Renew the Arts Podcast

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 Steve McDonald (art...

Michael continues his exploration of AI, focusing on its impact on the arts and the hopeful conditions this could produce....

Michael explores the benefits and costs of technology and what that means for the coming crisis of adopting AI....

Michael answers an international mailbag full of great questions to close out 2025 on the Renew the Arts podcast....

Michael collects together the top five things he thinks churches should communicate to their artists....

Michael explains the popular dismissal of fiction and the imagination, and explores the edifying uses of fiction....

Michael compares and contrasts the great way that seeks first worldly prominence with the little way of the cross that seeks God’s kingdom....

Michael explores the way the true purpose of art is undermined when we make exploited art—art made subject to an agenda....

A generous sampling of the “Porchlight Mini-Conference on Hospitality” we held at Audiofeed Music Festival 2025 in Urbana, Illinois....

Michael is joined by biologist and worship songwriter Ciara Reyes-Ton to discuss the intersection of art, science, and faith....

Michael is joined by film-maker and YouTuber Houston Coley to discuss Coley’s feature documentary, A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers....

Chase Tremaine joins Michael to discuss how the advancements in technology over the last 100 years have impacted the arts, for good and ill....

Michael offers three word-pictures to help clarify an understanding of the arts in terms of flourishing and the blessed life....

In this mailbag episode for 2024, Michael answers questions ranging from magic in Harry Potter to Nativity scenes in your yard....

Michael discusses narcissism, why it seems so prevalent among artists, and how to address it in both individuals and communities....

An interview with Roy Sneed, a specialist who trains cross-cultural workers in the four uses of storytelling for missions and evangelism....

Michael discusses how the problem of fame affects patrons. He then explores some ways artists and patrons can address this problem of fame....

Michael explores the problem of fame, how the inequality of exposure among artists damages both popular and unknown artists....

Karen Swallow Prior joins Michael for a wide-ranging discussion on her book The Evangelical Imagination, and how it applies to the arts....

Michael is joined by Paul J. Pastor—poet, writer, editor—to discuss the value of poetry both in general and specific terms....

Michael is joined by Brian Brown, founder and executive director of the Anselm Society, to talk about the arts and communal meaning-making....

Michael explores why you need better taste and how to get it. This episode explores both the rationale and practice of developing good taste....

Justus Stout and Katy Martin join Michael for a ten-year Renew the Arts retrospective and a look at the opportunities ahead. ...

Ryanne Molinari joins Michael to discuss her forthcoming book on the relationship between the worship arts and the fruit of the Spirit....

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 ministr...

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 ...

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 f...

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 i...

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 success...

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...

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....

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 tun...

Justus and Cynthia talk with Alexia Jones, founder of Rise Theater, 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 ...

Justus and Cynthia interview Chi T. Mathias, 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...

Justus and guest co-host Cynthia Giles (http://creativeactivation.org and http://cynthiasinspirations.com) talk to medical student and aspiring psychiatrist Lydia Jones about making art and staying me...

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 t...

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 ...

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...

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 e...

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 s...

Justus chats on the phone with singer-songwriter John Van Deusen to discuss his life as a signed artist with Tooth & Nail Records, his testimony, and expanding the boundaries of what Christians ar...

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 J...

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 Full...

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 goo...

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 o...

Justus sat down with singer-songwriter Derek Webb to discuss his experience in the Christian music industry and how it may have contributed to his loss of faith. Stay tuned at the end for “Wedding Dre...

Allison and Michael field your questions about art history, tackling some new material to close out the season. Stay tuned at the end to hear the full version of “Eyes Closed Dance Party” off of Permi...

In a fully-loaded episode, Allison and Michael discuss the art historical trends and challenges of today, with a discussion of digital, indie, and multi-media art. Then they present a flyby of how the...

Allison and Michael discuss the Pop Art movement, the divide between “high brow/low brow” art, and the prominence of celebrity and popular culture. Stay tuned at the end for Phil Hodges’ classical gui...

Allison and Michael unpack the hopelessness of existentialism, and they discuss why despair concerning merely human attempts at meaning provide fruitful ground for the Gospel. Stay tuned at the end fo...