Podcasts about Seamus

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host basketball player, commentator, and politician Royce White to discuss Stephen Colbert asking AOC if she'll run for president in 2024, her absolute buffoonery about Civil War history, the trends showing Democrats losing after Roe v Wade, the GOP winning on running moderate policies, and Democrats trying to get red states to abort their children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join commentator and podcaster Quite Frankly to discuss Ghislaine Maxwell's prison sentence, the aide alleging that Trump tried to assault Secret Service on January 6th, and Democrats funding MAGA candidates to try to screw over the GOP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The guys are talkin Bryce Harper's injury, if the Phillies can stay in the wildcard race until he's back, our favorite players around the MLB & more!

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host actor and author Greg Ellis to discuss the leaked Biden voicemail incriminating Hunter, the one million voters switching from Democrat to GOP, the ideological flag being flown over the streets in the UK, and companies covering costs of travel for abortions so they don't have to pay for maternity or paternity leaves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what Ukraine describes as provocation as G7 leaders meet in Germany to discuss the impact of Putin's invasion, Russia has bombed Kyiv for the first time in weeks.

Join wingmen Seamus and Garrett in the danger zone for Top Gun: Maverick. Plus, Lady Gaga joining the (potentially musical) Joker sequel as Harley Quinn??? Episode timecodes: News - 0:35 Joker 2 a musical with Lady Gaga? - 0:35 Paddington 3 gets title and director - 4:31 Jon Snow sequel series in development at HBO - 6:42 Top Gun: Maverick - 11:06 Top Gun: Maverick spoilers - 18:57 Pop Culture Reference (How Tom Cruise became Maverick)- 54:27 Save The Rec Center (Superliminal and Stranger Things 4) - 58:31 Reach the show: Email: popculturereferencepod@gmail.com Twitter: @PCR_Podcast TikTok: @PCR_Podcast Instagram: @PCR_Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/PopCultureReference Music from filmmusic.io "Wallpaper" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Grant Fox is one of the best to have ever worn the All Blacks no10 jersey and is still regarded as one of the finest goal-kickers of all time. He scored 645 points across 46 tests, and played nearly 200 games for Auckland in domestic rugby. He's been involved in New Zealand rugby for over 40 years as a player, coach, and for the last 10 years as an All Blacks selector. Since retiring from playing in 1993 he's also been a business owner, a broadcaster, and a dad to Ryan Fox – New Zealand's top golfer – and daughter Kendall. In the episode Grant shares some really important messages about being present for your kids, as well as an organisation he supports for young men without dads – Big Buddies. He enjoyed a 40-year friendship with the late Sir Martin Crowe and opens up on their relationship, as well as thoughts on Sir John Kirwan, touring in the 80s and 90s, the inaugural Rugby World Cup. Show notes | Episode 86 | Grant Fox 1.49: Then and now: an All Blacks squad naming in 1984 v 2022 4.14: Six steps back, two steps to the side and Auckland bring the Ranfurly Shield to Taupo in 1992 6.23: On being Ryan Fox's dad 11.49: The competitive nature between father and son (interrupted by a phone call from Sir John Kirwan) 18.00: Grant Fox the caddy 21.26: A short fuse, a lack of patience, and aversion to technology 28.10: Some thoughts on parenthood 35.53: A 40-year friendship with Sir Martin Crowe that started at Auckland Grammar School 47.09: Grant Fox: This is Your Life 50.16: A Va'aiga Tuigamala interlude 52.30: Personal and professional friendships: a Sir John Kirwan case study 1.00.00: All Blacks tours in the 80s and 90s 1.03.10: The 1987 Rugby World Cup 1.09.37: The try that wasn't against Ireland 1.13.45: Hard work and goal kicking 1.16.47: A special relationship with The British and Irish Lions 1.21.16: “Coaching wasn't for me” 1.26.09: The role of an All Blacks selector 1.38.11: Life outside of rugby 1.40.33: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Grant See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host libertarian commentator and radio personality Austin Petersen alongside of lawyer Will Chamberlain to discuss the most momentous judicial decision of our generation (thus far) and its implications, Democrats' freak-out over realizing that they might actually lose 'access to women's healthcare', and the Houses' passage of the gun control bill and red states' refusal to cooperate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of Chit Chat Across the Pond, I'm joined by long-time NosillaCastaway Seamus Lavery. Seamus started posting photos of his black lab Quaid to the live chatroom, and then explained that he's a “puppy raiser” for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He agreed to come on the show to tell us what it's like to be a puppy raiser, what his responsibilities are, what he's supposed to teach Quaid, and the uphill road it is for Quaid to qualify to be a Service Dog for the blind. Bart is a Belgian living in the Republic of Ireland, while Seamus is a Northern Irishman who lived for 12 years in Belgium (now living in the Washington DC area). His accent is delightful and his story is fascinating. Links Seaumus mentions: * Guiding Eyes for The Blind * Pilots To The Rescue * Pilots to the Rescue delivering 3 Guiding Eyes Puppies * Trailer for Disney+'s series Pick of the Litter * Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History: The Dog Will See You Now * You can follow Seamus as @batfink2001 on Twitter

In this week's episode of Chit Chat Across the Pond, I'm joined by long-time NosillaCastaway Seamus Lavery. Seamus started posting photos of his black lab Quaid to the live chatroom, and then explained that he's a “puppy raiser” for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. He agreed to come on the show to tell us what it's like to be a puppy raiser, what his responsibilities are, what he's supposed to teach Quaid, and the uphill road it is for Quaid to qualify to be a Service Dog for the blind. Bart is a Belgian living in the Republic of Ireland, while Seamus is a Northern Irishman who lived for 12 years in Belgium (now living in the Washington DC area). His accent is delightful and his story is fascinating. Links Seaumus mentions: * Guiding Eyes for The Blind * Pilots To The Rescue * Pilots to the Rescue delivering 3 Guiding Eyes Puppies * Trailer for Disney+'s series Pick of the Litter * Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History: The Dog Will See You Now * You can follow Seamus as @batfink2001 on Twitter

With the announcement yesterday that this year's Leaving Certificate results will be made available to students on Friday 2 September, this will cause delays to 3rd level places, and we chatted to Seamus Whitney, Career Guidance earlier this morning

Tim, Jamie, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host congressman Troy Nehls to discuss the pre-dawn raid on the Democrat's political opposition, the congressman's call for investigating Hunter Biden's laptop and impeaching Biden, the SCOTUS gun ruling, whether to investigate 2020 rioting, the far left's successful demoralization of police and ensuing violence in their cities, whether Biden will be run again, and Biden's bizarre simpleton cue cards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join the CEO of the satirical Babylon Bee publication to discuss the GOP's choice to bend to gun control legislation, the "dead internet" theory, how satire highlights truths with humor and plays on modern "robot" responses from people online, and the mainstream media saying that the Babylon Bee is not funny. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seamus Evans has worked successfully as a TV and radio presenter, comedian and corporate speaker, despite living with Tourette Syndrome, ADHD and a few other not-insignificant personal challenges. I enjoy exploring life through the eyes, understanding and experiences of other people and this chat, was definitely that and more. Among other things, we spoke about Seamus failing school and being in the ‘wrong' academic model (for him). He told us about hiding his Tourette's when casting for a TV show (at 18), only to have it discovered not long after he got the gig. We spoke about being stared at, misunderstood, judged and avoided. We also discussed the pros of being neuro-diverse and how his ‘different' brain can be something of a superpower when it comes to all-things creative. I enjoyed this. *A few facts about Tourette Syndrome: it is a neurological condition made up of both motor and vocal tics. 1 in 100 kids are diagnosed with it. TS is more common in males than females. There is no cure for TS, just awareness. Most children with TS have above normal or high intelligence levels. The condition is named after French Neurologist, Gilles De La Tourette.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons and Lydia host New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe to discuss the militant leftist group threatening yet more violence against pro-life centers, the New York mayor's distress that Americans may soon be able to defend themselves even better with new gun rulings, the evidence that white liberals are more inclined to mental health problems, and the need for a third-party option. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our very special 400th episode! To celebrate, we've recorded a video version! Watch us show off our physical media! Also, we continue our Pride and Panels celebration of Pride Month by reviewing the Doukyusei -Classmates- BL anime film! Watch the video version here! Send us emails! mangamachinations@gmail.com  Follow us on Twitter! @mangamacpodcast Check out our website! https://mangamachinations.com Check out our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/mangamactv Buy us a Kofi! https://ko-fi.com/mangamac Timestamps: Intro Song: “Marshmallow” by Fassounds, Opening, Introductions, Our 1st ever video podcast - 00:00:00 Showing off various tchotchkes in our rooms - 00:02:40 Random discussion on Four Loko and other alcoholic beverages - 00:12:17 Whatchu Been Reading: Morgana shows off her copies of STRAY, THRESHOLD, and FASTER from Bulgilhan Press - 00:15:26 Darfox was gifted femme fatale: The Art of Shuzo Oshimi - 00:21:52 Darfox derails us with his collection of Hong Kong movies - 00:26:14 Seamus shows off his copies of The Strange Tale of Panorama Island, Red Flowers, and Children of Mu-Town - 00:27:46 dakazu shows off his copies of The Mermaid and the Prince and From This Flame - 00:29:55 Reading Zeikin de Katta Hon prompts dakazu to ask Darfox questions about working at a library - 00:31:02 Seamus leads the charge for borrowing books from the library - 00:40:58 Next Episode Preview and Rundown: Triple Dip, We will read the first volume of three different LGBTQ+ themed Yen Press manga, including: I Want to be a Wall by Honomi Shirono, New York, New York by Marimo Ragawa, and Catch These Hands! by murata - 00:43:46 Main Segment Main Segment Manga in Motion: Doukyusei -Classmates-, Transition Song: “Come to My Summer Dreams” by Alex Makemusic, We review the 2016 anime film adaptation of Asumiko Nakamura's popular BL series that is directed by Shouko Nakamura - 00:46:00 Reflecting on 400 episodes of Manga Machinations - 01:23:28 Next Week's Topic: I Want to be a Wall/New York, New York/Catch These Hands!, Social Media Rundown, Sign Off Song: “Crazy for Your Love” by Orkas - 01:25:58

Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce otherwise known as Jono and Ben are one of the most recognisable duos in New Zealand entertainment. After starting out as stars in their own right they came together as Jono and Ben a juggernaut of Kiwi comedy that was one of TVs top rating shows for seven years. The show helped launch the career of many of New Zealand's top comedic acts and their skits and pranks became legendary and live on to this day. From Ben starting out on Pulp Sport and Jono on being professionally tortured on “do stuff to Jono Friday's” they are now the hosts of the breakfast show on The Hits and their broadcast journey has mirrored their life arc with their content maturing as they have. There is no ego with these guys despite their success, they are genuine, warm, funny and quick witted, but there's great depth to them and they touch on very serious, important themes – like asking for help – and being there for your mates in tough times. Show notes | Episode 85 | Jono and Ben 1.50: Not the traditional three-way but a comfortable four-way including sponsors product and beard envy 2.55: Talkability promotions: Jono's Sky City marathon 6.58: Influences on the come up: Marc and Matthew, Sports Café, Eating Media Lunch 12.56: Old men reminisce about stuff: video stores and the VHS, taping songs off the radio 15.45: “Show us your crack”: New Zealand's most famous radio jingle courtesy of Ben 18.57: Pulp Sport: a YouTube show that made it to Sky Sport 23.52: The pilot skit that went very wrong for Ben 29.50: Do stuff to Jono: experiences in commercial radio 37.57 Jono gets a start in TV on C4 40.47: The making of Jono and Ben 47.28: Moving from late-night Friday TV to prime time 49.30: The cast of characters on and off screen 52.37 A review of some of the best skits: the most destructive prank ever, Jono at Blues training, House covered in Post it notes 1.01.00: Using your platform to speak about important issues 1.06.08: The evolution of Jono and Ben and the stresses of working together 1.13.29: The end of Jono and Ben 1.16.56: A brief history of radio: from The Rock, to The Edge, to The Hits 1.17.40: Creating content: the rise of viral videos, TikTok 1.20.09 A Guy Williams skit gets awkward and their appearance on the Graham Norton Show 1.24.05 Trying to stand out while interviewing celebrities: Jared Leto, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne Johnson 1.30.54: Breakfast on The Hits and what the future holds 1.34.36: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Jono and Ben See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, Luke of WeAreChange, and Lydia host America-First activist and operative Vish Burra alongside former Army Ranger and small business owner Forrest Cooper to discuss the Stephen Colbert staff arrested at Capitol Hill (in GOP offices after hours), The View's insane views on minorities and gun control, the GOP rep who got roasted for supporting Dem gun control legislation, the role gun control might play in the coming civil unrest, and once again The View's crazy views on a "Buttigieg-Harris 2024" ticket. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The boys are back in the studio and off the rails. Phillies talk, Sixers talk, twitter beefs dissected, a riveting zookeeper conversation, seamus tells maybe his best (worst) story yet and much more! 

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, Luke of WeAreChange, and Lydia host reporters Jorge Ventura and Drew Hernandez to discuss the Squad member who says that if the GOP wins, there will be civil war, the Democrats objecting to providing increased security for SCOTUS justices, Biden's abysmally low approval ratings, the biggest migrant caravan to date. and pending economic collapse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Movies himself, Garrett, joins Seamus back in the studio for a return to the universe of regularly released podcast episodes, diving in to Marvel's latest release: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Episode timecodes: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - 2:30 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness spoilers - 14:45 Pop Culture Reference (Fake Shemps)- 50:32 Save The Rec Center (RRR and Men) - 52:44 Reach the show: Email: popculturereferencepod@gmail.com Twitter: @PCR_Podcast TikTok: @PCR_Podcast Instagram: @PCR_Podcast Facebook: facebook.com/PopCultureReference Music from filmmusic.io "Wallpaper" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

  In October 2021 Carlos, Seamus, and Dean travelled to Mexico to participate in the Dia de los Muertos celebrations.  Americans tend to think it's just like Halloween in the US, but it's so much more.  This is a fascinating and fun discussion about their journeys and all the things they learned and experienced. Connect: […]

This week listen in and comment along as Elizabeth and Sarah do a round up of the latest things they've been watching. We've got HBO Max's Hacks Season 2 & The Flight Attendant Season 2, Netflix's Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1 (or part A as they called it) and Hulu's newly released romantic comedy Fire Island. SKIPPERS head to the 17:00 ish mark to bypass the sister chat portion of the episode. Sister chat this week mostly just consists of Jubilee talk. It's all Seamus the Irish Wolfhound and Prince Louis talk up in here!!!

The French government has welcomed news of a compensation agreement in the row with Australia over the scrapping of a French submarine deal. Australia's new Labour government says it's reached a settlement worth 555 million euros, to be paid to France's Naval Group. France's new defence minister says it's the 'turning of a new page' in France-Australia relations. Seamus also talks to Kathryn about the leaders of Germany, France and Italy reportedly planning a joint visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv within weeks. And France has been voting in the first round of parliamentary elections that will decide whether newly-reelected President Macron gets a working majority in parliament.

In this episode we're rewinding the clock one year to June 2021, when we sat down with All Whites legend Ryan Nelsen.    I remember this as a breakthrough episode for us. It was our 50th podcast, our biggest guest and we were both really anxious about getting it right.     And Ryan couldn't have been a better guest. Across nearly two hours he shared all the best bits of his life and career – and we're really proud of how it turned out.    We talk about all the best stories from his seven years at Blackburn, his frustrations with the All Whites in 2010, what it was like playing with Tugay, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Harry Kane - and against Henry and Bergkamp, Ronaldinho and Neymar - the time he hit on Chelsea Clinton at Stanford and so, so many other cracking yarns from an incredible career.    Nelsen is a natural leader and this episode provides a pretty revealing picutre of why he was made captain of nearly every team he has played for.  Show notes: 2.20: Thursday night in Washington DC with Ryan, laying the blueprint for Steven at US College, and impressions of Seamus on the Olympic tour in 2012 8.26: Reflections on two Olympic Games: playing Brazil, Egypt and Mo Salah, the run-in with Dakota Lucas, and the cheeseburger challenge between Roland Jeffery and Seamus 19.00: We go back to Christchurch and the cricket career that could have been had it not been for a dodgy knee 23.38: The US experience: Stanford, MVP, All American, 'pulling the moves' on Chelsea Clinton, Tiger Woods in the medical centre, going #4 in the MLS draft, DC United, failures and lessons learnt 31.37: Heading to the UK: From “you're not good enough” at Charlton Athletic and being on trial at Blackburn Rovers to the FA Cup semi-final within six months 38.42: Attracting the interest of Manchester United: What does that really look like? 41.23: Some of the characters at Blackburn Rovers: Tugay and his ciggies 45.44: A Cole Tinkler and Raj Naidu interlude 46.55: Back to Blackburn Rovers characters: Chris Samba defender turned striker, Mark Hughes at training, and Robbie Fowler sneaking in 51.54: Chris Wood and his incredible achievements in the English Premier League 54.37: The Burnley and Blackburn Rovers rivalry: pitch invasions, police, tribalism and hooligans 57.00: Ryan finds out he was named by fans in Blackburn Rovers' greatest ever XI, the Venky's chicken ad and fighting El Hadji Diouf in the dressing room 1.01.48: Losing 1-7 to Manchester United: going after Sam Allardyce at halftime, and Dimitar Berbatov scoring five in the process 1.04.23: Toughest opponents: marking Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp in their prime 1.06.33: A sad end after seven years at Blackburn Rovers and the eventual move to Tottenham with Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and a young Harry Kane 1.13.49: "I don't want to be here": QPR and Ryan's eventual retirement and transition into management 1.18.16: Leaving everything on the pitch with the All Whites at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the pressures of club v country 1.25.27: Behind the scenes of the World Cup in South Africa: battles with NZ Football, the drain of the World Cup and the challenges after the tournament 1.38.05: Toronto FC and the end of the coaching journey 1.41.42: Moving off the pitch and on the line with .rugby and .basketball 1.44.54: Terrible haircuts at the Confederations Cup in 1999 and never being able to drink tequila again after a big night with Kris Bouckenhooge, RN Wines, and player representation 1.48.55: Last words: The Bob Smith Memorial Trophy, and rescuing Ryan's boots from the rubbish bin at the Olympic Games See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TIm, Seamus of FreedomToons, Luke, and Lydia join congressional candidate Tommy Altman to discuss the leading GOP gubernatorial candidate in Michigan who was arrested for participating in January 6th, Biden joking about arresting his political opposition on Jimmy Kimmel, the pro-abortino protestors who resumed protesting at SCOTUS justices houses just hours after a man was arrested for attempting to kill the same judges, and the violence breaking out in big cities as people tire of leftist attorneys general. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, Luke of WeAreChange, and Lydia host commentator and newscaster Brandi Kruse to discuss Elon Musk's hesitation to buy Twitter, the Washington Post's suspension of a reporter over a mildly-offensive joke (but not a false, edited story), the Uvalde mother who says police threatened her for speaking out against them, the lawmaker suggesting an insane tax as a form of gun control, skyrocketing gas prices, once again, and Biden flailing as he resents being compared to Jimmy Carter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blair Tuke is one of New Zealand's most successful and best sportsmen. He's won an Olympic gold medal and two silvers, two America's Cup titles, six 49er World Championships and with teammate Peter Burling, was named NZ sports team of the year in 2017.    In this episode we talk about his dubious hole-in-one on a par four in Arrowtown, why Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen and Dom Harvey stayed at his house when he was 10, the brutal realities of the round-the-world Ocean race - working four hours on four hours off for 23 days - how and why he won 28 regattas in a row in the 49er with Pete, the best stories from the Olympics, the journey to the top of Team NZ, his marital status, and so much more.  This was a really cool one. We'd never met Blair before this, but he came bouncing into the studios with the most upbeat, positive, fun attitude, and really gave us everything with his thoughtful answers and willingness to share. It was one of those chats where the time just flew by.    A huge thanks to everyone supporting the show on Patreon, if you want to chip in for the cost of a cup of coffee a month, head to BetweenTwoBeers.com  Show notes | Episode 84 | Blair Tuke 1.45: The Bermuda Triangle, quicksand, and spontaneous human combustion 4.40: When Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga, and Dom Harvey turned up for the Christmas Holidays 9.03: A hole in one on a par four in Arrowtown 12.54: The Ocean Race – a deep dive into sailing's greatest round-the-world challenge 30.51: Establishing the Live Ocean Foundation 36.15: The open ocean and the risks involved: the loss of John Fisher in the Southern Ocean 41.20: Life on board: paying respects to King Neptune 45.02: The dramatic finish of The Ocean Race in 2018 50.28: Seamus' series of curious questions on The Ocean Race 56.33: Falling in love with the ocean on a trip to Fiji and moving through the sailing ranks 1.00.49: Linking up with Peter Burling and the first Olympic Games experience in London 1.09.24: The remarkable run between London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 1.17.26: Carrying the flag and winning Gold at Rio 1.21.05: Silver at Tokyo 1.26.49: The America's Cup: memories of past campaigns and getting the call-up 1.30.57: Winning in Bermuda and defending in New Zealand 1.37.31: The popularity of the America's Cup 1.44.06 The ins and outs of Sail GP 1.50.11 What the future holds for Blair Tuke 1.54.31 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Blair See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host psychologist and author Dr. Chloe Carmichael to discuss men from both parties hating feminism, toxic femininity, the man who fought back against Title IX insanity by being more insane, dating apps, women struggling to find men who make as much as they do, no-fault divorce, virtual children in the metaverse signaling the end of the world, and the couples who choose not to have children to save the environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 3 months silence, it's a relief to hear once again from Olga in Mariupol about what life in the city is like after 100 days of war; Seamus and Tom are passionate about their hobbies - tapestry and cross-stitching

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, Brett of Pop Culture Crisis, and Lydia host Daily Caller commentator Jobob to discuss the jury who found Amber Heard defamed Johnny Depp, Hunter Biden's scandalous text message to his own father, the senatorial candidate running against Rand Paul who decided to wear a noose as a necklace, Cenk Uygur saying that Joe Rogan is far right, and Beto's promise to take everyone's guns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join Brandon Straka of WalkAway movement to discuss the not guilty verdict for the Clinton lawyer being tried in the Russian hoax, Brandon's experience with the media and his discovery that Fox is more trustworthy than most of the rest of the media, democrats voting in GOP primaries to sabotage Trump, DeSantis and Trump now tied in an online betting forum, and Brandon Straka's true story of what happened on January 6th and how the DOJ steamrolled him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join Emmy-winning journalist Sharyl Attkisson and columnist, broadcaster, and organizer of the Independent Women's Forum Carrie Sheffield to discuss Trudeau's dictatorial gun grab announcement, a leftist podcaster's calls for violence and subsequent suspension from YouTube, a Paramount-sponsored drag show featuring children dancing for money, and who needs to win in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In France, it's been a rocky start for President Macron's newly-appointed prime minister, Elisabeth Borne. The start of the new government has been overshadowed by a storm over rape allegations against a new minister. And the French President and the German Chancellor have held a new phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin, reportedly urging him to hold direct talks with the Ukrainian leader Zelensky. Meanwhile, Serbia's president, who is seen as Putin's closest ally in Europe, has struck a new three-year gas deal with Russia after a phone call with Putin.

Episode 106 We are thrilled to be joined today by author, speaker, and public theologian, Brian McLaren. His new book, "Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned" is an absolute must-read for any Christian struggling to make sense of things in this crazy world we live in. We talk about creating hope, fighting white supremacy, re-wilding Christianity, and the playful joy of reimagining religion.  Speaking of reimagining religion, have you checked out Zack's new podcast with his wife Nichole, "Reimagining Faith with the Pastors Jackson"? If you enjoy DtW (and of course you do), then you should check it out!    Support this podcast on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/DowntheWormholepodcast   More information at https://www.downthewormhole.com/   produced by Zack Jackson music by Zack Jackson and Barton Willis    Transcript  This transcript was automatically generated by www.otter.ai, and as such contains errors (especially when multiple people are talking). As the AI learns our voices, the transcripts will improve. We hope it is helpful even with the errors. Zack Jackson 00:04 You are listening to the down the wormhole podcast exploring the strange and fascinating relationship between science and religion. Our guest today is an author, speaker, activist and public theologian. He is the author of over 15 books including faith after doubt, a generous orthodoxy and a new kind of Christian which got me in a whole lot of trouble at my home church 20 years ago, his new book do I stay Christian, a guide for the doubters, the disappointed and the disillusioned is an absolute must read for any Christian struggling to make sense of things in this crazy world we live in is an absolute joy and honor to welcome to the podcast, Brian McLaren. Oh, joy   Brian McLaren 00:45 and honor for me to be with you guys. So, so glad to be here.   Zack Jackson 00:49 Yes, I was thrilled to death to get that the email confirming that you had time in your very busy schedule to be with us today. We're all big fans, and I'm sure a lot of folks on the of our listenership likewise.   Brian McLaren 01:03 Well, hey, and I gotta say, now that I know about you guys, I'm your fan as well. And, you know, this subject of the inner interaction between faith and science, my goodness, so important these days. So really happy to be in this conference. Yes, thank you.   Zack Jackson 01:21 I love the way that you weave these two things together in your writings, by the way, and I've noticed it really in the past 10 years worth of books are so it seems, it seems almost effortless that every once in a while you're just gonna get some reference in there to evolution, some reference in there to the cosmic origins of the universe, it just seems like it is. It is always somewhere in the back of your mind.   Brian McLaren 01:45 Well, it's Yeah. And maybe I could say it this way. Without science. I don't think I could be a Christian. So. So yeah, I can't imagine how anyone would want to have a faith that were they had to keep their faith in one compartment. And then everything else. Another compartment compartments, right. Yeah.   Zack Jackson 02:10 Well, that's a sound clip that I'll definitely Absolutely. So Ian and I have been talking a lot recently about your new book, which when the time this podcast launches will have been released yesterday, so available to all of your major retailers. So this book, which is just so helpfully entitled, do I stay Christian? answers that question, which I think a lot of folks have had over the past couple of years, especially. But it's it's very helpfully organized into three sections, the answer that question that? No, I will not stay Christian. And here's why. Yes, I will stick it out and stay Christian. And the last section is how, which of those sections is taking up the most real estate in your mind? And in your day to day life?   Brian McLaren 03:03 Well, let's see. I think all of them jostle for the top position. But I think actually, the writing of this book propelled the third question up in importance. Because in the writing of this book, I realized it's just inevitable. Some people cannot stay Christian, the religion is killing them. It's damaging them, they need to get away at least for a time. And, and other people will stay Christian, it's who they are, and how could they deny who they are? And, and then what I realized is, even whatever you decide on staying Christian, you have to wake up the next morning, and ask what kind of a human being am I going to be? And that I hope that the Reading of the book helps lift the importance of that question up for everybody.   Ian Binns 04:02 Well, and I, you know, Brian, I really appreciated that aspect of the book. And as I said, Before recording, I absolutely loved the book, you know, so for me, I don't have the kind of historical experiences that I know, Brian, you talk about in your books, and that Zach has had and talked about before, the feeling I needed to leave, like, deconstruct and then come back or anything like that. But one of the things that I've always struggled with, is and you you do so well, in the first several chapters, when the answer to your question is no, you know, those chapters explaining No, just really stood out for me. And so but sorry, I know, I'm rambling. This is normal for me. But at the end, I loved as you just said, to connect it back to what kind of human do we want to be? You know, I tell people a lot when they question, my faith, because I'm open with my doubts and questions and the idea of a literal resurrection. I think those are all questions and doubts I have. And I don't know if I'll ever be able to resolve them yet. But I think I prefer to think of it as that I want to live my life, fighting for what Jesus fought for,   Brian McLaren 05:12 what a great way to what a great way to sit.   Ian Binns 05:15 Right? And so if it's more of that's the way I live, I don't have to stand on a rooftop and scream, everyone be a Christian. It's more of a this is the life I want to live. And I love that you did that.   Brian McLaren 05:26 And isn't it ironic that major sectors of the Christian religion are really uninterested, whether you want to fight for the things Jesus fought for, they're really interested in whether you will check certain boxes, agreeing with their authority figures about what you're supposed to say about Jesus. So I just can't help but think that Jesus would be happier with someone who's ready to join him in the struggle with his word for that was follow me, then then have certain opinions about me. In fact, you know, there's that password thing in the Gospels where he says, You know, I really don't care if you call Me Lord, Lord, I mean, what difference does that make the words you use about me? If you don't do what I say so?   Ian Binns 06:10 All right. Well, and in this book, and also to in your podcast, learning how to see, you start off talking about something that was very close to me. So I got my PhD from the University of Virginia. And so I was in my wife and I were in Charlottesville was the first place we really lived as a young married couple. Were there for 208. And so when the the situation happened in Charlottesville in August of 2017, that was very challenging for us, because the grounds of UVA are places I spent four years of my life that we love that town. And so that was very challenging for us. And then hearing you on your podcast and Reading this book. I would love to, if you could talk more about that experience. Because I didn't realize you were there. And so I just curious if you can kind of talk about that. Yeah.   Brian McLaren 07:04 Well, the story of how I ended up there was kind of interesting, I had introduced this couple to each other who ended up getting married, and both were seminary graduates. And so they were a ministry couple in Charlottesville, and they contacted me and they said, Look, Brian, we you may not have even heard about this. And I hadn't it it turns out, you know, before, was it August 10. I forgotten the date now. Whatever the date was, in August, they'd had a series of Ku Klux Klan rallies, it was like it. A lot of people don't know this. But there is a group of people who are planning for a civil war. And they want to make Charlottesville the capital of the new Confederacy.   Ian Binns 07:46 I did not know that part.   Brian McLaren 07:48 Yeah, it's scary. And it's crazy stuff. But and, and yet very disturbing. And they said, so a really big one is coming in August. And we're we're trying to get clergy to come support us, and to stand with us. And they said, we're finding a lot of clergy of color. And we're finding a lot of women, clergy who will come we're really finding it hard to get white male clergy to come. And of course, there's a big supply of them, but they just couldn't get them to come. So they said it. They said, Is there any chance you could come you need to know it's going to be dangerous, there going to be a lot of guns there. Several militia have already signed up to be there. And they'll all come heavily armed. And I said, I'm not going to tell that last part to my wife. But yes, I would be honored to be there. Actually, she knew that there would be some danger. And she made me make certain promises to her about what I would do and not to when I was there, but it was just an experience I'll never forget first seeing how organized these folks were. They were super, super highly organized. I was invited into a meeting an Antifa meeting of people who were organizing to try to not let these folks sort of rule the city for a day. And I never thought in my lifetime, I would see people carrying Confederate flags, and Nazi flags and a bunch of other flags along with Bibles and other Christian paraphernalia. I never thought I would see that. And of course, and I happen to be just up the street when Heather hair and other was killed and others were injured by a guy using a car as a terrorist weapon to drive through a crowd. And a group of us clergy went I was wearing you know, black leather shoes and I just remember the feeling of my feet slapping against the ground as I ran down this hill into this crowd where there's chaos and people screaming and crying. And so an experience I'll never forget. But then January 6 2021 happened and I just thought there they are again, you know, and in between, I'd organized an a public An event here in Florida where I live, where we had been, our event was disrupted in the entrances were blocked by the proud boys. So I yeah, this has been a big part of my experience and watching the complicity of major sectors of the Christian faith with these folks has been the AI, it's highly significant in the way I wrote this book, do I stay Christian? Because I feel like that I wish I'd put the sentence in the book. But it only became clear to me actually, in the last few days, that one of the reasons I wrote the book the way I did, and I took those first 10 chapters to really take the No seriously is because I am worried that those 10 chapters give a kind of overview of some of Christianity's crimes. And through the centuries, I'm worried that the worst things Christianity has ever done will be exceeded in the next few years. And that's why I feel anyone who stays Christian, better be aware of the danger that our religion poses to this world and to many of our neighbors. And that then puts a kind of responsibility on us to say, if I'm going to inhabit this religion, I better take responsibility for trying to stand up to some of the harm that it is in danger of doing and not just in danger of doing it is actually doing, you know, as we speak, no, yeah.   Zack Jackson 11:29 I mean, we're not just complicit in the rise and spread of white supremacy. Western Christianity is the author of white supremacy, it is very much our child. And it is completely inseparably intertwined with Western Christianity as we know it. And so this is not an issue for the black church to figure out or to lead us in. This is not an issue for people of color to be taking charge. This is our problem, our sin and our need to, to work on to fix to fight. And you're somebody who's been at the frontlines of that. It seems, what what can the rest of us do us white Christians out here? How can we help fight the scourge? I mean, just look, even as we're recording this, we just, we just witnessed another white supremacist, killed 10 people in a buffalo grocery store. And by the time that this podcast launches, who knows? We'll have there will be another one. It just seems like we're just spinning our wheels. Yes.   Brian McLaren 12:31 Well, let me say first, I really agree with you that white Christians really have a responsibility right now. And one of our responsibilities is to listen to the cries and the agony and the frustration of our neighbors of color. who are who are just, you know, who can blame them for saying, you know, if they hear thoughts and prayers one more time, you know, I mean, it's just, it's just, yeah. So here's what one thing I think we can do, I think we can all make a commitment that we will never let a racially harmful statement go unchallenged. And, and I think we have to learn how to challenge them in ways that don't create a worst blowback. But silence is its own vote of confidence, and its own voters support for outrageous, immoral, harmful, dangerous statements. So my little recommendation to people is that you've developed your own version of this five word statement, here's my version of it. Wow, I see that differently. It's instead of, you know, you're such a bigot, you're, it's I see that differently. I throw a while in there, because I want to add a little bit of emotional intense intensity without having to yell or scream. Wow, I see that differently. And almost every time I say that, people say, What do you mean? What do you mean? And if it's in public, I say I say to them, I'd rather talk to you about this in private. If you'd like to ask me about it in private some other time, I'll be glad to talk to you. And the reason I say that, and there might be times to have the conversation in public. But what I've noticed is that anytime these conversations happen in public egos are so involved, people are defending themselves, people are performing their loyalty to whatever group it is. And so it seldom becomes an act of communication, and usually becomes the kind of argument that hardens people and their positions. And I would like to be someone who helps little cracks form in their position or, or helps soften their position. And if if I can set up the terms of that discussion, then I'll say to them, if you're ever curious about why I see things differently and how like came to see things differently. I'll be glad to have that conversation with you and private. Just let me know when you'd like to know how I came to see things differently, because I'm not asking them to tell me how they see things. I'll listen respectfully if they want. But I've been listening respectfully, that's what got us into this situation. And so while I see that differently is my, my mantra in these circumstances?   Ian Binns 15:27 Well, that's very disarming, I   Brian McLaren 15:29 think, and I go, and I feel it's honest, and it's not aggressive. But it also is an act of protest. And it's just an act of deferring boldly, hopefully, graciously, non hatefully, you know? Yeah. And frankly, I'll just say, frankly, late in the book there, in that house section of the book, there's a chapter called, announce and renounce, or renounce and announce, and in some ways, it's the same thing. It's, it's, it's having more and more of us just have the courage to say, I am not where you are. And to do it in a way that says, It's not that I hate you. It's not that I am going to insult you. In fact, I'm going to just state in a way that says, I don't, I'm nothing's changing in our relationship, but I'm not where you are. If that creates a problem for you, then we'll deal with it. But I need to let you know I can be at a different place than you are. So I thought   Ian Binns 16:31 that story you told in that chapter about John Ray and Amanda was really powerful. And one of the phrases that stood out, it was after early on in the story. When John Ray comes back to Amanda and says, I was confronted by your father for 20 minutes. And the phrase that you use in the book was he felt that he was in the presence of Christian hate? Yes. And I thought that was just just those four words, or five words. Yeah, forward presence of Christian hate just really kind of caught me of because I feel like that's what we're seeing a lot of right now.   Brian McLaren 17:08 Yes, yes. And of course, Christians will say, that's not hate, that's love. And they, and they're satisfied with that. But there is something really ugly going on. It's just ugly. And I've experienced that. And my gosh, when you're on Twitter, and Facebook, you know, I grew up fundamentalist. And part of being a fundamentalist is you didn't cuss? And you didn't use crude language. And you you felt this obligation to be decent and, and respectful. But my gosh, the profanity and I mean, it's just, it's just shocking to me to see what what people are doing in the name of Jesus, and it's all sort of acceptable. And of course, some of this is because they're imitating their new leader, you know, Donald Trump, who's, in a sense, the new leader of their denomination that has that has newly formed and, and, and part of this is just stuff that's been in the American psyche for a long time, and maybe we're better with a profanity, because it's, you know, somebody said, what I mentioned, I've had a lot of interactions with the proud boys, they said, there, it's just the kk k with that, and the sheets are off. And I think that's, there's some truth to that. So this is a historical reckoning, that needed to happen. So better now than not letting it happen, you know, letting it fester for another 100 years.   Zack Jackson 18:35 Yeah, that chapter, which kind of tells the story of a couple whose ideologies had changed, their faith had changed, and they hadn't really let their family know, which I think a lot of folks who have deconstructed can relate to because they're going to, they're afraid of then being renounced by their family. And she gathers up the courage after her husband has been sort of accosted for 20 minutes to go up and just tell her father, this is how it's going to be from here on out. And you talked about that in terms of a coming out story for her. And that framing, I think is really helpful. And something that queer theologians, this gift that they have given us, this idea of coming out, it is a vulnerable experience, in which you can be hurt in all new ways. But it is such an empowering experience. I read one, one theologian referred to John one as God's coming out that Jesus is incarnation is him, showing who he truly is to the world and offering up himself to be either accepted in new ways or hurt in all new ways. And I honestly had never understood the Incarnation until then. But this idea that those of us us who are straight sis hetero folks who have never had the need to come out to people to tell them, This is how you have perceived me. But this is how I truly am. We've just always been known for who we are, that this is something that we we should learn, that we should need to love louder than the hate and that we need to be more vocal. It's not enough to just love on our own, but that we need to love loudly and outwardly. Yeah,   Brian McLaren 20:30 another little saying that has kind of been sitting with me lately is I would rather be rejected for who I am then accepted for who I am not.   Ian Binns 20:39 And I wrote that down. Well, like I, I want to tattoo that on my arm or something, because I think that's such a powerful phrase. It really is.   Brian McLaren 20:47 And I think what one of the things that just saying it that way helps me do is realize that the fear of rejection has so much power over so many of us. And as someone who's experienced a bit of rejection. And now I know Zach has led to other people to being rejected. But, but it's, it's not the end of the world. It's not the worst thing that ever happens to you. In fact, some pretty amazing positive things happen can happen in the experience of rejection. So And isn't it interesting in the gospels, this is really a major theme of Jesus teaching. Hey, guys, if you take seriously what I'm saying, you're gonna be rejected, here's what's gonna happen and it and then we're surprised when it happens.   Zack Jackson 21:39 Right? The high priest is gonna block you on Twitter at this point. And   Ian Binns 21:44 well, and I think you mentioning the rejection, the fear of rejection, I mean, that's something that cripples me at times, you know, with my own work of wanting to write, as an academic for more public audience, it, it, something that holds me back quite a bit. And Reading, you know, your book has helped and then also Rob Bell's work as well as helping me remember that it's not, I cannot control people's reactions to my work in my message.   Brian McLaren 22:14 And so we're writing about things that matter than then there are things that people have strong opinions about, and they have vested interests in. And so of course, there'll be pushback, like, you know, every once in awhile, I have to sit down with myself and just say, of course, people would get upset. What were you expecting to get a Nobel Prize? You know, of course. So, yeah, that's just the territory. And it's, it's, it's part of the privilege of talking about things that really matter and, and working on things then that matter. So I like that doesn't it doesn't make it easy, but it does, I think it is, it's something we have to do that helps us navigate through those first few experiences of rejection, that that can either scar us for life or become our hazing. For for a member membership, and a new, a new community.   Zack Jackson 23:19 And I've experienced a lot of the dirty underbelly of the Christian church growing up in, in the back rooms of the church, and then being a part of church leadership, the first 10 chapters of your book, where you talk about all the reasons why you should leave Christianity. I, at the end of every chapter, I thought to myself, I know where he's going. I know there's a there's a part two, but I'm almost ready to just like, just close the book here and be like, yeah, no, he does have a point, why should I be a part of this and re even Reading part two, a couple chapters in where you're talking about why we should stay Christian. And I thought, these don't quite outweigh yet in my mind, where, where Part one was. And then then I hit chapter 14. And you asked us to consider an anticipatory Christianity that is leaning towards the future. And I love that phrase so much. I highlighted it, I wrote it down. And anticipatory Christianity because it describes the stance towards the future in which that doesn't necessarily claim that everything in the future is better than everything in the past that we're evolving into something better, just something different to newer and maybe better adapted. Would you care to unpack that phrase for us? Yeah. Wow. That is bringing you life and older.   Brian McLaren 24:46 There's a lot of ways to do it. But a kind of fun way is to say that both in religion and science, a lot of us inherited a religion, where the Locus of Power was always in the past. So So the, you know, the big bang happens. And I bet most of us have seen this in a science movie somewhere. And it's like somebody's playing pool and they hit the cue ball and the cue ball hits the rack of, you know, balls, and everything is action reaction being driven from the past. And that describes, that's one way of looking at the universe. It's one way of describing the universe. But there's another way to look at it to say, to think of the Locus of Power, not just being in the past, but actually being the future itself, that opens, that constantly gives everything a chance to move in some new direction. And the way that theologians have talked about this is to say instead of thinking of God, pushing things out of the past into the future, imagine God in the distant future, inviting things to keep moving toward maturity. The one of the early church scholars, who is a very imaginative fellow, his name was Gregory of Nyssa. And Gregory, got in trouble with a lot of his fellow scholars, because they all bought into this idea of Greek philosophy that perfection is static, because perfection can only get worse, if it could change, it wouldn't be perfect. If it could change for the better, it wouldn't be perfect. So perfection is always static. And Gregory said, that's just not good enough. He said, perfection is infinite progression, this idea of an endlessly open future for endlessly new possibilities, you know, and so that way of thinking, instead of God's sort of being in control, either behind us or standing over us, it's God inviting us into greater freedom, and greater wholeness and greater maturity and greater relationship and greater diversity and greater beauty, which is actually what we see kind of unfolding in the universe, you know, there was no Mozart or Bob Dylan or Taylor Swift, you know, 4 billion years ago. And so these things, new things that you never ever would have anticipated, are baked into the possibilities and, and have chances to open up. So that's, and when we let that kind of almost scientific view, also have a theological expression. It helps us think about Christianity, not as something that is already set in concrete, but something that is, in its very early stages.   Zack Jackson 27:48 It is hard to think about Christianity in its early stages, 2000 years later, but that is, that can be helpful,   Ian Binns 27:56 if we can, you know, I think I said before we started recording that, especially Reading the first part of your book, where you're providing, you know, many reasons why the answer to your question will be no, that's when I was Reading it near my wife, and I would stop and be like, Oh, my God, I have to have to read this for you. So if I can read a quote to you, that just really stood out for me. And I just would love to get your thoughts on it a little bit more, but it's in the chapter. Because Christianity is a failed religion. And at the very end, you talk about, you know, you kind of are speaking to that your reader, obviously, of asking if that was harsh to them, for people to consider many of the things you've already shared. But you say if you persist in minimizing these failures of the past and brushing them aside as trivial matters, then please realize, to growing millions of people, you now represent the contemporary failure of Christianity to transform lives. To put it more bluntly, you are a living example of the failure of Christianity, and you are another reason for them not to stay Christian, which resonated with me. I mean, I probably I'm very emotional person. And I started crying when I read it, but it was just a, I'd love to know, how did that feel. As a leader in Christianity, many people look to you to write that sentence.   Brian McLaren 29:21 Yeah, I remember writing it and I and I have been in so many of those conversations. I won't mention this name just out of politeness, but a leader of people in my generation, and probably your generation would know his name. He died a few years ago, but he was super well known, highly respected on Christian radio and all that sort of thing. And we once had an email exchange and he gave me permission to go public with it, but I just couldn't do it. And in that email exchange, he said the Crusades weren't that serious. The Witch burnings were exaggerated, he just minimized every single thing. And I just thought to myself, you know, you think you're making Christianity look better. And something else I realized about him is that, for him, Christianity and Western civilization were fused together. And his defense of Christianity was a defense of Western civilization. And in that way, it was an act of aggression toward Muslims, and Buddhists and Hindus. And so it all sort of was of a piece, you know, and I think that's part of what so many of us just don't want to be part of anymore, we don't want to be part of that kind of dismissive defensive. Christianity. And, and, of course, you know, I'm not wanting to go around and vilify all these people of the past. I mean, they are what they are, and they did what they did. And, and, and if I'd been alive, I may have done many of the similar, similar things. But to say that the message of Jesus Christ should not have demanded more of people. It just feels to me like a pretty low opinion of the of Jesus and His message.   Ian Binns 31:21 Well, and as I said, early on to, you know, I try to live by his message and what he fought for, and died for, right. But one other thing you said a little bit earlier in the text, you said, you know, teaching others by their example, to live by Jesus's spiritual method of radical non discriminatory love and courageous truth telling, you know, that's gotten me in trouble at times. With some, and I don't do it nearly as much as I used to. And Zach has actually said, and some of my science education friends have said that they're really happy that I don't engage as much on Twitter, as I used to, partly because I was blocked by Ken Ham, who is still welcome to be on the show. But what I also have several friends who are members of the LGBTQ community, and who are people of faith, and I remember telling one of them one time when we were having a conversation about some of their struggles, and I just kind of said that I believe in a God who loves us for us. Yeah. And that if that makes me wrong, when I have to face God, it didn't my time. And I'm told that's not the way it works. My response to my friend was, I don't want to be there anyway. Like if that if that's what can get me into heaven. If Heaven is a place that they say, you messed up, you have to renounce that I'd say I'm going somewhere else.   Brian McLaren 32:49 Yes, that that God is not good enough. Right? That's just not good enough. My friend Tripp fuller says, Look, if if your view of God isn't half as nice as Jesus, there's something wrong. So, right,   Zack Jackson 33:06 how can Christians take Jesus and like, look at him in the Gospels? And then be like, All right, well, but at the end of it all, we're gonna meet scary God. And he's going to do the scary judge thing. While Jesus the guy, you know, the don't cast the first stone guy. He's just going to be in his room because he's a naughty boy or something. I don't know. Why is he not up on the jet like we can affirm that all members of the Trinity are of one substance, according to the ancient Creed's, but yet won't apply Jesus's examples of grace to the judgments that we fear from God, there   Brian McLaren 33:46 was a Quaker theologian who I just think captured what we're discussing right now. So aptly, he said, it was Elton Trueblood. And this isn't a quote, but this is sort of the substance of one of his ideas. He said, The Christian understanding of the deity of Christ did not mean that we had a definition of God. And Jesus came along and we lifted him up to that definition. He said, what this really is supposed to mean is that we had a definition of God. And Jesus came along, and we had to adjust our definition of God. And I think that's very well, I think that's very well said, I think that's what it should have been. I don't know if that is what happened historically. But I think that's how it should have been.   Zack Jackson 34:38 Yeah, if I can, if I can pivot here for a second. We've we've been on some heavy topics. I want to I want to lighten things up a little bit. I your chapter on rewilding ourselves and our faith and humanity itself was far and above my favorite chapter of the book. I highly They did. The basically the whole thing. It reminded me very much of a conversation those longtime listeners might remember, way back in 2020, episode 42 with Dr. Scott, the paleontologist from PBS, his dinosaur, I   Ian Binns 35:15 remembered it too. First thing I thought about called   Zack Jackson 35:19 reinventing the natural world was was his and his theory. And his, the whole devotion he has towards educating children is that in in order in order to save the world, from climate disaster from environmental disaster, we will not do that by better spreadsheets. Because nobody is apathetic because they don't know the facts. They're apathetic because they don't care. And so his entire life Miss mission is to help children fall back in love. I love to read and chant nature, and to get them outside. And even while watching television to then inspire them to go outside afterwards. Because when you fall in love with the world, then you want to save it. It's your mother. Again, it's not it's not just a commodity anymore. And Reading your chapter about being out on a kayak in the middle of the of Florida. And there's gators and birds and fish and the whole deal. I'm I'm there in my mind. And I'm imagining my own slice of wild here in the Pennsylvania mountains. And I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about how the natural world and how this process of rewilding has awoken your spirituality and how we might best share that with people.   Brian McLaren 36:40 Well, maybe I could just tell you two quick stories. One from yesterday, we had a death in the family over the last week. And so I was out of state. I was in New Jersey, for the funeral. And I had to do a whole bunch of interviews for this book. So I was in, in the home office of my deceased brother in law. To conduct these interviews, I brought along my microphone and had my computer set up. And right outside his window. There's a dogwood tree and in the dogwood tree, about two feet from the window was Robin building her nest and so I was doing interviews literally from you know, 10 in the morning till 11 At night, cuz some of them were Pacific Coast time. And so as I sat there through the day, I watched the mother Robin, come and go and come and go mouthful of mud a mouthful of grass and watching her use her the shape of her body to form the perfect cup. If you've ever observed a bird's nest, it's just this perfect semi sphere. Oh my goodness, it's just an I never gotten to watch that. That's such a intimate angle. And if that wasn't good enough, just before dark, she was out, I guess gathering more materials. And a little English Sparrow came in and climbs into her nest and steals a bunch of grass. And it was just great. And I just felt like I just got to see a little bit of mischief and fat, all the rest of it. But just all felt I just it just was it. There's a poet. What a great resume. There's a fellow named Lanham from Clemson University, who's a biologist and a poet. Isn't that a great combination? And he uses that term in one of his poems orgasm, that we have these experiences of oh, that produce this sort of delight you know, that's that goes beyond words. And, and I had said I felt watching that all unfold. And then another experience. Last summer I fall in love with a place I highly recommend it for people who like this sort of thing called ring Lake Ranch. It's a Christian based retreat center, but it's just a place that brings you out into the wilderness of Wyoming and you get to ride horses and fly fish and hike and and just enjoy an incredible a place with deep history for the sheep eat or people that Native American people that area and, and I took a hike with a botanist. And as we walked through a Badlands area along the Wind River Gorge. She would just everything she talked about was the relationship. We came along she said see that flower there says I've never seen that flower in bloom during the daytime. It's a night blooming flower. And she said there is one species of wasp that pollinates that flower and it only comes out at night. And she said isn't it amazing to think one species of Wasp and one flower have evolved to be sort of partners in their in one another survival, you know, and then we'd come upon a sagebrush, and she talked about before she was done, you just felt you were on holy ground, it was like a burning bush. But it was the sagebrush because she explained, this is high desert. And in the in the winter, snow drifts form around sage brushes, and that snow drifts, then when it melts, it concentrates moisture around the base of the sagebrush, which helps the sagebrush live but also becomes like a little oasis of moisture. And then she starts talking about all the creatures that depend on that moisture of the sagebrush. And I mean, you're done. And you're just, you're, it's ecstatic to think of the web of life that is around you. And, and that sense of connectedness, if that's not holy, I don't know what it is, you know. And so any kind of Christianity that wants to ignore all that and just look at the world as something that God plans to destroy, because he wants to suck our souls up into heaven or send them somewhere else. You just think what, what a blasphemy to, to discount and the wonder and glory that's there, you know, in that a Badlands of the Wind River Gorge.   Zack Jackson 41:27 You talk about that sort of mutual evolution. And the two things that when we first were developing the ideas of evolution, the common conception was survival of the fittest, the strongest, right the the beefiest and biggest teeth. And we've learned that the in many ways that was just white supremacy, Reading itself into science, when the truth is that it's survival of the most adaptable, the most resourceful, the best collaborators is, is survival of those who can work with others best is is how species evolve and continue that relationality is just,   Brian McLaren 42:10 and if we're going to survive, we have to learn that wisdom from from creation, I was honored to be invited to write a book about the Galapagos Islands. So I've had a chance to visit there a few times. And I in my book, I wrote a couple of chapters about Charles Darwin and I, I got to read his biography while I was there, and and then just did a bunch of research and that term survival of the fittest, you may know this. It wasn't Darwin's term. And Arthur, Arthur Wallace, I think it was Arthur was his first name, I, he, he recommended the term because natural selection sounded like it personified nature too much, you know that nature is making choices. Like a Calvinist, God makes choices, and they wanted to get away from that. When they use the word fittest, it meant fit best, the opposite of the most domineering and aggressive, it's those who fit best.   Zack Jackson 43:06 So yes, yes, you will love my favorite. That my favorite new fact in physics that is just that is filling my soul with all in wonder these days. Is that do you think about the part of the atom that makes that has stuff, right? That has mass that has the stuff that makes you a thing, and not just nothing? Where does your mask come from? Well, only 9% of the mass of an atom comes from the particles of the atom 91% of the mass of every atom comes from the interaction between the atoms, the forces created by the protons and neutrons, generate the the 91% of the mass of you and I and the planet and the stars. Everything is a relationship between things without the relationship, the things that exist don't exist. And I love that. I mean, that is just, that's the illogical.   Brian McLaren 44:05 Literally the weightiest part of the universe is its relationships.   Zack Jackson 44:10 Exactly. It is it is, if you ever wanted to find a fingerprint of a relational Creator, who created a creation that continues to create, it's right there.   Brian McLaren 44:20 And this is when you were talking about anticipatory Christianity. This is if if what will happen if we're given the chance to incorporate all of these magnificent understandings into our theological work, and not just be stuck under this very low ceiling of Neoplatonic philosophy? Which has its own beauties and all the rest, but you know, yeah, so all of this is one of the other reasons it's a little hard to walk away in spite of all the horrible things because somebody is going to get to do this kind of revisioning of what we mean when we say the word God, in light of all of this, and what we mean when we say the word human in light of all of this, and it's sort of would be a shame to miss miss that fun.   Zack Jackson 45:15 It is fun, isn't it?   Ian Binns 45:17 Well, and, you know, Reading throughout your, your book too about, you know, the interconnectedness of all things, and just the importance of, you know, stepping back from that just developing those connections and those relationships, you know, that's something that as a teacher, I do with my students, and, you know, I teach future elementary school teachers how to teach science. And so one of the first things I really focus on is not necessarily, let's get into teaching science immediately, it's, let's develop a connection to each other a relationship. And, you know, I've been told by some of my colleagues that they've always been impressed that typically by week two, I've developed a very strong rapport with my students. And I tell my students, this is my messaging to them all the time, is that if you're able to connect with your students, on a personal level in some way, you can teach them anything there is yes, yes, yes. Because they will learn to trust you and know they're in a safe space.   Brian McLaren 46:21 Yes. And in the presence of that kind of respect and affection, you know, and in the presence of that, our curiosity comes out. And so then we become natural learners because we feel safe and all the rest. Oh, it's so true. And this, again, is one of the things that I think we have to realize that the Christian religion, by working so much on a base of fear and shame, creates an antagonistic environment to learning and curiosity. And it might be one of the factors in the lack of transformation we were talking about before, it makes people sort of hunker down, rather than open up.   Ian Binns 47:07 Well, that's, you know, part of that, too, with developing that relationship and connection is in it kind of touches on something. Zack, you said earlier when talking about Dr. Scott, coming on, as you know, teaching people to love nature, again, is that I approached my class, also teaching them to not fear science. Yes. And to realize why it's such an incredible thing to teach. And that children are natural born scientists. Yes. Just they'll whole notion of being curious and wanting to ask a question is doing science. And so I remind them of that. And then I say, Now let's have some fun, and focus on ways to teach it. But if they can get that down, yeah, pretty quickly, we're gonna have a good time. So   Brian McLaren 47:54 be a nice thing for seminarians to hear.   Zack Jackson 48:00 I mentioned before we started recording, friend of mine just wrote his first book, called Jesus takes the side embracing the political demands of the gospel, his name is Johnny Rashid. By the time this episode airs, I think it'll be a week out from release. And in it, one of the things he argues is that Western Christianity doesn't have a sense of honor, but it does have a sense of shame. And most societies are honor shame based, and his family comes from Egypt, and they have a deeply ingrained system of honor and shame and honor and shame is how you keep society together, how to keep religion together, but Western Christianity has a lot of shame. But we have no systems of honor. anymore. And so we cling desperately, to our our dogma, our beliefs, our right thinking, because it is so easy to feel shame, and so hard to find honor in the system anymore. Sounds remarkable. It is. And it's it's a great book, and everyone should read it. But I think that when we're talking about reimagining the church and reimagining our faith and our religion and what it means to follow Christ. I mean, I can't think of another historical person who spent more time pouring honor on people that other people poured Seamus. Yes, yes, yes. And if we're going to reimagine this faith, I think we put that near the center. I love it. As as we're, as we're sort of wrapping up our time together. I want to I want to ask you one more question. That for me, is very full circle. Because back in 2006, I preached a sermon as a teenager, at my home church, based on your brand new book, The secret message of Jesus. A part of that book is in which you talked about how the phrase the kingdom of God doesn't work. In this post monarchical world. You know, nobody knows what a kingdom is anymore. Jesus was using a metaphor for his time that no longer works, and probably carries too many too much baggage for it to be useful. And you propose a dozen different solutions. The the, my favorite one at the time was the dream of God, that was the name of the sermon, actually just listen to the sermon today, it was very hard to listen to an 18 year old me preach a sermon. But here we are. I wonder if in the past 16 years, you've found a version of the kingdom of God that resonates deeper with you. And with the current reality, we find ourselves very   Brian McLaren 50:40 much. So that's very relevant to our discussion today. You know, there, there's a chapter in the book called to free God and, and I, I have a beautiful quote from Barbara brown Taylor that plays heavily in the book and and, in fact, maybe the way for me to say the phrase is to say that I think this phrase refers to the kingdom of God. And I think it refers to God. In that chapter I talk about in do I stay Christian, I talk about the you that we refer to God, that seems to me becomes a we, because the the nature of God, it seems to me is a God of participation, who invites us into participation in the divine life. And so anyhow, the phrase is the web of life. And, in fact, I, I wrote a little table grace, that is my table grace for the last several years. And it's I just say, for this breath, for this heartbeat, for this meal with these companions. For the web of life of which were part we give thanks with all our heart. And it's an as I'm saying, the web of life. I realized, I'm not just talking about you that web of life includes God. It's a we that's God and creation in that one web. So that now I think the web is what weighs 91%, or this 91% of the mass.   Zack Jackson 52:20 Yes, absolutely. It is all about how we are connected to one one,   Ian Binns 52:24 if I may ask one more question. Brian is based on something you said to us at the very beginning. After you talked about your experience with Charlottesville, you said you kind of alluded to that you are concerned about things to come. Yeah. Right. So that was hard to hear. Yeah. So what gives you hope? Yeah. Because January 6 was rough. It was rough. For those of us who admit what happened.   Brian McLaren 52:57 So in that's really an important question. And in fact, that's going to be at the heart of the next book I write actually. And I guess one thing I can say is the word hope used to mean for me, where do I see trend lines that make me think things might get better? And I'm not defining hope that way anymore. I'm not defining hope as having anything to do with evidence or not, not depending on evidence. And because what I expect this is what's helping me have hope, to not have to depend on evidence for things getting better. What I expect will happen is that forms of Christianity will get worse than they've ever been. I think that's almost unavoidable. I think, I can't imagine it not happening. i There are people who want it to happen, they want Christianity to become in words I would use uglier, more selfish, more vicious, more violent. And I have no hope that that will not happen, like that will happen. But here's the here's what I think, as that happens, I'm quite certain that we are seeing and we'll see extraordinarily beautiful expressions of Christian faith and other expressions of human life as well. Just because the ugliness that we'll see will will provoke many of us to step out of sort of complacency into a more vigorous and robust expression of beauty and pursuit of beauty. And, and the lies and conspiracy theories on one side will make us more passionate to actually know and face the truth and and, and, of that, of course, I do see evidence I see our conversation being evidence all The three of us are different than we were three years ago. And, and so, you know, it's just all around us. I would I was, you know, I said I was out of town. And when I was on a plane coming home this morning, as I walked down the aisle of the plane, I just had one of those kinds of grace moments, where as I walked down the aisle, I, this guy is asleep. And this woman is tending her child, and this older person is Reading a magazine. And as I'm walking down the aisle toward my seat at the back, cheap seat of the plane, I just felt this tenderness and love and saw the beauty of these people was one of those moments where you just sort of you feel every one of these people is beloved, you know, and, and I just think more and more of us are moving in that direction. But that won't stop the ugly people the ugly things from happening, and taking over more and more people's lives to so that's how I that's how I survived i i have to be able to expect the worst will happen and and the best will happen.   Ian Binns 56:07 So then we'll just also have to have you back on when you finish that next book. Okay. I would like that. I would appreciate that response. Brian. That helps a lot. salutely Thanks. Yeah.   Zack Jackson 56:18 The book is called do I stay Christian, a guide for the doubters, the disappointed and the disillusioned, it is available wherever you get your books as of yesterday. Brian has been such a pleasure to talk with you for the past hour. Thank you so much for carving time out of your ridiculously busy life to be   Brian McLaren 56:38 such a delight. It's just been a pleasure. I'm, I feel energized and I'm so glad you're doing what you're doing. Thanks for having me on. And please keep up the good work. It's important. Thank you      

It's the Seamus, Pat, and Bruce show this week. The boys talk Phillies and the recent rough stretch from JT and Rhys. Then they get into some Tyrese Maxey trade talk (definitive answer: naw), and the outlook on the Eagles season.

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host transhumanism expert and journalist Joe Allen to discuss Biden's strongly gaffing the US into WWIII by promising military aid to Taiwan if needed, the former disinformation czar now tweeting that her disinformation board would have had a distinctly domestic focus, Biden mulling tapping emergency diesel supplies, and the media losing their minds when Trump merely mentioned the possibility of a civil war. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, Elad of Timcast.com, and Lydia host congressional candidate Lily Tang Williams to discuss the pending outbreak of monkeypox and the US purchasing millions of vaccines for the disease, the communist influence looming over the US, the Chinese influences being exerted over GOP candidates, Twitter's new 'crisis misinformation' policy, and the incoming massive red wave. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host journalists Libby Emmons & Elad Eliahu to discuss the collapse of Biden's 'Disinformation board', the Washington Posts' take that the right wing is responsible for the downfall of the Disinformation Board, the surprising revelation that half of Joe Biden's followers might be fake, the female skateboarder calling out trans skating competitors, and how the US soccer league is trying foolishly to achieve equity between the genders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join cancelled comedian and podcaster Jamie Kilstein to discuss Elon Musk responding the Project Veritas leak, the NEW Veritas expose of Twitter proving 'Get woke, go broke,' Elon Musk's choice to vote Republican this time around, the story of a woke comedian being canceled and rage=quitting the left, Elon saying the real president is whoever is in charge of the teleprompter and comparing Joe Biden to The Anchorman, and the Jordan B. Peterson/Sports Illustrated debacle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host podcaster, YouTuber, and journalist Matt Binder to discuss Elon Musk's edgy response to Parag Agrawal's Twitter thread, Project Veritas' exposure of censorship of the right, which direction YouTube radicalizes people, Starbucks' choice to pay for gender 'reassignment' surgeries and abortions, and the Buffalo shooter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join commentator Julia Song to discuss Netflix's new anti-censorship business rules, the journalist being roasted for asking why no video game companies have spoken publicly about Roe, the middle schoolers being punished for refusing to comply with compelled pronouns at their school, Elon Musk's decision to pause his buyout of Twitter, the left's proven inability to meme, and how representative democrats are of the wealthiest in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join lawyer and friend Will Chamberlain to discuss the GOP slamming Biden for shutting down multiple oil and gas leases even as gas prices skyrocket, a leftist meme asking if there are any laws imposed upon men's bodies (spoiler alert: Obviously), the pallets of infant formula being sent to provide illegal immigrants intercepted at the southern border as American parents fight to find supplies for their own children, the staggering amount of money Democrats voted to send to war in Ukraine, and the incoming diesel shortages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join journalist and on-the-ground reporter Julio Rosas to discuss the GOP and Joe Manchin stopping the expansion of abortion 'rights', the Austrian clinic reporting American women attempting to illegally obtain abortion drugs internationally, the pro-abortion protestors surrounding Pelosi's home, how BLM numbers crashed during leftist rioting and the BLM leader spending donated funds to party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons and Lydia join congressional candidate Matthew Foldi to discuss Jen Psaki's refusal to condemn the rioting outside the SCOTUS homes, Biden's strategic choice to blame 'Ultra-MAGA' over inflation, Elon Musk's stance on Trump being on Twitter, and Matthew's plans for office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join host of the MartyrMade podcast and cohost of Jocko Willink's The Unraveling podcast Darryl Cooper to break down how conservative SCOTUS justices are responding to being threatened, the group planning a so-called 'vigil' outside Samuel Alito's home, the top Reddit post telling women to stop using dating apps, and Star Trek's choice to inject January 6th into their show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia join commentator and author Ashley St. Clair to discuss the FDA limiting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Elon Musk serving as CEO of Twitter, Timcast going with Rumble to combat big tech censorship, Gavin Newsom's transphobia for saying that men can't get pregnant, Louisiana advancing a bill classifying abortion as homicide, and the 'who radicalized you??' meme as juxtaposed with Xavier Becerra saying that kids are entitled to government-funded gender-'affirming' surgeries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons, and Lydia host de=transitioner Helena Kerschner to discuss how the left is trying to use vet-grade pills to induce abortions as Roe is threatened, what the loss of Roe might mean to the left, the start of a possible new Civil War, leftist women's views on abortion, what puberty blockers do to young people, and the Florida mother suing a school for helping her daughter transition to another gender without her knowledge or consent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tim, Ian, Seamus of FreedomToons and Lydia join comedian and podcaster Danny Polishchuk to discuss MSNBC's description of the GOP as neo-Nazis and Elon Musk's response, Bill Maher's late-to-the-action news analysis, the new CNN boss saying he wants to focus on truth, the NYT description of the 'most banned book,' conveniently neglecting the adult content contained therein, and breaking news about Roe v Wade and what the leak of the SCOTUS memo means for law and order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices