Exvangelical

Today I'm happy to share with you an episode from a fellow Irreverent Media Group podcast called Speaking In Church. If you're not aware, Exvangelical is part of the Irreverent Media Group podcast collective, and so is Speaking In Church. I thought it would be great to share with my audience an episode of their show. This episode was recorded and published in September of this year with Josie Jime...

Angela Denker, pastor and author of the book Red State Christians (which was re-released this year with updated material), joins the show to discuss the 2022 midterms and how the political landscape continues to change. In particular she draws on her role serving a rural parish while living in an urban/suburban area, and the ways local relationships are more complex than simple media coverage port...

Powers & Principalities is a show about the systems and institutions of white evangelical influence in America and the world. Season 1, published in the fall of 2020, was all about white evangelicalism and Christian nationalism. Season 2 focuses on white evangelicalism & media. This is episode one. Dating all the way back to at least the 19th century, the various groups we now refer to as White ev...

This week's guest is Jeanna Kadlec, author of the new book Heretic: A Memoir, out this week.  Her book is a deeply intimate memoir of her life growing up in and leaving evangelicalism, discovering her queerness, and much more. We talk about the midwest, about developing spiritual practices after religion, and comics - it was a very laid back and meandering conversation that I hope you’ll enjoy as...

My guest today is Becca Andrews. Becca is a journalist at Reckon News, and author of the new book No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right. She has been reporting on reproductive rights and justice, as well as related topics such as purity culture, for several years and her work has also appeared at Mother Jones, Jezebel, and Teen Vogue, among...

In this interview, I speak to Kristin Peterson, media studies professor at Boston College, about her book Unruly Souls: The Digital Activism of Muslim and Christian Feminists. We discuss the role social media has had in creating a counterpublic that challenges the dominant cultural narratives established by white evangelicalism and other religions. Her book covers aspects of #ChurchToo and other o...

This week, I'm joined by Sarah Heath & Justin Gentry from the REVcovery podcast to talk about burnout. This is a long conversation, and it starts by talking about religious burnout for pastors and other highly-involved volunteers. We later transition into talking about post-religious burnout. Like any conversation, it's just a single convo, and not representative of all perspectives. Listen to REV...

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of the new book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World. This show is not typically interfaith, but when the opportunity to read Rabbi Ruttenberg’s latest arose, I leapt at the chance. I’ve followed her on Twitter for years and admire her work immensely. On Repentance and Repair is an immensely helpful book that helps reframe what repentance,...

Another archival episode, in light of the news from The Village Church. Matt Chandler went on indefinite leave from TVC this weekend after inappropriate messaging on Instagram, just a couple weeks after they settled with an abuse victim while acknowledging no wrongdoing. These are longstanding issues in evangelicalism going back decades. There's nothing pithy to say about churches that protect the...

While I continue to work on my manuscript, here is another archival episode for you. This is from my series, Powers & Principalities. Season 1 was published in 2020 and focused on Christian nationalism, which remains painfully relevant.  This episode features a conversation with Sam Perry and Andrew Whitehead, co-authors of the book Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United...

It's been a minute. While I'm working on my manuscript, please enjoy this 2017 interview I recorded with David Bazan from Pedro the Lion. We recorded this interview in Bazan's car, between Living Room shows. It was incredible. The original introduction of this conversation was kept for nostalgia, context, and ease. Original show notes here. To get to the interview, skip about 8 minutes forward (dy...

In this episode, I adapt a couple of recent essays from The Post-Evangelical Post to discuss Christian nationalism. As white evangelical hegemony ended, white Christian nationalist minority rule began. Recommended Reading: Christian Nationalism on TikTok; Evangelical Lobbyists Praying with SCOTUS Justices, More Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Subscribe to The Post-E...

Today’s guest is Jo Luehmann. Jo and I spoke back in March this year, after arranging to chat in late January, early February, so this episode has been a long time coming.  In this conversation, you’ll hear Jo talk about growing up in Colombia, her experience within evangelical circles in America, and her work discussing decolonization. In the months following our discussion, Jo became a target of...

Hello, and welcome to Exvangelical. I’m your host, Blake Chastain. I know there’s a lot going on. I know that the recent Supreme Court rulings are beyond discouraging - they are harmful for so many people, and a decision that could lead to the downfall of Roe is expected as soon as tomorrow. But multiple things happen all at once, and because of our interconnectedness, we feel them all. But I want...

My guest today is Dr. Ryan Haupt. Ryan is a scientist and podcaster on the show Science...Sort of, and a frequent guest host on the comic book podcast iFanboy. iFanboy was one of the very first podcasts I ever listened to and after a couple of random interactions on Twitter - Ryan and I were able to connect to talk back at the beginning of February.  This conversation runs the gamut. We talk about...

This week’s guest is Rohadi Nagassar, host of the Faith in a Fresh Vibe podcast and author of the new book When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. We talk about identity, the differences and similarities between Canadian and American churches, and much more! This interview was recorded in February 2022. Check out Rohadi’s podcast, and follow him on Instagram. Exvangelical is a prod...

Note: there is a leveling discrepancy between the intro comments and the interview, which begins around the 10:30 mark. There's been two major shootings in the last two weeks. I try to piece together some thoughts, and combine a couple things from recent essays, in the intro to this re-released episode with Robert Jones. I guess it's best to just listen. Essays I adapt for the intro: Let the circl...

My guest today is Nick Ripatrizone. Nick is a writer for The Millions, culture editor for Image Journal and author of the new book Digital Communion: Marshall McLuhan’s Vision for a Virtual Age. Marshall McLuhan was a "prophet of the digital age," whose prescient writings about "electronic man" in the 60s and 70s anticipated the effects that new media such as television and what he called "electri...

I'm honored to share this conversation with Andre Henry with you today. Andre Henry is an author, musician, and activist, and author of the book All the White Friends I Couldn't Keep: Hope--and Hard Pills to Swallow--About Fighting for Black Lives (affiliate link to Bookshop.org). We talk about Andre's experience in white evangelical environments, as well as how his increasing activism for racial...

April Ajoy joins the show! You probably know her from TikTok, where she creates at turns funny and serious videos about "humorously detoxing American Christianity." We learn about her story, about how she got started on TikTok, and more! Check out all of April's projects: TikTok The Evangelicalish podcast Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. You can support the show at $...

This was also published as an essay at The Post-Evangelical Post. Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Learn how to support my work here. There are many resources about reproductive health available. If you want to approach it from an interfaith lens, start here. A reproductive rights advocate I've had on the show, Asha Dahya, can be followed on Instagram. Her episode is...

In this audio essay, adapted from The Post-Evangelical Post, I talk about Twitter's role in allowing "counterpublics" to flourish - and how #exvangelical relates to that. New interviews are coming - due to my recent ear surgery I am still restricted from listening to audio in both ears - which makes editing podcasts difficult. I am enlisting another producer to help. Please consider becoming a pai...

It’s been over a month since I’ve released an episode. That was not my plan nor intention. But sometimes life intervenes. Just shy of a month ago, I had surgery to repair a lifelong issue with my ear - ruptured ear drum, and the recovery took much longer than I expected. It required me to slow down. I wrote about this over on my newsletter, The Post-Evangelical Post.  I have 6 episodes recorded th...

Even though my relationship to religion is always shifting, some of the rituals and symbolism have more resonance than others. For me, in recent years Lent has been the most meaningful part of the Christian tradition, even if I'm not sure where I fall in relation to it. In this audio essay, I explore the both-and nature of Lent - through denial and affirmation. "I have made it a focus of both this...

RE-RELEASE: Dr. Anthea Butler returns to the show (she was a guest on season one of Powers & Principalities) to discuss her new book, White Evangelical Racism. Her book is of utmost importance to helping us understand both our past and our current moment. We discuss the history of white evangelical racism, and how it played a part in the Jan 6th insurrection and the murders in Atlanta in March 202...