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Somewhere along the way, the connection between Christianity and progressive activism severed in the public imagination. But given tenets like loving your neighbor as yourself, activism often works as a natural outgrowth of the faith. Monks and nuns have maintained a long tradition of feeding the poor, building hospitals, fighting against slavery and for civil rights. The Peabody-recognized podcasts below highlight the ways that churches have supported the gay community in fighting the AIDS crisis and gotten downright rowdy to protest the Vietnam War, giving us a more expansive view of what Christian practice is truly about.
‘When We All Get to Heaven’
In 1993, more than a decade into the AIDS epidemic, the LGBTQ-friendly Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco had to navigate the intersection of sexuality and faith amid an existential crisis. This podcast dives deep into the story with an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of the church’s services at the epidemic’s heights—recorded at the time so ailing members could listen at home. As congregants died and mourned, the community united to care for the group’s spiritual and physical health and, instead of shying away from what was still a taboo topic, identified as a “church with AIDS.”
Where to Listen: YouTube
Explore More at Peabody’s Website: When We All Get To Heaven
‘Divine Intervention’
Divine Intervention chronicles a group of Catholic priests and nuns who dedicated themselves to not just protesting the Vietnam War, but boldly flouting the law to undermine the war effort, including harboring draft resistors, breaking into draft offices, and clashing with the FBI, all of which culminated in significant trials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Additionally, the series weaves in a personal love story about a priest who left the church to marry an anti-war activist, revealing the origins of the podcast’s host, Brendan Patrick Hughes, while capturing the spirit of the Boston Irish and the era’s intense political struggles.
Where to Listen: Apple Podcasts
Explore More at Peabody’s Website: Divine Intervention
How It Happened: The Stunning New Queer Podcast When We All Get to Heaven
Podcast co-creator and religious historian Lynne Gerber told the San Francisco Bay Times that When We All Get to Heaven documents “a community that knew how to face loss and make hope in hard times … something all of us are going to need to learn how to do if we’re going to get through the existential crises in front of us” in 2026.
Where to Read: San Francisco Bay Times
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Three-quarters of the world identifies as religious, spiritual, or a person of faith. Yet, 63% of the world believes that entertainment perpetuates religious stereotypes. The Coalition for Faith & Media is dedicated to creating more accurate, nuanced portrayals of faith. We’re honored to partner with the Peabody Awards to celebrate filmmakers who meaningfully bring spirituality into their work, because these are stories that matter. FaithandMedia.com
Lynne Gerber’s Peabody Acceptance for ‘When We All Get to Heaven’
“These are stories of a people living through a terrible, terrifying time, with no end in sight,” Gerber said. “They are a study in how to hold collective grief, claim joy, and keep showing up even when the path is unclear and the outcome uncertain. We are such a people living through such a time, and we have a lot to learn from these voices.”
Where to Watch: PeabodyAwards.com
Brendan Patrick Hughes’s Peabody Acceptance for ‘Divine Intervention’
“Our story is about nuns and priests in 1970s Boston who became cat burglars in order to sabotage the Vietnam War,” he said. “And they got so good at it that they began trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover. They scaled walls, they picked locks, they stole draft files. They sang songs from the witness stand in protest.”
Where to Watch: PeabodyAwards.com