As the director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative at Good Faith Media, Reverend Doctor Starlette Thomas is passionate!  Listen as she talks with the Exploracast team not only about her deep belief but also her willingness to live out those beliefs. Her words are a challenge for the churchto no longer use race as any sort of separating or defining construct and then to move that unified body outside the walls to take on our culture of division, hatred, and violence. 

Stealing from the famous Ruth Bader Ginsberg quote, we consider another way of discriminating against one another. This time it's about ageism and how easily we can slip into making negative and even pejorative assumptions about others based on how old or how young they are. We even talk about how easily we can also use the same negative thought processes against ourselves.

In this episode we discuss an organization that solelyfocuses on helping non-profit organizations raise the monies they need and how to build stable and sustaining financial infrastructures. Welcome our guest, Todd Heifner, as he talks about the mission of Hope Manifest. But as we discuss this important work, Todd also offers a great word of encouragement to genuinely live in hope and reminding us that the hardest of times historically has brought out the best in many people. 

We can all remember important lessons that we learned when we were younger. There are also those things we reflect on that we wish we had learned sooner but for our stubbornness or youthful pride. Then there are those lessons we learnedconceptually but have a history of struggling to live up to. The team explores these ideas in their own lives and with those they are close to..

What were you taught about anger? Certainly lots of bad things have happened when people are angry. A so-called crime of passion is usually a very poor choice that happens in the heat of anger. But is it the anger that's the culprit or something else? Fact is, no one is able to avoid being angry and we all must learn how to manage and express our anger in ways that are not harmful to others or ourselves. In fact, it can be quite the opposite of harmful. Expressing anger appropriately can be very productive. 

We've spent a lot of time on Exploracast talking about the growing need for better communication and understanding between people, especially if we are to productively face the challenges of our time. As we've discussed this need, we also encounter so many challenges to making it happen. One seems to be the idea that everyone has their own "truth". What do people mean when they use the phrase "my truth"? Are they trying to convey actual facts, share their experience, or stonewall against other ideas? 

It is a long-held idea with many groups and cultures that there are places in this world of power. Often, these are the places we go when we need to make a better connection with that deeper part of life but also places of renewal and heightened self-awareness. Are these places powerful inherently or are they assigned the moniker because we need them or both? Either way, we ask where are your power places and do you need to make a visit?

Everybody is talking about AI and many of these conversations are laced with fear and uncertainty. For today's podcast, the Exploracast team is joined by Dr. Mike McCullough as they begin talking through not only the fears but also some of the enormous positive possibilities that AI may bring. Where do you stand on AI? 

The Camino de Santigo, also known as The Way of St. James, dates back to the 10th century and has been long considered one of the most important pilgrimages in Christendom.Exploracast is pleased to welcome our guest, Scott Wojahn, who completed one of the routes earlier this year. Listen to histhoughtful reflection on what was found on this pilgrimage and in many ways, what he continues to discover these months later.

Oxford Languages defines lamentation as "The passionate expression of grief or sorrow, weeping". In this episode, we have a passionate (maybe even a bit heated!) discussion about how to fully express "grief or sorrow" without falling prey to the urge to throw in the towel and give up trying to change what's bothering us if it is, in fact, changeable.