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 like we have to question the very reality aro…

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 to cover after th…

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 friend of th…

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 perce…

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 the relative inaction in re…

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 Ayo Yetunde talks a little about her Theolo…

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 has changed, his experience in a new school …

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 …

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? what does society need from a faith leader? how do f…

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 differently a generation or tw…

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 talks …

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 missed about the resurrection, a…

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 maki…

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 up, Jeremiah 31:31-34. Tripp once agai…

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 times in our lives, a…

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, Amy helps …

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 Christianity’s T…

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 group all there is? Are w…

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 you’re interes…

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 impli…

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 …

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 racism in our culture? What …

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 how the internet is changi…

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 p…

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 at the 7 words and phrases the…

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…

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 what to do about it. Christian also talks 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 Reforma…

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 w…

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 take a loo…

When does religion become a cult? What groups might qualify? And who decides? In this episode of the CultureCast, Christian and Amy talk about the 6 criteria used to determine if a group is in fact a cult, have we as a nation become a cult, and are certain brands of Christianity cult-ish? Christian interviews David Trotter about his new documentary…

There’s no question that what the word “family” means today, which means the values of what make for a good family, are changing as well. We’ve all heard that we need to get back to “Biblical family values,” but that does that mean? We break out a list of some models of family and what was acceptable during “Biblical times.” Safe to say these aren’…

Will our connections be our salvation? Or our destruction? In this Homebrewed CultureCast episode, Christian and Amy explore: how we are bound together by trauma, silence, and genetics the connection between neutron stars, gravitational waves, and Christian’s wedding ring difference and balance between cultural appropriation and respectful connecti…

Our nation is founded on the principle of placing central in our value system, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” But sometimes one negatively affects the other. Also, being “pro life” can mean so much more than most people assume. We discuss Diana Butler Bass’ recent claim that maybe church has reached a necessary end of its life cycle …

Salon Magazine asked a poignant question recently after a spate of domestic mass shootings: why is it always the white guy? While middle class males, in particular, are supposed to have more power and privilege than anyone else on the whole in America, so why are so many of us so filled with rage and violence? We explore the phenomenon of the “whit…

About one in four Americans identify as a “None,” which means, when asked about their religious affiliation, they claim “none of the above.” And yet so many of them claim some form of spirituality, or at least a hunger for exploring the possibility of God. In his new move, “Becoming Truly Human,” Nathan Andrew Jacobs follows several young adult Non…

Hurricane Harvey was a “1,000-year storm” that will have an impact on the Houston area for years or even decades. But what does such disaster tell us about God? More important, perhaps, is what it tell us about ourselves and how we understand God. Megachurch Pastor and Prosperity Gospel Preacher Joel Osteen commits a “Sin of Sodom” which he has nei…

In a special double episode that combines both a CultureCast and a Homebrewed Christianity episode, we celebrate Tripp Fuller’s 1,000th episode LIVE from the main stage at Wild Goose. On the CultureCast, Christian is joined by Tripp, Kristen Howerton and pastor-cum-rapper JKwest, while Tripp welcomes Christian, Micky ScottBey Jones and Robyn Hender…

Anyone who knows a few pastors probably knows someone who has struggled with burnout. Ministry always has been an atypical job with lots of unique demands and stressors, but as reported in a Barna Research Group study discussed in a new article called “Why Pastors Leave the Ministry,” it’s a growing trend. Then author and pastor Carol Howard Merrit…

What’s it like raising a child on the autism spectrum? Or being married to an adult on the spectrum? In an extended special segment, Amy and Christian Piatt talk about living with these and other realities, as well as how Church deals (or sometimes doesn’t) with special needs. We look into an online resource for autistic people and those who love t…

Some analysts say the left could gain some momentum, but only if they stop being “so annoying and get over their hamburger problem.” And after we looked into it, they’re right. In this episode of the Homebrewed CultureCast, we consider what’s at the root of progressives’ spate of losses in recent years, followed by a…let’s say passionate…talk about…

Matthew David Morris (a.k.a. Matt Morris) didn’t have a typical childhood. From playing arena shows with his dad alongside Kenny Rogers to starring on the Mickey Mouse Club with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Matthew David entered the public spotlight when his peers were coloring with finger paints in a class…

Do progressives and skinheads have overlapping agendas in the Pacific Northwest? Is “Alt Right” a synonym for “White Nationalist?” In the second half of our interview with former skinhead leader Christian Picciolini we talk about the larger implications of current political and media environments, how they contribute to racist extremism and what ro…

He was a skinhead in his youth, and now he run an organization (Life After Hate) to get people out of that life. In the first part of this two-episode interview, Christian Picciolini talks with us about what makes a skinhead in America, what the current socio-political climate is doing to mainstream similar views and what can be done to address it.…

Some people choose to break ground in their careers; others feel called to a ministry that will result in a reckoning of God’s calling with the cultural resistance on all sides. Bishop Karen Olevito is an inspiration in who she is and what she does, and we spent some time with her learning how she went from being a young girl in the United Methodis…

He’s been a halfwit brother co-parenting his mute younger sibling (Comedy Central’s BROTHERHOOD) to a ladies’ man on with an…umm…awkward medical secret (Netflix’s LOVESICK). He’s the lead singer in the alt-folk group JOHNNY FLYNN AND THE SUSSEX WIT, and now he’s young Einstein along with Geoffrey Rush as his elder counterpart in GENIUS, Brian Graze…

Animated feature films have been around since “Snow White,” but they’ve changed dramatically. How do artists and directors keep up? I talked with Kelly Asbury, veteran Hollywood animator and director of the new movie, Sony Pictures’ “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” as well as “Shrek 2” about the technical and creative process behind the stories that cap…

Films move our culture in profound ways, but how? Did Hollywood, and particularly, the Oscars, elevate women this year after major fallout last year? How about ethnic minorities? LQBTQ? And what do 2016’s films tell us about ourselves and our world? Gareth Higgins, founder of The Porch Magazine and the Movies and Meaning Festival, joins us to break…

What happens when an Episcopal priest Jeremy Lucas sets out to win an AR-15 in a raffle for a kids’ softball team fundraiser and gets it? What’s more, how do people – particularly Christians – react to his plans for the gun? Oh, and did I mention the the money used to buy the raffle tickets came from the church he serves? Why is this post entirely …

What happens when Christian and Amy head to a theology camp with three days of open jerks and about a dozen other podcasters? Well let’s find out, shall we? Thanks to Tripp Fuller for having us as part of his first-ever Theology Beer camp at the Hatchery Campus in Redondo Beach, CA recently to do our show live with a rotating tap of special guests.…