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 As we close out the year, I’m bringing back one of our most compelling and courageous voices—Nate Manderson—for his sixth appearance on the podcast. And trust me, this conversation lands with urgency, clarity, and fire. Nate’s journey—from the docks to the classroom, from seminary at Gordon-Conwell to the front lines of working-class advocacy—has shaped him into a writer and thinker who refuses easy answers. You’ve read his work in Baptist News Global, The Boston Globe, and Sal...
Send us a text Today, I welcome back a great friend of the show—ethicist, professor, pastor, and prolific author, Dr. David Gushee. Over the years, David and I have talked through several of his groundbreaking works: The Moral Teachings of Jesus, Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies, Introducing Christian Ethics, and After Evangelicalism. But today, we’re returning to the book that started a movement—Changing Our Mind—a book that, remarkably, has never stopped selling since it...
Send us a text Today we’re celebrating a very special return guest: author, speaker, and independent scholar Diana Butler Bass. If you’ve been with us before, you’ll remember our deep dive into her beautiful book Freeing Jesus. Today, Diana is back with a brand-new offering: A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance—a book designed to guide us through the seasons, the stories, and the spiritual rhythms that shape a life. You’ve heard Diana’s Substack series, When? Wh...
Send us a text This Thanksgiving week on Beach Talk, Betsey Newenhuyse and I pause to reflect on what keeps us grounded and grateful in turbulent times. Retirement gives us the space to see the big picture, and family, friends, and caring neighbors remind us we’re never alone. We’re grateful for like-minded resisters, meaningful conversations, and the freedom to speak up. Experience tells us storms pass, truth still matters, and a new generation is rising to shape what comes next. Acts of eve...
Send us a text Ken Fong and I sit down for one of our richest, most thought-provoking conversations yet. We begin with the quietly powerful new film Rental Family, where Brendan Fraser’s lonely American actor in Tokyo becomes the “token white guy” in Japan’s unusual rental family industry. What begins as performance becomes something far deeper — and it opens the door for us to discuss honestly intercultural relationships, identity, belonging, and the longing for genuine connection in an era ...
Send us a text Today, another Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse — writer, thinker, and all-around truth-teller. Together, we dig into the week’s headlines with insight, humor, and a touch of coastal calm. This week, we’re calling it “The Democrats’ Week” — because, let’s face it, it’s been a rough stretch for the President and his MAGA allies. Speaker Mike Johnson can’t get his team together, government shutdown threats kept swirling, and the so-called “Hate America Rally” has proven to be ef...
Send us a text (REPRISE) Today, my guest is journalist and author Katherine Stewart. I had a compelling conversation with this highly sought-after writer, and we went deep. Known for The Power Worshippers, she’s back with Money, Lies, and God, exposing the dangerous alliance of Christian Nationalism and political power. We dive into her journey from the Child Evangelism Fellowship to attending rallies and conferences of the religious right. Katherine reveals how dark money, misinformation, an...
Send us a text Today’s guest is one of those people you can’t help but love the more you get to know her — Lindy Boone-Michaelis. You might recognize the name. Lindy is the daughter of legendary musician Pat Boone and Shirley Boone, and one of *The Boone Girls* who sang their way into the hearts of millions. But Lindy’s story is uniquely her own. She’s a musician, songwriter, poet, fitness instructor, advocate, and activist — and, I’m pleased to say, a faithful listener to my podcast. ...
Send us a text My guest this week is Inés Velásquez-McBryde—pastor, preacher, reconciler, and *mujerista* theologian. She grew up in Nicaragua, came to the U.S. nearly three decades ago, and brings with her a deep love for story, justice, and community. She is deeply involved in the resistance to the invasion of Los Angeles by ICE agents, determined to deport masses of brown people, no matter their legal status. Inés and I serve together on the board of the Center for Restorative Justice. I’v...
Send us a text My friend and podcast partner, Ken Fong is back from his honeymoon. We’re here for another lively edition of The Two Kens. This week, we’re unpacking the fallout from what some are calling a “Third Great Awakening,” sparked by the recent Charlie Kirk memorial and the movement he inspired. We’ll dive into the headlines—from The Atlantic and Religion News Service to Mother Jones and Wired—and trace how faith, politics, and power are merging in America’s latest culture war. We’ll ...
Send us a text I’m joined by my co-host, Betsey Newenhuyse. We take a fresh, thoughtful, and often provocative look at the week’s biggest stories — from politics and power to faith and the future of our democracy. This week, there’s a storm brewing in Chicago: ICE agents and the National Guard are deployed in full force, and both Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are saying enough is enough. Meanwhile, over 850 generals gathered to hear Defense Secretary Pete H...
Send us a text Today I welcome back my guest, Grant Young, for a conversation that couldn’t be more timely—or more urgent. Together, we take a hard look at the impact of Charlie Kirk, both before and after his tragic death on a college campus, an event that has left people across the country divided, grieving, and searching for answers. Charlie Kirk rose quickly to national prominence as a central figure in America’s culture wars. He brought politics into the sanctuary, blending evangelical w...
Send us a text Ken welcomes Washington political commentator, speechwriter, and author Peter Wehner. Pete is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. He is well known for his prolific contribution to the intersection of politics, public policy, and faith. Early on, he identified as a conservative, a Republican, and an Evangelical. From 2011, when Donald Trump campaigned to challenge the legitimacy of the Obama Presidency, suggesting that he was born in K...
Send us a text Today, Betsey and I reconvene after nearly a month. NOTE: This conversation was recorded before the tragic murder of Charlie Kirk. We talk about the headlines that dominated the news prior to the horrible, very public shooting in Utah - and issues that should not be forgotten. The President has targeted Chicago, Betsey’s hometown, with the National Guard. He calls it a hoplessly crime-ridden city. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson are pushing back ...
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...