Crossing Faiths

Crossing Faiths

Crossing Faiths is a podcast where people from diverse religious backgrounds openly discuss everything you're NOT supposed to discuss at the dinner table. Join hosts Jt Pinna, a career national security, international affairs, 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 various religious and experiential backgrounds to share their insights. The podcast was initially developed in collaboration with Matt Hawkins, a former policy director for the Southern Baptist Convention. Their conversations are built on a decade of collaboration, advocating in Washington, D.C., for religious freedom domestically and globally. The two developed the podcast to share conversations that model friendship and cooperation despite profound differences in religion and background. The podcast has reached almost 3 million multi-faith listeners, 83% millennials.

Episodes

192: Scott Horton

January 5, 2026 • 45 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Scott Horton about the underlying motivations and consequences of American foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond. The discussion explores the influence of neoconservative ideologies on the Iraq War, the political motivations of the Bush administration, and the subsequent "redirection" of support toward various factions in the Syrian civil war. Pinna shares his firsth...
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191: Mandana Hendessi

December 29, 2025 • 50 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Mandana Hendessi about her career in human rights advocacy and international development across Iraq and Afghanistan, with a particular focus on her novel, The Almond Garden of Kabul (https://www.afsana-press.com/the-almond-garden-of-kabul). Drawing from her real-life experiences providing legal aid and counseling at the Badam Bagh women's prison, Hendessi explores the syst...
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190 - Shaka Mitchell

December 22, 2025 • 46 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Shaka Mitchell, founder of the Come Together Music Project, about utilizing music as a tool to deepen relationships and foster vulnerability across cultural and political divides. They discuss the origins of Mitchell's podcast, which invites guests to share songs based on specific prompts, leading to unexpected and humanizing conversations—such as a dialogue between strange...
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189 - Laura Van Ham, Eco-Chaplain

December 15, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Lauren Van Ham, an interfaith minister and the Earth Restoration Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative (URI), about the vital intersection of spirituality and environmental stewardship. Van Ham details her journey to becoming an "Eco-Chaplain," a role dedicated to caring for the Earth as our collective home, and explains how her multi-faith background informs her ...
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188: Shugen Arnold

December 8, 2025 • 54 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, the Abbot of the Zen Mountain Monastery, about the intersection of traditional Buddhist practice and modern American life. Shugen elucidates the role of an Abbot as both a spiritual teacher and administrator before diving into core Buddhist concepts, explaining how the suffering caused by clinging to a permanent sense of self can be alleviated throug...
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187: Stephen Schneck, USCIRF Commissioner

November 24, 2025 • 35 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Stephen Schneck, a Commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), about the vital role the independent, bipartisan commission plays in monitoring and advocating for freedom of belief worldwide. Schneck details the distinction between USCIRF’s advisory role and the State Department’s policy implementation, while highlighting his sp...
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186: Brian Grim

November 17, 2025 • 34 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Brian Grim from the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation about his influential research on global religious freedom. Grim recounts how his personal experiences living in the Muslim world, particularly during 9/11, led him to develop the groundbreaking framework that measures religious restrictions through two distinct lenses: government actions and social hostilities. ...
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185: Rushan Abbas

November 10, 2025 • 44 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Rushan Abbas, an advocate for the Uyghur community and founder of the Campaign for Uyghurs, about the history and ongoing genocide of her people. Abbas explains the Uyghurs' distinct identity as a Turkic, Muslim people from East Turkestan (now called Xinjiang by China), tracing the evolution of their persecution from the Cultural Revolution to the present day. She details t...
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184: Matthew Hawkins

November 3, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Matt Hawkins (https://matthewthawkins.com/), a founder of the podcast, about his return to the international religious freedom (IRF) space and his new role as Executive Vice President of the IRF Secretariat. Hawkins explains how the Secretariat serves as an administrative support body for the global religious freedom movement, primarily by convening the IRF Roundtable (http...
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183 - Joseph F. Dumond

October 20, 2025 • 87 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, Elliot Toman speaks with Joseph Dumond, an author and expert on biblical prophecy and the Jubilee calendar. Dumond explains his theory that humanity has been allotted 120 Jubilee cycles of 49 years, a timeline derived from Genesis 6:3, which he believes provides a framework for predicting major prophetic events, including the beginning of the end times. He argues that the holy days described in L...
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182 - Despina Namwembe

October 13, 2025 • 42 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Despina Namwembe, a social scientist and regional coordinator for the United Religions Initiative (URI) in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Namwembe discusses her work coordinating dozens of grassroots interfaith organizations to address the area's complex challenges, primarily focusing on violence prevention, environmental protection, and community empowerment. She detail...
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181: Michael Kinnamon

October 6, 2025 • 56 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Michael Kinnamon, a novelist, professor of theology, and expert in interfaith relations, about his novel "A Rooftop in Jerusalem" and the broader themes of his life's work. Kinnamon discusses his three careers—as a professor, an ecumenical leader with the National Council of Churches, and now a novelist—and how they are all connected by the goal of fostering empathy and cro...
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180 - Joseph F. Dumond: Predicting the End of Days

September 29, 2025 • 84 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Joseph Dumond, an author and subject matter expert on biblical prophecy and the Jubilee calendar. Dumond explains his decades-long research into establishing a precise timeline for the end of days based on 120 Jubilee cycles of 49 years each. Using historical and archaeological evidence like the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC and ancient tombstones, he outlines a pro...
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179 - Eric Roux

September 22, 2025 • 58 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Eric Roux from the United Religions Initiative (URI) about his personal and professional journey in interfaith collaboration and religious freedom advocacy. Roux recounts how his work began by defending his own faith, Scientology, against discrimination in France, but evolved as he recognized the greater power and necessity of working alongside other religious communities t...
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178 - The Amish Butter Popcorn and America Prays

September 17, 2025 • 49 mins
A Christian and a Muslim talk religion & politics. In this episode, cohosts John and Elliot have a typically wide-ranging discussion involving comparative religion, ancient cultures and the White House's recent "America Prays" initiative, loosely held together by the thread of Elliot's problematic popcorn habit.
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177 - Chad Brignac

September 15, 2025 • 73 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Chad Brignac, an author, consultant, and self-described "transformationist," about applying principles of personal growth and faith to the divisive landscape of American politics. Brignac details his personal journey from workaholism to developing a philosophy of compassionate leadership, deeply rooted in his Christian faith and the model of Jesus's ministry. The conversati...
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176 - Dr. Sahar Khamis

September 8, 2025 • 40 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Dr. Sahar Khamis about the complex and evolving role of digital and social media, particularly within the Arab and Muslim world. They explore the concept of social media as a "double-edged sword," discussing its initial promise as a tool for liberation during events like the Arab Spring and its subsequent co-opting by authoritarian regimes for repression and control. Dr. Kh...
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175: 175 - Ghazala Salam

August 25, 2025 • 30 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Ghazala Salam, a nonprofit leader, chef, and cultural storyteller, about the powerful intersection of food, culture, and identity. They discuss her participation in a recent chef competition, which she uses as a springboard to explain her core mission of food diplomacy and cultural storytelling. Salam introduces her project, "Spice Canvas," which aims to connect people thro...
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174 - Dr. Minhas Kahn: Divine Diplomacy

August 18, 2025 • 50 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Minhas Kahn about her book, Divine Diplomacy, which explores the impact of post-9/11 American evangelicals on Pakistan-United States relations. Kahn details how her research challenged initial perceptions of evangelicals, revealing that many engaged in positive diplomacy through humanitarian aid, fostering interfaith harmony, and advocating for religious freedom. She argues...
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173: 173 - Guy Elhanan: The tragedy of forced military service

August 11, 2025 • 40 mins
In this episode of Crossing Faiths, John Pinna speaks with Guy Elhanan, an Israeli actor and member of the Parents Circle–Families Forum, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of bereaved families. Elhanan shares his personal journey from a typical Israeli upbringing to a peace activist, detailing how his artistic awakening in an arts high school was abruptly curtailed by the dehumanizing experience of mandatory military service...
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