JUST FYI POD: Conversations about Culture, Ideas, and Life

The main task of the fourth season of Just FYI Pod: Culture is to explore the theme “The World According to Television: Counting Down the Shows That Matter.” And yet, while the countdown proper will begin in the next episode, the task of this episode is twofold: (i) to explain (if not exactly defend) the methodology by which my cohost Amy Welborn and I have made our selections, and (ii) to discuss a number of shows that, for various reasons, fell just short of making our respective cuts. I don’t want to disclose too much upfront—please listen!—but let’s just say that several “prestige” shows failed to crack our countdown. Here we explain why . As always, please visit Just FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for additional information, plus much more content. Your generosity and support are much appreciated. Please consider liking and sharing our work. S ubscribe for free today !

In the Season 4 premiere of Just FYI Pod: Culture , Amy and I introduce our new season-long theme: “The World According to Television: Counting Down the Shows That Matter.” In particular, we discuss why television deserves serious cultural attention: it enters our homes, becomes habitual, and supplies the characters and stories through which we interpret ordinary life, morality, politics, class, and religion. Our conversation ranges from Seinfeld , Curb Your Enthusiasm , The Sopranos , and Breaking Bad to reality television, shared viewing rituals, and the fragmentation caused by streaming. The episode concludes with our reflections on the twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11: where we were on that tragic day, its terror and heroism, the loss of 1990s optimism, and the enduring legacy of a world that has felt less stable ever since. As always, please visit Just FYI at cbarnett.substack.com for additional information and much more content. Subscribe for free today—your interest and support are greatly appreciated!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ‘s third season is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode—our season finale—my cohost Amy Welborn and I take a more indirect approach to our guiding question. In previous discussions, we have explored topics such as Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on AI and the changing landscape of American religion , but today we will dig into a broader cultural issue—namely, the release of Christopher Nolan’s latest film, The Odyssey . By almost any conventional measure, The Odyssey has garnered an almost pious reception. The movie has eye-popping scores on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences alike. As one commentator sums it up, The Odyssey is “a masterpiece in every way.” Coming on the heels of Nolan’s widely acclaimed 2023 biopic Oppenheimer , The Odyssey is thus poised to cement its director’s status as “the voice of our generation.” But what is that voice saying? After a survey of Nolan’s diverse filmography, Amy and I wrestle with this question and, in the process, probe what films like The Odyssey say about Western culture today. You can listen to the pod right here on Substack, or you can access it via Spotify and/or Apple Podcasts. Links are provided below. As always, your generosity and support are much appreciated. Please consider liking or sharing our work. S ubscribe for free today !

The main task of Just FYI Pod: Ideas ’ third season is to consider: “Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s season finale, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will explore the topic: “What Will Higher Ed Look Like in 2050?: Three Theses.” After a substantial introduction, in which Clark and I discuss the release of my latest book Kierkegaard, Statecraft, and Political Theology , we turn our attention to a trio of “theses” or contentions about education over the next 25 years: The American South Will Be the Vanguard for Educational Achievement. The Humanities Will Cease to Be a Proper Academic Field. The Professorate Will No Longer Exist. The goal of our debate is not to make predictions. It is to ponder both why, and why not, these claims make sense. After all, in an era of rapid technological change, a variety of possibilities exist. Thus our task here is to sketch out potential trajectories and, in doing so, to draw our season to a proper close. Please visit Just FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today. As ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ‘s third season is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I focus on the following issue: “Has the Digital Age Helped or Hurt the Church?” However, before delving into that controversial topic, Amy and I discuss Pope Leo XIV’s recent (and much celebrated ) encyclical Magnifica Humanitas . Famously, the pope’s first encyclical confronts the emergence of generative artificial intelligence over the last few years—a topic that I am quite interested in as well —but Amy and I endeavor to set Magnifica Humanitas in the wider context of church teaching on information and communications technology, including film, the Internet, and social media. Only then can we properly address the question of how the Church has been impacted by the Digital Age. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details, plus much (much!) more content. As always, your generosity and support are much appreciated. Please consider liking or sharing our work. S ubscribe for free today !

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS’ third season is to discuss: “Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will explore the topic: “ Why Have Universities Embraced AI in the Classroom?” As usual, this is a wide-ranging discussion, which will touch on a variety of topics, including data on the prevalence of AI in higher ed, student perceptions of (and fears about!) generative AI, and the increasing “mission drift” of the university in an era of cost-cutting efficiency and techno-fatalism. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today! As ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ‘s third season is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I focus on the following question: "Does the Future of Catholicism Lie with 'Trad Catholics'?" However, before delving into that topic, Amy and I discuss the recent (and much ballyhooed) "rift" between the White House and the Holy See. In both cases, we see the long-simmering tension between Church and State, religion and politics, bubbling up to the cultural surface. Is this, then, "business as usual," or is something new emerging? Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details, plus much (much!) more content. Subscribe for free today ! As always, your generosity is much appreciated! Hit the share button; leave a review! We can't thank you enough for your support!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ‘s third season is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I focus on the following question: “Can Christian art be resurrected?” We approach this question in a variety of ways. First, in a discussion recorded prior to last Sunday night’s awards ceremony , we offer an overview of the Oscars, noting that it was a good, if somewhat predictable, year in movies. Indeed, while political themes continue to abound in Hollywood, religious ones do not. Next, we turn to what might be called the “crisis” of Christian art today: like the “information silos” on social media, so it seems that Christian art has been siloed off from popular culture. To be sure, there are niche corners of the Christian art world, but they are ostensibly reserved for “believers.” Third, and finally, we consider the history and nature of Christian art—and why its “resurrection” depends on a rethinking of how contemporary Christians both receive and make art. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details, plus much more additional content. Subscribe for free today ! As always, your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS’ third season is to discuss: “Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will explore the topic: “What is a university for anyway?" This is a wide-ranging discussion, which will touch on student perceptions of university life, different models of higher education, and how twenty-first-century political polarization may very well lie downstream of university culture. Listener pro tip: this episode opens with a fairly long (and very off-topic) discussion about coaching youth sports! If you're not interested--and that would be totally understandable--just skip to the break. Please visit Just FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today! As ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ‘s third season is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I focus on the following question: “What, if Anything, Will Replace Mainline Protestantism?” We approach this question in two main ways. First, we examine a handful of new religious surveys, including (but not limited to) a major study released in December 2025 by the Pew Research Center. They all paint a similar picture: after decades of diminution, American religious affiliation, belief, and practice have begun to level off. But this overarching period of “stasis” comes with a number of qualifiers: markers of diminishment in one quarter suggest pockets of renewal in others. Next, we ponder what these findings tell us about American religious life going forward. If, as political scientist and statistician Ryan Burge has recently argued, the decline of mainline Protestantism is irreversible, then is some other religious institution poised to take its place? Please go to JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for access to this pod and much, much more. Subscribe for free today ! As always, your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS’ third season is to discuss: “’Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will discuss the topic: “Does It Matter if Students Can’t Read Anymore?” This is an issue that has caused more than a little hand-wringing, both among educators and in the popular media . Indeed, the issue isn’t whether literacy is declining among young people, particularly in the United States. That much is certain. No, the real questions are: Why is this happening? What are its consequences? Clark and I will take a look at the data and add our own observations. Then, in conclusion, we will ponder how this trajectory has impacted and will continue to impact the United States and Western culture in general, paying special attention to religious and political concerns that are already emerging downstream. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today! As ever, your generosity and support are greatly appreciated!

Amid the hum and hullabaloo of pre-Christmas activities, Amy Welborn and I found time to meet at Cahaba Brewing Co. in Avondale , where we discussed what we enjoyed (and, well, didn’t enjoy!) about 2025. Though interspersed with firsthand (!) stories about international travel and biker gangs in Pennsylvania, our conversation centers on culture —in particular, our respective “Best of 2025” lists in the following categories: Movies Television Books Theater Music So, pour a flute of champagne and join us as we look back on 2025 and get ready to usher in 2026. Te Deum laudámus ! Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and a miscellany of engaging content. Start out the New Year right and s ubscribe for free today ! As ever, your generosity and support are greatly appreciated!

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS ’ third season is to discuss: “Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” Today’s episode will approach this overarching topic in two ways. First, my regular cohost Clark Elliston and I will welcome a special guest— Michael Burdett , Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Nottingham. Though Michael is well-known for his work on the relationship between religion, science, and technology—in fact, he contributed an excellent chapter to our recent collection T heological Discourses on Social Media —today we will focus on an issue that has garnered headlines in the UK over the last six weeks. In early November, the University of Nottingham announced the suspension of several academic courses, including American and Canadian studies, architecture, music, modern languages, plant biology, and theology. In an accompanying statement, university administrators explained: “[We had to] make tough decisions based on changes in student demand, the cost of delivering courses, and competition from other institutions offering similar courses.” Protests have followed , led by students and faculty. Still, one might wonder, what is really at stake at Nottingham? And who is right? Michael will give us his on-the-ground perspective. Next, Clark, Michael, and I will broaden our scope and discuss how the situation at Nottingham is just one more symptom of an ongoing “crisis” in higher education in general. The nature of this crisis, however, is more than a little controversial. From political partisanship to grade inflation to artificial intelligence, any number of culprits have been identified by commentators. But can we drill down deeper and finally get to the root cause? Such, at any rate, is what we hope to accomplish over the course of our wide-ranging conversation, which will culminate in a few ideas about how higher ed might be fixed—even today! Nota bene : we experienced a few technical difficulties during the recording of this episode. Thankfully, I was able to smooth out some, if not all, of them on the backend. Bear with us! I think the discussion is worth it! As always, please visit Just FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for additional information, links, and much more content. Subscribe for free today, and, as ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The overarching theme of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE 's third season is: "The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions." On today's episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I focus on the following question: "Have Pope Leo XIV’s first six months in office told us anything new or surprising about his plans for the Church?" After a rundown of the pope's activities since May, we conclude with "three takeaways and two questions," summing up both Pope Leo XIV's significance so far and what we think may be facing him in 2026 and beyond. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much (much!) more content. So, what are you waiting for ? Subscribe for free today! Your generosity and support are much appreciated.

The main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS’ third season is to discuss: “’Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?” On today’s episode, my cohost Clark Elliston and I will share what life is like in academia today, particularly for professors. Indeed, while commentators and pundits have no trouble decrying the state of the academy, very few touch on, much less comprehend, the day-to-day life of a university professor. Today's episode intends to fill that gap. As always, please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for additional information and much more content. Why not subscribe for free today? Your interest and support are much appreciated!

Boo! It’s Halloween on JUST FYI POD: CULTURE . 👻 The overarching theme of Season 3 is: “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” On today’s episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I wrestle with the following issue: “What does the recent uptick in exorcisms (yes, that’s a thing ) say about Western cultural and religious life?” Topics include: Recent journalistic accounts of the “exorcism boom.” The popularity of exorcism in film and on social media. The biblical and theological understanding of the demonic and the traditional importance of exorcism in the Christian Church. Potential causes of the global increase in exorcisms, from the mental health crisis in Western culture to the rise of apocalyptic political rhetoric. Why you shouldn't expect candy if you go trick-or-treating at Amy’s house! Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and (much!) more content. Subscribe for free today . Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The main task of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE 's third season is to discuss "The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions." On today's episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I wrestle with the following question: "What does the canonization of Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) mean for our understanding of sainthood and holiness in the 21st Century?" Topics include: the life of St. Carlo (whose feast was celebrated just yesterday), the ambiguous media coverage of his canonization, the nature of sainthood in general, and the Church's relation to, and teaching on, the Internet. Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today! Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

Season 3! The first two seasons of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS have focused on the greatest works in theological and philosophical history -- at least as far as my cohost Clark Elliston and I are concerned! Now, however, we will shift from the textual to the topical. Indeed, the main task of JUST FYI POD: IDEAS' third season is to discuss: "'Higher Ed in the ChatGPT Era: How Did We Get Here? Where Is It Going?" In today's episode, we will preview the upcoming season and then (possibly against all odds!) try to provide a coherent and engaging discussion how, and why , we got started in academic life. As always, please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for additional information and much more content. Subscribe for free today! Your interest and support are much appreciated.

The main task of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE ’s third season is to discuss “The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions.” However, on today’s “breakout pod,” Amy Welborn, Clark Elliston, and I discuss one of the most shocking political events in recent memory—the public killing of Republican activist, author, and media personality Charlie Kirk, who was shot in front of thousands of people last week at Utah Valley University. While the criminal investigation into this case has proceeded at a brisk pace, Amy, Clark, and I take a wider view of this event, debating how American politics got to this point and what it means going forward. Topics include: social media and the phenomenon of online polarization, Kirk’s status as a kind of Christian “martyr,” and the role of churches amid this political firestorm. We end by wrestling with the question: will this crime spur a renewal of American public life—or accelerate its disintegration? Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today, and, as ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!

The title of JUST FYI POD: CULTURE's third season is "The Future of American Christianity: A Conversation in Ten Questions." On today's inaugural episode, my cohost Amy Welborn and I preview the upcoming season, both in terms of form and content. Yet, we also take time to catch up after a busy summer. Topics include Italy, road trips, baseball, writing projects, and our favorite Summer 2025 movie releases. With regard to the latter, we pay special to attention to the new mystery-horror film Weapons (Zach Cregger, 2025) and, in turn, to the so-called "elevated horror" movement. What does it mean that America's new generation of auteurs (Cregger, Ari Aster, Jordan Peele, etc.) are largely telling stories about witches, demons, aliens, and vampires? Please visit JUST FYI (cbarnett.substack.com) for more details and much more content. Subscribe for free today, and, as ever, consider following, liking, rating, and sharing our work. Your generosity and support are much appreciated!