Videos

June 30, 2022

Jo Luehmann

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…

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June 23, 2022

Happy Pride: An LGBTQ+ Affirmation

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…

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June 16, 2022

Ryan Haupt

My guest today is Dr. Ryan Haupt. Ryan is a scientist and podcaster on the show Science...Sort of (https://open.spotify.com/show/3PIBhD7ayvqgI5jauiaLT6?si=9b3c72c63d9740ac) , and a frequent guest host on the comic book podcast iFanboy (https://open.spotify.com/show/0g9Jjqao0U4fELXEaPCfY0?si=e8501b9e5c5a415d) . iFanboy was one of the very first podcasts I ever listened to and after a couple of…

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June 3, 2022

Rohadi Nagassar

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 (https://bookshop.org/a/11130/9781513810355) . We talk about identity, the differences and similarities between Canadian and American churches, and much more! This interview was…

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May 26, 2022

White Too Long (re-release with new intro)

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…

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May 19, 2022

Nick Ripatrizone, author of Digital Communion

My guest today is Nick Ripatrizone. Nick is a writer for The Millions (https://themillions.com/) , culture editor for Image Journal and author of the new book Digital Communion: Marshall McLuhan’s Vision for a Virtual Age (https://bookshop.org/a/11130/9781506471143) . Marshall McLuhan was a "prophet of the digital age," whose prescient writings about…

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May 12, 2022

Andre Henry, author of All The White Friends I Couldn't Keep

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 (https://bookshop.org/a/11130/9780593239889) (affiliate link to Bookshop.org). We talk about Andre's…

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May 5, 2022

April Ajoy

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 (https://m.tiktok.com/h5/share/usr/6623820748208652293.html) The Evangelicalish podcast…

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May 4, 2022

The leaked SCOTUS ruling shows why white evangelicals supported Trump en masse

This was also published as an essay at The Post-Evangelical Post (https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/p/the-leaked-scotus-ruling-shows-why?s=w) . Exvangelical is a production of The Post-Evangelical Post, LLC. Learn how to support my work here (https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about) . There are many resources about reproductive health available. If you want to approach it from an interfaith lens, start…

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April 29, 2022

Audio Essay: Twitter & The Counterpublic Sphere

In this audio essay, adapted from The Post-Evangelical Post (https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/p/twitter-and-the-counterpublic-sphere?s=w) , 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…

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April 14, 2022

Re-Release: Pete Holmes (2019 Interview)

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…

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March 3, 2022

The Both-And of Lent (Audio Essay)

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…

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Feb. 24, 2022

(Re-Release) White Evangelical Racism with Dr. Anthea Butler

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 (https://bookshop.org/a/11130/9781469661179) . Her book is of utmost importance to helping us understand both our past and our current moment. We discuss the history…

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Feb. 10, 2022

Melissa Stewart (@lissajostewart on TikTok)

In this conversation, I speak with exvangelical Tiktokker Melissa Stewart (@lissajostewart) about her upbringing, how exvangelical spaces continue to evolve, and how platform differences (i.e. Twitter vs. TikTok) enable different conversations - and much more! As I mention in the introduction, note how Melissa talks about her experiences leaving fundamentalism,…

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Feb. 3, 2022

Justin Gentry & Sarah Heath are In Revcovery

In this episode I chat with fellow IMG podcasters, Justin Gentry & Sarah Heath about their new show, Revcovery. Revcovery is all about the process of leaving the ministry profession. We cover a lot in the first half before turning our attention to the recent Vanity Fair profile of Jerry…

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Jan. 20, 2022

On Forming and Expressing Identity Online

In this audio essay, Blake talks frankly about how social media exacerbated a dark day he had recently, how social media affects emotions, and how our relationship to identifiers and communities change over time. Throughout 2022 I will be experimenting more with formats and episode types in the feed. Please…

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Jan. 5, 2022

Powers & Principalities: The Inauspicious Anniversary of the Jan 6 Capitol Riot

In this bonus episode of Powers & Principalities, I share my conversation with Chrissy Stroop on the inauspicious anniversary of the Jan 6 Capitol Riot. (One trigger/content note, we talk about Satanic Panic & child abuse in one section). We discuss the lead-up to Trump, the Trump administration, the insurrection,…

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Dec. 23, 2021

R. Scott Okamato

In this interview I chat with R. Scott Okamoto about music, life as a Christian college professor, and much more. Scott will also be hosting the upcoming exvangelical podcast, Chapel Probation. Learn more about Scott at his website, https://www.rscottokamoto.com/, and follow him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/RSokamoto) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/RSokamoto/) . Help…

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Dec. 9, 2021

On the Deconstruction Discourse

In this mini, Blake talks about the recent spat of discussion about exvangelicals and people deconstructing that is happening. Parts of this script are adapted from Blake's twitter feed & newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices (https://megaphone.fm/adchoices) Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://www.postevangelicalpost.com/about

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Dec. 2, 2021

Blake Chastain Live Stream

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Nov. 23, 2021

Jeff Sharlet (Cheery Thanksgiving Conversation Starter Re-Release)

I spoke to author Jeff Sharlet in November 2020, just after the election was called for Biden - but Trump was already signaling that he would not concede. The Jan 6 insurrection had not yet happened, but what would become The Big Lie had already begun to take root from…

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Nov. 9, 2021

1 Year Since the 2020 Election, with Brad Onishi

In this episode, I talk with fellow IMG podcaster Bradley Onishi about how things have developed in the last year since the 2020 election. In that time we've seen Trump's decisive electoral loss, the Jan 6th insurrection, the entrenchment of The Big Lie within the GOP, and vaccine hesitancy. We've…

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Oct. 22, 2021

Minisode: Funding the Next Chapter of Exvangelical

This past July marked 5 years of publishing Exvangelical. In this minisode, I describe my new funding/listener support model. Read the full post here (https://postevangelicalpost.substack.com/p/the-next-chapter-for-the-post-evangelical) . When you support the show via Substack (https://postevangelicalpost.substack.com) , I will donate 25% of net revenue to organizations that serve populations harmed by white…

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Sept. 30, 2021

The Religious Exemption Accountability Project

In this episode, I chat with Paul Southwick & Erin Green of The Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP). Paul Southwick (he/him) is Director of REAP, and Erin Green (she/they) is REAP's Campus & Alumni Organizer. REAP has filed a landmark class action lawsuit, Elizabeth Hunter, et al. v. U.S. Department…

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