Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Christian Smith, the William R. Keenan Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame and author of Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation. Dr. Smith’s work examines the variety of reasons that individuals and communities are religious, as well as the impact of the family institution on traditional religious beliefs. Dr. Smith talks to Eddie and Chris about a general form of faith called “moralistic therapeutic deism,” the structures of society and culture that have made transitions challenging for young people, and the expectations that parents have for church congregations.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Ellen F. Davis, professor at Duke Divinity School and author of “Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible.” An Old Testament scholar with deep wisdom about our ecological crisis, Davis views the land we’ve inherited as kin and a covenant partner. She speaks to our call to serve and preserve the land out of honor and love for what God has given us. Davis challenges us to hold onto a hope that is not just a passive, sunny optimism, but a collective vision of goodness and wholeness driven by human agency and creativity.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Will Reed, who runs Native Son Farm in Tupelo, Mississippi. Reed has seen firsthand the preventable health issues facing people in Mississippi, and he began Native Son Farm eleven years ago to shift the food and farming landscape there. Reed understands the correlation between the ways we use our land and the work we provide to those in our communities, and he speaks to the picture of abundance that provides us with hope and true nourishment. Reed challenges us to choose transparency over convenience, inviting us to contribute to an atmosphere of health within our soil, our work, and our communities.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Dr. Norman Wirzba, the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute of Ethics at Duke University. Wirzba’s upcoming book, This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World explores three central questions at the intersection of theology and ecology: Who are we? Where are we? What should we do? Wirzba acknowledges that the doctrine of creation is not simply the teaching about how the world began, and he views creation care as an act of honor to God. This episode discusses the realities of climate change as both an ideological and financial issue, the importance of God’s covenant relationship with all of creation, and the limits of the natural world.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Jeff Bilbro, author of Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry's Sustainable Forms and Loving God's Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature. Bilbro’s work on ecology and theology has been heavily influenced by Wendell Berry, an environmental activist and author best known for his book The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Bilbro calls his readers to a greater ecological and cultural imagination based in the idea of shalom, a vision of relational and community healing in the context of our environment. This episode explores the deep wisdom of Wendell Berry across his literary forms, the idea of interrelatedness within God’s creation, and how to hold onto hope while enacting hope in our communities.

Chris and Eddie are joined by Heather McTeer Toney, an activist, speaker, and author who serves as the National Field Director for Moms Clean Air Force. Toney is the former two term mayor of Greenville, Mississippi, and she was appointed by President Obama as the Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Southeast Region. Toney speaks to the collaborative nature of creation care, the relationship between her upbringing and her heart for justice, her experiences with environmental challenges in the Mississippi Delta, and the responsibility that God has given each of us to this earth.

Kat Harris, author of “Sexless in the City” and host of The Refined Collective Podcast, is committed to releasing women from judgment and shame and helping them develop a healthy, Biblical view around sexuality. A single woman in her 30s, Kat openly shares about her experiences navigating the dating scene in New York City as a celibate Christian. Kat has received thousands of questions from women who haven’t felt permission to be curious about sexuality and desire. She talks to Eddie and Chris about how the Church’s narratives about sex and purity shape our expectations of women, God’s “very good” vision for human relationships, and how the Church can faithfully honor and celebrate single people.

In this episode, Chris and Eddie talk with Leigh Stein about her New York Times article, “The Empty Religions of Instagram.” The article explores the ways social media users turn to influencers as moral authorities that offer structure, comfort, encouragement, and humor. Stein has observed the birth of a new online orthodoxy that resembles religious beliefs, but that is missing the mercy or grace of true human connections within faith communities. This episode offers insight into the disappointment of digital iconography, the outrage cycle of social media, and our innate urge to testify and tell our stories.