Episode 1293: Ryan Gosling on 'Project Hail Mary,' a Christian Oscar Nod & the NFL Star Turning Missionary
The RELEVANT Podcast
RELEVANT Magazine
4.6 • 2.9K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ryan Gosling joins the RELEVANT Podcast to talk about his new sci-fi film Project Hail Mary — what made him fall in love with this story and why this one might be a "core memory" film for a generation.
Before that, Emily reports from SXSW to break down the week's biggest faith-and-culture stories: a Christian animated short film made by two Pixar animators and 200 volunteers (including musician Josh Garrels) got nominated for an Oscar. Also Christian apologist Wesley Huff went on the popular podcast 'Diary of a CEO' and told Stephen Bartlett to his face he's going to hell. Plus, NFL quarterback Justin Fields reveals he wants to become a missionary after football.
Then in Slices: the Tooth Fairy economy is growing (Jesse has a lot of thoughts), a huge scandal in a camel beauty pageant, and you'll never be able to predict this week's 'What's Jesse Thinking?' segment. It's a wild ride this week.
Highlights:
00:25 — SxSW breakdown: The decline from tech-and-music powerhouse
07:38 — RELEVANT BUZZ
07:43 — The Office canon errors: a deep dive nobody asked for (Michael Scott's anniversary math)
10:11 — Forevergreen: Oscar-nominated Christian animated short by two Pixar animators + 200 volunteers, featuring Josh Garrels
19:22 — Wesley Huff talks Christianity on 'Diary of a CEO'
26:07 — NFL QB Justin Fields says he wants to be a missionary after football
30:07 — SLICES
30:14 — The Tooth Fairy economy
35:34 — Camel beauty pageant scandal
37:53 — RELEVANT RECOMMENDS: Project Hail Mary
43:25 — Ryan Gosling on why he keeps making space movies and why he won't actually go to space
46:42 — Ryan Gosling on why he picked Project Hail Mary — "you would die for this rock alien"
48:54 — Ryan Gosling on Project Hail Mary as a "core memory movie" like E.T. and Back to the Future
50:01 — WHAT'S JESSE THINKING?: Should Golden Corral run the US government?
56:23 — Post-credits: Apology to the estate of Shel Silverstein
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's episode 1293, and it's the relevant podcast here in Orlando. |
| 0:09.7 | I'm your host, Cameron Strang, and joining me from Leverland, Virginia. |
| 0:12.7 | Hello, hello. |
| 0:14.4 | And from Austin, our managing editor, downtown Emily Brown. |
| 0:18.2 | Hey, y'all. |
| 0:19.5 | The guys are not on today because Emily's in Austin for South by Southwest and they are too, |
| 0:27.1 | but they're artists and last night they played a showcase. |
| 0:30.4 | Both Derek and Marty had a showcase, which Emily attended. |
| 0:34.3 | But she got up at the break of dawn to record this podcast with y'all, but we could |
| 0:38.6 | not get the artist to do the same. |
| 0:53.2 | So I, I need y'all to know. I did ask them and they were like, because it's, I, everyone knows, it's 9 a.m. right And they both said, did we have to do it that early? And I said, y'all sleep in. That's right. So it's 9 a.m. there. |
| 0:55.1 | What time did the showcase conclude? |
| 1:13.9 | Well, after the showcase ended at midnight, there was a cipher. So, I mean, it went to like two in the morning. Totally. I would say I left around like 11, 1130. So they were still going pretty hard. Hold on. Hold on. Tell the truth. You watch Marty's showcase. |
| 1:19.3 | And there's another artist. And then Derek got on. You stayed for one song of Derrick's. |
| 1:25.7 | And then Marty said, hey, Emily, you want to go get some food with us? And you left with Marty while Derek was on stage. |
| 1:26.6 | Savage. Tell the truth. |
| 1:29.6 | I thought it was okay because Marty instigated it. |
| 1:34.3 | That's savage on both you and Marty's part. Has anyone talked to Derek since this transpired? |
| 1:39.4 | You know, I saw him like from afar and he didn't make eye contact with me. That checks out. |
| 1:40.8 | I got to send him a fruit basket later. |
| 1:43.5 | Wow. |
| 2:00.9 | So you're at South by Southwest. Emily, what's your initial impressions of South by? Because I didn't attend this year for a reason. What's your impressions? It's not what I expected. I expected maybe a little bit more. But again, it just started. Maybe I'll be surprised by. Let me just cut to the chase. Here's the deal. Back in the day, it was a two-week thing |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from RELEVANT Magazine, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of RELEVANT Magazine and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.