Depolarize! Podcast

Today’s guest is Peter Wehner — Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic magazine. He served in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations prior to becoming deputy director of speechwriting for President George W. … Continue reading Trump, Evangelicals & Faith in Politics (Peter Wehner) →

This one is a doozy! And it’s both here and in the You Have Permission Podcast feed because it’s just that good. Sociologist Michael O. Emerson breaks down his and Christian Smith’s argument as to why White Evangelical Christians have such a bad track record on racial issues, summarized in their co-authored “Divided by Faith.” … Continue reading Evangelicalism’s Racial Blindspot, Explained →

(This episode is appearing on both the You Have Permission and Depolarize! Podcast feeds.) How do we know that we aren’t caught up in a “mob mentality” on social, political, or theological issues? Can universities be places where we teach young people to think critically? Can an openly gay woman and her conservative “marriage-is-between-one-man-and-one-woman” sister … Continue reading How to Resist the Mob (on the Left and Right) →

You Have Permission, Dan’s new faith-focused podcast, is out now, with 4 full length episodes launching from the get-go. Search for it on your favorite podcast app, or head to youhavepermissionpod.com to listen now, or listen to the trailer/intro episode right here. Also, we will be back in February, or early March at the latest, … Continue reading Dan’s New Podcast / Season 3 Update →

We are taking the holiday season off, and will return with the remainder of Season 3 after New Year’s. Dan’s new show You Have Permission will be launching Jan 14th! Sign up for occasional updates at dankochwords.com

Dr. Allen Yeh (Biola University) joins Dan and Ellen to talk about 1) the fact that most Christians in the world do not live in the West (Europe, North America), and 2) the difference between Orthodoxy (right thinking) and Orthopraxy (right action). Allen’s Books: https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Yeh/e/B002Z8UFLY – – – – Depolarize! is produced by Dan Koch … Continue reading “Majority World” Christians & How They Help Us →

Another installment of “While You Were Evangelizing,” where Dan and Ellen consider what was going on in less separatist, non-Evangelical Christian contexts over the previous 70 years or so. Were other types of Christians raised to be suspicious of science? Dr. Keith Ward (Cambridge) helps us answer that question, and argues that a robust understanding … Continue reading While You Were Evangelizing: Science (with Keith Ward) →

The first of two episodes (non-consecutive) focusing directly on the phenomenon of tribalism. Dan and Ellen hear from and respond to Donna Freitas (2:00), Michael Blake (15:00), and Christena Cleveland (37:00). Donna: https://www.donnafreitas.com/ Michael: https://phil.washington.edu/people/michael-blake Christena: http://www.christenacleveland.com/ – – – – Depolarize! is produced by Dan Koch & mixed by Chris Keene & Scott Cangemi … Continue reading Tribalism: Power, Bias, Performance →

We are fortunate to have philosopher Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke University) on the podcast today, talking about arguments — not the kind you have when you’re angry, but the kind you construct in favor of a position or policy. Arguments respect people by treating them as real agents capable of reason; they have myriad other benefits, … Continue reading The Beauty of a Good Argument with Walter Sinnott-Armstrong →

Karen Swallow Prior is an author and literature professor at Liberty University — yes, THAT Liberty University. Her contribution to the InterVarsity Press essay collection “Still Evangelical?” explores why she is sticking with Evangelicalism, but not for the reasons you might assume. She is also at the center of the #ChurchToo movement in the Southern … Continue reading #ChurchToo & More with Karen Swallow Prior →

As we discussed last episode, it is indeed a crazy moment to be an Evangelical Christian.  Then again, so what?  Does that mean Evangelicals should leave their churches or their tradition to search for greener pastures?  As we hear from authors Danielle (D.L.) Mayfield (3:30), Katelyn Beaty (33:00), and Jemar Tisby (47:30), the answer is: … Continue reading Should You Stay (Evangelical) Or Should You Go? →

What a time to be an Evangelical in America, or to have been raised as one: there’s all the politics, racial tension, “parallel institutions,” and culture wars that continue to rage, but there is also evidence of serious benefits for churchgoers.  This week, Dan and Ellen are greatly helped in their understandings of Evangelicalism — … Continue reading It’s a Crazy Moment for Evangelicalism →

Welcome to a new season of Depolarize!  Dan and Ellen are excited to be back in the saddle, and this week we are debuting a new episode style: While You Were Evangelizing. What was going on in the more liberal-leaning Mainline Protestant church over the last 70 years?  Dale B. Martin helps us compare and … Continue reading While You Were Evangelizing: Hell (with Dale B. Martin) →

Part 2 of our episode featuring Mary, Jennifer and Father Tom, and also our last of Season 2!  Thank you for your continued support, and we are already looking forward to Season 3. Depolarize! is produced by Dan Koch, edited by Scott Cangemi & Chris Keene, mixed by Chris Keene Support the show financially & … Continue reading A Catholic, a Mennonite & an Orthodox Priest Walk Into a Podcast, Part 2 →

The first of a two-part episode wherein Dan Koch and Ellen Mauro consider the worldviews and stories of Mary (Roman Catholic), Tom (Greek Orthodox), and Jennifer (Mennonite). This is part of our series on Christian voters who do not consider themselves “Evangelical.” Part 2 airs next week, and will be the final episode of Season … Continue reading A Catholic, a Mennonite & an Orthodox Priest Walk Into a Podcast, Part 1 →

Dan & Ellen continue their deep dive into Liberal Mainline Protestantism, hearing from voters Jack & Debbie Holloway, as well as experts Dr. Tripp Fuller (Homebrewed Christianity Podcast) and Dr. James Wellman (University of Washington). Tripp’s book and podcast: https://homebrewedchristianity.com/ http://fortresspress.com/product/homebrewed-christianity-guide-jesus-lord-liar-lunatic-or-awesome Jim’s book: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/evangelical-vs-liberal-9780195300123 Homebrewed Culture Cast: http://www.christianpiatt.com/culturecast “A New Kind of Christianity”: https://www.amazon.com/New-Kind-Christianity-Questions-Transforming/dp/0061853992 “The … Continue reading An Alternative to Evangelicalism? (Liberal Mainline Pt 2) →

This week and next, Dan walks Ellen (and the rest of us) through the world of Liberal Mainline Protestants: Methodists, Episcopalians, some Lutherans, some Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, and others. This is Part 1, which includes a lot of Dan and Ellen talking through and clarifying various ideas. 3:00 – What does “Liberal Mainline … Continue reading What is a Liberal Mainline Protestant? →

Dan and Ellen confront the worry that has been nagging at Dan more than any other, since Trump’s nomination and election: did all those Christian voters *actually believe* that Trump was a Christian? 2:55- Are Trump supporters gullible, or simply following the status quo? 5:33- “True crime legend: James Dobson”: Trump’s status as a “Baby … Continue reading Who Really Thinks Trump is a Christian? →

Candice was originally interviewed as one of our five Christians of Color, but our conversation went far enough afield, and was interesting and entertaining enough that we decided to give Candice her own episode.  She breaks down her experience growing up in the Korean American Church, her take on Donald Trump, and much more, all … Continue reading Candice Clem Hijacked Her Interview And It Was Great →

On our previous episode, Dan & Ellen took a backseat to the stories of five Christians of color, told in their own words.  This episode is a more standard Depolarize approach: dissecting and responding to these voters’ answers to Dan’s questions, and comparing them to what we heard from White Evangelicals (on either side of … Continue reading Going Deeper with Christians of Color →

We’re back to our voters this week, introducing five new voices.  But this episode is also different: no reaction commentary from Dan & Ellen, and only minimal narration from Dan for context.  Rather, we are going to practice the discipline of *simply listening* to the stories of these Christians, who happen to have been born … Continue reading *Simply Listening* to Christians of Color →

Zombies? The Rapture? A country song *about* the Rapture? Check, check, and check. This week, Dan & Ellen take a break from voter-based episodes to discuss some more personal matters: anxiety and social media use, both of which are related to various forms of polarization in our current cultural landscape.  Along with some of Dan’s … Continue reading Get Off Social Media? →

Dan & Ellen continue their interviews of White Evangelical Trump voters. This episode is best listened to after Part 1. Timeline: 3:16- How political is your church environment? 5:05- “Information super MYway”: News sources and accepted bias 12:10- Is Donald Trump a Christian? 19:05- “Grab ’em by the statute of limitations”: The Access Hollywood tapes … Continue reading White Evangelical Trump Supporters, Pt 2 →

The first of two episodes centered on interviews with 10 White Evangelical Trump voters. Timeline: 0:00- Intro/”Family Therapist Soapbox Time” 10:00- Why did you vote for Donald Trump? 13:40- How central was abortion to your vote for Trump? 15:00- “Ellen Mauro: Abortion Maniac”: Polling data and the importance of abortion in the 2016 election. 24:07- … Continue reading White Evangelical Trump Supporters, Pt 1 →

Ellen and Dan speak with journalists & polling experts — Roxanne Stone of BARNA Group, Jon Ward of Yahoo! News and Robert P. Jones of Public Religion Research Institute — to wrap their heads around that infamous statistic (81% of white Evangelicals voting for Trump), understand what it means, and to dig deeper both into … Continue reading Is That “81%” Statistic Reliable? A Closer Look at Evangelicals →

Dan & Ellen continue their interviews of White Evangelicals who did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. This episode is best listened to after Part 1. Timeline: 0:00- Intro/Recap 2:42- Why did you NOT vote for Trump? 8:02- Did you ever consider voting for Trump? 8:40- Did you even give him a … Continue reading White Evangelicals Who Don’t Support Trump, Pt 2 →

In the Season 2 premiere, Dan Koch and Ellen Mauro interview 6 White Evangelical Christians, none of whom voted for nor actively support Donald Trump.  These voters are a partial sample of the other side of White Evangelicals, who infamously voted for Trump at an 81% rate in 2016; these, you might say, are the … Continue reading White Evangelicals Who Don’t Support Trump, Pt 1 →

Ellen will be joining Depolarize for Season 2, which begins next week. We hear about her background, political and psychological areas of interest, and we laugh a lot, because Ellen is very funny.

The final episode before Depolarize enters Season 2! Dan chats live at the BadChristian Conference in Nashville, TN, with author and journalist Jonathan Merritt (The Atlantic, WaPo, Religion News Service, The Week) about the state of White Evangelicalism in America today.

Dan stopped by the studio for “Break It Down with Matt Carter” to talk about taking a break from social media/Depolarize, recent events in Virginia, and what he has been thinking about and working on this past summer.

Greg Tomlin, filling in for Dori Monson, interviews Dan on Seattle’s KIRO FM about this podcast and what he’s learned about political polarization over the past year.

Dan discusses what he’s learned making 41 episodes of Depolarize!, the principles he still finds valuable, why it is difficult sometimes to follow his own advice, as well as what is next for the show and for him, including breaking for the Summer.

Get to know your host a little more! Due to some emergency travel, this week’s scheduled interview had to be postponed, so Dan took questions from listeners for his first Q&A episode.

Jer Swigart stops by to talk about what they’re doing over at The Global Immersion Project where he is the Co-Founding Director. He shares some wonderful insight into the complicated conflict in the Middle East.

David R. Montgomery, a Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington invites Dan over to discuss soil, carbon dating, and how farmers are restoring profitability and reducing environmental impact.

Dan talks with John Raines, his co-host for their new Reconstruct podcast, about polarization in the world of theology, why they started the podcast, and how the two shows aren’t quite as different as they might at first seem.

Dr. Ravi Iyer is doing the real social science work of depolarization as Executive Director of CivilPolitics.org and brings some surprisingly simple solutions to the most complex polarizing issues we face today.

Former megachurch pastor Mike Erre and I interview each other about topics ranging from my two podcasts, a communion/eucharist-based church service, and how their church’s experiment of holding neither a gay-affirming nor non-gay-affirming stance is going.

Josh Hafner is a former campaign reporter and now a resident journalist at USA TODAY. In this episode he and Dan discuss media identity and how to choose legitimate news sources.

This week David Lapp stops by to talk about depolarization in action as seen through his experiences with the organization he is with, Better Angels, which facilitates candid conversations between voters from the left and the right.

Dan chats with one of his favorite American theologians and pastors, Dr. Greg Boyd, for a particularly Christian-themed episode. Dr. Boyd lost about a quarter of his church’s congregants back in 2004 when the church came out as explicitly anti-war, focused on the call of God’s Kingdom to the exclusion of any call to the … Continue reading 34: How Political Should a Christian Be? with Greg Boyd →

Media reporter Becket Adams gets candid with Dan this week to share his views on our relationship with partisan media and how we should be navigating all the noise.

touring brings him especially close to a slice of modern America. David is a ruthlessly honest, compassionate and concise man, a deep thinker and a great conversationalist. Their chat touches on songwriting and artistry in this new era, how to have compassion for a new set of marginalized people, and much more.

VICE journalist Thomas Morton reveals the intent behind his unique approach to complete immersion with various subcultures in his docuseries Balls Deep.

This week professor and author Aurelian Craiutu illustrates the political and ideological moderate and the value of partisanship.

Author, professor, and cultural critic David Dark joins Dan to talk about the despair that got Donald Trump elected, and how to invite those we disagree with into conversation and into a fuller communal life. David’s latest book is called “Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious,” but he mentions in this interview that … Continue reading 29: Despair and Invitation with David Dark →

Diane Hessan is known for her entrepreneurial agency work, but in 2016 was tapped by the Hillary Clinton campaign to do some nonstandard polling of undecided voters, keeping in touch with them over long periods of time and building relationships. What she learned surprised her, but not only that, she is doing it all again … Continue reading 28: What Undecided Voters Teach Us About Depolarizing with Diane Hessan →

This week Adrian Wyard, Executive Director of Counterbalance, stops by to share some thinking points from his many years of research of common ancestry and theology.

Aimee Murphy is the Executive Director of Life Matters Journal, a pro-life consistent life ethic publication. A victim of sexual assault, Aimee explains what it is to be truly pro-life and to oppose all forms of aggressive violence against human beings.

David Dayen, author of Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street’s Great Foreclosure Fraud answers the question, “Was Obama good for America on finances?”.

Michael Wear, author of the new book Reclaiming Hope, gives us a behind-the-scenes look into what was going on in the Obama administration in regards to faith and politics.