Episodi

  • When Trauma Becomes Identity: What Young Jews Are Learning After October 7

    When Trauma Becomes Identity: What Young Jews Are Learning After October 7
    Feb 16 2026
    "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 politics. In this episode, host Amanda Henderson talks with Rabbi Steven Burg about what happens to religious identity when an entire generation can only define themselves by who hates them—and what it takes to move from trauma to something they're actually for. RELATED: Rabbi Steven Burg: "We cannot allow ourselves to be reduced to victims." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    22 min
  • The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts at the Grassroots

    The Rev. William Barber II: Fighting Autocrats Starts at the Grassroots
    Feb 10 2026
    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 low income voters, movement strategizing, modes of resistance, and responds to a challenge issued by the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to debate immigration theology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 min
  • Abortions Rose After Dobbs—And the March for Life Knows It

    Abortions Rose After Dobbs—And the March for Life Knows It
    Feb 2 2026
    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 that choice "prudential"—politically wise. The crowd wasn't buying it. One man said he trusted Trump's negotiating skills, then started crying. Reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain takes us inside a movement with profound conviction confronting political calculation, and only one person in thousands holding a sign about immigration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    24 min
  • Quiet Quitting Church: When the Numbers Reveal Everything and Explain Nothing

    Quiet Quitting Church: When the Numbers Reveal Everything and Explain Nothing
    Jan 30 2026
    Trying to put smoke in a box That'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. Baby boomers are aging out. And nobody can predict what happens next because the data reveals patterns but can't explain the drift. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    34 min
  • They Shot the Pastor Anyway: When Religious Authority Met Federal Force

    They Shot the Pastor Anyway: When Religious Authority Met Federal Force
    Jan 20 2026
    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 force, religious resistance is everywhere. Reporter Jack Jenkins tracks the collision between one of the largest faith-based movements in modern history and federal power that refuses to recognize the old rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 min
  • What Happened? Top Religion News Stories of 2025 — And What To Watch in 2026 (From The State of Belief)

    What Happened? Top Religion News Stories of 2025 — And What To Watch in 2026 (From The State of Belief)
    Jan 14 2026
    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 politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    56 min
  • A Dictator Was Seized. The Pope Spoke. Everyone Else Paused.

    A Dictator Was Seized. The Pope Spoke. Everyone Else Paused.
    Jan 12 2026
    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 religious voices paused, why the pope didn’t, and what that contrast reveals about power, politics, and faith in real time. It’s a conversation about silence, authority, and what happens when moral instincts lag behind geopolitical force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    26 min
  • Faith, Fame, and the Feed: How Influencers Shape What We Believe

    Faith, Fame, and the Feed: How Influencers Shape What We Believe
    Jan 5 2026
    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 comedians, hijabi fitness creators, former monks, and viral TikTok storytellers, the conversation explores how influence works in the attention economy — and why people increasingly look to social media personalities, not institutions, for meaning, guidance, and moral frameworks. It’s a wide-ranging look at parasocial power, digital authority, and the blurred line between faith, culture, and influence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    23 min