Today's movie is Song of the Sea from Irish animation company Cartoon Saloon and Heather is joined by Rev Dani Lee at St. Mary's Episcopal and her bestie Oana Stan, who called in from Romania. Song of the Sea is about siblings, Ben and Saoirse, who have lost their mother—she is a selkie, a creature who can shape-shift between human and seal form. It's got gorgeous animation and is haunting and lovely and a total recommend! Join us for a conversation about grief and healing and Brad Pitt.
It's a bonus episode here on Voiceover--this time Heather is in conversation with Matt Whitaker, writer, director, and producer of Truth & Treason. The film is currently in theaters, distributed by Angel Studios. You can also see a 4-episode cut of the same material on Angel's streaming platform. Matt Whitaker's previous writing credits include: Saints & Soldiers (2003), Work & The Glory II & III, Messiah: The Lamb of God (TV Series), and Instrument of War. Matt is a name many will know from the Mormon Cinema movement of 20 years ago, and one topic here is whether Truth & Treason is connected to that film trend.
Brian McLaren discusses The Color Purple (Spielberg, 1985) and what he learned about redemption and forgiveness. The film is an adaptation from The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Originally published in 1982, the book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award. It’s a book of letters, from the main character Celie to God, as she tries to understand the brutality of her life. The trajectory of the film is to witness Celie’s growth from victim to survivor to a member of a thriving sisterhood. Brian McLaren is an author, activist, and public theologian. He is a faculty member with the Center for Action and Contemplation and a podcaster with the CAC’s podcast Learning How to See. He is a co-host of Southern Lights and has written more than 20 books, including his newest, The Last Voyage (2025), the first installment in a science fiction trilogy.
Kaleigh Cohen talks through The Outsiders (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983), the main stay of her after-school decompression process when she was 12. We explore the movie's themes of authenticity, friendship, and overcoming adversity. and even dive into 'Napoleon Dynamite' and 'Forrest Gump' because of their similar themes of outsiders embracing their uniqueness. Kaleigh Cohen creates free cycling and strength home workout programs that are designed to be engaging, fun, and time-efficient, perfectly balancing high-energy cardio to boost endurance with targeted strength training to build power and resilience—all from the comfort of home.
Uzma Jafri and return guest Kevin Blankenship discuss Season 1 of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime and how the show has been a bee in Uzma's bonnet, or a hornet in her hijab, for a while now. Jack Ryan Season 1 was seen by 40% of Prime members its first year on the platform, which makes it an important artifact when discussing Muslim representation in American media. We discuss negative stereotypes, Islamophobia, and authentic representation, as well as how these portrayals impact American policy. Uzma Jafri is the producer and co-host of Mommying While Muslim podcast. She grew up in Houston TX, the daughter of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and India. oday, Uzma is a physician running her own practices in Phoenix, medical director of an assisted living and hospice agency, and graduate medical faculty. She is also a certified speaker for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Arizona and volunteers with multiple organizations to support refugees. Kevin Blankinship is a professor of Arabic and the medieval Middle East at BYU. He holds a PhD in classical Arabic literature from the University of Chicago and an MA in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kevin also spent a research year in Morocco as a Fulbright-Hayes scholar.
Rob Taber talks about Remember the Titans, the first sports movie featured on Voiceover! This 2000 classic about integration in 1970s Virginia stars Denzel Washington and Will Patton as two coaches who must unify high school football players divided by race and racism. We cover community building, historical films, teaching leadership, and crying in sports movies. Rob Taber has taught history at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina since 2016. His research areas include Latin America and the Caribbean, The Black Atlantic (1400-1900), Slavery, Revolutions, African-American History. He is the Vice-President for Policy Outreach, Carolina Forward.
Nava Kavelin of Ninth Mode Media and Podcrushed talks to me about Now & Then, a movie that felt so real to her as an 11-year old that she was embarrassed to see it with her parents. Now & Then is about the summer of 1970, experienced by four 12-year olds on the cusp of teenage-hood. Starring Christina Ricci, Gaby Hoffman, and Thora Birch, the film wants to bring authentic female friendships to the screen, as understood by director Lesli Linka Glatter and writer I. Marlene King. We talk about who the movie is really for, whether these kinds of movies are made today, and sex ed. Nava Kavelin is the co-founder and CEO of Ninth Mode, a production company dedicated to developing content that shines a light on the brighter side of human nature.
Danor Gerald discusses Darren Aronfsky's The Fountain, a visually stunning film, about accepting death as a way to understand life. In The Fountain, Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz play three different couples tied to each other over time, embattled by different desperate challenges, and trying to find a way to understand death. The Fountain is celebrated for its practical effects, made with macro photography. Danor Gerald is an actor, director, writer, and producer. He stars in the new streaming series “Beauty and the Billionaire.” He won an Emmy for "Roots, Race and Culture," which he co-hosts and produces on PBS Utah.
Rabbi Lex Rofeberg from Judaism Unbound talks through American Jewish Representation in the Netflix series Nobody Wants This, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. The show was a massive sensation in 2024, season 2 premieres in Oct 2025. Lex shares what he sees as missed opportunities in Season 1 and what he hopes for Season 2. It's a great conversation that covers interfaith dating and marriage, the history of Jews in Hollywood, the problematic use of "shiksa", films from immigrant communities, and an ethics of care. Lex Rofeberg is Senior Jewish Educator at Judaism Unbound, where he co-hosts and produces the weekly podcast, facilitates live digital events, and leads the UnYeshiva—its digital center for innovative Jewish learning and unlearning. He graduated from Brown University in Judaic Studies and was ordained as a rabbi in 2021 by ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal.
Haroon Moghul shares why Malcolm X is the film he recommends for every American Muslim. Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992) avoids hagiography and instead looks at the complex, controversial American civil rights leader who transforms as he embraces Islam. Haroon Moghul is the Founder and President of Queen City Diwan, a company that leads immersive travel experiences and hosts global leadership programs. An award-winning journalist and author, Haroon is the co-host of Avenue M, a podcast that explores faith, manhood and meaning with guests from across America and the world. He's written for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and NPR's Fresh Air. In 2023 and 2024, EqualityX named Haroon one of the fifty most influential Muslims in the Americas.
Liberty Barnes discusses a French film about women's trauma during WWII and how difficult films can help us build empathy. Les Innocents (2016) is about a French doctor in Poland who discovers that a local convent is dealing with the aftermath of Soviet assault--many of the nuns are pregnant and must reconcile their religious vocation with their lived experience. Liberty Barnes, PhD, is a medical sociologist and ethnographer, whose first book, Conceiving Masculinity, won the 2015 Sociology of Health and Illness Book of the Year Prize. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California-San Diego and completed postdoctoral training at Cambridge University and the University of Oregon.
Justin Petrisek from Notre Dame discusses The Taste of Things (Tran Anh Hung, 2023)--the anti-Iron Chef film known for its gorgeous cinematography and the way it contemplates devotion and commitment. Starring Juliete Binoche as the masterful cuisinière who communicates through her exquisite meals, the film also asks, what does it mean to be a partner? Justin Petrisek is at Notre Dame and serves as the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture’s research & publications program manager. His current research follows the intersection of film, philosophy, religion, and culture with a focus on the papacy and the Catholic Church.
Richard Lindsay discusses Barabbas (1961), a Hollywood Biblical epic starring Anthony Quinn as the criminal released by Pilate in the New Testament story of Jesus' crucifixion. The film engages with the existential crisis of freedom and the cackling Jack Palance--talk about tonal shift! Richard Lindsay is the Program Director at the Blackfriars Gallery in Berkeley, California, where he curates and promotes its Religious and Biblical movie poster collection. He is the producer, co-writer and co-narrator of Hollywood Biblical Epics: The Podcast. He is the author of Hollywood Biblical Epics: Camp Spectacle and Queer Style from the Silent Era to the Modern Day.
Morgan Atkinson discusses his latest film In the Company of Change, about the Urseline nuns in Louisville KY. The filmmaker explores the challenges that face the order in an era of declining vocations and uses the life of Sister Martha Buser as a lens through which to view changes of the past 60-plus years in the religious and cultural landscape of America. Morgan Atkinson has made films for over 35 years, including documentaries about Thomas Merton and the monks of Gethsameni. Many of these have been picked up and distributed by PBS. Check out our video version of the episode on YouTube, where you can see clips from the film. And thanks to Morgan for giving us access to the film.
Meli Solomon discusses Bank of Dave (2023), based on a true story about a UK man who wants to open a local bank to help his neighbors but also to challenge the British banking system. It's the kind of film that might have been made in the 1940s, with Jimmy Stewart in the lead--or wait, maybe they did? Meli Solomon is the host of the Living Our Beliefs podcast and the researcher behind the Talking with God project. She has worked as a business manager, an art dealer and founder of Solomon Fine Art gallery, language trainer, text editor, business coach, and now public scholar.
James Goldberg discusses the highly decorated Lage Raho Munna Bai, a Bombai film about living like Gandhi in the modern day. James Goldberg is an American poet, playwright, essayist, novelist, documentary filmmaker, scholar, and translator who specializes in Mormon literature.
Kevin Blankinship discusses the evolution of The Batman and how The Dark Knight offers us blurred lines and shades of grey to better understand redemption. Kevin Blankinship is an expert in Arabic and the Middle East who has written and published widely. You can find his work, including his poetry, in the likes of Journal of Arabic Literature, New Lines Magazine, Lapham’s Quarterly, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Heather & Ian chat with McKay Coppins and Benjamin Park about the Hulu 2023 limited-series adapation of Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven.
Becca Hurley Luong shares how Contact's message of peace and unity continues to teach her. Becca Hurley Luong is a linguist, writer, and comedian. She produces The Lisa Show and Council of Moms at BYUradio.
Producer Matthew Janzen shares Philomena, a film that challenges our perceptions of forgiveness and truth. Matthew Janzen is the Head of Film at ACE Entertainment, which produces Gen Z & Millenial feature films and tv series. Previously he was the Senior Vice President of Production & Development at Lionsgate.