The Liturgists Podcast

An American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. Her most popular novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" was published in 1937. She also wrote other novels and more than 50 short stories, plays, and essays. Her work concerned the African-American experience, racial struggles in the early 20th century, and her own viewpoint as an African-American woman. In 1975, Alice Walker published an article i...

An American professional baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. He played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers 1955 World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, and in 1997 his number, 42, was retired across all major league baseball teams. Let's talk about Jackie Robinson. If you...

An entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political activist. She created a line of cosmetics and hair care products for black women. She was the wealthiest African-American businesswoman and wealthiest self-made woman at the time of her death in 1919. Her lavish estate, Villa Lewaro, in Irvington-on-Hudson New York was a major social gathering place for the African-American community. Let's talk about...

An African-American investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the civil rights movement. Born in 1862, she was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In the 1890s, she documented lynching in the United States through her indictment called "Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in all its Phases." Let's talk about Ida B. Wells. If you l...

A political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. Born in 1887. He is seen as a national hero in Jamaica, and his ideas exerted a considerable influence on such movements as Rastafari, the Nation of Islam, and the Black Power Movement. His work spoke specifically to the belief that African-Americans needed to secure financial independence from white-dominant society. Let's tal...

From George Washington Carver to Dr. Shirley Jackson, from the pyramids to rock & roll, from rockets to the moon to home security systems, black inventors have discovered and created new ways to do things all throughout history. Culture can sometimes relegate these highly intelligent people to the footnotes of history, but we would be remiss not to celebrate these giants whose shoulders we stand o...

Feeling shame and guilt when our beliefs change can be overwhelming. Our relationships with family, friends, and partners can seem to pivot solely on a shared understanding of what we believe. When our beliefs change we may fear that if people find out, they will not approve, or worse, they might abandon us. We may also feel anxious about not knowing what we believe and uncertain about where we ar...

A group of African-American military fighters and bomber pilots who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd fighter group and 447th bombardment group of the United States Army Air Forces. Their sacrifice was often met with very little support when they came home as they were still subject to disrespect and Jim Crow laws across the United States. Let's talk about The Tuskegee Airmen. To suppo...

The Reconstruction era lasted from 1865 to 1877 following The American Civil War. It represents the failed transformation of the eleven former states of The Confederate States of America. Three new constitutional amendments ostensibly guaranteed newly freed slaves citizenship with civil rights while aiming to end the remnants of Confederate secession. However, three visions of the war appeared: th...

Took place from 1861 to 1865 and was the deadliest war in American history. The ware was fought between the northern United States which was loyal to the Union and the southern United States which seceded from the Union to form The Confederate States of America. The war began primarily because of a long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. Let's talk about The American Civil...

An American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. Let's talk about Sojourner Truth. To support this podcast and the other projects of The Liturgists head to https://theliturgists.com and find the button that says "Join The Liturgists." You'll join a group of amazing memb...

An American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings. Let's talk about Frederick Douglass. To support this podcast and the other projects of The Liturgists head to https://theliturgists.c...

As an American activist, abolitionist, and the most famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, she rescued around 70 people from slavery. Let's talk about Harriet Tubman. To support this podcast and the other projects of The Liturgists head to https://theliturgists.com and find the button that says "Join The Liturgists." You'll join a group of amazing members who talk and get special content...

History is literally a story we tell ourselves about what happened in the past. The way we tell that story is usually influenced by the people who have cultural and political power. We heard from so many of you from around the world about how whiteness affects our perception of history. In this episode Andre Henry, Propaganda, and Nikki Blak join William Matthews to talk about those influential dy...

Purity culture represents the main narrative around sex education and relationships for many people. It taught us ideas about ourselves and about other people that we often feel like we can't leave behind. In today's episode, Hillary and Michael are joined by Linda Kay Klein as they discuss purity culture and pull apart a story we may tell ourselves: "I am impure." Linda is the author of the book...

Sometimes we leave one set of problems only to find ourselves in a new situation with the same problems. In this episode, Michael and Hillary speak with Emily Capshaw about her experience of leaving Christianity only to find some of the same problems in other belief systems. They talk candidly about how to avoid swapping one fundamentalism for another. We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas...

In this episode, we share one of our private meditations that our patrons get access to each week. Lisa Gungor leads the meditation and it is called "You Are Safe" We’d love to hear from you! If you have ideas for topics of discussion or guests you would like us to talk with on The Liturgists Podcast, please let us know and vote here: https://theliturgists.com/vote

Racism is a widespread issue in all spheres of society. People participate in racism knowingly or unknowingly and with or without intention to do so. While racism may not involve physical abuse or violent behaviors, it can be manifested through people's attitudes as well as their actions. But can something be done about it? Yes, we must call out racism. Each one of us can actively embrace anti-rac...

Michael Gungor and Science Mike talk about their experiences with church, God, science, scripture, theology, tradition, and more at the Los Angeles stop of the Tabs & Wafers Tour. The talk is an honest look at how some people experience Christianity and evangelicalism in the United States and how to find sincerity when it can be difficult to find a community. We’d love to hear from you! If you hav...

Lauren Evans and Lisa Gungor talk about creative flow and how people who create art, music, and other creative work can make what is right for them. Finding her authentic voice served as an important life quest, because Lauren’s early work required her to be a creative chameleon. Lauren also talks about her life growing up, her spiritual experiences, and how the typical separation of “secular” and...

In August of 2019, Michael Gungor, Science Mike, William Matthews, and Jamie Lee Finch embarked on a trip to the Arctic circle to experience some of the last untouched wilderness on the planet and hear from the Gwich'in people. The Gwich'in are Athabaskan-speaking Indigenous peoples who lives in the Arctic region of Alaska and Canada. Their sacred lands include areas within the Arctic National Wil...

Some changes are normal and happen every day, while others are higher stakes and affect every area of our lives. Whether they took place in our childhood or occurred later in life, changes often make us feel scared or anxious because of the unknowns they bring with them. In this episode, William, Hillary, and Vishnu have a conversation about change, how we experience it, and how we can navigate ch...

This week we're talking about porn: what it is, how we feel about it, and what roles is plays in our culture. Joining us in the conversation are the following people: Hillary McBrideMichael GungorWilliam MatthewsMike McHargueKey WilliamsCaroline LeeJenny McHargueKevin Garcia This episode was sponsored by Betterhelp. Get 10% your first month of safe, private, affordable mental health counseling by...

Pete Holmes returns for a conversation with Michael Gungor and Science Mike to discuss his latest book, Comedy Sex God. This episode was sponsored by Betterhelp. Get 10% your first month of safe, private, affordable mental health counseling by visiting http://betterhelp.com/liturgists.

This is an episode of our other podcast, The Alien & The Robot. It's a show for our Patrons, but this episode has some announcements about new stuff coming to Patreon PLUS we found a way to describe the "mission" of The Liturgists out loud for the first time ever. Not bad for a show that started in 2014.