Christian legal thought with public stakes.
The gist
Cross & Gavel Podcast sits at the intersection of law, faith, and public responsibility. Its conversations move from civility in legal practice to AI bias, mass incarceration, natural law, and the daily habits of Christian lawyers.
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About Cross & Gavel Podcast
Cross & Gavel Podcast is a Christian legal series about how law, faith, public policy, and professional duty meet in actual practice. It is not a quick headlines show. The conversations are patient, argumentative in the best sense, and interested in how lawyers become the kind of people their work requires. Recent episodes move through civility, AI bias, mass incarceration, natural law, religious freedom, beauty, and the integration of faith in legal practice. The show often begins with a theological or literary frame, then settles into concrete legal questions. Civility is treated as more than politeness; it becomes a response to a profession that can reward threats, needless hostility, and professional abrasion. Technology is handled with similar seriousness. In the AI bias conversation, the concern is not only bad outputs but the human choices, data sources, oversight failures, and moral offloading that make those outputs consequential. Criminal justice episodes look directly at prison labor, voting exclusion, structural pressure, and the many discretionary decisions that produce mass incarceration. Faith is not used as decoration. It functions as the show’s working vocabulary for conscience, vocation, neighbor-love, judgment, repentance, and public responsibility. The series also has a strong jurisprudential streak, with natural law, divine law, practical reason, and religious freedom receiving sustained attention. At other points, it turns unexpectedly toward beauty, architecture, planning law, and the claim that legal systems can recognize the true, the good, and the beautiful. The guests are usually scholars, attorneys, or judges with a specific paper, book, practice, or docket under discussion. That gives the show a grounded texture. Ideas are tested against depositions, courts, probation systems, legal education, and daily habits. Its pace is measured but not sleepy. The register is earnest, learned, and sometimes searching. Cross & Gavel Podcast works best for listeners who want Christian legal thought with institutional memory, ethical urgency, and practical friction.
Made for: Built for Christian law students, attorneys, judges, legal scholars, and policy-minded listeners who want serious conversations about vocation, justice, and public life. It also suits thoughtful non-lawyers interested in how faith shapes legal ethics and institutions.
What sets it apart: The show combines jurisprudence, theology, and practice without flattening them into culture-war talking points. Its conversations stay close to real legal settings: courtrooms, law schools, specialized dockets, prison systems, professional habits, and public policy debates.
In their own words
A production of Christian Legal Society — focusing on the interaction between law, religion, and public policy, with an emphasis on building-up Christian students and attorneys to intelligently engage in public life and better love their neighbors.
Why you'd press play
A courtroom for your conscience, where AI bias and prison labor face the same moral cross-examination.
Press play if you want
- legal questions tested against Christian duties, not merely professional incentives
- a judge's account of why a specialized docket was missing people of color
Talks about
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Episodes
- 1
212. Why Civility? — David A. Grenardo
Professor David A.
Apr 14, 2026·1h 11m - 2
211. Why Religious Freedom Matters — Allen D. Hertzke
Allen D.
Apr 2, 2026·48m - 3
210. Mitigating AI Bias — Sonia Gipson Rankin
Hidden gem["Anton Sorkin speaks with Sonia Rankin, a University of New Mexico law professor who learned coding in third grade and studied computer science at Morgan State University.", "Rankin argues that AI bias is built into data, model design, and deployment, and she uses Melvin Krantzberg's line that technology is \"neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral.\"", "She illustrates the problem with grapes, criminal justice data, facial recognition, and AI-generated fake citations in legal briefs.", "Her practical answer is more transparency and a lawyer sitting beside the developer before AI touches courts, housing, healthcare, or other high-stakes decisions."]
Mar 18, 2026·1h 2m·4 clips - 4
SPECIAL EPISODE: The Law, the Migrant, & the Family of God — Dr. Maria Doerfler (Witte Lectures)
A special episode featuring introductory remarks for a lecture series on law, migrants, and the family of God, with thanks to various supporters.
Mar 4, 2026·1h 31m - 5
209. Political Theology From Below — Vincent W. Lloyd
Vincent Lloyd discusses his new book 'What is Political Theology?' and his vision for the church's role in contemporary political and ethical issues.
Feb 18, 2026·45m - 6
208. The Sins of Mass Incarceration — Jeff Baker
Hidden gemAnton Sorkin and Jeff Baker use The Crossing Gavel to unpack Baker's Georgia Criminal Law Review piece on mass incarceration through Reinhold Niebuhr's Christian realism.
Feb 4, 2026·59m·4 clips - 7
207. A Sermon on the Law — Jeff Baker
Hidden gemAnton Sorkin interviews Jeffrey Baker on A Crossing Gavel about Baker's article, A Sermon on the Law, The Jurisprudence of Love, and what Christian lawyers owe God and neighbor.
Jan 28, 2026·58m·4 clips - 8
206. Kushinda Court — Judge Gerald Parker
Hidden gemJudge Gerald Parker describes Kushinda Court in Montgomery County, Ohio, a specialized docket for 18- to 29-year-old Black men on intensive supervision.
Jan 14, 2026·39m·2 clips - 9
205. Beauty & the Law — Mark Fowler
Hidden gemCross & Gavel Podcast episode 205 opens with T.S.
Dec 31, 2025·1h 9m·5 clips - 10
204. Christian Natural Law & Religious Freedom — Alex Deagon
Cross & Gavel host Anton Sorkin interviews Alex Deagon, an associate professor at Queensland University of Technology's School of Law, about his book Christian Natural Law and Religious Freedom: A Foundation Based on Love, the True, and the Good.
Dec 8, 2025·52m·4 clips - 11
203. Sin Nombre — Ted Oswald & Anna Colby
Nov 26, 2025·1h 20m - 12
202. How Do You Solve a Problem Like Martinez? — Benjamin A. Fleshman
Nov 19, 2025·50m - 13
201. Cosmic Politics — Jim DeMint
Nov 5, 2025·50m - 14
200. The Prodigal Host Returns — Mike Schutt
Oct 29, 2025·57m - 15
199. Unshaken Allegiance — Patrick Parkinson
Oct 22, 2025·48m - 16
198. How Religious Actors Help Shape the AI Dialogue — Whittney Barth
Oct 8, 2025·32m - 17
SPECIAL EPISODE: The Wages of Cinema — Crystal L. Downing
Sep 25, 2025·53m - 18
197. Kierkegaardian Ethics & the Rule of Law — Joshua Neoh
Sep 17, 2025·54m - 19
196. Pursuing Justice in a Violent Land (Part II) — Kurt Ver Beek & Emily Cole
Sep 3, 2025·1h 11m - 20
195. Pursuing Justice in a Violent Land (Part I) — Ross Halperin
Aug 21, 2025·46m - 21
194. Building an AI-Savvy Workforce — Kevin Frazier
Jul 16, 2025·38m - 22
193. Ten Commandments in Classrooms — Mark David Hall & Andrea Picciotti-Bayer
Jul 2, 2025·1h 1m - 23
192. The Death & New Life of Law and Religion — Marc O. DeGirolami
Jun 18, 2025·1h 3m - 24
SPECIAL EPISODE: Integrating Faith in Legal Practice — Boatman Ricci (Foundations Series)
Jun 11, 2025·58m - 25
191. Religious Law Schools, Rankings, & Bias — Michael Conklin
May 28, 2025·51m - 26
SPECIAL EPISODE: Relational Wisdom for Lawyers — Ken Sande (Wellness Program)
May 14, 2025·54m - 27
190. Play In The Joints — Falco Anthony Muscante II
May 8, 2025·28m - 28
SPECIAL EPISODE: Integrating Faith in Legal Practice — Joe Ruta & Stephen Lyon (Foundations Series)
Attorneys Joe Ruta and Stephen Lyon discuss integrating Christian faith into legal practice, from law school to career, in a special Palm Sunday episode of the Foundations Series.
Apr 24, 2025·1h - 29
189. Natural Law and Its Discontents — Josiah Wolfe
Apr 16, 2025·41m - 30
188. Called to Freedom — Brad Littlejohn
Apr 2, 2025·46m - 31
SPECIAL EPISODE: What Hath Christ To Do With Rights? — Kristina Arriaga (Witte Lectures)
Kristina Arriaga introduces John Witte's contributions to the history of human rights and religious freedom ahead of the Declaration of Independence's 250th anniversary.
Mar 19, 2025·32m - 32
187. Refugees, Migrants, & the Church — Matthew Soerens
Anton Sorkin interviews Matthew Soerens about the impact of recent executive orders on refugee resettlement and the Christian call to love immigrants.
Mar 5, 2025·47m - 33
186. Title VII & Religious Accommodation — Blaine L. Hutchison & Bruce Cameron
Legal experts discuss the evolution of religious accommodation protections under Title VII, focusing on recent Supreme Court cases and their impact on workers' rights.
Feb 19, 2025·1h 7m - 34
185. Christianity & the "Liberal" Income Tax — Andrew Hayashi
Feb 5, 2025·1h 16m - 35
SPECIAL EPISODE: Living Well — Starr Tomczak (Wellness Program)
Jan 28, 2025·53m - 36
184. Calling Is More Than Your Job — Steven Zhou
Jan 15, 2025·47m - 37
183. Faith Through Lawyering — Randy Lee
Jan 8, 2025·1h 7m - 38
182. Artificial Intelligence & Access to Justice — Kevin T. Frazier
Dec 25, 2024·38m - 39
181. The Diary of a Black Christian Female Law Student — Jeanelle Angus & Lakuita Bittle
Dec 11, 2024·1h 16m - 40
180. The Kids Aren't Alright — Amy Levin
Dec 4, 2024·46m - 41
SPECIAL EPISODE: Spiritual Practices for Soul Care — Dr. Barbara L. Peacock (Wellness Program)
Nov 27, 2024·54m - 42
179. The Origins of Church Autonomy — Lael Weinberger
Nov 21, 2024·1h 7m - 43
178. Religious Freedom Without the Rule of Law — Andrea Pin
Anton Sorkin interviews Andrea Pin about her book on the development of religion, rule of law, and religious freedom in Middle Eastern societies.
Nov 13, 2024·52m - 44
177. Law & the Spirit of Jubilee — Christopher D. Hampson
Oct 24, 2024·45m - 45
176. The Compass of Character — Nicholas Aroney
Oct 9, 2024·49m - 46
175. Habits of a Peacemaker — Steven T. Collis
Oct 2, 2024·54m - 47
174. How Law Lost Its Way — Adam J. MacLeod
Sep 18, 2024·42m - 48
173. The Renewal of Labor Law — Alvin Velazquez
Sep 11, 2024·52m - 49
172. Person-Centered Contract Theory — C. Scott Pryor
Sep 4, 2024·56m - 50
171. When A Christian Attorney Walks Into The Bar — Dr. Jeffery Ventrella
Aug 21, 2024·34m