Red Letter Christians Podcast
A Christian commentary on the way of Jesus in the world today with Red Letter Christian leaders Dr. Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne. Red Letter Christians gets its name from the Bibles that highlight the words of Jesus in red and we are aspiring to live “as if Jesus meant the stuff he said.” Some episodes of this podcast have been adapted from the radio show “Across the Pond” which airs on Sunday afternoons in the UK on Premier Radio. Others are from events such as Faith Forums, Book Clubs, and Monthly Morning Prayer.
Episodes
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Shane Claiborne grieves the lives lost and confronts the violence that followed—from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to suffering in Gaza, Iran, and the West Bank. He rejects religious extremism, Christian nationalism, militarism, and retaliation, calling Christians to courageous peacemaking, solidarity with families affected by war, and overcoming evil with good.
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This week, we’re excited to switch it up and bring you the pilot episode from the newest season of Global Immersion's podcast, Mending Divides. This story-driven series explores what it means to be companions to our friends and loved ones—especially as they move through the pain of their own forgiveness journeys.
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This week we talk with Guerline Jozef, co-founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, and discuss how Christian values demand welcoming immigrants. We talk about Haiti's history and how U.S. foreign policy has contributed to gang violence and instability there. She calls on senators to support Senate Bill S.4814 to protect Haitian communities and offers ways to get involved.
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Shane Claiborne talks with theologian Dr. Ruth Valerio about her work promoting creation care in churches through the EcoChurch. They discuss the climate crisis, UK activism around Gaza, and Valerio's book "How to Survive a World in Crisis," which shares practical ways to stay hopeful and engaged while caring for others and the planet.
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Shane Claiborne welcomes back his wife, Katie Jo Brotherton, for a wide-ranging, humorous conversation sparked by her high school answer to her favorite part of the Bible. They discuss favorite Bible passages and stories, whether everything in the Bible happened (including Jonah and Lot’s wife), different voices within scripture, and a fascination with the Apocrypha.
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Shane interviews Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan Jr., a Disciples of Christ minister and former Ohio Council of Churches leader. Sullivan has fought against the death penalty since the 1980s, deepening his commitment to restorative justice after his sister's murder in 1997. He advocates for nonviolent conflict resolution and the church's role in supporting vulnerable communities.
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Shane Claiborne hosts a special Red Letter Christians morning prayer episode featuring leaders from the newly launched National Peacemaker Association. Timed with the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the episode pairs Scripture, prayer, and worship with urgent calls to nonviolence. Guest leaders—including Rev. Jack Sullivan Jr. and Rev. Sharon Risher—share powerful personal testimonies on gun violence prevention...
Shane announces the National Peacemaker Association (NPA), a global movement uniting activists against war, gun violence, and state-sanctioned violence. From building out nonviolence certifications and political accountability to the Peacemaker Pledge, discover how NPA is organizing for peace.
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Shane reflects on 50 years of the modern U.S. death penalty, tracing his journey from defender to opponent on moral and Christian grounds. Exposing its roots in poverty, racial bias, and historical lynching, he highlights abolitionist activism—from prayer vigils to powerful stories of exonerees and former wardens haunted by botched executions.
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This week, we talk to Scotty Utz from RAWtools South and discuss transforming firearms into garden tools and designing faith-informed, survivor-centered rituals around gun destruction. We cover RAWTools' efforts to promote nonviolence through certification programs and their Gun Violence Awareness Month events, including the Blacksmith-a-Marathon, which honors all victims of gun violence.
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We speak with longtime Red Letter Christian supporter and author Terry Webb about her 94 years of life, how she's grown her faith, and her new book, "Christian Citizenship Endangered in America.” A response to Trumpism and the rise of Christian nationalism shaping U.S. policy.
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Originally recorded and published on the RLC Blog on July 3, 2021.
One-hundred and seventy-four years ago, abolitionist, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass gave a speech to the 600 members of the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery Society entitled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” On July 3, 2021, Christian leaders from around the country gathered virtually with Red Letter Christians to read this powerful piec...
In this solo show, Shane Claiborne marks Gun Violence Awareness Month by highlighting Raw Tools' unique mission to transform surrendered weapons into art and garden tools. Specifically, he focuses on their June blacksmith marathon—a powerful initiative memorializing the 40,000 American lives lost annually to gun violence while calling for urgent, commonsense gun reform.
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This week, we chat with Brad Jersak, from Saint Stephen's University, about living a nonviolent, justice-seeking Christianity that resists the “takeover mentality.” Instead, it acts as the church’s prophetic conscience, echoing Dr. King’s view of laws and heart-change as parallel tracks.
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This week, we revisit the archive with Doug Pagitt of Vote Common Good. We discuss the major deployment of masked federal ICE agents to Minneapolis, amid the city’s post–George Floyd organizing. We hear about the continual need for citizen action, growing clergy solidarity, and sustaining “joy” through music and art as a humanizing response.
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We talk with Dr. James Bigham about moral courage and practical responses to U.S. gun violence, now described as the leading cause of death for ages 1–19, with over 100 deaths daily. He describes collaborations with gun shops and training healthcare professionals, pastors, and other caregivers to address the epidemic.
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- Dr. Bigham's initiative: Firearm Injury Prevention: Dr. James Bigham Leads Program for...
This week, we talk with political scientist and civil resistance scholar, Dr. Maria J. Stephan, co-author of Why Civil Resistance Works. We discuss how she was shaped by early community and faith organizing in Vermont, and later by the documentary A Force More Powerful and global nonviolent struggles. Stephan explains research on preventing democratic backsliding and the need for sustained engagement beyond mass protests, through t...
We chat with Tim Shriver—Special Olympics leader, disability rights advocate, and author—who explains how decades with Special Olympics athletes taught him to see people “from the inside out” and recognize dignity as universal, inherent, and not earned.
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- Website: Tim Shriver
- Instagram: @timothyshriver
- The Dignity Index: The Dignity Index
- Need A Lift? Podcast: Need A Lift? with Tim Shrive...
On this episode, Shane sits down with Kat Armas to talk about how we meet this moment as followers of Jesus, the role of prayer and liturgy, and her new book, Liturgies for Resisting Empire.
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- Website: Kat Armas
- Instagram: @katarmas
- Substack: Some Things Abuelita | Kat Armas | Substack
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Shane is joined by Pastor Carl Ruby and Viles Dorsainvil from Springfield, OH. They have been leading the way in advocating for Haitian families facing the possibility of deportation, and now have a case before the Supreme Court.
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