Storymen

Ben Winters returns to dive into his new novel, GOLDEN STATE. It's a detective story set in a dystopian future where telling lies is illegal, so we reflect on the nature of truth and whether it's possible to love a thing too much.

While Kathy's in Paris, we reflect on some pop culture that turns 30 this year. Then we explore how to avoid fights when sharing Jesus. How can we keep our relationship with the other person center? (Plus, seriously, why were there so many great movies in 1989?)

Now that Season 3 of the Good Place has devastated us all, we dive into why we're so fascinated with this show about ethics and the afterlife. Plus, since the whole show is about impostor syndrome, we ask Clay and Kathy to shed some light on this all-too-common experience of feeling like a fraud.

Church attendance is plummeting in the US, but people aren't becoming less spiritual. What's behind the rise of this new paganism? How is the Church contributing?

Despite the push for diversity, college campuses still feel very segregated. Dr. Julie J Park joins us to explore why. We dive into how religious organizations can both help and hurt - and how we can be more intentional about pursuing diversity.

Rachel Held Evans arrives on the Fascinating Podcast! Her latest book, INSPIRED, is all about how to fall in love with the Bible again. We dive into the Gospels to explore exactly what is so good about Jesus' news.

Jose Humphreys returns to take us into the latest animated sensation, Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. We explore this film that breaks ground in representation, animation and storytelling.

In our final episode of the year, we count down our favorite books we read this year. (So if you're still doing Christmas shopping, we got you covered!) What made our lists? What made yours?

What good does short term missions do? Daniel White Hodge returns to the show to explore how we can decolonize missions work. Plus: a deep dive on the death of self-proclaimed missionary John Chau.

What does it mean to be called to a place? In our latest megashow, we're joined by three authors who have been called to very different neighborhoods. Jonathan "Pastah J" Brooks, author of Church Forsaken, pastors in West Englewood, in Chicago. Jose Humphreys, author of Seeing Jesus in East Harlem, pastors in Harlem in New York City. And Ashley Hales, author of Finding Holy in the Suburbs, serves in the suburbs of Los Angeles. We investigate our own places, and how we are listening for God's call.

Advent begins on Sunday, so Clay, Kathy and JR. take some time to reflect on the reason for the season before Christmas. What do we gain by waiting a little longer for Christmas?

Podcaster Knox McCoy returns to the Fascinating Podcast to dive deep into how many of us use pop culture to help us understand who God is.

Latifah Alattas takes us behind the scenes of her latest album DIVORCE. How does one chronicle the ending of a marriage? What's important in recovery? And exactly how many parallel universes are there? All this and more on the latest episode!

Who gets to call themselves 'woke'? What does it mean to be awake to the realities of our world? Author and leadership expert Natasha Robinson joins us as we explore what consciousness looks like today. Her new book is a leadership book like no other.

Historian and horror scholar Scott Poole returns to the podcast just in time for Halloween. His new book explores how the Great War provided the language for horror cinema and literature. Why is horror such an important language for our culture today?

Many of many talents Henry Lien joins us to unravel the mysteries of wu liu - a martial art performed on ice skates. We talk everything from foot-binding to mean girls to girl power!

What unique challenges do minority persons experience when they live and work in majority culture? Author and leadership coach Adrian Pei teaches us how to see the pain of minority persons and engage the past in ways that are redemptive rather than shame-inducing. 

Matt's latest book is a YA fantasy novel. Welcome to the Sunlit Lands, where you can have your heart's desire... for a price. We dive into how he created the world, and why fantasy is such a good space to explore issues of power and privilege.

What is the Fascinating Podcast? The StoryMen is no more. We're now the Fascinating Podcast. And welcome our new co-host, author Kathy Khang! Since Kathy's new book, RAISE YOUR VOICE, just came out, she starts out in the hot seat! So pull up a chair. We're just getting started!

Allison Fallon returns to the StoryMen. Since she was last with us, her life has been turned upside down. She shares the journey from her new book, Indestructible. We explore trauma, how we recover and the healing power of writing your story.