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PODCAST · religion

Saints & Sinners

You’ve heard of saints.You’ve heard of sinners.But history rarely introduces them that way.Saints & Sinners is a short-form storytelling podcast that dives into the gritty, human, and often uncomfortable moments that shaped the Catholic Church — and the souls inside it. From martyrs and missionaries to rebels and reformers, each episode unearths the tension between grace and failure, courage and compromise, heaven and hell.Told in a cinematic style inspired by The Way I Heard It, these stories withhold the name until the end — because sometimes you need to walk beside a soul before you

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  1. 15

    The Price of Purity | Ep. 14

    She was only a child.The world would call it violence.She called it something else.In a moment where most would break, she made a choice — one that would cost her everything… and echo far beyond her final breath.This is a story about innocence, brutality, and a kind of forgiveness that doesn’t make sense.Some virtues are admired.Others are paid for.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  2. 14

    The Thread of Hope | Ep. 13

    He went looking for truth…and found darkness instead.What began as curiosity turned into something far more dangerous — a descent that left him lost, restless, and on the edge of despair.Until someone placed something simple in his hands.Not a weapon.Not an argument.A thread.What followed wasn’t instant.It was slow. Quiet. Almost unnoticed.But sometimes the smallest thingsare strong enough to pull a soul back from the brink.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  3. 13

    Frankenstein's Big Idea | Ep. 12

    A man loses a leg.Then decides he doesn’t need it back.Not in the way you’d expect.What follows is an idea so strange it sounds like fiction…until you realize it’s not.This is a story about suffering, sacrifice, and a question most of us never think to ask:What if the body isn’t the thing that needs saving?Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  4. 12

    Hell Hath No Fury | Ep. 11

    They killed her husband.What followed wasn’t mourning.It was retribution.Fire answered fire.And a name once feared would one day be spoken in prayer.This is the story of vengeance… and what it becomes when grace finally breaks through.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  5. 11

    Fury Road | Ep.10

    War has a way of exposing what a man really believes.When Bosnia erupted into chaos, most people ran from the gunfire. One man ran toward it — not for glory, not for politics, but for something far more dangerous: conviction.He carried no official rank.No government backing.No promise of survival.What he carried instead was faith — and a willingness to stand between violence and the vulnerable.In this episode of Saints & Sinners, we step into a modern battlefield where bullets flew, cities burned, and one unlikely figure earned a nickname that sounded more like legend than liturgy. Some called him reckless. Others called him fearless. But those who survived because of him called him something else entirely.This is the story of a man who proved that courage doesn’t retire with the martyrs of old.Because sometimes the line between saint and soldier is drawn in the smoke of war.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  6. 10

    Braveheart | Ep.9

    He was 12 years old.Too young to vote.Too young to drive.Old enough to die.When war came for the Church in Mexico, boys were expected to hide. This one volunteered. Captured, beaten, and forced to watch the execution of men he admired, he was given a choice: deny his faith — and live — or stand firm, and suffer what came next.What followed was not a battlefield victory, but a slow walk through pain that would echo far beyond a single village square.This episode of Saints & Sinners tells the story of a child who understood courage better than most men — and whose final words still ring through history.Because sometimes the smallest voicescarry the loudest witness.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  7. 9

    The Broken Collar | Ep.8

    They told him it was a small thing.Just a collar.Just a symbol.Just something no one would notice if it disappeared.The offer was simple: remove it — and live.What followed wasn’t a sermon or a speech. It was a moment. A quiet, brutal choice made on the edge of a river, with soldiers watching and history holding its breath. In a time when survival depended on pretending to be something you weren’t, one man refused to lie with his body — even to save his life.This episode of Saints & Sinners tells the story of faith under pressure, of identity stripped down to its final thread, and of a courage so understated it almost goes unnoticed… until the blade falls.Because sometimes the loudest witness is a single, silent refusal.Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  8. 8

    A Knight at the Roxbeary | Ep.7

    An army is starving. A forest offers one last chance at survival. A knight goes in alone — and comes face to face with a beast that won’t back down. Pinned, bleeding, and outmatched, he refuses to let go… because surrender means death for more than just himself. Before crowns were offered. Before history took note. There was a fight that decided everything.

  9. 7

    Mission Impossible: Total Recall | Ep.6

    He’s been called a saint. He’s been called a villain. And in modern headlines, he’s often reduced to a statue waiting to be torn down. But history is never that simple. This episode dives into one of the most recent controversial figures in Catholic and American history—set against the brutal reality of colonial expansion, missionary work, and the collision between faith, empire, and indigenous peoples. You’ll hear about forced marches and wounded legs. About missionaries who challenged soldiers—and soldiers who ignored them. About a man who crossed oceans, deserts, and political minefields driven by conviction, not comfort. This isn’t a defense piece. It’s not an attack piece. It’s a reckoning. What really happened in the early missions of California? Who benefited—and who suffered? And how does modern outrage distort the truth of the past? The world loves simple villains. History rarely provides them. In this episode of Saints & Sinners, we peel back the slogans, examine the accusations, and confront the uncomfortable reality of faith lived out on a violent frontier—without modern filters, and without easy answers. Saints rise. Sinners fall. And history bears witness.

  10. 6

    A Horse with No Name | Ep.5

    A battlefield buried in dust. A nation splintering under the weight of defeat. And then—when hope was spent—a rider appeared. No banner. No bloodline. No name. Some said the ground shook beneath his horse. Others swore the war turned the moment he charged. Was he flesh and blood… or something born from desperation and faith? This episode follows the rise of a legend forged where steel meets belief—where stories become weapons and hope rides into battle. We trace how a single figure, real or imagined, united a fractured people, terrified their enemies, and reshaped the destiny of a nation. But legends don’t come with receipts. Was this divine intervention—or a story sharpened by centuries of retelling? Faith… or fiction? By the end, one question remains: Does it matter if the legend was real—if it changed everything anyway? 🎧 Saints & Sinners—where myth bleeds into history, faith rides into battle, and the truth refuses to stay buried.

  11. 5

    Blind Faith | Ep.4

    He was a hardened warrior—trained to obey, conditioned to kill, and trusted with one duty above all: make sure the king was truly dead. It should’ve been routine. It should’ve been forgettable. Instead, it became the moment that unraveled everything he thought he knew. This episode follows the life of a battle-scarred enforcer whose single act on a blood-soaked hill set off a chain reaction of consequences—physical, spiritual, and political—that no one in the empire saw coming. What began as a job became a reckoning. What began as violence became revelation. And the soldier who started the day indifferent to death ended it face-to-face with a truth that changed him forever. Who was he? A loyal executioner? A pawn of empire? Or the first man in a long, legendary line to recognize what others refused to see? Walk with us into ancient dust and shadow, where brutality gives way to mystery… and where a nameless soldier becomes something history never expected. This is Saints & Sinners—where saints rise, sinners fall, and history bears witness.

  12. 4

    In the Beginning was the Word | Ep.3

    They weren’t soldiers. They didn’t wield swords or claim crowns. But they still managed to shake an empire. Two brothers from a distant city were sent to tame a wild and fractured frontier—not with fire, but with words. And when they arrived, they found a people hungry for the Gospel… but choked by a language they couldn’t understand. So they built a new one. What followed was a revolution—one written not in blood, but in ink. It sparked accusations of heresy, a summons to Rome, and a confrontation that could’ve ended in disgrace. Instead, their defiance was canonized, and their script became the voice of a continent. This is the story of two men who proved that real power doesn’t shout—it translates. Because sometimes the boldest thing you can do… is teach the truth in a language the people understand. Hit play. History remembers what empires forget.

  13. 3

    Salt of the Earth | Ep.2

    He was a slave, a swindler, a brawler—and somehow, a pope. This is the story of a man who clawed his way up from the salt mines of Sardinia to the catacombs of Rome… only to divide the Church with mercy. Scandal followed him. So did chains, controversy, and one very bitter rival. But when the dust settled, he’d done the unthinkable: shattered the illusion that sainthood requires spotless beginnings. In this episode, we unearth the dirt, the drama, and the divine grace buried in one of the Church’s most unlikely success stories. Because sometimes the keeper of the crypt ends up wearing the keys to the kingdom. Grace is not neat. Holiness is not polite. And redemption rarely makes sense. Hit play—this one’s a resurrection story wrapped in scandal.

  14. 2

    All Hallowed Out | Ep.1

    They say the veil between the living and the dead is always thin… but once a year, it wears paper-thin. And if you listen ever so closely - you might just hear it tear. This is the story of how three days came to be what most people think of one. But what if I told you that beneath the surface of this familiar trifecta lies a much older, stranger history? A story of ghosts and martyrs, of ancient fires and unshakable hope.

  15. 1

    Introduction

    Saints & Sinners pulls back the curtain on faith’s most haunting moments — where light and darkness meet, and history bleeds into eternity. Each episode unearths the battles, miracles, and souls that shaped the Church… and the world. Because in every age, there are saints who rise, sinners who fall — and history that bears witness.

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

You’ve heard of saints.You’ve heard of sinners.But history rarely introduces them that way.Saints & Sinners is a short-form storytelling podcast that dives into the gritty, human, and often uncomfortable moments that shaped the Catholic Church — and the souls inside it. From martyrs and missionaries to rebels and reformers, each episode unearths the tension between grace and failure, courage and compromise, heaven and hell.Told in a cinematic style inspired by The Way I Heard It, these stories withhold the name until the end — because sometimes you need to walk beside a soul before you

HOSTED BY

Glenn Hastings

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Saints & Sinners have?

Saints & Sinners currently has 15 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Saints & Sinners about?

You’ve heard of saints.You’ve heard of sinners.But history rarely introduces them that way.Saints & Sinners is a short-form storytelling podcast that dives into the gritty, human, and often uncomfortable moments that shaped the Catholic Church — and the souls inside it. From martyrs and...

How often does Saints & Sinners release new episodes?

Saints & Sinners has 15 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Saints & Sinners?

You can listen to Saints & Sinners on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Saints & Sinners?

Saints & Sinners is created and hosted by Glenn Hastings.
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