Erika Kirk’s Turning Point

Erika Kirk’s Turning Point

Author: Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, Amanda Henderson, Iliff School of Theology September 9, 2026 Duration: 27:57
One year after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, his widow, Erika, is leading Turning Point USA — appealing to young women through a message of faith, forgiveness and biblical womanhood. Can her vision hold together the movement he left behind? RNS reporter Kathryn Post has followed that transformation. RELATED: At TPUSA’s women’s summit, Christian influencers say feminism threatens motherhood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Complexified is a conversation that starts from a simple, uncomfortable truth: the forces of faith and power are woven into the fabric of our everyday existence, from kitchen tables to courtrooms. Hosted by Amanda Henderson of the Iliff School of Theology and presented by the Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, this podcast deliberately steps into the tangled intersections where belief systems meet policy, cultural norms, and social strife. We move beyond superficial debates to examine how these deep structures actually function, why certain problems feel so immovable, and where the possibilities for genuine movement might lie. Each episode is an effort to untangle a specific, knotty issue, listening for the underlying narratives and historical currents that often go unspoken. The goal isn't to provide easy answers but to foster a more nuanced comprehension, the kind required for meaningful engagement rather than repeated conflict. Tuning into this podcast means joining a rigorous yet accessible exploration of our shared life, acknowledging the complexity so often glossed over in public discourse. It’s an invitation to think more deeply about the roots of our divisions and the potential pathways forward, grounded in the conviction that clearer understanding is a necessary first step toward any durable change.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Complexified
Podcast Episodes
The Texas Sharia Panic: How a Rallying Cry Became a Curriculum [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:14
Republican leaders across Texas are repeatedly warning that Sharia is an urgent threat to the state- making it a rallying cry as we head into the midterm elections. The Muslim community, who has long stayed quiet, is now…
Bratwurst and Beer: How the Far Right Replaced Germany's Churches [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:30
A state in Germany has seen the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party win nearly 44% of the vote—making it the state’s largest party and bringing it within three seats of a governing majority. While Catholic…
The 9/11 Generation: 25 Years Later [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:00
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the attacks' aftershocks — surveillance, suspicion, identity — continued to shape how young Muslim Americans saw themselves and their country. With Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City's…
Saint, Sinner, Superstar: Dolly Parton’s Complicated Christianity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:48
Dolly Parton was loved by evangelical Christians, queer fans, atheists and nearly everyone in between. Some saw her as a model of Christian living. But Dolly’s own relationship with Christianity was more complicated. She…
How One City Became an American Flashpoint [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:29
In Springfield, Ohio, a small Rust Belt city where thousands of Haitian immigrants had settled… America’s fights over work, migration, race, religion and belonging stopped being abstract. The pressures have accumulated f…
High Church on Chicago’s South Side [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:47
Pope Hats, Hot Dogs and Holy Ground: Baseball has long been called a kind of church. It has its own calendar and rituals, its sacred places and inherited traditions. Its faithful gather at appointed times, sing familiar…
$438 Million Later, What Does This Faith-Tech Company Actually Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:17
RNS reporter Bob Smietana on Gloo, the faith-tech company chasing a one-stop IT/AI solution for churches. Nearly half a billion dollars, gone, over thirteen years. That's how much a company called Gloo has lost trying to…