The Bulletin – Details, episodes & analysis

Gen Z in the workplace, Israeli hostages, and astronauts stuck in space. Find us on Youtube. This week on The Bulletin, we discuss Gen Z in the workplace with Skot Welch (organizational development expert), the deaths of six Israeli hostages with Mona Charen (policy editor at The Bulwark), and the two American astronauts stuck in space with Jeff Williams (former NASA astronaut).  GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Follow the show in your podcast app of choice. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. Leave a comment in Spotify with your feedback on the discussion—we may even respond! Check out episode 91 for Mike Cosper’s conversation with author Frank Bruni on grievance. Visit former NASA astronaut Jeff Williams’s Instagram account for amazing views from the International Space Station. TODAY’S GUESTS:  Skot Welch is the principal/founder of Global Bridgebuilders (GBB), a firm focusing on organizational development, cultural transformation, and inclusion. Prior to the launch of Global Bridgebuilders, Skot served as vice president of business development and benchmarking services for DiversityInc magazine in New Jersey, where he worked with many of the Fortune 500’s biggest global brands across a broad range of industries. Skot is the author of Unfractured: A Christ-Centered Action Plan for Cultural Change. Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist, the policy editor of The Bulwark, and the host of the podcast Beg to Differ. Jeff Williams is a retired United States Army officer and a NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of four space flights and formerly held the American record for most days spent in space. Jeff was a two-time station commander for the International Space Station. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a weekly (and sometimes more!) current events show from Christianity Today hosted and moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor in chief) and Mike Cosper (director, CT Media). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on The Bulletin, we check in on the presidential election with Mike Murphy (political consultant), review the Taliban’s new code of laws with Luma Simms (fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center), and consider how we can care for our souls in hard times with Sheila Wise Rowe (author of Young, Gifted, and Black). GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Follow the show in your podcast app of choice. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. Leave a comment in Spotify with your feedback on the discussion—we may even respond! TODAY’S GUESTS: Mike Murphy is one of the Republican Party’s most successful political media consultants, having handled strategy and advertising for more than 26 successful gubernatorial and senatorial campaigns. He served as a top campaign messaging and political strategist to Sen. John McCain’s historic “Straight Talk Express” presidential campaign in 2000, and also for successful gubernatorial candidates Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tommy Thompson, and John Engler. In 2020, he served as a key strategist for Republican Voters Against Trump. He currently cohosts the popular weekly politics podcast Hacks on Tap with David Axelrod, which boasts over 14 million downloads to date. Sheila Wise Rowe is a graduate of Tufts University and Cambridge College with a master’s degree in counseling psychology. She has over 30 years of experience as a Christian counselor, spiritual director, educator, writer, and speaker. Sheila has counseled women, children, couples, and emerging and established leaders and has taught counseling in Massachusetts; Paris, France; virtually; and for a decade in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she also ministered to homeless and abused women and children. Sheila’s essays can be found in numerous blogs, newspapers, journals, and books. In 2020 she authored the award-winning book, Healing Racial Trauma: The Road to Resilience. Recently she wrote Young, Gifted, and Black: A Journey of Lament and Celebration and has coauthored the soon-to-release Healing Leadership Trauma. Luma Simms is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she studies the life and thought of immigrants. As a humanist writer, she publishes on a broad range of topics with a focus on the human (individual and communal), ethical, religious, and philosophical dimensions of immigration. She is particularly concerned with the crisis of rootlessness, identity, and dehumanization. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a weekly (and sometimes more!) current events show from Christianity Today hosted and moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor in chief) and Mike Cosper (director, CT Media). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ERLC presidential kerfuffle, Secret Service Director Resignation, and Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington. Find us on Youtube. This week, Clarissa, Mike, and Russell welcome Pete Wehner (The Atlantic, NYT, Trinity Forum) to talk about the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and the unlawful firing of their president, which leads to discussion of populism in the church. Then, the three engage in a review of the Secret Service director’s resignation and what this means for the American people. Finally, Chris Seiple (Comparative Religion Program Fellow at University of Washington) joins for a discussion of the events and implications surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to DC. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Follow the show in your podcast app of choice Find us on Youtube. Rate and Review the show in your podcast app of choice Leave a comment in Spotify with your feedback on the discussion–we may even respond! TODAY’S GUESTS:  Peter Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. He was formerly a speechwriter for George W. Bush and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Wehner is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and his work also appears in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Affairs. Chris Seiple is the Senior Fellow for Comparative Religion at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. He is widely known and sought after for his decades of experience and expertise regarding issues at the intersection of geopolitics, US foreign policy, Asia, conflict resolution, human rights and religion. He has pioneered innovative solutions in the U.S. Marine Corps, at the U.S. State Department, the Templeton Religion Trust, and as the president of the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE), where he developed a “Track 1.5” theory of change rooted in relational diplomacy.  ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a weekly (and sometimes more!) current events show from Christianity Today hosted and moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s Editor-in-Chief) and Mike Cosper (Director, CT Media). Each week the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s news roundup, host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore look back at 2022 and cast a hopeful eye toward the coming year. Dubbing 2022 “The Year of Exhaustion and Anger,” Cosper and Moore discuss the role of anger in American society, its fearful manifestations and protective instincts. The divisions in denominations, the rise of Christian nationalism, and the end of Roe might leave you with questions about what lies ahead; but hope springs eternal. Listen for why Dr. Moore believes “democracy is not dead,” and how healthy institution building can offer a path forward out of the darkness of the last few years. News editor Daniel Silliman returns with the latest installment of “Hey, Daniel, what’s weird?” to share a sci-fi story about Puritanism’s golden boy, Cotton Mather. Resources Referenced: “The Year We Lost It”, a collection of articles from The New York Times Supergods by Grant Morrison   “Zelensky Recalled Us To Ourselves” by David Frum  Call Me Back podcast with Dan Senor Cotton Mather's New Testament annotations “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer and Editor: Azurae Phelps Additional Editing and Operations: Matt Stevens Music, Editing, and Mix: Dan Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s news roundup, host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore dive into the mysteries of bitcoin and fusion, coming up for air to talk holidays and food with James Beard-nominated chef and star of Outdoor Channel’s “Feral,” Yia Vang. News of nuclear fusion’s latest breakthrough and cryptocurrency’s latest bust lead this week’s conversation about the benefits and dangers of marveling at things beyond our understanding. Cosper and Moore discuss effective altruism, space mining, and generational cuisine all with a single common thread: Who are we inviting to the table and how are we welcoming them?  Joining us this week: One of seven siblings, Chef Yia Vang was born in a Thai refugee camp where he lived until his family resettled in the Midwest. A trained chef who started his career working as a dishwasher, Yia Vang worked at many top restaurants in the Twin Cities before starting Union Hmong Kitchen. Yia brings Hmong flavors to American palates and invites people to change how they think about food by considering the influences in each bite. Yia is the host of TPT’s Relish series, Outdoor Channel’s “Feral,” and has been featured on National Geographic and CNN’s United Shades of America.  Resources referenced: “Elon Musk, Twitter and the future: His long-term vision is even weirder than you think” by Emile Torres “America, Can We Talk About Our Guru Problem?” by David French Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley “A behavioral economist explains why Elizabeth Holmes might not have felt bad lying about Theranos” by Andy Kiersz “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer and Editor: Azurae Phelps Additional Editing and Operations: Matt Stevens Music, Editing, and Mix: Dan Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s news roundup, host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore reflect on Robert Putnam’s 20-year-old book, Bowling Alone; what to do about a society that has only become more disconnected since then; and the impact this has on even one of life’s most simple pleasures: going out to dinner. Krista Boan joins in to discuss smartphones and how best to set you and your kids up when introducing this new technology. Stick around to hear about which apps Cosper, Moore, and Boan can’t live without. Joining us this week: Krista Boan is the cofounder of Screen Sanity. She studied English and Psychology at the University of Kansas and earned her Masters in Education at Rockhurst University. Author of Social Media Playbook and Well Framed: Grounding Your Social Media in God’s Love, she lives in Kansas City with her husband and four kids. Resources referenced: Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam From Bowling Alone to Posting Alone by Anton Jager Metzger Bar and Butchery reservation cancelation by Emily Heil Screen Sanity "The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer: Azurae Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations: Matt Stevens Music: Dan Phelps Production Assistance: coreMEDIA Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Audio Engineer: Kevin Duthu Video Producer: John Roland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s news roundup, host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore pull up a chair to discuss recent dinner events at Mar-a-Lago and a table of pastors hungry for power. Conversation focuses on the disturbing acquiescence to rising antisemitism in the United States and Christians’ troubling restoration responses following abuse allegations in the Southern Baptist Convention. As Christmas approaches, Cosper and Moore view these topics in light of the babe in the manger and wonder together: Have we forgotten who our neighbor really is? When Holocaust denial and victim silencing become familiar language, we need the marginalized, Jewish Jesus more than ever. Stick through the end of the episode for hilarious Christmas pageant antics. Resources referenced: It’s the Stupidity, Stupid by Noah Rothman Hannah Anderson’s pastoral restoration tweet Johnny Hunt’s return to ministry by Bob Smietana President Bart Barber’s statement on Pastor Johnny Hunt’s restoration When Narcissism Comes to Church by Chuck deGroat Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge Tony Daussat’s viral Christmas pageant video “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer: Azurae Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations: Matt Stevens Music: Dan Phelps Production Assistance: coreMEDIA Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Audio Engineer: Kevin Duthu Video Producer: John Roland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week’s news roundup, host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore wrestle with culture wars of a related kind, discussing the divisive responses to the recent mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado and the silent courage of Iranian sports figures against their domineering government. Listen in as Cosper and Moore lament the ideological tropes we cling to in the face of dehumanizing tragedy, and find hope in the stories of real life heroes whose courage exposes online virtue signaling for the hollow artifice that it is. News editor Daniel Silliman joins the conversation in a new feature called, “Hey, Daniel! What’s weird?” to discuss the history of pumpkin pie. Joining us this week: Daniel Silliman is a journalist and a historian. He is the news editor for Christianity Today, the author of a history of bestselling evangelical fiction, and teaches humanities at Milligan University. Daniel spent several years as a crime reporter outside Atlanta before pursuing higher education in Germany, earning a MA from Tübingen University and a doctoral degree from Heidelberg University. He has reported and edited news coverage for CT since 2019. Resources referenced: Them: Why We Hate Each Other -- And How to Heal by Ben Sasse “Iran players opt not to sing national anthem at World Cup”, Reuters Daniel Silliman’s viral Thanksgiving tweet Northwood by Sarah Josepha Hale The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day” by Lydia Maria Child Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon by Cindy Ott “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer: Azurae Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations: Matt Stevens Music and Post Production: Dan Phelps Video Producer: John Roland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brash election rhetoric seems to have grown boring (at least for now), but in the void of highly polarizing conversations, Christians still are looking for ways to define themselves.   In this week’s news roundup, special guest Hannah Anderson joins host Mike Cosper and editor in chief Russell Moore for an election postmortem, including a discussion of how Donald Trump’s second bid for the presidency may or may not deepen already existing divisions in congregations. Considering the state of Sunday morning pews, Anderson, Cosper and Moore ask what the rise in nondenominational churches means for Christian witness and theology, a question that resonates further as the Respect for Marriage Act begins its legislative journey. Join the lively discussion around a core question: At the polls and in the pews, who are we now? Joining us this week: Hannah Anderson is an author and speaker who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with her husband and three children. Her work explores themes of human flourishing with a particular focus on how ecology, gender, and socioeconomics affect spiritual formation. Besides being a regular contributor to Christianity Today, she has authored multiple books including All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment  and the recently released Heaven and Nature Sing.  Resources referenced: Gen Z Evangelicals Vote More than Millennials or Gen X Did New York Post Buries Trump 2024 Launch: ‘Florida Man Makes Announcement’  No. Trump Won't Divide the Church This Time by Russell Moore ‘Nondenominational’ Is Now the Largest Segment of American Protestants by Daniel Silliman Leading Scholars Call Senate Version of the Respect for Marriage Act “An Advance for Religious Liberty” Everything You Need to Know About the Respect for Marriage Act by Carl Esbeck Can The Most Hated Meal Be Redeemed? ‘The Big Brunch’ Says Yes. Jamie Oliver’s Healthy Cheese & Corn Pancakes “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Host and Producer: Mike Cosper Producer: Azurae Phelps Graphic Design: Bryan Todd Social Media: Kate Lucky Director of Operations: Matt Stevens Music: Dan Phelps Production Assistance: coreMEDIA Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Audio Engineer: Kevin Duthu Video Producer: John Roland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dive beneath this week’s headlines with CT Media’s newest podcast, The Bulletin, hosted by Director of Podcasts, Mike Cosper, and Editor in Chief, Dr. Russell Moore.  In this week’s news roundup, Cosper and Moore sit down with guests Justin Giboney and Michael Wear to talk midterm elections, pandemic amnesty, and whether Twitter’s demise might be a net loss for the church and the world. Hear what evangelicals can learn from polling numbers, how a pro life ethic coupled with derision of vulnerability can’t survive, and what troll culture teaches us about our souls. Guest Bios: Justin Giboney is an attorney, political strategist and ordained minister in Atlanta, GA. He is also the Co-Founder and President of the AND Campaign, a coalition of urban Christians who address the sociopolitical arena with the compassion and conviction of the gospel. Giboney is the co-author of Compassion (&) Conviction - The AND Campaign's Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement. Michael Wear is President and CEO of the Center for Christianity and Public Life, a nonpartisan institution, based in Washington, D.C. with the mission to contend for the credibility of Christian resources in public life, for the public good. He is a trusted resource and advisor for a range of civic leaders on matters of faith and public life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices