From Black church editor Haleluya Hadero: A few months ago, I was soliciting ideas for an evangelical-oriented business story that could be featured in CT’s March-April print magazine. Most of what I heard wasn’t interesting or timely. But then, one of my friends told me about Jason Johnson, a former audiobook narrator who lost his business as generative artificial intelligence became more ubiquitous.
I have reported on AI many times. But I had never written about it in the context of the audiobook industry, so I was interested in hearing Johnson’s story. When I called him in December, he told me he launched his audiobook business during the COVID-19 pandemic and earned decent income until AI ultimately pushed him out of the industry in 2024.
In order to write a story about AI audiobooks, however, I knew I needed to listen to some. I found a few on Audible and spent one evening listening to narrations. The audiobooks sounded more human than I expected, but as I note in my article, AI voices can also sound monotone. I found it unsettling to listen to a machine mimicking a person—a reaction researchers call the uncanny valley effect. It makes me believe AI voices will lead to more job losses, but humans will still want to hear other humans, so narrators won’t be totally extinct.
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A look inside Houston rodeo’s cowboy church, where hats, oversize belt buckles, and bull-rider metaphors abound.
Today in Christian History
March 23, 1540: Waltham Abbey in Essex becomes the last monastery in England to transfer its allegiance from the Catholic Church to the newly established Church of England.
Cassandra Burnette never expected to find herself homeless. A petite, 57-year-old African American woman who chatters to strangers like they’re old friends, Burnette was a manager at a Wendy’s when…
Summer is the time for ecclesial gatherings. Between June and September, dozens of denominations representing millions of churchgoers will gather for fellowship, teaching, and conducting business. Here are some of…
A statement dropped on a Tuesday. I do not remember which Tuesday. There have been many Tuesdays like it. Something breaks into the news: A shooting. A Supreme Court ruling.…
This piece was adapted from CT’s books newsletter. Subscribe here. Sam Luce and Hunter Williams, How to Teach Kids Theology: Deep Truths for Growing Faith (New Growth, 2025) A. W. Tozer…
IN THE MAGAZINE
In this issue of Christianity Today and in this season of the Christian year, we explore the bookends of life: birth and death. You’ll read Karen Swallow Prior’s essay on childlessness and Kara Bettis Carvalho’s overview of reproductive technologies. Haleluya Hadero reports on artificially intelligent griefbots, and Kristy Etheridge discusses physician-assisted suicide. There is much work to be done to promote life. We talk with Fleming Rutledge about the Crucifixion, knowing that while suffering lasts for a season, Jesus has triumphed over death through his death. This Lenten and Easter season, may these words be a companion as you consider how you might bring life in the spaces you inhabit.
