Melissa Duge Spiers joins me to talk about growing up in a high-control religious system and what it does to a person over time. We discuss the lasting impact on the body, relationships, and identity, along with the role of repression, especially around sexuality. This conversation looks at how experiences like this don’t stay private, but shape the wider culture as well.

Becky is back for the the third time and we discuss economic insecurity, media collapse, masculinity, and the rise of charismatic leaders, moving through religion, power, and the growing divide between men and women.

At the center of it all is a difficult question: how does a society lose its way, and can we find it again?

I was there. I knew a lot of the people Keri is writing about, worked with them, lived with some of them, and was part of the rise of the religious right. And I’ve been writing about and saying these things for the last 40 years since I left, especially about how the secular media totally ignored it and underestimated it. They were more comfortable talking about economic policy than religious motivation. And there seemed to be an absolute misunderstanding of the power of the movement. Everyone thought it was too fringe to warrant serious attention.

Frank Schaeffer talks with Matthew Davis about Mount Rushmore, the Lakota, and why America struggles to face its own history honestly.

In this episode, Frank Schaeffer speaks with Leah Libresco Sargeant about her book The Dignity of Dependence.

They explore the cultural pressure to be independent and the reality that human life is built on care, responsibility, and connection.

From women’s experiences of the body to broader questions about family, politics, and faith, this conversation looks at what it means to live honestly in a world that values autonomy over relationship.

Directed by Mike Sheridan, Amplified explores the profound influence of American culture and politics on the global discourse, particularly in Ireland. The film investigates the origins of harmful rhetoric and conspiracy theories, highlighting how misinformation and disinformation spread and can lead to violence. Amplified culminates in the explosive Dublin riots in November 2023, which caused millions of euros in damage and made headlines worldwide.

In this episode, Frank Schaeffer speaks with Dr. Terence Lester, PhD about his journey from hardship to scholarship, and the deeper work of becoming a healing presence for your children.

They discuss trauma, race, poverty, and faith, along with Lester’s Project Open Fridge and his commitment to addressing food insecurity.

The conversation moves beyond biography into something more personal. What do we carry from our past, and what do we choose not to pass on?

I talked with Becky Garrison about her new book Gaslighting for God in this 2 part conversation, starting with spiritual narcissism, MAGA, Trump, and religious trauma, and why both conservative and progressive spaces can become shaped by control and image. Then we shift to what comes next, including hope, the limits of satire, the collapse of celebrity leadership, and why real change may be happening in smaller, more local, more human ways.

I sat down with Gina Goldhammer to talk about her novel Where Snowbirds Play, which is set in 1991 at what she describes as the end of the golden age of Palm Beach, a world of wealth, influence, and powerful people living inside their own closed social orbit.

Why do couples who genuinely love each other struggle to stay in love? Why does criticism from a partner hurt so deeply? And why do defensiveness and misunderstanding so often replace real communication? And how have changing expectations between men and women complicated marriage in ways our parents and grandparents never experienced?

Writer Kate Cohen discusses her new Substack “Scratch,” exploring the human need to cook, build, sew, and create in a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and AI.

Marianne Leone joins Frank Schaeffer to discuss her novel Christina the Astonishing, growing up Italian-American under Irish Catholic nuns, religious trauma, losing faith after her father’s death, The Sopranos, and why bold girls survive institutions built to silence them.

Frank Schaeffer talks with Andrew Lownie about Prince Andrew, the Epstein scandal, and the monarchy’s uncertain future after Entitled.

I sat down with Jason G. Green to talk about his memoir Too Precious to Lose. He served in the Obama White House, but this book is about something deeper; family, race, memory, and the kind of community that shapes a life. It’s a thoughtful conversation about where we are as a country and what we risk losing.

Historian and ordained Episcopal priest Randall Balmer joins Frank Schaeffer to discuss his powerful new book, America’s Best Idea. Together they explore the true history of church-state separation, the myth of America as a Christian nation, the Treaty of Tripoli, the Supreme Court’s recent rulings, and why evangelical Christians may lose the most if Christian nationalism succeeds. A truth-telling conversation about democracy, faith, and the First Amendment.

Why the MAGA movement is far smarter, and far more dangerous, than liberals want to admit.

Political theorist Laura K. Field joins me to expose the philosophical, religious, and institutional ideas driving the MAGA New Right. From elite Catholic theorists to post-liberal power strategies, this conversation reveals why Trumpism didn’t come out of nowhere, and why ignoring it is no longer an option.

Frank Schaeffer speaks with William J. Kole about guns, fear, and how white evangelical Christianity drifted away from the teachings of Jesus.

A conversation about play, attention, and why being fully present with children is some of the most important work we do.

I’ve spent a lifetime raising children and helping raise grandchildren. In this conversation with Christopher Mannino, I found myself recognizing ideas I’ve learned not from books, but from years of showing up. This is about play, imagination, and why presence — not performance — is what children remember.

Drawing on decades of humanitarian work, Sharon reflects on accountability, choice, faith, and why good intentions alone are not enough. We talk about suffering not as an abstract problem, but as something that asks something of us in our communities, our institutions, and our daily lives.

Novelist TJ Poortinga joins me to talk about Electric Orange, a darkly comic, theologically sharp warning written from inside evangelical culture. We unpack Christian nationalism, masculinity, media rage, and why secular America keeps misreading religious power.

Filmmaker Petra Costa and producer Alessandra Orofino join Frank Schaeffer to explore how evangelical movements fused with authoritarian politics in Brazil—and why the same forces are reshaping democracy in the United States.

Melanie D.G. Kaplan joins Frank Schaeffer to talk about dogs, science, forgiveness, and why love still matters.

What happens when a beagle bred for laboratory research gets a second life—and changes a human forever?

Journalist and author Melanie D.G. Kaplan joins me for a conversation about her book Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research.

A Tufts chaplain on interfaith intimacy, loneliness, and staying human in hard times.

Lynn A. Cooper joins me to talk about Embracing Our Time: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship—and why friendship isn’t a “nice-to-have,” but a spiritual and civic survival skill. From interfaith practice on a campus under cultural pressure, to the loneliness crisis, Christian nationalism, and the way our phones rewire time itself, this conversation offers a realistic path back to each other.

What happens when the architect of a war knows—deep down—that it cannot be won?

In this episode of In Conversation with Frank Schaeffer, I speak with William Taubman and Philip Taubman about their new book, McNamara at War: A New History, which is our December “It Has to Be Read” selection.

Landscape designer Steve Griggs joins Frank Schaeffer for a raw, funny, deeply human conversation about rising from a working-class New York childhood to becoming one of America’s premier landscape artists — featured in Forbes, WSJ, HuffPost and Bravo’s Backyard Envy.

Frank Schaeffer talks with bestselling author and theologian Diana Butler Bass about Advent, spiritual resilience, and her new book A Beautiful Year. In this powerful conversation, they explore the meaning of “fear not” in a time of political turmoil, the role of the Christian liturgical calendar in daily life, and how ancient spiritual practices help us navigate modern anxiety, grief, and uncertainty. Diana reflects on the raw beauty of the Christmas story, the humanity of Mary, and why light and darkness are central to Christian spirituality. If you’re searching for insight on Advent, progressive Christianity, the intersection of faith and politics, or how to find hope in overwhelming times, this episode offers clarity, grounding, and real-world encouragement.

Neurologist Dr. Carolyn Larkin Taylor joins Frank Schaeffer to talk Whispers of the Mind, medical gaslighting, grief, dogs as healers, and hope after loss.

A rich conversation with Brian Cranley on faith, science, Aquinas, cosmology, beauty, and the mystery that drives human wonder.

Pulitzer winner Karen Elliott House joins Frank Schaeffer to unpack Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi reform and repression, Gaza, faith, and America’s future.

Engineer and author Barbara Oakley joins Frank Schaeffer to explore how censorship damages the brain, why education is broken, and how real thinking can save democracy.