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PODCAST

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

30:54

What Stuck: Reading Pope Francis a Year Later

Complexified ·

2026/04/20

A year after his death, the Catholic Church is moving forward—and revealing what Francis actually changed.While he was alive, Francis' papacy was interpreted in real time: praised, criticized and debated. It was difficult to separate what was truly changing from what simply felt different because of him. Now, the Church moves forward, and this movement offers something new. A chance to see what was durable. What still feels like Francis? What has been absorbed into the Church’s way of

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28:43

What If the Most Powerful American in the World Isn't...

Complexified ·

2026/04/15

The playbook for dismissing a pope just stopped working. Trump called Pope Leo weak. Catholics — including some of Trump's own — aren't buying it. Vatican reporter Claire Giangravé joins Amanda Henderson to explain why Leo, a Chicago-born American pope, can't be dismissed the way his predecessors were, what his quiet first year was actually building toward, and whether the unlikely Catholic coalition forming behind him can hold. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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45:09

He Survived Conversion Therapy. The Supreme Court...

Complexified ·

2026/04/06

Tim Schrader Rodriguez spent eight years trying to "pray out the gay". He modulated his voice. He stopped listening to music with female lead singers. He sat weekly with a therapist who watched him come apart — and said nothing.Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 8–1 that therapists have a First Amendment right to pursue conversion therapy with their patients, upending a Colorado ban on the practice. This isn't history, nor is it a Colorado-only case. Bans that advocates spent years winning in

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22:53

The Myth of Sudden Change: How the First Woman...

Complexified ·

2026/03/30

When Sarah Mullally was installed as Archbishop of Canterbury, it looked like a breakthrough. It was. But it didn't happen by accident.In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with Catherine Pepinster, a journalist who reported on Mullally's rise and the network who helped make it possible. Before women could even become bishops in the Church of England, a small group of clergy saw a gap: being allowed to lead and actually getting there are two very different things. So they built Leading Women, a

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25:11

Are You a Starseed? The Search for Meaning, Rewritten

Complexified ·

2026/03/23

Inside a growing spiritual movement built around awakening, ascension, and the search for something biggerAt a packed conference in Los Angeles, thousands of people gathered to explore a different way of understanding reality—through crystals, energy healing, and the belief that some humans didn’t originate on Earth. They’re called starseeds: people who believe they were sent here from other planets to help humanity “ascend” to a higher dimension. According to our guest RNS reporter Kathryn

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18:27

Texas Created a Program to Fund Religious Schools. So...

Complexified ·

2026/03/17

Muslim families in Texas are asking: does school choice include us?A Houston father went to enroll his kids in Texas's new school voucher program and discovered his school wasn't on the list — along with every other Islamic school in the state. Texas launched one of the country's largest school choice programs promising families public funds for religious private schools, but roughly a hundred Muslim schools were excluded without official explanation. State officials have posted publicly about not

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22:18

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

Complexified ·

2026/03/11

When the podium becomes a pulpit.At a Pentagon press briefing this week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth closed his remarks with a reading from the Book of Psalms and ended with "Amen." Press briefings don't usually end that way. RNS reporter Jack Jenkins joins Amanda Henderson to trace how we got here — from monthly worship services in the Pentagon auditorium to biblical scripture overlaid on weapons systems to a Secretary of War who told his troops the nation needed to be "on bended knee,

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28:17

From Purity Rings to Shooting Your Dog: How Christian...

Complexified ·

2026/03/02

When empathy became toxic and cruelty became strength for Christian women. Christian womanhood has changed—and not in the ways many expected. In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with the co-hosts of the Saved By The City podcast Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone about the shift from 1990s purity culture to today’s trad wives, MAGA moms, and warnings against “toxic empathy.” They unpack how pandemic burnout, influencer culture, and widening political gender gaps reshaped the ideal Christian

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24:23

What's Next for American Jews and Israel? A...

Complexified ·

2026/02/23

Are six decades of solidarity giving way to generational strain? For much of the last half-century, support for Israel was a defining pillar of American Jewish life. It shaped institutions, philanthropy, politics, and identity. The consensus wasn’t always quiet — but it was broad. Today, that consensus is under strain. Younger American Jews — many raised in synagogues, camps, and on Birthright trips — are expressing a different relationship to Israel than their parents and grandparents. Some are

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22:23

When Trauma Becomes Identity: What Young Jews Are...

Complexified ·

2026/02/16

"We're the people everyone hates." That's what Rabbi Steven Burg hears when he asks young Jews who they are. October 7 accelerated this. In the aftermath of the attacks, lines were drawn between support for an occupied Gaza and the security of the Jewish state and people. Progressive coalitions found themselves fracturing. Interfaith partnerships strained to stay together. Students found themselves abandoned by people they thought were allies. But Burg says the problem runs deeper than

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23:51

The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts...

Complexified ·

2026/02/10

Complexified welcomes the Rev. William Barber II, architect of the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina, as he sets out to reclaim voters that ran to the right in the last presidential election.Who are these voters? Low-income voters earning less than $50,000 who favored Donald Trump by roughly 1% in 2024. That margin, according to Rev. Barber, is reversible, by campaigning being for something instead of against.Join host Amanda Henderson as she and Rev. Barber discuss the presumptions around

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23:59

Abortions Rose After Dobbs—And the March for Life...

Complexified ·

2026/02/02

The applause was muted when Trump appeared on video. One year ago, the March for Life felt like a rock concert. This year, JD Vance had to contend with detractors from the stage. The pro-life movement got what it wanted—Dobbs overturned Roe. But abortions in America have actually risen since the decision. Nearly two-thirds now happen through medication abortion, mifepristone prescribed via telehealth, accessible even in states with bans. The Trump administration won't restrict it. Vance called

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34:04

Quiet Quitting Church: When the Numbers Reveal...

Complexified ·

2026/01/30

Trying to put smoke in a boxThat's what it feels like to map why churches are dying. Most people who leave can't tell you why. They drifted. Three times a month became twice, then never. Ryan Burge, a sociologist and pastor, tracks the contradictions: the religiously unaffiliated climbed to 30% and stopped. Some churches that should close stay open. Others with resources fold anyway. Organizations scratch and claw past their expiration dates in ways no model captures. New Atheism ran out of steam

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25:02

They Shot the Pastor Anyway: When Religious...

Complexified ·

2026/01/20

Faith leaders thought their collars would protect them. They were wrong.The Presbyterian minister was wearing his collar. DHS shot him with pepper balls anyway. Across American cities—LA, DC, Chicago, Minneapolis—clergy are learning their moral authority no longer protects them as they resist Trump's mass deportation raids. Faith communities have built sophisticated networks: ICE observers, whistle brigades, cross-city organizing. In Minneapolis, where federal agents nearly double the police

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56:04

What Happened? Top Religion News Stories of 2025 —...

Complexified ·

2026/01/14

A Special Episode from The State of Belief!A special crossover from The State of Belief: RNS reporters Jack Jenkins and Adelle M. Banks join Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush to break down the biggest religion stories of 2025 — from faith-based pushback to immigration enforcement, to fights over DEI, to how communities are surviving economic upheaval. They also look ahead to 2026: an American pope, shifting “religious freedom” battles, and the rising entanglement of religion, technology, and

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25:31

A Dictator Was Seized. The Pope Spoke. Everyone Else...

Complexified ·

2026/01/12

Religious leaders stayed mostly silent when the U.S. seized a foreign dictator — except for the pope. Religious leaders stayed mostly silent when the U.S. grabbed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York. The loudest response didn’t come from Washington or American pulpits, but from Rome, where Pope Leo warned about sovereignty, dignity, and the rule of law. In this episode, Amanda Henderson talks with Religion News Service editor-in-chief Paul O’Donnell about why so many

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22:38

Faith, Fame, and the Feed: How Influencers Shape What...

Complexified ·

2026/01/05

In a world where attention is authority, who gets to shape faith, values, and public life?What does it actually mean to be an influencer in 2025 — and why does it matter so much for religion and politics? In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson is joined by Religion News Service reporters Fiona Murphy and Richa Karmarkar to unpack the people shaping belief, identity, and public conversation online right now. From conservative power brokers and Christian nationalist figures to Jewish

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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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