Amy Ephron, author of the new mystery novel UNSEASONABLY COLD, says was fueled by a feeling of “collective grief”. You can hear Amy talk more on that subject in the documentary "Everything is Copy" about her eldest sister, Nora Ephron.

In addition to her books for adults, Amy has also written a trilogy of books for middle-grade readers: CASTLE IN THE MIST, CARNIVAL MAGIC and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WALL. She also has a collection of autobiographical essays, LOOSE DIAMONDS, the title chapter being written in the wake of her house being robbed.

Samuel D. Hunter is a playwright best-known for THE WHALE, which he adapted for the film, directed by Darren Aronsky, for which Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor.

His New York Drama Critics' Award winning play A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD, opens September 5th at the Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles. The play is set in a cubicle in which two people are seated: Keith is a mortgage broker, and Ryan is a yogurt plant worker seeking to buy a plot of land that many decades ago belonged to his family.

My guest is Lee C. Camp, the host of the NPR show NO SMALL ENDEAVOR, which explores what it means to live a good life. Before the break, Lee described his childhood Christian community, the Church of Christ. Despite that church’s founding principle being unity with other Christians, Lee absorbed many doctrines that left him with what he calls “theological baggage.”

Lee also works on another podcast, THE SUBTEXT. Lee’s co-host is Gen Z writer and artist Savannah Locke, Each week, internet expert Savannah reports on pop culture phenomena to ethics professor and theologian Lee, who is almost 30 years her senior and doesn’t own a cell phone. And, somehow, on each episode, they make their way to “the intersection of faith and culture.

ESPN Senior Writer Tom Junod, who has contributed to G.Q., Esquire and The Atlantic. Tom has famously profiled such celebrities as Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Kevin Spacey. In 1996, he wrote the ESQUIRE cover story “Can You Say...Hero?” about PBS host Mr. Rogers, which inspired the 2019 film A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Tom Hanks played Fred Rogers and WIDOW’S BAY star Mathew Rhys played the Esquire journalist assigned to profile him.

Tom's memoir, IN THE DAYS OF MY YOUTH I WAS TOLD WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MAN, is available from Penguin Random House, and you can find links to Tom's award-winning articles, including “Falling Man,” at The Electric Typewriter at tetw.org/tom_junod.

Adriana Trigiani is a bestselling author, host of the podcast, YOU ARE WHAT YOU READ, and director of several films, including the 2020 rom-com THEN CAME YOU starring Craig Ferguson and Kathy Lee Gifford. She’s also adapted her novels BIG STONE GAP, starring Ashley Judd and, for Lifetime, VERY VALENTINE.

Her new book, THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO, tells of a woman finding her purpose after the death of an uncle, and revealed family secrets, upend her life. Her protagonist, a devout Catholic, finds special solace in the funeral service of her grandmother. That experience parallels Adriana’s own life, after the passing of both of her grandparents, with whom she was very close.

We conclude our miniseries OF GOD AND COUNTRY with professor of Religion and the Arts at Belmont University and author of WE BECOME WHAT WE NORMALIZE: Dr. David Dark. His books include EVERYDAY APOCALYPSE: THE SACRED REVEALED IN RADIOHEAD, THE SIMPSONS, AND OTHER POP CULTURE ICONS, and LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO PRETEND YOU’RE NOT RELIGIOUS.

His latest book, WE BECOME WHAT WE NORMALIZE: WHAT WE OWE EACH OTHER IN WORLDS THAT DEMAND OUR SILENCE, is available in audio and hard-cover from Broadleaf Books, and his “Dark Matters” Substack is at daviddark.substack.com.

Charlie Sykes is a rarity: Decent, Wisconsin-nice, smiling, gracious, man of integrity in an often transactional profession. He was raised in a liberal, non-religious household, but became a Catholic and a Republican. He's still a Catholic, but no longer a Republican, though still a conservative. A journalist and radio host in Wisconsin for 40 years, and the bestselling author of nine books including 2017’s HOW THE RIGHT LOST ITS MIND. In 2019, Charlie co-founded The Bulwark news site, with the motto “Country Over Party.” He hosted its flagship podcast until, in 2025, he started his own substack newsletter, TO THE CONTRARY, with the motto “You are not the crazy ones.” On it, Charlie publishes solo commentaries and interviews politicos and journalists.

As part of our miniseries OF GOD AND COUNTRY, we speak with author, podcaster and journalist for THE ATLANTIC, David Frum. David served as a presidential speechwriter for George W. Bush, has authored 10 books, and now hosts THE DAVID FRUM SHOW and writes for The Atlantic. We’re discussing how both America and classic conservative David have shifted since Donald Trump took over the Oval Office in 2017.

We also discuss where the American experiment goes from here, whether Americans still value dignity from their elected leaders, and how David’s childhood in 1960’s Canada shaped his understanding of global politics.