The world is growing stranger each day. Many things are unstable and up for grabs. One is the role of the United States should take in the future world order.

Dr. John Owen has been studying and writing about America's place in the world for over two decades. He is currently serving as a professor of politics at the University of Virginia, and a Senior Fellow at both the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture and at the Miller Center for Public Affairs.

John–who earned his PhD at Harvard–has written many award winning books, including The Ecology of Nations: American Democracy in a Fragile World Order, Confronting Political Islam: Six Lessons from the West’s Past, The Clash of Ideas in World Politics: Transnational Networks, States.

Mike Woodruff is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

This podcast is a Lakelight Institute Production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? Email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

For the past 75 years, our culture has been more united by what we oppose than by what we believe. We don't know what we're for, but we know we're against the Nazis.

This "anti-Hitler ethos" has served as society's shared moral compass, but Dr. Alec Ryrie argues this foundation is now eroding in concerning ways.

In this episode, Dr. Ryrie, a professor of history of Christianity at Durham University and author of widely acclaimed books including Protestants and Unbelievers, presents a provocative thesis.

Dr. Ryrie doesn't just diagnose our cultural moment—he offers a historian's perspective on why this period of disruption, while unsettling, may ultimately lead to a more stable consensus. His insights on how societies navigate ideological transitions provide both challenge and hope for listeners seeking to understand our fractured times.

In this wide-ranging discussion, you'll discover:

• How World War II transformed Western values from fighting for Christian civilization to fighting against a universal evil
• Why Hitler became the ultimate moral reference point across political divides
• The troubling rise of anti-Semitism on both the political left and right as Holocaust memory fades
• How secular progressives and religious conservatives are fighting to a standstill in culture wars neither can win
• Why Ryrie believes a synthesis between these worldviews is necessary—and possible
• The challenges facing human rights frameworks detached from their religious foundations
• How social media and "rage bait" are distorting our ability to have constructive disagreements

Whether you're interested in modern history, cultural analysis, religious thought, or simply trying to make sense of today's polarized landscape, this conversation offers fresh perspective on where we've been and where we might be heading.

About the Guest: Dr. Alec Ryrie is a professor of history of Christianity at Durham University with degrees from Cambridge and Oxford. He regularly writes for The Guardian and Times Literary Supplement.

Mike Woodruff is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

This podcast is a Lakelight Institute Production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? Email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

Mike sits down with Jason Woodruff—founder and editor-in-chief of The Pour Over—for a conversation about news, anxiety, and why everyone's relationship with information is probably broken.

Full transparency: Jason is Mike's son. Mike invested in The Pour Over. They've got dirt on each other. And they almost co-wrote a book before realizing that wouldn't work. So... make of that what you will.

So despite the conflicts of interest, we hope you'll enjoy hearing how Jason built a news company with 1.5 million subscribers by being politically balanced and "Christ-first."

You'll also learn about how the algorithm is destroying journalism, how cable news will ruin your soul and why Jason's book took two years to write.

Additional Notes: Why Mike has a surprisingly healthy relationship with the news now. The story of a football coach Mike deliberately ignored for a week and a half. And why Christians should sleep better at night than anyone else—but don't.

Mike Woodruff is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

This podcast is a Lakelight Institute Production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? Email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

In 2003, Jonathan Rauch—a man who describes himself as an "unrepentantly atheistic Jewish homosexual"—argued that religion's decline in the U.S. was "nothing less than a major civilizational achievement."

Today, he thinks that article was the "dumbest thing I have ever written."

Rauch, still unabashedly atheist, Jewish, and homosexual, believes Christianity is a "load-bearing wall" for American democracy. His book Cross Purposes urges the Church to follow Jesus's teachings so that society can rediscover the civic virtues required for a functioning republic.

Rauch and Mike discuss his book, secularism's failures and why Rauch believes in Jesus as a great moral teacher — but not in God.

Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brookings Institute and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He has written several books including “Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy” (2025), “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth” (2021) and “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50” (2018).

Mike Woodruff is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

Beneath The Headlines is a Lakelight Institute production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

20 years ago, Atheism seemed unstoppable in its growth on both sides of The Atlantic. Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, and Dennet were the four horsemen of faith's apocalypse. Belief was on the back foot. Reason was on the rise, and scientific materialism would soon banish Christianity from public life for good.

That did not happen. History, as usual, was stranger than we could have predicted.

The man best positioned to narrate New Atheism's demise and Christianity's recovery is Justin Brierley. Today we discuss his new book 'The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God' (Tyndale), published in Sep 2023.

Brierley is a speaker and broadcaster who has become known for creating dialogues between Christians and non-Christians. He has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023, he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin's first book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' (SPCK) was published in 2017. Justin currently co-hosts the Re-Enchanting podcast for Seen & Unseen, and is a guest presenter for the Maybe God podcast. He is a leading voice for Christians seeking to demonstrate the reasonable beauty of the Christian faith.

Mike is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

Beneath The Headlines is a Lakelight Institute production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

The New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado once said that "Christianity has always been a bookish faith." Instead of a temple, we have a book. Reading well is thus instrumental to the good Christian life.

In this conversation, Mike and Dr. Vanhoozer discuss what it means to acquire theological and biblical literacy in a time of widespread biblical illiteracy.

Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer is the Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Previously, he served as Blanchard Professor of Theology at Wheaton College and as Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at New College, University of Edinburgh. He has edited multiple books, including The Cambridge Companion to Postmodern Theology and Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible. He is the author of many books, most notably, Is There a Meaning in this Text? and The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology.

Mike is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

Beneath The Headlines is a Lakelight Institute production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

In an interview with David Brooks, Molly Worthen characterized both herself and Brooks as 'overly educated, slightly nerdy, late-in-life converts.'

Just 5 years ago, after conversations with Pastor J.D. Greear and Tim Keller, Worthen felt compelled to examine the evidence for Jesus. What she discovered forced her to change the direction of her entire life.

This episode of Beneath The Headlines tells her story.

We'll also unpack her latest book Spellbound — a history of how Charisma has affected American society from the Puritans to the present day.

Molly Worthen is professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. She lectures widely on religion and politics and teaches courses on North American religious and intellectual culture, global Christianity, and the history of ideas. She writes about religion, politics, and higher education for The New York Times and has also contributed to The New Yorker, Slate, The American Prospect, Foreign Policy, and other publications. She is the author of Spellbound, Apostles of Reason and The Man On Whom Nothing Was Lost. You can learn more about her work on her website.

Mike is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

Beneath The Headlines is a Lakelight Institute production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

Marriage rates have been plummeting for over 50 years. If you ask young people what they want to be when they grow up, the answers revolve around achieving career success, financial security and personal happiness. Marriage doesn't fit into the picture. In fact, marriage is viewed as a barrier to those pursuits.

But what if marriage doesn't impede those goals? What if marriage serves as the foundation for a flourishing life?

That's what Dr. Brad Wilcox's research demonstrates.

Mike Woodruff sits down with Wilcox, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, director of the National Marriage Project, and author of several books on marriage and family. They discuss the cultural shifts undermining marriage, why it remains a vital institution for adults and children alike, and how society can better support strong, stable families.

Beneath The Headlines is a Lakelight Institute production.

Thoughts? Guest Suggestions? email us at info@lakelightinstitute.com

Mike is the author of The Friday Update, a weekly newsletter that combines cultural insight with Biblical wisdom. Subscribe here.

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