Episodes

  • Can Small Acts of Faith Change a Fractured Country?

    Can Small Acts of Faith Change a Fractured Country?
    May 20 2025
    What if the most powerful protest starts with getting a good night’s sleep? How do we keep going when everything feels like too much? Union Theological Seminary president Serene Jones joins host Amanda Henderson to talk about navigating trauma, disorientation, and political despair without giving in to collapse. From sleep to protest marches, they explore how small, rooted acts of care can ground us in a moment designed to disempower. If you’ve been wondering what faith looks like when the wheels fall off, this episode is a balm—and a call to stay in the fight.
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    26 mins
  • What the Civil Rights Movement Still Has to Teach Us - Rachel Harding on Spirit & Strategy

    What the Civil Rights Movement Still Has to Teach Us - Rachel Harding on Spirit & Strategy
    May 16 2025
    In this stirring episode of Complexified, we sit down with scholar, poet and community elder Rachel Harding to remember what the Civil Rights Movement was really made of — not just legal wins, but music, food, family and radical hope. Raised among icons and everyday visionaries, Rachel offers a vision for change that begins not in courts, but in kitchens. This is a story about memory and movement, but also about presence — the kind of deep connection to people, place and purpose that makes liberation feel not just possible, but near. If you’re longing for a different way to be human in the chaos, this one’s for you. GUEST: Rachel Elizabeth Harding is a native of Georgia and a writer, historian and poet. Rachel is a specialist in religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora and studies the relationship between religion, creativity and social justice activism in cross-cultural perspective. A Cave Canem Fellow, she holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado Boulder. She's the author of A Refuge in Thunder: Candomblé and Alternative Spaces of Blackness (Indiana University Press, 2000) as well as numerous poems and essays. Rachel’s second book, Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering (Duke University Press, 2015), combines her own writings with those of her mother, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, on the role of compassion and spirituality in African American social justice organizing.
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    41 mins
  • The Pope Who Blessed the Margins (And Upset the Middle)

    The Pope Who Blessed the Margins (And Upset the Middle)
    Apr 21 2025
    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 — and how a new one is chosen. 00:00 Why Pope Francis Matters 01:52 A Reformer from the Start 03:50 Comfort in Chaos: COVID and Global Nationalism 05:09 LGBTQ+ Catholics and Vatican Politics 07:27 Synodality and Church Governance 09:10 How the Conclave Works 13:07 Language, Power, and Papal Politics 15:04 Divisions and the Future of Catholicism 17:03 Structure vs. Relational Religion
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    32 mins
  • Loose Reins, Tight Factions: the Southern Baptist Convention

    Loose Reins, Tight Factions: the Southern Baptist Convention
    Feb 17 2025
    One of the most powerful religious institutions in America is also one of the most chaotic. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), with its billion-dollar budget and massive political influence, operates without centralized authority or even an effective system of accountability. But as the Executive Committee meets in Nashville this week, a long-simmering crisis of governance is coming to a head. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson speaks with RNS reporter Bob Smietana to break down the scandals, factional divides, and power struggles shaping the SBC today. The conversation delves into: The ongoing sexual abuse crisis and why a long-promised list of abusive pastors remains unfinished. Financial scandals involving millions of dollars in mismanagement at SBC institutions. The rising tension between pro-life advocates and abortion abolitionists pushing for extreme policies. The debate over refugee aid, immigration reform, and the SBC’s relationship with the GOP. Why the SBC’s governance model—built on congregational independence—has made oversight nearly impossible. With fights over money, power, and theology unfolding behind closed doors, the SBC’s current turmoil is more than just denominational drama—it’s a mirror of America’s broader political and cultural battles.
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    32 mins
  • Sledgehammer Reform: USAID on the Chopping Block

    Sledgehammer Reform: USAID on the Chopping Block
    Feb 10 2025
    USAID has been a pillar of American foreign policy and humanitarian relief for over 60 years, but under the Trump administration’s latest push for government downsizing—driven in part by Elon Musk’s influence—the agency is facing deep cuts that could disrupt life-saving aid in over 100 countries. What does this mean for the millions of people who rely on U.S. support for clean water, healthcare, and disaster relief? And how are faith-based organizations, some of the biggest USAID partners, preparing for a future with drastically reduced funding? In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson sits down with former USAID official Adam Nicholas Phillips to explore the history, purpose, and political pressures surrounding USAID, from its Cold War origins to its vital role in today’s humanitarian crises. They discuss how religious groups—trusted in their communities—are often the backbone of aid delivery, why cutting USAID isn’t just about budget efficiency, and whether resistance movements might emerge to counter these drastic changes. With over 50,000 aid workers already furloughed and countless lives hanging in the balance, this episode unpacks the high-stakes battle over foreign aid, faith-based partnerships, and America’s role on the global stage.
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    24 mins
  • Faith, Politics, and Power: J.D. Vance’s Tightrope Act

    Faith, Politics, and Power: J.D. Vance’s Tightrope Act
    Feb 3 2025
    JD Vance took the stage at the March for Life to thunderous applause, positioning himself as a champion of conservative Catholic values. With Republican heavyweights like Ron DeSantis and Mike Johnson in attendance, the rally was a display of political and religious unity—or so it seemed. Just two days later, Vance went on Face the Nation and publicly attacked Catholic bishop, seeming to accuse them of financially benefiting from immigration policies and failing to support law enforcement. In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson and RNS journalist Aleja Hertzler-McCain explore the contradictions in Vance’s political and religious journey—his late-in-life conversion to Catholicism, his embrace of Catholic integralism, and his balancing act between conservative ideology and Trump’s agenda. Why did he shift from echoing traditional Catholic rhetoric at the March for Life to distancing himself from the church’s leaders on immigration? What does this reveal about the evolving priorities of the religious right and the tensions between power and principle?
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    22 mins
  • The Mercy Pulpit & The Sermon Heard Around the World

    The Mercy Pulpit & The Sermon Heard Around the World
    Jan 27 2025
    God and Trump collide in a week of political and religious tension, sparked by a prophetic sermon at the National Cathedral. Host Amanda Henderson and RNS Executive Editor Roxanne Stone delve into how this sermon—calling for mercy and justice—reshaped the national discourse and exposed the fractures between competing Christianities. From Trump’s invocation of divine authority to the shifting influence of evangelical power, they explore how faith and politics are shaping America’s identity and future.
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    26 mins
  • President Trump's Crusader

    President Trump's Crusader
    Jan 17 2025
    "By the grace of God, by Jesus, and Jenny." Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing for Secretary of Defense avoided overt debates on his faith or claims of moral redemption, leaving the politics of his nomination largely unspoken. Amanda Henderson and RNS reporter Jack Jenkins examine how Hegseth’s Christian nationalism, personal controversies, and claims of transformation served as a stormy backdrop to the hearing, raising deeper questions about the unacknowledged intersections of religion, power, and leadership in his path to the Pentagon.
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    28 mins
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