Can Gen Z be effectively evangelized through social media, religious apps, and digital media? In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Liberty reacts to a recent article by Gen Z writer Freya India on “The Commodification of Christianity.”
When using digital tools like short-form videos and apps to reach young adults, Christians should be mindful of how those mediums might be changing the message—and how those on the receiving ends of evangelistic efforts are being formed.
In the end, where’s the line between planting a seed to draw someone from social media into a physical church…and planting an obstacle to them ever leaving the internet?
Comment below with your thoughts on this important topic.
Why aren’t people talking with their neighbors anymore? In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Liberty breaks down the reasons for dwindling neighbor connections drawing on research from the American Enterprise Institute. She talks about…
Which age groups interact with neighbors more often
How different groups of Americans define being a good neighbor
And how religious involvement affects someone’s understanding and practice of neighborliness.
If you want to grow your social skills or challenge yourself to interact with neighbors more often, check out the resources below.
Strangers Next Door: The Decline of Neighborhood Socializing and the Class Divide in Belonging (AEI)
The latest World Happiness Report reveals that English-speaking countries are the unhappiest, and sociologist Arthur Brooks theorizes that a major cause for this is the Anglosphere’s social media usage. According to Brooks, hours spent on social media is only part of the explanation.
In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Liberty breaks down Brooks’s hypotheses and observes other recent research and cultural trends to help us understand why the way we use social media matters for our mental health.
A Conversation on Gen Z, Mental Health, and Spirituality with Garryt Bryant
Surveys show that Gen Z is spiritual. One study found that teens today are very interested in learning more about Jesus. And yet research also shows that young people frequently struggle with anxiety, depression, and even loneliness. Is prayer the answer?
In this week’s episode, Garryt Bryant, a youth leader and pray coordinator for his church, talks about prayer. Garryt shares his own experience with mental health struggles and loneliness, and what helped him heal. He also gives practical tips for how to pray, including suggested passages of the Bible to study for anyone who wants to grow in their spiritual journey.
Garryt also shares about a movement he’s a part of, Prayer at the Heart, which is aimed at helping people around the nation engage in prayer.
The man behind the robot vacuum has developed something new—”The Familiar,” an AI-powered robot “pet” designed to bond with its owner.
While the product itself is interesting or weird, depending on how you look at it, its existence highlights deeper issues in American society today, including…
The growing loneliness problem
Falling fertility rates and an aging society
The lie that autonomy leads to fulfillment
And more.
Listen to understand how we should think about many of the new AI products being pushed on everyday people and how we can build a society where AI friends, companions, and “familiars” aren’t needed.
More Resources:
The Roomba Guy’s Second Act: A Robot You’ll Want to Snuggle
A recent survey said that 60% of Gen Zers and 50% of Millennials cut someone out of their life in the last year. In the reasons given, many survey respondents listed reasons that had to do with conflict and disagreement.
At the same time, young adults report the highest rates of loneliness and poor mental health.
If we’re cutting out the people who stress us out, shouldn’t our mental health improve?
Liberty argues that young adults were raised in environments that eliminated friction, and that this has harmed expectations about conflict in relationships, and is harming young people today by isolating them from the people they need.
Is the American Dream dead for Millennials and Gen Z? Is there a version of traditional success that’s still attainable? How are young adults redefining their life dreams in the face of economic instability and loss of trust in institutions?
This week on the Know Why Podcast, Cole Douglas Claybourn and Liberty discuss all this and more. A journalist and former English teacher, Cole talks about fighting back against the lies we are prone to believe on his Substack blog “The Road Home” and on his In No Hurry podcast.
Both Millennials with similar backgrounds, Cole and Liberty break down why the traditional American Dream isn’t panning out for many young adults who are still struggling to pay off college loans, buy a house, and start a family.
They also contrast the expectations Millennials and Gen Z grew up with—change the world, go far in life, do great things—with the realities of what makes life more fulfilling, like local connection and a slower pace of living.
In short: Millennials and Gen Z are steeped in what feels like a never-ending hustle culture due to economic pressures and a cultural obsession with productivity. And it’s negatively affecting everything from our diets to our creativity to our families.
If you’re a young adult wondering if you’re the only one struggling to feel successful in life, or if you’re a listener who wants to better understand the challenges facing Millennials and Gen Z, this episode is for you.
First Lady Melania Trump recently asked Americans to imagine a humanoid robot tutor named “Plato.” Meanwhile, many schools are already incorporating AI into the classroom, in some cases eliminating human teachers altogether. Can AI help solve America’s education problems? Or should we draw a line and protect the classroom from AI encroachment?
In this episode, Liberty offers three reasons why AI doesn’t belong in education. First, from a Christian perspective, education is discipleship, and AI can’t disciple. Second, education requires relationship, which research confirms, and AI can’t truly relate. Third, studies are already showing evidence of cognitive decline in AI users, and education technology has, in general, been a large failure.
Learn more about these arguments in the full episode, where Liberty also shares some practical tips for parents to make sure their kids are truly learning to think in the age of AI. Dig in deeper by checking out the resources below, cited in the episode.
More Resources:
Ed Tech is Profitable. It is Also Mostly Useless. (The Economist) https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/22/ed-tech-is-profitable-it-is-also-mostly-useless?utm_campaign=shared_article
James Talarico is a Texas State Representative and senatorial primary candidate, a Democrat, and a Christian. In recent viral podcast interviews with both Joe Rogan and The New York Times’ Ezra Klein, Mr. Talarico sparked some controversy with his claims about religion, Jesus, and the nature of truth.
Mr. Talarico’s comments garnered attention in part because he has made his Christian faith a large part of his progressive political platform. But they’re worth examining, because his comments touch on sincere questions that many people have about faith in general and Christianity in particular.
For instance… Is ultimate truth a mystery, or can it be known? Are all religions ultimately pointing to the same universal truth, just (to use Mr. Talarico’s metaphor) in different languages? What’s most important to understand about Jesus? And what is the point of religion, anyway? Is it to understand the story of reality—or to understand the story within ourselves?
Atheist-turned-Christian apologist Jon Noyes joins the Know Why Podcast to examine these questions closely and reveal that ultimate truth can be known, and share why finding it matters.
Young men are craving mentors. But in an era of AI companions, social isolation, and for many, an uncertain economic future, finding the kind of guidance and support a mentor provides can be a challenge.
That’s where CBMC comes in. Christian Business Men’s Connection was founded during the Great Depression, another time period that found many men struggling with disenfranchisement, discouragement, and a lack of direction.
In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, CBMC Director of Programs Matt Trayler talks about…
The problems facing many young men today
Why men need community
Why spiritual mentorship matters
Practical tips for finding connection as a mentor or mentee
And more.
Listen and check out the free programs and resources at the link below, or share them with a man in your life.
