Shifting Culture

In this episode, I sit down with Nathan Clarkson, author of I’m the Worst, for an honest conversation about brokenness, shame, confession, and freedom. Nathan shares what it was like growing up in a well-known Christian family, learning how to perform moral goodness while hiding the parts of himself he didn’t know how to face, and how confronting that reality became the beginning of healing rather than the end of the story. We talk about moral superiority, cancel culture, and the ways fear turns both politics and church life into tribes instead of communities. We also dig into the difference between shame and conviction, why confession and forgiveness matter so much for spiritual formation, and how dehumanization always leads to harm. This conversation is for anyone who is tired of polarized Christianity and is looking for a more honest, freeing, and love-shaped way forward.
Nathan Clarkson is the author of I’m the Worst, and an award-winning actor, a Netflix-trending filmmaker, and best-selling author of several books, including Different and Uniquely You. He is a podcast philosopher on the award-winning show The Overthinkers. Nathan writes regularly on the intersection of faith and culture for the Patheos column Cross Cultural and has been featured in outlets such as the Today Show, LA Times, Variety, and Relevant Magazine. Find out more at nathanclarkson.me.
Nathan's Book:
I'm the Worst
Nathan's Recommendation:
The Hidden Habits of Genius
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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In this episode, I sit down with Winfield Bevins to talk about beauty and why it matters for everyday life, the church, and spiritual formation. We discuss his book How Beauty Will Save the World and how beauty shapes attention, formation, and the way we live, work, and follow Jesus. Winfield shares his own story, including seasons of burnout and vocational transition, and how art and creativity became central to his faith and calling. We talk about creativity beyond the arts, the pace of modern life, and how beauty helps form us spiritually, reorient our desires, and shape communities of faith. This is a grounded conversation about renewal, formation, and learning to see the world with care and hope.
Winfield Bevins is an internationally recognized author, artist, and the founding director of Creo Arts, which is a non-profit that exists to bring beauty, goodness, and truth to the world through the arts. Winfield is also artist-in-residence at Asbury Theological Seminary where he champions the integration of art, theology, and mission. Over the past decade, he has helped start numerous initiatives and academic programs that have trained leaders from around the world. He is the author of several books, including, How Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Power of the Arts for the Christian Life.
Winfield's Book:
How Beauty Will Save the World
Winfield's Recommendation:
Surprised by Joy
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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In this episode, I talk with David Dault about his book The Accessorized Bible and the ways the Bible is actually used in our churches, institutions, and public life. We wrestle with how the Bible can be taken seriously without being turned into a prop, a weapon, or a justification for harm. Our conversation moves through questions of power, responsibility, and interpretation, and keeps returning to a simple but difficult concern: whether or not our ways of using the Bible are making life more possible for the people around us.
David Dault is an assistant professor of Christian spirituality in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of Chicago. His previous faculty appointments were at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, and at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN. He began his teaching career at American Baptist College in Nashville, TN, where he served as chair of the department of theology and biblical studies.
He is the host and executive producer of Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith, an award-winning radio show and podcast, and is the podcast editor for Commonweal magazine, the Paulist Fathers, and GIA Publications.
David received his Ph.D. in religion from Vanderbilt University, and he holds an M.A in religion from Vanderbilt, as well as an M.A. in theological studies from Columbia Theological Seminary.
He lives with his family in Hyde Park, a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago.
David's Book:
The Accessorized Bible
David's Recommendations:
Midnight Mass
The Essays of James Baldwin
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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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 overlooked films, shrinking theatrical releases, genre storytelling, and how personal experiences shaped the way we watched and ranked these movies. This episode offers a thoughtful, honest look at the year in film and the cultural moment behind it.
Elijah’s List:
10. Hamnet/Predator: Badlands
9. Frankenstein
8. Avatar: Fire and Ash
7. Train Dreams
6. Sinners
5. Presence
4. One Battle After Another
3. Black Bag
2. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
1. 28 Years Later
 
Craig’s List:
10. The Phoenician Scheme
9. Roofman
8. Weapons
7. Wake Up Dead Man
6. The Ballad of Wallis Island
5. It Was Just an Accident
4. Train Dreams
3. Sinners
2. One Battle After Another
1. The Testament of Ann Lee
 
Joshua’s List:
10. The Ballad of Wallis Island
9. The Life of Chuck
8. Blue Moon
7. 28 Years Later
6. Sinners
5. Train Dreams
4. One Battle After Another
3. Sentimental Value
2. It Was Just an Accident
1. Wake Up Dead Man
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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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 Church, the quiet decline of the moderate church, the rise of polarization inside Christianity, and how broader cultural tribalism has reshaped faith communities. We also explore the growth of the religious “nones,” why church closures are happening steadily but largely unnoticed, and what’s lost when the church can no longer function as a space where people learn how to live together across difference.
Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before that he was an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and was also the graduate coordinator. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside four books about religion and politics in the United States. He has written for the New York Times, POLITICO, and the Wall Street Journal. He has also appeared in an NBC Documentary, on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, as well as 60 Minutes which called him, “one of the country’s leading data analysts on religion and politics.” He served as a pastor in the American Baptist Church for over twenty years, leading First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon, IL for 17.5 years until its closure in July 2024. He has been married to his wife Jacqueline for over seventeen years. They have two boys.
Ryan's Book:
The Vanishing Church
Ryan's Recommendation:
Dominion
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.

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