Complexified Podcast By Institute of Religion Politics and Culture Amanda Henderson Iliff School of Theology cover art

Complexified

Complexified

By: Institute of Religion Politics and Culture Amanda Henderson Iliff School of Theology
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For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But the truth is, religion and politics are about daily life. When we avoid the hard topics connected to religion and politics, we become stuck in the status quo. On Complexified we dive into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, so we can get unstuck- so we can make real change. We dive into our most entrenched problems to better understand the hidden histories and experiences of real people on the front lines. We look at the ways religion has shaped our systems - and the ways we see ourselves and others– from there, we work together to imagine new paths forward. Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • The Business of Being Good

    The Business of Being Good
    Jun 9 2026
    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 conversation that feels startlingly human. And then someone asks you: but does it know how to say it's sorry? That question — about fault, correction, forgiveness — is not a technical question. It's a theological one. And the fact that engineers at Anthropic were asking it, and that they were asking it of Catholic ethicists and Vatican officials, is the story we're unpacking today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    36 mins
  • Building God, Fearing Doom: The Theology of Superintelligence

    Building God, Fearing Doom: The Theology of Superintelligence
    Jun 3 2026
    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 little images. But in other circles, the conversation is darker and far more existential. Some believe AI could give humanity powers that once belonged to science fiction: curing disease, extending life, even overcoming death. Others look at the same advances and see catastrophe — even the possible end of civilization. So which is it? Are we watching the future of medicine take shape, or the beginning of something closer to the end times? Through it all, religious language is never far away. Religion News Service reporter Hayden Royster joins Complexified to explain the belief systems shaping the AI race — from accelerationists and doomers to transhumanism, superintelligence and the strange theological language running through it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    29 mins
  • Pope Leo XIV and the Case for Imperfection

    Pope Leo XIV and the Case for Imperfection
    May 27 2026
    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 as “On New Things,” it became one of the foundational documents of modern Catholic social teaching. 135 years later, another Pope Leo sees another technological revolution enveloping humanity: his first encyclical is about artificial intelligence. The Ethics of AI is not a question for solely for engineers, investors, governments, or Silicon Valley. It is a question for all of us about the human person. So today we begin there: with the document, the history behind it, and the tension the Vatican is highlighting as we are barreling into the age of artificial intelligence. technology is building machines that aspire to transcendence, while religion maintains that the divine is already present in fragile, embodied human life Religion News Service Vatican correspondent Claire Giangravé has spent most of her waking hours with this encyclical and has been reporting on what it says, why it matters, and what kind of future Pope Leo is warning us not to sleepwalk into. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
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Amanda thank you for bringing Rob Schenck to your platform. And Rob, thank you for your authenticity and honesty. These hidden stories (as I refer to them) are important to hear to understand how we can make a difference!

Hidden stories

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If I may take a quote out of context, I’d say this show is “…shaped inside of a wide horizon.” (Dr. Willie J. Jennings. Imagine a land of belonging. June 2024. Min 17:25)
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I like to joke that even tho Iliff is a small school it takes forever to get down the hallway cause you overhear and join all these incredible conversations.

Complexified shares insight into the mindset at Iliff School of Theology thru these conversations with professors and fantastic philosophical minds from other spaces. I love how it addresses local and international issues thru lived experience and then remixes it with theological hindsight and study. (Alumna 2020, MDiv. emily n)

Like walking thru the halls of Iliff School of Theology

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