Kings of Leon’s story has captivated people since they came on the scene in 2003. It’s straight out of a Southern Gothic novel: The three Followill brothers (Nathan, Caleb and Jared) grew up traveling the rural South with their father, Leon, a United Pentecostal Church pastor and traveling evangelist, and their mother, Betty Ann, who led worship. Their childhood was characterized by all-night church meetings, healings and the Holy Spirit. “I think part of [the early publicity] has to do with the way we were raised, the whole good versus evil thing,” Nathan Followill laughs. “We went from being ..read more

We are all familiar with Jesus’ words, “Do not judge.” Perhaps our familiarity with it is due to the fact many of us insist on judging others. We are willing to entertain conversation about most anyone who makes a mistake or does something wrong, even when it has nothing to do with us. Something in us likes to see people pay for their misdeeds. So we attack. Our attacks come in the form of opinions, jokes, Facebook banter and conversations. We call names, label others, race to characterize and make sure others know our thoughts. It’s a kind of public punishment that we get to enforce. We launc ..read more

Last year, the U.S. surgeon general released a report on the epidemic of loneliness in America, showing that loneliness isn’t just a mental issue but also a physical one. The solution to the loneliness epidemic is finding community, but that can be easier said than done. To find out how to establish a health community, we sat down with To Write Love on Her Arms founder Jamie Tworkowski. He’s spent years working with other mental health advocates to build a safe and healthy community for anyone and everyone struggling with life, loneliness and mental illness. This conversation has been edited f ..read more

NPR has announced that Christian rapper nobigdyl. has won the first-ever Tiny Desk Concert Fan Favorite Vote. The 10th annual Tiny Desk Contest drew in over 7,000 applications this year from independent artists around the world. From there, NPR’s panel of judges — comprised of industry experts and Tiny Desk producers and alums — selected 45 finalists. To celebrate 10 years of Tiny Desk Contest, NPR added a new element: a Fan Favorite vote where listeners could decide for their favorite entry. With more than 10,000 votes submitted, nobigdyl.’s performance of “Go With the Ghost” took home the ho ..read more

Get ready to travel back to Middle-earth. Warner Bros. has announced that it will release a new live-action Lord of the Rings film in 2026, focusing on Gollum. Original Lord of the Rings trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson will team up again with his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to produce the film, which is still in the early stages of script development. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav shared that the new film will “explore storylines yet to be told.” For now, we know the film, tentatively named Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, will bring back Andy Serkis for the titula ..read more

The Office creator Greg Daniels’ newest series has officially been greenlit. Peacock has picked up the still-unnamed series set in the broader Dunder Mifflin Cinematic Universe. Peacock has also revealed some key details, namely what the “documentary crew” will be following. “It’s been more than ten years since the final episode of ‘The Office’ aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock,” said Lisa Katz, president of scripted content for NBCU Entertainment. “In partnership with Universal Television and led by the ..read more

Abner and Amanda Ramirez, better known as JOHNNYSWIM, are more than just a singer-songwriting duo. They’re also a very happily married couple.  The pair, who have been married for 15 years, have toured the world together and with their three children. Through the ups and downs of life, their career, and a global pandemic, the two have learned a thing or two about not just survivng marriage, but making it thrive.  We sat down with the Ramirezes to get some much-needed marriage wisdom about balancing work and marriage, working through differences, and figuring out what to add to the d ..read more

One morning in college, I woke up, got ready and drove to a church to buy myself a purity ring. My heart ached a little bit at the thought of it, because even at that time, the last word that I would have used to define myself was “pure.” Maybe regretful, ashamed, dirty, totally undeserving of an honorable man’s affections. Sure. But definitely not pure. Here’s a little backstory: I had made many commitments to make drastic changes to my life before this day, but those empty words often resulted in nothing. I continued living my life the only way that I knew how. I jumped from r ..read more

If we were to meet for coffee and talk about your job, what would we talk about? Would you tell me how much you like your co-workers? Would you mention how it really irritates you when your boss drops a huge request on you as you’re about to head out for lunch? Maybe you would talk about something that’s really stressing you out at work. As we sip our coffee, we’d probably have a great conversation, but my hunch is you wouldn’t bring up one of the biggest things you think about when it comes to your job. Odds are, you might not enjoy your job all that much and you’re hoping someday to find wor ..read more

I didn’t grow up in a Christian family, but at a church camp the summer before middle school, I was introduced to Jesus for the first time. When I heard the Gospel, I almost instantaneously understood my need for Jesus. I wanted to know God, I wanted Him in my heart and so I invited Him into my life by the end of that week. That week and many others since, I was surrounded with fellow believers, very much feeling the community inherent in the Body of Christ. But unfortunately, every room or space I enter isn’t like that. In the weeks, months and years after making the decision to follow Christ ..read more