Scott Coley joins the show to talk about his book Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right. We discuss the weaponization of the term "biblical", common sensism, the remarkable pivot of George Wallace, young earth creationism and more. Buy Scott's book: https://www.eerdmans.com/9781467466004/ministers-of-propaga…

Justin Gentry joins the show to talk about his work as a former pastor and current co-podcaster (REVcovery Room, Scidentity Crisis, and Go Home Bible, You're Drunk), as well as helping organize the annual Content Warning event, coming to Atlanta next February. Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/vcwpod Dave's second podcast- "Does …

Podcaster and originator of the exvangelical hashtag Blake Chastain returns to the VCW hall to talk about his new book Exvangelical and Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement That's Fighting Back. Buy Blake's Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/747796/exvangelical-and-beyond-by-blake-chastain/ Katelyn Beaty artic…

Dr. Matthew Taylor returns to the VCW hall to discuss his forthcoming book (out October 1, 2024) "The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement That is Threatening Our Democracy". Dr. Taylor talks about some of the major figures within the independent Charismatic movement, what he sees as 4 quadrants of Evangelicalism, how independent Charis…

Alycea, who uses the pseudonym Transvangelical, and Wyld Violet are online sex workers who incorporate their evangelical experience into their work and have a new podcast called Not Safe for Worship. We talk about deconstruction, purity culture, ethics in porn consumption and production, and even touch on the current political climate regarding tra…

Dr. Matt Warner joins the VCW to talk about being fired from Grace College in Winona Lake, IN for what he describes as unspoken political expectations. Outside activists found old social media posts by him (involving posts about LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter and criticism of Tucker Carlson) and they pressured college board members to let this professor…

Meg Wise joins the VCW hall to talk about her experiences at John MacArthur's Church in Los Angeles County, CA. She talks about their response to the COVID pandemic and the scandal involving MacArthur publicly shaming a woman whose husband was sexually abusing their kids. Follow Meg Wise: On X/Twitter: _nomadic_soul Read A Deconstruction Chronicle …

Burn this episode to the top blank CD on your spindle and throw it in your anti-skip discman, because writer and podcaster Jason Kirk joins the VCW hall to talk about his new novel, Hell is a World Without You, a coming-of-age story set in early 2000s evangelical youth group culture, and chock full of the rapture anxiety, purity culture, retreats, …

Co-Host of the Holy Post podcast, Kaitlyn Schiess stops by the VCW hall to talk about her new book, The Ballot and the Bible. She discusses points of American history and how the Bible was interpreted on multiple sides of an issue by Christians- sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, and sometimes for really ugly evil. Support the show on Patreon: …

With Israel's brutal war against Gaza still raging, Dr. Alice Rothchild and Abby Brockman join the VCW hall to talk about the horror of Israel's war, to talk about their interactions with Palestinian people and the hospitality they experienced as well as speaking about their perspectives on Jewish faith and values. Read Dr. Rothchild's articles: Th…

Pastor Trey Ferguson joins the VCW hall to talk about Theologizin' Bigger, his new book out now. We talk about theology and imagination, Biblical inerrancy including the 1978 Chicago statement, an Ark in Kentucky and much more. Get Pastor Trey's book right here: https://www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/theologizin-bigger/ Listen to The New Living Treys…

Part 2 of the big annual pre-Oscars dive into our favorite movies of the year and the Oscar nominees. Part 2 covers the top 7 films on each our our top 10 lists, which we'd started going through toward the end of Part 1. Jeffrey Overstreet returns and brings with him new VCW guest Dr Mary McCampbell, an author, professor, and speaker who focuses on…

Our big annual pre-Oscars dive into our favorite movies of the year and the Oscar nominees is back! Jeffrey Overstreet returns and brings with him new VCW guest Dr Mary McCampbell, an author, professor, and speaker who focuses on the theological significance of popular music, film, and literature. Subscribe to Mary's Substack The Empathetic Imagina…

Warren Throckmorton returns to the VCW hall to talk about his new podcast Telling Jefferson Lies, a companion to the recently released updated version of his 2012 book with Michael Coulter, Getting Jefferson Right. We talk about the conservative pseudo-historian David Barton, and how he distorts history to uphold and further a White Christian Natio…

Dave reveals that he has moved from "still an evangelical" to "committed Christian", and Mason Mennenga joins the show to talk about process theology, being funny online, heavy Christian music, purity culture, and of course, Veggie Tales. Follow Mason Mennenga and get into his work including podcasts, YouTube videos and more by going to his website…

Dr Leah Payne joins the show to talk about the her brand new book God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. Also, Zach reveals the results of his research into exactly when and where in Disneyland Carman became a Christian. Buy Leah's book: https://www.amazon.com/God-Gave-Rock-Roll-You/dp/0197555241 Support the show …

Niche Christmas music enthusiasts Scott Leopold of the Japanese Christmas music podcast "Holly Jolly X'masu" and Jim Goodwin of the contemporary indie rock Christmas music blog "Christmas Underground" help spread some Christmas cheer around the VCW hall by podcasting loud for all to hear. Scott shares a couple of his favorite songs he's covered on …

Dr. Marlene Winell is the author of the highly influential book Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion, and originated the term "Religious Trauma Syndrome", which she defined as "the condition experienced by people who are struggling with leaving an authoritarian, dogmatic religion and coping with the…

Dave White, co-host of the movie podcast Linoleum Knife, visits the VCW to talk about his background with Evangelical Christianity and coming out. We discuss some of his favoritie movies of the year (so far) and also Christmas. Listen to the Linoleum Knife podcast right here: https://podcasts.apple.com/id/podcast/linoleum-knife/id403079737 Linoleum…

Advocates for education, Chris and Mendi Tackett join the VCW hall to talk about current attempts to weaken and dismantle the public school system. We discuss "school choice" (moving toward privatizing education) and the ramifications if that type of policy was more widely adopted. David Barton also comes up as we dialogue about his many ways to in…

Podcast performer and producer Virginia Spotts (The Sheridan Tapes) stops by the VCW hall to talk about her Evangelical story, including her time at Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church, and Acts 29 church after that. She talks about realizing she was suffering from religious trauma as well as deep grief and loss (due to extremely painful life experien…

Rula Khoury, who is Palestinian-American-Christian, stops by the VCW hall to speak boldly about what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank with the current war. She talks about her family's history and we also talk about Christian Zionism (often fueled by forms of dispensational theology in America) which make it far more difficult for people to f…

Dr. Andrew Whitehead stops by the VCW hall to chat about his new book "American Idolatry" chronicling the current manifestations of Christian Nationalism in our country. He talks about the main pillars of Christian Nationalism: power, fear and violence. He also discusses how Christians can think about the Great Commission minus a colonial mindset o…

Erin Green and Paul Carlos Southwick of REAP (The Religious Exemption Accountability Project) visit the VCW hall to talk about their work organizing and fighting for LGBTQ+ equality at overwhelmingly white, taxpayer-supported religious schools and colleges, and their new podcast for the Axis Mundi network, On God's Campus. Learn more about REAP at …

R.L. Stollar joins the show to talk about his new book The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology, the homeschooling movement, and his work as an advocate for homeschool survivors. We discuss Mr Rogers, considering scripture stories involving children through the child's perspective, such as the binding of Isaac, and whether evangelism is an in…

Founder and president of the Public Religion Research Institute and author Robert P Jones joins the VCW hall to talk about his New York Times bestselling new book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, which traces the underknown but outsized impact of the Doctrine of Discovery on minority and marginalized gro…

Film critic Josh Larsen (Filmspotting, Think Christian) joins us to discuss his new book Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies. We discuss frightful movies which have left a lasting impression and given him a deeper understanding of spirituality and human nature, covering multiple subgenres of horror, including slashers, psychological…

Zach and Dave are changing lightbulbs and deep cleaning the carpets of the VCW Hall, getting it ready for the new season. They talk about trips they took this summer (including Zach's visit to a naked spa and the body positivity/body neutrality/embodiment stuff that involves), while also discussing Zach's recent realization that after 41 years of n…

Podcaster and social media star Tim Whitaker, with The New Evangelicals, expands on his story with Evangelical Christianity including his process of becoming LGBTQIA affirming. He discusses attending the Asbury Revival and also going to Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA conference. We also talk about where we think Evangelicalism is headed in the fu…

Religion News Service national reporter Jack Jenkins joins the VCW to talk about his most recent book "American Prophets: The Religious Roots of Progressive Politics and the Ongoing Fight for the Soul of the Country". We contrast the religious right and the religious left and discuss progressive political movements of the last 20 years and how they…

DL "DisneyLand" Mayfield (at least for the purposes of this episode) and Krispin "Krispin" Mayfield join the show to talk about Disneyland, which Zach recently visited and is very excited to discuss and use as a jumping off point for talking about embodiment, being present, time and growth, our evangelical childhoods, neurodivergent experiences, fe…

Author and film lover, Elijah Davidson, joins the VCW hall to share his Evangelical story and also talk about his new book "Come & See: A Christian Guide to the Greatest Films of All Time". We discuss some of these historic films and also chat about the Christian movie industry. Pick up the book right here: https://elijahdavidson.com/books/come-see…

Dr. Marcia Pally (author of White Evangelicals and Right-Wing Populism: How Did We Get Here?) returns to the VCW hall with her friend, Dr. Pamela Cooper- White. We discuss Dr. Cooper-White's new book, "The Psychology of Christian Nationalism: Why People Are Drawn In And How to Talk Across the Divide". Buy Dr. Pamela Cooper-White's book right here: …

Writer, advocate and teacher Billie Hoard joins the VCW to share her story within Evangelicalism, her exit from those spaces and finding herself in a Mennonite church as an anarcho-pacifist. She also discusses coming out as trans to her family and school where she teaches. We also talk about how trans people have become targets in the ferocity of t…

Writer and podcaster R. Scott Okamoto returns to the VCW hall to talk about his new memoir Asian-American Apostate: Losing Religion and Finding Myself at an Evangelical University (out on April 18th, 2023). He discusses the process of getting it published, responds to some of the early reviews, and we of course talk about the book itself, which chr…

Former pastor for 15 years and former employee at Seattle's Union Gospel Mission (UGM), Kyle Reynolds comes by the VCW hall to share his Evangelical story and faith journey. We discuss how he became LGBTQ affirming as a straight pastor then talk about his work at UGM as well as the work that UGM does in Seattle. Within that work at UGM, we discuss …

Jeff Bettger (AKA Jeff Suffering) stops by to talk about his recently reformed 1990s Tooth and Nail band Ninety Pound Wuss, as well as his time playing music and being a pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. We talk about his musical history, including Raft of Dead Monkeys, Suffering and the Hideous Thieves, and Team Strike Force, an early and ver…

Religion reporter and book author Jonathan Merritt joins the VCW to share his Evangelical story that includes the trauma of being outed in 2012. We also discuss the ethics of publicly outing people (who are harmful to the LGBTQ community), death anxiety from certain religious backgrounds, and his fascinating *newest* book "Learning to Speak God fro…

The VCW hall was honored to host author and journalist Katherine Stewart to talk about her religious background and how she fell down the rabbit hole of covering Christian Nationalism specifically through the religious right's attempts to radically alter or eliminate public education. She also talks about being trained in journalism craft by Wayne …

Every year, around this time, Jeffrey Overstreet joins us to talk about our favorite movies of the preceding year. This year we are very happy to have Sarah Welch-Larson joining the discussion as well. On part 2 of our Best Movies of 2022 mega-episode, we talk about our personal top 10 movies from 2022. Connect with Sarah Welch-Larson on Twitter: @…

Every year, around this time, Jeffrey Overstreet joins us to talk about our favorite movies of the preceding year, the Oscar nominees, and so forth. This year we are very happy to have Sarah Welch-Larson joining the discussion as well. On part 1 of our Best Movies of 2022 mega-episode, we talk about the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture and s…

Podcast host and writer Amy Fritz joins us to talk about her Evangelical story and how her family moved from Minnesota to Tennessee as her husband Nathan took a job at Ramsey Solutions. She talks about how she came to realize that Ramsey Solutions was a toxic environment and that led her to thinking about untangling her faith from other unhealthy p…

Professor and author Dr. David Dark joins the VCW hall to talk about his reframed and expanded new book "Life's Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious". We discuss the definition of "religious" vs "spiritual but not religious", Hollywood's portrayal of Christians and/or religious people, why to "love a person is to love a process" and also that …

Dr. Matthew Taylor joins us to discuss his recent podcast series Charismatic Revival Fury, released through the Straight White American Jesus podcast. We talk about central figures of the New Apostolic Reformation like C Peter Wagner and Che Ahn, the connection to the "signs and wonders" charismatic movement led by John Wimber, Matthew's concept of…

We talk with Mitchell Kezin, director of the documentary Jingle Bell Rocks!, which is about primarily left-of-center Christmas music, and features interviews with Reverend Run of Run-DMC, John Waters, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Low, and others. We talk about Christmas music as part of the rituals that people create to give extra meaning to th…

Film critic and author Alonso Duralde talks about Christmas movies, Hallmark Christmas movies, and that time Hallmark aired a commercial featuring a lesbian couple that caused so much chaos that a whole new network was created to make exclusive content for people who get the vapors at the idea of a Christmas movie featuring a same-sex (or interraci…

Co-host of the podcast, Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi returns to the VCW hall to talk about his forthcoming book (January 6, 2023) "Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism- And What Comes Next". While we are all seeing a rise in Christian Nationalism in our present political moment, Brad traces the histo…

From Concordia University in Montreal, Dr. Andre Gagne joins the VCW hall to share his story with Evangelicalism which included being a pastor for 10 years. We define Christian Nationalism and discuss the growing movement in America. Then we take a deeper dive into the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the 7 Mountain Mandate, some of the personaliti…

Rapture and hellfire and influencers, oh my! Prepare to be terrified by the spookiest episode of the year. The shadowy figure behind the Christian Nightmares social media accounts joins us to talk about the things that traumatized him as an evangelical kid, and the things that scare, amuse, and confound him now about contemporary evangelical cultur…

Author, Podcaster, Communications Professor and interdenominational speaker Dr. Heather Thompson Day joins the VCW hall to share her story with Evangelicalism and talk about her new book (written with her husband Seth Day) "I'll See you Tomorrow". Dr. Day discusses how lonely and disconnected our society is and how we can have meaningful friendship…