What's on your Jesus Island? Church, God, Christianity — they made up a core part of our identity as kids. In other words, we definitely had a Jesus Island. And, yes, that's a reference to Pixar's highly relatable "Inside Out." This episode of the podcast is full of them. Katelyn and Roxy plumb the depths of their childhood faith and discuss how those core memories continue to shape their faith today (or not!). We are joined by Esau McCaulley who shares some of his core faith memories as a kid, ...
Oct 19, 2023•52 min
Why can't you just let us be happy? Recent internet pile ons have made it clear there are a whole lot of people out there — including some academics and sociologists, as well as all the incels — who believe single women are ruining society. Not an exaggeration. Marriage rates are down, birth rates are down, men are reporting all time lows in mental health and happiness — especially single men — and it's all because women have just gotten too picky. Or that they prefer cats and shakshuka to marri...
Oct 12, 2023•35 min
And if Russell Moore is a liberal, then what the heck are we? Our first guest for season six has us thinking about institutions. An exciting lead for a season opener, you say? It is! In part because this guest now leads an institution, Christianity Today, that both Katelyn and Roxy have some history with. But, not too long ago, he was an SBC bigwig — the president of its Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — before, well, a lot of things went down. In 2015 ... and 2016 ... and pretty much ev...
Oct 05, 2023•48 min•Season 6Ep. 1
... and very messy. It's not everyday Saved by the City hosts Katelyn and Roxy get invited to be on documentaries, but it is every Hillsong documentary. The latest documentary treatment of the global megachurch’s descent into scandal recently premiered on FX and Hulu. And it featured our very own Ms. Beaty with some real zingers. It also featured Carl Lentz. Like a lot of Carl Lentz. The disgraced former pastor of Hillsong NYC took center stage once again and not everyone is happy about it. We t...
Jun 08, 2023•51 min
Mary, the mentor of Jesus. A lifetime of Bible reading and the women who surrounded Jesus still feel so flat, so much a part of the flannel graph background. Why? In this episode, Katelyn and Roxy explore how their perceptions of the women in the New Testament were formed and why it's still so difficult to conceive of them as real, three-dimensional people. They are joined by New Testament scholar, Nijay K. Gupta, who offers more than a few clues about how and why the women around Jesus became s...
Jun 01, 2023•49 min
ENTP! 2 wing 3! Let's talk about you and me! We'll admit, a podcast episode all about our personalities might be a bit self-indulgent. But also fun! So bear with us as we dive headfirst into the various and sundry methods for categorizing oneself. This week, Katelyn and Roxy go old school (Myers-Briggs), new school (StrengthsFinder) and a little woo-woo (Enneagram, just kidding, don't come after us). Plus, a journey into the desert with our spiritual guide — and podcast producer — Jonathan Woodw...
May 25, 2023•45 min
Let's go shatter a glass steeple or two, shall we? When it comes to women in ministry, the gains have been ever so gradual. And at the top levels of leadership — from seminary faculty and deans to senior clergy positions — women seem to have hit a wall. Fewer than 25 percent of seminary faculty and deans are women, as are 11 percent of presidents, according to the Association of Theological Schools. This week Katelyn and Roxy are joined by two of those rarities — the Rev. Drs. Lakeesha Walrond a...
May 18, 2023•48 min
You sound like your mother. Is an essential project of a daughter's life trying to understand her mother? On this episode of the podcast — on this week of Mother's Day — we reflect on the lessons we learned from our moms, how we saw them as teens, how we see them now (SPOILER: it's changed). Plus, we are joined by Marcie Alvis Walker in a wide ranging conversation about the power of motherhood — for good and ill — and the generational legacies we carry as daughters who sometimes become mothers. ...
May 11, 2023•54 min
Two words: chubby bunny. From the games that were downright gross to the Mountain Dew fueled lock-ins, youth group culture was its own special kinda weird. But was it good? On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy reminiscence on the lessons we learned as teens in our church basements (we shared a certain oldest daughter perfectionism that youth group culture seemed to heighten, even spiritualize). We're joined by author and researcher Sheila Wray Gregoire who shares some of her findings on how youth g...
May 04, 2023•53 min
It's an evangelical origin story. Who are the evangelicals? It's a contested question with a long history of answers — answers that depend largely on who is holding the mic at any given time. In this episode of the podcast, Katelyn and Roxy examine our own roles within the traditional gatekeeping institutions of evangelicalism and reflect on how we feel about them now. We are joined by Isaac B. Sharp for a tour of evangelicalism's defining decades and how the movement was shaped in part by who w...
Apr 27, 2023•48 min
Maybe beauty could be a little less fleeting? This week, Katelyn and Roxy dive face-first into the prickly subject of cosmetic procedures. They're not just for Hollywood stars and Dallas housewives anymore. But just because everyone is getting a little work done, should we? Would the Proverbs 31 woman — the biblical model for all things feminine — go under the knife? The laser? The needle? All this, plus skin care guru Jamie B. Golden on the do's and don'ts (and maybes) on your dermatologist's e...
Apr 20, 2023•51 min
Living large on the Lord. $150,000 on a three-day luxury retreat in Cancun. $37,000 on flowers. $13,000 on high tea. $16,000 on custom skateboards. These are just a few of the line items recently uncovered in Hillsong financial statements. Last month, a leader in Australia’s Parliament, armed with 17 binders full of documents, accused Hillsong leaders of breaking financial laws in Australia and beyond, specifically of fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. We figured: we've covered sex and pow...
Apr 13, 2023•37 min
Sometimes going through the motions is the whole point. On this episode, which drops amid Holy Week, Roxy and Katelyn reflect on the beauty, meaning, and mystery they have found in the church liturgy. Instead of feeling rote, the rhythms and prayers of the church have become nourishing for us. Kind of like a favorite meal. They are joined by the Most Rev. Michael Curry, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the American branch of the Anglican Communion. He talks about his approach to eva...
Apr 06, 2023•45 min
But did the era of heroin chic ever really end? Low rise jeans are trying to make a comeback — does that mean the bodies that look good in them must too? (Aka: teensy tiny itty bitty very flat stomach bodies.) On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy explore how the body ideals promoted during our teen years are still informing the way we see our adult bodies. We look at how some things have changed — because there has been some progress! — and how others have stayed frustratingly toxic. Plus, we're jo...
Mar 30, 2023•48 min
Let's get a drink sometime! New York's a drinking town. Happy hours. Boozy brunches. Martinis and oysters. The city's social life revolves around artisan cocktails and bubbly toasts and late night dive bars. And while the pandemic may have put a screeching halt to the social side of that life, it didn't stop the flow of booze. Restaurants offered craft cocktails to go, the sidewalks became open carry and delivery drinks were an app away. Drinking went from social to solo and it was during that t...
Mar 23, 2023•45 min
Watch out for the Cabbage Patch Kids! Katelyn and Roxy are back for a new season of Saved By the City and are joined by guest Jinger Duggar Vuolo. Listeners may know her as one of the siblings on the reality TV show “19 Kids and Counting," or maybe from the "Free Jinger" movement online. In addition to her childhood being well-documented, Jinger also grew up within a Christian movement that was, shall we say, a bit … strict. As followers of Bill Gothard and his Institute of Basic Life Principles...
Mar 16, 2023•49 min
Happy holidays! In New York City, the phrase has nothing to do with a culture war and everything to do with being a good neighbor. A recent NY Times article describes the city as "a swirling kaleidoscope of faiths," and living within that colorful milieu has profoundly shaped our posture toward other religions. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss the ways New York City has exposed us to the beauty and wisdom of other faith traditions, while introducing us to the importance of interfaith wo...
Dec 22, 2022•49 min
The year is not over yet but we're ready to hand in the verdict. This week, Katelyn and Roxy reflect on the year that was 2022 (better than 2020!) and share some highlights and lowlights in various categories. Favorite book? Check. Favorite TV show? Yep. Favorite friendship moment? Yes please. Strangest thing you saw on the subway? Of course. Plus, we share some goals for ourselves — and the podcast! — as we look toward 2023.
Dec 15, 2022•34 min
It's been 2000 years. Enough already. Abusing power is an ancient genre of sin — and using religion to justify abuse is perhaps the oldest trick in that book. We know it won't stop with this podcast episode, but, here we go anyway. Katelyn and Roxy address some of the difficulties of identifying spiritual abuse (no, it isn't just "church hurt") and examine how it has manifested in a few more recent and notable scandals. Veteran psychologist and expert on religious trauma, Diane Langberg, joins t...
Dec 08, 2022•50 min
Silly, shallow, serious, interstellar … we said we’d take any and all of your questions. And we get some good ones! Katelyn has been on jury duty. We had Thanksgiving break. Roxy is on vacation this week. So it seemed like a good time to let our listeners do some of the work for us. We took to social media to seek your "ask me anything" — AMA — style questions. And we totally go there. Plus, here to deliver your questions (and a few of his own) is a very special guest, out from behind the curtai...
Dec 01, 2022•50 min
We do love a journalism movie. It's been five years since the NY Times exposé of Harvey Weinstein sparked the global #MeToo movement. And the new movie, "She Said," documents the two-steps-forward, one-step-back work of investigative reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor in uncovering the extent of Weinstein's abuses. "Pump it into my veins," is how Katelyn describes the movie. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss the new movie, the book it's based on, and where we are now. GUESTS: Christi...
Nov 24, 2022•50 min
Unmarried women are ruining everything! At least according to some people who went to Twitter, Fox News, and God only knows where else to bemoan last week's midterm election results — placing a large share of their disappointment at the feet of unmarried women, who broke strongly for Democrats. Suffice it to say, their words were not very nice. Anyway, politics aside, we think their vitriol was misguided — and we have the data to prove it! On this week's episode, Katelyn and Roxy dive into some ...
Nov 17, 2022•40 min
You're still young! You're too picky! Just put yourself out there more! We've heard some doozies. And, while most friends are well-meaning (if occasionally passive-aggressive), they aren't always aware of how these phrases can bump against some tender spots. You've heard of "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," but in this episode, Katelyn and Roxy bring you ... How to Lose Your Single Friends in 10 Words (Or Less). But, not to worry, we don't want to leave you feeling speechless. We also offer some t...
Nov 10, 2022•41 min
It's the motherlode episode. Most women of a certain age (our age) have kids. They just do. And we don't. Living in that reality can be complicated — it's fun to be an "auntie," but it's not the same as being a mom — there's grief and there's gain. On this episode, Katelyn and Roxy grapple with their own winding paths to life without kids. We share what's it's meant to mourn that loss while finding ways to embrace the gifts of a childfree life. We're joined by Erin S. Lane who helps us challenge...
Nov 03, 2022•53 min
Is this real blood we're drinking? There's an old joke that a religion is a cult plus time. So are we just late comers to a very old cult? Katelyn and Roxy explore this plus all the other scary things — like aging! — in our All Hallow's Eve episode. And religion reporter Sam Kestenbaum joins to talk vampires, mummies, QAnon devotees, and groups with some cult-y vibes (including maybe ... some of the churches we've attended). GUEST: Sam Kestenbaum is a religion reporter who has written for The Ne...
Oct 26, 2022•48 min
The midterms ... truly the spookiest season of them all. Everyone seems to be talking about Christian nationalism right now. The phrase is in the air. And, while, there's plenty of focus on the evangelical vote every election cycle, this is not quite the same. Religion News Service, and especially religion and politics correspondent Jack Jenkins, has long been covering this new iteration of Christian nationalism. So, for this special episode, in the run up to the midterms, Roxy talks with Jack a...
Oct 19, 2022•51 min
Can men and women just be friends or does the sex always get in the way? Billy Graham and Billy Crystal both seemed to believe the answer was: nope and yes, always. A rare instance of overlap in the evangelical-Hollywood Venn diagram, perhaps. But maybe it shouldn't be? In this episode, Katelyn and Roxy discuss their own friendships with men: when and how they've worked — and why they sometimes haven't. And we explore the vision Christianity offers for non-romantic, opposite sex relationships. P...
Oct 12, 2022•37 min
Oh, the pressure of perfection. Is there anyone who reads the Bible with the intensity of an evangelical 12-year-old? So asks Charles Marsh, our guest for this episode and the author of "Evangelical Anxiety: A Memoir." We resonate. Katelyn and Roxy reflect on the amped up nature of an evangelical upbringing, recalling childhood fantasies of martyrdom, the high stakes proposal of eternal salvation or damnation, and Christian bumper stickers. GUEST: Charles Marsh is a professor of religious studie...
Oct 05, 2022•48 min
Let's be honest: Christians seem uniquely bad at having a good time. We get it: slippery slopes, dens of iniquity, roads to hell, etc. But maybe we've taken the Puritan instinct a little too far? Made everything that's fun suspect? Maybe it's time to lighten up a bit, look around at all God's created and go delight in it? Well, we'd like to give it a try anyway. This week, "fun coach" Annie F. Downs joins Katelyn and Roxy to go deep on being lighthearted. She makes the case for why fun is essent...
Sep 28, 2022•42 min
It all started innocently enough: with evangelistic aerobics. As many famous Christians do, Beth Moore entered ministry with a simple desire: to teach people about Jesus. In the 1980s, that meant choreographing aerobics routines to Contemporary Christian Music. (Think Jazzercise for Jesus.) It also meant teaching a women’s Bible study class at church that quickly mushroomed in size. Soon, Beth was speaking at churches across the country, publishing several best-selling Bible studies, and startin...
Aug 31, 2022•57 min
