The Higher Ground Podcast
The Higher Ground Podcast is hosted by Washington Times and Higher Ground columnist Billy Hallowell. Focused on faith and culture, each week he'll bring you light amid the chaos.
Recent Stories
The most toxic result of the 2024 election
It's normal for disappointment and frustration to reign after a person or party's candidate loses, but what we're seeing right now is a different dynamic -- an infernal enigma leading some vexed by Vice President Kamala Harris' loss to lash out in abnormal and unfortunate ways.
5 prayers to save America as Election Day closes in
The best way to survive the presidential election and navigate the emotional chaos and stress in the run-up is to turn to God, humble ourselves before Him, and pray for this great nation. So, let's explore five invocations that could help save America -- and preserve our individual sanity.
Could these anti-Christian moves seal Kamala Harris' electoral fate?
Kamala Harris must do more than speak if she wishes to reach Christian voters.
Harris puts the final nail in the coffin of Christian nationalism panic
As America's agonizing, enervating and nail-biting presidential election nears its conclusion, Vice President Kamala Harris has apparently seen the light -- at least according to some of the political ads and proclamations emerging from her campaign, friends and allies.
China's horrific religious persecution should be a stark wakeup call for America
Christianity and other faiths are being systematically and increasingly denigrated in China, with shocking acts of government malfeasance eroding any semblance of democratic normalcy.
The most disturbing line during the vice presidential debate
"I don't talk about my faith a lot." With these few, consequential words, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz offered one of the most stunning and disturbing lines of Tuesday night's vice presidential debate.
Miracles & mysteries: For KING + COUNTRY singer Joel Smallbone's powerful mission
The Smallbones' work is a fusion of art, faith, encouragement, innovation, and grit.
The real Donald Trump? Surprising acts turn media narrative on its head
Former President Donald Trump is known, in part, for his brash, often abrasive demeanor, flippant commentary and the names he conjures up for his foes.
No, Pope Francis: All religions aren't a path to God
In an era when many faithful lament theological confusion and fear the watering down of Christianity, Pope Francis did little in recent days to assuage any consternation.
Harris' shameless debate lie about late-term abortion
Unsurprisingly, abortion -- an issue on which Vice President Kamala Harris has seemingly set the heart and soul of her campaign -- was one of the biggest lightning rods during the fiery faceoff.
Higher Ground: Hamas' murders hostages, Nashville shooter manifesto and more
Welcome to Higher Ground, the faith-centric newsletter focused on the intersection of culture and politics from experienced journalists at The Washington Times.
Israeli-American mother's worst nightmare reveals what true love exemplifies
After nearly 11 months of traversing the airways to raise alarm bells on behalf of Israeli hostages and to fight for her own son's release, Rachel Goldberg-Polin's worst fears became a reality: Her son, Hersh, who was taken hostage during Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack, was recently slaughtered by his captors.
4 Hollywood celebs who could help turn America around
Amid the muck of oversexualized and bizarre antics, rampant political division and cancel culture madness, there are actors and performers increasingly waking up to the disastrous dynamics around us.
Is Kamala Harris building a macabre campaign on the backs of the unborn?
Once proponents of the "safe, legal and rare" abortion mantra, the Democratic Party has now shifted to a place of not only openly touting the termination of innocents, but of also plainly placing the contentious issue at the center of Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 campaign.
Democrats have officially abandoned 'God'
It appears the Democrats are prepared to abandon God once and for all, with the draft of the 2024 Democratic Party Platform offering no mentions of "God," "Lord" or "Almighty."
Chicago pastor faced death threats, went into hiding after expressing conservative political views
Pastor Corey Brooks is a fixture in Chicago and has raised tens of millions of dollars for a community center. But it was his conservative views that left him vilified and fearful for his life.
Four Olympic heroes shine brightly amid the Games' darkness
While there have been multiple distractions eroding the main purposes of the Olympic Games, there's a bright light amid the darkness.
Olympics outrage: Learn more about the controversies at the Paris 2024 games
Welcome to Higher Ground, the faith-centric newsletter focused on the intersection of culture and politics from experienced journalists at The Washington Times.
Four reasons Christians are terrified of Kamala Harris
While Vice President Kamala Harris is receiving a great deal of attention over her Baptist faith -- including her request for invocation -- others are lamenting what they call past "religious bigotry."
Newsom's assault on parental rights is a litmus test for every 2024 candidate
The parent-child dynamic is one of the most sacrosanct relationships in human existence, yet it's now one of the most targeted, vulnerable and susceptible associations.
Who's really responsible for attempt on Trump's life?
Certainly, the shooter, whom the Secret Service killed, bears the sole responsibility for pulling the trigger in a sinister ploy to snuff out innocent lives. Nevertheless, the event forces us to ask some difficult, introspective questions about the rancor dominating our electoral discourse.
Four steps to surviving the toxic 2024 election
How do we survive this seemingly never-ending campaign -- a political nightmare with the power to splinter our relationships?
The reality critics of new Louisiana law are missing about the Ten Commandments
"Blatantly unconstitutional." That's how atheist and civil liberties organizations are describing a new Louisiana law mandating the presence of the Ten Commandments in all publicly funded classrooms.
How 'panic' over Joe Biden's first face-off with Donald Trump could upend entire election
Reports claim some Democratic operatives are panicking over President Joe Biden's debate performance Thursday night during his historic face-off with former president Donald Trump.
What the Robert Morris scandal could expose about contemporary Christianity
Churches should be the purest, safest, most sacrosanct spaces for adults and children alike, with the pastors of these institutions the most trusted, revered and upstanding of citizens.
How to stop radical secularism from turning America into a dystopian nightmare
Global religious persecution, by all discernible accounts, is worsening. The latest example seems otherworldly: An Iraqi court is forcing a woman named Elvin Joseph to leave behind her Christian faith and convert to Islam.
Higher Ground: A post-Roe wakeup call
Welcome to Higher Ground, the faith-centric newsletter focused on the intersection of culture and politics from experienced journalists at The Washington Times.
What the Biden, Trump convictions really say about Americans
"Guilty on all counts." This phrase has dominated headlines in recent weeks, sending shockwaves throughout every corridor of the political establishment.
How do we react to Trump's shock conviction? The Bible's got an answer
And with the 2024 election upon us, most of us will be more tempted than normal to babble or tap our keyboards without thinking.
Biggest myths, misconceptions about Trump and the GOP
What are the biggest myths and political misconceptions about former President Donald Trump and the GOP right now?
Muslim mob's violence against Christian over Quran claim must horrify us to action
Americans enjoy the boundless benefits of democracy and freedom, but millions around the world aren't so lucky, finding themselves trapped in dystopian nightmares devoid of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Trump's hush money shocker: Everything you need to know about the guilty verdict and what's next
Many questions remain after a New York court found former President Donald Trump guilty in his historic hush money case.
The real reason liberals are fuming over Harrison Butker's commencement address
As the flames of cancel culture continue to rage, many of the people demanding hyper-diversity simply have no patience for it when it comes to ideas outside of their own progressive bubbles.
Higher Ground: No room at Nashville 'inn' for pro-Israel Christian group
Welcome to Higher Ground, the faith-centric newsletter focused on the intersection of culture and politics from experienced journalists at The Washington Times.
Listen: Behind the furor over NFL Harrison Butker, pro-lifer to serve 57 months in prison
Billy Hallowell goes behind the headlines with CBN's Tre Goins Phillips and the Washington Times' Valerie Richardson.
How a homeless man shouting profanity in church sparked a chain reaction of hope
"Let's do something different." That's what Pastor Ed Newton of Community Bible Church in San Antonio said from the pulpit one Sunday last month. The pastor immediately halted one of his sermons to offer an explicit example of what preachers and houses of worship are called to do: love the lost.
The Higher Ground Podcast: Mass baptisms, shocking Baptist numbers, LGBTQ Methodist chaos continues
On today's "Higher Ground Podcast" The Washington Times' Mark Kellner joins Billy Hallowell to go behind the headlines on the biggest faith news of the week.
The shocking 'God' moments that are shattering culture's big lie
"We have never seen anything like this in our church." That's what Wayne Bray, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, said last year after 141 people were baptized in one day at his South Carolina house of worship.
Did Congress 'outlaw' the New Testament?
Welcome to Higher Ground, the faith-centric newsletter focused on the intersection of culture and politics from the experienced journalists of The Washington Times.
LISTEN: Mandisa shares journey of pain, doubt and finding God's love amid chaos
As we remember the life and legacy of Mandisa, Billy Hallowell revisits a 2022 interview with the "American Idol" alum and Grammy award-winning musician.
