How One City Became an American Flashpoint

How One City Became an American Flashpoint

Author: Institute of Religion Politics and Culture, Amanda Henderson, Iliff School of Theology August 25, 2026 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 for years. Then, on one night in 2024, Springfield became an American flashpoint.   RNS reporter Kathryn Post has followed what happened in Springfield across three reporting trips—from churches transformed by Haitian worship to residents emerging from ICE check-ins wearing ankle monitors. This is the story of how Springfield became a microcosm of 2026 America. RELATED: As ICE closes in, Ohio churches line up families to care for Haitian kids left behind As Supreme Court clears way to deport Haitians and Syrians, faith leaders grieve, prepare for what’s next As Springfield's 15,000 Haitians brace for deportations, local churches train to resist ICE 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 Catholics Who Broke With Rome. Again. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:30
When Tradition Becomes Trouble On the side of a mountain in Switzerland, in the shadow of the Alps, a fanciful event attracting a small but ardent group of Catholic traditionalists gathered to celebrate the consecration…
Spiritual Technology for the 21st Century [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
Philip Reed-Butler, Black AI, and the future of healing For the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about artificial intelligence. We’ve talked Vatican positioning, Silicon Valley philosophers, Catholic ethics, corporate…
The Business of Being Good [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:29
Anthropic, the Vatican, and the Moral Branding of AI Imagine you're an engineer at one of the most powerful AI companies in the world. You've built a system that can write poetry, pass the bar exam, and hold a conversati…
Building God, Fearing Doom: The Theology of Superintelligence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:39
A theology of sorts has been building in Silicon Valley, where questions about digital, biological and spiritual life are beginning to converge. For most of us, AI means chatbots, recipe tips, work tools and strange litt…
Pope Leo XIV and the Case for Imperfection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:23
In 1891, Pope Leo 13th looked at the Industrial Revolution — factories, machines, workers being displaced and exploited — and decided the Church had a role to play. The result was an encyclical: Rerum Novarum, translated…
America, According to Hillsdale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:49
Who gets to tell America's story? Hillsdale College is small by most reckoning, but punching above its weight in influence, with its ethos and teaching saturating all levels of education far beyond its campus in Michigan…
Separation of Church and State Was a Baptist Idea. What Happened? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:01
The Baptist preacher (and Texas Lieutenant Governor) who stood before the White House Religious Liberty Commission had a message: there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution. That's a shift... For two…
What Stuck: Reading Pope Francis a Year Later [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:54
A year after his death, the Catholic Church is moving forward—and revealing what Francis actually changed. While he was alive, Francis' papacy was interpreted in real time: praised, criticized and debated. It was difficu…
What If the Most Powerful American in the World Isn't Who You Think? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:43
The playbook for dismissing a pope just stopped working. Trump called Pope Leo weak. Catholics — including some of Trump's own — aren't buying it. Vatican reporter Claire Giangravé joins Amanda Henderson to explain why L…