Episodes

Jan. 5, 2017

The Mystical Primer w/ The Skeptical Mystic Concludes

The third and final part of our mystical primer with the Skeptical Mystic concludes today. Steven Jones and I talk about Benedict of Nursia & lectio divina, Catherine of Siena & erotic spirituality, and Hildegard of …
Dec. 19, 2016

The Mystical Primer Continues w/ The Skeptical Mystic

We return to what will now be a three part series to extend just beyond Advent with the Skeptical Mystic, Steven Jones! In this episode, we discuss St. John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, the crazy performanc…
Dec. 13, 2016

A Visceral, Heaven-Rending Advent w/ Jason Chesnut & Tuhina Rasche

This one has expletives, folks. | | | | | | V My guests this week are Jason Chesnut and Tuhina Rasche, the co-collaborators behind #FuckThisShit, and Advent Devotional (PG Version: #RendtheHeavens). We discuss why they use s…
Dec. 6, 2016

A Mystical Tradition Primer with Steven Jones, aka The Skeptical Mystic

In Part 1 of a 2-part series, Steven Jones and I discuss the variety of mystical traditions! (Expanded show notes will be posted later in the week.) Follow Steven on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYtS0smP4jSHKjlc…
Nov. 28, 2016

Science Mike

This week's guest is Mike McHargue, aka Science Mike, author of the book Finding God in the Waves: How I Lost My Faith and Found It Again Through Science. Mike is also a podcaster on well-known podcasts The Liturgists and As…
Nov. 21, 2016

Thanksgiving Prep Re-Release: Greg Coates

Get ready for some potentially awkward Thanksgiving conversations with this re-release of my conversation with Greg Coates. Buy Greg's book, Politics Strangely Warmed: Political Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit: http://amzn.t…
Nov. 14, 2016

6 Days Later

No guest this week. It's been a few days since the election. These are some of my thoughts on it, as well as some stories from my youth. Discuss this show with the hashtag #byourlove. "The Real Origins of the Religious Right…
Nov. 7, 2016

"Weird Everywhere" - Expats of Jesusland with Dr. Chris Stroop

<p>This week's episode features a conversation with Dr. Chris Stroop. Chris is an historian and a Provosts's Postdoctoral Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of South Florida, and the co-editor of…
Oct. 31, 2016

A Safe Place for Questions w/ Dr. Keisha McKenzie

This week's episode features a conversation with Dr. Keisha McKenzie, aka @mackenzian on Twitter. She shares her story of growing up in the UK, attending school in Jamaica, as well as her time living in the US, all while eng…
Oct. 24, 2016

Heretic Husband

This week’s guest is the anonymous blogger Heretic Husband. He tells his story, which begins in Catholicism and continues through evangelicalism and agnosticism. This story does include a discussion of spiritual and sexual a…
Oct. 17, 2016

The Kevin Garcia Needs to Sit in the Front Row

Today’s guest is Kevin Garcia, a writer, podcaster, and all around thoughtful guy. It’s hard to summarize Kevin’s story. Ultimately it’s s story of self acceptance and finding God’s love, but it took time to get there. It’s …
Oct. 11, 2016

Matter Matters & Other Matters with Nathan Cleveland

This week’s episode features a conversation with Nathan Cleveland. We discuss his evangelical childhood, our time at the Mystery College, the mystery and power of the Eucharist, the limitations of certainty, and perhaps most…
Oct. 3, 2016

Emily Joy & Hannah Paasch of The Flawless Project

This week's episode features a conversation with Emily Joy &amp; Hannah Paasch from The Flawless Project. They discuss the impact their experiences with purity culture and sexism has had on their lives. The Flawless Project:…
Sept. 26, 2016

Politics & Religion and Religion & Politics with Ryan Johnson

This week's episode includes a wonderful conversation with Ryan Johnson, a friend from college. We met up in Chicago to talk about his upbringing, our shared experience in the social sciences department at the Mystery Colleg…
Sept. 19, 2016

Strategically Placed Bibles with Kyle Parton

Shorter show notes for this one, everybody. Kyle Parton, Director of Epiphany Publishing, talks with me about teenage adventures in Wal-Mart evangelism, key markers of evangelicalism, war, other faith traditions, and alterna…
Sept. 12, 2016

Brandon Whitmore - Hard Questions Demand Honest (Not Easy) Answers

<p>In this week's episode, I talk to Brandon Whitmore about his journey from Christianity to agnosticism. The conversation covers all sorts of topics, from the historical record of Jesus &amp; science's relationship w/ relig…
Aug. 29, 2016

LGBTQ Intersectionality & The Fruit of the Spirit with Rev. Kevin Wright

This episode features a conversation with Rev. Kevin Wright from the Riverside Church in NYC. We talk about his journey, LGBTQ affirmation, and more. Follow Blake on Twitter @brchastain. Follow the show on Twitter @exvangeli…
Aug. 22, 2016

Righteous Tunes - Rockin' with Sean Reed (and God)

On this week's episode, I talk to Sean Reed, a friend of mine from high school. We talk about youth group, working in Christian bookstores, Christian music festivals, 90s Christian rock, and more. It's a fun conversation. Jo…
Aug. 15, 2016

On Mental Health: A Conversation with Nate Crawford

Today's episode features a conversation with Nate Crawford, director of Here/Hear, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on mental health. Nate shares his story, including his experience with bipolar disorder. Trigger warning: …
Aug. 8, 2016

Evangelical Politics & More: A Conversation with Greg Coates

This week, we feature a conversation with author, religious scholar and PhD candidate Greg Coates. We discuss his evangelical youth, his time in China, his book, and of course, Donald Trump. Follow Exvangelical on Twitter @e…
Aug. 4, 2016

Note: New Episodes are Moving to Mondays

Hey there - this is just a quick note that we'll be moving new episodes to Mondays. The next full episode hits Monday, 8/8/16. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/exvangelical/message Support this podcast: <a h…
July 28, 2016

A Conversation with Steven Jones

In Episode 2 of Exvangelical, I speak to Steven Jones. Steven Jones shares his story of growing up within evangelicalism and attending Christian college, facing family struggles, and--at the risk of being too reductive--losi…
July 21, 2016

It Begins

This first episode of Exvangelical features a long, free-form with American religious historian Dr. Jonathan Dodrill, who is a longtime friend of mine. We discuss how we met at Christian college, our experiences there, as we…
July 19, 2016

Introducing Exvangelical

Introducing Exvangelical: a podcast exploring the world inside and outside of American evangelicalism. This episode explains the purpose behind this project. Give it a listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.f…