Good Books Big Questions
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About This Podcast
Welcome to Good Books Big Questions: Bold, Loving, and Sensible Conversations About Faith
No one ducks the tough questions about faith on this show. Not the host and not the guests. If you’re disillusioned, doubting, discovering faith, or if you simply want a safe space to dig into some big questions you’ve had for a while, you will find good company here.
You’ll discover thoughtful, honest, and civil conversations about the issues that keep us up at night. Also, the occasional laugh – and a level of honesty that helps us all keep our faith alive.
Good Books Big Questions is a NavPress podcast where conversations about books open the door to bigger conversations about life and faith. Together with NavPress authors, we dive into questions like:
- What does it mean to truly trust God?
- How can we worship alongside people who think and vote differently than we do?
- Where do we find joy in the midst of trauma and suffering?
- How do we get past easy answers and formulas of faith and think about how to navigate some of the toughest stuff in life and still believe in Jesus?
Hosted by Karen Stiller—author of Holiness Here: Finding God in the Ordinary Events of Everyday Life (NavPress, 2024) and The Minister’s Wife: A Memoir of Faith, Doubt, Friendship, Loneliness, Forgiveness and More (Tyndale House, 2020, and an author known for her transparency —this podcast invites you into bold, sensible and loving conversations.
Each conversation blends thoughtful book discussion with big, timeless questions of Christian faith and spiritual growth.
About the Host
Karen Stiller is the author of Holiness Here, The Minister’s Wife, and co-author of Craft, Cost & Call: How to Build a Life as a Christian Writer. She is a writing coach, teacher, freelance editor, and longtime journalist whose work has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Christianity Today, The Walrus, Ekstasis, and more.
For 22 years she served as an editor of Faith Today magazine and hosted the Faith Today podcast. Karen has traveled to South Sudan, Uganda, Senegal, Cambodia, and across North America reporting on stories of the Church around the world. She has moderated debates on faith and society at the University of Toronto and holds an MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from the University of King’s College. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in the Sacred Art of Writing at Western Seminary.
Living in Ottawa, Ontario, Karen brings curiosity, compassion, and candor to every conversation.
Please follow, rate and review Good Books Big Questions wherever you listen to podcasts, and join us for bold, loving, and sensible conversations about faith.
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Recent Episodes
Why Some Books Stay With Us Forever | Caitlyn Carlson, Olivia Eldredge
In our last episode of Season 2, we take you to the 2026 Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In amongst the book tables and hubbub, host Karen Stiller sat…
You Can’t Just ‘Move On’ From Trauma | Mary DeMuth
“An untold story never heals. It just festers.” That’s one of the big motivations Mary DeMuth offers us for reexamining and then sharing our life stories with each other. In her 2026 book Restory…
S2E7 Can You Question Your Faith Without Losing It? | Marty Solomon
There are all kinds of negative terms to describe the process of re-examining what it means to be a Christian: Deconstruction. Exvangelical. A crisis of faith. What if we approached this more…
S2E6 Christian Burnout Is Real—Now What? | Ben Espinoza
Self-care sometimes gets a bad rap. It sounds entitled. But seriously bad things can happen when we don’t take care of ourselves. Ben Espinoza’s new book Good News about Self-Care: How Nurturing Your…
S2E5 The Secret to Better Conflict Conversations | Heather Thompson Day
If you’ve ever been bullied you know how crippling it can be. After it happened to her daughter London, Heather Thompson Day and London wrote a children’s book called Can I Sit Here? They wanted to…
S2E4 Can Christians Become More Loving Again? | Derwin Gray
Where has Derwin Gray had conversations about Jesus? A coffee shop. A golf course. An NFL dressing room. But many Christians don’t do that. This pastor and former NFL defensive back wrote a book…
S2E3 How Do You Read the Bible When Faith Feels Complicated? | Olivia Eldredge
Why does the world need another Bible marketed at women? That’s a question Olivia Eldredge, the Editor of The Message Women’s Devotional Bible asked herself. She grew up in the era of “purity…
S2E2 Where Is God When Life Falls Apart? | Dominique Young
Why is it that in life’s worst moments God can feel so distant? That’s where this conversation with author Dominique Young begins. She knows what it’s like to feel forgotten by God. But Dominique has…
S2E1 Can Christians Survive Political Polarization? | Mark DeYmaz
If you follow the news, it’s hard not to become outraged by one group or another. Perhaps most discouraging for Christians is how they themselves are sometimes viewed as hateful. How did the world’s…
S2 Season 2 Trailer
Season 2 of Good Books Big Questions launches March 2, 2026 with conversations about books fresh off the press and authors addressing some of the biggest questions about being a Christian in these…
S1E6 Why Christian Publishing Still Struggles With Diversity | Deborah Sáenz
NavPress editor Deborah Sáenz talks with Karen Stiller about how editors find, woo and work with Christian authors. She shares the story of how she developed a passion for sharing the stories of…
S1E5 How Do You Stop Striving for Approval? | Joyce Koo Dalrymple
How do we stop striving for approval and rest in God’s grace? This is an ongoing question for many people of faith. Author, pastor and speaker Joyce Koo Dalrymple knows what striving feels like, and…
S1E4 What If Other Christians Make You Angry? | Norm Hubbard
Do we have to sit with Christians whose politics offend and trouble us? Actually, yes, we should, says author Norm Hubbard. Even if it’s really hard. Norm is the author of More than Christians:…
S1E3 Can You Be Angry at God and Still Have Faith? | Dieula Previlon
Do you need to ask God some tough questions? Have you shaken your fist at God or cried out your most honest pain and heartbreak? For Dieula Previlon, the author of Does God See Me? speaking (or maybe…
S1E1 Can Beauty Still Exist in Broken Christianity? | Jared Ayers
Can we still find beauty in being a Christian? Or in Christian institutions? Author Jared Ayers was disappointed with the church’s reaction to the growing number of religiously unaffiliated and wrote…
S1 Welcome to Good Books Big Questions: Bold, Loving, and Sensible Conversations About Faith
No one ducks the tough questions about faith on this show. Not the host and not the guests. If you’re disillusioned, doubting, discovering faith, or if you simply want a safe space to dig into some…
S1E2 What We Get Wrong About Women in the Bible | Kat Armstrong
A lot of talk about women in the church leads to what they should or shouldn't be doing. Kat Armstrong, author of The Storyline Project Bible study series, poses a different and bigger question. In…
Frequently Asked Questions
Good Books Big Questions has published 17 episodes since September 2025, covering topics in Arts, Books.
Good Books Big Questions is currently declining with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 38m.
Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Good Books Big Questions, including email and social media links.
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