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Complexified

Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, Amanda Henderson, Iliff School of Theology

For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But the truth is, religion and politics are about daily life. When we avoid the hard topics connected to religion and politics, we become stuck in the status quo. On Complexified we dive into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, so we can get unstuck- so we can make real change. We dive into our most entrenched problems to better understand the hidden histories and experiences of real people on the front

government

All Episodes

18:55

How One Abuse Story Changed a Reporter

Complexified ·

2025/12/08

Sometimes a story breaks you open.While reporting on abuse and accountability inside the Southern Baptist Convention, RNS journalist Bob Smietana reached out to someone he’d interviewed many times before — publisher and whistleblower Jen Lyell. What followed was not another update for a news story, but a devastating turn that forced Bob to confront the human weight behind the reporting. In this episode, Bob joins Amanda Henderson for an unusually intimate conversation about Jen’s life, her courage,

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25:39

The Conservative Christian Momfluencer Machine

Complexified ·

2025/12/03

What if your favorite wholesome mom account was also your quietest political radicalizer?Earlier this year, RNS Editor Roxanne Stone was in Austin, Texas talking about tradwife influencers—women whose soft, nostalgic aesthetic is reshaping conversations about gender, faith, and politics. Just up the road in Dallas, her colleague Kathryn Post had been surrounded by 6,700 women at “Sharpen the Arrows,” a high-energy conference hosted by conservative Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey

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24:34

From Fringe to Front Page: Why Nick Fuentes Is at the...

Complexified ·

2025/11/26

When a 27-year-old streamer outruns the Church and spooks the political class, it’s worth asking how we got here.Nick Fuentes was supposed to be a fringe character—the kind of online provocateur national leaders could shrug off with “I don’t really know him.” But after a sympathetic Tucker Carlson interview and a wave of explosive backlash, Fuentes is suddenly unavoidable. He’s amassed a massive following of young men who see his Catholic branding as a moral compass, even as he pushes openly

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28:06

From Pink to Waterproof: The Weird Economics of U.S....

Complexified ·

2025/11/17

A paradox: declining churchgoing, rising Bible sales.Americans are attending church less—and buying more Bibles than ever. In this Complexified conversation, Amanda Henderson and RNS reporter Bob Smietana unpack the paradox: a two-decade boom in Bible sales alongside sinking religiosity. They trace how hyper-personalized editions (pink gift Bibles, “adventure” and environmental Bibles, even waterproof ones) meet life stages and rituals; why translation choices and shifting English keep spawning

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23:21

Beyond Identity Politics: The Mamdani Method in New York

Complexified ·

2025/11/10

What happens when a Muslim mayor-elect treats identity as a bridge, not a brand?In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson explores the story of Zoran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor-elect—a politician who turned identity into empathy and faith into fluency. RNS reporters Fiona André and Ulaa Kuziez join to unpack how Mamdani built a multifaith, multiethnic coalition that stretched from mosques to churches to fried chicken shops across Queens. They trace how his campaign

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22:52

Chainsaws, Catechism, and Courage: How One Parish...

Complexified ·

2025/11/03

In a dusty parking lot, worship meets organizing as a community faces ICE—and refuses to disappear. In Vista, California, a Catholic parish that worships outdoors has become a refuge and a rallying point: 13,000 people on a weekend, 900 volunteers, a crucifix chainsaw-carved by parishioners, and a pastor urging his flock to show up when it counts. Religion News Service reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain takes us there: to St. Francis festivities packed into a too-small sanctuary, catechism teachers

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28:45

Televangelists to Deepfakes: Who Defines the Sacred...

Complexified ·

2025/10/27

When outrage wins the algorithm, what does faith become?This live conversation from the RNS Symposium at Trinity Commons wrestles with a bracing question: when faith, power, and platform collapse into the same feed, who gets to define what’s sacred? Host Amanda Henderson and guest John Fuglesang trace a line from open-source scripture to televangelist TV to AI resurrecting voices, exploring how media mirrors our clicks—and how those clicks shape the moral imagination we live in. They name the

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22:59

Cease-Fire Isn’t Peace: Inside the Vatican’s Quiet...

Complexified ·

2025/10/20

When peacemaking is quiet, stubborn, and deeply human.In this conversation, host Amanda Henderson sits with RNS reporter Claire Giangravè to open the door on Vatican diplomacy during the Gaza cease-fire. We hear about priests who refused to leave a bombed parish that sheltered hundreds, the “Pope’s hour” of daily calls that steadied a frightened community, and the uneasy politics of neutrality when lives are at stake. From Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa’s gritty, multilingual bridge-building to

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25:01

Willow Creek’s Midlife Reckoning: How a Seeker Church...

Complexified ·

2025/10/13

How the “church of the future” grew up—and owned its past.In the fall of 1975, a youth pastor rented a suburban movie theater and swapped hymns for rock, sermons for storytelling, and pews for folding chairs—calling it seeker friendly. Within a generation, Willow Creek became the blueprint for American megachurches: packed auditoriums, meticulous production, small groups for discipleship, and a marketing mindset that even drew Harvard Business School and Peter Drucker–level attention. Then came

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20:51

Baptizing the Battlefield: Pete Hegseth’s Holy War at...

Complexified ·

2025/10/06

A Secretary of War leads worship at the Pentagon—how far can faith go before it becomes policy?Pete Hegseth calls it a “warrior ethos.” Critics call it a constitutional crisis. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson talks with RNS reporter Jack Jenkins about the Secretary of War’s efforts to merge his conservative evangelical faith with U.S. military leadership—from worship services inside the Pentagon to viral recruitment videos that pair the Lord’s Prayer with fighter jets. Together

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18:57

Faith, Labor, and a DOJ Reversal: Inside the BAPS...

Complexified ·

2025/09/29

When the DOJ drops a high-profile case, what truths—and tensions—remain?A clash of cultures, a legal saga, and a spiritual community under scrutiny. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson talks with RNS reporter Richa Karmarkar about the Department of Justice’s decision to drop its investigation into the BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey—the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere. Together, they trace how forced-labor allegations emerged, what “seva”

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25:12

Pulpit Politics: Why the Johnson Amendment Still...

Complexified ·

2025/09/22

What happens when politics steps into the pulpit?The Johnson Amendment has been around since the 1950s, but it’s still a political lightning rod today. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson sits down with RNS columnist and historian Mark Silk to unpack why the IRS recently announced it won’t enforce the law that bars nonprofits and churches from endorsing candidates. What’s at stake when sermons start sounding like campaign rallies? Is this really about religious freedom, political

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18:29

What Charlie Kirk’s Life and Death Reveal About...

Complexified ·

2025/09/15

What does it mean to mourn someone who thrived on conflict?Charlie Kirk’s assassination sent shockwaves through America’s already polarized political and religious landscape. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson talks with veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana and cultural critic Karen Swallow Prior about Kirk’s complicated legacy. Together they explore his rise among young evangelicals, his merger with Trump-era politics, and the charisma that drew both admiration and outrage. Karen

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34:49

Casper ter Kuile on Small Politics, Big Meaning, and...

Complexified ·

2025/06/18

What do you do when the systems around you feel like they’re crumbling—and calling your senator doesn’t feel like enough? In this heartening episode of Complexified, author and ritual innovator Casper ter Kuile joins Amanda to talk about spiritual practices, civic exhaustion, and why small politics and sacred relationships might be our best tools for weathering chaos. From vigils in a blizzard to midsummer festivals in Brooklyn, this conversation weaves together policy and poetry, tea and

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17:18

Stop Trying to Fix Everything: Simran Jeet Singh on...

Complexified ·

2025/06/02

In overwhelming times, spiritual practice starts small—and stays true.When the world feels too big to fix, it’s tempting to shut down—or spiral. In this intimate conversation, author and scholar Simran Jeet Singh joins Complexified to talk about what happens when we finally let go of the pressure to save the world, and instead tend to our corner of it with humility, joy, and spiritual grounding. Drawing from Sikh wisdom and his own experience of burnout, Simran invites us to trade ego-driven

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26:00

Can Small Acts of Faith Change a Fractured Country?

Complexified ·

2025/05/20

What if the most powerful protest starts with getting a good night’s sleep?How do we keep going when everything feels like too much? Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones joins host Amanda Henderson to talk about navigating trauma, disorientation, and political despair without giving in to collapse. From sleep to protest marches, they explore how small, rooted acts of care can ground us in a moment designed to disempower. If you’ve been wondering what faith looks like when the wheels

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40:55

What the Civil Rights Movement Still Has to Teach Us...

Complexified ·

2025/05/16

In this stirring episode of Complexified, we sit down with scholar, poet and community elder Rachel Harding to remember what the Civil Rights Movement was really made of — not just legal wins, but music, food, family and radical hope. Raised among icons and everyday visionaries, Rachel offers a vision for change that begins not in courts, but in kitchens. This is a story about memory and movement, but also about presence — the kind of deep connection to people, place and purpose that makes

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31:46

The Pope Who Blessed the Margins (And Upset the Middle)

Complexified ·

2025/04/21

The complicated legacy of Pope Francis — part reformer, part rule-breaker, and always hard to pin down.Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church — but how far did he really go? In this episode of Complexified, Vatican reporter Claire Giangravè joins host Amanda Henderson to reflect on the legacy of Pope Francis. From his early image as a reformer to his efforts to include marginalized communities, we explore the tensions that defined his papacy. Plus, what actually happens when a pope dies — and

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31:57

Loose Reins, Tight Factions: the Southern Baptist...

Complexified ·

2025/02/17

One of the most powerful religious institutions in America is also one of the most chaotic. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), with its billion-dollar budget and massive political influence, operates without centralized authority or even an effective system of accountability. But as the Executive Committee meets in Nashville this week, a long-simmering crisis of governance is coming to a head.In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson speaks with RNS reporter Bob Smietana to break down

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24:18

Sledgehammer Reform: USAID on the Chopping Block

Complexified ·

2025/02/10

USAID has been a pillar of American foreign policy and humanitarian relief for over 60 years, but under the Trump administration’s latest push for government downsizing—driven in part by Elon Musk’s influence—the agency is facing deep cuts that could disrupt life-saving aid in over 100 countries. What does this mean for the millions of people who rely on U.S. support for clean water, healthcare, and disaster relief? And how are faith-based organizations, some of the biggest USAID partners, preparing

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76 results

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