Podcast

The Bulletin

Illustration by Rick Szuecs

All the Small Things

Tolkien and the “fantasy generation,” rising abortion rates, and cell phones in schools

This week on The Bulletin, Russell, Mike, and Clarissa cover J.D. Vance’s esteem for J.R.R. Tolkien and the millennial interest in The Lord of the Rings with Karen Swallow Prior (Author, Religion News Service). Then, the four engage on the subject of rising abortion rates in a post-Dobbs world. Finally, we welcome Krista Boan (founder, Screen Sanity) to discuss the cell phone bans in schools.

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TODAY’S GUESTS:

Karen Swallow Prior, Ph. D., is a reader, writer, and professor. She is the author of The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis (Brazos, 2023); On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books (Brazos 2018); Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson, 2014); and Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press, 2012). She is co-editor of Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues (Zondervan 2019) and has contributed to numerous other books. She has a monthly column for Religion News Service. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, Think Christian, The Gospel Coalition, and various other places.

Krista Boan is the cofounder of the international nonprofit Screen Sanity, host of the Screen Sanity podcast and a former middle school teacher. Her current work is creating simple social media discipleship resources for tweens, which she shares through the Social Compass newsletter. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and four t(w)eens.

ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a weekly (and sometimes more!) current events show from Christianity Today hosted and moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s Editor-in-Chief) and Mike Cosper (Director, CT Media). 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, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more.

“The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Leslie Thompson Editing and Mix: TJ Hester Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producers: Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper Senior Producer: Matt Stevens

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