With a freshman in high school, Amy and Christian Piatt are getting familiar with a whole new set of doubts. This got them thinking about how much doubt we’re surrounded by every day. But a question keep nagging at them… Is our doubt getting worse? From AI mimicry to feel-good stories gone bad, it seems… Read more about Season of Doubt
Words we use – or withhold – shape our culture, opinions and identities. From media and Church to the White House, our words are at war to claim attention more than ever before. We examine Trump’s words (and silence) regarding Sen. McCain’s death, the Vatican’s response to recent abuse allegations, what various media outlets chose… Read more about Words at War
It’s been a year since the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville took place. What has happened since then? Amy and Christian Piatt reflect on the impact of last year’s events, consider the recent “Unite the Right 2” rally in DC and consider MSNBC’s recent “Breaking Hate” special featuring former Hammerskin Nation leader and… Read more about Blood and Soil: One Year After Charlottesville...
In this episode, Christian and Amy ask why white Evangelicals support Trump in such big numbers. As much as 77% of white Evangelicals support Trump. Why do they continue to support him? Do progressives share anything with Evangelicals besides the name Christian? They talk about the moral compromise and rationalization of supporting Trump, the perceived… Read more about The Moral Compromise of Supporting Trump...
In this episode of the CultureCast, Amy and Christian talk about Jeff Sessions and Romans 13, Thai cave rescues and babies in cages, and free speech and feminism. You’ll hear about how a political cartoon sparked a debate about the difference between the efforts to rescue the soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand and… Read more about Modern Feminism and the Death Throes of Patriarchy...
This is our first ever ‘Best Of’ episode, looking back at some of the best interviews from the 6 months… ish. These are just short clips from 7 different interviews, so if you want to listen to the whole thing just click on the links: Carol Howard Merritt talks about overcoming religious trauma Dr. Pamela… Read more about Best of the CultureCast
In this week’s episode, Christian and Amy talk about autism, families, and ableism in the church. Their son, Mattias, who is on the spectrum, comes on the podcast to talk a little bit about what it’s like being on the spectrum, some of the challenges he faces, the most difficult moments in his life, what… Read more about Autism, God, and Family
Live from Chicago at Fourth Presbyterian Church for the Associated Church Press Conference. Gregg Brekke is Christian’s co-host with guests J. Kwest and Dr. Daniel White Hodge. Learn a little about the history of the Associated Church Press, and our sponsor Lutheran World Relief. If you go to lwr.org/coffee and use the promo code LWRCOFFEE, you’ll… Read more about The Soul of Hip Hop (CultureCast LIVE in Chicago)...
In this episode of the CultureCast, Amy gets to share some big news about her new position in Texas, and Christian gets his nerd credentials boosted by Ira Glass. Amy and Christian look at the state of leadership in the church today. what does it take to truly lead the church in the 21st century?… Read more about Razing Hell with Ira Glass
In this week’s episode, Christian and Amy are exploring some questions about church and get a little help from some friends. What does the church mean in the 21st century? What of our identity, systems, or traditions should be preserved or continued? What needs to die? How do you think the Christian religion will look… Read more about What Does “Church” Mean Today?
This week’s theme is wrestling with resurrection, transformation, the ways people are changing the world and when our best intentions go awry. Amy talks about how she was considering leaving the church and Christianity completely, the ways in which she has changed over the past year, and how resurrection has manifested in her life. Christian… Read more about The Very Worst Missionary with Jamie Wright...
It’s Holy Week, and the CultureCast is here to help you survive Easter. John 20:1-18 | Amy shares the Easter message she would preach, the calling out of Mary’s name and the importance of the act of naming, the significance of Jesus the gardener, opening ourselves to truth, being broken open by suffering, what we’ve… Read more about The Process of Resurrection (#SurvivingTheBible for Lent)...
This week on the CultureCast: the Triumphal Entry versus the Annunciation. Christian tries to convince Amy and Tripp that they should preach on the Annunciation texts, and not the triumphal entry, by showing how they’re connected. In Isaiah 7:10-14, Christian tells us about the scandal of particularity, and being participants in Easter without making it about us.… Read more about Ignorance Parties, Jackie Robinson, and Military Parades (#SurvivingTheBible for Lent)...
This week on the CultureCast we continue with highlights from the Surviving the Bible for Lent course. Tripp gives you your Bible-nerd fact of the day, you’ll hear about why David is like the Harvey Weinstein of the Hebrew Bible, what Mandy Moore has to do with the Psalms, and our avoidance of suffering. First… Read more about Mandy Moore, Harvey Weinstein and the Democratization of God (#SurvivingTheBible for Lent)...
This week on the CultureCast, you’ll hear about snakes on a stick (Numbers 21:4-9), Eddie Izzard, and Princess Leia. Christian and Amy are joined once again by Tripp Fuller to talk about some of the problems of reading this passage literally, the role this text plays in the relationship between God and Israel, those wilderness… Read more about Snake on a Stick! (#SurvivingTheBible for Lent)...
This edition of the CultureCast is from the second live session of Surviving the Bible for Lent, with Tripp Fuller and Christian and Amy. They take a look at the texts for the second Sunday in Lent (Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; John 2:13-22). Tripp gives you 3 different sermons you can preach for Lent using this text,… Read more about #SurvivingTheBible for Lent: Cleansing Our Temples...
We just passed 15% of our monthly goal! Thanks to everyone who helps to support the CultureCast. You can help us reach our goal, support the podcast, and get some sweet perks by donating at patreon.com/culturecast This special edition of the CultureCast is from the first live session of Surviving the Bible for Lent, with Homebrewed… Read more about #SurvivingTheBible for Lent: Super-Duper Pooper-Scooper Messiah...
In this episode, all the way from Hawaii, Christian and Amy talk about the Christian obsession with sex and fear. Are we too focused on sex and sexuality too much? Are we sometimes focusing on things like inclusion of LGBTQ to the exclusion of other things like poverty, homelessness, ecology? Is defending one’s identity or… Read more about The Christian Obsession with Sex and Fear, with Benjamin Corey...
Tripp Fuller, from the Homebrewed Christianity podcast, join Amy and Christian to extend a warm invitation to join the Surviving the Bible for Lent community. For a lot of us these texts have been used as weapons, experienced as burdens, so let’s acknowledge that together and discover what it looks like to survive the bible today. If… Read more about Surviving the Bible for Lent with Tripp Fuller...
This episode is all about medicine, medical ethics, and faith. Amy and Christian take a look at two big news stories involving medicine and ethics: the sexual assault case against US Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and the Trump administration’s initiative to give more freedom for physicians to refuse treatment because of religious belief. We implicitly trust… Read more about Faith, Ethics and Medical Practice with Dr. Lauren Raimer-Goodman...
What is an Evangelical today? In this episode, Christian, Amy, and friends talk about evangelicals and evangelicalism. White Evangelicals were largely responsible for getting Trump elected. This seems very strange (to some of us), considering he is considered neither a Christian nor a moral person. So considering this, we posed 3 questions to some of our… Read more about What is an Evangelical Today?
White nationalism looks a lot different today than it used to. In this episode Christian and Amy discuss the new face of white nationalism, how Trump is setting that example, and how we can counteract it. Where is the line between presidents as public figures and human beings? Do comments made by the president normalize… Read more about Racism in the White House and How to Train an Activist with Michael Poffenberger...
Michael Collins is back on the CultureCast to talk about net neutrality and cyber ethics. Who will feel the effects of the repeal of net neutrality the most? Is there an ethical argument against net neutrality? Will the end of net neutrality bring with it the censorship of internet content? Plus, Amy and Christian discuss… Read more about Kids and the Internet, Net Neutrality, and the Big Bad Wolff...
Welcome to Homebrewed SabbathCast! Amy and Christian are not talking about anything serious on this week’s episode. Well, they try not to. Christian talk to Dana Trent, author of For Sabbath’s Sake: Embracing Your Need For Rest, Worship, and Community. Is the Sabbath just something we’re supposed to give to God? Where does personal rest come into… Read more about Homebrewed SabbathCast
Christian and Amy go through the Acts of Mercy (Matt. 25) and give the country a grade for our efforts in food and nutrition, clean water access, affordable housing, homelessness, health care, prison reform, and immigration. How would Jesus say we’re doing? Are we living into the things Jesus calls us to? Plus, a look… Read more about Matthew 25’s Acts of Mercy: A National Report Card with John Burnett...
This week’s theme: when doing good breaks the law. Christian and Amy take a look at civil disobedience and discuss their personal struggles with protest and civil disobedience, Jim Wallis’s recent arrest for civil disobedience in the Senate Office Building, the 6 steps to prepare your community for civil disobedience, the most (and least) effective… Read more about When Doing Good Breaks the Law with John Kiriakou...
What does it mean when we send a citizen away to fight for their country? Can we still be proud to be an American? Do we make our leaders into saviors? In this episode, Christian and Amy talk about national pride, how it has changed, what it looks like, where the trends are headed, and… Read more about Proud to be American? with Martha Raddatz
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Rick Steves, travel journalist and host of the PBS show Rick Steves’ Europe, and the public radio show Travel with Rick Steves, sat down with Christian and Amy in Washington DC to talk about the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Is the Reformation still… Read more about Reformation 500 with Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and Rick Steves...
Coming at you LIVE from Surly Brewing in Minneapolis, it’s the Homebrewed CultureCast. Get ready to wade into nerdy theological waters. Right after Christian keynoted at the Voices Conference, he hung out with Dr. Kyle Roberts and Dr. Pamela Ayo Yetunde of the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Up first, Kyle talks about his work and… Read more about Homebrewed CultureCast LIVE from Minneapolis...
This is perhaps the nerdiest episode of the CultureCast: an all politics-nerd episode. In it, Christian and Amy talk about the special election in Virginia, the anniversary of the 2016 election, the Mueller investigation, and what the Democrats need to do for 2018. Trump has quietly accomplished more than it appears… so Christian and Amy… Read more about Trump, Mueller & Dems Dos-Don’ts in 2018...
