Crossing Faiths

A Christian & a Muslim talk religion & politics

About the show

Crossing Faiths is a podcast in which people from diverse religious backgrounds engage in open dialogue about all the things you're NOT supposed to discuss at the dinner table. Join hosts John Pinna, a military intelligence veteran and D.C. insider, and Elliot Toman, a former media director in the Evangelical church, as they engage in lively conversations about the impact of faith on current events. Crossing Faiths also welcomes guests from a wide variety of religious and experiential backgrounds to share their own insights.

The podcast was initially developed in collaboration with, Matt Hawkins, is a former policy director for the Southern Baptist Convention. Their conversations built on a decade of their collaboration, advocating in Washington, D.C. for religious freedom domestically and around the globe. The two developed the podcast with a desire to share conversations that model friendship and collaboration despite deep differences in religion and background. The podcast has a reach of almost 3 million multi-faith listeners, 83% of which are millennials.

Crossing Faiths on social media

Episodes

  • 106: David Curry - Violence against religious minorities

    February 12th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  50 mins
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna interviews David Curry, head of Global Christian Relief and former commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, about the state of international religious freedom.

  • IRF 2024 #3: Ex-Muslims of North America

    February 7th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  21 mins 34 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    A bonus interview with Aysha Khan, representing Ex-Muslims of North America.

  • Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett

    February 5th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  1 hr 3 mins
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    IRF Month begins with an interview with Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. Afterward, John and Elliot discuss youth involvement in the IRF movement.

  • Adjudicating Islamic Law for Muslim Americans

    January 29th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  55 mins 21 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna interviews His Excellency Sayyid M. B. Kashmiri: Religious Scholar, Researcher, Author, Public Speaker, and religious leader

  • IRF 2024 #2: The IRF Industrial Complex?

    January 26th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  48 mins 31 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna, a muslim, and John Anderson, an Antiochian Orthodox priest, discuss the current structure and effectiveness of the International Religious Freedom movement.

  • IRF 2024 #1: The Story So Far

    January 26th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  25 mins 33 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna, a muslim, and John Anderson, an Antiochian Orthodox priest, discuss the history of their involvement in the International Religious Freedom movement.

  • 103: Ambassador Akiva Tor

    January 22nd, 2024  |  Season 9  |  1 hr 6 mins
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    Akiva Tor is the Ambassador of Israel to the Republic of Korea. In their wide-ranging discussion, Pinna and Tor touch on Israel's ongoing engagement efforts with Jewish communities worldwide, grappling with issues of pluralism and anti-Semitism, while also navigating complex relationships with the Vatican and varying Christian denominations.

  • The Political Perils of Biblical Archeology

    January 20th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  51 mins 50 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna hosts journalist and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici for a fascinating discussion about navigating the difficult terrain of Biblical archeology.

  • Public Martyrdom

    January 15th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  1 hr 5 mins
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    A Christian and a Muslim talk religion & politics. John and Elliot discuss American televangelist Jimmy Swaggart's public confession of sin in the late 1980s, exploring ideas around repentance, forgiveness, and redemption in the evangelical Christian tradition.

  • 100: Burma and the Rohingya Genocide

    January 10th, 2024  |  Season 9  |  48 mins 49 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John Pinna shares an extended conversation with Lucky Karim, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar and Simon Billenness, an expert in human rights advocacy.

  • 98: The Technology of Religion

    January 1st, 2024  |  Season 9  |  1 hr 21 mins
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    John and Elliot have a wide-ranging conversation touching on technology, cultural change, politics, education, immigration, religion, and more. They discuss how modern cars and devices constantly "ping" people with notifications and alerts, creating a sense of anxiety, versus the simplicity yet risk of vintage vehicles. This leads into a dialogue about rapid technological advances, like AI, transforming societies and economies faster than institutions and mindsets can adapt. They debate controversial political issues like immigration and cultural integration in Europe. Looking through a historical lens, they conclude that change is inevitable, but healthy cultures openly negotiate to balance preserving identity with pragmatically incorporating outsiders. Ultimately, they see religion and technology as parallel tools for bringing order and meaning to human lives amidst chaos.

  • What Do Unitarians and Satanists Have In Common?

    December 24th, 2023  |  Season 9  |  49 mins 17 secs
    bible, christianity, islam, politics, quran, religion

    A Christian and a Muslim talk religion & politics. This week, John and Elliot discuss the contrast between religious systems that value free thought and individualism, and those that value dogma and strict adherence to maxims.