PRX Big Questions Project Podcasts Launch New Seasons
“Moral Repair,” “Second Sunday,” “Mother Is A Question,” and “Rock That Doesn’t Roll” — podcasts rooted in questions of spiritual life — first launched in October 2023
Public media organization PRX — one of the world’s top public radio distributors and podcast publishers — today announced that podcasts created as part of the PRX Big Questions Project accelerator in 2023 are launching new seasons beginning Wednesday, April 24. Audio trailers are available now.
The four podcasts — Moral Repair, Second Sunday, Mother Is A Question, and Rock That Doesn’t Roll — traverse territory as engaging and varied as motherhood, technology and society, belonging in one’s faith, and Christian rock music. Each show is available free across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast, and iHeart.
New seasons of each podcast will feature the following:
- Moral Repair: A Black Exploration of Tech. Hosts and creators Annanda Barclay and Keisha McKenzie continue to help explore today’s world of new and evolving technology with the help of Black technologists, philosophers, care practitioners, and theologians. Empowering listeners to navigate tech’s moral and ethical challenges, among other topics, episodes will delve into artificial intelligence both in our lives and at the federal level with guest Alondra Nelson (the first principal director for science and society of the White House Office of Science and Technology), social technologies that can help heal from distracting always-on technology, and more.
- Mother is a Question. Best friends Julia Metzger-Traber and Tasha Haverty invite listeners on a journey to listen for the unspeakable and crack open the definitions of motherhood alongside mothers from all walks of life. Not an average mom advice show — this is a space for the whispers, screams, and questions. This season will consider topics such as mothering as a revolutionary act, the profundity of nurturing life after experiencing death, and what animals of the wild can teach people about the capacity to listen to their children.
- Rock That Doesn’t Roll: The Story of Christian Music. The podcast will continue to reveal how Christian music has shaped the world we’re living in while bringing listeners multi-faceted stories from the peak era of the genre. The season will feature a special episode with Grammy-nominated artist Jennifer Knapp — whose identity broke the frame placed on her by the industry — and will also examine purity culture, holy hip hop, the 80s band Stryper, and more. Rock that Doesn’t Roll is created by author Leah Payne and Sound Opinions senior producer Andrew Gill.
- Second Sunday. An unfiltered exploration of Black queer people and their nuanced relationships with the Black Christian Church, Second Sunday shifts from profound to light-hearted as hosts Darren Calhoun and Esther Ikoro also ground their listeners with anecdotes and laughter. This season, the podcast will feature a variety of thought-provoking conversations, including with actress Angelica Ross (Pose) on her journey toward Buddhism, City of Refuge United Church founder Yvette Flunder on losing faith to finding purpose again through community work during the AIDS crisis, and beyond. Made in partnership with The Qube, co-founder Anna DeShawn says, “Black Queer folks have always been an integral part of the Black church and it’s past time for our stories to be heard.”
“Each of these podcast production teams consistently advances narratives emphasizing themes of science, religion, and philosophy while demonstrating their importance and intrigue,” said Courtney Fleurantin, project manager of the PRX Big Questions Project. “We’re excited to continue amplifying more stories by empowering these new voices in the podcasting community, and thank the John Templeton Foundation for support.”
The PRX Big Questions Project is supported by the John Templeton Foundation. Several of the podcasts — including Moral Repair and Second Sunday — were recently lauded by The Podcast Academy in the 2024 Ambie Awards, finalists in categories honoring the best podcasts in genres of personal growth, spirituality, and knowledge. In addition, Rock that Doesn’t Roll was recognized in the 2024 Wilbur Awards from the Religion Communicators Council.
For more about PRX, visit PRX.org.
About PRX
Celebrating more than 20 years as a nonprofit public media company, PRX works in partnership with leading independent creators, organizations, and stations to bring meaningful audio storytelling into millions of listeners’ lives. PRX is one of the world’s top podcast publishers, public radio distributors, and audio producers, serving as an engine of innovation for public media and podcasting to help shape a vibrant future for creative and journalistic audio. Shows across PRX’s portfolio of broadcast productions, podcast partners, and its Radiotopia podcast network have received recognition from the Peabody Awards, the Tribeca Festival, the International Documentary Association, the National Magazine Awards, and more, including in 2022 when Futuro Media and PRX won a Pulitzer Prize. Visit PRX.org for more.
