1. Kelsi talks with author and theologian, Belle Tindall-Riley, about her new book, The Sacred Ache, and Gen Z's search for the spiritual. Belle holds a Doctorate in Biblical Studies and her debut book, The Sacred Ache, was published in the UK June 2026. She is also editor-in-chief of The Mockingbird magazine.
  2. Kelsi interviews Pastor Brian W. Thomas about his latest book with 1517 Publishing, ⁠By Water and the Word: God's Gift of Baptism for You⁠ at the latest Northwest Arkansas HWSS conference.
  3. We’re in This Together. In this episode, we sit with Bo Giertz and read his open letter to the churches — A Shepherd’s Letter. As translator, Bror Erickson says of the opening section (we read on the show), “Crises and Sources of Strength”: “Christians had been systematically persecuted by the Nazis, and this systematic persecution continued in soviet countries. However, in Western Europe, church leaders like Bo Giertz saw how increasing industrialization was also assisting an increasing secularism. There were huge population shifts into the city, and people lost track of the church even as the church lost track of the people during these shifts. Some political parties were also actively hostile to the church. The trends toward secularism and atheism in the West have continued, of course, and have also become a point of consternation for believers even to this day. This age has not ceased to be evil since Paul designated it as such in Gal. 1:4. So the church continues and will continue to suffer crises, and so the essay “Crises and Sources of Strength” takes on a sort of timeless dimension that way.
  4. Kelsi talks with church historian, professor, and author, Carl Trueman about his newest book, ⁠The Desecration of Man: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity⁠.
  5. Kelsi chats with co-authors, Hal Senkbeil and Lucas Woodford of the newly released "The Culture of God's Word: Faithful Ministry in a Post-Christian Society."
  6. Graham Tomlin joins Kelsi to discuss the influence and faith of 17th-century polymath, Blaise Pascal, based on Tomlin's most recent book, "Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World."
  7. Kelsi is joined by data analyst, Ryan Burge, to discuss the current American Religious Landscape as well as his newest book, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us.Dr. Ryan Burge is an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University.
  8. Has Lutheranism Failed? In this episode, the Thinking Fellows discuss the purpose and aim of the church to examine if Lutheranism in America has failed.
  9. Kelsi talks with Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Missions, John Pless, about compiling and editing, ⁠The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation.⁠
  10. An Arm-Twisting Confession. In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles on the gospel, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Why did he have to have “his arm twisted” to write them? What is he trying to teach the churches about the gospel? How does the gospel circumscribe and define the Church, worship, and Christian life? Why does something written in the 1530s matter today? We look to answer all these questions and more on this episode of the Banned Books podcast.