Religion Communicators Council
2025 Wilbur Award Honorees
March 18, 2025

Audio Productions – News Stories – Faith & Values + Human Interest

Wilbur
For many Missouri Catholics, abortion rights means choosing between faith, politics
NPR, Katia Riddle, Catherine Laidlaw, Jason DeRose

Excellence
Once officially atheist, today’s Cuba hosts a rich diversity of faiths
AP, Walter Ratliff, Luis Andres Henao

Whole Again: One Woman’s Journey with FGM-C
CBC, Lauren Sproule

Ramadan diaries of a morning show host
CBC, Rhivu Rashid, Caroline Hillier

A rabbi and his son mourn Oct. 7 victims, disagree on next steps
Minnesota Public Radio, Catharine Richert, Annie Baxter, Lorna Benson

Merit
A court ruled embryos are children, while a Christian couple wrestles with IVF choices
AP, Walter Ratliff, Tiffany Stanley, Laura Ungar

Audio Productions – News Stories – Hard News 

Wilbur
Synagogues focus on building compassion for all those suffering from the Israel-Hamas conflict
NPR, Jason DeRose, Cheryl Corley, Liz Baker

Excellence
Latino evangelicals praise Donald Trump as president-elect who respects Christians
NPR, Sarah McCammon, Megan Pratz

Merit
As It Happens: US Election Ministry
CBC, Nil Köksal, Chris Howden, Leslie Amminson, Chloe Shantz-Hilkes, Austin Webb

Rabbis offer pastoral care for those traumatized by Oct. 7 Hamas attack
NPR News, Jason DeRose, Tara Neill

Audio Productions – Extended Length

Wilbur
The Second Helpings Society
CBC Radio, Jennifer Warren

Excellence
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah Platt & Team

Betrayal of Faith: The Story of Pastedechouan
CBC Radio, Ideas, Emma Anderson, Kevin Burns, Greg Kelly

Thejewfunction podcast
Thejewfunction, Lio Oded Spiegler, Seth Breitman, Andrew Martin

Money, Meet Meaning
Park Piedmont Advisors, Tom Levinson, Amber Hacker, Jonathan Woodward, Elizabeth Windom

Merit
Spirit & Power: Charismatics and Politics in American Life
Portland Seminary, Dr. Leah Payne, Karrie Gaspard-Hogewood

Audio Visual Productions – News Stories – Faith & Values + Human Interest

Wilbur
St. Mary’s
CBS 60 Minutes, Bill Whitaker, Sara Kuzmarov, Daniel J. Glucksman, Mariah Campbell

Face to Face
CBS Sunday Morning, Seth Doane, Sari Aviv, Ed Givnish, Rand Morrison

Excellence
Is America Losing Its Religion?
ABC News, ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis

Pope Francis
CBS 60 Minutes, Norah O’Donnell, Keith Sharman, Anna Matranga, Julie Morse, Roxanne Feitel

60 Minutes goes inside the Vatican with Pope Francis
CBS 60 Minutes Overtime, Brit McCandless Farmer, Keith Sharman, Roxanne Feitel, Scott Rosann

Twin Artists
CBS Sunday Morning, Jim Axelrod, Jay Kernis, Lauren Barnello, Rand Morrison, Mike Hernandez, Eric Vucelich

Introducing: Jelly Roll
CBS Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley, Kelefa Sanneh, Alan Golds, Aria Shavelson, Ed Givnish, Rand Morrison

Bishop Gene
CBS Sunday Morning, Ted Koppel, Deirdre Cohen, Robert Marston, Ed Givnish

Eye On America: Evangelical Political Rise
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, Major Garrett, Jim Axelrod, Carolyn Cremen, Brian Bingham, Arden Farhi, Matthew Mosk, Chrissy Hallowell

Margaret Brennan interviews Cardinal Dolan and Reverend Mariann Budde
CBS Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Margaret Brennan, Ed O’Keefe, Anne Hsu, Avery Miller, Carol Joynt, Jake Miller, Kelsey Micklas, Michael Jackson

Eye on America: Priest Shortage
CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell, Mark Strassmann, Jim Axelrod, Brian Bingham, Elizabeth Campbell, Larry Warner, Lora Pichkhadze

 

Audio Visual Productions – News Stories – Hard News

Wilbur
Notre Dame
CBS 60 Minutes, Bill Whitaker, Rome Hartman, Matthew Riley, Craig Crawford

Excellence
Children of War
CBS 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley, Aaron Weisz, Ian Flickinger, Warren Lustig

 

Audio Visual Productions – Short

 Wilbur
The Kilkenny Nativity
Bo Media, Derek Nagle

Merit
The World, the Jews and the Science of Human Survival
Thejewfunction, Lio Oded Spiegler, Andrew Martin, Tony Kosinec

Audio Visual Productions – Medium 

Wilbur
Abraham’s Bridge
Elinor Pierce

Audio Visual Productions – Long

Wilbur
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt
Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Jonah Platt and Team

Excellence
Not In My Name
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Brietta Hague, Peter O’Donoghue, Amanda Collinge

Religion, Racism, & Reconciliation
Auteur Productions, Ltd., Gerald Krell & Adam Krell

Merit
Unexpected Peace
Dove Tale Productions, Ehab Assal, Jonathan Bornman, D. Michael Hostetler

Teilhard: Visionary Scientist
Frank Frost Productions, LLC, Frank and Mary Frost

Audio Visual Productions – Feature Film

Wilbur
Colleyville
Hey Jude Productions, Dani Menkin

Books

Wilbur
The Oracle: Portraits of Rebbe Mendel Schneerson
Hasidic Archives, Marc Asnin, Dovid Zaklikowski, Sara Ogince, Julian Anderson

The Politzer Saga
The Politzer Foundation, Linda Ambrus Broenniman

Excellence
100 Jewish Brides: Stories from Around the World
Indiana University Press, Barbara Vinick and Shulamit Reinharz

The Best of KidSpirit, Volume X
KidSpirit, KidSpirit

 Circle of Hope
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Eliza Griswold

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
Macmillan Publishers, Sarah McCammon

 God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible
Little, Brown & Company, Candida Moss

 Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart
Macmillan Publishers, Brian D. McLaren

 A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church series
Church Publishing Incorporated, Wilda C. Gafney

Merit
The Accidental Yogini: Padma
One Yoga and Wellness Center LLC, Rev. Dr. Tracey L. Ulshafer

Becoming a Future-Ready Church: 8 Shifts to Encourage and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders
Zondervan Reflective, Harper Collins, Daniel Yang, Adelle Banks, Warren Bird

 The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy
Macmillan Publishers, Jim Wallis, foreword by Eddie Glaude

High Hawk
University of Iowa Press, Amy Frykholm

 Holy Bible Feminine Translation Version
Mark 7 Publishing, JW Farquhar

 

Written Works – Magazines 

Wilbur
The Demon Slayers: The new age of American exorcisms
Harper’s Magazine, Sam Kestenbaum

Excellence
The Most Revealing Moment of a Trump Rally
The Atlantic, McKay Coppins

How Islamophobia Is Driving a Mental Health Crisis Among Michigan’s Muslim Youth
Capital & Main/Rolling Stone, Eli Cahan

The Prophet Nahum: A Symbol of Religious Coexistence in Kurdistan
Kurdistan Chronicle, Kurdistan Chronicle

The Gospel of Matthew Trewhella: How a militant anti-abortion activist is influencing Republican politics
Wisconsin Watch, Phoebe Petrovic

Merit
How ‘Vatican Watchers’ Report On The Papacy To Catholics Around The World
Religion Unplugged, Clemente Lisi

 

Written Works – Newspapers – Faith & Values

Wilbur
Peyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance and development
AP, Deepa Bharath and Jessie Wardarski

Uncovering Abuse at Greater Grace Church
The Baltimore Banner, Jessica Calefati, Julie Scharper, Justin Fenton

‘Haitians are not eating pets’: Springfield faith leaders stand with embattled migrants
RNS, Kathryn Post

Excellence
Meet the young women joining the ranks of Catholic nuns, a journey that can take up to ten years
AP, Jessie Wardarski

With 275 years of ghosts, Charleston’s Jewish leaders bullish on its future
JNS/Jewish News Syndicate, Menachem Wecker

 Trumpland’s spiritual (and not-so-spiritual) leaders
RNS, Jack Jenkins

Hindu Americans are leaning more right than ever
RNS, Richa Ravindra Karmarkar

Grace College professor ousted after online commentators flag ‘woke’ social media posts
RNS, Kathryn Post

 Polyamorists look for their place in church as the practice loses its taboo
RNS, Kathryn Post

Merit
Voting rights advocate Barbara Williams-Skinner thrives on prayer and policy changes
RNS, Adelle M. Banks

 

Written Works – Newspapers – Hard News

Wilbur
Killing the Faithful for Organs: The Brutal Secret Beijing Doesn’t Want Exposed
Epoch Times, Eva Fu

Excellence
Canada’s controversial ban on adoptions from several Muslim countries sparks court challenge
CBC, Shanifa Nasser

American Jews Show Support For Israel By Volunteering During Wartime
Epoch Times, Dan M. Berger

Threats to Catholic Charities staffers increase amid far-right anti-migrant campaign
RNS, Aleja Hertzler-McCain and Jack Jenkins

Merit
Amid unusual and ongoing court battle, 2 priests in Steubenville, Ohio, seek custody of 2-year-old
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jacob Geanous

 

Written Works – Newspapers – Human Interest 

Wilbur
Last of the witnesses
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Laura Malt Schneiderman

Excellence
Afro-Cuban drums, Muslim prayers, Buddhist mantras: Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba
AP, Luis Andres Henao

From legendary photographer Ralph Gibson, a brand new lens on Israel
Forward, Simi Horwitz

Merit
Haitians in Ohio find solidarity at church after chaotic week of false pet-eating claims
AP, Luis Andres Henao

African spiritualities are attracting Black Americans as a source of pride and identity
RNS, Fiona Anne Andre

Why you might have heard Paul Simon’s ‘The Sound of Silence’ at Spanish Mass
RNS, Aleja Hertzler-McCain

 

Written Works – Newspapers – Opinion

Wilbur
Gaskin: Recognizing humanity in ‘new’ identities
Greater Grove Hall Main Streets/Boston Herald, Ed Gaskin

Excellence
Gaskin: Mary a beacon of inspiration for all faiths
Greater Grove Hall Main Streets/Boston Herald, Ed Gaskin

Merit
CNN: New Louisiana law threatens the sanctity of the Ten Commandments
CNN, Eli Federman

Gaskin: Antisemitism’s long roots offer lesson for today
Greater Grove Hall Main Streets/Boston Herald, Ed Gaskin

Gaskin: Yom Kippur offers lessons in prayer, repentance
Greater Grove Hall Main Streets/Boston Herald, Ed Gaskin

Images – Photography 

Wilbur
Black transgender pastor builds community in Sacramento while searching for a place of worship
San Francisco Chronicle, Salgu Wissmath

Merit
Interfaith protest confronts Christians United for Israel summit
RNS, Aleja Hertzler-McCain

Meet The Swiss Guard: 500 Years Of Protecting The Papacy
Religion Unplugged, Clemente Lisi