Podcast

Queen Esther’s story is a masterclass in what it means to lead not for personal gain, position, or safety — but for a purpose so much larger than yourself that you’re willing to risk everything to serve it.

We sit down with Jenna Schutt, a former cardiac nurse who learned the answer to that question while fighting for her own life. Diagnosed with a rare and incurable bone-marrow disease, Jenna endured chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant — and in the hospital rooms where fear and “what if” thoughts threatened to overwhelm her, she began deliberately redirecting her mind toward Scripture and what she believed to be true.

We are not locked into the narratives that shaped us. We can take the parts of our story we admire and want to carry forward, meld them with the new story we aspire to live, and chart a course toward something better. Rewriting your story isn’t about erasing the past. It’s about refusing to let the past have the final word on who you become.

We sit down with Zach Duke, whose life has taken one of the most unexpected and faith-filled paths we’ve ever featured on Beyond the Crucible.

In this episode, we explore the remarkable relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and her closest adviser, Lord Burghley, as part of our ongoing series More Stories from the Book Crucible Leadership.

We step back and take a big-picture look at the five key truths for overcoming setback and failure that emerged from our recently completed summer series, Back to a Better Future: The Crucibles of Sci-Fi Cinema.

Left behind on the Red Planet after a mission gone wrong, Watney faces not just his worst days, but his worst months and years, with little more than his ingenuity, determination, and an impressive sense of humor to carry him through. His story is one of the most compelling portraits of resilience we’ve explored in this entire series — a masterclass in what it looks like to science your way out of a crucible and refuse to let impossible odds have the final word.

In this episode, we dive into Star Trek: First Contact as part of the seventh installment of our special summer series, Back to a Better Future: The Crucibles of Sci-Fi Cinema. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise must lead his crew against the Borg.

Star Wars is far more than a space fantasy—it is a masterclass in how individuals navigate life-altering crucibles. From Luke Skywalker’s initial restlessness on the moisture farm of Tatooine to the heavy trials endured by Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han Solo, Warwick and Gary explore how trial and tragedy shape character, destiny, and leadership.

Through the lens of “crucible leadership,” Warwick and Gary unpack the film’s primary warning: “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.” The episode explores how founder and CEO John Hammond uses his vast wealth and unchecked ambition to create an attraction that promises wonder, but ultimately unleashes chaos, death, and terror.