From ESPN to Eternity: One Writer's Journey to What Actually Matters

About this episode

In this episode, Robert Bortins interviews Dr. Ted Kluck about his journey from secular sportswriting to Christian publishing and the impact of AI on education.

What does it really mean to write with conviction in a world where everyone's doing somebody's bidding? In this episode of Refining Rhetoric , host Robert Bortins sits down with award-winning author and Union University journalism professor Dr. Ted Kluck — 30 books, ESPN bylines, and a Christianity Today Book of the Year winner — to talk about faith, writing craft, and what it looks like to redeem journalism for the glory of God. They dig into Ted's journey from secular sportswriting to Christian publishing, how AI is reshaping the college classroom, and what parents and aspiring writers should actually focus on. Ted also shares why he believes there aren't many truly Christian colleges left in 2026 — and why Union University is one of them. Resources: Interested in studying journalism at Union? Visit https://www.uu.edu/ and use promo code KLUCK to apply for free. Ted's Substack: https://kluck.substack.com/ This episode of Refining Rhetoric is sponsored by Classical Conversations' new 2026 Product Line: This April, Classical Conversations launched an exciting portfolio of new products designed to strengthen math fluency, develop critical reasoning skills, and equip families with…

People in this episode

Host: Robert Bortins

Guest: Dr. Ted Kluck

Topics covered

• faith
• writing craft
• journalism
• Christian publishing
• education
• AI in classrooms

Keywords

• writing with conviction
• Christian journalism
• Union University
• Ted Kluck
• AI in education
• Christian colleges
• sportswriting

Sponsors

Classical Conversations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Union University, Christianity Today

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