The Fascinating Podcast

Now that Season 3 of the Good Place has devastated us all, we dive into why we're so fascinated with this show about ethics and the afterlife. Plus, since the whole show is about impostor syndrome, we ask Clay and Kathy to shed some light on this all-too-common experience of feeling like a fraud.

Church attendance is plummeting in the US, but people aren't becoming less spiritual. What's behind the rise of this new paganism? How is the Church contributing?

Despite the push for diversity, college campuses still feel very segregated. Dr. Julie J Park joins us to explore why. We dive into how religious organizations can both help and hurt - and how we can be more intentional about pursuing diversity.

Rachel Held Evans arrives on the Fascinating Podcast! Her latest book, INSPIRED, is all about how to fall in love with the Bible again. We dive into the Gospels to explore exactly what is so good about Jesus' news.

Jose Humphreys returns to take us into the latest animated sensation, Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. We explore this film that breaks ground in representation, animation and storytelling.

In our final episode of the year, we count down our favorite books we read this year. (So if you're still doing Christmas shopping, we got you covered!) What made our lists? What made yours?

What good does short term missions do? Daniel White Hodge returns to the show to explore how we can decolonize missions work. Plus: a deep dive on the death of self-proclaimed missionary John Chau.

What does it mean to be called to a place? In our latest megashow, we're joined by three authors who have been called to very different neighborhoods. Jonathan "Pastah J" Brooks, author of Church Forsaken, pastors in West Englewood, in Chicago. Jose Humphreys, author of Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, pastors in Harlem in New York City. And Ashley Hales, author of Finding Holy in the Suburb...

Advent begins on Sunday, so Clay, Kathy and JR. take some time to reflect on the reason for the season before Christmas. What do we gain by waiting a little longer for Christmas?

Podcaster Knox McCoy returns to the Fascinating Podcast to dive deep into how many of us use pop culture to help us understand who God is.

Latifah Alattas takes us behind the scenes of her latest album DIVORCE. How does one chronicle the ending of a marriage? What's important in recovery? And exactly how many parallel universes are there? All this and more on the latest episode!

Who gets to call themselves 'woke'? What does it mean to be awake to the realities of our world? Author and leadership expert Natasha Robinson joins us as we explore what consciousness looks like today. Her new book is a leadership book like no other.

Historian and horror scholar Scott Poole returns to the podcast just in time for Halloween. His new book explores how the Great War provided the language for horror cinema and literature. Why is horror such an important language for our culture today?

Many of many talents Henry Lien joins us to unravel the mysteries of wu liu - a martial art performed on ice skates. We talk everything from foot-binding to mean girls to girl power!

What unique challenges do minority persons experience when they live and work in majority culture? Author and leadership coach Adrian Pei teaches us how to see the pain of minority persons and engage the past in ways that are redemptive rather than shame-inducing. 

Matt's latest book is a YA fantasy novel. Welcome to the Sunlit Lands, where you can have your heart's desire... for a price. We dive into how he created the world, and why fantasy is such a good space to explore issues of power and privilege.

What is the Fascinating Podcast? The StoryMen is no more. We're now the Fascinating Podcast. And welcome our new co-host, author Kathy Khang! Since Kathy's new book, RAISE YOUR VOICE, just came out, she starts out in the hot seat! So pull up a chair. We're just getting started!

Allison Fallon returns to the StoryMen. Since she was last with us, her life has been turned upside down. She shares the journey from her new book, Indestructible. We explore trauma, how we recover and the healing power of writing your story.

How do you talk to people about Jesus? Evangelism is one of those topics Christians know they should care about, but often avoid. Matt's new book makes this scary topic approachable and fun... and of course we get the whole scoop!

With the Board Game renaissance well under way, the StoryMen bring on author Justin Lee. We explore our histories with board games and count down some of our current favorites. Listen in and let us know what you're playing!

The StoryMen catch up on the stories of the week and PPOW, then offer up one of our all-time most popular episodes: we talk with Dr. Peter Enns about how to read the Bible - and what to do when the Bible behaves badly!

What is white fragility? Austin Channing Brown joins us to explore this necessary but misunderstood term. Why do conversations about race so easily default to concern for the feelings of white persons? How can we spot the signs of white fragility? How can we keep conversations centered on the experiences of persons of color?

Has the way you read the Bible changed over your lifetime? We dive into how we read the Bible then and now. PLUS what we thought of INFINITY WAR (lots of spoilers, but not until the end)!

With Infinity War opening last weekend, the Summer movie season has officially kicked off. The StoryMen turn their annual Summer Movie Preview into a game: can we predict the three biggest box-office winners (after Infinity War)? Can we predict the biggest bust? And what should the loser have to do? YOU decide. PLUS: we have some summer writing goals as well, so we talk about how to find our writi...

Alan Noble joins the StoryMen to imagine how the Church can be truly disruptive. Too often, we merely imitate culture in ways more subtle than we realize. What practices mark us as Christian in ways that are truly distinctive and beautiful?