Saved by the City

Religion News Service
  • 4.8 (126)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 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

    44 min
  2. 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
  3. The Manosphere and the Gospel of Self-Optimization

    APR 3

    The Manosphere and the Gospel of Self-Optimization

    Bro, do you even know your facial thirds? In an era of overexposure, perhaps looksmaxxing was inevitable. Clavicular, the face of this buzzy new internet phenomenon, tells us an uncomfortable truth we probably already knew: physical attractiveness gets you places. And, in true manosphere fashion, he is taking that to its transgressive extreme — steroid use, appetite suppressants, bone smashing, jaw surgeries, an incalculable amount of supplements and an obsessive fixation on achieving the perfect body ratios. But to what end?  On this episode of the podcast, Katelyn and Roxy examine the looksmaxxers' zealous pursuit of physical "ascension" and its guiding ethos of self-optimization at seemingly all costs. We are joined by RNS national reporter Fiona Murphy to discuss the "inverted asceticism" of the looksmaxxing community and its connections to the broader manosphere. We also get into the other manosphere development of late: Louis Theroux's new documentary, which follows several streamers and podcast hosts displaying a range of bad behaviors in pursuit of clicks. And we ask: what role is religion playing in all this male meaning-making? GUEST: Fiona Murphy is a New York-based multimedia journalist and national reporter at Religion News Service. Murphy covers local stories as well as national trends, with a focus on how faith intersects with digital life, identity and community. When it comes to the manosphere, she has written on Looksmaxxing, Catholicism and the new discipline of the body, and Nick Fuentes and the Groyper challenge to Catholicism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min
  4. Bible Stories That Scared the Hell Out of Us

    MAR 26

    Bible Stories That Scared the Hell Out of Us

    The Noah's Ark story should come with a content warning. The Beginner's Bible. The Precious Moments Bible. The Jesus Storybook Bible. Children's Bibles remain an incredibly popular way for parents to teach their kids the faith. Roxy and Katelyn both remember the Bible stories that left a deep impression on them (a female spy! Fake arm hair!). But some of those stories can be confusing or downright scary. And when taught within a legalistic framework, they can turn faith into an obedience training program rather than a relationship with a gracious parent. That's why our guest on this episode, Meredith Miller, is equipping parents to teach the faith from a posture of curiosity and connection. Miller is a pastor and author of "Wonder: 52 Conversations to Help Kids Fall in Love with Scripture." She previously served as curriculum director for the children's ministry at Willow Creek Community Church. She explains why the Noah's Ark story should not be taught to kids ... and walks us through how she teaches children about the cross in developmentally appropriate ways. Plus: We break down the top scariest Bible stories for kids. Guest:  Meredith Miller is co-pastor of Pamona Valley Church and author of "Wonder: 52 Conversations to Help Kids Fall in Love with Scripture" and Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Have to Heal From. She writes at the Kids + Faith substack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
  5. Something Is Happening ... But Is It a Revival?

    MAR 19

    Something Is Happening ... But Is It a Revival?

    Every generation gets its revival story. In 1971, Time Magazine ran "The Jesus Revolution." In 1998, the New York Times wondered if evangelicals were "on the threshold of a huge spiritual revival." And in 2025, headlines screamed that Gen Z was flocking back to church, that young men were leading a religious resurgence, that Charlie Kirk's death had sparked mass conversions. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy ask: Is any of it actually true? Spoiler alert: not really. We're joined by Ryan Burge, political scientist and religion data aficionado, who brings receipts. Turns out Gen Z is the least religious generation in American history. There's no male revival — just a female exodus. And, according to Burge, we're not so much seeing a conservative surge as a hollowing out of moderates as churches polarize along political lines. But anecdotes remain and there does seem to be something going on in Christian America — even if we wouldn't call it a revival. Guest: Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. He writes at his substack "Graphs About Religion" and is the author of half a dozen books on religion and politics in the U.S., including his most recent "The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us (Why the Culture Wars Led to Polarization and What We Can Do About It)." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    52 min
  6. Epstein, MAHA and the War for Women

    MAR 12

    Epstein, MAHA and the War for Women

    Roxy & Katelyn are coming in hot with a deep dive into how the MAGA movement may be losing women. The Justice Department's seemingly reticent release of the Epstein files has led some prominent figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene to disavow her ties to President Donald Trump, as many women's cries for justice for survivors grow louder. The MAHA ("Make America Healthy Again") base, led by influencers like Alex Clark, feel betrayed by the administration for letting more toxins such as Roundup to be produced on American soil. And Trump's women supporters find themselves part of a wide-reaching coalition that includes men like pastor Douglas Wilson, who has wondered aloud whether women should have the right to vote at all. It's a wild political and cultural moment, one Katelyn and Roxy are eager to tackle this season. Chapters 0:00 — Intro / 2026 check-in 1:41 — News quiz 8:16 — The Epstein files 18:20 — MAHA moms and the glyphosate betrayal 24:12 — Doug Wilson and the war for women 32:17 — Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    36 min
  7. From Purity Rings to Shooting Your Dog: How Christian Womanhood Went MAGA

    MAR 2 ·  BONUS

    From Purity Rings to Shooting Your Dog: How Christian Womanhood Went MAGA

    A Saved By The City Crossover Event! We're back! ALMOST. We recently joined another RNS podcast to look at how Christian womanhood has changed—and not in the ways we could have expected. In this episode of Complexified, host Amanda Henderson talks with us about the shift from 1990s purity culture to today’s trad wives, MAGA moms, and warnings against “toxic empathy.” The three of us unpack how pandemic burnout, influencer culture, and widening political gender gaps reshaped the ideal Christian woman — and why empathy itself has become a flashpoint. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    30 min
  8. The Religion Stories Behind the Headlines: 2025 Recap With Jack Jenkins + Adelle Banks

    JAN 14 ·  BONUS

    The Religion Stories Behind the Headlines: 2025 Recap With Jack Jenkins + Adelle Banks

    A Special Episode from The State of Belief! We’re sharing a special episode from The State of Belief — a wide-ranging conversation with Religion News Service reporters Jack Jenkins and Adelle M. Banks on the faith angles you don’t hear in the standard year-end news wrap. From immigration and church-state battles to DEI backlash, workplace shocks, and the shock of an American pope, they trace what 2025 revealed about power, justice, and public trust — and what questions we should be asking as 2026 approaches. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    54 min
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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
    165
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021
  • Show Website
    Saved by the City

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