The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp

Send us Fan Mail Amanda Munroe shares her personal journey of life and faith; justice and pluralism. She currently serves as Director of Restorative Practices for Engaged Pluralism at Vassar College in Upstate New York. (Founded in 1861 as the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, Vassar became coed in 1969.) Amanda is a specialist in conflict resol...

Send us Fan Mail In 1997, when Philip Yancey submitted his manuscript to his publisher, he had serious doubts that his new offering (which followed his popular book, The Jesus I Never Knew ) would find an audience. He knew his evangelical readers. In Yancey’s mind, the chapters on a Democrat President (Bill Clinton) and a fellow author who “came out” as gay (Mel White), would not set well - especi...

Send us Fan Mail Ken welcomes Christine Talbot who recently retired from her significant role as Senior Vice President for Human Resources at the highly regarded global relief non-profit, World Vision. During her eight-year tenure, she worked closely with CEO Richard Stearns in Federal Way, Washington. Ken asks Christine to share her unique philosophy that is not only rooted in her years at World...

Send us Fan Mail Continuing the conversation around the first-ever criminal conviction of the former President, Ken reaches out to Ken Fong. The two podcasters further explore the implications of this watershed, historical moment. Fong opens the podcast by quoting Fox sports writer Colin Cowherd on the trial’s outcome. The MAGA Republican spin masters (including Mike Johnson, John Cornyn, Steve Sc...

Send us Fan Mail With the verdict declared to the world, Ken calls Betsey in for an unscheduled Beach Talk. This relatively brief conversation recounts the moment the news came to them both: the 45th President is guilty of all 34 counts - a unanimous decision of the twelve jurors after five grueling weeks of testimony. At long last, there is accountability. The two compare and contrast the moment...

Send us Fan Mail Ken welcomes writer, teacher, preacher and justice advocate, Jim Wallis. Rev. Wallis’ new book, The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy is getting high marks and a wide reading. It’s a timely and prophetic challenge in an era of polarization and worse, the advancement in America of what Jim calls an heretical version...

Send us Fan Mail Laura Bullard on Vox, suggests that the UMC tells us something about America. Recently, the denomination voted, by policy, to be fully inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, eliminating any and all restrictions regarding membership, leadership in the church and ordination for clergy roles. The vote tallied in at 479 to 203 in favor of the historic change. Bullard posits that in Americ...

Send us Fan Mail After comparing notes on Mother’s Day, Ken and Betsey dive into Ken’s most recent Substack. Bart Ehrman, a fellow graduate of Ken’s Bible School, gave up his Christian faith over the problem of evil. He’s not alone. Theologian Thomas Oord has written a book that addresses the problem. He proposes that we focus not on an Omnipotent (all-powerful) God but on a God of Love. Betsey sh...

Send us Fan Mail Today, Ken shares his most recent Substack post. You'll find the full text here . Amipotence over Omnipotence - Love over Control A fellow graduate of the Moody Bible Institute, Dr. Bart Ehrman, when he explains why he is no longer a Christian, points to the problem of theodicy. After years of academic study of the Christian Bible, for Ehrman, it was the problem of evil that...

Send us Fan Mail John Jay Alvaro is Lead Pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Pasadena. A friend of the Center for Restorative Justice, John Jay opened the door for the Center to move their offices into the church facility. The website puts it this way: “First Baptist Pasadena is a passionate, diverse, quirky, and kind congregation. We know that God loves this world, so we love fiercely,...

Send us Fan Mail Ken welcomes back historian and author Michael Jimenez , the History Department Chair at Vanguard University in Southern California. He has published several articles focussing on the iconic United Farm Workers Union organizer from the Civil Rights era in the 1960s and 70s. He believes that Cesar Chavez should be considered the Latinex Martin Luther King. Like King, Chavez’s life...

Send us Fan Mail Betsey returns to her home on the north side of Chicago. She and Ken reminisce over her 3rd Annual trek to Southern California. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson , surprises the nation and the world as he stands up to the Freedom Caucus (led by Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz , and their Republican friends). He garners bi-partisan support releasing necessary and long-delayed fu...

Send us Fan Mail Award-winning author, journalist, and fellow podcaster Brian T. Kaylor joins Ken to talk about his soon-to-be-released (June 6, 2024) book, Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism . Brian adds a significant contribution to the discussion about the pervasive Christian Nationalism so prevalent today - the movement that became highly visible in...

Send us Fan Mail Andy Wells returns to the podcast with an update on his popular book, Tried to be Straight . The first two-part interview with Andy has been one of the most popular BWM episodes to date. In that episode, Andy shares his journey growing up in church ( All Saints Episcopal Church and Lake Avenue Congregational Church both in Pasadena, CA) where he served in leadership roles - and on...

Send us Fan Mail Ken Fong and Betsey Newenhuyse join Ken Kemp for a special edition - The Two Kens and Beach Talk. Betsey made her third annual trip to California and the studios of the Beached White Male podcast. The three friends join together to interact over their weekend and a conversation is triggered by an unlikely Atlantic article (April 3, 2024, Issue) they all read - The True Cost of The...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Peter Enns returns to the podcast to discuss his new book Curve-ball - When Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming* or How I Stumbled and Tripped My Way to Finding a Bigger God. Pete admits it's the longest title in the history of publishing. The popular professor, author (see show notes for his many other books), and podcaster ( The Bible for Normal People ) drops h...

Send us Fan Mail Author, pastor, educator, counselor and storyteller Jeffrey Munroe shares his new book, Telling Stories in the Dark: Finding Healing and Hope in Sharing our Sadness, Grief, Trauma, and Pain . Jeff draws on a lifetime of ministry in churches, universities, and Young Life both in the USA and Europe. He’s concluded that spiritual health is not so much about right beliefs as it is abo...

Send us Fan Mail On the 56th Anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King , Ken shares his final in the Substack series - Biblical Authority . On this day, we remember the tragedy and the legacy of the Civil Rights champion. While the Bible has been and is today abused and weaponized, there’s a beauty we dare not miss. MLK illustrates the point. Ken’s Substack Page - Biblical Authority P...

Send us Fan Mail Ken welcomes historian, author, and media commentator Martyn Whittock from his home across the Pond just outside London. Martyn read Ken’s Substack series on Biblical Authority and reached out with some comments. It prompted this lively conversation - and led to another focus: Martyn’s article recently published in the UK - How US Evangelicals Could Affect the Entire World . Whitt...

Send us Fan Mail In honor of Ken's new Golden Retriever - Brandy., We welcome back  Kristina Flanagan , retired psychotherapist, MSW, Vedic astrologer and graduate of Richard Rohr's Living School . At Kristina's invitation (after Ken invited himself!), Ken and Carolyn spent a few days in a beautiful casita on her property, a lovely expanse of New Mexico's rolling hills and mead...

Send us Fan Mail Today, after some introductory remarks, Ken shares his most recent Substack post. It's time to sound the alarm. Here's the post in its entirety - you may read along. ( Ken's Substack Page ) Biblical Authority Part III The Plan to Institute a “Biblical America” - Project 2025 If you’ve been following this series, you know that I have come to question the ubiquitous a...

Send us Fan Mail Lerone A. Martin, Ph. D . is Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute (MLKREI) and Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University . A prolific author, lecturer, and influencer, Dr. Martin discusses his most recent ground-breaking book, The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of Christian Nationalism wit...

Send us Fan Mail This is a brief supplement to Beach Talk #117 which included the title: The Pairing Nobody Wants. Last night changed that. Ken and Betsey connect the day after to review the historic speech that will live in the history books. It's a pairing of old guys - but the 81-year-old shows his mettle, his endurance, his passion, and his priorities. It's what our nation needs. Sup...

Send us Fan Mail Betsey, who has been a proud supporter of Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg since he ran for the presidency in 2020, would like to see him on the ballot again. Both Ken and Betsey share a deep appreciation for our aging President Joe Biden. His accomplishments are solid. He's a decent human being. His priorities are in line. But his approval ratings are a clear indi...

Send us Fan Mail The Alabama Supreme Court has lit the fuse exploding into yet another level of controversy in our divided nation. It's not just the question of when life begins, but whether the religious convictions espoused by a few will be imposed as the law of the land on everyone else. The two Kens talk about how this development underscores the threat of Christian nationalism on our dem...