SEPTEMBER 2024 Long before we launched The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics I got to know the Christian leaders who would become our fellows by reading their books. And I started a podcast called Gospelbound so I could talk to them and others about how to navigate life by the gospel of Jesus in a post-Christian culture. I’m not sure if debuting the podcast in February 2020 was the best of times or the worst of times. But we caught momentum during the pandemic, and we continue churning out interviews in our fourth year with more than 6.5 million lifetime downloads. We kicked off the fall 2024 season with a man whose writing and thinking shaped our center from the foundation. When I met James Davison Hunter it was 2016. I asked him about politics. He waved me off and told me to think less about the weather (elections) and more about the climate (the “deep structures of culture”). I’ve never forgotten the lesson. In his newest book, Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America’s Political Crisis, Hunter gives us a climate report that explains why our weather has been so severe. He contends that we don’t share common political ground because we no longer share a common view of a good society. For about an hour we discussed whether we can hope against hope as Christians in American democracy. I also talked with Keller Center fellow Gavin Ortlund about why we should remain (or become) Protestant. Since we worked together at TGC I’ve seen Gavin excel as an apologist known for his clarity and charity, his willingness to learn from critics even as he offers direct arguments against them. You can browse the full Gospelbound archives for audio and usually also video from the interviews. And you can sign up for the weekly newsletter to get the latest episodes and browse my recommended reads from the world of cultural apologetics. | 
