In Good Faith

The In Good Faith team shares their favorite interviews from 2024.

Rabbi Creditor discusses the history of Hanukkah in America and the symbolism of the lighted candles. Rabbi Menachem Creditor serves as the Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence at UJA-Federation New York and was the founder of Rabbis Against Gun Violence. An acclaimed author, scholar, and speaker, he was named by Newsweek as one of the fifty most influential rabbis in America. He has written numerous books and 6 albums of original music. He and his wife Neshama Carlebach live in New York, where they are raising their five children.

Welcome to a special Christmas episode of In Good Faith. Today we’ll share Christmas carols from local choirs—and it was quite a treat to be in the recording sessions as this music came together. We’ll hear from Bridge Creek Bell Choir, as well as Amplifyre and 1Achord, two A Cappella groups. We also have Utah Baroque, the BYU Jazz Ensembles (there are 2!), and the Irish band An Rogaine Dubh. We hope you enjoy our Choir Christmas and that this holy music brings light and peace into your December.

Our episode today is about being someone's angel in order to Light the World. Light the World is actually a charity campaign from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that runs every Christmas season, inviting people to contribute to their communities, locally and globally, in ways that will change people's lives. You can do this through Giving Machines in your area, through acts of service at JustServe.org, or by connecting with those who need a little more support all around you. This year's Light the World theme is Be Someone's Angel and so we thought we'd bring together stories from our past guests, where they discuss how someone was an angel for them. Hear from Benjamin Perry, Mark Miner, Pritha Lal, Phyllis Spiegel, Marianne Bahri, David N. Moore, Mathew Schmalz, Marian Edmonds-Allen, Michael Schnabel, SB Rodriguez-Plate, Joe Charnes, and Melissa Dalton-Bradford. This episode was produced by James Sturdevant.

Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen, sat down with Steve in studio, for a chat about Jesus, humility, and blow dryers. Dallas Jenkins launched his career producing the independent feature "Hometown Legend" at the age of 25 and shepherded it to distribution by Warner Brothers. In the nearly 20 years since then, he has directed and produced over a dozen feature and short films for companies such as Universal, Pure Flix, Hallmark Channel and Amazon. Most recently, he directed “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” which Lionsgate released nationwide in November 2024.

How can we find joy in immense hardship? Join Douglas Abrams as he takes us on a journey of searching for truth, recounting his experience in learning from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Douglas Abrams is an author, editor, and producer. He co-wrote The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World with the His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which inspired the film MISSION: JOY, which is now on Netflix. He also co-wrote The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times with Jane Goodall. He has coauthored many bestselling non-fiction books and has written two novels.

Krista Tippett discusses her experience responding to the call to listen by bringing faith to public radio. Join us as we learn from her about revering mystery, finding meaning in difficult times, and pushing broadcasting boundaries. Krista Tippett is a Peabody-award winning broadcaster, National Humanities Medalist, and New York Times bestselling author. She created and hosts On Being. Krista grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, attended Brown University, worked as a young journalist and diplomat in Cold War Berlin, and later received a Master of Divinity from Yale. Her books are Speaking of Faith, Einstein’s God and, most recently, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living.

Can faith hold up to questioning? Join Steve as he talks with Jimmy Akin, an apologist for the Catholic faith. He fields a variety of questions from all kinds of people, and vows to find the answers. Jimmy Akin is an internationally known author and speaker. He is the senior apologist at Catholic Answers, and he has more than thirty years of experience defending and explaining the Faith. He is a convert to the Faith and has an extensive background in the Bible, theology, the Church Fathers, philosophy, canon law, and liturgy.

How can we combine our faith and heritage? Cindy Quinney discusses her journey of merging her indigineous tradition and culture with her newfound faith. Cindy Quinney is the Executive Director of Gathering of Tribes, which works to meet the needs of Indigenous Latter-day Saints through producing media, organizing events, and serving communities. Cindy is an enrolled member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation. She lives in Calgary, Canada.

How can we serve the 'stranger'? Mark and Rabbi Erica Gerson are excellent examples of selflessly serving those not of their faith alongside missionaries who are not of their faith. They discuss the charitable work they do to help people in Africa receive the medical care that they need. Mark Gerson is a co-founder of African Mission Healthcare and the host of the podcast, the Rabbi’s Huband. He and his wife, Rabbi Erica Gerson, founded the L’Chaim Prize, an annual award for Outstanding Christian Medical Missionary Service. Go to https://africanmissionhealthcare.org/ to see how you can support their work.