Claim OwnershipThe Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp
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Religion and Politics - subjects we avoid in polite society. But not here. Stories and people who challenge our assumptions and blaze new trails. Inspiring. Challenging. Out of the box. For Blog and Official BWM site, go to www.thebeachedwhitemale.com.
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Send us a text Ken welcomes back Dr. Scott Chesebro. Just last week, Ken and Scott spent two days walking the streets of Hyde Park and the University of Chicago there on the South Side. Scott and Ken we classmates and fast friends, living in the city for three years and a second summer in the late 60s and early 70s. Scott became a sociologist and college professor with the Ph.D. he earned at Notre Dame. For over four decades, Scott was Executive Director of the Chicago Center for Urban Life a...
Send us a text Ken Fong and I unpack the life and legacy of Dr. James Dobson, who just recently passed away. For many of us, Dobson’s voice was a constant presence in American evangelical homes. He was the trusted “family counselor” who seemed to offer simple, practical guidance about raising children, strengthening marriages, and protecting the home. His books—Dare to Discipline, Bringing Up Boys, Bringing Up Girls—were bestsellers, and his radio program reached countless millions. They shap...
Send us a text In this episode, I sit down with two longtime friends of the podcast: Osahon Obazuaye, pastor and activist, and Grant Young, who holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from one of America’s leading evangelical universities. Both of them bring firsthand experience as Black men navigating predominantly white evangelical spaces—churches, classrooms, and institutions that shaped their faith journeys in both inspiring and challenging ways. We discuss the powerful new document...
Send us a text Today I welcome a familiar voice and a longtime friend—Dr. Randall Balmer. Back in the day, when we were “Trinity Men,” he was “Randy” to me. Today, he’s Dr. Balmer—historian, author, professor, and one of the leading voices on religion in America. He earned his graduate degrees at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Princeton, and Union Theological Seminary, and this marks our third interview together. Randall recently published a powerful piece in the Los Angeles Times about...
Send us a text Today, I’m here with my good friend and fellow podcaster, Ken Fong. Every week, the two of us dig deep into the big conversations shaping our lives, our culture, and the soul of our nation. We come to you from different vantage points, different life experiences, but with a shared commitment to truth, curiosity, and connection. This week, we talk about something that’s been quietly eroding the way we live together as Americans — the loss of a national audience. Remember when 34...
Send us a text I’m honored to welcome Dr. Edward J. Larson to this episode of the podcast. Dr. Larson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, a landmark work that reexamines the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial with fresh insight and scholarly depth. In our conversation, Dr. Larson challenges the familiar narrative popularized by Inherit the Wind, revealing the Scopes Trial as far more than a simple cla...
Send us a text My guest is Matt Mikalatos — author, screenwriter, producer, and all-around brilliant storyteller. He has written award-winning books, including the beautifully illustrated graphic novel God With Us, the devotional Praying with Saint Nicholas, and an imaginative Young Adult fantasy series, The Sunlit Lands. He’s also co-authored Loving Disagreement with Kathy Khang — a timely, powerful book about how to stay in relationship, even when the culture says it’s time to cancel....
Send us a text Today, I’m joined by my longtime friend Mike Mizrahi—yes, we go way back. Mike’s career took him from an undergraduate degree in journalism to a Master's in corporate communication. He had a career as a corporate spokesperson, but his real passion found its home in writing historical fiction. And his latest novel, The Weight of Loyalty, is a great achievement. I read it with great interest; a powerful, rich exploration of the perils of wartime on the Greek Isles. It’s a sweepin...
Send us a text In this important and timely episode, I welcome back journalist, author, and friend of the podcast, Peter Wehner. We dig into his provocative and widely discussed article in The Atlantic: “Why Evangelicals Turned Their Back on PEPFAR.” PEPFAR—President George W. Bush’s historic global AIDS relief program—has saved over 26 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections. Once championed by American evangelicals, the program is now in crisis. Under Donald Trump’s second te...
Send us a text This week, Ken Fong and I take on a sobering question: Why do so many Americans celebrate cruelty? With the help of British psychiatrist Dr. Russell Razzaque, we explore the mental state of Donald Trump and the deeper dynamics that fuel authoritarian behavior. At the core? Fear. Not fear of crime or poverty—but of losing status, especially among white men who once held unchallenged social dominance. We look at the disturbing celebration of cruelty—like the now-infamous photo of...
Send us a text Today, we have a conversation that’s very personal for me. I’m pleased to welcome author Dave Larsen to discuss his powerful new novel, Green Street in Black and White: A Chicago Story. I can relate to the story - I was born in Chicago, lived in Wheaton as a boy, and worked in my first role as a Youth Pastor in Maywood, when “white flight,” the fear-driven, racially charged mass exodus of whites to the suburbs, was in full swing. Dave takes us back to his childhood in 1960s Eng...
Send us a text Today, as we celebrate the 4th of July, we have another Beach Talk with Bestey Newenhuyse. This week. Betsey and I consider what July 4th means to us in 2025. A new Gallup poll says only 58% of Americans are proud to be American, down from 85% in 2013. What happened? We also reflect on the tragic Minnesota shooting and the loss of Melissa Hortman, with insights into the memorial and the personal responses from Governor Walz, President Biden, and Vice President Harris. How do we...
Send us a text Today, I share my most recent Substack, #48: The Mist Trail: Digital Detox and Yosemite's Reward It's a story I will long remember. Maybe it will bring back some memories and some inspiration to you, too. CLICK HERE to read along and enjoy some of the photos. Enjoy! Support the show Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you! Ken’s Substack Page The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com
Send us a text Today, we welcome a conversation with Dr. Christian Smith, one of America’s leading sociologists of religion. He studied at Wheaton and Gordon College, earned an M.A. and PhD at Harvard, and serves currently as the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. You may know him from his groundbreaking research on adolescent spirituality, but in this episode, we dive into the sweeping themes of his current book, Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demis...
Send us a text On this Juneteenth, Ken invites John Williams back to the podcast, this time to talk about the summer series, TRUTH QUEST. John and Ken review the origins of the Civil Rights (C.R.) Tour of the South, and John's journey from his law practice to his first C.R. Tour. His experience became a catalyst for leaving his law practice behind. A vision was born to introduce others to the history of race in America - to educate, inspire and transform. The Center has grown exponentially, i...
Send us a text Today, we’ve got another edition of The Two Kens with my good friend and fellow podcaster, Ken Fong. This time, we dive into the bizarre breakup between Donald Trump and Elon Musk — a political feud that feels like your parents fighting in public. No one’s enjoying it, but everyone’s watching. Trump, the undisputed Master of Distraction, still knows how to hijack the media cycle like nobody else. But Musk? He’s backing down, but MAGA world is squirming. We’ll also take a hard l...
Send us a text (REPRISE) Ken welcomes professor, fellow podcaster, and author Dr. Brad Onishi back to the podcast to talk about his new book - Preparing for War - The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next (release date: January 3, 2023). A long-time friend of the podcast, Brad has been busy after a major event in Denver focussed on Christian Nationalism last month with a large audience both live and virtual. It featured major influencers and thinkers including R...
Send us a text Philip Yancey's courageous and penetrating new book, his memoir - Where the Light Fell - will be released on October 5. There's a big audience for Philip's story. There are over 100 million claim to have experienced Christian fundamentalism and 25 million more identify as "exvangelicals." Brother Marshall, a musical prodigy, had perfect pitch. Philip's father contracted polio and died when Philip was only 18 months old. Ken notes that Philip's experience in segregationali...
Send us a text (REPRISE) For a second time, Ken welcomes Rev. Ben Cremer to the podcast for Season 5. Ken starts by thanking Ben for that first interview, "Myths We Believe," which is far and away the most downloaded podcast of Ken's more than 300 episodes (exceeding the former first-place interview with Kristin Kobes Du Mez). Ben is a prolific author, just finishing up the manuscript of his first book. He has a big audience for his newsletter, which is delivered weekly on Sunday mornings. He...
Send us a text PLEASE NOTE: EDITING ERRORS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED. This week on Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse, we’re reflecting on Memorial Day from Betsey’s visit to Ft. Sheridan Cemetery—where memory and meaning converge. We’ll share personal thoughts about our dads and how sensational politics and shallow discourse often diminish this solemn day. Betsey brings us a notable message from Pete Buttigieg that cuts through the noise. We dive into the bizarre age obsession—“Biden’s old!”—w...
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