Willie Handler has reinvented himself on several occasions throughout his work career. He has been a hospital administrator, a government policy manager, an insurance expert, and consultant. Following his retirement from the government, Willie began a writing career. He has published three fiction novels over the past few years. His latest book is a memoir focusing on growing up as a child of Holocaust survivors.Willie is active in Toronto’s Holocaust second generation and third generation survivor community, participating in educational programs, commemorative events, and group discussions. He is also a volunteer at the Toronto Holocaust Museum, where he assists students and visitors as they make their way through the museum’s gallery. Willie has spoken online and at in-person events on the Holocaust, antisemitism, trauma and his family’s history.He is currently working on a book dealing with intergenerational generational trauma in descendants of Holocaust survivors and have interviewed over 100 descendants.

When Kathleen Johnson’s life fell apart, she didn’t set out to become “Scripture Girl.” She was a woman searching for peace, holding on to faith through divorce, fear, and a diagnosis that left doctors without answers. But when healing came — spirit, soul, and body — so did a new purpose: to show others that the same Spirit who heals also sends.In this conversation with Wade Franson, Kathleen shares her journey from pain to restoration and the message behind her book Healed to Heal. Together they explore the transforming power of surrender, the discipline of Scripture, and what it means to live by the Spirit in a world driven by fear.It’s a testimony of grace, boldness, and the freedom that comes when healing becomes more than a miracle — it becomes a mission.

The original gospel proclamation that the Lord of the nations was a crucified Galilean raised from the dead and that salvation was found in vowing allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth unleashed a shock wave that turned the Roman Empire upside down. Early Christianity was subversive and dangerous—dangerous for Christians and a threat to the keepers of the old order. Most of all, Christianity was countercultural. But what about contemporary American Christianity? Is it the countercultural way of Jesus or merely a religious endorsement of Americanism? In his provocative book, Postcards From Babylon, Brian Zahnd challenges the reader to see and embrace a daring Jesus-centered Christianity that can turn the world upside down again.

Sylvain Horwood, natural health advocate and founder of PURU, joins Wade Franson for a radiant conversation about light — the kind that sustains our biology and awakens our spirit. Through a lifetime of curiosity and research into the relationship between sunlight and human wellbeing, Sylvain has seen the sun as medicine and metaphor — a bridge between the physical and the divine. In this episode, he shares how aligning with the sun’s natural rhythm can restore balance to our health and open a deeper awareness of the creative force behind it all. Together, Wade and Sylvain explore how modern disconnection from nature affects our physical vitality and sense of meaning. Their discussion moves fluidly between science and spirituality, revealing how the energy that sustains life may also illuminate the image of God within us.

David Zahl, founder of Mockingbird Ministries and author of Low Anthropology and Seculosity, joins Wade Franson for a rich conversation on faith, culture, and the power of grace. Drawing from years of work translating theology into everyday language, David shares how Mockingbird’s message — that God’s love is for the real, the flawed, and the weary — continues to resonate in a culture driven by achievement and self-definition. Together, Wade and David explore what it means to proclaim good news in an age that doesn’t think it needs saving, how “low anthropology” opens the door to deeper compassion, and why grace is the most radical message of all.

In Sacred, Not Sinful, Dr. Lyman A. Montgomery provides a bold, biblical, and balanced exploration of the tension between Greek life and Christian discipleship. Drawing on scripture, cultural history, and personal testimony, his book offers clarity, not condemnation, showing believers how heritage can be redeemed, traditions re-examined, and identity rooted firmly in Christ.

Where religion and reporting meet, the stakes are high, and the stories are deeply human. Writer and scholar Mark Oppenheimer joins Created in the Image of God to reflect on a life spent at the intersection of belief, culture, and public conversation. Known for his work with The New York Times, This American Life, and the groundbreaking Unorthodox podcast, Oppenheimer brings wit and candor to how faith traditions—his own Jewish background among them—can enrich our collective dialogue rather than divide it. Together, we explore what moral imagination journalism requires, how spiritual humility can coexist with critical inquiry, and why telling the truth about who we are remains one of the most sacred acts in a pluralistic world.

Philosopher and educator Joe Atman approaches the Book of Genesis as a universal and familiar entry point for rethinking how humanity learns—and why we so often mistake information for understanding. Rather than treating Genesis as theology, he interprets it as a map of consciousness: a story of curiosity, judgment, and rediscovery that mirrors our intellectual and moral evolution. Drawing on his experience at Middle Tree, where reimagining education means restoring wonder to the learning process itself, Atman explores how true learning begins with humility—and how the human mind must continually be re-educated to perceive meaning beyond its own assumptions. This conversation moves between philosophy, discovery, and the renewal of learning itself—a journey back to the source, where creation and education meet.