Best Mender Podcasts (2026)

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Ep. 375 Leonard Sweet - Living into the Imagination of Jesus, the Maker, Mender, Minder, Master 49:11

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18d ago49:11

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In this episode, I’m joined by theologian and storyteller Leonard Sweet for a deep conversation on the imagination of Jesus and why imagination is central to faith, discipleship, and what it means to be human. We talk about how Jesus doesn’t simply explain reality but reshapes it through story and metaphor, and why Jubilee sits at the heart of his …

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Ep. 381 Best of 2025: Top 10 Movies of the Year 1:26:16

3h ago1:26:16

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In this episode, I’m joined by Craig Detweiler and Elijah Davidson for our Best Movies of 2025 conversation. We count down our top films of the year and explain why each one made our list. We talk about the themes that stood out in 2025 movies, including grief, violence, faith, memory, creativity, and what it means to be human. We also discuss over…

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Ep. 380 Ryan Burge - The Vanishing Church and the Cost of Polarization 58:47

22h ago58:47

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What’s actually happening to the church in America and why does it matter beyond Sunday morning? In this episode I’m joined by Ryan Burge, a social scientist who studies religion in the U.S. and brings long-term data, charts, and lived pastoral experience into a conversation often driven by fear or nostalgia. We discuss his book The Vanishing Churc…

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Ep. 379 Kelley Nikondeha Returns - Jubilee Economics 1:02:28

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What does it mean to take Jesus seriously when he announces good news to the poor, freedom for the captive, and release from debt? In this episode of Shifting Culture, I’m joined by theologian and practitioner Kelley Nikondeha to talk about her new book Jubilee Economics and the disruptive, concrete vision of Jubilee found in Scripture. We explore …

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Ep. 378 Best of 2025: Most Listened to Episodes of the Year 41:22

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As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to pause and look back, not at what was loud or polarizing, but at what people actually stayed with. This episode gathers the 10 most listened to conversations of the year, and together they reveal something honest about this moment: a deep longing for a faith shaped by humility instead of power, a discipleship ro…

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Ep. 377 Best of 2025: Top 10 Books of the Year 1:37:17

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In this episode, I am joined by Lore Wilbert and Byron Borger for a roundtable countdown of our top ten books of 2025. Moving from number ten to number one, we reflect on the novels, memoirs, theology, and cultural criticism that most shaped our reading year. Along the way, the conversation opens into deeper questions about faith and doubt, grief a…

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Ep. 376 Bill & Kristi Gaultiere - Receiving and Reflecting God's Great Empathy For You 1:00:04

14d ago1:00:04

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In this episode, I sit down with Bill and Kristi Gaultiere for a thoughtful conversation about empathy - what it really is, why it’s so often misunderstood, and why it matters for the way of Jesus. We talk about God’s great empathy for us and how the incarnation reveals a God who enters our experience, not just intellectually but emotionally and bo…

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Ep. 374 Kate Murphy - The Way of Jesus is Often Found in the Lost, Hidden, and Small 55:19

21d ago55:19

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In this episode, pastor and author Kate Murphy shares the surprising story behind Lost, Hidden, Small, a season when ministry fell apart, illusions shattered, and the only way forward was surrender. Kate reflects on discovering that God often does His deepest work in places that look like failure, weakness, and smallness, and how her congregation l…

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Ep. 373 William J. Kole - Gun Violence Must End: Evangelical Gun Culture and the Nonviolent Way of Jesus 50:32

25d ago50:32

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Journalist and author William J. Kole joins me to unpack the deep and often hidden ties between white evangelicalism, politics, fear, and America’s gun culture. Drawing from his new book In Guns We Trust, Bill shares how his own ministry collided with concealed weapons, why fear has shaped so much of the church’s response to gun violence, and how C…

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Ep. 372 Dorothy Littell Greco - Rooting Out Misogyny For the Love of Women 52:31

28d ago52:31

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In this conversation, I sit down with Dorothy Greco to explore misogyny not just as individual prejudice, but as a system that shapes our culture, our institutions, our churches, and even our closest relationships. Dorothy walks me through how misogyny shows up in medicine, economics, purity culture, pornography, and the daily lives of women, and w…

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Ep. 371 Valentyn Syniy - Serving God in the Midst of the War in Ukraine 53:02

29d ago53:02

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In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Valentyn Syniy, president of a theological seminary in Kherson, to explore what it means to lead, shepherd, and hold on to hope in the midst of war. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Valentyn lost almost everything - his home, his church community, and the entire seminary campus he helped build. Yet in the …

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The Gift 30:03

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Ps Joel shares a message in this Advent season based from Isaiah 9 & Galatians 5.

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Ep. 370 Stephanie Spellers - What the Nones and Dones Teach Us About the Future of Faith 57:16

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The church is in a moment of honest reckoning. Attendance is shrinking, institutions are thinning, and many who once belonged now stand on the outside looking in. In this conversation with author and priest Stephanie Spellers, we explore what the “nones” and “dones” are teaching us about faith, community, and the way of Jesus. Stephanie invites us …

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Episode 15: The Audeville Society, a local nonprofit centering performing arts with Thomas Drury-Wang 1:05:40

1M ago1:05:40

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This week, Thomas Drury-Wang, Founder and President of the Audeville Society, talks about how his nonprofit is centering performing arts in New England. The Audeville Society provides grants to those looking to build their portfolio and provides an accessible way to enrich the community through encouraging performers to follow their dreams. Each ye…

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Ep. 369 Mark Yarhouse & Julia Sadusky - Navigating and Understanding Emerging Sexual Identities 57:04

1M ago57:04

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In this episode, I talk with Dr. Mark Yarhouse and Dr. Julia Sadusky about the rapidly expanding language of emerging sexual identities and what it means for the young people we care about. We explore why new terms keep appearing, how identity forms in adolescence, and what teens are actually trying to express when they use language many of us have…

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Ep. 368 Faith Womack - Discovering the Fullness of Scripture: Context, Wonder, and Worship 52:54

1M ago52:54

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In this episode, I’m joined by Faith Womack, known to many as Bible Nerd Ministries, for a deeply refreshing conversation on how to read Scripture with clarity, curiosity, and joy. Faith shares her own story of growing up with mishandled and misapplied Bible teaching, and how learning the basics of hermeneutics transformed everything for her. We ta…

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Ep. 367 Brian Recker - How the Fear of Hell Holds Christians Back from a Spirituality of Love 1:03:08

2M ago1:03:08

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In this episode, I talk with Brian Recker about his new book Hell Bent and the ways fear-based theology has shaped so many of our spiritual imaginations. Brian grew up learning about hell and God in the same breath, and he unpacks how that fusion created a system built on binary thinking, punishment, and spiritual insecurity. We explore his journey…

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Ep. 366 Jenny Marrs - Trust God, Love People 51:13

2M ago51:13

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In this episode, I sit down with Jenny Marrs, author, adoptive mom, and co-host of HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous, for a tender and deeply human conversation about grief, waiting, restoration, and the steady presence of God in the middle of it all. Jenny shares openly about a season of profound loss, the long and miraculous journey to bring her daughter …

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Episode 14: That one time ___ almost sued me with Oh_Pleeze designer Olivia Harvey 48:20

2M ago48:20

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This week Olivia Harvey breaks down how her very niche upcycled sweatshirt designs almost got her sued by you know who, how she pivoted, and the unexpected commission she received in the wake of it all. We talk about her journey into fashion, her time at Emerson, and her one and only market she ever does Wicked Women Makers Market coming up on Nove…

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Ep. 365 Diana Butler Bass - Time, Love, and a Calendar that Says No to Imperialism and Empire 59:37

2M ago59:37

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In this episode, I talk with Diana Butler Bass about her new book A Beautiful Year and the deeper story that sits beneath our experience of time. We explore how the Roman calendar still shapes us with the imagination of empire - militarism, consumerism, and control - and how the Christian calendar offers a counter-formation rooted in love, hope, pe…

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Makers & Menders - Potter's Clay 37:45

2M ago37:45

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Continuing our Makers & Menders series, Ps Emma shares about being clay in the Potter's hands from Isaiah 64:8 & 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.

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Ep. 364 Justin Giboney - Conviction and Compassion that Lead Us Out of the Culture War 51:36

2M ago51:36

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In this conversation, I talk with Justin Giboney, cofounder of the AND Campaign and author of Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around, about how we can follow Jesus faithfully in the midst of the culture war. Justin shares how the civil rights generation embodied both conviction and compassion, and what it looks like to recover that kind of moral imaginat…

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Ep. 363 Chris Hoklotubbe & Danny Zacharias - Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: Indigenous Wisdom and Interpretation 59:16

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In this episode, I talk with Dr. Chris Hoklotubbe and Dr. Danny Zacharias about their book Reading the Bible on Turtle Island and how Indigenous wisdom invites us to see Scripture through a different lens. We explore how the Bible, written by tribal people deeply connected to land and kinship, calls us back into right relationship with Creator, cre…

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Ep. 362 Glen Henry - Father Yourself First 52:13

2M ago52:13

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Glen Henry, the creator of Beleaf in Fatherhood, shares his story of how resistance turned into calling - how learning to father himself helped him become the father his children needed. We talk about the inherited baggage we carry, the control we try to hold, and the grace that grows when we choose presence over perfection. Glen opens up about fat…

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Ep. 361 Kat Armas Returns - Liturgies for Resisting Empire 55:39

2M ago55:39

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Kat Armas joins Shifting Culture to talk about her new book, Liturgies for Resisting Empire, a powerful exploration of how empire shapes the way we think about God, community, time, and ourselves. She names the ways control, hierarchy, and productivity have distorted our faith and imaginations, and invites us into practices of resistance rooted in …

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Episode 13: Makerspace revival with Millforge owner William Brooks 55:36

2M ago55:36

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Episode 13: Mill Forge Makerspace: Revival of the maker movement with owner William Brooks In the heart of the maker movement, Mill Forge stands out as a hub for creativity, collaboration, and community engagement. Opened just two months ago, this innovative space is not only hosting classes and events but also actively participating in initiatives…

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Ep. 360 Mark Batterson - Your God-Sized Dreams Happen Gradually, Then Suddenly 51:45

2M ago51:45

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Pastor and author Mark Batterson joins me to talk about his new book Gradually, Then Suddenly, a powerful invitation to dream God-sized dreams, start small, and stay faithful long enough to see legacy take root. We explore what it means to move from imagination to action, how to live with long vision and long obedience, and why true success often l…

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Makers & Menders - Behold 40:46

2M ago40:46

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Continuing our Makers & Menders series, Mark shares about Beholding God from Revelation 21.

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Ep. 359 Sara Billups Returns - Spiritual Practices to Calm Anxiety in Your Body, the Church, and Politics 54:31

2M ago54:31

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Sara Billups returns to Shifting Culture to talk about her new book Nervous Systems: Spiritual Practices to Calm Anxiety in Your Body, the Church, and Politics. Together we explore the anxiety running through our lives, our churches, and our culture and what it means to find peace that’s deeper than control. Sara shares how Ignatian spirituality an…

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Ep. 358 Fr. Ronald Rolheiser - Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years 55:44

2M ago55:44

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Fr. Ronald Rolheiser joins me to talk about his new book Insane for the Light, the final part of his spiritual trilogy that began with The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire. Together, we explore what it means to live faithfully through every stage of life from getting our lives together, to giving them away, to finally giving our deaths away. Fr. Rolhei…

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Ep. 357 Carmen Imes - Why Church Still Matters 55:25

2M ago55:25

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In this episode, Carmen Imes joins me to explore her new book Becoming God’s Family: Why Church Still Matters. We look at why the church, despite its failures, divisions, and imperfections, remains central to the way of Jesus. Carmen traces the story of God’s people from Abraham and Sinai to the early church, revealing how God has always chosen to …

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Ep. 356 Andrew DeCort - Neighbor Love and the Abolition of Othering 58:30

3M ago58:30

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Andrew DeCort joins me to explore what it means to love our neighbor — not as a vague ideal, but as a radical way of living that can heal our divisions and reshape our world. Drawing from his own story in Ethiopia and his new book Reviving the Golden Rule, Andrew shares how the practice of neighbor love dismantles fear, ends cycles of othering, and…

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Episode 12: The Goonies made me do it with Julian De La Garza 50:56

3M ago50:56

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Episode 12 In this episode of Local Threads, Molly sits down with gothic jeweler and artist Julian the 2nd, whose darkly beautiful work blends brutalist architecture, mourning, and the occult into wearable art. Julian shares his journey from art school to running his own thriving brand rooted in the historic jewelry capital of Providence, Rhode Isl…

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Ep. 355 Kelsey McGinnis & Marissa Burt - The Myth of Good Christian Parenting 1:00:26

3M ago1:00:26

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What happens when “biblical parenting” becomes more about control than compassion? In this episode, I talk with Kelsey McGinnis and Marissa Burt, authors of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting, about the rise of evangelical parenting culture, from James Dobson and Bill Gothard to today’s influencer economy, and how these ideas have shaped generati…

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Ep. 354 Greg Boyd - God Looks Like Jesus 51:07

3M ago51:07

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What if God really looks like Jesus? Not partly loving and partly wrathful, but fully revealed in the crucified Christ. In this conversation, Greg Boyd helps us reimagine everything - our picture of God, how we read Scripture, and how we live in the world. We talk about what it means to see the cross as the center of revelation, how to wrestle with…

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Makers & Menders - Theology of Making 35:48

3M ago35:48

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Continuing our Makers & Menders series, guest speakers Lee and Shannon Hinkle - pastors from Fremantle Church - share their journey of art and faith.

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Ep. 353 Phil Sokell-Miles - How God is Moving in Prayer Spaces in Schools 1:00:47

3M ago1:00:47

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Phil Sokell-Miles has spent nearly two decades helping students encounter God in the most ordinary of places - schools. As part of the 24-7 Prayer movement, he helped pioneer Prayer Spaces in Schools, a global initiative inviting children and young people of all faiths and none to explore prayer, reflection, and life’s big questions in safe and cre…

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Ep. 352 Heath Hardesty - How Apprenticeship to Jesus Is the Way of Flourishing in a Fragmented World 57:47

3M ago57:47

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We live in what Heath Hardesty calls the age of disintegration - a world marked by fragmentation, distraction, and disconnection. I feel that deeply. So many of us are trying to hold our lives together in a culture that constantly pulls us apart. In this conversation, Heath joins me to talk about how apprenticeship to Jesus offers another way - a w…

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Ep. 351 Justin McRoberts - In the Low: A Collection of Helpful Things 53:24

3M ago53:24

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Justin McRoberts weaves together art, prayer, and spiritual direction to help others find their way through seasons of loss, disappointment, and hope. In this conversation, Justin shares how letting go of outcomes opens us to God’s presence, why beauty is often discovered in the low places of life, and what it means to companion one another with co…

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Episode 11: Diversity Consignment X Project Reworked Runway with Luis Cepeda 44:45

3M ago44:45

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Episode 11: Diversity Consignment X Project Reworked Runway with Luis Cepeda Guest: Luis Cepeda, Assistant Manager at Diversity Consignment Host: Molly — Local Threads Podcast Location: Jamaica Plain, Boston MA 🧵 Summary In this episode, Molly sits down with Luis Cepeda, the Assistant Manager at Diversity Consignment, one of Boston’s most beloved s…

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Ep. 350 Kaitlin Curtice - Everything is a Story 55:22

3M ago55:22

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In this episode, I sit down with author and poet Kaitlin Curtice to explore the ways stories shape our lives and communities. Drawing from her new book Everything Is a Story, Kaitlin reflects on the narratives that formed her growing up, the Indigenous wisdom that grounds her, and the liminal spaces where transformation takes place. We talk about c…

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Ep. 349 Peter Greer Returns - How Leaders Lose Their Way 51:18

3M ago51:18

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What causes leaders to lose their way? It’s rarely one catastrophic decision, it’s usually the slow drift of small compromises, unaddressed habits, and unchecked desires. In this episode, Peter Greer talks about the hidden currents that pull leaders off course. We explore the dangers of personal and mission drift, the importance of confession and a…

4M ago28:42

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Ps Joel continues the series on Makers & Menders as he shares a message about the Kingdom of Heaven from Matthew 11:2-19.