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
  • Bratwurst and Beer: How the Far Right Replaced Germany's Churches

    Bratwurst and Beer: How the Far Right Replaced Germany's Churches
    Sep 14 2026
    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 and Protestant churches had been prominent opponents of AfD in this election - their influence failed to stem the tide of the growing far-right, nationalist movement. How did this happen in a place where churches once birthed the Protestant Reformation and contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    25 mins
  • The 9/11 Generation: 25 Years Later

    The 9/11 Generation: 25 Years Later
    Sep 11 2026
    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 first Muslim mayor, that history collided with a new political moment. On Sept. 11, 2001, Haroon Moghul was president of NYU's Muslim Student Association. Today, he is a chaplain at Xavier University in Cincinnati. During this live journalism event, Moghul and Asad Dandia, Brooklyn's official borough historian and an early advisor on Mamdani's mayoral campaign, traced that arc — from the shadow of 9/11 to the present moment. As a teenager, Dandia was surveilled by the NYPD as part of its post-9/11 Muslim surveillance program; he later joined — and won — a class-action lawsuit against the department. In conversation with Religion News Service Events Host Niala Boodhoo and Islam reporter Ulaa Kuziez, the panelists unpacked what a quarter-century of living post-9/11 meant for Muslim American identity, faith, and belonging — and what the future might look like for a community that had just seen one of its own elected to lead America's largest city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    59 mins
  • Erika Kirk’s Turning Point

    Erika Kirk’s Turning Point
    Sep 9 2026
    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
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    28 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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