From Fringe to Front Page: Why Nick Fuentes Is at the Top of Your Feed. Again.
When a 27-year-old streamer outruns the Church and spooks the political class, it’s worth asking how we got here.
Nick Fuentes was supposed to be a fringe character—the kind of online provocateur national leaders could shrug off with “I don’t really know him.” But after a sympathetic Tucker Carlson interview and a wave of explosive backlash, Fuentes is suddenly unavoidable. He’s amassed a massive following of young men who see his Catholic branding as a moral compass, even as he pushes openly antisemitic, racist, and authoritarian views. And institutions—from the Heritage Foundation to the U.S. Catholic hierarchy—are scrambling to respond. In this episode, RNS reporter Fiona Murphy walks us through what’s actually happening: the Groyper movement, the collapse of traditional religious authority online, and why a livestreamer can now speak more directly, and more powerfully, than the Church itself. It’s a revealing look at faith, digital culture, and the new politics shaping a generation.
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From Pink to Waterproof: The Weird Economics of U.S. Bible Sales
A paradox: declining churchgoing, rising Bible sales.
Americans are attending church less—and buying more Bibles than ever. In this Complexified conversation, Amanda Henderson and RNS reporter Bob Smietana unpack the paradox: a two-decade boom in Bible sales alongside sinking religiosity. They trace how hyper-personalized editions (pink gift Bibles, “adventure” and environmental Bibles, even waterproof ones) meet life stages and rituals; why translation choices and shifting English keep spawning new versions; and how politics keeps creeping in—from school-gate Gideons and translation fights to specialty “commemorative” editions. We get inside baseball on supply chains (thin paper, specialized presses, China printing), the print-vs-app tug-of-war, and the curious spikes tied to public events. It’s a tour of the market where scripture is both sacred text and consumer good—and what that says about American Christianity right now.
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Beyond Identity Politics: The Mamdani Method in New York
What happens when a Muslim mayor-elect treats identity as a bridge, not a brand?
In this episode of Complexified, Amanda Henderson explores the story of Zoran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor-elect—a politician who turned identity into empathy and faith into fluency. RNS reporters Fiona André and Ulaa Kuziez join to unpack how Mamdani built a multifaith, multiethnic coalition that stretched from mosques to churches to fried chicken shops across Queens. They trace how his campaign refused to hide his Muslim identity but refused to be defined by it, focusing instead on rent, childcare, and transit—the everyday issues that knit a city together. Along the way, they examine how Mamdani faced Islamophobia head-on, speaking plainly about belonging, and why his victory feels like a new chapter in American politics—one grounded less in performance and more in trust.
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Chainsaws, Catechism, and Courage: How One Parish Grew Through Crisis
In a dusty parking lot, worship meets organizing as a community faces ICE—and refuses to disappear.
In Vista, California, a Catholic parish that worships outdoors has become a refuge and a rallying point: 13,000 people on a weekend, 900 volunteers, a crucifix chainsaw-carved by parishioners, and a pastor urging his flock to show up when it counts. Religion News Service reporter Aleja Hertzler-McCain takes us there: to St. Francis festivities packed into a too-small sanctuary, catechism teachers calling families one by one, and a congregation navigating grief after COVID while confronting deportations, raids, and fear. We hear how parish leaders organize listening sessions, set up safety patrols, and fill City Hall to push policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement—even as needs outstrip Sunday collections. It’s faith as survival and solidarity, born in a parking lot and carried into public life. If you’ve wondered what “church” looks like in this political moment, this episode offers a grounded, hopeful answer.
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Televangelists to Deepfakes: Who Defines the Sacred in the Age of AI? + John Fugelsang
When outrage wins the algorithm, what does faith become?
This live conversation from the RNS Symposium at Trinity Commons wrestles with a bracing question: when faith, power, and platform collapse into the same feed, who gets to define what’s sacred? Host Amanda Henderson and guest John Fuglesang trace a line from open-source scripture to televangelist TV to AI resurrecting voices, exploring how media mirrors our clicks—and how those clicks shape the moral imagination we live in. They name the seduction of outrage, the costs of fundamentalism, and a red-letter way forward grounded in humility, service, and care for “the least of these.” Warm, wise, and a little irreverent, this episode invites us to be more mindful about what we amplify and why it matters now.
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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.
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