//podcastplus.net/feed/podcast~241709b7e8ae9a1c9b81d0c72277f4dc7ddc15ab70cf437034e10b9cbf058861 For too long we have avoided talking about religion and politics. But the truth is, religion and politics are about daily life. When we avoid the hard topics connected to religion and politics, we become stuck in the status quo. On Complexified we dive into the places where religion and politics collide with real-life, so we can get unstuck- so we can make real change. We dive into our most entrenched problems to better understand the hidden histories and experiences of real people on the front lines. We look at the ways religion has shaped our systems - and the ways we see ourselves and others– from there, we work together to imagine new paths forward. Sun, 19 Apr 2026 08:26:41 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/ae5898e3-e3e0-47ce-acd9-9c41a64dfdcd/audio/f2f3e784-b732-4ca8-a094-221c9d21abb5/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 In this episode, recorded before the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the devastating response by the Israeli Military in Gaza, Colorado State Representative Iman Jodeh shares her family story of leaving Palestine in the late 1960s seeking refuge from daily discrimination and violence. Making a way meant teaching Americans about Islam and building bridges of understanding and awareness. Rep. Jodeh shares how the legacy of her parents inspires her to serve as a State Legislator and ensure future generations know the power they hold to shape their future.   Guest Bio & links Representative Iman Jodeh is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 41st district. Elected in 2020, she is the first Muslim elected to the legislature and assumed office on January 13, 2021.   Want to Learn More? History of Palestine: https://www.un.org/unispal/history/ Israel Gaza Conflict Timeline by the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/202... Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:32:16 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/ae5898e3-e3e0-47ce-acd9-9c41a64dfdcd/audio/f2f3e784-b732-4ca8-a094-221c9d21abb5/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/798674c9-42f4-4d74-b02c-13d7dc70b333/audio/f3356b8c-056a-4190-bd1c-cbc43a794fb8/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 In this episode, recorded before the attacks by Hamas on Israel and the devastating response by the Israeli Military in Gaza, Rabbi Joe, from Temple Emanuel in Denver, Colorado, shares his family story. His father’s family fled persecution in the late 19th century to find safety in the U.S.  After the terror of Kristallnacht, the night of the broken glass, his mother’s family fled to the U.S. Rabbi Joe shares how the legacy of seeking refuge and ensuring ‘never-again’ lives in him. You don’t want to miss Rabbi Joe’s song for his mother at the end of the episode, Salty Taste of Tears.    Guest Bio & links Rabbi Black has been the Senior Rabbi of Temple Emanuel since 2010, previously serving as rabbi of Congregation Albert in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1996-2010. He served as Assistant and then Associate Rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1987-1996. He received his Bachelor's degree in Education from Northwestern University in 1982 and his Master's degree and ... Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:30:56 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/798674c9-42f4-4d74-b02c-13d7dc70b333/audio/f3356b8c-056a-4190-bd1c-cbc43a794fb8/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d1f13f39-bd74-47d2-b652-c2014d89c374/audio/91310f1c-39e0-4cb9-9449-46a197360394/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 Why is homeownership such an integral part of the American Dream? Why have some been systematically excluded from homeownership while others have been incentivized and subsidized to own their home? In this episode, Dr. Ben Sanders shares his family story of ownership and belonging from an experience as a Black American, as we continue to peel apart the myth of the American Dream.    Guest Bio  Ben Sanders, Ph.D is the Chief Equity Officer of the City of Denver. He is an Equity Professional/Consultant, Social Ethicist, Theologian, Passionate Servant-Leader, Change-Agent, Community Builder, and a Dad. Ben creates measurable and effective, equity-centered systems, processes, and policies that help companies, communities, and organizations optimize and achieve their missions and goals.   Want to Learn More? NBC News: The American Dream while Black: ‘Locked in a Vicious cycle’: Homeownership is supposed to be the gateway to the American dream. Black Americans have been denied ac... Thu, 26 Oct 2023 16:22:42 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d1f13f39-bd74-47d2-b652-c2014d89c374/audio/91310f1c-39e0-4cb9-9449-46a197360394/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/e7dd95d8-7a70-40ad-9b1a-26b2e3208058/audio/e3b8192f-36b1-46dd-9a5c-97805ee156f6/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 One afternoon, her clothes, hair, language, name, and even her parents were taken from her.  In this episode, Navajo woman Bessie Smith, who survived the Indian Boarding Schools, shares her story of losing everything and then reclaiming the traditions she learned as a child to find healing.  Join us in this episode as we go to Bessie's home in Denver, Colorado, and hear about the day her parents were forced to hand her over to the U.S. Government. Bessie shares with breathtaking detail, remembering the gravity of all she lost. Listen to the full episode for ways you can learn more, and take action to first listen and feel , and then to heal, together.   Guest Bio Bessie Smith (Dzabahe) was born around January 12th, 1942 and raised on the Diné  reservation, halfway between Leupp and Tuba City, Arizona.  She was born into Hashkáán Hadzohí  (yucca fruit plant) clan, born for Bįįhbitodní clan (deer water), and paternal grandfather of Kiyáání (tower house people) clan, and materna... Thu, 19 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/e7dd95d8-7a70-40ad-9b1a-26b2e3208058/audio/e3b8192f-36b1-46dd-9a5c-97805ee156f6/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d482cc81-6135-4e57-9d1d-0b5354660bc4/audio/860302c5-185d-4a10-8ab1-aaa97fcad57e/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 As debates rage in state legislatures and school boards about history curriculums or critical race theory or the impact of slavery, we know that how we imagine our future has everything to do with how we remember our past. In this episode, we begin our series pulling apart the stories we have been told about the American Dream through our own multiple, honest, complicated stories of Dreaming America. We begin with our host, Amanda Henderson’s own family story. Moving West to find a better life, open space, and a land of their own , Amanda’s grandparent’s encountered hardship and built community. Their story mirrors the classic stories we have been told about pioneers and homesteaders, and there was more to that story, and there is more to our story. Begin the journey for the weeks ahead in the American Southwest with the stories we are told before we move further into the many stories we hold.   Resources to learn more: Homestead Act of 1862 - https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documen... Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:33:32 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d482cc81-6135-4e57-9d1d-0b5354660bc4/audio/860302c5-185d-4a10-8ab1-aaa97fcad57e/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/bb806fab-5ed1-46e1-8b85-3ddb5128218f/audio/f56ab0fe-a376-4403-bc3c-c8b6ed1f0fbf/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 The American Dream… is complicated.  It always has been. For some - this dream has been a nightmare … a mirage in a forsaken desert. A myth. For others, it’s been an oasis from hardship, oppression, violence. … a vision realized through physical freedom and material success. This season on Complexified, we’re asking: Where did the myth of the American dream come from? What’s it got to do with religion and politics? And how is it shaping our lives, for better or worse? Coming to you from the Institute for Religion, Politics & Culture at Iliff School of Theology, I’m your host, Amanda Henderson, back with a new season of Complexified…my show about the powerful ways religion and politics intersect and affect my life. Your life. And all of our lives, together. Each week, I’ll share what I’m learning as we turn the myth of the American Dream into our multiple, honest ways of Dreaming America. Complexified: Dreaming America launches October 5th. Follow and share th... Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/bb806fab-5ed1-46e1-8b85-3ddb5128218f/audio/f56ab0fe-a376-4403-bc3c-c8b6ed1f0fbf/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/9c828d22-7a30-49f5-a49d-3760a91bd1ab/audio/90021b35-7f62-4e07-b662-e9e500891dd0/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1  Denise is an award-winning Latina filmmaker and cultural storyteller. Denise is the American-born daughter of first-generation immigrants from Puerto Rico, growing up first in the Bronx and then in a mostly white community further upstate in New York. She never felt like she belonged anywhere. not white enough and American enough for the suburban community around her. Nor fluent enough in Spanish to feel completely Latina. She was a girl and then a woman who felt out of place. So what did she do? She created a film called,  "Being Enye" . All about that sense of being in between.  Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/9c828d22-7a30-49f5-a49d-3760a91bd1ab/audio/90021b35-7f62-4e07-b662-e9e500891dd0/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d63d4063-8596-493c-9494-0532f4a1e31c/audio/af663548-d693-40dc-99d0-190b8defde60/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 Dr. Butler is the founder of the seekr project , a distinctively black conversational artificial intelligence with mental health capacities, and is partner director of the Iliff School of Theology's   AI Institute , where he works to change how computers see people.  Thu, 16 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/d63d4063-8596-493c-9494-0532f4a1e31c/audio/af663548-d693-40dc-99d0-190b8defde60/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/1bf0dedf-08e9-45e3-bb0c-2ad96e4ae9fc/audio/586d4766-bcf6-40fc-b2aa-98dcf698b3e2/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 Ian is a political strategist, dad, and the first gentleman of the seventh congressional district in Colorado. We discuss the tension between incrementalism and revolutions and how religious ideologies influence our political mindsets. Thu, 02 Mar 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/1bf0dedf-08e9-45e3-bb0c-2ad96e4ae9fc/audio/586d4766-bcf6-40fc-b2aa-98dcf698b3e2/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/54f0d4bc-9186-4ff9-882d-ec6fe68e4ad6/audio/94b9d8c9-cb5f-4b1b-882a-c9c7d91a59ce/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1 Check out Dr. Yetunde's books !  Thu, 16 Feb 2023 15:00:00 +0000 https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/5dba5eb1-e0fc-4b81-8b91-ae81ae8a4b16/episodes/54f0d4bc-9186-4ff9-882d-ec6fe68e4ad6/audio/94b9d8c9-cb5f-4b1b-882a-c9c7d91a59ce/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=bXcWRcM1