What are the Best Podcasts on Faith, Culture, and Sports? My top 7.
SeanMcDowell.org
Whether driving in the car, flying in a plane, or working out, I love listening to podcasts. As you can see below, I listen to a variety of shows. While there are a ton of good podcasts, here’s my 7 favorites (in no particular order):
1. The Briefing by Albert Mohler. This is a daily podcast in which Dr. Mohler discusses leading news topics from a Christian worldview. He is remarkably well read, but also very gracious towards people with different perspectives. Rarely a day goes by that I miss an episode.
2. The Federalist Radio Hour. This daily podcast covers political, cultural, historical, and pop-culture issues. It is sponsored by Hillsdale College and the primary host (Ben Domenech) is very balanced and insightful. Although conservative, the show features guests with a wide range of opinions including mainstream journalists, political activists such as Van Jones, and public intellectuals such Stephen Pinker.
3. Reasonable Faith with William Lane Craig. In my view, WLC is the leading Christian apologist today. He is my colleague at Talbot School of Theology and runs the ministry Reasonable Faith. Dr. Craig is a debater, writer, researcher, and speaker. In this weekly podcast, he covers a range of cultural and apologetic issues in an accessible manner. He spends a considerable amount of time answering some of the toughest questions students are asking today.
4. Unbelievable with Justin Brierley. Justin has the wonderful ability of fostering genuine dialogue on some of the most important and controversial issues today. Each episode features a Christian and non-Christian discussing issues such as science and faith, the reliability of the Bible, abortion, the problem of evil, and more. I have been a guest on this show discussing the fate of the apostles, Christianity vs. Secularism, and the value of apologetics, and why I kept my faith.
5. The Herd with Colin Cowherd. This is a daily sports show that tends to focus primarily on the NFL and NBA. Cowherd is an opinionated and entertaining host. He tells great stories and uses memorable illustrations to make his point. Even when I disagree with him, he always makes me think.
6. Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell is a masterful story teller. He has a knack for uncovering stories that often get overlooked. As a basketball fan, I absolutely loved the episode “The Big Man Can’t Shoot,” which was about Wilt Chamberlain refusing to shoot free-throws underhand, even though it was much more effective for him. He tries to approach stories in a fresh way and asks questions that often get overlooked.
7. Bible in a Year. If you listen to each episode of this podcast, you will work through the entire Bible in a year. Each episode is about 10-15 minutes. And the best part is that the show is from Premier Christian Radio in Britain, so the hosts have a cool English accent.
I personally host a podcast with my friend and colleague Scott Rae. It is a weekly podcast sponsored by Biola University/Talbot School of Theology called Think Biblically. We discuss some of the most important issues of the day such as immigration, the transgender question, religious freedom, and more. Enjoy!
Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, the National Spokesman for Summit Ministries, a best-selling author, popular speaker, and part-time high school teacher. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.