Listening In

Dr. Anthony B. Bradley is an author, professor, and public intellectual whose provocative and compelling views have made him a highly sought after lecturer, TV commentator, and cultural Critic. Bradley is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at The King's College in New York City, where he also serves as Director of The Center for the Study of Human Flourishing and Chair of the Religious and Theological Studies program. Anthony Bradley is also a Research Fellow at The Acton Institute.

Rusty Reno has been the editor of First Things Magazine since 2011. Though its circulation is only about 30,000, it is closely read by conservative intellectuals. Founded by Richard John Neuhaus in 1990, it articulates a social and political conservatism rooted in the Christian intellectual tradition.When founding editor Richard John Neuhaus died in 2009, the magazine went through a quick succession of editors before Reno took over in 2011. Under Reno's leadership, the magazine has re-asserted its influence in the conservative world, and after a decline in circulation in the years immediately following the death of Neuhaus, it is now back up to its peak when Neuhaus was alive.

In this episode, Warren Smith speaks with Kim Kuo, who has become an outspoken advocate for life, Joni Eareckson Tada, who was paralyzed at 17 and is a well-known advocate for the disabled, and the late Kara Tippetts, who wrote a blog and two books chronicling her battle with cancer.

Rankin Wilbourne is the senior pastor of Pacific Crossroads Church in Los Angeles. He is a former commercial banker who was called to the ministry mid-career, and his church is a part of New York City's Redeemer Presbyterian Church's network of church plants, and a part of the conservative and evangelical denomination, The Presbyterian Church in America. Rankin Wilbourne's new book is "Union With Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God."

Today, Warren Smith talks about movies and the arts with the star of the new movie 'Voiceless' ' Rusty Joiner ' and actor and producer Shun Lee Fong.Rusty Joiner may not be a household name, but there was a time in the late 90s and early 2000s that his face was instantly recognizable to millions of Americans. He was a well known fashion and fitness model for Prada, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Levi's and Powerade. Joiner was the official underwear model for Structure from 1998 to 2000. He has appeared Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, and 11 times on the cover of Men's Fitness. After a life-changing encounter with Christ, Joiner has stepped back from the fashion industry and has begun acting. Shun Lee Fong is an actor and director as well as the leader of The Greenhouse, a ministry designed to help movie industry professionals explore faith, and to help Christians understand how to have a fruitful and productive life in the arts.

Brian Baugh though barely in his 30s, already has a long resume as a director, screenwriter, and cinematographer. Among the project Christian audiences will know him for is the 2009 movie "To Save A Life," which was made for less than a half-million dollars but which ultimately earned nearly $4-million at the box office. He was the cinematographer for the 2006 movie "The Ultimate Gift," a movie that made tens of millions in DVD sales and has become a staple on cable television.Baugh is also the director of the upcoming film "I'm Not Ashamed," the story of the Columbine shooting massacre, told through the life of Rachel Scott, whose Christian faith was one of the reasons she was targeted by the Columbine shooters. The movie releases next weekend.

Mark Batterson is the pastor National Community Church in Washington, D.C., and the author of "Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn't Scare You, It's Too Small" (Multnomah, 2016).

Sebastian Gorka is Professor of Strategy and Irregular Warfare of the Institute of World Politics and Chairman of Threat Knowledge Group. Previously he served as the Major General Matthew C. Horner Distinguished Chair of Military Theory at the Marine Corps University. He has served as an Associate Dean at the National Defense University. He is a regular instructor for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is also the author of a new book, "Defeating Jihad: The Winnable War," which recently made the New York Times Bestseller List.Teddy James is the editor of Engage Magazine, the online magazine for millennials published by the American Family Association, which is now one of the largest Christian ministries in the nation. Although he is just 31, he has been with the AFA since 2009. In addition to his work at Engage, he is a contributor to the American Family Association's flagship publication, the AFA Journal.

Today, hear conversations with North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, U.S. Senator James Lankford, and several others at the Values Voter Summit in Washington.

Pierce Pettis has developed a reputation over a 35-year career as being a songwriter's songwriter. He got his first big break in 1979 when folk music icon Joan Baez recorded his song "The Song At The End of the Movie." Pettis then became a vital figure in what came to be called the "Fast Folk" movement of the 1980s, along with artists such as Shawn Colvin and Suzanne Vega.

Today, Warren Smith shares conversations he had while on a recent trip to Liberia to celebrate the one-year anniversary of that country being Ebola-free.Kendell Kauffeldt is the country director for Samaritan's Purse in Liberia, a role he has had for 12 years. He leads Samaritan's Purse's staff of more than 300 people, and he was in the country throughout the Ebola crisis with the exception of about six weeks when Samaritan's Purse president Franklin Graham ordered the evacuation of the ministry's internal staff.Dr. John Frankhauser is the Medical Director of the ELWA Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia, which was the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

J. Warner Wallace ' Jim Wallace ' was a police detective and an atheist until he was 35 years old. Then he started examining the claims of Christ and of Scripture with the hard-nosed skepticism of his police training. The result is that he became a Christian. Nearly 20 years later and after retiring from police work, he wrote "Cold Case Christianity." It has taken the apologetics world by storm, selling more than 100,000 copies and giving Jim Wallace the chance to write more books on Christian apologetics that take the same approach: the approach of a skeptical, hard-nosed detective examining evidence for the claims of Christianity. Those books include "Alive: A Cold-Case Approach to the Resurrection" and "God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe."

Today, Warren Smith speaks with Kelly Shackleford of the First Liberty Institute, former Reagan Administration official Linda Chavez, and U.S. Representative Chris Smith about immigration, presidential politics, and religious liberty.

Husband-and-wife singer songwriters Seth and Nirva Ready are no strangers to the Christian music world. Nirva toured with Toby Mac for more than a dozen years, and Seth was a background singer for Kirk Franklin. They met at a Billy Graham crusade, where they were both performing. They've been married for 10 years, and both lead worship at the church they attend in Tampa, Florida, where Seth is also one of the pastors, in charge of the church's young adult ministry.After a 2013 EP caught the attention of Integrity Records, Seth and Nirva teamed with producers Israel Houghton and Bryan Fowler to produce their debut album, released just weeks ago.

Gretchen Carlson is a former commentator and news anchor for Fox News. She recently caused an uproar when she accused Fox News President Roger Ailes of sexual harassment. Early news reports suggested that Carlson may simply have been a disgruntled employee because he contract as one of Fox News' top anchors was not renewed. However, when other women came forward, Carlson's accusations gained credibility, and Roger Ailes has stepped down as president of the nation's number one cable news network.