It's time for Know Why Podcast's annual "Best Of" Episode! In 2025, most popular episodes among Know Why listeners and viewers included...

"Is the Bible Reliable?" With Josh Barnes

https://youtu.be/kosxhlxC-WI?si=QJvsjc7rwO1Vh4HW

"Does AI 'Perfection' Harm Our Souls?" With Philip Bunn

https://youtu.be/Zp_fVegLcx0?si=qhxuawgVb4EkwrTO

"What Should Christians Think About the 'Charlie Kirk Effect?'"

https://youtu.be/LuZgzFwcLr8?si=nVX4IAFfRirFILJO

"Neither Trans nor Tradwife: Understanding True Femininity" with Rachel Schroder

https://youtu.be/eVuEz6KKLr8?si=NUAP9zw6sxruGtwK

"Is it Ok to be Mediocre?"

https://youtu.be/rQiFswisHIY?si=KxAamuuCU_ysECGI

These top 5 most popular episodes are a great representation of the kinds of topics and series Know Why has covered in 2025.

If you've enjoyed the Know Why Podcast or found any episode helpful or informative, let us know by emailing info@knowwhypodcast.com, and let us know what you'd like to see the Know Why Podcast cover in 2026.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

At the beginning of the Know About Family Formation Series, we asked why marriage is good. In today’s episode with Andrea Crum, we wrap up the series talking once again about marriage—specifically the God’s design for marriage and sex that is articulated in the Bible.

Andrea addresses questions such as…

Why do Christians often avoid talking about sex?

Why is biblical marriage described as a covenant between one man and one woman?

What would happen if everyone followed a biblical sexual ethic?

How does healthy marriage represent God to the world?

Despite secular cultural narratives, there is spiritual significance to God’s design for sex and marriage. Listen to know why.

More Resources:

AndreaCrum.com

GenuineFamilyMinistries.com

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) accounts for 2 percent of births in the United States, and that percentage is expected to grow. In the U.S., it’s a largely unregulated, multi-billion dollar industry which more and more families are utilizing to form their families.

But there are ethical questions that can’t be ignored, which Liberty explores in this episode, including…

• Is it ok that the vast majority of living embryos created through IVF will never be implanted?
• Are vulnerable, grieving couples being taken advantage financially, without giving informed consent of the whole process?
• How is the prevalence of IVF giving rise to 21st century eugenics?

Listen and decide whether you agree that the IVF process as it currently exists is unethical, and comment with your thoughts.

More Resources

The missing fine print on IVF (World Magazine)

https://wng.org/opinions/the-missing-fine-print-on-ivf-1761622557

Championing a little-known IVF alternative (World Magazine)

https://wng.org/roundups/championing-a-little-known-ivf-alternative-1759865267

What I Went Through to Meet My Daughter (The Free Press)

https://www.thefp.com/p/what-i-went-through-to-meet-my-daughter-ivf-fertility

The Next Parenting Trend Starts Before Conception (The New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/opinion/genetics-children-noor-siddiqui.html

Secular Pro-Life Resources on Personhood and IVF

https://secularprolife.org/index/#You_arent_a_person_until

Are All Pro-Lifers Religious? Know About Pro-Lifers (Interview With Monica Snyder, Part 1) (Know Why Podcast)

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-g8t6t-14893e3

Are All Pro-Lifers Religious? Know About Pro-Lifers (interview With Monica Snyder, Part 2) (Know Why Podcast)

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-m9ker-1491a02

"It takes a village." Parents often hear this old adage, and having a community to help with childcare or call on during emergencies sounds nice. But the reality for many parents today is that their "village" is nowhere to be found.

Author, academic, and homeschooling mother Nadya Williams joins the Know Why Podcast to discuss an overlooked village source that historically played a major role in more Americans' lives—the local church.

Reflecting on the state of parenthood today, Nadya offers practical advice for building a village right where you are. She reminds parents that villages are about more than "insurance friends" to call during an emergency...they're about thriving.

More Resources:

What's a Village For? A Response to Olga Khazan by Nadya Williams (IFS)

Nadya Williams on Substack

The Gospel Comes With a House Key: Practicing Radical Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Butterfield

Scruffy Hospitality — Google Search

Many young adults are worried that having children will overburden a planet that’s already overpopulated and further damage the environment. They’re also worried about what kind of environment their kids will be born into.

Are these valid concerns — and if not, why not? In this episode of the Know Why Podcast (originally aired in 2023), Liberty takes listeners through research and perspectives from millennials, parents, climate scientists, and more, exploring a question many young adults are asking.

More Resources:

Why I Stopped Being a Climate Catastrophist

Three tough truths about climate by Bill Gates

Anxiety over climate warming is leading some young adults to say they don't want children (AP)

Climate Anxiety vs. Reality (The Free Press)

News outlets have reported Harvard University's students' reactions to the threat of stricter academic standards, after a commission found that grades were massively inflated despite a decline in academic involvement at the college. Some reacted by worrying they wouldn't find their classwork enjoyable or fulfilling if academic standards were raised.

Beyond Harvard, is there an underlying assumption in modern culture that life is to be enjoyed? Liberty examines that assumption, identifies why it's problematic in everything from education to relationships, and recalls research that points to what makes humans more deeply fulfilled.

More Resources:

All A's at Harvard (World)

https://wng.org/opinions/all-as-at-harvard-1762387132

The Perverse Consequences of the Easy A (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/08/harvard-college-grade-inflation/684021/

Does This Study Reveal the Key to Human Flourishing? (Know Why Podcast)

https://youtu.be/g3tobGiNVvM?si=iTTyLQRqobwWKmGQ

Is autonomy the default state of human existence? Is freedom from other's neediness a human right? If the answer to those first two questions is "yes," where does that leave individuals who, through no fault of their own, are not autonomous?

In her book The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto, Leah Libresco Sargeant argues that modern society has been built on a "false anthropology," which is the lie that we are autonomous creatures by nature. Liberty shares insights from the book, as well as a recent interview with Leah on Point of View Radio Talk Show. Listen to learn how accepting the reality of our own needs and learning to live in mutual dependence can create a more just society for every member of the family.

More Resources:

Full Interview With Leah Libresco Sargeant on Point of View Radio Talk Show:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/point-of-view-november-03-2025-hour-2-the/id333209607?i=1000735119200

The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto by Leah Libresco Sargeant

https://www.amazon.com/Dignity-Dependence-Feminist-Manifesto-Catholic/dp/0268210330/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OYjUX7bQQ2aHfZB2uJEnDFB3F2twIAOA8X_w2LOGsPvvRVdJ1q-Icgm_4lS1ibjPZC6s5n4yAjSgwtBItBdBcbC8rRK6goSeWyYF1KP8SIm_7HN8ESn1e1vXIL3hMQ5Vm6Jx4UnKyJBKVRXQKs6B5w.hkExGOsWMFpP1aTpR3hOujTLHjHfq-iF5WDCRC3Ewwk&dib_tag=se&hvadid=580694231644&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9026959&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=15896085238039775592--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15896085238039775592&hvtargid=kwd-2424453398105&hydadcr=20588_13321902&keywords=the+dignity+of+dependence&mcid=f8bd510d0b4f3bb6a918931f280808cb&qid=1762300177&sr=8-1

The "Know About Family Formation" series is highlighting the good of marriage and family. But what if you already know family is good, and you desire family, but for one reason or another, that desire remains unfulfilled?

Chelsea Sobolik understands what it is like to wrestle with that kind of grief. Author "Longing for Motherhood: Holding Onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness," Chelsea joins the Know Why Podcast to share her story—as well as hope for those who may be walking through infertility, prolonged singleness, or other kinds of grief and suffering.

In this episode, Chelsea addresses topics including:

• Why we shouldn't idolize marriage and motherhood
• What stepping in and out of different family roles throughout life can look like
• How churches can promote the goodness of family while supporting those grieving infertility and loss
• How Jesus relates to and comforts us in the midst of embodied brokenness
• How individuals can be an advocate, a mother figure, and a vital member of church and local communities in different seasons of life
• And so much more.

Listen or share with someone you know who is longing for family.

More Resources:

Chelsea's Books, including Longing for Motherhood:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Chelsea-Patterson-Sobolik/author/B07CP1LPCX?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=f24ad87a-b543-4beb-9993-19a4274fbd28

Dads Hurt Too: A Father's Memoir of Miscarriage by Eric Shumacher

https://www.amazon.com/Dads-Hurt-Too-Fathers-Miscarriage/dp/1736408038

Abbey Wedgeworth

https://www.abbeywedgeworth.com/all-books

Brittany Lee Allen

https://brittleeallen.com/miscarriage-and-infertility/