No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp
No Small Endeavor with Lee C. Camp explores what it means to live a good life through conversations with authors, philosophers, neuroscientists, theologians, and leaders. The podcast examines religion, neuroscience, politics, and the pursuit of meaning, aiming to foster healing and understanding. It offers practical insights on happiness, habits, and the common good.
Episodes
265: Unabridged Interview: Hunter Prosper
This is our unabridged interview with Hunter Prosper.
What happens when caring for others costs you the ability to feel?
During the COVID pandemic, Hunter spent his days caring for critically ill patients in the ICU. Over time, the emotional weight became overwhelming. He found himself pulling away not only from patients, but from friends, family, and even his own emotions.
Then one day, d
The Subtext: America’s UFC Freedom Fight
When a cage fight lands on the White House lawn, it's worth asking… what exactly are we celebrating?
On June 14, 2026 (Flag Day, Trump's 80th birthday, and the eve of America's 250th anniversary) the White House South Lawn will host something it never has before: a UFC cage fight. We're going beneath the spectacle to ask what it actually means when the symbols we use to celebrate a nation reveal
265: Hunter Prosper: An ICU Nurse on Trauma and the Healing Power of Listening
What happens when caring for others costs you the ability to feel?
During the COVID pandemic, Hunter spent his days caring for critically ill patients in the ICU. Over time, the emotional weight became overwhelming. He found himself pulling away not only from patients, but from friends, family, and even his own emotions.
Then one day, desperate to reconnect with the world, he walked outside an
264: Unabridged Interview: Norman Wirzba
This is our unabridged interview with Norman Wirzba.
How does the pursuit of independence distort our understanding of the good life?
Before Norman Wirzba became a theologian, philosopher, and public intellectual, he was a farm boy in Southern Alberta, waking before sunrise to tend to the land and animals in his care, and he says that these early experiences working with the natural world taug
The Subtext: Yesteryear and the Trad Wife Movement with Beth Allison Barr
We have a substitute teacher on today's episode! Lee is out of town, so Savannah called upon All the Buried Women co-host Beth Allison Barr to step in. The trad wife dream might look beautiful on camera, but what if you actually have to live it?
What happens when a woman who sells the fantasy of "traditional" womanhood wakes up and has to actually live it? Using Yesteryear as a jumping-off point,
264: Norman Wirzba: The Myth of Self-Sufficiency and the Good Life
This is our unabridged interview with Norman Wirzba.
How does the pursuit of independence distort our understanding of the good life?
Before Norman Wirzba became a theologian, philosopher, and public intellectual, he was a farm boy in Southern Alberta, waking before sunrise to tend to the land and animals in his care, and he says that these early experiences working with the natural world taug
263: Unabridged Interview: Joe Vukov
This is our unabridged interview with Joe Vukov.
What if AI’s greatest revelation isn’t about technology at all — but about us?
Philosopher Joe Vukov joins Lee C. Camp for a conversation about artificial intelligence, human dignity, and the spiritual dangers hidden beneath our technological optimism. Drawing from philosophy, theology, neuroscience, and Catholic social thought, Vukov argues tha
The Subtext: Ask Us Anything
You asked, we answered. From how Savannah and Lee became friends to whether Jesus is God (no big deal), this episode covers the questions YOU asked. We get into faith and doubt, how to stay hopeful when the world feels chaotic, what it looks like to do ministry well right now, and the books that have shaped us most spiritually.
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
Hinge Virtues, Shame, and Skydiving: Lee Camp on With & For
Today we're sharing something a little different: a conversation Lee recently had as a guest on the With & For podcast with Dr. Pam King. Pam is a developmental psychologist, Executive Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development at Fuller Seminary, and an ordained Presbyterian minister. Like Lee, she has spent much of her career exploring how faith, spirituality, and virtue can help people
262: Unabridged Interview: Linley Dixon
This is our unabridged interview with Linley Dixon.
What does it mean to live a good life in a world increasingly disconnected from the land that sustains it?
Before Linley Dixon became co-director of the Real Organic Project, she spent years in academia studying plant pathology and soil microorganisms, peering through microscopes at the unseen relationships beneath our feet. But a passion fo
The Subtext: The Pitt: What We Get Wrong About Addiction with Erin Calipari
Dr. Erin Calipari thinks we're getting a lot wrong about addiction, so she and her lab are working to change that by conducting research that could save lives and destigmatize unhelpful narratives. In this episode, we dig into The Pitt's portrayal of high-functioning addiction and what it gets right that most TV gets wrong.
We sit down with Dr. Erin Calipari to unpack what addiction actually is
262: Linley Dixon: A Good Life Grows in Healthy Soil
What does it mean to live a good life in a world increasingly disconnected from the land that sustains it?
Before Linley Dixon became co-director of the Real Organic Project, she spent years in academia studying plant pathology and soil microorganisms, peering through microscopes at the unseen relationships beneath our feet. But a passion for organic farming and the well-being of workers and th
261: Unabridged Interview: Tish Harrison Warren
This is our unabridged interview with Tish Harrison Warren.
What if burnout isn’t failure, but an invitation to become more fully human?
Back in 2023, Anglican priest and author Tish Harrison Warren hit a wall. She was exhausted by her work on faith and public discourse at the New York Times, and discouraged by the constant controversy that came hand in hand with writing about religion in a
The Subtext: America Reads the Bible
What happens when the Bible becomes a stage prop for national identity instead of a text that interrogates it?
This episode explores “America Reads the Bible,” a high-profile event where political leaders, actors, and influencers recited Scripture from the nation’s capital, and, drawing on Bonhoeffer’s warning about reading the Bible for ourselves instead of against ourselves, Savannah and Lee ex
261: Tish Harrison Warren: Your Burnout May Be An Invitation to a Meaningful Life
What if burnout isn’t failure, but an invitation to become more fully human?
Back in 2023, Anglican priest and author Tish Harrison Warren hit a wall. She was exhausted by her work on faith and public discourse at the New York Times, and discouraged by the constant controversy that came hand in hand with writing about religion in a public forum. So she left. What followed was a 2 year explorati
260: Unabridged Interview: Nicholas Ma
This is our unabridged interview with Nicholas Ma.
What if the goal of disagreement isn’t to win, but to stay in relationship?
After producing the smash hit documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” on the life of Fred Rogers, filmmaker Nicholas Ma had one lingering question: Where is the kindness and acceptance that Mr. Rogers embodied in today’s divided world? He found the answer in his latest
The Subtext: Noah Kahan's New Record Will Make You Go to Therapy Again
Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide is a brutally honest soundtrack to growing up, drifting away, and figuring out how to make peace with the place you come from.
This episode dives into The Great Divide, the latest record from Noah Kahan, and unpacks its themes of home, relationships, love, and friendship. In it, they explore their own connections to their hometowns, Wendell Berry’s hot take about aut
260: Nicholas Ma: What to Do With the People You Love But Don’t Agree With
What if the goal of disagreement isn’t to win, but to stay in relationship?
After producing the smash hit documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” on the life of Fred Rogers, filmmaker Nicholas Ma had one lingering question: Where is the kindness and acceptance that Mr. Rogers embodied in today’s divided world? He found the answer in his latest documentary, Leap of Faith, which follows 12 pastors
259: Unabridged Interview: Kristin T. Lee
This is our unabridged interview with Kristin T. Lee.
What happens when we question the faith that formed us?
Dr. Kristin T. Lee, physician and author of We Mend with Gold: An Immigrant Daughter’s Reckoning with American Christianity, reflects on her journey as a Chinese American navigating faith and identity in the immigrant church of her youth. In this conversation, she explores the beauty a
The Subtext: Netflix is Boring Because of Our Short Atten—
Are our shrinking attention spans rewriting the rules of storytelling?
This week on The Subtext, we dig into the claim that streaming platforms like Netflix are deliberately dumbing down storytelling to accommodate distracted viewers. What is being lost when stories are engineered for half-watching? Are we shaping content around distraction, or training ourselves to expect it? And in a world wher
259: Kristin T. Lee: An Immigrant Daughter’s Reckoning with Faith and Identity
What happens when we question the faith that formed us?
Dr. Kristin T. Lee, physician and author of We Mend with Gold: An Immigrant Daughter’s Reckoning with American Christianity, reflects on her journey as a Chinese American navigating faith and identity in the immigrant church of her youth. In this conversation, she explores the beauty and complexity of immigrant communities, the unconscious b
258: Unabridged Interview: Shankar Vedantam
This is our unabridged interview with Shankar Vedantam.
We all like to believe that we live our lives rationally, deliberately, and consciously. But what if our conscious decision-making is just the tip of the iceberg?
“ I feel like I have a full picture of what's happening inside my own mind,” says Shankar Vedantam. But it turns out “there is a large portion of our mind that's working outside
The Subtext: God Had a Big Week in Pop Culture
From a Gen Z grunge pop artist’s critique of Bible interpretation to politics to the Artemis II mission, God had a big week in pop culture.
This week on The Subtext, we unpack a wave of God-talk across pop culture, from Sofia Isella’s haunting critique of biblical “context,” to Paula White-Cain’s eyebrow-raising comparison of Trump to Jesus, to Perez Hilton’s post-near-death approach to scripture
258: Shankar Vedantam: Hidden Brain (Best of NSE)
We all like to believe that we live our lives rationally, deliberately, and consciously. But what if our conscious decision-making is just the tip of the iceberg?
“ I feel like I have a full picture of what's happening inside my own mind,” says Shankar Vedantam. But it turns out “there is a large portion of our mind that's working outside of our conscious awareness.”
Shankar founded Hidden Brain
257: Unabridged Interview: Rosalind Picard
This is our unabridged interview with Rosalind Picard.
What if the technologies we build to serve us begin to quietly shape who we become?
As part of our series The Human Cost of AI, Rosalind Picard offers a profound window into both the promise and the peril of artificial intelligence. A pioneer in affective computing, her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, ethics, and the search
The Subtext: Should the Church Have Reputation Managers?
What happens when a church starts thinking like a brand, and hires people to protect its image?
In this episode, we explore the rise of reputation management inside religious institutions, starting with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its growing ecosystem of influencers, media strategy, and image control. From the “second Mormon moment” on social media to The Secret Lives of
257: The Human Cost of AI: What Is It All For?
We’re building smarter, faster tools every day, but are they helping us live better lives or just accelerating us in the wrong direction?
In part two of The Human Cost of AI, Lee C. Camp shifts from diagnosing the forces behind the AI revolution to discerning how we might live well within it. Drawing on voices from neuroscience, theology, and philosophy, this episode explores three essential ques
256: Unabridged Interview: Josh Brake
This is our unabridged interview with Josh Brake.
What if the tools shaping our future are also reshaping our humanity?
As part of our series The Human Cost of AI, Josh Brake stands out as a uniquely thoughtful voice, bringing together engineering, philosophy, and theology to ask deeper questions about technology and human flourishing. We wanted to bring you the full, unabridged conversation t
The Subtext: Everyone Hates Poetry
Lee and Savannah welcome a guest on this week’s episode to discuss why everyone hates poetry! In the hot seat is professor and poet Donovan McAbee, who recently published Holy the Body, a collection of poems exploring loss, grief, and doubt. Together, they talk about the beauty of uncertainty and how poetry can be the translator of life’s darkest experiences. If you liked the selected poems McAbee
256: The Human Cost of AI: Money, Sex, and Tools
What if the greatest danger of AI isn’t that it becomes human, but that it reshapes what it means to be one?
In part one of this series, we explore artificial intelligence through a sobering insight: every ship we build also creates the possibility of a shipwreck. The question is not whether AI will save us or destroy us, but how our own formation may already be the collateral damage of its rise
255: Unabridged Interview: Matt Lee
This is our unabridged interview with Matt Lee.
What if flourishing isn’t something you achieve, but something you share?
Sociologist and human flourishing scholar Matthew T. Lee reflects on his unlikely journey from studying homicide to exploring love as a social practice. Drawing on research, philosophy, and lived experience, he challenges individualistic definitions of success and offers a
The Subtext: Is Social Media a Calling?
Is being an influencer on social media a calling? Can public-facing work align with a life of service? In this episode, Savannah and Lee unpack a viral influencer video and explore what it means to have a dream, how it connects to vocation, and what it really means to make an impact in the world.
Things we mentioned in this episode:
NYT Cooking Black Sesame Rice Krispies Treats
Dept. Q
Parad
255: Matt Lee: Why You Can't Flourish Alone
What if flourishing isn’t something you achieve, but something you share?
Sociologist and human flourishing scholar Matthew T. Lee reflects on his unlikely journey from studying homicide to exploring love as a social practice. Drawing on research, philosophy, and lived experience, he challenges individualistic definitions of success and offers a richer vision rooted in community, dialogue, and mu
254: Unabridged Interview: Laurie Santos
This is our unabridged interview with Laurie Santos.
Many of us spend years chasing the things we believe will make us happy, success, recognition, the next promotion, the perfect relationship, only to discover they don’t satisfy the way we expected.
Why are we so often wrong about what will make our lives better?
Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos, creator of the most popular course in Y
The Subtext: WAR! Part TWO!
Back by popular demand! Class is back in session this week as Lee and Savannah walk through Dispensationalism for Dummies, Christian Nationalism, and Just War Tradition in light of our current moment. So grab your notebooks and pens because you’re going to need them! What do you think? Do we need a part 3?
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Lady Tremaine by Ra
254: Laurie Santos: The Science of Happiness (and How We Get It Wrong)
Many of us spend years chasing the things we believe will make us happy, success, recognition, the next promotion, the perfect relationship, only to discover they don’t satisfy the way we expected.
Why are we so often wrong about what will make our lives better?
Yale psychologist Dr. Laurie Santos, creator of the most popular course in Yale’s history, Psychology and the Good Life, joins Lee C.
253: Unabridged Interview: Sonja Lyubomirsky
This is our unabridged interview with Sonja Lyubomirsky.
What if the secret to happiness isn’t success, status, or even positive thinking, but the simple act of letting yourself be known?
Psychologist and bestselling author Sonja Lyubomirsky has spent more than three decades studying human happiness. She shares from her new book, How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of Wha
The Subtext: Multi-Level Marketing
Let’s talk about the billion-dollar industry that turns friendship into a sales funnel, and women into its favorite target.
They show up in your DMs with compliments before they show up with a pitch. They promise community, purpose, and financial freedom. But behind the glossy before-and-afters and the "girl boss" energy, multi-level marketing companies have a darker history, and a devastatingly
253: Sonja Lyubomirsky: How To Actually Feel Loved
What if the secret to happiness isn’t success, status, or even positive thinking, but the simple act of letting yourself be known?
Psychologist and bestselling author Sonja Lyubomirsky has spent more than three decades studying human happiness. She shares from her new book, How to Feel Loved: The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most, about what science reveals about gratitude,
252: Unabridged Interview: Ronald Rolheiser
This is our unabridged interview with Ronald Rolheiser.
What if the final chapter of your life could become your greatest gift?
In this deeply wise conversation, Father Ronald Rolheiser joins Lee C. Camp to explore the spiritual invitation of aging. Drawing from his latest book Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, Rolheiser reflects on loneliness, diminishment, forgiv
The Subtext: WAR! What Is It Good For?
What happens when dispensational theology or Christian nationalism directly informs foreign policy without critical reflection or moral accountability?
In this episode, we get to hear from the Professor himself, Lee C. Camp, as he takes the podium to trace the historical roots of Christian nonviolence, exploring how followers of Jesus have wrestled with war and peace across the centuries. Savann
252: Ronald Rolheiser: How to Grow Old Without Growing Bitter
What if the final chapter of your life could become your greatest gift?
In this deeply wise conversation, Father Ronald Rolheiser joins Lee C. Camp to explore the spiritual invitation of aging. Drawing from his latest book Insane for the Light: A Spirituality for Our Wisdom Years, Rolheiser reflects on loneliness, diminishment, forgiveness, and what it means to give not only our lives—but our
251: Unabridged Interview: Kim Stanley Robinson
This is our unabridged interview with Kim Stanley Robinson.
Do you feel the weight of climate dread—and wonder whether hope is still intellectually honest?
Acclaimed science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson joins Lee C. Camp to name our shared fear about the future without surrendering to despair. Drawing from The Ministry for the Future, Robinson offers a sober, deeply hopeful vision o
The Subtext: When did U2 Get So Political?
With their new EP Days of Ash, U2 turns up the volume on grief, protest, and hope. What exactly are they trying to say?
This week on The Subtext, we dive into U2’s new Days of Ash EP. From Holocaust memory and lament in “The Tears of Things,” to Iranian resistance in “Song of the Future,” to questions about politics, rights, and God’s power in “American Obituary,” we explore how theology, politic
251: Kim Stanley Robinson: A Novelist Imagines a Livable Future
Do you feel the weight of climate dread—and wonder whether hope is still intellectually honest?
Acclaimed science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson joins Lee C. Camp to name our shared fear about the future without surrendering to despair. Drawing from The Ministry for the Future, Robinson offers a sober, deeply hopeful vision of change, one rooted not in heroics or denial, but in ordinary p
250: Unabridged Interview: Paul Rosolie
This is our unabridged interview with Paul Rosolie.
He’s been dragged through the Amazon on the back of a giant anaconda, stood in seventy-foot flames trying to save burning animals, and slept on jungle floors for decades to protect a forest most of us will never see.
Conservationist and author Paul Rosolie joins Lee C. Camp to tell the extraordinary story of how a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn
The Subtext: America’s Next Top Model
What does it actually look like to take responsibility when you’ve shaped a culture that harmed people? Is saying “I’m sorry” enough?
This week on The Subtext, we revisit the cultural reckoning around America’s Next Top Model and ask what meaningful accountability looks like for those who shaped, and benefited from, harmful beauty standards. Is acknowledging harm enough, or does repentance requir
250: Paul Rosolie: Riding Anacondas and Saving the Amazon
He’s been dragged through the Amazon on the back of a giant anaconda, stood in seventy-foot flames trying to save burning animals, and slept on jungle floors for decades to protect a forest most of us will never see.
Conservationist and author Paul Rosolie joins Lee C. Camp to tell the extraordinary story of how a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn followed a calling into the Amazon rainforest — and gav
249: Unabridged Interview: Alexandra Solomon
This is our unabridged interview with Alexandra Solomon.
Is your love life in need of a tune-up? Just in time for Valentine's Day, renowned relationship expert Dr. Alexandra Solomon joins us to share powerful insights from her book, "Loving Bravely." Discover how self-awareness and understanding your past can dramatically improve your present relationships. Dr. Solomon unpacks the secrets t
The Subtext: The Moral Line: Can We Separate Art from the Artist?
When the artists, authors, and celebrities we admire disappoint us, where’s the line between appreciating their work and endorsing their behavior?
After the Grammys reignited the “stay in your lane” debate, we revisit the question: Do we tell celebrities to be quiet because we don’t want to wrestle with what they believe? A listener email pushes us deeper, prompting us to ask what we do when arti
For Your Consideration: Lee C. Camp on Theology in the Raw
This week, we’re sharing a conversation originally recorded for Preston Sprinkle’s podcast, Theology in the Raw. It’s a wide-ranging, thoughtful dialogue that digs into political theology, Christian nationalism, just war theory, technology, and the deeper question underneath it all:
What kind of people are we becoming?
Lee joins Preston for an honest and at times searching conversation about the
The Subtext: A Valentine's Day Special
Do we have to change something fundamental in ourselves to make a marriage work? In this Valentine's Day special episode of The Subtext, Savannah and Lee discuss the show Couples’ Therapy and the balance between self-betrayal and people-pleasing. And as Stanley Hauerwas says, “Love is not all you need.”
Things we mentioned in this episode:
Curt Thompson: The Work Beneath Lasting Love on No Sm
248: Unabridged Interview: Curt Thompson
This is our unabridged interview with Curt Thompson.
What if the deepest work of love isn’t finding the right person, but becoming someone who can truly be known?
Psychiatrist and author Dr. Curt Thompson joins Lee C. Camp for a Valentine’s Day conversation about desire, shame, and suffering, and how each shapes our capacity for authentic relationships. Drawing from neuroscience, theology, a
The Subtext: Super Bowl Official Playlist
This week on The Subtext, Lee and Savannah break down the rival Super Bowl halftime shows. From Bad Bunny’s vibrant homage to Puerto Rican culture and global pop influence to an “All American” showcase filled with country anthems and faith imagery, these events turned into a mirror for something much bigger. Beneath the spectacle, they explore what these shows say about who we are, who we think we
248: Curt Thompson: The Work Beneath Lasting Love
What if the deepest work of love isn’t finding the right person, but becoming someone who can truly be known?
Psychiatrist and author Dr. Curt Thompson joins Lee C. Camp for a Valentine’s Day conversation about desire, shame, and suffering, and how each shapes our capacity for authentic relationships. Drawing from neuroscience, theology, and lived experience, Dr. Curt Thompson invites us to cons
The Subtext: Rent Free: All is Fair in Love And (Culture) War
This episode has been living rent-free in our heads leading up to the Super Bowl, so we're dropping it back in your feed.
What does it mean when the Super Bowl Halftime Show has become a front line in the latest culture wars?
When Turning Point USA launches an “All-American Halftime Show” to rival Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, it’s more than a musical critique; it’s a signal of a cult
247: Unabridged Interview: Judith Moskowitz
This is our unabridged interview with Judith Moskowitz.
Judith Moskowitz didn’t begin her research career to prove people could thrive in the middle of devastating grief. But that’s where her work led.
In the 1990s, Moskowitz was part of a research team studying men caring for partners dying of AIDS. As expected, participants described the overwhelming stress and sorrow. But then something u
The Subtext: Bet on It
What happens when betting, profit, and addiction blur into everyday life?
Sports betting has moved from the margins into everyday life. It is dominating our phones, our sports, and even our teenagers. In this episode, Savannah and Lee unpack how legalized gambling and prediction markets are shaping culture, forming us, and turning everything from sports to politics into a commodity.
Things w
Dr. Lee Warren: You’re Not Stuck With the Mind You Have
You’re not stuck with the mind you have.
In this episode of No Small Endeavor, Lee C. Camp speaks with Dr. Lee Warren, neurosurgeon, Iraq War veteran, and author of The Life-Changing Art of Self Brain Surgery, about a hopeful but challenging idea:
your mind and your brain are not the same thing.
Drawing on neuroscience, faith, and his own experience with trauma and grief, Dr. Warren explores w
247: Judith Moskowitz: How to Flourish Amidst Stress (Best of NSE)
Judith Moskowitz didn’t begin her research career to prove people could thrive in the middle of devastating grief. But that’s where her work led.
In the 1990s, Moskowitz was part of a research team studying men caring for partners dying of AIDS. As expected, participants described the overwhelming stress and sorrow. But then something unexpected happened: they asked why no one was asking about t
245: Unabridged Interview: Rumman Chowdhury
This is our unabridged interview with Rumman Chowdhury.
What if the greatest danger of artificial intelligence isn’t what it might do someday, but the power it already wields today?
Social scientist and AI ethics leader Dr. Rumman Chowdhury joins Lee C. Camp to challenge popular narratives about artificial intelligence, arguing that the real story is not superintelligence or apocalypse, but
The Subtext: Celebrities Should Stay in Their Lane
Should celebrities “stay in their lane” when it comes to political or moral matters? Who gets to speak in public, and why do we only object when it makes us uncomfortable?
When Mark Ruffalo spoke out at the Golden Globes about American politics, some applauded his honesty while others told him to “stay in his lane.” In this episode, Savannah and Lee unpack why celebrity activism is celebrated by
245: Rumman Chowdhury: Why the Real AI Crisis Is Moral, Not Technical
What if the greatest danger of artificial intelligence isn’t what it might do someday, but the power it already wields today?
Social scientist and AI ethics leader Dr. Rumman Chowdhury joins Lee C. Camp to challenge popular narratives about artificial intelligence, arguing that the real story is not superintelligence or apocalypse, but power, incentives, and responsibility. Drawing on her work a
246: Unabridged Interview: Amishi Jha
This is our unabridged interview with Amishi Jha.
Is it possible that for half of our waking life, we are not paying attention to what we’re doing?
In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, many of us are coming to terms with the fact that our capacity for paying attention is laughably weak. Our work, mental health, and relationships suffer because of it. But what if there was a tried-
The Subtext: If You’re Not Terrified, You’re Not Paying Attention
When fear becomes the price of being “informed,” how do we tell the difference between paying attention and being emotionally hijacked?
After a trio of viral Threads posts seem to declare that terror is the only appropriate response to our moment, we dig into how social media turns unprocessed fear into a public spectacle, and why outrage and panic are increasingly treated as signs of intelligen
246: Amishi Jha: Push-ups for Your Brain (Best of NSE)
Is it possible that for half of our waking life, we are not paying attention to what we’re doing?
In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, many of us are coming to terms with the fact that our capacity for paying attention is laughably weak. Our work, mental health, and relationships suffer because of it. But what if there was a tried-and-true way to change this, something like “push-ups
244: Unabridged Interview: Malcolm Gladwell
This is our unabridged interview with Malcolm Gladwell.
What causes suffering in our society? Intentional evil? Or something less apparent and possibly more unsettling—indifference?
In this conversation, master storyteller Malcolm Gladwell and host Lee C. Camp explore the moral power of storytelling in light of Gladwell’s latest Revisionist History series, The Alabama Murders. What begin
The Subtext: Secret Episode of Stranger Things
What do Stranger Things conspiracy theories, failed prophecies, and religious history have in common? A deep human struggle to face disappointment without rewriting reality.
After the finale, many Stranger Things fans convinced themselves a secret ninth episode was hiding in plain sight. In this episode, Lee and Savannah use “Conformity Gate” as a surprisingly rich case study in how humans respo
244: Malcolm Gladwell: What a True Crime Reveals About the Sin of Indifference
What causes suffering in our society? Intentional evil? Or something less apparent and possibly more unsettling—indifference?
In this conversation, master storyteller Malcolm Gladwell and host Lee C. Camp explore the moral power of storytelling in light of Gladwell’s latest Revisionist History series, The Alabama Murders. What begins as a devastating true crime account of a 1988 murder in northw
243: Unabridged Interview: Carlos Whittaker
This is our unabridged interview with Carlos Whittaker.
Carlos Whittaker was spending the equivalent of 100 full days a year on his phone.
You might not be far behind.
Carlos—an author and social media influencer who has raised millions for charity online—realized he was scrolling his life away. So he tried something drastic. In his book Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and
The Subtext: Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man
In the first episode of 2026, we are diving into Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery to explore what it reveals about faith, leadership, hypocrisy, presence, and how competing visions of Christianity shape real people and communities.
In this episode of The Subtext, we dive beneath the mystery of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery to explore what the film exposes about faith, church c
243: Carlos Whittaker: How to Get Off Your Screen and Into Your Life
Carlos Whittaker was spending the equivalent of 100 full days a year on his phone.
You might not be far behind.
Carlos—an author and social media influencer who has raised millions for charity online—realized he was scrolling his life away. So he tried something drastic. In his book Reconnected: How 7 Screen-Free Weeks with Monks and Amish Farmers Helped Me Recover the Lost Art of Being Human,
242: Unabridged Interview: Charles Duhigg
This is our unabridged interview with Charles Duhigg.
What if the biggest lever to your happiness isn’t found in your big decisions, but in the small, automatic things you do every day?
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Charles Duhigg joins Lee C. Camp to explore how habits quietly shape our character, our choices, and our capacity for authentic human flourishing. Drawi
242: Charles Duhigg: Why Habits Matter More Than You Think for Meaningful Living (Best of NSE)
What if the biggest lever to your happiness isn’t found in your big decisions, but in the small, automatic things you do every day?
Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and bestselling author Charles Duhigg joins Lee C. Camp to explore how habits quietly shape our character, our choices, and our capacity for authentic human flourishing. Drawing on Aristotle, neuroscience, and his book The Power of
241: Unabridged Interview: Sharon McMahon
This is our unabridged interview with Sharon McMahon.
Have you ever wished someone would explain the inner workings of America’s political landscape — without taking sides or fueling the outrage machine?
With over 1.3 million Instagram followers, Sharon McMahon, known affectionately as “America’s Government Teacher,” has spent her career doing exactly that. Drawing from her roots in public
241: What Stayed With Us: Conversations That Shaped 2025
Some moments stay with us long after the episode ends. In this special episode, Lee C. Camp and Jakob Lewis revisit the conversations from 2025 that changed them—clips that still echo with courage, tenderness, and the invitation to live well.
Key Ideas:
Focus on What You Can Do. Sharon McMahon reminds us that while none of us can fix everything, each of us can meaningfully contribute to t
240: Unabridged Interview: Munther Isaac
This is our unabridged interview with Munther Isaac.
Imagine you're in charge of pastoring a congregation amidst a war. What does it mean to love your enemies when violence is outside your window, and visceral images of your congregation’s devastation fill your phone? How would you find hope and carry on?
Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac joins Lee C. Camp from his home in the West Ba
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In this episode, Savannah and Lee dig into the
240: Munther Isaac: Palestinian Christian Pastor on War, Hope, and Love
Imagine you're in charge of pastoring a congregation amidst a war. What does it mean to love your enemies when violence is outside your window, and visceral images of your congregation’s devastation fill your phone? How would you find hope and carry on?
Palestinian Lutheran pastor Munther Isaac joins Lee C. Camp from his home in the West Bank to discuss his book Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the
239: Unabridged Interview: Jeff Chu
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Change can come in the most unlikely places. For Jeff Chu, he found meaning and purpose in a pile of compost.
At the peak of his journalism career — writing for Time and Fast Company, perched 29 floors above Manhattan — Jeff Chu stared out his office window and asked a question he could no longer avoid: “What is this all for?” That moment of vo
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