Faith and Feminism

Mary Katherine Backstrom talks to us about what happens when we are forced to reconsider the beliefs, assumptions, and stories that have always steered our course.

What can other-than-human creatures teach us about mothering, belonging, caregiving, loss, and resiliency? Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder answers these questions in a quest to learn how to mother in incredibly challenging times.

Christians are called to care for the vulnerable, but churches have not always led the way in becoming places safe from abuse. Increasingly, organizations and churches are recognizing the importance of the field of safeguarding: training and equipping people to prevent abuse, act when abuse happens, and promote healing for survivors. Taylor Patterson talks to us about how to safeguard the church from abuse and how to heal when it happens.

In the New York Times Bestselling "Becoming the Pastor's Wife", Beth Allison Barr draws on her academic expertise to trace the history of the role of the pastor's wife, showing how it both helped and hurt women in conservative Protestant traditions. While they gained an important leadership role, it came at a deep cost: losing independent church leadership opportunities that existed throughout most of church history and strengthening a gender hierarchy that prioritized male careers.

Leyla King shares her family's story of survival as her ancestors flee war and poverty. From Haifa to Ramallah, Damascus, Beirut, and finally Texas, Leyla makes global politics deeply personal as family squabbles, ambition, mental illness, romance, and religion shape their immigrant journey.

Jane Clair's journey into advocacy began after losing her son Asa to substance use disorder, which led her to rethink addiction, drug policy, and how we can better support families. She is determined to prevent other families from experiencing the same devastation and is passionate in advocating for approaches to addiction that reduce harm and save lives.

Two of the world's greatest crises, systemic racism and environmental destruction, share the same origin story. The two are rooted in economic forces that exploit and oppress both people and land. Pastor David Swanson shows how we have failed our God-given duty as caretakers of creation and how that failure has resulted in the exploitation of people and the extraction of natural resources.

She was known as a whore and a saint. On today's episode, Amy Frykholm talks to us about the elusive Saint Mary of Egypt, and how she can teach women to reclaim their autonomy today.

Rev. Angela Denker talks to us about the rise in radicalization among young white men in America, especially focused on the role of right-wing Christianity in the increase of religious-based hatred and violence, and how we can combat it by helping men heal.

Aimee Byrd, author or Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, talks to us the trauma she experienced through daring to question evangelical teachings on gender, and how she is healing as she finds a way forward walking in authenticity and integrity.