harm the church and disrupt the spiritual community. For men, who are also frequently victims, police officers will often mock them for having been sexually assaulted, heaping shame on an already devastating situation. Vicky’s investigation into pastoral sex crimes is ongoing—with new cases appearing all the time. And while she is pleased with the outraged reactions from many healthy churches and even South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, there is still a long way to come. #southafrica #southafrican #churches #pastors #christianity #abuse #awareness #africa

    35 min

  7. JAN 27

    25 Years On The Godbeat With Bobby Ross Jr.

    In 2025, the whole world watched as Chicago native Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope.  Again, everyone watched as Conservative Christian Apologist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. But while religious news events like these were known world round, other important stories are being covered all the time by journalists like Bobby Ross Jr., a veteran religion reporter. In addition to covering Kirk and Leo, Bobby also wrote about Christian parents grieving in the wake of the Central Texas floods, faith’s role in The Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship-winning season, and the possibility of Christian higher education in Europe. So on this week’s episode of the Religion Unplugged Podcast Matthew Peterson sat down with Bobby to discuss not only the news trends he anticipates in the year to come, but also his career of 25 years covering faith through on-the-ground reporting in all 50 states and in 20 different countries. Bobby started his career of reporting on what he calls “the Godbeat” back in 2001, when he was working for the Oklahoman. Today, he is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle, which focuses on covering Churches of Christ all over the globe. He also writes his column, the “Weekend Plug-In” every Friday at Religion Unplugged Bobby and Matthew's conversation spanned how his interest in baseball shaped his initial career decision, how he maintains fairness and accuracy when covering difficult subjects within his faith tradition, and even how to discern what is true in the age of social media and AI. #religion #godbeat #religionnews #journalist #journalism #christianchronicle #2026 #bobbyrossjr #interview #podcast

    31 min

  8. JAN 20

    Ryan Burge And The Vanishing Church

    Religion sociologist and Religion Unplugged contributor Ryan Burge sits down with culture critic Joseph Holmes to discuss Ryan's book "The Vanishing Church" and why the church has lost its ability to bring Americans together.

    55 min
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About

Religion explored through candid conversations and original reporting. This podcast is powered by The Media Project, a network of more than 1,000 journalists worldwide. TMP acknowledges that religion is growing and becoming more, not less important in the world.

Information

  • Creator
    The Media Project
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    229
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Religion Unplugged

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