The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp

Send us Fan Mail Ken's Latest Substack (REPRISE) Today, I welcome back a great friend of the show—ethicist, professor, pastor, and prolific author, Dr. David Gushee.  Over the years, David and I have talked through several of his groundbreaking works: The Moral Teachings of Jesus , Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies , Introducing Christian Ethics , and After Evangelicalism . But t...

Send us Fan Mail In Honor of Dr. John Perkins 1931-2026 (REPRISE) Ken is pleased to welcome Lisa Sharon Harper and her new groundbreaking book, Fortune - How Race Broke My Family and the World--and How to Repair It All . It all began with the results of her submission of DNA to Ancestry.com . Lisa learned of her Nigerian roots - and ancestry that extends all the way back to the onset of slavery in...

Send us Fan Mail REPRISE - After attending a recent event featuring Dr. Jemar Tisby, I had the chance to connect with the host of that gathering, Professor Jessica Wai-Fong Wong, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Azusa Pacific University and author of the groundbreaking book Disordered: Holy Icons and Racial Myths . In this episode, we reflect on that event, where Dr. Tisby shared movi...

Send us Fan Mail (REPRISE from AUG 2025)   Today I welcome a familiar voice and a longtime friend—Dr. Randall Balmer. Back in the day, when we were “Trinity Men,” he was “Randy” to me. Today, he’s Dr. Balmer—historian, author, professor, and one of the leading voices on religion in America. He earned his graduate degrees at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Princeton, and Union Theological Semi...

Send us Fan Mail REPRISE - Ken welcomes pastor, historian, and special advisor to the President at Baylor University, Dr. Malcolm Foley. Just this month, his new book - The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward - has just been released. Dr. Foley shares something of his faith and spiritual journey. As an undergraduate at Wash...

Send us Fan Mail On this week’s Two Kens Podcast , Ken Fong and I dive headfirst into what can only be described as a political and cultural whirlwind. Turning Point USA is in open conflict — MAGA vs. MAGA — with Candace Owens and Erica Kirk trading fire. The Hollywood Reporter is calling it a civil war on the Right. What does that fracture mean for the movement… and for the country? We’ll unpack...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to today’s podcast, a place where we share stories of awakenings —those moments when life disrupts the script and invites us into deeper truth, healing, and courage. Today’s conversation is especially timely and tender. My guest is Susan Reedy, a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in trauma recovery and resiliency. Susan works with people navigating grief a...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s episode is an invitation to listen closely—to grief, to courage, and to the hard work of hope. My guest is Darcy McKenzie, a social and political activist in Minneapolis, and our conversation begins where so many lives were altered: George Floyd. Where were you when it happened? What was your response? How did it change you? Darcy answers those questions with honesty shape...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse — where we sift through the chaos and try to make sense of what’s really going on. From the heavy-handed ICE “invasion” of Minneapolis, where thousands of federal agents’ enforcement surge has sparked protests after the shootings and the unnecessary death of Renee Nicole Good. We unpack the video evidence, no hearings, and public outrag...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to The Beached White Male podcast—and to a milestone moment. As the show approaches 500 episodes and more than 75,000 downloads, this episode looks back at how it all began - why the continued commitment to the name (Beached White Male) - and anticipates what lies ahead.  What started as a book project—and some unexpected advice to “start a podcast instead”—grew out of con...

Send us Fan Mail As Ken Fong and I wrap up another year of 2KENS , we wanted to create space not just to review what happened in 2025, but to reflect on what still matters—and what gives us reason to hope. This year-end conversation is grounded in honesty, but it’s also shaped by gratitude: for friendship, for thoughtful listeners, and for the enduring power of dialogue in unsettled times. We revi...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse —a conversation shaped this week by Christmas, contradiction, and the uneasy beauty of holding hope and lament at the same time. We start with sacred Christmas music. Betsey’s recent church experience reminded her of why Advent refuses to be sentimental. From dazzling GOVEE lights to the Moody Church Christmas concert (both of u...

Send us Fan Mail As we close out the year, I’m bringing back one of our most compelling and courageous voices—Nate Manderson—for his sixth appearance on the podcast. And trust me, this conversation lands with urgency, clarity, and fire. Nate’s journey—from the docks to the classroom, from seminary at Gordon-Conwell to the front lines of working-class advocacy—has shaped him into a writer and think...

Send us Fan Mail Today, I welcome back a great friend of the show—ethicist, professor, pastor, and prolific author, Dr. David Gushee.  Over the years, David and I have talked through several of his groundbreaking works: The Moral Teachings of Jesus , Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies , Introducing Christian Ethics , and After Evangelicalism . But today, we’re returning to the book tha...

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re celebrating a very special return guest: author, speaker, and independent scholar Diana Butler Bass. If you’ve been with us before, you’ll remember our deep dive into her beautiful book Freeing Jesus . Today, Diana is back with a brand-new offering: A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance —a book designed to guide us through the seasons, the...

Send us Fan Mail This Thanksgiving week on Beach Talk, Betsey Newenhuyse and I pause to reflect on what keeps us grounded and grateful in turbulent times. Retirement gives us the space to see the big picture, and family, friends, and caring neighbors remind us we’re never alone. We’re grateful for like-minded resisters, meaningful conversations, and the freedom to speak up. Experience tells us sto...

Send us Fan Mail Ken Fong and I sit down for one of our richest, most thought-provoking conversations yet. We begin with the quietly powerful new film Rental Family, where Brendan Fraser’s lonely American actor in Tokyo becomes the “token white guy” in Japan’s unusual rental family industry. What begins as performance becomes something far deeper — and it opens the door for us to discuss honestly...

Send us Fan Mail Today, another Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse — writer, thinker, and all-around truth-teller. Together, we dig into the week’s headlines with insight, humor, and a touch of coastal calm. This week, we’re calling it “The Democrats’ Week” — because, let’s face it, it’s been a rough stretch for the President and his MAGA allies. Speaker Mike Johnson can’t get his team together, go...

Send us Fan Mail (REPRISE) Today, my guest is journalist and author Katherine Stewart. I had a compelling conversation with this highly sought-after writer, and we went deep . Known for The Power Worshippers , she’s back with Money, Lies, and God , exposing the dangerous alliance of Christian Nationalism and political power. We dive into her journey from the Child Evangelism Fellowship to attendin...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s guest is one of those people you can’t help but love the more you get to know her — Lindy Boone-Michaelis. You might recognize the name. Lindy is the daughter of legendary musician Pat Boone and Shirley Boone, and one of *The Boone Girls* who sang their way into the hearts of millions. But Lindy’s story is uniquely her own. She’s a musician, songwriter, poet, fitness instr...

Send us Fan Mail My guest this week is Inés Velásquez-McBryde—pastor, preacher, reconciler, and *mujerista* theologian. She grew up in Nicaragua, came to the U.S. nearly three decades ago, and brings with her a deep love for story, justice, and community. She is deeply involved in the resistance to the invasion of Los Angeles by ICE agents, determined to deport masses of brown people, no matter th...

Send us Fan Mail My friend and podcast partner, Ken Fong is back from his honeymoon. We’re here for another lively edition of The Two Kens . This week, we’re unpacking the fallout from what some are calling a “Third Great Awakening,” sparked by the recent Charlie Kirk memorial and the movement he inspired. We’ll dive into the headlines—from The Atlantic and Religion News Service to Mother Jones an...

Send us Fan Mail I’m joined by my co-host, Betsey Newenhuyse. We take a fresh, thoughtful, and often provocative look at the week’s biggest stories — from politics and power to faith and the future of our democracy. This week, there’s a storm brewing in Chicago: ICE agents and the National Guard are deployed in full force, and both Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson...

Send us Fan Mail Today I welcome back my guest, Grant Young, for a conversation that couldn’t be more timely—or more urgent. Together, we take a hard look at the impact of Charlie Kirk, both before and after his tragic death on a college campus, an event that has left people across the country divided, grieving, and searching for answers. Charlie Kirk rose quickly to national prominence as a centr...

Send us Fan Mail Ken welcomes Washington political commentator, speechwriter, and author Peter Wehner. Pete is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. He is well known for his prolific contribution to the intersection of politics, public policy, and faith. Early on, he identified as a conservative, a Republican, and an Evangelical. From 2011, when Donald Tru...