Growing Up Christian

This week is all about church boomers tangling with technology! There has been a plethora of stories involving older religious figures embarrassing themselves on the internet, and we selected a few of our favorites to discuss. We have the hapless head honcho of Hillsong’s “hacked account” tweets, the band of benevolent nuns burgled by bogus AI bishops, and finally, the salacious self-sabotage of a sanctimonious Catholic shock jock. Strap on those boots, Christian soldiers! We’ve got muck to rake…

Our guest this week is musician, producer, and artist Angel Marcloid, also known as Fire-Toolz! Angel grew up in church, and has seen their relationship with faith evolve substantially, over the years. Whether you’re talking about their music, visual art, or adventurous, open-minded approach to spirituality, Angel is a fascinating person and Fire-Toolz is a truly unique passion project! For links to anything and everything, go to www.linktr.ee/fire_toolz!

This week we’re joined once again by our good friend and fantastic comedian, Spencer Bland! We kick things off talking about the “He Gets Us” Super Bowl commercial that’s caused an absolute uproar. Tempers are flaring on all sides of this one… Then we trudge into the slippery, slimy, putrid swamp that is Christian Healthshare - a controvertial and uniquely-American industry bodysurfing a wave of partisan indignance, legislative corruption, and spiritual bankruptcy toward the rocky shores of financial insolvency. The past 15 years has seen healthshare participation swell from less than 50k to well over a million members in spite of the fact that 1) it’s not healthcare, 2) it’s largely unregulated, and 3) it’s full of conartists and charlatans. While there are plenty of people who are plenty happy with their healthshare plans, the whole industry stinks… stinks like a butt. We love hanging out with Spencer, and we’re big fans of his comedy! Follow him on Instagram and YouTube (@spencerspicy), TikTok (@spencerspicyy), and visit www.godsfavoritecomedian.com for show dates and his comedy special “Dinner at 4pm!”

Articles Referenced:

A Christian Ministry Promised An Obamacare Alternative. The FBI Says Its Leaders Pocketed $4 Million And Left Members With Thousands In Unpaid Medical Bills

A Christian Health Nonprofit Saddled Thousands With Debt as It Built a Family Empire Including a Pot Farm, a Bank and an Airline

P.S. Shoutout to the listener that turned us onto such an interesting topic. Thanks for the suggestion!

This week we’re joined by trauma surgeon and podcaster Rebecca Joy Nappi, a woman who 4 years ago left her father’s cult for good. Rebecca made this difficult choice after 20+ years of indoctrination, guilt, and conditioning to spare her children from those harmful and dehumanizing ideas, and in doing so, she left behind her family, her friends, and the community that had been her home. This is a fascinating conversation, and it’s a great segway into her new podcast, Breaking Free! Rebecca posted her first episode on January 5th, and there are now four episodes that trace her early childhood, life as a young adult under her father’s leadership, the unusual doctrines that the church held, and the circumstances and fallout of her eventual exit from the group. It’s a powerful, fascinating show, and we can’t recommend it enough! Stream Breaking Free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify (search “Breaking Free” and look for the hot air balloon silhouette) and subscribe to the show to keep up to date with new episodes.

This week we’re taking a look at Eli and Kaitlyn Regalado, an online pastor and his wife who’s recent legal troubles surrounding their spirit-filled cryptocurrency debacle has gone viral in a big way. The Regalados are making headlines are being charged with fraud for selling a worthless cryptocurrency to their congregants using all the tried and true prosperity Gospel word vomit. They fleeced their followers for over $3m, and are accused of squandering at least $1.2m of that on their lavish lifestyle and, you know, a quarter of a million dollar home renovation that “the Lord told them to do.” It’s a fascinating story that we have a lot of fun with, and will continue to follow as the Regalado’s legal battle continues!

But first, we have to hash through a discovery that Sam has been aching to discuss: a 15-year-old Facebook survey that young Casey posted back in the day. As you might imagine, it’s aged suuuuper well…

This week we’re joined by an absolutely hilarious comedian, Imani (interview begins at 33:30)! Imani spent her early years in Fort Hood, TX, where her family attended what you might classify as a typical Evangelical mega church. However, when they moved back to Oregon and joined here grandfather’s more traditional, conservative, predominantly-black church, her home life took a drastic turn that no one could have predicted (I’ll leave it at that so as not to spoil the story)… We were really excited to talk to Imani after sharing so many of her comedy clips back and forth! Follow her on Instagram & YouTube (@imanidenae_), TikTok & X (@_wierdhoe), and if you’re in the Portland area, keep an eye out for upcoming dates!

But first, Casey and April Gloria (@_aprilgloria) take a second look at the Game Genie of all dating books: “Marriable: Taking the Desperate Out of Dating” by Hayley and Michael DiMarco. We’re focusing in on a chapter titled “Nice Guys Really Do Finish Last” in which Hayley and Michael give us the nuanced explanation of male and female psyches we’ve all been waiting for. You’re going to want to take notes…

This week we’re joined by John Ryan, saxophonist and vocalist for Keep Flying (one of Sam’s absolute favorite bands)! John grew up Catholic on Long Island, and is a longtime music industry insider. Whether he was playing in a band or booking and managing tours for other acts, he’s one of those guys that’s seen a lot of country and met a lot of people. We had a great time talking to him, and we can’t recommend Keep Flying enough! Follow them on Instagram, X, and YouTube (@keepflyingband), and visit their website (www.keepflying.band) for more info!

This week we unknowingly bit into a HUGE topic that factors that has peaked the curiosity of theologians, scholars, and lunatics alike: the Book of Enoch! This ancient extra-Biblical tome expands upon the brief story in Genesis 6 about angels who “took human wives” and gave birth to giants. The supernatural implications of the Book of Enoch have made it a favorite reference among people with less-than-conventional views, and you don’t have to dig too far into modern commentary to find phrases like “human-reptilian hybrid breeding programs” or “this validates cross cultural accounts of vampires” or “inter-dimensional Annunaki magic artifacts…” it’s a fun topic, and we hope you enjoy the show!

Our guest this week is producer and musician Danny Couture! Danny grew up in Massachusetts in the same church as Sam, and went on to find success in the music business. He is a Billboard-charting producer and has worked side-by-side with the likes of Marshmello, Lil Wayne, 24KGoldn, 2KBABY, Morray, and Rico Nasty, as well as ESPN and Space Jam: A New Legacy! Follow Danny on Instagram (@dannycouture), X and TikTok (@dannycouture_), and go to https://hoo.be/dannycouture for links to his music!

Our guest this week is our longtime friend and one of the most interesting and wholesome people in our lives, Dave Smith! Dave was one of our fellow angsty scene kids back at Liberty University and has gone on to do so many cool things. He’s travelled all over the country, worked at mushroom and film festivals, guided whitewater rafting trips in Alaska, etc etc etc. Dave is a genuinely great guy, and we had so much fun talking to him that this turned into our longest episode ever! Follow him on Instagram (@snarfersnarf), and check out the video he put together about his summer in Alaska: https://youtu.be/TjR-btKXEX4?si=A2lk3j5a2feOq32u