The Mortification of Spin Podcast

The Mortification of Spin is a podcast of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, an organization that aims to “foster a Reformed awakening in today’s Church.” In keeping with Alliance’s mission, The Mortification of Spin aims to provide listeners with a weekly opportunity to think about issues affecting the life of the church from a confessionally Reformed perspective.

The show is co-hosted by the Rev. Todd Pruit and Carl R. Trueman. Todd Pruit serves as the lead pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg, Va. In addition to serving as a professor of religion and Bible at Grove City College, Carl Trueman is also widely known as a regular contributor to the First Things magazine and as a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.. Having been good friends for over a decade, Todd and Carl keep the conversations informal with their playful banter and quips about Carl’s eccentricities.

The format for the episodes usually consists of either a conversation between Carl and Todd or an interview in which Todd and Carl take turns asking questions of a guest. The topics and issues are as diverse as the issues that affect the life of the church. Some of the many topics that Todd and Carl have covered over the years include the doctrine of divine simplicity, the problem of abuse in the church, Christian children’s literature, the ethics of writing sermons, and the historical origins of the sexual revolution. 

Although The Mortification of Spin is self-consciously confessional and Reformed, it is important to note that it is not sectarian. The guests that Todd and Carl interview come from a wide variety of theological and denominational backgrounds. Some of the guests that Todd and Carl have interviewed over the years include former Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput, Baptist theologian Matthew Barrett, conservative public policy analyst Ryan Anderson, and the Christian Reformed Church’s own Anthony Selvaggio. In this way, The Mortification of Spin is a good reminder to Reformed churches that there is much they share with other Christian traditions.

Although The Mortification of Spin is especially aimed at helping pastors to “foster a Reformed awakening in today’s church,” the podcast is broad enough in the range of topics it covers that elders, deacons, and interested lay people are likely to find something of interest that can challenge or motivate the work they do in their churches. The Mortification of Spin website also often includes links and show notes that listeners can use to continue learning about the topics under discussion.