Language of God
- Episodios
- 270
- Se publica
- cada dos semanas
- Último episodio
- 12 Nov 2026
Sobre el podcast
Sharing stories of people who have found a better way of understanding the harmony between science and Christian faith.
Episodios 270
220. Sy Montgomery | A Manta’s Glance
What happens when a fish looks you in the eye—and seems just as curious about you as you are about it? Author Sy Montgomery returns to Language of God to share stories from her journey off the coast of Ecuador …
Notas del episodio
What happens when a fish looks you in the eye—and seems just as curious about you as you are about it? Author Sy Montgomery returns to Language of God to share stories from her journey off the coast of Ecuador to meet giant oceanic manta rays. She takes us into powerful currents, introduces the scientists working to understand and protect these gentle giants, and describes the wonder of being held in a manta’s gaze. Along the way, we explore animal intelligence, what it means for a creature to have a soul, and how paying attention to other animals can shape our faith and teach us to love the living world.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Luciano Music Co, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Find Oceanic Manta Adventure and other books by Sy Montgomery here.
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219. Cool Creatures | Bats
Bats are among the most feared creatures we rarely stop to know. In this episode, Jim and Colin travel to Bracken Cave in Texas, where millions of bats spiral into the evening sky, to discover the extraordinary …
Notas del episodio
Bats are among the most feared creatures we rarely stop to know. In this episode, Jim and Colin travel to Bracken Cave in Texas, where millions of bats spiral into the evening sky, to discover the extraordinary lives of these misunderstood mammals. Bat experts Merlin Tuttle, Katy Hinman, and Fran Hutchins introduce us to the wonders of flight and echolocation, the gifts bats bring to ecosystems, and the challenges of protecting them. Joined by author Tish Harrison Warren and her family, we explore how knowing our nonhuman neighbors can turn fear into wonder—and how loving God’s creation begins with noticing the particular creatures around us.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Evan MacDonald, Sea of Stars, Vesper Tapes, Nick Petrov, & Animated Music, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Find out more about the following organizations:
Bat Conservation International
Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation
Dialogue on Science and Religion, AAASCapítulos
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218. AI & Human Flourishing | The Practice
In the final episode of our series, we turn toward theology and practice. Christian thinkers have long argued that human dignity isn’t grounded in productivity, efficiency, or being better than everything else …
Notas del episodio
In the final episode of our series, we turn toward theology and practice. Christian thinkers have long argued that human dignity isn’t grounded in productivity, efficiency, or being better than everything else. The rise of AI gives us an opportunity to take that claim seriously.
Drawing on conversations with computer scientists, theologians, and ethicists, we develop four principles for navigating life with AI: human capacities are more than outputs; technology is not neutral; the effects of AI are social as well as individual; and AI is not a moral agent. We explore what those ideas mean for everything from education and creativity to relationships, responsibility, virtue, and the common good.
AI may keep getting better at doing things humans do. The challenge is not to keep finding tasks where we can beat the machines. It is to decide what kind of people we want to become—and which parts of being human are worth practicing even when a machine could do them for us.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Pavel Yudin, High Street Music, Chill Chord, Superlegal, Vesper Tapes, Taizo Audio. Titan Sound & Ricky Bombino, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated.
Additional ResourcesRead the Pope's Encyclical on AI
Joint Statement on AI & Ethics
Learn about Faith, Work, Tech
Learn about the DELTA Program
For more interviews and faith baed conversation on AI check out the podcast Belief in the FutureCapítulos
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217. AI & Human Flourishing | The Machine
Artificial intelligence can write poetry, generate images, diagnose patterns in enormous datasets, and carry on a remarkably human-sounding conversation. But what is actually happening inside the machine? In …
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Artificial intelligence can write poetry, generate images, diagnose patterns in enormous datasets, and carry on a remarkably human-sounding conversation. But what is actually happening inside the machine?
In the second episode of our series on AI & human flourishing, we trace the history of artificial intelligence from Alan Turing and early rule-based computers through machine learning, Deep Blue, AlphaZero, and the arrival of ChatGPT and other large language models with technology and computer science experts to help us understand what changed along the way.
Then we look under the hood of a large language model. What are tokens, vectors, and transformers? How can a machine trained to predict the next word produce such astonishing results? Ultimately posing the question of whether understanding the machinery changes the way we think about what AI is—and what it isn’t.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Ricky Bombino, Chill Cord, High Street Music, & Immersive Music, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated.
Additional ResourcesRead the Pope's Encyclical on AI
Joint Statement on AI & Ethics
Learn about Faith, Work, Tech
Learn about the DELTA Program
For more interviews and faith baed conversation on AI check out the podcast Belief in the FutureCapítulos
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216. AI & Human Flourishing | The Human
Artificial intelligence can do remarkable things. It can recognize patterns humans miss, accelerate scientific research, and even help restore speech to someone who has lost the ability to communicate. But as …
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Artificial intelligence can do remarkable things. It can recognize patterns humans miss, accelerate scientific research, and even help restore speech to someone who has lost the ability to communicate. But as these technologies become part of our lives, they also raise questions about how technology shapes us—for better and for worse.
In the first episode of our series, we explore an AI-powered brain-computer interface that can translate neural activity into speech, and then ask where healing ends and enhancement begins. We consider what happens when AI enters our relationships, creative work, and everyday thinking—and what we might gain or lose as things that once required effort become easier.
With help from researchers, theologians, and ethicists, we explore creativity, companionship, vulnerability, embodiment, and the subtle ways technologies reshape the people who use them. The question isn’t simply whether AI is good or bad. It’s how we might use it in ways that help us become the kinds of people we want to be.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by High Street Music, Paradiso Music, Pink Marble, Titan Sound, Vesper Tapes, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the institutions or organizations with which they are affiliated.
Additional ResourcesRead the Pope's Encyclical on AI
Joint Statement on AI & Ethics
Learn about Faith, Work, Tech
Learn about the DELTA Program
For more interviews and faith baed conversation on AI check out the podcast Belief in the FutureCapítulos
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215. Janet Kellogg Ray | Woven and Rooted
Janet Kellogg Ray returns to Language of God to talk with Jim Stump about her new book, Fish with Feet: Human Evolution in the Image of God. For many Christians, evolution becomes especially difficult when the …
Notas del episodio
Janet Kellogg Ray returns to Language of God to talk with Jim Stump about her new book, Fish with Feet: Human Evolution in the Image of God. For many Christians, evolution becomes especially difficult when the story reaches human beings. What does it mean to say that we share ancestry with other animals? And does that threaten the belief that humans are made in the image of God?
Ray argues that understanding the long evolutionary history that connects us to the rest of life need not diminish human dignity. Instead, it can deepen our understanding of what it means to bear God’s image—not as a particular physical or mental trait, but as a calling to represent God and care for creation. Jim and Janet discuss the evidence for human evolution, why that evidence can provoke such a strong reaction, what we can and cannot say about God’s role in the evolutionary process, and how our place in the family tree might give us an even greater sense of responsibility for the rest of creation.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Konstantin Garbuzyuk, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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214. Luke Bretherton | Scaling Up Love of Neighbor
In a time marked by rapid technological change, social fragmentation, political polarization, and declining trust in institutions, what does it mean to flourish as human beings together? Oxford theologian Luke …
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In a time marked by rapid technological change, social fragmentation, political polarization, and declining trust in institutions, what does it mean to flourish as human beings together?
Oxford theologian Luke Bretherton helps us explore why this ancient question feels especially urgent today. Drawing on theology, history, philosophy, and his own experience studying churches and civic life around the world, Bretherton argues that we become fully human not in isolation but through relationships—and that the institutions we build play a crucial role in shaping those relationships.
The conversation explores the Christian understanding of the image of God as fundamentally relational, why modern life has created a crisis of agency and belonging, and how institutions such as churches, schools, hospitals, businesses, and governments can either cultivate or diminish our humanity. Rather than viewing institutions as obstacles to authentic living, Bretherton invites us to recover an “institutional imagination” that prioritizes purpose, character, and human connection over efficiency alone.
Along the way, Bretherton and Stump discuss the role of science in conversations about human nature, why moral questions can’t be settled by scientific analysis alone, and what practical habits can help organizations foster deeper relationships and genuine human flourishing.
This episode offers a hopeful vision for recovering our humanity—not by retreating from modern life, but by reimagining the communities and institutions through which we live it.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Titan Sound, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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213. A Journey into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
After spending five days camping above the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Jim Stump reflects on an experience that reshaped how he thinks about creation, wonder, and our place within …
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After spending five days camping above the Arctic Circle in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Jim Stump reflects on an experience that reshaped how he thinks about creation, wonder, and our place within it.
Guided by the wisdom of Annie Dillard and the poetry of Mary Oliver, Jim recounts the journey from simply being there, to paying close attention, to being astonished by a landscape that refuses to revolve around human convenience. Along the way, he shares stories of endless Arctic daylight, unexpected encounters with wildlife, deep conversations around camp, and the spiritual lessons found in one of the wildest places left on Earth.
This episode explores what Scripture, wilderness, and careful observation can teach us about humility, creation care, and the practice of seeing the world as gift from God rather than merely a resource.
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212. Alister McGrath | C.S. Lewis & Science
C.S. Lewis is remembered by many as a novelist, apologist, and literary scholar, but his reflections on science remain surprisingly relevant. Alister McGrath argues that Lewis offers a surprisingly nuanced …
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C.S. Lewis is remembered by many as a novelist, apologist, and literary scholar, but his reflections on science remain surprisingly relevant. Alister McGrath argues that Lewis offers a surprisingly nuanced understanding of the relationship between science, reason, imagination, and faith—one that challenges common assumptions about both scientific and Christian ways of knowing.
The conversation explores Lewis's understanding of the scientific enterprise, the role of imagination in forming and testing theories, and the historical development of science from the medieval world to the present. McGrath also considers why Lewis continues to be cited in contemporary debates over science and faith, while arguing that his views are often read out of context.
Along the way, the discussion reflects on why Lewis's ideas continue to speak into contemporary questions about science, faith, meaning, and the search for truth. Rather than treating imagination as an escape from reality, Lewis saw it as an indispensable part of discovering and understanding the world—a vision that remains both timely and compelling.
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143. The Ocean Declares | Horseshoe Crabs, Hospitality & Creatureliness
When the wind is just right, on a small beach in Titusville, Florida, horseshoe crabs crawl out of the water and onto the beach to lay their eggs. Jim and Colin joined up with two marine biologists—Bob Sluka …
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When the wind is just right, on a small beach in Titusville, Florida, horseshoe crabs crawl out of the water and onto the beach to lay their eggs. Jim and Colin joined up with two marine biologists—Bob Sluka who works with A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization and Margaret Miller, a coral biologist who works with SECORE International—and three A Rocha interns to survey the horseshoe crabs. That experience began an exploration into paying attention to many of the creatures that surround us, extending hospitality, and learning from the creatures, even from the ocean itself, about how we might better worship the creator of it all.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Vesper Tapes, Klimenko Music, Evergreen, High Street Music, Magentize Music, & Sirius Music, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Links and Resources:
Learn about A Rocha
Do your own nurdle hunt
Atlantic Article about Synthetic alternatives to LAL
Radiolab Episode about Horseshoe Crabs
Listen to our most recent episode about A Rocha work in Oahu, HawaiiCapítulos
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183. Cool Creatures | Giant Pacific Octopus
Octopuses and humans have been evolving separately for more than 500 million years, but still, we have a few things in common. We explore what this means about the octopus, what it means about humans, and what …
Notas del episodio
Octopuses and humans have been evolving separately for more than 500 million years, but still, we have a few things in common. We explore what this means about the octopus, what it means about humans, and what it tells us about the Creator of All Things. As we dive into the science of octopus cognition and behavior we find the questions get more and more interesting. To help us sort through it, we are joined by Sy Montgomery (author of Soul of an Octopus and Secrets of the Octopus) who introduced us to two giant Pacific Octopuses at the New England Aquarium.
Thanks to the New England Aquarium for hosting our visit.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Evan MacDonald, Mattijs Muller, Titan Sound, Klimenko Music, Ricky Bombino, Sirius Music, Northern Points, and Paradiso Music courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
This episode originally aired on March 13, 2025
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145. Dawn Wright | A Divine Abyss
In the summer of 2022 Dawn Wright became only the 27th person ever, the fifth woman, and the first Black person to descend into the deepest part of the ocean, a place called Challenger Deep. As a scientist …
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In the summer of 2022 Dawn Wright became only the 27th person ever, the fifth woman, and the first Black person to descend into the deepest part of the ocean, a place called Challenger Deep. As a scientist, Dawn has been studying and helping to map the depths of the ocean, but being there in person uncovered a new dimension and deepened her connection with the mysterious underwater world. In the episode, Colin and Dawn talk about the science of mapping, the world of deep sea submersibles, and how finding trash in the most remote places of our planet might spark a renewed sense of stewardship for all of God’s creation.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Nick Petrov, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Additional Resources:
Story map of Dawn's Challenger Deep Dive
GIS Map of Challenger Deep Dive
Animated video of Alvin DiveThis episode originally aired on May 18, 2023
211. Cool Creatures | Coral
Coral reefs are easy to mistake for rock or plant life. But corals are animals—colonies of tiny polyps living in partnership with algae, building vast reef structures over generations. They are complicated …
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Coral reefs are easy to mistake for rock or plant life. But corals are animals—colonies of tiny polyps living in partnership with algae, building vast reef structures over generations. They are complicated creatures and they stretch our normal categories for living things.
In this episode, we try to really get a grasp on this creature, with the help of coral biologists, writers, filmmakers and those who have been working to care for corals as they face many challenges. These experts see coral not just as an individual creature, but as a community—one built through symbiosis, cooperation, grief, and hope.
Along the way, the episode wrestles with climate change, extinction, restoration, and the spiritual weight of loving something vulnerable enough to disappear within a lifetime. Coral may look like rock from a distance. Up close, it becomes something much harder to categorize—and much harder to forget.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Kyle Booth, Pink Marble, Ricky Bombino, Simba Music, Mattijs Muller, & Pavel Yudin, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Links and Resources:
Learn about the work at the Frost Aquarium
Reef Keepers Film and Trailer
Rachel Jordan's Website and Book
Learn about the work at SECORE InternationalCapítulos
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210. Charles Foster | The Significance of Edges
In this episode of Language of God, Colin Hoogerwerf and Jim Stump sit down in Oxford, England with writer, veterinarian, barrister, and philosopher Charles Foster to explore a provocative idea at the center of …
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In this episode of Language of God, Colin Hoogerwerf and Jim Stump sit down in Oxford, England with writer, veterinarian, barrister, and philosopher Charles Foster to explore a provocative idea at the center of his newest book, The Edges of the World: that everything truly significant happens at the edges.
From the margins of geography and culture to the borders of science, religion, and human consciousness, Foster argues that creativity, transformation, and spiritual insight emerge not from comfortable centers of power, but from places of uncertainty, encounter, and risk. Along the way, the conversation ranges widely through questions about why humans are drawn toward certainty and control, whether Christianity has lost its “edgy” character, and how science can become too attached to its own paradigms. The discussion also explores language, embodiment, morality, and whether modern humans have become disconnected from the physical world in ways that earlier humans—and perhaps even nonhuman creatures—were not.
Together, they reflect on Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, evolutionary biology, the Eucharist, modern scientific culture, and the role of language in shaping human consciousness. Foster makes the case that paying deeper attention to our embodied lives—to touch, scent, place, relationship, and the more-than-human world—may help recover something essential about what it means to be human.
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209. Tish Harrison Warren | A Grammar for Weariness
In a world that often feels relentlessly exhausting, weariness can seem like something to fix, escape, or push through. But what if it’s also a place where something deeper is happening? In this episode …
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In a world that often feels relentlessly exhausting, weariness can seem like something to fix, escape, or push through. But what if it’s also a place where something deeper is happening?
In this episode, Anglican priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren helps us explore the spiritual reality of “dry seasons”—times that aren’t marked by crisis or tragedy, but by a quiet sense of fatigue, distance, or disorientation. Drawing on the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers, Tish reflects on how Christians across history have understood these experiences not as failures of faith, but as essential parts of it.
The conversation explores how ancient practices like stability, repetition, and embodied prayer can quietly shape a life over time, even when nothing seems to be happening. And it offers a different vision of growth—one that doesn’t depend on constant energy or clarity, but unfolds slowly, often beneath the surface. Through the lens of her own experience, Tish reflects on how these dry seasons can become places of meaning, where growth isn’t just possible, but necessary.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in the “long middle,” weary of being weary, or unsure what God is doing in a dry season, this conversation offers a language—and a hope—for the journey.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Vesper Tapes, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Additional Resources:Find Tish's new book here.
Listen to Tish's previous conversation on the Language of God podcast.Capítulos
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208. NT Wright | New Creation Breaking In
New Testament scholar N.T. Wright sits down with Jim Stump to explore how Christians should think about the past, the future, and the story that holds them together. What does it mean to say that something in …
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New Testament scholar N.T. Wright sits down with Jim Stump to explore how Christians should think about the past, the future, and the story that holds them together. What does it mean to say that something in the Bible “really happened”? And how do we distinguish between history, parable, and poetic imagination without missing the point of Scripture altogether?
Wright reflects on how modern assumptions about “history” can distort the way we read the Bible, and why the early Christians insisted that certain events—especially the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—must be understood as real happenings in the world. At the same time, he shows how other parts of Scripture operate differently, inviting readers into a larger vision rather than offering straightforward historical reporting.
From there, the conversation turns toward the future: the Christian hope of new creation. Drawing on themes from across the New Testament, Wright describes a vision not of escape from the world, but of its renewal. The resurrection of Jesus becomes the key—both a real event in the past and the pattern for what God intends for all creation.
Along the way, Wright connects these ideas to everyday life. If God’s future is one of restoration and renewal, what does that mean for how we live now? How do acts of justice, care, and faithfulness become “signposts” of the coming world?
This episode offers a thoughtful and accessible guide to reading Scripture more wisely, understanding Christian hope more deeply, and imagining how the story of new creation is already beginning to take shape in the present. It also offers a special musical performance after the credits!
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Grayson DeSmet, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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207. Ayaan Hirsi Ali | The Shape of Belief
What happens when one of the world’s most prominent former atheists becomes a Christian—and claims that faith actually strengthens reason and science? In this episode, Jim Stump sits down with author and public …
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What happens when one of the world’s most prominent former atheists becomes a Christian—and claims that faith actually strengthens reason and science?
In this episode, Jim Stump sits down with author and public intellectual Ayaan Hirsi Ali to explore her unexpected journey from Islam to atheism, and ultimately to Christianity. Once known for her sharp critiques of religion, Ayaan now describes her Christian faith as something that sharpens her reason and makes her more committed to science.
Their conversation focuses on this personal transformation: what she found lacking in her years as an atheist, how she came to see herself as “spiritually bankrupt,” and why she ultimately turned to Christianity in search of meaning, hope, and peace. Along the way, they discuss the relationship between faith and reason, the role of science in a Christian worldview, and whether curiosity itself might be a form of worship.
Whatever you make of her broader public voice, this episode offers a chance to hear Ayaan Hirsi Ali tell, in her own words, the story of a life shaped by big questions about truth, morality, and what it means to live well.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Vesper Tapes, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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206. Jessica Malaty Rivera | Making Sense from the Noise
In this episode, infectious disease epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera reflects on what it means to help people make sense of science in the midst of uncertainty. Drawing on her …
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In this episode, infectious disease epidemiologist and science communicator Jessica Malaty Rivera reflects on what it means to help people make sense of science in the midst of uncertainty. Drawing on her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, she explores the gap between data and decision-making, and why clear, empathetic communication is essential for public health.
Jessica shares how her work has focused not just on understanding disease, but on translating complex information into something people can actually use. From social media to national data efforts, she considers what builds trust—and what breaks it—when the stakes are high and the science is still evolving.
The conversation also turns to her faith, and how her background in the church shaped her understanding of community, responsibility, and care for others. Together, they explore the tension between individual choice and the common good, and what it might look like to approach both science and faith with humility in a world that resists nuance.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Ricky Bombino, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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205. Cool Creatures | Lemurs
What if one of our closest relatives had taken a completely different evolutionary path? In this episode of Language of God, we continue our Cool Creatures series with a journey to Madagascar and also to the …
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What if one of our closest relatives had taken a completely different evolutionary path?
In this episode of Language of God, we continue our Cool Creatures series with a journey to Madagascar and also to the Duke Lemur Center, to explore the strange, beautiful, and deeply revealing world of lemurs. These primates split from our own lineage tens of millions of years ago, evolving in isolation into an astonishing diversity of forms.
Along the way, we meet scientists who study lemurs in the wild and in conservation settings, uncovering what makes them so unique: female-led societies, rich social bonds expressed through grooming, and a reliance on smell rather than sight to understand their world.
But this episode isn’t just about lemurs—it’s about what they reveal. Lemurs help us ask deeper questions about what it means to be human, how evolution unfolds in different directions, and what responsibility we carry for other species. With nearly all lemurs now threatened by habitat loss and human activity, their story is also one of urgency and conservation.
From evolutionary history to field research to theology, this episode invites you to see lemurs not just as fascinating creatures, but as mirrors—reflecting both our past and our present.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Pink Marble, Nick Petrov, Animated Music, Vesper Tapes, Rick Bombino, Zeonium & MS Elyascourtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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204. Marilynne Robinson | Something Vast and Inexplicable Happened
Genesis has long been a flashpoint in conversations about science and faith. Is it history? Poetry? Theology? Some combination of all three? For decades, BioLogos has returned to this ancient text as we wrestle …
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Genesis has long been a flashpoint in conversations about science and faith. Is it history? Poetry? Theology? Some combination of all three? For decades, BioLogos has returned to this ancient text as we wrestle with questions about creation, humanity, and God’s action in the world. In this episode, Jim Stump sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson to talk about her recent book Reading Genesis. Robinson approaches Genesis not as a scientific puzzle to solve or a battleground to defend, but as a work of profound literary and theological depth.
Together, they explore the genre of Genesis, the meaning of the creation narratives, the flood story, divine restraint, human freedom, and what it means to be human in light of both Scripture and science. Robinson also shares insights from her broader work, including her reflections on consciousness, the inner life, and the limits—and wonders—of modern scientific thought.
Rather than flattening Genesis into either literalism or metaphor, this conversation invites us to read it with patience, imagination, and intellectual humility.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Kyle Booth, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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203. Sabrina Little | Run in Such A Way
Elite ultra-runner Sabrina Little has logged national titles and set the American record for the greatest distance run in 24 hours. But for her, the real significance of running isn’t found in podium finishes …
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Elite ultra-runner Sabrina Little has logged national titles and set the American record for the greatest distance run in 24 hours. But for her, the real significance of running isn’t found in podium finishes or record books. It’s found in character. In this conversation, Sabrina reflects on how Christian faith deepens and reshapes the classical tradition of virtue and describes how faith, hope, and love transform the moral life from the inside out.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Titan Sound, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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202. Becoming the Answer | Something is Stirring (Part Two)
The second episode turns toward resilience—without pretending that the climate crisis is solved. At COP30, amid formal speeches and stalled negotiations, the episode highlights moments of disruption, protest …
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The second episode turns toward resilience—without pretending that the climate crisis is solved. At COP30, amid formal speeches and stalled negotiations, the episode highlights moments of disruption, protest, and lived wisdom, especially from Indigenous and local communities. Through stories of resilience, faith, lament, and embodied practices like confession and repentance, the episode asks what it means to say “we are the answer.” Rather than placing hope in global negotiations alone, it points listeners back to their own communities, churches, and daily practices as places where faithful climate action can begin.
About the Series: This two-part series follows a group of Christians from around the world as they gather in Brazil for COP30, the United Nations climate summit. Rather than focusing on policy outcomes or political winners and losers, the series explores what kind of problem climate change really is—and what kind of response it demands. Through science, lived experience, and faith practices, the series asks how Christians might move beyond information and outrage toward resilience, responsibility, and faithful action in a warming world.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Big Score Audio, Babel, Northern Points, Pink Marble, & Sarah Chapman, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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201. Becoming the Answer | Why Climate Facts Aren’t Enough (Part One)
The story begins in Brazil at COP30, the United Nations climate summit, where global leaders gather to address climate change. From there, it steps back to ask a deeper question: what kind of problem is climate …
Notas del episodio
The story begins in Brazil at COP30, the United Nations climate summit, where global leaders gather to address climate change. From there, it steps back to ask a deeper question: what kind of problem is climate change, really? Moving from climate science to lived experience, the episode explores why facts and data—while essential—are not enough to motivate belief or action. As stories from vulnerable communities come into focus, climate change emerges not just as a scientific challenge, but as a human one, leaving us unsettled and without easy resolution.
About the Series: This two-part series follows a group of Christians from around the world as they gather in Brazil for COP30, the United Nations climate summit. Rather than focusing on policy outcomes or political winners and losers, the series explores what kind of problem climate change really is—and what kind of response it demands. Through science, lived experience, and faith practices, the series asks how Christians might move beyond information and outrage toward resilience, responsibility, and faithful action in a warming world.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Klimenko Music, Superlegal, Ricky Bombino, Diverse Music, Pink Marble, Cosmo Lawson, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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200. Seeking Wholeness in a Fractured World
A season of reflection led us back into years of past conversations, where unexpected threads began to intertwine. In this episode, we bring those threads into conversation with each other—voices like Makoto …
Notas del episodio
A season of reflection led us back into years of past conversations, where unexpected threads began to intertwine. In this episode, we bring those threads into conversation with each other—voices like Makoto Fujimura, Praveen Sethupathy, Krista Tippett, Mike McHargue, and Bill Newsome—to explore how both science and faith gesture toward wholeness in a world marked by fracture. Themes of mending, spiritual hunger, rest, and stubborn hope surface anew as these earlier moments speak to one another in ways we couldn’t have anticipated at the time. What emerges is less a retrospective and more a fresh way of seeing: an invitation to notice the cracks, name them honestly, and discern the gold that might do the work of mending.
Clips from this episode are from:
Makoto Fujimura, Episode 110, 2022
Praveen Sethupathy, Episode 120, 2022
Krista Tippett, Episode 15, 2019
Mike McHargue, Episode 24, 2019
Bill Newsome, Episode 77, 2021Capítulos
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199. Spiritual Yearning in Science
In a world that has sometimes been called “disenchanted,” we have to ask, does science really strip the world of mystery—or might science actually awaken us to something deeper? Sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan …
Notas del episodio
In a world that has sometimes been called “disenchanted,” we have to ask, does science really strip the world of mystery—or might science actually awaken us to something deeper? Sociologist Brandon Vaidyanathan has been exploring this question through his research on spiritual yearning among scientists, revealing that even in secular contexts, the search for meaning and connection runs deep. We also hear a reflection from physicist and writer Alan Lightman, who tells two stories of transcendent moments from his own life and anthropologist Agustín Fuentes helps trace the roots of transcendence back into our human ancestors. When we listen closely to scientists’ stories, we hear not just the search for knowledge, but an echo of something deeper—a yearning to connect to something science can’t explain.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Vesper Tapes, Elizabells, Youth Faire, Magnetize Music, and Glory House, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Interviews Quotes were taken from Brandon's research were taken from published work and generated to voice AI.
Learn more about Brandon's Research Project Here
Find the conversation between Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins hereCapítulos
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198. Cool Creatures | Ferns
You might think of ferns—if you think of them much at all—as the unassuming and understated members of the plant world. What could they teach us about philosophy or theology or wonder? It turns out quite a lot …
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You might think of ferns—if you think of them much at all—as the unassuming and understated members of the plant world. What could they teach us about philosophy or theology or wonder? It turns out quite a lot. When we explore that strange world of fern reproduction and learn about the two life phases of ferns it brings up questions about identity and what it means to be an individual. And the exploration itself becomes a practice of wonder and celebration of the diversity of life God creates.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Northern Points, Evan MacDonald, Superlegal, Pink Marble, Sarah Chapman, Lost Harmonies, Geoffrey Jerrall, and Klimenko Music, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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197. Rebecca Copeland | Wicked Problems and Unoriginal Sin
Theologian Rebecca Copeland joins Jim Stump to talk about how we think about sin in a world full of wicked problems—complex, interconnected issues like climate change, inequality, and mistrust in science. Our …
Notas del episodio
Theologian Rebecca Copeland joins Jim Stump to talk about how we think about sin in a world full of wicked problems—complex, interconnected issues like climate change, inequality, and mistrust in science. Our usual theological categories often fall short: sin as personal moral failure doesn’t capture the systemic nature of these problems, and sin as an inherited condition can leave us feeling powerless. Copeland offers another way of understanding sin—what she calls unoriginal sin—that helps us recognize both our complicity in broken systems and our capacity for repentance and healing. The conversation moves from deep theology to practical questions about how we live responsibly and hopefully in a tangled, imperfect world.
Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Nick Petrov, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
Check out Rebecca's Book, Entangled Being, here.
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108. Debra Rienstra | The Discipline of Hope
Our best scientific models make it clear that society needs a big change at a global scale in order to limit irreversible damage—what good can individual actions and attitudes do in the face of this immense …
Notas del episodio
Our best scientific models make it clear that society needs a big change at a global scale in order to limit irreversible damage—what good can individual actions and attitudes do in the face of this immense problem? Today’s guest, Debra Rienstra, argues that the right relationship with the Earth can actually make all the difference and that new worlds of hope are built in hidden refuges amidst the surrounding devastation. Genuine lament and grief help reorient us toward the beauty and majesty of creation. Only once this groundwork has been laid can we truly repent for what we have done—and begin the work of hope for a better future.
Additional Resources:
Learn more about Debra's book, Refugia Faith
Sign up for the Refugia newsletter
Find new episodes of Refugia PodcastTheme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Pink Marble courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
This episode originally aired on Mar 10, 2022.
196. Cool Creatures | Ticks
Ticks are among the most detested creatures in all of nature—but what happens when we look closer? In this Cool Creatures episode, Colin follows Calvin University professor Will Miller and some of his students …
Notas del episodio
Ticks are among the most detested creatures in all of nature—but what happens when we look closer? In this Cool Creatures episode, Colin follows Calvin University professor Will Miller and some of his students into the field as they study ticks and the diseases they carry. As we explore ticks we find ourselves asking questions about public health, parasitism, and theology. Are ticks only dangerous pests or can they also open our eyes to the complexity and beauty of creation?
Helpful Resources:
CDC Tick Bite Guidance
Mayo Clinic Guide to Ticks and DiseasesTheme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Evan MacDonald, Pavel Yudin, Nathan King, Cosmo Lawson, Vesper Tapes, Ricky Bombino & Elizabells, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc.
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