Love in a Dangerous Time

My guest is Sunita Viswanath. She is a life-long organizer and activist, a founder of a nation-wide activist organization, and a Hindu. In New York City, you’ll always see Sunita in the demonstrations for immigration right’s, Black Lives Matter, & against climate change. And she is also a member of the Strategy Team for the […]

——————————————————– A month ago, I was in the San Francisco Bay Area for my sort-of-annual visit to the place where I lived for 37 years, to connect with lots of old friends. As usual, I attended the church where I had been a member for a long time before leaving for New York City, First […]

—————————————————————————— All Rights for All, Without Boarders Last week, the Trump administration launched what they call a “deterrents” program, on the Mexican board, of separating children from their families as they process hopeful immigrants attempting to enter the United States. The entire world was shocked that this brutality was happening. Hundreds of angry denunciations came […]

  It’s still pretty early in the year and all over the country we’re seeing mayors and governors (and even the president) deliver very official “State of” speeches that take a look at the accomplishments of the past year and spell out what the major tasks of the new year will be. Here in New York […]

Have you ever felt that somehow you personally were responsible for repairing this crazy world we live it. That this world where kids are murdered in their school, where Nazis march around chanting hateful slogans, in this world where millions of refugees are refused help when they flee for their lives and the lives of […]

I hope that everyone has listened, at least once, to last week’s program with historian and author, Dr. Nancy MacLean on her very important book, DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America (episode 101). It’s a very scary book about the real world and I think it opens […]

—————————————————— As you Lovers certainly know, this podcast is focused on the apparent crumbling of what we have called for the last few hundred years, The Church. Congregations are shrinking, the influence of churches is ebbing, and churches are being shut down. The church that I’m a part of is going through that process now. […]

……. Russ talks with Tripp Fuller, host of Homebrewed Christianity, the podcast that started the whole progressive Christian podcast niche. His show is focused on real theology, and real theologians. What a way to celebrate the 100th episode of Love in a Dangerous Time? …….. Well, Lovers, we did it! This podcast has accomplished a […]

Interfaith Work in New York, with The Rev. Dr. Chloe Bryer Hey, Lovers – This is Russ and I want to welcome you to Love in a Dangerous Time, where we look at The Church, and the profound changes it’s going through in these Dangerous Times. We’ve got a great program today, but first I […]

…………………………… (Music sections have been re-edited) In the past many years, almost every recording artist has sung Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. It’s an extremely poetic look at the mess the world that resolves at the end into an affirmation of hope in spite of it all: …. And even though it all went wrong I’ll stand […]

This show was supposedto be released on October 23, but my computer has been completely out of commission for three days, and here I am, publishing this very important program (and it really is an important one) a week late on October 30. My apologies to all who have been waiting for it. I do […]

When a Christian truly feels that God want her to do something in particular, like become a minister, start a homeless shelter, become a tutor, paint a mural on the church playground wall, or read the Bible cover-to-cover, we say that we are “Called.” The idea is that we want to help God recreate the […]

Our guests today are Rick Ufford-Chase, the author of Faithful Resistance: Gospel Visions for the Church in a Time of Empire (interviewed in episode 76 of  Love in a Dangerous Time) and Brian McLaren, most recently the author of The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World’s Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be […]

There’s a lot of church planting going on these days. And many of these plants are flourishing as alternative worshiping communities, made up of people who usually wouldn’t be caught dead in church. Kristen spoke with  the two leaders of this experiment. An unlikely partnership in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, where development-fueled gentrification is driving out […]

For the first time, Lovers, we have been invited onto another podcast. Our good friends, Charles Bretan and Chris Henson (the very Jew and Gentile who walked into that Bar …. Mitzvah) invited Kristin and me onto their podcast to have a rich and exploratory conversation about the biblical question: Is there a difference between […]

In 1985, Rev. Frank Dew planted a small Presbyterian church in Greensboro, NC called “New Creation” that focused on relationships, community, and social justice.  For over 30 years, this diverse group of people has come together to discuss the Scriptures, break bread, and share a meal together, much like the early Christians in Acts. This […]

This episode has no agenda other than to talk through some of the big issues that arose this week with the emergence of organized and armed racists folk in Charlottesville, VA. Neo-Nazis, The Klan, The Alt-Right – lots of racists – lots of anti-semites – lots of anger – lots of weapons. It was a […]

This week, with the violence and terror that has descended on Charlottesville, VA, we are reminded of the importance of continuing the work of dismantling systemic oppression by effectively engaging systems of power through nonviolent forms of resistance wherever we are – whether we are marching in the streets or having a conversation with a […]

For the past year or so, we’ve occasionally done an interview series called “Conversion(s)”, in which very active people of faith tell their stories about how they got there. The idea is that there are many moments of conversion in each of our lives, when we have “growth spurts’’ toward understanding and faith coupled with […]

How many times have you heard someone try to stand in the way of work to end poverty by saying, “The poor will always be with us”? It’s as if they are saying that God wants a certain percentage of us to be living in poverty. We have heard quite a bit of this in […]

Lovers! In this episode, you’ll meet the newest addition to the Love in a Dangerous Time team. You may know Singer/Songwriter Kristen Leigh. Russ did an episode with her in February of 2016 (episode 54) where she talked about her music and her thinking on music and arts in the Church. Well, now she’s the […]

On Easter Sunday of this year (2017) I arrived at Canticle Farm (www.canticlefarm.org), an urban food growing and spiritual center in Oakland, California. I was a little early for the service and I couldn’t find anybody. I had been told by my friend Daniel Schindleman-Schone, that they would have a meaningful, alternative service. I was […]

About a year ago, I interviewed Rabbi Steven Blane, mostly about his online Sabbath services every Friday night. Pretty interesting stuff. We mentioned that Steve is also a singer-songwriter, and has some albums out there. In the time since that interview, he’s come out with two new albums. Both fantastic. So this episode features the […]

Lots of us, both Black and white, who live in the north and the far west, actually believe that the gains of the civil rights movemen t actually did the deal, and that now we live in a country where racism is pretty much under control and that the situation is getting better every year. […]

For a year or so, we’ve had a series-within-a-series, called Conversion(s) it’s basically people’s journeys though life as a person of faith. We’ve had some interesting stories. Today’s story is one of the most interesting. Rev. Dr. Karyn Carlo has had quite a journey. She is a retired New York Police Department cop, who attended […]

It’s been a long time since my last episode. Back to November, actually. I wonder what could have made it hard for me to get it together. Maybe it was the shocking news that it CAN happen here. I have to say, I was no great fan of Hillary Clinton; and really no fan of […]

 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” 38This is the greatest and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’  (Matthew 22:37-39) Hi, Lovers. And welcome […]

Hey, Lovers – Here’s the second round of Rev. Donna Schaper’s reporting from the Climate Summit. Our thanks to Religion Dispatches, for permission to include them here. The Climate Summit is a huge meeting, in Marrakesh, Morocco, that is following up on the progress of the Climate Treaty that came out of last year’s summit […]

Hi, Lovers – This episode is number one in a series of reports from Rev. Donna Schaper. You can hear more about her work and her church, Judson Memorial in New York City, by clicking on Episode LDT078. In this episode, Rev. Schaper is sending her insights and experiences she’s having at the U.N.-Sponsored COP22 […]

We Are Batman!!! Hi, Lovers – Well, if we didn’t think we were living in Dangerous Times, I guess we all get it now! Aye? The future that looked so inevitable on the morning of November 8 is gone. Simply gone. Well, I hope we all agree that it’s time to create a new one. […]

  Hi, Lovers – In 2012, the late-great Phyllis Tickle said in her book, The Great Emergence, that every 500 years, the Church goes through a rummage sale, and cleans out the old forms of spirituality and replaces it with new ones. The last big rummage sale was the Protestant Reformation which began 499 years […]

  Hi, Lovers – You man have noted that with the repeat of the Brian McLaren episode (episode 72) and the interview with Rick Ufford-Chase (episode 76) a them is emerging, or rather re-emerging, here on Love in a Dangerous Time. In March of 2015 I posted a kind of a manifesto called #Church2B. In […]

    Hi, Lovers – Welcome to Love in a Dangerous Time, where we take a cool and honest look at the huge transitions that are occurring in the Church. Today, we are so on-topic it’s scary. My guest, Rick Ufford-Chase is the former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church USA, which is that denomination’s highest […]

Christian Piatt is my guest on this episode. You may know him from his books or from the Homebrewed Culture Cast – a podcast I never miss. Christian and some collaborators have put together an amazing web-based, community powered publishing group that offers a great way for new and niche authors self-publish books that may […]

Today’s episode combines theatre, music and spirituality. I know many of you, like me, see all three of those as aspects of the same thing. And so does Mario Biagini, main force behind The Open Program, which is based in Florence, Italy, but comes to New York every few months to do some of their […]

  This is the latest in the CONVERSION(S) series. The idea here is that we all have many conversions in our life that define who we are a Christians, and that the stories of those conversions is often fascinating. For most people, a conversion kind of “happens” to them. They’re in some situation where they’re […]

  [This interview was originally presented on Episode 42 of Love in a Dangerous Time, in October of 2014] Lovers! This is the beginning of the third year of the podcast. The first episode dropped on September 8 of 2014 and today is September 12. So happy anniversary to all of us. I have a […]

Summer is almost over and I hope it has been going well for you. I’m in the throes of moving these days, so sometimes I may be a little distracted. I think I’ll be able to stick to my schedule of a new episode every other Monday till after Labor Day, when we’ll return to […]

Everyone has a story about how they got where they are, and some of the most interesting stories come from the experience of becoming a “convert” to a faith tradition. Often it’s the thrill of running down the aisle in an alter call to be “saved”, or it might be a quiet moment of suddenly […]

This is a very special edition of Love in a Dangerous Time. It’s special for two reasons. First, this episode was recorded on the GooseCast Stage at the Wild Goose Festival, on July 8, 2016. The Wild Goose, as most of you know, is where Spirit, Justice, Music & Art come together and over 3000 people […]

Last fall, I heard the conversion story of a friend here in New York. In many ways it was a typical testimony of how Jesus’ love made her world ok. This kind of a story doesn’t usually move me. I keep thinking that there’s got to be something more here than feeling good. But she […]

Hey, Lovers. Welcome to Love in a Dangerous Time. It’s so good to be back with you. Things are a little slower in the summer, so I’m going to install a summer schedule to try to even it out a bit. You’ve already noticed that I haven’t been my usual machine-like self, with a new […]

“Because the world is not at peace, any conduct – individual, group or mass – that essentially maintains the status quo, or admits only slow change, is not real commitment to peace.  To achieve peace, we must be revolutionaries, nonviolent revolutionaries.” – Danilo Dolci (1924-1997), Italian social activist & poet Hi, Lovers – My guest today […]

  Lovers! It’s so good to be with you again.  I have a very interesting guest today, but first I want to talk with you about The Wild Goose Festival. The Goose will take flight on Thursday, July 7 and come in for a landing on Sunday, July 10. It all takes place in beautiful […]

Hi, Lovers – Before I launch into today’s – very special – episode of Love in a Dangerous Time, I want to give you some really great news!!!  This year, the Wild Goose Festival will feature a special stage devoted to the many progressive Christian podcasts that you and I listen to all the time.  And, […]

“Probably the best known statement about charity, approaching the status of a truism, is, ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for a lifetime.’ This has been supplemented by various further suggestions, including investigating who owns the pond, forming a fishing collective, or […]

Today we’re going to talk with a couple of people who are taking the whole idea of ministry to a new, and really fun, level. We’ll talk about “Carnival de Resistance,” with Tevyn East and Jay Beck. But first, I want to apologize for doing only one episode in the month of April. Of course, […]

Today we take on Climate Change. My guest is Beth Ackerman, who’s a member of The Riverside Church, here in New York – only four blocks from the Love in a Dangerous Time world headquarters. Beth is the sparkplug who started a very exciting movement among Riversiders to take action on this life-or-death issue facing […]

We have another musical show for you today, featuring Charles Pettee, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who has taken the Psalms and set them to bluegrass style music. This is really going to be fun, so stick around. Today’s program is going to take us into the Psalms. I have to confess that in my […]

These days, a lot of people are leaving the Church communities they grew up with and not really replacing it with anything. They feel that they are deeply spiritual people, but find their churches and denominations to be oppressive and insular. Some folks are refocusing their view of Christianity and launching themselves into a faith […]