In this episode, Joe Watkins interviews Uri Feinberg, Jewish Educator and Licensed Guide. Uri, who lives in Israel, provides insight on the current war between Israel and Hamas. (original airdate 12-15-23)

Living a public life is hard. In politics, there are few places to disappear. Few places where you’re not noticed by opponents—or often fans—who recognize you from a favorite cable news channel. Tonight’s guest had one of those faces. He was an award-winning author and professor, a psychologist w...

Tonight, you’ll meet an individual—an extraordinary man who rose from foster care and adoption to become Philadelphia’s top prosecutor, earning national headlines and recognition for his success. But the famous District Attorney’s shining career was interrupted—by three years in a federal prison....

On this episode of State of Independence, Joe Watkin’s guest is Pastor Sean DeMars—the Pastor of 6th Avenue Community Church in Decatur, Alabama. He’s married and the father of two girls, but he says the best thing about him is that he belongs to Jesus.
In the introduction to his new book, “Heal...

Intellectual Christians like Philadelphia’s Dr. Benjamin Rush—a founding father and member of the Constitutional Convention—believed maltreatment of our two and four-legged friends were warnings of a sick society. But what about today? Where are the Christian voices in discussions about how we ra...

Joe Watkins interviews Father Eamon Kelly, Vice Director of The Magdala Center, & Chris Mitchell , the Bureau Chief for CBN News’ Middle East desk, with a focus on the aftermath of the horrific October terrorist attacks on the State of Israel. (Original Airdate 10-27-23)

Anxiety disorder, panic, social phobias, OCD, PTSD, depression, schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia, and substance abuse — these are all categories in one way or another, and are often a mystery box for people who don’t suffer from mental illness. On this episode of State of Independence, Joe Watkin...

Who said this? “For I was hungry, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in?” You know who said it. It was Jesus. The Son of God. The owner of all things. He also said, “In as much as you have done it to the least of these, you’ve done it u...

From the Boston Tea Party onwards, we Americans have used the power of the Boycott to hit our opponents where it hurts—in the wallet. It was a signature act of quiet protest in the civil rights movement—one that was deployed to debilitate a system of segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama. But i...

On this episode of State of Independence, Joe Watkins interviews Jeremey Samek, Esq. the Senior Counsel at Independence Law Center who has made it his life’s work to defend religious freedom and the right of conscience in America’s Courtrooms. (original airdate 9-22-23)

Joe Watkins interviews Isaac Willour who is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal and in publications like the Christian Post and National Review. His writing is smart, incisive, and original, and he’s still in college. Watch the interview to see how the r...

You’ve heard this story of the decline of church attendance in America, haven’t you? Fewer people are walking into churches on Sunday mornings. Fewer joining. And fewer believe their grandparent’s view of God—or accept—that the Bible is without error. But what if there’s something else going on?...

What we know of the Amish is often wrong—shaped by reality shows, movies, and our own imaginations. But while we don’t really know much about the people who’ve decided to sit out much of the industrial age, the world wars, and now the age of social media, smartphones, and autonomous vehicles—ther...

How is it possible to tell the story of the founding of America, but ignore those circumstances and events that cannot be explained—apart—from the hand of God? In every great scene of this epic story is evidence of God and the pleading prayers of the Americans. Courage and action informed by the ...

Joe Watkins interviews Dr. Russell Moore, a minister, theologian, and editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, whose new book is an attempt to help fellow Christ followers replace the religion of politics with a relationship with God. (original airdate 8-18-23)

Joe Watkins interviews Pastor David and Barbara Cross—mentors to a generation of men and women who are serving God around the world. As missionaries, their life wasn’t a straight line, but one that zig-zagged through opportunities and obstacles that led them to simply trust God—to know his voice—...

Recently, Lancaster, Pennsylvania—a county celebrated for its fertile farmland and famous Amish and Mennonite communities—received global attention for what the BBC called “The Refugee Capital of the World.” Joe Watkins talks to Danielle Bossert of Bethany Christian Services—who have been on the ...

When you walk into a church for the first time, you get a feeling, don’t you? You make a judgment. These people are either “like me,” or these people have no idea how to understand someone like me. There’s a certain way you’re greeted—the way people extend hospitality—that makes you feel like thi...

Take a minute to answer these questions: Who belongs in jail? How should we treat those we sentence to prison? What is the goal of prison? The person sitting next to you may answer these questions very differently. Because Americans don’t always agree on what we mean by “justice.”
On this episod...

For decades, Shelley Brooks has been the embrace, comfort, and security of disenfranchised and even discarded women—running from their abusers and battling years of pain and brokenness. And every year at the Bethesda Mission annual banquet in Harrisburg—in front of hundreds of supporters—Shelly i...