In this inaugural edition of Listening In, Warren Cole Smith interviews Molly Worthen, author of Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism, published by Oxford University Press. In this thought-provoking interview, Smith and Worthen discuss some of the most fundamental (and controversial) tenets of evangelical Christianity. 

Introducing Listening In: An interview with Molly Worthen

In this episode of Listening In, WORLD's Warren Cole Smith interviews philosopher and Christian apologist  Francis Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University. Together, they explore the ways in which today's young people intersect their personal faith with cultural mores, as they develop their view of the world.

A conversation with philosopher Frank Beckwith

James Lankford had a 20-year career in Christian ministry before deciding to run for Congress. A political unknown when he first ran in 2010, beat a crowded field in the Republican primary to take the seat. He was re-elected in 2012 with 59 percent of the vote.He serves on the Budget Committee, and he is the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, which makes him a member of the majority leadership in the House of Representatives. It’s unusual for a congressman in just his second term to have such a post. I visited with Congressman Lankford last week in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington.

A conversation with Congressman James Lankford

Today, listen in to a conversation with Warren Cole Smith and Grover Norquist who was one of the leaders of a wave of young conservatives who came to Washington in the 1980s, inspired by President Ronald Reagan.  During those years he was a friend and political ally with evangelical leader Ralph Reed and subsequently disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  Norquist rose to national attention as one of the architects of Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America.  He was also the mastermind behind getting Republican office holders and candidates to take a pledge not to raise taxes.  I recently went to Washington, to the offices of Grover Norquist’s organization – Americans for Tax Reform. 

A conversation with tax reformer Grover Norquist

Brad Wilcox is one of the nation’s leading experts on research related to the family. He is the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia, where he is also associate professor of sociology. The University of Chicago Press published his first book, Soft Patriarchs and New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands, in 2004. His second book, Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, & Marriage among African Americans and Latinos, is under contract with Oxford University Press and is expected out later this year. As director of the National Marriage Project, Wilcox also oversees the publication of an annual report on marriage in America, entitled The State of Our Unions. I met with him in Charlottesville, Virginia, and we began our conversation by talking about an article he had just published in The Atlantic on income inequality.

A conversation with family researcher Bradford Wilcox

WORLD News Group, publisher of WORLD magazine and producer of WORLD Radio’s The World and Everything in It, has a new audio program called Listening In. Listening In is a conversational program featuring newsmakers and thought leaders that explores the depths of some of the most interesting topics of our day hosted by Warren Cole Smith. “Our goal is to explore topics as thoughtfully as possible,” said WORLD Radio Executive Producer Nick Eicher. “It’s more like NPR’s Fresh Air or public television’s Charlie Rose, but with an objective Christian perspective.” Listening In will air each Saturday in January, February, and March and can be streamed or downloaded at wng.org/listeningin. Beginning in the spring, plans are in place to move to a daily format. The program will be available to radio stations via FTP download. For technical details, contact: Jonathan Bailie at jbailie@wng.org.

WORLD News Group

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