Kate Shellnutt is an associate editor at Christianity Today magazine. She helps run their social media accounts and she also edits their popular site for women, cleverly called Her.meneutics. Before this, she worked as a web producer for the Houston Chronicle’s religion site. She’s a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where she earned her masters in reporting and online journalism.

We spoke with Kate about how Christianity Today deals with hot-button issues, what a faith-based publication can bring to the table that secular outlets can’t, and how comedy and religion go hand-in-hand.

Stephen Prothero is a professor in the department of religion at Boston University and the author of several books, including Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn’t. You may have seen him on his appearances on The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. His latest book is called Why Liberals Win the Culture Wars (Even When They Lose Elections).

We spoke with him about why conservatives back losing issues, what issues will get liberals out to vote this November, and what surprised him during his research for the book.

Notes:

We discussed an interview Bernie Sanders did on Jimmy Kimmel Live. You can see that interview here.

Jeffrey Tayler is an author of several books all about different parts of the world, but you may know him best for his wonderful articles defending atheism and atheists, and criticizing the Religious Right on Salon.com. He’s also the Russia correspondent for the Atlantic. His latest book is called Topless Jihadis: Inside Femen, the World’s Most Provocative Activist Group.

I spoke with Jeffrey about Salon‘s reputation for publishing just about anything criticizing atheists, what the public doesn’t understand about the New Atheists, and the impact religion will have on the 2016 elections.

(Image credit: Tatyana Shchukina)

Lyz Liddell is the Executive Director of the Reason Rally Coalition. Before that, she worked with the Secular Student Alliance and played a large role in the Openly Secular campaign, which got celebrities like Bill Maher, Arian Foster, and Barney Frank to talk about how they’re not religious and encouraged others to join them.

I spoke with Lyz about the newest slate of speakers at the Rally, how she balances the competing agendas of the various atheist groups participating in the event, what she’s learned from a decade in the movement.