Episodes

The complicated legacy of Pope Francis — part reformer, part rule-breaker, and always hard to pin down. Pope Francis changed the Catholic Church — but how far did he really go? In this episode of Complexified, Vatican reporter Claire Giangravè joins host Amanda Henderson to reflect on the legacy of Pope Francis. From his early image as a reformer to his efforts to include marginalized communities, we explore the tensions that defined his papacy. Plus, what actually happens when a pope dies — an...

Born in a Church, and raised moving between the worlds of poverty in Jamaica Queens, and private school in the wealthy Upper East Side of New York City, Ann Marie Benitez knows what access to healthcare looks like when you have resources, and when you dont. Listen in to learn about Reproductive Justice, and the realities people of color face when trying to access reproductive healthcare after the end of Roe v. Wade.

Over the last year, a number of things have happened that signal an alarming change in American life: church and state seem to be no longer separate. In this episode, lawyer, advocate, strategist, and President and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Rachel Laser tells the stories of those whose lives are directly impacted when the Supreme Court favors one religious ideology over the well-being of families and children. And she shares how her own family story shapes her work and reminds us all why the separation of church and state is vital to our democracy.

What is Christian Nationalism? Why is everyone talking about it? In this episode, we wrap up our past few episodes by answering those lingering questions to dig into what is - and is not- Christian Nationalism. We share the bad news on the embrace of Christian Nationalism by mainstream Republican politicians and come back to the wisdom we gleaned in earlier episodes to fight to build communities that reject xenophobia and embrace radical love.

Ian Silverii: political strategist, Jewish dad, and Senator spouse. Ian is a wisecracking fast-talking political genius who has led the progressive fight in Colorado for 15 years. Ian speaks with clarity, passion, and always humor. In this episode, Ian and Amanda talk about his work to bring the seismic shifts that he made in the political landscape and Colorado to the rest of the country. Ian shares about his own family escape from Nazi Germany- and how the gravity of those stories drive his work.

Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis is one of those people who transcends all of the categories we like to create - the first female and the first black senior pastor at a historic church in New York City that was founded in 1628. She speaks with prophetic truth. In this episode, Jacquie and Amanda talk about Christian Nationalism, the tied-up realities of the founding of the U.S., Christianity, and white supremacy. Jacquie casts a vision of a world where the radical love she preaches about becomes real.

To many, Rob Schenck is THE father of the anti-choice movement. As a young pastor, he drew headlines for a stunt in which a dead fetus was thrust at president Bill Clinton. Later, as you’ll hear, Rob had the ears – and the hearts and pens – of conservative Supreme Court justices. In this provocative conversation, Rob shares his fundamental transformation and how he came to see- and fight- the full danger of Christian Nationalism.

With the first two episodes under our belt, Host Amanda Henderson and Iliff graduate student Lex Dunbar dig into the key takeaways they hope our listeners come away with after the first two episodes: 1) The idea that there are clear god-ordained, universal religious teachings about gender, sexuality, and marriage as we know them today is a myth. 2) Regulation of bodies, sexuality, and marriage relationships has been a part of the business of the State since the founding of the U.S. and before. With these two realities in mind, how are we to understand and navigate the deeper questions tied to gender, sexuality, and marriage?

It’s never been easy, politically or religiously, to be queer or trans in this country – but this year, politics has made it harder than it’s been in decades- state lawmakers introduced 240 anti-gay bills across the US- and some seem to think homophobia is socially acceptable again. That makes Sam Park’s job both more important and more difficult. Sam is the first openly gay state rep ever elected in Georgia…in 2016. I found him to be so thoughtful about how he looks at the conflicts he faces as a gay Korean-American Democrat serving in Georgia – how he deals with adversity, how his own faith informs his work, and where he finds hope.

In the 2022 state legislative sessions across the U.S., 240 bills were introduced that would restrict rights and equality for LGBTQ people. A high number of these bills specifically targeted trans youth. In this episode, we talk with Brandan Robertson to learn about his own experiences growing up in Evangelical Fundamentalist Christianity. Brandon shares his own hatefulness to his LGBTQ peers, to the love and care he experienced in the church– and his own coming-out story and the rejection that followed.

It’s been a ROUGH few years. If you’re like me, you feel overwhelmed. Why can’t we keep our kids safe from guns? Why are voting rights under attack? Why can’t we even talk about abortion, gender, sexuality, or racism? How we got here is not a mystery. For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But when we avoid these hard topics, we stay stuck. On Complexified, we dig into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, - so we can make real change. I’ll talk with activists and thinkers about the issues tearing our lives up today… the end of Roe v. Wade, climate change, Christian Nationalism, attacks on trans kids, homelessness, and so much more. Complexified launches on August 11th. Join me. Follow the show wherever you listen to podcasts. And become a part of this movement to embrace the complexity of real life – and to move forward, together. This podcast is a project of the Institute of Religion Politics & Culture at Iliff School of Th…