Know Why Podcast

For years, surveys have showed the decline of religion and the rise of the "nones." Much has been said about America becoming a more secular nation. Is that actually true? Co-author of the book The Death of Religion? Nones, Others, and the Flourishing of Faith with historian Thomas Kidd, Dr. Byron Johnson is on the Know Why Podcast this week with the whole story. A leading researcher on religion and the effect of faith on individual flourishing, Dr. Johnson talks about...
The Global Flourishing Study and what it reveals about religion around the world
Important details about the "nones" that surveys from Pew and Gallup neglect to explore
America's long history with obsessing over religious decline
The impact of religious people and institutions on social services and charitable giving
And more.
So, is religion actually declining in the U.S.? Listen to this week's interview and know why there may be more to the story.
More Resources:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1087787068?...

Election Day is November 3, but now is the time to prepare if you want to be an informed voter.
While federal level races tend to get all the attention, state and local level positions, as well as propositions on your ballot, will tangibly impact what life is like in your state and your local community.
Start researching now so that you're not surprised on Election Day. When it comes to state and local level races, one vote really can make a difference.
More Resources:
View your ballot and research candidates and issues with iVoterGuide
https://ivoterguide.com/?culture=en-us
View your ballot and research candidates and issues with Ballotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page
Find out if you're registered to vote
https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/
Examine religious liberty protections in your state
https://religiouslibertyinthestates.com/ 
Only 55% Of Voters Use The Full Ballot, Often Lack Of Info About Local Raceshttps://www.air1.com/faith/news/trending/only-55-of-voters-use-the-full-ballot-often-lack-of-info-about-local-races-59038

In recent weeks we’ve seen headlines about the “Hugging Face attack,” where AI agents from OpenAI reportedly escaped their digital testing environment, went rogue online, and hacked into a competitor AI company to steal data. As more investigative reports are released, it looks as if the scale and number of such attacks is even higher than originally reported. The reports also reveal something else that seems a bit unnerving at first: In completing these hacking attacks, AI agents built “civilizations,” working together and even “sacrificing themselves” in order to achieve joint end goals—all without alerting their human creators. What is a Christian to make of these odd headlines and stories?
Returning Know Why guest Doug Smith joins the podcast this week to help us understand what’s actually going on. An experienced software developer and now author and speaker on artificial intelligence and technology, Doug demystifies the headlines we’re seeing by explaining how the software behind AI “agents” works. He also offers insight into the materialistic worldview of many “Big AI” leaders, which helps explain the way they frame the capabilities of their own technologies.
Doug and Liberty also discuss the lack of transparency behind Big Tech and Big AI, whether AI companies are worthy of public trust, and how Silicon Valley’s motto to “move fast and break things” often results in humans themselves being broken. Doug ends with encouragement and some practical advice for Christians in these times of rapid change and tech advancement.
Be sure to check out Doug’s website and reach out to him with questions, and watch for his forthcoming book, [Un]Intelligence: The Lies Behind Today’s AI and the Truths You Need to Thrive. 

Why doesn’t Gen Z trust anyone?
In this episode, Liberty talks about some statistics showing that Gen Z is the least trusting generation, and offers theories as to why the public trust of an entire generation was destroyed, and lists many of the consequences for our society.
A free country can’t function without some level of mutual trust. What will it take to rebuild trust in the nation again?
More Resources:
Gen Z Doesn’t Trust Anyone
https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/gen-z-doesnt-trust-anyone
How Can I Know What is True? Andrea Crum on the Know Why Podcast
https://youtu.be/_O-fW7fWYEI?si=ms8ussNSA4JbSQgN
Give Your Teen a Biblical Worldview Foundation With Andrea Crum
https://youtu.be/pLaR5pkMRTE?si=dFoiG4_ygMyaO2ft
Why Are People Drawn to Conspiracy Theories? Quick Question With Liberty
https://youtu.be/VofMKkERkvw?si=wXlOfQ0WdxJgaEXg

Last week on the Know Why Podcast, you heard from Dr. George Barna about how few teens—including from Christian families—have a biblical worldview today.
This week's episode is all about addressing that problem. Andrea Crum joins Liberty to talk about Worldview Prepared, a biblical curriculum designed to equip students to respond to the most influential ideas shaping their generation.
Recommended for homeschooling families, homeschool co-ops, private schools, and public school students who complete the curriculum at home, Worldview Prepared helps students stand on a firm foundation understanding what "worldview" is, why God's original design is good, theology basics, and the prevailing ideas in our culture.
More Resources:
https://genuinefamilyministries.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Worldview-Prep...
This interview originally aired on Point of View Radio Talk Show.

Dr. George Barna joins the Know Why Podcast to discuss kids, parents, and worldview. Whether you have kids now or hope to someday, listen to find out why things like intentionality, consistency, and honesty are so critical in passing a biblical worldview on to the next generation. You’ll also hear why only 1 percent of American teens have a biblical worldview today, and why many kids are saying they don’t trust their parents. 
Note: This conversation was originally published in 2024 as part of Know Why Podcast's "Back to School" series. Listen to the full series here.
More Resources:
Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind, and Soul by Dr. George Barna
GeorgeBarna.com
CulturalResearchCenter.com 

Historically pride was called the queen of vices for a reason. What does it have to do with the relationship breakdown in modern society, modern tech advancement, and the destruction of the natural world? Everything.
In this episode, Liberty reviews a 1945 science fiction novel—That Hideous Strength—in which C.S. Lewis imagined many of the problems we are seeing play out in the modern world. But for the final installment in what has been called the Space Trilogy, Lewis’s approach is surprisingly down-to-earth.
More Resources:
Memento Vivere
https://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2026/07/memento-vivere/
‘Incarnating That Ghost:’ Reflecting on Marriage, Nature, and That Hideous Strength
https://libertymcartor.substack.com/p/incarnating-that-ghost-reflecting
Point of View Next Generation Roundtable Discussion of “Memento Vivere”
https://www.youtube.com/live/3dqzy_chKuc?si=_2jPxZEiPFKl3DJr&t=4862

Is it ok for conservatives to be AI skeptics? With popular Democratic politicians rampaging against AI data centers and the Trump administration emphasizing the need to stay ahead of China in AI development, some on the right may believe that opposition to or skepticism about AI is “leftist coded.”
In this episode, Liberty highlights a recent article by Gregory Conti and makes the case that conservatives can and should express skepticism about many of the ways AI is currently being integrated into society today.
Liberty argues that being a conservative critic of artificial intelligence does not mean…
That you are a Luddite
That you are opposed to all technology, progress, or benefits of the modern world
That you are falling for far-left or foreign propaganda
That you oppose capitalism
That you don’t care about job development.
Listen for more, and comment with your own concerns and/or hopes for AI.
More Resources:
The AI Apocalypse Is Already Here by Gregory Conti
https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-ai-apocalypse-is-already-here/
Republicans, Democrats now equally concerned about AI in daily life, but views on regulation differ
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/06/republicans-democrats-now-equally-concerned-about-ai-in-daily-life-but-views-on-regulation-differ/
Fox News Poll: Coll your servers! Voters reject data centers
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fox-news-poll-cool-your-servers-voters-reject-data-centers
Here Comes ‘Death by AI’
https://www.thefp.com/p/here-comes-death-by-ai
What Christians Should Know About Chatbots, Big Tech, and the Bible with Doug Smith (Know Why Podcast)
https://youtu.be/oe1ffS3zmxo?si=7FiDs20oYe3bB3N7
Understanding Transhumanism With the Help of Tolkien, Lewis, and Ancient Literature (Know Why Podcast)
https://youtu.be/3YEPB3R9HVM?si=3E74hqRcLz5Lostb

Algorithms on social media drive users toward increasingly extreme content. AI bots flood comment sections, drowning out facts and thoughtful perspectives. In an environment like this, where the majority of young people spend hours of their time, it shouldn’t surprise us that distrust, moral relativism, belief in conspiracy theories, and ancient prejudices like antisemitism are becoming common.
In short, we live in the post-truth era, where people doubt whether facts matter and if truth can even be found. It behooves all responsible human beings to push back and help the next generation form a grounded worldview that is rooted in reality and acquainted with truth.
In this episode of the Know Why Podcast, Liberty highlights a recent article from The Free Press, “The Death of History,” to show examples of how algorithms and bots are contributing to antisemitism in this post-truth era. She ends with suggestions for parents who want to help their kids build worldviews grounded in truth, think critically, and recover attention spans so that they have the time and mental ability to discern emotional exploitation from fact.
More Resources:
The Death of History
https://www.thefp.com/p/the-death-of-history?utm_campaign=260347&utm_source=cross-post&r=3s5h2c&utm_medium=email
A Majority of Gen Z Wants to Create Their Own Truth
https://www.impact360institute.org/articles/a-majority-of-gen-z-wants-to-create-their-own-truth/
Pew: TikTok Most Popular Social News Source for Gen Z
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/411720/pew-tiktok-most-popular-social-news-source-for-ge.html?edition=141123
The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones
https://www.amazon.com/dp/059373629X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
The Anxious Generation
https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book
The Age of Reading is Over
https://archive.is/20260708103107/https:/www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/reading-crisis-postliterate-age/687618/#selection-1071.118-1077.74

Gallup Polling shows that nearly half of Gen Z lacks a sense of meaning or purpose in life.
A closer look reveals that much of Gen Z’s sense of meaning and purpose in life is tied to what they do for paid work. This isn’t a problem totally unique to Gen Z. In fact, it is the way many people in America have been raised.
In this episode, we look at why so many people, especially young people in America, tie their sense of identity, meaning, and purpose to their job. We also look at data revealing what *actually* makes people happy at their job, and what truly helps people to have meaning and purpose in life.
More Resources:
Many Gen Zers Missing Sense of Meaning or Purpose in Life
https://news.gallup.com/poll/711836/gen-zers-missing-sense-meaning-purpose-life.aspx
Do I Need to Find My Dream Job to be Happy at Work?
https://knowwhypodcast.com/2023/08/do-i-need-to-find-my-dream-job-to-be-happy-at-work/
Workism Is Making Americans Miserable
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/religion-workism-making-americans-miserable/583441/
Poll: Gen Z's gender divide reaches beyond politics and into its views on marriage, children and success
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/poll-gen-zs-gender-divide-reaches-politics-views-marriage-children-suc-rcna229255
How Ben Sasse Raised Me
https://www.thefp.com/p/ben-sasse-parenting-lessons