The Final Service
Mateo SchimpfThe Final Service
Church membership in the U.S. has fallen off a cliff and pastors across the country are trying to save their congregations from shrinking to zero. Why have so many people left Christianity and can pastors do anything to save their churches from dying?
Church membership in the U.S. has fallen off a cliff and pastors across the country are trying to save their congregations from shrinking to zero. Why have so many people left Christianity and can pastors do anything to save their churches from dying?
The Final Service drops on April 10th.
Jonathan Rauch on the Limits of MAGA and Trump
Ambassador Michael McFaul: Ukrainians May Fight On, Even with a Trump/Putin Deal
Why You’re Probably Not Going to Church this Christmas
Overuse of Antibiotics and the Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance
Denier-in-Chief: The Threat of Trump and RFK, Jr’s Health Policy
Millions of Deportations? Just How Tough Trump Might Get on Immigration
Ian Bremmer on What to Expect from Trump 2.0
Yascha Mounk on How To Save Diverse Democracies
Mike Madrid: Latino Voters and the Working Class ‘Tectonic Shift’
Steve Schmidt: Trump’s Victory is a Disaster for the Democratic Party
What the Hell Just Happened?
Last Look: Can We Trust the Polls?
Kara Swisher’s on Whether We Can Trust Tech Billionaires
Musk is all in on Trump. What About the Rest of Silicon Valley?
Will an “October Surprise” Decide the 2024 Election?
Living in Two Worlds
Which Candidate Does Mexico Favor in November?
SPECIAL LIVE EVENT: Will an “October Surprise” Shake-Up the Race?
A Year After October 7th, Is the Middle East Headed for War?
Is America Exporting Political Violence?
Tom Nichols: Attacking the President Attacks the Nation
Can We Trust the Presidential Polls? A 2024 Election Special
Anne Applebaum on Autocracy in America, and What’s at Stake in November
Can Ukraine Hang On Until November?
If it's ‘America First’, Who is American Enough?
In AI We Trust? A 2024 Election Special
The Healthy Amount of Hooch
New Habits in Our Old Age
Stuart Stevens: The Lincoln Project is Taunting Trump… And So is Kamala Harris
How Cocaine Blew Through the Island of Peace
Can Ecuador Keep its Oil in the Ground?
Biden's Foreign Policy Legacy
Netanyahu's Gambling on Trump
The Elites vs… the Elites?
Biden is Out, Harris is In: How DNC Donors Reset the Race
The IOC and the Authoritarian Elite
The Olympics are Back, But Does Anyone Care?
Why We're Losing Faith in Democracy
Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear Doomsday Scenario
Putin Meets Kim pt. 2: The Pariahs
Putin Meets Kim pt. 1: A Handshake Worth A Thousand Guns?
Is Extremism Going Mainstream in Europe?
Abraham Leno on the Congolese Leading the Way to Economic Security
Congo and the Coup Contagion
Could AI Swing the November Election?
David Brooks on Solving Social Isolation and Fixing Democracy
Secretary Robert Gates on Israel’s Retaliation, and What Biden Does Next
The Death of the “Butcher of Tehran”: What’s Next for Iran and Israel?
2024 Election Special: Isn't There a Better Option?
2024 Election Special: The Place Beyond Two Parties
While in China, Ray Suarez had a front-row seat to draconian lockdowns, the White Paper Protests, and Xi Jinping’s triumphant acceptance of a third term. But a year later, President Xi made his first visit to Europe since before the pandemic, to...
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Abortion advocates have long warned the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade would reverberate across all areas of reproductive health. Two years later, state personhood laws have challenged IVF and birth control… further threatening...
Earlier this year, a grassroots movement emerged in the key battleground state of Michigan calling on Democratic voters to cast “uncommitted votes” in protest of president Joe Biden’s policy towards Israel’s war in Gaza. And in the months...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's staunch opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza — and a future Palestinian state — is putting President Joe Biden in a vulnerable position at home. And as the 2024 election quickly approaches, it’s becoming...
The US has once again ignored the United Nations’ annual resolution calling for an end to its decades-long embargo on Cuba, even as Cubans took to the streets to protest the island nation’s worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food...
Cuba is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, and shortages of food, fuel, medicine — and opportunity — have fueled a record-breaking surge of Cuban immigrants at America’s borders. But the US shows no signs of changing its policy towards...
Mass death and disappearances have become normalized on Europe’s borders. Back in 2015, when more than a million refugees turned up on Europe’s doorstep to request asylum, the European Union cut deals with North African and Middle Eastern nations...
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced millions to flee their homes. And for the Ukrainian civilians caught in the crossfire, war has become a way of life. This week, we talked to Ukrainians about the ways that the war...
Shortly before the end of his term in 2022, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged to end gender-based violence in his country by 2026. With two years left before the deadline, is Kenya still on track to fulfill the promises made to Kenyan...
To leaders in Silicon Valley, artificial intelligence is just the latest innovation in a never-ending “make our lives better.” But can we trust them with our data… and our lives… if they can’t be held accountable? Journalist Kara...
Most Americans are far more focused on “pocketbook issues” – like stretching an ever-inflating dollar – than what the country does overseas in their name. But this election cycle, calls for additional aid for overseas wars has put foreign...
Saturday marks the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And while foreign support may be dwindling, Ukrainian determination to win the war is not. But what’s at stake when war no longer feels like an emergency… but a...
Vladimir Putin set the world on edge when Russia invaded Ukraine. Two years later, international support for Ukraine’s sovereignty is becoming more precarious, and war weariness amongst the resistance — and their allies— has begun to set...
On February 16, 2024, the Russian prison service reported that Alexei Navalny had died, and offered no further explanation. The cause of death hasn’t yet been reported, but since the news broke, world leaders have started speaking out...
Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as Israel continues its massive retaliation against Hamas. And as violence spreads to Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, America’s global standing is taking a hit. Ray Suarez sits down with , Iran...
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established to aid Palestinian refugees, but it has become yet another flashpoint in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel has accused 12 out of the 13,000 UNRWA employees of...
Immigration has emerged as a major voter concern in the 2024 elections, and the challenge of securing America’s Southern border is once again a political flashpoint. But while the US debates immigration reform, tens of thousands of migrants have...
Immigrants in California are generally protected from federal deportation under sanctuary and safe haven laws, unless they've been incarcerated. And in 2022, after serving 25 years for murder, San Quentin State Prison parolee Phoeun You was turned...
Americans — from the largest urban centers to the smallest rural towns — are deeply pessimistic about the state of the nation. And on both sides of the political aisle, there seems to be a disconnect between what people want… and where they feel...
Elon Musk’s leadership at “X” (formerly Twitter) has been messy, and his disregard for user safeguards is part of a troubling trend in Silicon Valley. Revisiting the conversation from 2023, Ray Suarez sits down with NYU professor to explore how...
The 2024 US election season is officially underway, and experts are already bracing for the array of threats to free and fair elections that were made all too real the last time Americans elected a president. And this time, many are concerned that...
From accidental collateral damage deaths to targeted murders by the people in charge who don’t want them telling the truth, an unprecedented number of journalists are being killed while reporting. So what motivates reporters to keep filing stories...
Reporting in war zones is an inherently dangerous job. Last year, 95 international media workers were killed while reporting, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. And as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza drag on, 2024 may be just as deadly....
Hate crimes, gun violence, political polarization…. to New York Times’ columnist David Brooks, these are signs that America is undergoing a new epidemic: social isolation. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “How To Know A Person: The...
While many Baby Boomers have already left the workforce behind, almost half are considering coming out of retirement in search of a new purpose in life. Leading sociologist and business economist Mauro Guillén joins Ray Suarez to explain why the days...
Christmas is here, but for many Christians around the world, war has cast a shadow over this year’s festivities. To break with Russian orthodoxy and influence, Ukraine will officially observe Christmas on December 25, even as the terror of...
From Putin’s costly war in Ukraine, to simmering tensions between the US and China, and renewed violence in the Middle East, this week, we’re looking back at the international news stories that defined 2023. Professor Jessica Chen Weiss, senior...
As the war on Gaza continues with no end in sight, two peace activists – one Palestinian and one Israeli – are already charting a non-violent path forward. Ray Suarez sits down with Luxembourg Peace Prize laureates, , founding leader of the ...
The , organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, was the first of its kind to feature Indigenous perspectives on what a ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuels should look like. , Chairman of Moriori Imi Settlement Trust, and , Director of...
What does a ‘just’ transition away from fossil fuels actually mean for Indigenous communities? At the , organized by the Commonwealth Club World Affairs, Ray Suarez sat down with , a renewable energy expert and Mi’kmaq descendant. They...
It’s been 78 years since a nuclear weapon was last used in war. Since then, the number of countries with a nuclear arsenal has increased from one… to nine. For the US government, two of the greatest nuclear threats are China and Russia – two...
Former president Dwight Eisenhower described nuclear war as “unwinnable, unsurvivable and unthinkable.” But what changes when the use of a nuclear weapon now seems thinkable, and maybe… inevitable? Ray Suarez sits down with Shannon...
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who died in 2018, was one of the most famous diplomats of his time. In today’s episode, we're sharing an Foreign Policy Magazine's about Annan’s mediation of a Kenyan political crisis in 2008—which...
During APEC, President Xi Jinping reminded world leaders that China is “open for business.” So what does the next era of US-China relations look like? Ivan Kanapathy, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, joins...
While the past year has seen major gains for LGBT+ rights, politicians around the world are increasingly using the community as scapegoats. Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality, joins Ray Suarez to explain how a transnational...
This year, Uganda enacted one of the harshest anti-LGBT+ laws in the world, making homosexuality punishable by death. Ugandan Human Rights activist Dr. Frank Mugisha joins Ray Suarez to share how American Christian evangelicals radicalized the East...
Can economic power-brokering overcome decades of repression and human rights abuses? Karen Elliott House has covered Saudi Arabia for over four decades, and the Pulitzer-Prize reporter joins Ray Suarez to share her take on Crown Prince Mohammed Bin...
Saudi Arabia has embarked on a bold vision of innovation, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated aims for a long war on Gaza could interrupt Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s plans. NPR International Correspondent Aya Batrawy joins Ray...
By 2030, around 600 million people will be struggling with extreme poverty. And the effects of climate change will only exacerbate the problem. Jorge Familiar joins Ray Suarez to share how the World Bank has revised its mission to tackle the twin...
What do you need to know about wealth to understand structural inequality in America? Becoming wealthy is getting harder with each generation, and the biggest predictor of whether you’ll achieve it isn’t your class… but your race. Ray Suarez...
Thousands have been killed in the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, and a ground invasion into Gaza appears imminent. Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates predicts how war could ripple through the Middle East. Guest: , former...
On October 7, Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist terrorist group, broke through the high-tech security barrier which divides Israel from the Gaza Strip, and launched a coordinated surprise attack on neighboring Israeli military targets and communities....
While many Baby Boomers have already left the workforce behind, almost half are considering coming out of retirement in search of a new purpose in life. Leading sociologist and business economist Mauro Guillén joins Ray Suarez to explain why the days...
How does Russia benefit from conflict in the Caucasus? And what role can the media play in building bridges of understanding? In this episode, we revisit our conversations with Russian-American journalist Simon Ostrovsky and independent Azeri...
In late September, Azerbaijan wiped out the self-proclaimed, ethnically Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. The attacks prompted Armenia to finally join the International Criminal Court—despite warnings from Russia. Ray Suarez speaks with...
The United Kingdom recently passed a law which grants immunity for the violence of The Troubles – adding another wrinkle to the ongoing Brexit saga. Jude Webber, Ireland correspondent for The Financial Times, joins Ray Suarez to unpack how the...
April marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, bringing to an end decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” But the chaotic implementation of Brexit and a new Northern Ireland Troubles “reconciliation” law from the UK are...
If military cooperation with North Korea is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions, why would Russia do it so publicly? And what’s in it for the Hermit Kingdom? Andrei Lankov, Director at NK News, joins Ray Suarez to explain why Kim Jong Un...
Russia is firing off more artillery shells than they can produce at home, forcing the Kremlin to shop around for a new supplier. Ray Suarez speaks with New York Times’ national security reporter Julian Barnes about Russia’s alleged arms deal with...
As many as 150,000 US auto workers have walked out in a historic strike against the Big Three Automakers. In this special rerun episode, Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press, joins Ray Suarez to break down why electric...
In 2023, the rapid pace of innovation in Silicon Valley is making it increasingly challenging for our global partners to keep up. Ray Suarez speaks with Gerard de Graaf, Senior Envoy for Digital to the US, about strengthening US-EU cooperation on...
Is West Africa going to war over Niger? And is the Niger coup part of a wider decline in French colonial influence – and growing Russian and Chinese interest – in the region? Ray Suarez sits down with security analyst Fola Aina and journalist...
What will happen to Wagner without Prigozhin? And can Russia continue to isolate itself from the economic chaos its war has created? Ray Suarez speaks with Catherine Belton, The Washington Post’s Russia reporter, about the mercenary organization’s...
On August 23rd, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a mysterious plane crash just 60 days after his mercenary group Wagner led a failed coup attempt that Russian president Vladimir Putin called “treasonous.” Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum...
The aftermath of the Chinese surveillance balloon saga reveals a growing diplomatic divide between the US and China. Where does this mistrust come from? In “Wealth and Power,” authors Orville Schell and John Delury argue that foreign...
Groups like the Reichsbürger and Sovereign Citizens are not new, but the ways in which they radicalize each other on the Internet are. Ray Suarez and journalist Julia Ebner explore how once-fringe movements like QAnon are popping up in European...
When former President Trump incited his followers to storm the US Capitol, he punctured a 220-year-old tradition in the US. And from the looks of things, the country is headed for another contentious election in 2024. Ray Suarez and New York Times...
Asian carmakers have pulled ahead in the race for EV innovation, leaving the US in their rearview mirrors. International auto journalist Hans Greimel joins Ray Suarez to break down how Asian countries are tackling the transition, and what the future...
President Biden’s bold energy future features significant investment in electric vehicles, but the United Auto Workers are pumping the breaks. Mark Phelan, auto writer and columnist for the Detroit Free Press, joins Ray Suarez to break down why the...
Elon Musk’s leadership at “X” (formerly Twitter) has been messy, and his disregard for user safeguards is part of a troubling trend in Silicon Valley. Ray Suarez sits down with NYU professor to explore how Silicon Valley’s profit-chasing –...
With a few keystrokes, users across the world can find virtually anything online. But at what cost? Alexa Koenig and Andrea Lampros join Ray Suarez to break down how everyday exposure to trauma is affecting social media users worldwide, and to...
In June, retired joined the speaker series, where he offered insights on how small nations can contend with formidable superpowers, and how President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scored the role of a lifetime. Guest: , Former CIA Director and ...
After 20 years of “forever wars,” the American contest for influence and control in the Middle East hasn’t stopped. But now the US has company, and the countries in the region have options. Mara Rudman, Executive Vice President for Policy at the...
At the 2023 APEC Forum in Detroit, Malaysian Deputy Minister tells Ray Suarez how spaces like APEC are key to balancing relationships with competing superpowers. Then, Deputy Secretary shares how the demand for traditional Kiwi exports has kept...
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai played host to the APEC Forum in Detroit, where she balanced American interests, international trade agreements and ongoing rivalries with China. Ambassador Tai joined Ray Suarez to speak about how that meeting...
Researcher Christopher Reddy has watched in despair as public confidence in science has plummeted. He joins Ray Suarez to discuss his new book, “,” and why scientists may be part of the problem in science denialism. Guest: , Senior...
In his new book, “,” nature writer David Gessner grapples with communicating about climate change with the next generation. David and his daughter, Hadley, join Ray Suarez to have that conversation, and to spur all of us “hypocrites” who drive...
Screenwriter Noah Pink tells Ray Suarez how he discovered the true story behind “,” from the Cold War race to secure the rights to the classic video game to its escape from the former Soviet Union. Guest: , “Tetris” screenwriter ...
Putin may have won the “battle” against Wagner’s Yevgeny Prigozhin, but he’s losing the meme war. Ray speaks with Jen Kirby, foreign and national security reporter, about fact verification and conflict reporting amidst state propaganda and...
Peace is a process, not an outcome. And in the case of Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s meddling in the country’s civil war has prevented peace for almost a decade. Ray Suarez speaks with , Peace Advocate with the , about what a deal between Saudi Arabia and...
Can a single gathering of world leaders really pull billions of people out of poverty? , Deputy Chief of Staff and Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation, joined Ray Suarez days before the in Paris to share how international financial...
Conspiracy communities that once promoted QAnon and anti-vaccine theories have now sunk their teeth into an even tastier morsel: our food supply chain. Laicie Heeley, Executive Producer and Host of “,” joins Ray Suarez to break down how cracks in...
Concerns about a 'global elite' exerting control over demographic shifts and our food choices have hit the mainstream, and they are feeding anxieties. Ray Suarez speaks with French legal scholar about the "great replacement theory", and what it takes...
The 1998-1999 war in Kosovo may have ended the fighting between Serbs and Albanian Kosovars, but it didn’t end the conflict. Anatol Lieven, journalist and Eurasian Program Director at the , joins Ray Suarez to explain why ethnic tensions are once...
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s all-powerful leader of 20 years, was recently re-elected, raising serious questions about the state of Turkey’s democracy. Is Erdoğan trying to rebuild the Ottoman Empire? And is his republic Russia’s...
For decades, Georgia has tried to extricate itself from Russia's shadow. But with the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees and anti-war Russians and the rise of Georgia’s Dream Party, the former Soviet state is once again walking a political...
“How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?” asked retired Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, in her testimony during the first impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump in 2019. In her...
The innovative concept of a “15-Minute City” holds the potential to address many urbanization challenges. But it hasn’t been without its critics. Ray Suarez and ‘CityNerd’ creator Ray Delahanty, delve into the eccentric conspiracy theories...
Derailed trains, collapsed bridges and an unreliable power grid point to America’s growing infrastructure problem. And though President Biden campaigned on “building back better,” these issues have taken a back seat to political gridlock—at...
The hard truth is that whenever tensions escalate between the US and Asian nations overseas, Asian Americans bear the brunt of that anger at home. In this episode, we revisit the story of Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-American scientist who was falsely...
For decades, Asian-Americans have been the least likely racial minority to hold political office, accounting for less than 1% of elected leaders. But a new generation of Asian American leaders is changing the tide. In this episode, World Affairs...
Aarthi Shahani, author of the memoir Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, joins Ray Suarez to discuss her family’s painful path to citizenship, and why it’s time to change the immigration narrative in America. Guest:...
Everybody knows the immigration system is broken. So what are policy makers doing to fix it? And with the end of Title 42 – a pandemic-era order to deny asylum at the US-Mexico border – Biden’s immigration policy will face new...
In an era where changing social norms and labor-market shifts are pushing men to the sidelines, can a crisis of masculinity explain why men are falling behind? Idrees Kahloon, author of “What’s The Matter With Men?,” joins Ray Suarez to explain...
Despite being found liable for sexual abuse, many commentators wonder if the E. Jean Carroll verdict will burden — or boost— Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. The rise of strongman rhetoric and polarizing gender politics is fueling a...
Distrust in official election results isn’t a new trend in Nigerian politics, but the explosion of mis- and disinformation across social media platforms ahead of the country’s 2023 presidential elections made it even harder for Nigerian voters to...
Despite being the first president—former or sitting—to be indicted for a crime, Donald Trump remains the front-running candidate for the GOP nomination. If the and allegations of assault and defamation aren’t enough to deter diehard MAGA fans,...
Media is being challenged as audience consumption trends continue to change, and journalists are facing violence and imprisonment in the field. What do these threats mean for the future of journalism? Ray Suarez sits down with Mark Goldberg, host of...
Recently, media organizations have laid off thousands of journalists, and in March, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s federal security services under suspicion of espionage. It’s clear that international...
The Chinese balloon’s voyage over American skies has escalated concerns about foreign land ownership in the US. Lawmakers in roughly 11 states — from Arizona, to Montana, to Texas — are up in arms about Chinese ownership of American farmland....
The Chinese Communist Party has made reunification with Taiwan one of its main political goals, and it has threatened to take the island by military force. Meanwhile, President Biden has reiterated unequivocal support for Taiwan’s security. Dr. Joel...
As Arizona grapples with looming cuts to its allocation of Colorado River water, the arid state is taking a hard look at how its groundwater is used and who has access to it. Dr. Natailie Koch, author of “Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona...
EP2. Little Lithuania
April 17, 202532min
Christian Allyn is proud to be Lithuanian. So when he found out that the archbishop was going to close his Lithuanian church in Waterbury, Connecticut, he decided to step in. Can his appeal save St. Joseph’s Church?
The Final Service is written and produced by Mateo Schimpf with additional writing and reporting from Ray Suarez. It's edited by Jarrod Sport with production support from Elize Manoukian, Sienna Barnes and Joshua Dudley. It's made possible with generous support by the Henry Luce Foundation and is distributed by PRX.