In this special bonus episode, I caught up with returning guest, Dr Sheri Pallas, as we discussed her brand-new book that just dropped on the 2nd of May, 2024. It's titled We Have Ruined God: My Journey Out of Religion and Into Unconditional Love, and from the conversation we had, it sounds like a fascinating and intriguing book. Why should people …

I truly hope that you enjoy this great collaborative episode I recently did with Anna and Kari Jo, hosts of the fantastic Heretical Hippies podcast! We covered a lot of ground about their backstory, deconstruction of their former faith, and what they are doing--and believing--currently. I believe this will be a helpful discussion for all those who …

Once again I'm joined by investigative journalist Jenny Cohn, who does a lot of writing for the Bucks County Beacon. Jenny has been on the show before and in this instance, I reached out to her because she's done a lot of work exposing and unmasking the agenda behind Project 2025. What if Donald Trump were to win the presidential election in Novemb…

This week's episode features a wide-ranging discussing with Jonathan Davis, an ex-evangelical former pastor and seminary professor who deconstructed his former faith, questioned everything, and is on the journey. Ironically, it was closely studying his Bible that started Jonathan on this path of unpacking all his inherited beliefs and discovering h…

Welcome to a riveting Patreon-only episode of the MindShift Podcast, where we delve into the obscure but influential Project 2025. Explored through extensive research and interviews with high-profile figures such as Jenny Cohn and Andra Watkins, this episode unveils startling details about the project believed to have major implications for the fut…

Recently I reached out to my good friend--and returning guest--Frank Schaeffer, who has a very unique perspective on what's happening in the Trump/Christian Right world. As a former player himself in the late 1970s and early 80s, along with his famous father Francis, they helped to kickstart the evangelical anti-abortion movement. They were also in…

I finally caught up with author and ex-evangelical Wren Story a few weeks ago. I have long followed her on Facebook and always resonated with much of what she writes about, since we have a lot in common! In this episode, Wren and I discuss not only her backstory growing up in an evangelical church setting, we'll also get into how she ended up getti…

If you have seen the Amazon Prime documentary "Shiny Happy People," then you'll benefit from this Patreon-only exclusive episode. I do a deep dive into the background of this toxic and damaging teaching, as well as exploring the Bill Gothard Institutes in Basic Life Principles connection to it all. If like me, you were raised in this movement, then…

Recently I reached out to returning guest Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshipers and The Good News Club, for a chat about the new Rob Reiner film, "God and Country." In the movie, Reiner takes a good hard look at Christian nationalism, and how elements of the more extreme side of the movement have affected not just America, but indeed th…

I recently caught up with Dr Matthew Taylor, senior scholar at the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies (ICJS) in Baltimore. When it comes to the roots of the NAR--the New Apostolic Reformation--7 mountains mandate dominion theology, and more, Taylor is an absolute fount of information on these subjects, as you'll discover in this episode. Moreov…

This week's episode features a conversation with author Sarah Hayward (no relation to David Hayward, "the Naked Pastor!") Sarah's book Giving Up God is all about walking away from organized religion, in this case Christianity, and yet trying to discover a sense of authentic spirituality. For those of us who left a controlling religion behind, the i…

This episode marks now the second time I've done a crossover episode with Rachel Bernstein, host of the fantastic IndoctriNation podcast. As a therapist, cult expert, and specialist in dealing with folks who suffer from religious trauma syndrome, Rachel is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to dealing with a wide variety of issues caused by cults,…

MindShift Podcast is officially back for 2024! And what better way to kick off another season of the show than to catch up with an old friend, Peter Montgomery of the Right Wing Watch? In this first episode, Peter and I conduct a wide-ranging, thorough overview of the end of 2023 and look forward into this year, discussing the agenda of the Christi…

As a recent guest on Joshua's excellent podcast, "The Mediocre Observer," I was happy to return the favor and have Joshua on the show. I hope you enjoy this, the final episode of MindShift Podcast for 2023! In this wide-ranging discussion, Joshua and I discuss, among other things, why he was terrified to pick the wrong God in his quest for spiritua…

I've finally managed to catch up with one of my favorite Canadians, David Hayward "The Naked Pastor." As an ex-pastor and ex-evangelical like me, author and cartoonist David is best known for his irreverent but incredibly poignant cartoons depicting a huge array of theological and churchly issues. They cause people to think, to question, to ponder …

This week's episode features a great conversation with a returning guest, historian Dr Warren Throckmorton. From our previous conversation a few years ago, he's had a longstanding issue with the Christian nationalist "historian" David Barton of WallBuilders. Back in 2012, Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from the bookshelves by its Chris…

Katherine North is an amazing woman--she grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, but all her life as a young girl she struggled with a major problem: she couldn't bring herself to believe the message of the Christian gospel. What did she do about it? As the title of the episode suggests, she deconstructed in a major way...and since then, has spent de…

Once again, I'm joined by my good friend Tim Sledge, who like me is an ex-pastor who has since walked away from both the church and the Christian faith. This week we're discussing his excellent book, Four Disturbing Questions with One Simple Answer, which has a lot of resonance with me as an ex-Christian. Tim poses four questions that anyone who is…

Thanks to my good friend Janice Selbie, she introduced me to David Morris, who used to be an employee of some of the biggest Christian publishing houses. David has since walked away from the faith and his career--at least as a Christian publisher, that is. He's now publishing books largely written by, and for, ex-evangelicals, in some way to make u…

This show is Part 2 of a crossover episode that I've absolutely enjoyed recording. It features the second half of my conversation with Rachael and Molly, the co-hosts of the Cheers to Leaving podcast. Before listening to this conversation, head over to their platform to catch Part 1! In this chat, we discuss what it was like to grow up in a fundame…

Is it really true that evangelicals are known as "the people without questions"? That theology can quickly turn into ideology? And why are so many evangelicals willing to believe in increasingly outlandish, unproven conspiracy theories? My guest this week, Jared Stacy, is a transplanted American currently living with his family up in Aberdeen, Scot…

This week's episode features not just one returning guest, but two! I brought back David Johson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers podcast, and Gary Hudson, author of Surrender to Reason, to discuss a few burning topics. One of my listeners asked me a question a few months ago: "Why does Jesus always seem to get a free pass when Christians are decon…

This week's show comes with an obvious trigger warning related to an account of grooming and sexual abuse of a minor. Emilie Paige tells her horrific story of how she was groomed and finally abused by one of the teachers in Doug Wilson's Logos School out of Moscow, ID. Sadly, we've seen too many examples of what can happen within these deeply patri…

This week's episode features a conversation with Charles Utter, author of Roman Collar Crime: VIOLATED: The Transgressions of a Small-Town Priest. Charles tells the tragic and quite honestly unbelievable story of a priest who preyed on his victims in a small town in South Dakota. Although the book is "fictional," the story is based on a real priest…

This conversation features Frankie Tease, who grew up in a New Age cult called Morningland out of Southern California, back in the 1970s and 80s. Not only did she experience most, if not all, the classic markers of cults, she survived, escaped, and has since dedicated years to rebuilding her life. Although you may not have experienced life within a…

This episode tells a truly unbelievable true story, as shared by abduction and abuse survivor Dawn McCarty. Added to that was the religious trauma syndrome she had to deal with as part of the LDS cult, and you have a situation that few would survive and stay sane. Not on ly did she survive, she's now in a position to help others who come out of hig…

In this monster, 2+ hour episode, I take a VERY deep dive into the backstory of what led Doug Wilson and his co-author, Steven Wilkins, to write their hugely controversial 1996 booklet, Southern Slavery, As it Was. If you love history as I do, then you'll appreciate the historical context behind what's called the "theological war thesis"--which dra…

Once again I'm catching up with my very good friend Dr Terri Daniel to promote her outstanding conference being held in July--the Conference on Death, Grief, and Belief. Terri and I not only preview some of the amazing speakers at this year's conference, but we also delve into these important topics of death, grief, and belief, and how it all someh…

I recently caught up with a good friend and ex-pastor, Gary Hudson. Gary is the author of the 2018 work Surrender to Reason: New Testament Studies that Disputed Faith. In it, Gary charts how he, as an evangelical pastor, came to question--and ultimately walk away from--his lifelong Christian faith. Ironically, it was in studying the Bible in prepar…

This week's guest is ex-cult member Vennie Kocsis, who grew up in the fundamentalist Bible cult founded by Sam Fife--the Move of God, or just "The Move." Reaching its heyday in the mid-1970s, not only was it growing, it was reaching into the mainstream of society also. Focusing heavily on an end-times, apocalyptic message, Fife's group seemingly st…

After a few years' break, I finally caught up with my good friend Frank Schaeffer, who of course is the son of the famous Francis Schaeffer. His father not only shaped my views as an evangelical, but indeed an entire generation--and together with Frank, helped kickstart the "pro-life," anti-abortion evangelical movement in America. Frank and I disc…

Having just been on Chris's great show, the Sensibly Speaking Podcast, it was time to return the favor and have him back on MindShift! As an ex-Scientologist who's been out of the cult for over 10 years, and having run his show for the last 7 or 8 years exposing the inner workings of the cult, Chris is uniquely placed to provide insights into the g…

This week's conversation is with self-professed liberal Christian and writer for Salon, Nate Manderson. Nate and I had a great chat about his backstory, how he came to walk away from fundamentalist Christianity, and now how his writing is taking on the mainstream evangelical church in America today. Having sold most of its soul to Trumpism, Christi…

Welcome to this, our FINAL instalment in the ongoing and exhaustive look into controversial pastor and influencer, Doug Wilson. This episode begins by defining and discussing the similarities and differences between the "complementarian" and "biblical patriarchy" views, assesses Wilson's views in light of that overview, then moves into a definition…

We're nearly finished with our deep dive into controversial pastor--cult leader?--Doug Wilson out of Moscow, Idaho. This week's episode features an absolutely fascinating conversation with his former professor at the University of Idaho, Dr Nick Gier. Their relationship goes back to the late 1970s when Dr Gier was a professor of philosophy and Wils…

In this special bonus episode, returning guest David Johnson and I took another in-depth look at the question we covered in our recent podcast on a so-called "Christian" defense of slavery. What was meant to be our February MindShift Zoom call turned into a great follow-up conversation on this subject, examining a few questions and comments listene…

As we're nearing the end of our exhaustive--and potentially exhausting--deep dive into all things Doug Wilson, back in October of 2022 I reached out to former guest David Johnson, host of the Skeptics and Seekers as well as the Red Letters podcasts for some help. This episode has been a long time coming, but it's definitely worth the wait. David an…

We're back for our inaugural episode of 2023, continuing our exploration of all things Doug Wilson, the controversial pastor/cult leader running a sprawling religious empire out of Moscow, ID. In this long-form episode, I'll cover three of Wilson's more controversial---and ultimately toxic--theological distinctives: the "federal vision" theology, g…

In this third instalment examining the controversial pastor Doug Wilson out of Moscow, ID, we're diving into the decades--yes, decades--of scandals and controversies that have been attached to him and his associated ministries. In our continuing investigation of all things Wilson, this episode demonstrates that not only has Wilson's teachings and l…

As I was doing all of my research on controversial pastor Doug Wilson out of Moscow, Idaho, I came across his troublesome teachings on so-called "biblical patriarchy." That also led me to a disturbing movement called the "stay-at-home-daughters" (SAHD)--something which is also within Wilson's orbit. This week's guest, Cait West, is a survivor of bo…

This episode marks the first foray into the sprawling religious empire created by Doug Wilson, pastor of Christ Church in Moscow Idaho. Already on my radar from several years ago when I did an episode with Mark Potok, formerly of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who investigated the controversial pastor back in 2004. In this 2+ hour episode, we'll …

This week's episode features a conversation with Jennifer Cohn, an investigative journalist who primarily writes for the Bucks County Beacon. Through her work investigating issues such as election integrity in the runup to the 2016 election, Jennifer became aware of the NAR--the New Apostolic Reformation--and the key players who've been pushing Tru…

Returning guest Dr André Gagné from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, is an expert on the field of dominion theology, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Christian Right and what's going on in Trump world. Thus: what better thing to do than to reach out to him after a few years to catch up on what's going on in that universe? The good news i…

Continuing our theme of speaking with ex-pastors, this week's conversation is another good one, featuring my friend Bruce Gerencser. A former Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher of several decades, Bruce has a lifetime's experience unpacking not only the church and the Bible, as an avowed atheist now, he has an incredible story to tell about h…

I'm super happy to be reconnecting with my good friend Dave Warnock of "Dying Out Loud"--it's been at least 3+ years since we last talked last, maybe more. In the meantime, Dave has come out with a brand-new book called Childish Things: A Memoir. I listened to it on Audible, which I'd highly recommend as Dave himself reads the text. This makes his …

This week's episode features a fascinating discussion with returning guest, Dr David D'Andre, on the subject of his brand-new book entitled TULIP: The Poisonous Flower of Calvinism. Why Calvinism, of all the theological systems that are out there? As David makes clear, this theology in particular has a number of problems associated with it, both hi…

This week's guest is Kerry Noble, former member of the Christian militia group The Covenant, Sword & Arm of the Lord (CSA). This group operated out of Arkansas primarily in the 1970s and 80s--and Kerry was one of the major leaders involved in the movement. Built on conspiracy theories, twisted theology, and a dystopian vision of the future, the CSA…

This episode features Luna Corbden, whom I met through a mutual friend--Janice Selbie--when we both were presenters at the recent CORT2022, the Conference on Religious Trauma. Luna grew up as a Mormon, deconstructed their faith, and subsequently left the church--but not without a lot of baggage and religious trauma. Similar to many of us who've lef…

This special bonus episode is actually Part 2 of a conversation I recently had with Brian and Troy, the co-hosts of the "I Was a Teenage Fundamentalist" podcast out of Melbourne, Australia. We discuss their backstory coming out of evangelicalism, rebuilding their lives post-religion, and discuss resources for reconstructing your authentic self. Hea…

This week's episode features returning guest and former host of "The People I Meet" podcast, Dean Krosecz. Dean walked away from charismatic Christianity years ago, and finally the faith altogether. In the process, in his words, he's become "a strict materialist with doubts"--but what does that mean, and how does it relate to him rebuilding his lif…