Tweets & Tonic Podcast

From who the best actor to play Spiderman, to the war on guns; this week's episode is chalk full of controversial topics and figures. Jerry Falwell Jr., John MacArthur and the evangelical right are up against the left in November and we have thoughts and opinions to share. 

From the loss of Chadwick Boseman, to the riots in Kenosha; the black community is feeling the grief and hurt from so many aspects. In today's episode we chatted with Tony Johnson about the two systems that seem to exist in our country and what can be done to change the future. 

Today's show is a spicy one with takes on masks, evangelics, gun rights, social justice issues and Rachel Hollis, of course. 

Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. From college football season, to in-person school, to comedians and self help gurus it seems like everyone is being cancelled. Tune in today to hear more of our thoughts and opinions on who's being cancelled now. 

The murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer has sparked a flame in our nation. Today's episode explores an idea that might help prevent another unnecessary death in the future. 

What does it mean to be whole? To be your highest and best? Has your journey to health been a complicated one? There are so many things that trip us up in our journeys to be our best selves. But, it doesn't have to be that way. A healthy mind + body + spirit is possible.

Today we chatted with Melanie Shankle about parenting, the loss of Kobe Bryant, Cheer (of course), the Real Housewives of Orange County, the Royal Family, Texas A&M football, the potential reunion of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, the state of journalism in the 24 hour new cycle and of course, her new books.

From the documentary of the Navarro Junior College cheer team, to the Royal Family woes. The world is full of entertaining story lines. There are personalities on Twitter who bring us pure gold, day in and day out, to help circumvent the heaviness in our society. Whether you are cheering for a celebrity couple to reunite or for Jerry to make mat, this is the podcast for you.

The reality is there are a lot of "evangelical survivors" who are on a journey of deconstructing their faith. Their journey is focused on finding out what they believe, why and what have they gotten wrong. Some of us are parents wandering along this path and we have little eyes watching us who are counting on us to get it right.

The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram, is a model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types. With resources like the queen of Enneagram, Suzanne Stabile, we share our journeys to discovering more about ourselves; the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Disney builds dreams of living happily ever after and somehow ignores the things that can make marriage hard. The church focuses on the nuclear family and married couples and steers clear of singles. Being single isn't a probation period and being married doesn't solve all the world's problems.

The state of Mississippi has somehow landed two of the biggest personalities in college football. The Golden Globes featured a lack of sleeves and a surplus of controversial monologues. And of course, Harry and Meghan have rocked the world with their call for independence.

From Once Upon a Time in Hollywood's nostalgic look at Tinsel Town, to the drama of Marriage Story in Adam Driver's poignant performance. Hollywood delivered in 2019 and you don't want to miss films like Booksmart, Us, Knives Out, Parasite, Avengers Endgame, Ford vs. Ferrari, The Irishman and Jojo Rabbit.

When you grow up in the church, discovering what you believe for yourself can really be a chore. Some even discourage questions and searching. Others celebrate it. Jesus isn't caught off guard with our questions or frustrated with us, after all, he told Thomas to touch his scars to know that he was really who he said he was. He can handle it. But can you handle not finding out for yourself?

Being seen and known are things we all want, in some aspect. It's a scary thing though to be seen, it can be uncomfortable. And it can be seriously challenging to be seen the way we want to. Often times it is hard for those who have known us for a long time to acknowledge our growth and see us as anything other than what we've always been to them.

Let's face it, you can't know everything. And it can be awfully scary to admit you don't know something. But imagine if you had a guide to help you know, what you don't know...some steps to light your way to more knowledge, more understanding and being brave.

From the lost art of making friends and belonging, to the shame we place on men when they show emotions, we have a lot to learn about in today's society and so many ways to grow. Everyone is looking for a place to belong and many feel displaced in our current political climate. The unabashed support of evangelical leaders of President Trump leave a longing world bruised and searching for hope.

Will Kanye launch his own church in 2020? Will Donald Trump be re-elected? Can Bernie Sanders deliver on his promises? Who will end up with who on the Kardashians? Will Alabama fire Nick Saban? Will the Dallas Cowboys finally rid themselves of Jason Garrett? Will Selena outsell the Biebs?

Rachel Held Evans passed away in May of this year. A loss so profoundly felt by thousands. At her funeral, lutheran minister Nadia Bolz Weber gave an earth-shaking sermon and spoke one of the most powerful benedictions I've ever heard at the end of the service. In today's episode we read her amazing words as a Christmas benediction.

Grief sucks. Simple enough right? You would be hard-pressed to make it out of this life without suffering some form of grief though, whether a death, the loss of a relationship, the end of a job, or the crashing of a dream. Grief looks different for everyone and each journey is unique. There are some things that can apply to everyone though to help them along the journey. Take hope, the waves will subside.

Kamala Harris has dropped out of the race, but come back to the Senate on a mission. Mayor Pete has quite the obstacle to overcome with black and brown voters, but seems willing to have the tough conversations. Disney + opened their vault, and the world fell in love with Baby Yoda. The new season of The Crown debuted, but were we ready for a hot Prince Charles? Musical phases marked by spending 1999 with Macy Gray and a new memoir from our guest.

Life isn't always a bed of roses. But just as the Amaryllis flower blooms in the bitterness of winter, your life can see growth in the difficult seasons. Sometimes the holidays aren't quite as joyful and sometimes we expect things to hurt a little less. But the truth is there can be beauty in the pain. Life is always teaching you, but are you listening?

Wonder no more, we took a quick second to introduce ourselves on a bonus episode today. You'll hear Mandy on Tuesday's interviewing guests and on Thursday's episodes she is joined by LB, co-host extraordinaire, who will be dropping wisdom and snark. 

Let's talk about boundaries, community, the intersection of reconciliation & justice, what voices we should be listening, how the church has attempted to silence some, what personal development looks like, how to deconstruct white supremacy, who should be educating us, and of course, all things Be the Bridge, Melanated Faith and travel!

Karen Howell brings the snark on Twitter every day, and her Elf on the Shelf commentary is no different. He's pulling one over on the kids, but is he fooling the parents too? You know who isn't fooling parents? Richard Sherman. Sherman recently paid $27,000 to two schools to clear the student lunch debt. Look for the helpers and tune in y'all.

The Minor League Baseball system maybe dying, the Washington Nationals are making history, all while the Astros may be cheating. Taylor Swift is breaking Michael Jackson's records and musical tastes follow political divides. Andrew Yang isn't getting the air time he deserves, Kamala Harris is out and Tulsi Gabbard is a hit on Saturday Night Live. The impeachment inquiry rages on while gun violence is still prevalent in our nation.

Lt. Col. Vindman, Ambassador Yovanovitch, Ambassador Sondland have all testified in the impeachment inquiry. Polling suggests that Americans aren't as concerned with the hearings as our politicians and media. Where does the Republican Party go from here? Should the Democrats rush to bestow their nomination on one candidate? And where do the politically homeless find solace?

From the remarkable story of MSU's Josh Butler, to the heroics of Joe Burrow, we covered tweets about the last regular season weekend of college football. We chatted about the playoff outlook, the coaching carousel and of course, the Iron Bowl. This is just two southern girls, one cheers for Alabama and one cheers for Auburn, chatting about the biggest rivalry of the season for their teams. 

Nothing like a post Thanksgiving episode to talk controversial food opinions. Everything from Starbucks coffee, to Lacroix, to candy corn, to olives, to kale and spinach. And spoiler alert, team dressing over stuffing here. We also highlighted two new books written by TJ Cutwright, a 13 year old Tennessean who has overcome a reading disability to publish books to help other kids just like him.

From Duke's loss to the underdog, to Myles Garrett's indefinite suspension, the sports world is full of highlights but the entertainment world is bringing us a new Batman and Jon Favreau has brought us The Mandalorian. Austin Channing Brown and Julian Castro are encouraging voters to look past the segregated lines to do no harm, while Michael Bloomberg tries to buy the Presidency.

The Golden State Warriors have suffered a historical collapse and the LA Dodgers can't seem to bring a World Series back to the city of Angels. Kamala and Bernie have differing policy proposals to solve the crisis in our public school system, while Donald Trump is busy tweeting his thoughts on our Ambassadors who are testifying in his impeachment inquiry. With a focus on the next generation, we highlighted the work of The Mentoring Center in Oakland, California.

A deep dive into 'self-partnering' and other new dating terms like 'situationship,' 'cookie jarring,' and 'kittenfishing." An analysis of why Emma Watson is single and what Harry Potter had to do with that. And finally, recognizing an 8 year old boy who is making the lives of our homeless veterans just a little sweeter. 

Colin Kaepernick abandoned his NFL tryout, the NCAA has fined an athlete, Kanye is visiting prisons, Rodney Reed's execution has be stayed, Hollywood almost made Julia Roberts portray Harriet Tubman and Donald Trump is still President. We chat about everything from Andrew Yang's technology policy to the religious right. 

The Country Music Awards were held in Nashville, Tennessee this past week and the live performances were breathtaking as usual. Lady Antebellum performed their hit song, “What if I Never Get Over You” with Halsey and as Melinda Doolittle tweeted, the harmonies were on point. Amanda Mull, a writer for The Atlantic, tweeted about the mind blowing fact that Dolly Parton wrote two of the greatest songs of all time in one night; simply inspired by a new fireplace. Joined in episode 007 by Laura Beth Carlson the piano playing daughter of a music minister, we chatted music, church, a dash of politics and we tried to be respectful of each other’s very different taste in college football teams.

Tua Tagovailoa is out for the season, maybe longer, and Joe Burrow's is breaking records with each outing. The Heisman race seems locked up barring some catastrophe. Is the College Football Playoff as decided as the Heisman race? Not hardly. Which one loss team will be the fourth team, only time will tell. This, and so much more, in mini episode 03 of Tweets & Tonic. 

In episode 006 we are joined by Jordan Bone, a former college basketball, as we breakdown the NFL season leaders to date, college football rankings, NBA predictions, and college basketball outlook. Let's not forget the age-old debate, who is the GOAT? 

In episode 005 of Tweets & Tonic we chat with political consultant Jamie Barker about the Kentucky Governor's race, Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign, Steve Bannon's testimony in the Roger Stone trial, the impeachment inquiry of course and the 2020 race for the White House.

The Minnesota Gophers have their best record since before Pearl Harbor. Two of the top 4 teams fell this weekend. Texas beat a ranked Kansas State for the first time in 16 years. Chad Morris has been fired. And Donald Trump was welcome with open arms in Tuscaloosa. All this and more in this week's college football top ten. 

In episode 04 we take a deep dive into Kanye West's new album, "Jesus is King." I'm joined by my husband Arron as we break down 10 tweets about the album and all 11 tracks. Don't like Kanye? Not a fan of music? No worries, this episode is still worth a listen as this album transcends those categories. 

Will the Republican Party ask Donald Trump to step down and appoint Nikki Haley is successor on the ticket? Is Joe Biden only running for one term? Is America ready for Pete Buttigieg? Is Elizabeth Warren smug and mediocre? Is the media biased towards Kamala Harris and her campaign? Will the "math" be enough for Andrew Yang? Is Bernie too old? All this and more in today's episode of Tweets & Tonic. 

It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth anymore. Walking into a voting booth, a church or even binging a Netflix show, uninformed, is no longer an option. Buying a jersey for your child is no longer a popularity contest but a battle for their mind. Political hot topics are intertwined in every aspect of our lives, from your streaming channels to your favorite sports teams; and even in your pulpits. If you are looking for a cultural commentary on those infamous 280 characters brought to you by the little blue bird, known as twitter, pour yourself a drink, because this is the podcast for you.

Georgia beat Florida, but lost to South Carolina. Has the Razorback football team hit rock bottom? Clemson is running and running and running. What does it take to be a successful as a coach at Notre Dame? Derrick Brown. That’s all. Florida State has fired their head coach. Baylor has gone from 0-7 to 8-0 in 2 years. Memphis had the best day in their football program’s history. Oregon won and Utah won, so what will come of the Pac 12 championship?  

Host Mandy Asberry sat down with her husband Arron to talk about some tweets regarding racism in our country today. There were several things that happened in the news this week dealing with topics that are sensitive to the racial reconciliation movement. President Trump made a statement comparing his impeachment inquiry to a lynching and was defended by some Republican lawmakers like Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. There were many who were obviously outraged by the use of the term lynching. This happened in the same week that it was announced that the new memorial to Emmett Till was made bulletproof because of continual vandalism. We were able to highlight some great work being done by leaders like LaTasha Morrison through her organization Be The Bridge and her new book also titled Be The Bridge: pursuing God’s heart for racial reconciliation. We also talked about shows like The New Question hosted by Austin Channing Brown, Jenny Booth Potter and Chi Chi Okwu. We hope that today’s conversation will spark worthwhile conversations and change in your life as it has ours.

From the scoffing of male evangelical leaders, to the Twitter storm caused by the GM of the Houston Rockets, no topic was off limits in our discussion on what power is doing to our country. Host Mandy Asberry was joined by author, executive pastor, wife, mom and Crossfit enthusiast Jenny Day Jones. We take a look at Hillary Clinton's claims that Tulsi Gabbard is the "chosen one" of Russia, while also examining the friendship of Ellen Degeneres and George W. Bush. While it was a big week on Twitter, it was hard to look past President Trump's tweet on his "great and unmatched wisdom" that Mitt Romney called an abandonment of our allies. We left no stone unturned when talking about the theme of power throughout our lives.