Today we feature the pilot episode of Marie D'Elephant's new podcast, "Everyone's Autonomous." It's a spin-off of this podcast and we're excited to promote it. For short, we call it EA2 and this show EA1. It'd be great if you could subscribe to EA2 and support the work. Cheers!By Cass Midgley & Marie D'Elephant

Summary: Episode 255 is our final episode pending intermittent releases when we feel like it. In this final episode, Marie and Cass chat about their time together on the show and Cass and Bob talk about those first 4 years doing the show together. Cass will share some comments from listeners after finding out about the hiatus of the show. And Marie…

Joe grew up a farm kid in rural northern California. His parents mistrusted public education and home schooled him all the way through eighth grade, although home school meant more farm labor and than learning, and social education happened only through the church. In eighth grade his parents decided it was time for him to get a "real" education, w…

Cass Midgley talks with Randy Krakowski. Randy was raised Catholic but in his mid twenties discovered an exciting evangelical Christianity on the radio during his daily commute. From the frying pan to the fire, then out into the cold water of reality. Randy was raised in Buffalo, NY. A Roman Catholic altar boy for 7 years and CCD religious instruct…

The premise of this appalling podcast, Conversations With God, is to have open, deep and frank discussions with the creator of the universe: God. Each episode they address incredibly important issues of creation, morality, philosophy and cooking with the lord, in an informal, yet matter of fact, discussion. It is an irreverent comedy podcast which …

Cass Midgley talks with married couple, Amy and David. They recently went through an intense deconstruction of their faith after which they found true freedom for the first time in their lives. David and Amy both come from a “Christian” upbringing, but were raised very differently. David comes from a healthy loving home while Amy was raised by an a…

Josh Richards is an ex-pastor who now serves as a humanist chaplain. Josh was laughed out of his last church he served as a minister for, and then he struggled for years leaving faith. He is an example of someone losing faith and then everything else. He made mistakes and had to learn to live honestly. He is so thankful to come through all of that.…

Journalist, book/music critic, and memoirist Thomas Larson is the author of "Spirituality and the Writer: A Personal Inquiry" (Swallow Press). He has also written "The Sanctuary of Illness: A Memoir of Heart Disease" (Hudson Whitman), "The Saddest Music Ever Written: The Story of Samuel Barber's 'Adagio for Strings'" (Pegasus Press), and "The Memoi…

Cass Midgley and Marie D'elephant discuss everyone's autonomous right to grieve their loss however it manifests. We feature a segment of a YouTube talk by ex-Jehovah Witness, Rodney Allgood, and an updated from Dave Warnock on the Dying Out Loud campaign. Thanks for listening and "Be a Yes-Sayer to What Is". We interview people you don’t know, abou…

The Seeker and The Skeptic is a podcast in which two friends, Rebecca and Cat, explore esoteric, paranormal and spiritual topics from two completely different perspectives. Cat is The Seeker, she’s interested in spiritual ideas and hopes to find something meaningful and empowering in the wisdom of religion and new age philosophy. Rebecca is The Ske…

Cynthia Jeub was raised in a cult of sorts. She is the 3rd oldest of 16 kids and her parents believed God wanted them to avoid birth control of all kinds, and try to breed as much as possible. Cynthia was to marry young and become a baby-making handmaiden, after having been a sister-mom to her younger siblings since childhood. Her family was highli…

Dave Warnock, a former conservative Evangelical pastor and church leader for almost 40 years and former guest of the show, began a process of de-conversion several years ago. At first calling himself an agnostic, he gradually began to embrace the word ‘Atheist’, as he does what he can to de-stigmatize this word (which simply means “non-theist”). Da…

Amberly Page was raised in a particularly literal strain of Mormonism. She was convinced as a child that the Last Days were here and she would never grow old enough to go to college or have children of her own. She was home-schooled and sheltered from worldly influences, partially on a secluded compound in Arkansas, waiting for the Second Coming of…

Jessica Wilbanks is the author When I Spoke in Tongues, a memoir about faith and its loss (Beacon Press, 2018). She has received a Pushcart Prize as well as creative nonfiction awards from Ninth Letter, Sycamore Review, Redivider, and Ruminate magazine. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Salon, Houston Chronicle, Sojourners, The Rumpus, Longrea…

Jeremy and Elise had the perfect Christian beginning to what promised to be the perfect Christian marriage. They met in church. Even though they had very different backgrounds and life experiences, and an age difference of almost 6 years, they found a strong attraction to each other, similar life goals, and of course their shared faith wonderful re…

Leah is a middle aged former-evangelical homeschool mama who studied Biology and Secondary Ed at universities in New York & Washington, D.C.. From the age of 10, she dreamed of rescuing all the ill and downtrodden children of the world by studying to become a pediatrician. Those dreams died when she failed to get in to medical school right out of c…

Surprise! You get an extra episode this week! Cass and Marie interview Dr. Darrel Ray. Dr. Ray is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of Recovering from Religion and founder of The Secular Therapy Project. He has been a psychologist for over forty years and is the author of four books: two on organizational teamwork as well as "The …

Cass and Marie chat with Steve Hilliker, host of Voices of Deconversion Podcast. We discuss the complexities of raising children in a secular way, absent the prescription believers are raised by. We talk about how to cope with our impending deaths, now, as atheists, and how to die. We touch on the common theme of how to create our own purpose and m…

Jon is a father, Army veteran, computer programmer, and host of The Wayward Willis podcast. He grew up in a military family with fundamentalist Christian beliefs and at the age of 5 he accepted Jesus into his heart and was baptized. He spent the rest of his childhood pursuing his relationship with Jesus but after reading the Bible from start to fin…

Join Cass & Marie as we speak with Jenn. Jenn's upbringing in Georgia, USA, was deeply insular, racist, and shrouded in a demon-obsessed, Southern Baptist Christianity. An only child emerging from a world alien to her inner convictions, she broke out of that world laden with cognitive dissonances to be her truest self. Becoming the co-host of the s…

Join Cass & Marie as we talk with Aaron and GW of the podcast Embrace the Void. Things get pretty philosophical as we discuss the notion of the "self" and the "other", cultural immersion, animal friendships with each other, and the overwhelming demand of global human needs. We wrap up by talking about how to create your own morality absent the one …

Cass Midgley & Marie D'Elephant talk about her visit to Nashville. We taped this conversation on March 10th, 2019. The music is by Dave Weckl called "Just Groove Me." Thanks for listening and Be a Yes-Sayer to what is.We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of decons…

Cass Midgley and Marie D'Elephant with Kari Lynn Becken. Kari did not fall from faith, she/they outgrew it. After 43 years of fundamental religious dogma and indoctrination involving several sects and persuasions, Kari is now recovering from the loss of both career and community. While sifting through the wreckage of religious rubble, Kari's ‘rise …

Luke is a former Foursquare Pastor, Seminary student and US Navy Chaplain Candidate turned atheist. He went from believing in divine healing, speaking in tongues, casting out demons, and other supernatural phenomenon to embracing a secular perspective on life. His goal is to put a friendly face on atheism and create an environment for atheists to e…

Cass and Marie speak with Naomi grew up in an extremely conservative Christian family. She went to a conservative Christian school, as well as a Christian college. Her parents became missionaries when she was in high school. She spent most of her adult life living abroad in China and moved back to the US a few years ago. She is a youth worker and i…

Marie D'Elephant and Cass Midgley chat with Dr. Eric Sprankle. Dr. Sprankle is an associate professor of psychology and co-director of the sexuality studies program at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is also a licensed psychologist and certified sex therapist at the Minnesota Sexual Health Institute in Minneapolis. He lives with his wife an…

Cass Midgley and Marie D'Elephant talk with Emily. She is a former Evangelical Christian who struggled with a lot of doubts and crises of faith on her road to freedom in unbelief. Nowadays, she considers herself a former fundie or a shameless heathen; although, "atheist" is the title she uses most. She is in her early thirties, works in healthcare,…

Welcome to the year 2019! This week Cass and Marie chat with author Tim Rymel who served as an evangelical Christian minister for nearly twenty-five years, including six years as the outreach director for Love in Action, once the world’s oldest and most renowned “ex-gay” ministry. He is a conversion therapy survivor. Tim holds a master’s degree in …

Listen in on our conversation with Harold Sikkema, an artist and educator in Toronto, Canada. His roots in a Calvinist setting have shaped but not defined his path. Born to Dutch parents (on a mission project in Papua) he grew up in a rural Ontario bubble where the Bible was inerrant, evolution was a lie, and God's covenant people sang beautiful 16…

This episode's structure is a little different than you're used to. First join us for 35 minutes as Cass chats with Bonnie from episode 162. They discuss painting murals in her hometown and ethical choices for living on earth, given this is the only one we have. Then eavesdrop on a conversation between Marie and Cass for an hour as they work throug…

Cass Midgley and Marie D'Elephant We taped this conversation on Oct 17th, 2018. The intro music is by Dave Weckl called "Just Groove Me" The segue music on this episode is "Two Wounded Birds" by Caitlyn Smith Thanks for listening and Be a Yes-Sayer to what is. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope t…

Cass Midgley and Matthew O'Neil converse. Cass and Bob had Matthew on the show back in March of 2017, episode 142. Matthew is a prolific writer, activist, theologian, and teacher. He has an MA in Theology from Saint Michael's College and is a certified Humanist chaplain and celebrant. He is the author of several books including his latest, “Attriti…

Cass Midgley talks with Ryan Bell. Ryan J. Bell is a former Seventh-day Adventist pastor who became an atheist after spending 2014, a "year without God", as an experiment. In August 2015, Ryan launched a new blog and podcast called "Life After God." He currently serves as the National Organizing Manager for the Secular Student Alliance, an organiza…

No guest this week. Just an announcement that this podcast is changing from weekly episodes to bi-weekly (or is it bi-monthly?)--every other week. Also, 7 attendees of the 1st EA Podcast Retreat share their reflections on their experience. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in…

We rerun episode 81 from January 2016. Cass and Dr. Bob converse with Kristi Kiger (now Upman). Kristi is one of those that doesn’t have a book or a blog, she’s a nurse with a big heart for people broken on the wheels of life and an avid social justice worker. Kristi only left Christianity 6 months ago so the feelings are still pretty fresh. Like m…

Cass Midgley interviews Andy Chaleff, author of "The Last Letter." We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the world is a better place when more people live by sight, not by fait…

Cass Midgley converses with Arael Avinu founder of fullydeconverted.com. Fully Deconverted websiteFully Deconverted Facebook Group We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the wor…

Cass Midgley talks with Casper Rigsby. I had Casper on back on episode 153 and being how he lives right here in Murfreesboro, I invited him over for a little chat about the state of the union and the subject of Identity. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of dec…

Cass Midgley interviews David Hayward. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the world is a better place when more people live by sight, not by faith. Please subscribe to our p…

Cass Midgley interviews Tanya Harrison. Tanya is 44 years old, totally blind since birth. She explored a variety of Christian denominations for most of her life in an earnest quest to find God. Today she's convinced that God's not anywhere! And now has more time to dedicate to her passions, which include her dog, Molly, her friends, music, reading,…

Welcome everyone to episode 217 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. Today I don't have a guest. My wife and I are headed up to Madison as this is being released to visit our dear friends, Bob and Edie Pondillo. Bob was the co-host of this podcast for the first four years, over 200 episodes. I miss him greatly as I'm sure you do to…

Welcome everyone to episode 216 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. My guest today is Rachel and that's all she's going to go by today. She's hear to talk about GRIEF, especially secular tools for coping with grief. This is a great convo. You're not going to believe how sharp Rachel is. Prepare to be a better person 2 hours from n…

Welcome everyone to episode 215 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. Today, my guest is James Exline. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and help curb the loneliness that accompanies it. We think the world is a bett…

Welcome everyone to episode 214 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. I'm going to die. A big thanks to each and every one of our Patreon and Paypal supporters. Today, my dear friend Dave Warnock and I talk with Marcia Wickham. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage peopl…

Welcome everyone to episode 213 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley.Today, I'm going to feature a short piece by Mark Manson, author of "The Sacred Art of Not Giving a Fuck." We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstructing their faith and h…

Welcome everyone to episode 212 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. I'm going to die. A big thanks to each and every one of our Patreon and Paypal supporters. Today my guest is Pat LaFord Green. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage people in the process of deconstruct…

Welcome everyone to episode 211 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. I'm going to die. A big thanks to each and every one of our Patreon and Paypal supporters. Today my guest is Peter Montoya. This is the 3rd time I've had Peter on the show. You can get his full story back on episode 130. He was also featured briefly in episode 163…

Cass Midgley's guest is Kai (anonymous). Kai left home when she was 19 moving to Australia to study art. She counts this as a pivotal time in her life that created the space to begin examining her upbringing in the Seventh-Day Adventist church. We interview people you don’t know, about a subject no one wants to talk about. We hope to encourage peop…

Welcome everyone to episode 209 of the Everyone’s Agnostic podcast. I’m Cass Midgley. I'm going to die. A big thanks to each and every one of our Patreon and Paypal supporters. Today my guest is Devin Andre Woodard. Devin is a young professional living and working in Austin, TX. Devin is a passionate man, who, after being burnt out of spending year…

Cass Midgley features two audio clips from talks that Tara Brach and Noah Lugeons gave on their podcast. I love the Hegelian Dialectic, contrasting two seemingly opposite things and forming a third, entirely different thing out of the clash, not unlike mammalian reproduction. Tara Brach and Noah Lugeons are necessarily opposites, but they contrast …