Episodes
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The Value of Arts Education in Community (with Gracie McBride)
Michael is joined by Gracie McBride, who just finished up a summer internship with Renew the Arts. Gracie is a musician and a writer with a Master in Theology and the Arts from the University of St. Andrews. They talk about the value of arts education and her interest in the communal aspects of…
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Reimagining Christian Fiction (with Phillip Snyder)
Michael interviews Phillip Snyder, author, thinker, and founder of Living Room Disciple (https://www.livingroomdisciple.com/) (https://www.livingroomdisciple.com/) and Living Tome Publishing (https://www.livingtomepublishing.org/) (https://www.livingtomepublishing.org/), about the state of...
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Three Rules of Thumb to Avoid the Abuses of AI (with Chase Tremaine)
Michael is joined for the second part of his conversation with Chase Tremaine about AI. This time they delve into some of the tendencies of over-reliance on technology, and the ways that affects and disrupts human creation. They then explore Chase’s three rules of thumb for using (or not using)…
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How AI Affects Everything (with Chase Tremaine)
Chase Tremaine joins Michael to discuss recent developments in AI news, as LLMs and Machine Learning have begun to touch on most every aspect of our lives. Is AI inevitable, or is its bubble ready to burst? LINKS AI IPOs and the Bubble...
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On the Craft of Songwriting and Authentic Pop (with Aryn Michelle)
Michael is joined by songwriter and songwriting teacher Aryn Michelle to discuss both her new songwriting textbook, Play Shape Create, and her new album, Bloodline, set to release in July. Stay tuned at the end to hear Aryn Michelle’s “Upper Hand (Tamar)...
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Bless Your Limitations: A Talk About AI with Rusty Hein
Michael is joined by long-time friend and Renew the Arts Creative Director, Rusty Hein, for a different take on AI and related topics. LINKS Chatbot Thinks Upside-Down Cup is Prank (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/3fYiLXVfPa4) Steve McDonald (artist who collaborates with AI)...
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How Art Bots and AI Slop Will Rehumanize the Arts
Michael continues his exploration of AI and its impact on the arts, discussing why he has hope the AI revolution will produce positive unintended consequences for artists of integrity and discipline. LINKS Iain McGilChrist, The Master and His Emissary...
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Rich Kid Syndrome and the Decadent Empire of AI
Michael begins the 2026 season of the Renew the Arts podcast with an exploration of the benefits and costs of technology, the history of the book, and how the adoption of AI will force humanity into a crisis of meaning and discipline. LINKS Neil Postman, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to...
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2025 Mailbag Full of Explicit Content, What Makes Art Good, and Unstrange Fire
Michael answers an international mailbag full of great questions to close out 2025 on the Renew the Arts podcast, including discussions of how Christians should approach non-family-friendly biblical content, what makes art good, baking and cooking as an art, the Holy Spirit’s role in...
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Top 5 Things Churches Should Communicate to Their Artists
Michael collects together the top five things he thinks churches should communicate to their artists, based on his decades of work in the Christian arts space. One thing you might realize after listening to this episode: these five things should be communicated to pretty much every member of a...
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The Use and Abuse of Fiction
Michael explains the popular dismissal of fiction and the imagination, and explores the edifying uses of fiction for overcoming the limitations of one’s own lived experience and to bypass our natural resistance to the truth. LINKS “Are Sermons Enough to Preach the Whole Counsel of God?” (Part 1...
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The Little Things are the Great Things
Michael compares and contrasts the great way that seeks first worldly prominence with the little way of the cross, defending and explaining the priority that Renew the Arts has placed on the little things that actually accord with obedience to God. Stay tuned at the end to hear “Love Everybody...
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Exploited Art: Propaganda, Pornography, Pomp, and Product
Michael goes solo to talk about exploited art in its four forms: propaganda, pornography, pomp, and product. He discusses why subjecting art to an agenda undermines the powerful purpose of art, and why the church should be the place artists feel most free and empowered to pursue their callings…
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Porchlight at Audiofeed 2025: Mini-Conference on Hospitality
Join us for a generous sampling of the “Porchlight Mini-Conference on Hospitality” we held on July 6, 2025 at Audiofeed Music Festival (https://audiofeedfestival.com/) in Urbana, Illinois. Featuring presentations from Cary Brege and Michael Minkoff, a host panel on art hosting and hospitality…
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Connecting Science and Art (with Ciara Reyes-Ton)
Michael talks with Ciara Reyes-Ton (https://www.mountcarmell.com/founder) about science, art, and faith. Ciara is a cellular and molecular biologist, singer-songwriter, and founder of Mt. Carmell Worship Collective (https://www.mountcarmell.com/). In this conversation, Ciara talks about her…
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On “A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers” (with Houston Coley)
Michael is joined by film-maker and YouTuber Houston Coley (https://www.youtube.com/@houston-coley) to discuss Coley’s feature documentary, A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers (https://www.labridocumentary.com/), which follows five strangers as they spend a summer together at English L’Abri. They...
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One Anothering in An Othering Age (with Chase Tremaine)
Michael welcomes Chase Tremaine (https://chasetremaine.com/) to the Renew the Arts podcast to discuss the impact of technology on the way we make and receive art. Just a few generations ago, all art was received communally, with live performances and in-person reception the only possibility. Now,...
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Three Word-Pictures for Patrons and Artists
Michael returns for the 2025 RTA podcast season with an offering of three word-pictures for patrons and artists. First, “Space Station Christianity” seeks to answer the question, “Are the arts and beauty actually essential?” Second, “Antibiotic vs. Probiotic Culture” seeks to show the distinction...
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Mailbag: 1,000 True Fans, Earned Gifts, Magic, and Christmas!
For the final episode of this year, join Michael to discuss your questions for a Christmas mailbag episode. Michael answers questions about Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans Principle,” the difference between pride concerning earned skills and narcissism concerning gifts, how Christians should...
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Narcissism and the Gifted Artist
Michael discusses narcissism, why it seems so prevalent among artists, and how to address it. Using an excellent podcast from Martyr Made’s Darryl Cooper called “The Underground Spirit (https://www.martyrmade.com/featured-podcasts/the-underground-spirit)...
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Missions and the Power of Storytelling (with Roy Sneed)
Michael interviews Roy Sneed, a missions specialist who trains cross-cultural workers in the four uses of storytelling for missions and evangelism. With seasoned wisdom and disarming humor, Roy explains his storytelling approach, telling a few of his stories along the way. Stay tuned until the…
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Patrons and the Problem of Fame
In this promised second part of our podcast on the problem of fame, Michael discusses how an uneven distribution of support in the arts harms patrons, patronage, and communities. He then explores some ways artists and patrons can solve this problem. Stay tuned at the end of the episode to hear “5...
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The Artist and the Problem of Fame
In this first part of two, Michael explores the problem of fame as it relates to artists. What is the problem of fame? How does it negatively affect both successful and unsuccessful artists? Stay tuned until the end to hear “I’ve Found Love in Mississippi” by Porchlight artist Trailand Eltzroth...
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Art and the Evangelical Imagination (with Karen Swallow Prior)
Reader, Author, Thinker, and Teacher Karen Swallow Prior (http://karenswallowprior.com) joins Michael for a discussion of her book, The Evangelical Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Imagination-Stories-Metaphors-Created/dp/1587435756), and particularly, how the ideas of that book...
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What is Poetry Good For? (with Paul J. Pastor)
Poet, Author, and Editor Paul J. Pastor (https://www.pauljpastor.com/) joins Michael for a conversation on poetry. From a more general discussion of the uses and benefits of poetry to a more specific exploration of some of Pastor’s favorite poetry, get inspired to explore poetry more deeply.…
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Looking for the Life of the World to Come (with Brian Brown)
For this episode, Michael is joined by Brian Brown (https://www.anselmsociety.org/people-1/2019/6/9/brian-brown), founder and executive director of the Anselm Society (https://www.anselmsociety.org/), about the importance of the arts in the practice of communal meaning-making. Along the way, they...
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Why You Need Better Taste and How to Get It
In the episode, Michael goes solo to discuss why Christians should develop better taste. Then he goes on to discuss some practical ways that can be achieved. This episode was inspired by an insightful comment from Lisa Hood on episode 49 (“Do Poor People Make Poor Patrons?”...
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Looking Forward Looking Back
Michael is looking forward and looking back with Renew the Arts’ former president and current chairman of the board Justus Stout and current president Katy Martin to talk about Justus’ ten-year tenure as president and the challenges and opportunities awaiting Katy in the next season of renewing…
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Fruitful Worship with Ryanne Molinari
Worship director and organist Ryanne Molinari joins Michael to discuss her forthcoming book on the relationship between the worship arts (particularly congregational singing) and the fruit of the Spirit. Ryanne discusses how the fruit of the Spirit operates as both the goal and the criteria for...
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Is Art a Ministry, a Hobby, or a Profession?
Michael invites singer-songwriter Carly Taich and producer Jimmy Smith on to the podcast to discuss what it looks like for Christians to pursue art (in this case, music) within the church as a ministry, a hobby, or a profession. They share personal anecdotes about their various struggles in the...
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Deconstruction and the Arts
Abbey and Michael get together to discuss how deconstruction within the church is both fed and addressed by the arts. What exactly do we mean by deconstruction? Why is it so prevalent right now? What does it have to do with the arts? Stay tuned at the end to hear “Oh, Sweetest Name” by John Van...
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Deep Dive: Wrestling by Warbler
This is the first of a new series for the Renew the Arts podcast, Deep Dive, where we pay very close attention to an entire album or song in all of its parts, from composition to production. In this first of the series, Michael interviews Sean Sullivan, the creative force behind the music of...
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Do Poor People Make Poor Patrons?
Abbey Sitterley interviews Michael Minkoff about the historical development and downfall of patronage. What does it mean for Porchlight and Renew the Arts to resurrect the idea of patronage now when its history seems so tied up in elitism? How do we avoid making the mistakes of the past? Stay…
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What Can We Learn from Intentional Communities?
Michael interviews co-host Abbey Sitterley (Chief Storyteller for Porchlight) about three intentional communities (L’Abri, Bruderhof, and L’Arche) to glean some of what we can learn from their successes and failures. Stay tuned at the end to hear “Naturally,” by Physick, from their album All the...
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The Spirit of the Porchlight Network
Justus and Michael discuss the motivations and reasoning behind launching the Porchlight Art and Hospitality Network. They then explain the qualities and virtues they hope to draw together and further cultivate in the network. Stay tuned at the end to hear a live rendition of “Face to Face,” by…
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An Artistic Antidote to Division
Justus and Michael finish up their conversation on politics and culture with a few days left for election 2020. Stay tuned at the end for “Worry,” off of Warbler’s self-titled record (https://warblermusic.bandcamp.com/album/warbler-2).
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Weep with Those Who Weep with Wendell Kimbrough
Justus sat down with singer-songwriter Wendell Kimbrough to discuss how the psalms encourage the church to empathy, why we don’t sing them like we used to, and why we need to sing them again. Stay tuned at the end for “The Hand of God (Psalm 82)” from Wendell’s album Come to Me...
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Art and Recovery with Cynthia Giles and Alexia Jones
Justus and Cynthia talk with Alexia Jones, founder of Rise Theater (https://r2isetheatre.org/), about how art made in community can help heal brokenness in pursuit of recovery. Stay tuned at the end for “Dance Hi’s and Lo’s” by Civilized Creature (https://civilizedcreature.bandcamp.com/), from…
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Art and Trauma with Cynthia Giles and Chi T. Mathias
Justus and Cynthia interview Chi T. Mathias (https://www.chitmathias.com/), a vocalist, author, speaker, and teacher, who tells her incredible story of overcoming trauma in and through creative expression. Stay tuned at the end for Chi’s single, “Forgiveness.”...
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Art and Mental Hygiene with Cynthia Giles and Lydia Jones
Justus and guest co-host Cynthia Giles (http://creativeactivation.org (http://creativeactivation.org) and http://cynthiasinspirations.com (http://cynthiasinspirations.com)) talk to medical student and aspiring psychiatrist Lydia Jones about making art and staying mentally healthy during the...
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Ditching DC for Music City with Erik Løkkesmoe
Justus sits down with Erik Løkkesmoe, a former DC press secretary and speechwriter who now produces films from his home-base in Nashville, to discuss politics and patronage and how we can contribute to cultural transformation without feeling like we as individuals need to (or even could) move the...
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Collaborative Community with Hallowell’s Joseph Pensak
Justus Stout talks on the phone with Joseph Pensak, main songwriter for the band Hallowell, about his most recent record, his approach to making music, and running a community art gallery. Stay tuned at the end for “Another World” from Hallowell’s self-titled record...
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Why the Arts Matter More than the Election
Your hosts, Justus and Michael, return to launch into this year’s theme at Renew the Arts: Politics and the Arts. In our politics-obsessed climate, cultivating culture can seem like a most ineffective way to affect the future of our polarized nation. Michael and Justus explore the ways that…
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David Hamilton of RYFO on Keys to Healing the Artist-Church Divide
Justus talked with David Hamilton of RYFO to discuss what David sees as some key ways to heal the apparent divide between artists and the church through better community practices. Stay tuned at the end for “Living Water” by Fuel Music off their EP “The Life.”
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Sex ’n Hip-Hop with Sho Baraka
Justus and Michael sat down with hip-hop artist Sho Baraka to discuss his work, his latest collaborative album with Vanessa Hill, and why he thinks the Christian community is so squeamish to discuss sex. Stay tuned at the end for the track “Nasty,” from So Many Feelings, by Sho Baraka and Vanessa...
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John Van Deusen: A Different Kind of “Hymn”
Justus chats on the phone with singer-songwriter John Van Deusen (http://johnvandeusen.com/) to discuss his life as a signed artist with Tooth & Nail Records, his testimony, and expanding the boundaries of what Christians are willing to call hymns. Stay tuned at the end to hear two tracks from…
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How to Solve a Puzzle Like Marty Sampson
Your hosts Michael and Rusty get you up to date on the back-and-forth that has ensued from former Hillsong singer Marty Sampson’s announcement that he’s losing his faith. Along the way, they discuss John Cooper (of Skillet) and his viral rebuke, truth and feelings, psalms of doubt and lament, and...
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Interview with Michael Wright
Justus and Michael talk on the phone with Michael Wright about engaging the arts as a Christian guest in “secular” cultural spaces. As a culture curator who helps develop curriculum resources for Fuller Seminary’s Brehm Center for the Arts, Michael Wright is well-suited to assist newly awakening...
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Interview with George Grant
Justus and Michael meet with author and pastor George Grant in his home in Franklin, Tennessee to discuss the relationship between the Reformed church and the arts. If the Reformed church has very good theological reasons for supporting the arts, why does it seem like there is so much resistance…
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Interview with Anthony Quails
Your host Justus sits down with singer-songwriter Anthony Quails who shares stories of becoming a sponsored artist, knowing God’s grace through shortcomings, evangelizing in music, and his new album of his most personal songs yet. Stay tuned to the end for the demo of “I Wish That I Was Him” from...
About this show
Cultivating conversations about the intersection of the arts and faith in order to liberate Christian creativity.
Hosted by
Renew the Arts
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