The Bulletin

The world grapples with the US’s capture of Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro. The Hudson Institute’s Michael Sobolik joins the show to discuss how China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and others might respond. January marks the one year anniversary of California’s devastating Altadena and Pacific Palisades fires. CT’s Mia Staub shares about her reporting on churches whose buildings burned down and have not been rebuilt. Finally, many say revival is happening in America, but it doesn’t seem to be showing up in our churches or in research data. Michael McClymond from Saint Louis University joins Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, and Clarissa Moll to talk about the history of revivals, and whether it’s something we can predict.    REFERENCED IN THE EPISODES: -⁠A House of Worship Without a Home⁠ - Mia Staub -Religion Holds Steady in America - Pew Research Center ABOUT THE GUESTS:  Michael Sobolik is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He is the author of Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance. His commentary has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Reuters, among others. He has also appeared on Fox News, ABC, BBC, and other outlets. Mia Staub is the senior editorial project manager at Christianity Today. She lives in Los Angeles, California, and is currently working toward a Master in Theology of Public Life and Justice with Princeton Theological Seminary. Michael McClymond is a professor of modern Christianity at Saint Louis University. He is the author of The Devil’s Redemption: A New History and Interpretation of Christian Universalism and the editor of Encyclopedia of Religious Revivals in America. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN:  Join the conversation at our Substack.  Find us on YouTube.  Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice.  ABOUT THE BULLETIN:  The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.    The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more.    “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today  Producer: Clarissa Moll  Associate Producer: Alexa Burke  Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps  Executive Producer: Erik Petrik  Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the weekend, American special forces captured and extracted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Attention shifts now toward New York where Maduro will appear in court for charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism. David French and Elizabeth Neumann join Mike Cosper and Clarissa Moll to discuss possible reasons for the capture, America’s history with executing regime change, and what could come next for the US and Venezuela.  GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN:  -Join the conversation at our Substack.  -Find us on YouTube.  -Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice.  ABOUT THE GUEST:  Elizabeth Neumann is a national security expert who has served across three presidential administrations: on the inaugural staff of the White House Homeland Security Council under President George W. Bush, as an advisor to the office of the director of national intelligence during the Obama Administration, and as the Department of Homeland Security’s deputy chief of staff and assistant secretary for counterterrorism and threat prevention in the first Trump administration. Neumann is also a national security contributor for ABC News. David French is a columnist for The New York Times. He’s a former senior editor of The Dispatch and author of Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation. ABOUT THE BULLETIN:  The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.    The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more.    “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today  Producer: Clarissa Moll  Associate Producer: Alexa Burke  Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps  Executive Producer: Erik Petrik  Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, and Clarissa Moll gather at the end of the year to reflect on 2025’s top news stories–what mattered, what didn’t, and what thoughtful media engagement means for Christians. Together, they consider the influential rise of artificial intelligence, the merging of politics with the pulpit, and the timeless call of Jesus–“Do not be afraid”--that anchors Christian hearts in the truth, no matter what the news cycle brings. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN:  -Join the conversation at our Substack.  -Find us on YouTube.  -Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice.  ABOUT THE BULLETIN:  The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.    The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more.    “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today  Producer: Clarissa Moll  Associate Producer: Alexa Burke  Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps  Executive Producer: Erik Petrik  Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grab a loved one and gather round for a special reading of the Christmas story from your friends at CT Media podcasts. Music from The Porter’s Gate, poetry from Malcolm Guite, and more – shared by the voices you know and love from your favorite shows here at Christianity Today! GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN:  -Join the conversation at our Substack.  -Find us on YouTube.  -Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice.  TODAY’S VOICES: Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, and Clarissa Moll of The Bulletin. Nicole Martin, president and CEO of Christianity Today. David Zahl, Bulletin guest and author of The Big Relief: The Urgency of Grace for a Worn-Out World. David French, Bulletin guest and New York Times columnist. Sho Baraka, editorial director of CT’s Big Tent Initiative. Steve Cuss of Being Human. Jesse Eubanks and Faith Stults of Wonderology. Music used with permission from the Porter’s Gate album, Advent Songs. The poem “The Magi” is written by Malcom Guite, from his collection Sounding the Seasons: 70 Sonnets for the Christian Year (Canterbury Press). ABOUT THE BULLETIN:  The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.    The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more.    “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today  Producer: Clarissa Moll  Associate Producer: Alexa Burke  Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps  Executive Producer: Erik Petrik  Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a mom of six, author Leslie Leyland Fields was shocked when she first heard the term “breeder” to describe mothers of large families. In this edition of Sunday Afternoon Reads, Leslie reads her piece “The Case for Kids,” which was published nearly twenty years ago as a cover story for Christianity Today, offered today with all new statistics for contemporary listeners. As the birth rate in the US has declined to a record low, Leslie’s words are more prescient than ever.  READ THE WRITTEN VERSION: -The Case for Kids - Leslie Leyland Fields GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN:  -Join the conversation at our Substack.  -Find us on YouTube.  -Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice.    ABOUT THE GUESTS:   Leslie Leyland Fields is a writer, speaker and professional editor who lives on Kodiak Island, Alaska in the winter and Harvester Island in the summer, where she works in commercial salmon fishing with her family. She co-hosts “Off the Shelf” on KMXT Public Radio and is the author of Parenting Is Your Highest Calling, Surprise Child, and other books. ABOUT THE BULLETIN:  The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.    The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more.    “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today  Producer: Clarissa Moll  Associate Producer: Alexa Burke  Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps  Executive Producers: Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper   Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices