Drunk Ex-pastors

In our sestercentennial episode of DXP we tease the audience about what it would take in order for us to start putting out a midweek show (it’s well within the real of possibility actually). We then engage a long-time fan’s input about having a minority president, after which we discuss a patron’s question about the value of history and what it has to teach us. We spend some time discussing another listener’s thoughts about the afterlife, and then share biebers involving hoods and credit card offers.                   

DXP #249 begins with the introduction of a new addition to the family. We hear from a caller asking for further thoughts on our own spiritual and political deconstruction, and from another who wants to know whether ignorance really was bliss. We discuss the merits of having a girl president (wink), and then launch a new segment titled DXP Confessions which allows our listeners to call in and unburden their souls (warning, penance may be assigned). Biebers involve self-sabotage and D-bagging.                  

In DXP #248 we briefly debate whether it’s OK to dislike the movie “Us” without also being racist, after which we discuss the black inventor of the lightbulb whom you’ve never heard of because white people always take credit for everything. We revisit the water bottle issue, and then answer a caller’s question about how our respective processes of deconstruction affected our friendship. We break down a well-meaning Christian’s lament over the New Zealand mosque attacks, and finish, as always, with biebers.                 

In episode #247 of Drunk Ex-Pastors we discuss the origin of various nicknames (as in, how the hell do you get “Peggy from “Margaret” or “Dick” from “Richard”?). We then turn our attention to the differences between Cardi B and Bill Cosby and whether it’s okay to drug people in order to just rob rather than rape them. We discuss the developments surrounding the Mueller report and then share our biebers (one involves whinging employees and the other focuses on drinking while riding a bike).                 

For some reason, episode #246 of Drunk Ex-Pastors includes a lengthy discussion about masturbation despite the topic appearing nowhere in our outline. We discuss innovation and the recent documentary, The Inventor, and then we answer a caller’s question about where our views currently stand on spiritual matters (I think it is fair to say that both of us have undergone a bit of evolution in this area). Biebers involve pizza parties and people who assume zero responsibility for their own choices.                

Remember those ‘80s VSEs (“Very Special Episodes”) where a show like Facts of Life or Diff’rent Strokes would delve into some serious, dark territory? The first half of DXP #245 is kind of like that. After discussing death and loss, we turn our attention in the second half to celebrity comeuppance, fair wage policy, and whether the history of America is really just the history of various forms of fundamentalism. Biebers involve stop signs and T-shirts.               

DXP #244 begins with some thoughts about HBO’s documentary, Leaving Neverland, which leads into a crazy story involving a certain casino and Ted Bundy. We hear back from a recent caller about the minimum wage, and then discuss how scared we should be of automation (things get a bit meta here). We get a bit of pushback about the whole “white Buddhists” thing, and then hear from another caller who has “come out” to his mom about his agnosticism. We end with a voicemail about, (you guessed it!) hell.              

We begin DXP #243 by switching our disparaging remarks about Steven Tyler to a different glamrocker, after which we conclude—we promise—our discussion about scientific materialism and the meaning of life (because such a mundane topic must be so boring for people). We touch briefly upon the Cohen hearing, as well as push back a bit against what we consider to be ridiculous and PC-driven views on race and culture (we surely offend just about everyone here). Biebers involve physical trainers and the Krauts.            

In DXP #242 we debrief a bit about the cruise we just took, after which we hear some pushback we got for being so dishonest (this leads into a discussion about media bias on the left and the right). We discuss a recent hotel-related documentary we watched, prompting a chat about the virtue of wealth. We then spend a fair bit of time fielding the objections we have heard about whether or not scientific materialism is “beautiful” (long-time listeners will appreciate the role-reversal in this discussion).            

In episode #241 of Drunk Ex-Pastors we talk a bit about Bruce Sanguin’s book, Dismantled, discussing the issue of psychedelics and spirituality (prompting an aside about whether Jason has ever really had any true childhood trauma). We take calls from listeners about healthcare and whether minimum wage laws are a good thing, and then turn to our biebers, which are admittedly incredibly “first world” (going on Caribbean cruises can be very challenging).           

In this episode of DXP we talk a bit about the various films nominated for Best Picture (one of us has committed to watch them all before the event, the other hasn’t heard of any of them. We’ll let you guess who’s who). We take a dive into the conservative psyche and discuss whether it’s true that there are crazy zealots “on both sides” (it’s not). Before turning to our biebers—which involve truancy and a certain social media platform—we debate whether life without any afterlife can truly be meaningful.          

Episode #239 of DXP begins with a caller’s lament over our relative happiness, after which we take another listener’s question about the degree (if any) to which we experience “white guilt.” We discuss the communal aspect of sports and whether they are a positive part of society or a mere distraction from what matters. Biebers involve doctors and games that supposedly showcase our vocabularies.         

Episode #238 of Drunk Ex-Pastors begins with a listener’s question about how we’d feel about being undertakers, which then devolves into a self-exploration concerning just how much blatant theft we would be comfortable with (turns out, quite a bit). We discuss Trump and porn a bit (as separate topics, thankfully), and then address the recent Covington Catholic student controversy, bringing a bit of nuance to the issue. Biebers involve taxes and the passage of time.         

DXP #237 begins with a cruel attack on Christian and his obvious speech impediment (words are hard for some people!). We then discuss the recent Gillette ad targeting toxic masculinity, exploring issues like why it is so offensive for certain people to be told there’s room for improvement. We turn our attention to a documentary about social media influencers called The American Meme, discussing the pros and cons of the democratization and digitization of pretty much everything. Biebers involve pins and bad movie logic.        

In DXP #236 we begin with some banter and a shot, after which we turn our attention to the recently leaked audio from Louis CK’s new comedy act (which many have criticized for his supposed mocking of school shooting victims and non-binary people), exploring the role of comedy in our current cultural climate. We then discuss firebrand congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the various controversies surrounding her behavior and agenda. Biebers involve recipes and ice (the room-temp kind you wear).       

In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we spend some time shooting the breeze as usual, after which we address some of the pushback we received over last week's interview with Mark Gober, revisiting such topics as "Can atheists be good people?", "Is materialist science too limiting?", and "Which kinds of spoons are best for bending with our mind?" As is sometimes the case, the two of us disagreed somewhat, but thankfully no one resorted to mind-melding the other. Biebers involved autocorrect and tombstones.       

In this episode #234 of Drunk Ex-Pastors we are challenged by a caller to evaluate our own prejudices concerning people who live in apartments and drink grape soda, after which we chat with author Mark Gober about his new book, An End to Upside-Down Thinking. We explore topics like whether we are really nothing more than our physical, material selves, and what “paranormal” phenomena like ESP, remote viewing, and telepathy have to say about this issue. Biebers involve pumping and left hands.       

In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we chat with Cass Midgley, a former youth pastor and current host of the “Everyone’s Agnostic” podcast. We discuss issues such as the doctrine of eternal torment in the lake of fire and why such an idea might be a tad destructive (apparently being dangled over the yawning chasm of hell is not the healthiest feeling. Who knew?).      

In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors we basically ditch our entire outline in order to address a couple listeners’ questions: What would our lives look like now if we had never left our former church (and do we feel regret over the decision at all?) Another caller leaves a voicemail simply to ask how we are doing on a personal level, to which we respond by getting all vulnerable or whatever. Biebers involve computer monitors and online news sites.     

In this episode of DXP we discuss a recent study whose findings show that men who suffer from issues with their hairlines and/or wieners are more likely to support Donald Trump. This leads to a discussion of toxic masculinity and Christian dominionism more generally. We weigh in on journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and Trump’s non-response, and then move on to biebers involving check-out lines and second-guessing technology.