“Take a Leap” launched its first seven episodes on Nov. 1, making it one of BYUradio’s newest podcasts.
The podcast was created “for young adults by young adults,” as Lia King, one of the show's co-hosts, described it. It aims to help religious young people feel less alone in a time when many are leaving the church, and it encourages them to incorporate their faith into daily life.
“There are a lot of people of our generation leaving organized religion, not just The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but all religions,” King said.
The podcast’s name, “Take a Leap,” is a reference to the common phrase, “take a leap of faith.” To make the podcast more relatable to a bigger audience, the first half of the phrase was chosen as the title.
“Take a leap of faith, take that first step and change the world,” King said.
The podcast features guests of all faiths and religious backgrounds who discuss their faith journey and how it has helped them through some of their hardest moments.
Jackie Durfey, a senior majoring in journalism, works on editing and post-production for the show. In addition to her editing duties, she researches and finds guests to bring onto the show.
“Some people, I think, see organized religion as ‘you’re going to be in this box’ and like it’s a really negative thing,” Durfey said. “But these people are coming and telling really cool stories about amazing things that they’ve accomplished and their faith goes hand and hand with that. It’s not two separate things.”
King has been with the podcast from the very beginning. She started at BYUradio working on the podcast “In Good Faith” and then moved to help create “Take a Leap.”
“I think this podcast is important because first, it inspires hope in the rising generation and second, it makes you feel less alone being a religious person who’s young,” King said.
The show focuses on faith within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and incorporates an interfaith aspect to bridge divides and include more listeners in the experience.
Host James Sturdevant, a sophomore majoring in cyber security, enjoys bringing on and interviewing guests of different faiths to help show the commonalities between religions. He thinks that finding similarities between different faiths can help listeners strengthen their own testimonies.
“Seeing other people who have a piece of truth and really focus on it and really love it and embrace it, it can help you see how that can be a part of your life and incorporate it into your faith tradition,” Sturdevant said.
King said that finding similarities in differing religions brings more hope into the world. She loves finding and interviewing people of faith who have gone above and beyond with their faith to make a lasting impact on the world.
“Sometimes I think we forget how similar different religions are to our own, and in talking to different people about our values or what changes we want to see in the world, I realized that there’s a lot more hope than I initially thought, which is very uplifting,” King said.
Sturdevant said the podcast’s aim of encouraging young adults to stay in religion would help them understand how doing so can benefit their lives and help them find community.
“Young people are leaving religion, and it’s a really important benefit for their personal lives and their self-confidence and whatever it is they’re struggling with, that they can have that support in their life, and we’re trying to help people see that,” Sturdevant said.
The podcast began recording episodes in Jan. 2024 and is on track to start releasing episodes at a consistent pace. It is still trying to gain traction and an audience, with King and Durfey going out on BYU campus handing out flyers and posting social media content.
The “Take a Leap” team is confident in their journey and hopes for the podcast's future. Durfey saw the commitment and passion of everyone working on it from the very beginning and currently hopes listeners can see the passion and love behind the show.
“How could it not just keep growing and getting better?” Durfey said.