MindShift Podcast
107 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 87 ratingsReconstruction After Deconstruction, Post-Religion
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Episodes
When Family Hurts: Finding Wholeness and Healing (with Rebekah Drumsta)
January 21, 2022 20:15 - 54 minutes - 42.1 MBThis episode features returning guest, Rebekah Drumsta, author of a brand-new book entitled When Family Hurts: 30 Days to Finding Healing and Clarity. Have you had to cut off relationships with family or friends because they were simply too toxic, ... Read More »
Beyond Belief: Inside the Rise of Global Pentecostalism (with Elle Hardy)
January 07, 2022 20:15 - 55 minutes - 43.2 MBThis inaugural episode of 2022 features a fascinating conversation with Australian-born author and investigative journalist, Elle Hardy. She’s the author of a brand-new book entitled Beyond Belief: How Global Pentecostalism is Taking Over the World. In addition to researching the ... Read More »
Deconstructing Your Former Beliefs (with David Hayward, The Naked Pastor)
December 17, 2021 20:15 - 59 minutes - 45.1 MBThis final episode of 2021 features another returning guest and good friend from Canada–David Hayward, “The Naked Pastor.” A former evangelical pastor like me, David and I go way back and share a lot in common since we both left ... Read More »
Deconstructing: When Your Authentic Self Breaks Through (with Dr Josie McSkimming)
December 03, 2021 20:15 - 1 hour - 55 MBThis week’s guest is another returning friend–Dr Josie McSkimming from Sydney, Australia. I reached out to her recently because I was interested in speaking with her about not only her backstory in Christian fundamentalism, and how she got out of ... Read More »
Re-Release! Surviving a Fundamentalist Upbringing (with Valerie Cunningham)
November 19, 2021 20:15 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBThis episode is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time–a re-release of an old recording I did with my sister Valerie way back in 2017 when she came to visit me in North Wales. We sat down ... Read More »
#TexasTaliban: Inside the Texas Abortion Law (with Peter Montgomery)
November 05, 2021 20:15 - 40 minutes - 31.8 MBThis week’s episode couldn’t be more timely–discussing the draconian and hugely controversial Texas abortion law, Senate Bill 8 (SB8). Now that it is finally being argued at the Supreme Court, we have to ask: will the Christian dominionists who have ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Divorcing Religion Workshop (with Janice Selbie)
November 01, 2021 20:15 - 40 minutes - 30.1 MBThis special bonus episode features a conversation with my very good friend, Religious Recovery Consultant Janice Selbie! Starting the 7th of November, she is running another one of her amazing “Divorcing Religion” workshops. We’ve talked about this before, but I ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Is Evangelicalism a Cult? Dr Robert Jay Lifton’s 8 Markers of Cults
October 22, 2021 19:15 - 1 hour - 70.1 MBThis bonus episode is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time–compare evangelicalism with cult psychology and tactics. I’ve done a lot of research and reading on this subject, and have reflected on both my own experiences as a ... Read More »
Inside the Dominionist Agenda of The Family (with Jonathan Larsen)
October 15, 2021 21:51 - 53 minutes - 40 MBThis week’s guest is Jonathan Larsen, managing editor over at The Young Turks (TYT) Network. Ever since he and his colleagues obtained the formerly-secret invitation list to the yearly National Prayer Breakfast that The Family–otherwise known as “The Fellowship Foundation”–wanted ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: How Religion Affects Our Mental Health (with Rachel Bernstein)
October 06, 2021 19:15 - 34 minutes - 26.6 MBIn this special bonus episode, which I’ve long been promising is indeed coming, I was able to interview therapist Rachel Bernstein of the IndoctriNation Podcast. This is actually Part 2 of two episodes we did–for the first half of the ... Read More »
Evil Geniuses: Explaining America’s Vast Wealth Inequality (with Kurt Andersen)
October 01, 2021 19:15 - 56 minutes - 49.4 MBKurt Andersen is a returning guest, this time to talk about his sequel to Fantasyland, which is his excellent and thought-provoking work, Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America–A Recent History. How exactly does it function as a sequel to Fantasyland? ... Read More »
A Conversation with Seth Andrews, Host of The Thinking Atheist
September 17, 2021 19:16 - 1 hour - 49.5 MBFor those two or three people who are unaware of who Seth Andrews is, all we have to say is “The Thinking Atheist” and you’ll understand everything. Seth and I had a fantastic conversation recently in which we discussed his ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t Taught (with Dr David Madison)
September 05, 2021 19:15 - 59 minutes - 43.8 MBIn this special bonus episode, I’m welcoming back returning guest Dr David Madison, who was on the podcast several years ago. Our mutual friend Tim Sledge suggested I interview him about his new book, Ten Things Christians Wish Jesus Hadn’t ... Read More »
Taking Dominion: Inside the Christian Homeschooling Bubble (with Ryan Stollar)
August 27, 2021 19:15 - 56 minutes - 44.9 MBThis episode features author and activist Ryan Stollar, who grew up in the Christian homeschooling bubble, but has since become a staunch advocate for those who unfortunately suffered a great many abuses within that system. A former editor and author ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – The Mars Hill Legacy: Mark Driscoll’s Toxic Cult of Personality (with Dr Warren Throckmorton)
August 16, 2021 19:15 - 53 minutes - 41.3 MBThis special bonus episode features returning guest, Dr Warren Throckmorton. Though he identifies as a Christian himself, Dr Throckmorton has long been an outspoken activist and blogger for what he clearly sees as abuses within evangelicalism. In the current Christianity ... Read More »
Surviving the World Revival Church Cult of Kansas City (with Daniel Phelps)
August 11, 2021 19:11 - 59 minutes - 45.9 MBThis week’s guest is Daniel Phelps, who grew up in the World Revival Church, now located in Kansas City, MO. A recent investigation by Fox News has shone some light on this church’s disturbing cult-like practices and tactics. Off the ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Fantasyland: Blurring Fiction and Reality (with Kurt Andersen)
July 26, 2021 19:15 - 49 minutes - 41.3 MBIn this special bonus episode, I recently caught up with Kurt Andersen, author of the 2017 book Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire–A 500-Year History. Kurt’s book explains so much about the current state of America today by looking at ... Read More »
Papering Over the Ugly Truth: The History of the Church and Racism (with David Johnson)
July 16, 2021 19:15 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBIt’s finally out! This is an absolutely incredible, informative and educational conversation I had a while back with David Johnson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers podcast. I met David when we were guests on the Still Unbelievable podcast, and ... Read More »
Theocratic Visions: Matt Shea, Timothy Taylor, and Taking Dominion (with Frederick Clarkson)
June 25, 2021 19:02 - 47 minutes - 36.5 MBThis week’s episode features another super informative–and potentially disturbing–conversation with returning guest, Fred Clarkson of the Political Research Associates. Matt Shea is a former Republican state legislator from my home state of Washington, up in the Pacific Northwest. He’s long ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Dr James Dobson and the Eugenics Connection (with Dr Audrey Clare Farley)
June 21, 2021 19:59 - 40 minutes - 32.7 MBIn this special bonus episode, I spoke recently with Dr Audrey Clare Farley, who wrote a fascinating (and quite disturbing) article not long ago exploring the connections between Dr James Dobson of Focus on the Family and…eugenics. Sounds crazy, right? ... Read More »
The Noble Lie and American Mythology
June 11, 2021 19:15 - 1 hour - 81.2 MBAfter last week’s conversation with Jared Yates Sexton about his book American Rule, that spurred me to do some more investigation into this issue of the “noble lie”–what is it, and how exactly does it relate to the official American ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – American Rule: Unpacking the Noble Lie of American Exceptionalism (with Jared Yates Sexton)
June 05, 2021 00:08 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBJared Yates Sexton, the co-host of the Muckrake Podcast, is back! This time we are taking a super deep dive into his excellent and thought-provoking book American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World but Failed its People. As always, ... Read More »
Surviving a Toxic Faith, Mother, and Missions (with Maya Ram)
May 28, 2021 20:43 - 1 hour - 51.4 MBThis week’s episode features an amazing survivor–Maya Ram. She not only survived a traumatic relationship with the Seventh Day Adventist cult, she also had to deal with a controlling, abusive mother too–who also used religion as a means of coercion. ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Bill Gothard, the IBLP Cult, and Josh Duggar (with Emily Elizabeth Anderson)
May 17, 2021 19:15 - 1 hour - 52.7 MBThis bonus episode features a super-informative discussion with Emily Elizabeth Anderson, who herself is a survivor of not only the Bill Gothard/ATI homeschooling cult, she also experienced grooming and abuses by Gothard personally. Emily is now on the journey of ... Read More »
Treating Religious Trauma Syndrome with Psychedelics (with Andrew Jasko)
May 07, 2021 19:15 - 56 minutes - 47.3 MBIn this week’s episode, I finally had a chance to edit this show and get it out there–apologies to Andrew for taking so long! Andrew is on the vanguard of an exciting new field of research and experimentation: using psychedelics ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – CORT 2021: The Conference on Religious Trauma (with Janice Selbie)
April 30, 2021 19:15 - 45 minutes - 33.9 MBI’m super excited to be promoting this incredible conference, which begins very soon–May 11th through the 16th, 2021. My good friend Janice Selbie is putting it on, and the conference features an unbelievable line-up of guest speakers and presenters, such ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Fighting Weaponized Christianity in the US Military (with Mikey Weinstein of the MRFF)
April 26, 2021 19:15 - 33 minutes - 26.8 MBIn this special bonus episode, I caught up recently with Mikey Weinstein, founder and leader of the MRFF–the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. This incredible civil rights advocacy organization is dedicated to one thing: preserving the religious freedoms of active duty, ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Tell Your Story, Change the World (with Lisa and Gerette of igotout.org)
April 19, 2021 19:14 - 56 minutes - 43.9 MBThis week’s special bonus episode features an excellent conversation with Lisa and Gerette, two amazing women who started the igotout.org website. Both cult survivors in their own right, each not only tell their stories of their time in their cults ... Read More »
The Psychology of Religion and Mental Health (with Dr Terri Daniel)
April 09, 2021 19:45 - 41 minutes - 32.1 MBIn this conversation with returning guest Dr Terri Daniel, co-host of the “Ask Dr Death” podcast, we get into the subjects of not only the psychology of religion in general, but we also discuss how religion can affect people’s mental ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – The Theological Foundations of the Christian Right (with Frederick Clarkson)
April 05, 2021 19:15 - 56 minutes - 44 MBThis bonus episode features a discussion with Fred Clarkson: journalist, publisher and author and most importantly for our purposes, Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates. In addition to breaking the story about Project Blitz a few years ago, Fred ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – The Black Marketplace of Ideas: Strategies of the Early Christian Right (with Conway & Siegelman)
March 28, 2021 19:14 - 1 hour - 62.2 MBIn this fantastic bonus episode, returning guests Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman–authors of the classics Snapping and Holy Terror–take us on a trip back in time…to the origins of the Christian Right, with a close assessment of the various strategies ... Read More »
Why Save 71? The Fight to Save Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University (with Calum Best)
March 19, 2021 20:27 - 48 minutes - 42.3 MBIn this episode, we round out our examination of the Falwell family legacy by speaking with Calum Best, who is himself an alumni of the Christian University founded by Jerry Falwell Sr., which was then taken over by his son ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Religion & Atheism: Finding Common Cause (with Hemant Mehta, “The Friendly Atheist”)
March 08, 2021 20:15 - 58 minutes - 48.3 MBIn this special bonus episode, I finally was able to get together with Hemant Mehta, “The Friendly Atheist,” for a fascinating discussion about his journey. Hemant became an atheist out of the religion of Jainism, which is fascinating in ... Read More »
Profiles of the Christian Right 2: Jerry Falwell Sr and the Moral Majority
February 26, 2021 20:15 - 2 hours - 136 MBIn this second episode in my new 2021 series “Profiles of the Christian Right,” I’m following up on last week’s chat with Frank Schaeffer and doing a very deep dive into the legacy of Jerry Falwell Sr and his Moral ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – An Industry of Hate: Analyzing the Legacy of the Christian Right (with Frank Schaeffer)
February 22, 2021 20:15 - 1 hour - 47.9 MBIn this very informative and educational episode, returning guest Frank Schaeffer and I break down not only some of the early movers and shakers of the Christian Right–like Falwell Sr., Pat Robertson and others–we move on to discuss the legacy ... Read More »
From Pastor to Atheist to Religious Trauma Therapist (with Thomas Hanna)
February 12, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBThis week’s guest features Thomas Hanna, who’s had a very interesting path indeed–he’s gone from being a pastor to embarking on a journey of discovery that led him to becoming an atheist. He is now a therapist who specializes in ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Inside NXIVM: Cult Tactics & Influence Mechanisms (with Dr Janja Lalich)
February 08, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBThis special bonus episode features returning guest, sociologist and cult expert, Dr Janja Lalich. I reached out to her once again to talk about the NXIVM cult and how specifically it worked from a cult psychology point of view. As ... Read More »
Leaving Toxic Charismatic Christianity & Learning to Forgive Yourself (with Janeen Puckett)
January 29, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBThis week’s incredible conversation features Janeen Puckett, host of the Deconstruction Stories website–a place where you can share your journeys deconstructing out of religion, anonymously and safely. Janeen herself has an absolutely incredible story of deconstruction too–she comes out of ... Read More »
Profiles of the Christian Right 1: Examining Pastor Doug Wilson (with Mark Potok)
January 25, 2021 20:10 - 5 MBI finally got a chance to edit and release my first episode of my new series for 2021, “Profiles of the Christian Right.” For this inaugural episode, I reached out to Mark Potok, who worked at the Southern Poverty Law ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Inside the Cult Psychology of QAnon
January 18, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBIn this special bonus episode, given the events of the recent Capitol Riots and the prominence of QAnon-branded diehard Trump loyalists who took part in the insurrection, I figured it was time to take a deep dive into the cult ... Read More »
Walking Away from Your Former Religion (with Paul James Caiden)
January 15, 2021 21:57 - 5 MBThis week’s episode features Paul James Caiden, host of the Mind’s Eye Podcast. I was a recent guest on his show and now I’m returning the favor and having him on the show–from Mind’s Eye to MindShift! In this chat ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Christian Nationalism + Trumpism = The Capitol Riots
January 11, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBIn this inaugural episode of 2020, I figured something needed to be said about the recent, highly disturbing events in the US Capitol building. An angry mob of Trumpists laid waste to the building, resulting in 5 deaths and ... Read More »
Racism + Church Hurt = Deconstruction (with Seven)
January 01, 2021 20:15 - 5 MBThis final episode of 2020 features an eye-opening and informative interview with Seven, a rapper and former megachurch pastoral staff member from Jacksonville, Florida. Seven and his wife experienced not just church hurt during their time as part of the ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Crazy for God: An Atheist who Believes in God? (with Frank Schaeffer)
December 21, 2020 20:15 - 5 MBIn this special bonus episode, I’m bringing back recent guest Frank Schaeffer, son of the hugely famous and influential Francis and Edith Schaeffer. As we discussed in our last episode, we’d return to talk about two of his books: ... Read More »
Surviving a Fundamentalist Bible Cult Upbringing (with Rebekah Drumsta)
December 18, 2020 20:15 - 5 MBThis episode will be of great value to anyone who grew up in a fundamentalist or evangelical Bible cult background, like this week’s guest–life coach Rebekah Drumsta. Beyond talking about her incredible life’s journey out of fundamentalism, and then rebuilding, ... Read More »
MindShift Deconversion (with Clint, Karen and Bonnie)
December 16, 2020 20:00 - 5 MBThanks to the wonderful Karen & Bonnie from the Deconversion Therapy Podcast, we are happy to bring the full episode of our conversation from the other day. We had a great chat, talking about our own backstories growing up in ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – Trumpism: The Religion of Conspiracy Theories (with Jared Yates Sexton)
December 14, 2020 20:15 - 5 MBIn this special bonus episode, I’m chatting with Jared Yates Sexton, who is the co-host of the Muckrake Podcast along with Nick Hauselman. An associate professor at Georgia Southern University, Jared is also the author of the 2020 book American ... Read More »
Bonus Episode: Why is the Christian Right Amplifying Trump’s Conspiracy Theories?
December 07, 2020 20:15 - 5 MBIn this fourth bonus episode, I’m taking a slightly different direction away from the charismatic “apostles and prophets” who failed in their predictions of a Trump landslide. This time, I’m looking at the issue of why voices on the Christian ... Read More »
Escaping from Charismatic Christianity (with Dean Krosecz)
December 04, 2020 20:15 - 5 MBThis week’s episode features a conversation with ex-charismatic Christian and host of “The People I Meet” podcast: Dean Krosecz. Dean and I discuss not only a bit of his backstory, we also delve into the charismatic version of dominion theology–the ... Read More »
Bonus Episode – The “Prophets” Double Down: Conspiracy Theories and Failed “Trump Re-Election” Prophecies
November 23, 2020 20:32 - 5 MBThere’s just so much information out there that I am having a hard time keeping up with all of it! As I struggle to keep up, here’s my third bonus episode on this topic, as we continue to watch the ... Read More »