Growing Up Fundie

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Dr. Andy Thomson: Part 2

In the fall of 2025, my friend and multi-time podcast guest, psychiatrist Dr. Anderson Thomson, proposed an idea for my podcast: He wanted to interview ME.

In his words, I’d spent nearly 200 episodes interviewing guests about their experiences with religious and political deconstruction, but I had never really shared my own personal story. 

So, on January 1st, 2026, we met in-person for the first time and sat for nearly six hours in a reverse-interview. 

Welcome to part 1 of the multi-part series with Dr. Andy Thomson takes the wheel during his podcast-interviewer debut. 

_______________

J. Anderson Thomson Jr. is an American psychiatrist and writer. He is a Trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and board member of the Center for Inquiry. 

He is staff psychiatrist for Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Virginia Student Health Center. 

Thomson acquired his B.A. from Duke University in 1970, he acquired his M.D. from the University of Virginia in 1974, and he did his adult psychiatry training at the University of Virginia from 1974 to 1977.

______________

Check out his book "Why We Believe in Gods" here: https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Believe-God-Concise/dp/0984493212

Dr. Andy Thomson’s Skeptic U presentation for my channel in 2024:

https://youtu.be/haoNNJzzLik?si=m4hR091kwrPVpmIP

Our first interview together in 2023:

https://youtu.be/rl1nLMEkhJs?si=2r2XXtsPsypuq_5a

_______

Support the show

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In the fall of 2025, my friend and multi-time podcast guest, psychiatrist Dr. Anderson Thomson, proposed an idea for my podcast: He wanted to interview ME.

In his words, I’d spent nearly 200 episodes interviewing guests about their experiences with religious and political deconstruction, but I had never really shared my own personal story. 

So, on January 1st, 2026, we met in-person for the first time, and sat for nearly six hours in a reverse-interview. 

Welcome to part 1 of the multi-part series with Dr. Andy Thomson takes the wheel during his podcast-interviewer debut. 

_______________

J. Anderson Thomson Jr. is an American psychiatrist and writer. He is a Trustee of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science and board member of the Center for Inquiry. 

He is staff psychiatrist for Counseling and Psychological Services at the University of Virginia Student Health Center. 

Thomson acquired his B.A. from Duke University in 1970, he acquired his M.D. from the University of Virginia in 1974, and he did his adult psychiatry training at the University of Virginia from 1974 to 1977.

___________________________________

Support the show

Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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Discord: https://discord.gg/XQNG4nD5

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 In celebration of our 4 year Anniversary (GUF launched in December of 2021), we are revisiting (and remastering) some of our earlier episodes' guests, opinions, current events from the past, and to celebrate how far we have come.

The Kavernacle is a political and social commentary content creator, whose YouTube channel features livestreams, podcasts, and more. (Including over 100k subscribers!)

He has an undergraduate degree in History, and Masters in International Relations.

Find Kav on:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoG5ya-sMXNMkqkIz1sZ_Lw

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekavernacle/?hl=en

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheKavernacle

 _________________________________________________

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Check out ond of Sydney's other projects here: https://staxbraceletproject.com/

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Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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In celebration of our 4 year Anniversary (GUF launched in December of 2021), we are revisiting some of our earlier episodes to revisit guests, opinions, current events from the past, and to celebrate how far we have come.

This episode was originally published on December 20th, 2022, via Zoom.

Hemant Mehta is a speaker, activist, and YouTuber who has dedicated his career to normalizing non-religious beliefs, and advocating for those who wish to leave their religions behind but fear the ramifications.

His YouTube channel has amassed nearly 86,000 subscribers and over 11 million views. He also has a podcast, a blog, and a brief appearance on Jeopardy!

His podcast: https://friendlyatheistpodcast.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@FriendlyAtheist1

OnlySky Media  https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/friendly.atheist/?hl=en

The Clergy Project: https://clergyproject.org/

____________

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Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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Discord: https://discord.gg/XQNG4nD5

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In celebration of our 4 year Anniversary (GUF launched in December of 2021), we are revisiting some of our earlier episodes to revisit guests, opinions, current events from the past, and to celebrate how far we have come.

Tim Whitaker from ‘The New Evangelicals’ talks about how he began his mission, ideas that keep him motivated, and what being an ‘Evangelical’ means to him.

Find The New Evangelicals on -

Their Website: https://www.thenewevangelicals.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenewevang...

YouTube:   @thenewevangelicals  

TikTok:   thenewevangelicals   

____________

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Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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Discord: https://discord.gg/XQNG4nD5

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Tiktok clips from this debate have garnered over 1.5 million views and counting

View the full video version of this debate here: 

https://youtu.be/xbBY0S2w1aU?si=h9GEjXmA7H0lNGd6

 From “What is Irrational About My World View?” 
The Conversation Coalitions June 2024 live event in Nashville, TN.
Featuring Sydney Davis Jr. Jr. & Pedro Garcia 

https://www.youtube.com/@TheConversationCoalition

Support the show

Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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(Watch the video-version of this episode here: https://youtu.be/swyLoDOBUK0 )

Gary Parker and Secular Rarity are long-time friends, and co-producers of “The Conversation Coalition,” A group of Nashville Atheist speakers seeking to have friendly and informative conversations with Christians.

They are also part of the team of producers leading NANOCON 2025, a convention of atheists and humanists across the united stats who gather to share ideas, build community, and help dispel the idea that in order to be a good person, you must also follow the teachings of the bible, or any other religion. 

https://www.nanocon.rocks/

Gary Parker on “Growing Up Fundie” 

https://youtu.be/A4yelpwe2mY?si=U8ft7fZ7MlnLU8t1

Secular Rarity on Growing Up Fundie:

https://youtu.be/3K1-G7y3Jwo?si=gaLlQYp0Y22EZ2xF

r/exchristian

https://www.reddit.com/r/exchristian/

r/exmormon

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/

r/christian

https://www.reddit.com/r/Christian/

r/deconstruction

https://www.reddit.com/r/Deconstruction/

 ______________________________________________________

Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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Discord:

https://discord.gg/XQNG4nD5

Our Subreddit: 

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Check out Sydney's other major project here:

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Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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"The Casual Scholars" is a new podcast brought to you by the creator of "Growing Up Fundie," featuring interesting people who know a lot about interesting things.

In this sneak peek of Episode 1:
Adam Hinkle is a Chicago-based actor and filmmaker. He grew up on the east coast, primarily in the Philadelphia suburbs and attended college in Pittsburgh, PA, but relocated to Chicago in 2007 to pursue theatre and film. 

Since then, he has appeared Off-Broadway and with various storefront theatre companies in Chicago, with a focus on television and film within the past several years. 

He made his directing debut with 'The Park,’ a dramatic web series chronicling the trials and tribulations of a fictional group of outreach workers urgently trying to prevent gun and gang violence in a Chicago neighborhood. 

This project took five years to complete and had a successful festival run, garnering several awards in the process. He also made his television debut on 'Chicago Fire,’ and his feature film debut in the horror-slasher "Haunt Season' that was released this past October.

https://adam-hinkle.com/

theparkwebseries.com

@arhinkle (IG, Threads, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube) 

@arhinkle.bsky.social (Bluesky)

@adamrhinkle (Facebook)

https://mickeyosullivan.com/

Support the show

Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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Poulomi Saha is an Associate Professor & Co-Director of the Program in Critical Theory at UC Berkeley. 

They lead a popular course called “Cults and Popular Culture,” which examines, among other things, the idea of naming something a cult, and the reasons human beings are so obsessed with them. 

In an interview with Berkeley News, Saha discussed why it’s important to teach students, especially at a top research university like Berkeley, to look past the label and dig deeper: What was the original intention of a particular organization later labeled a cult? What did it offer? What were its practices? Who joined and why? What does it tell us about spirituality and culture in America?

“What makes a cult different from a religion or a sect, and why the word cult so often produces revulsion or compulsion. I am not interested in diagnosing cults, but rather in understanding how groups and beliefs come to take on that name, and all the feelings and reactions that come with it.”

Poulomi Saha, “Why Are We So Obsessed with Cults” Poulomi Saha on "Why Are We So Obsessed with Cults?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUPJZgo49uk

In her course on Cults, Poulomi Saha Has Students Look Beyond the Headlines 

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/09/12/in-her-course-on-cults-poulomi-saha-has-students-look-beyond-the-headlines/

__________________________________

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View the visual version of this episode here:
https://youtu.be/gcp7w5AypU8

What is Christian Nationalism?

Christian nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting the Christian views of its followers, in order to achieve prominence or dominance in political and social life.

Separation of Church and State (Definition & Details)

https://www.freedomforum.org/separation-of-church-and-state/

American Progress . Org 

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/christian-nationalism-is-single-biggest-threat-to-americas-religious-freedom/

“A History of Christian Nationalism” from NPR.org 

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/09/1260150915/a-history-of-christian-nationalism

Christians Against Christian Nationalism

https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/statement

________________________________________

‪@AndrewLSeidel1‬ is an author and attorney who has defended the First Amendment for more than a decade, both in and out of court.

Andrew dedicated his career to challenging religious privilege, and battling Christian Nationalism. He is currently the VP of strategic communications with “Americans United” (https://www.au.org/get-involved/)

He speaks and writes extensively about religious freedom; and has been profiled by BBC News, Buzzfeed, International Business Times, and more.

Andrew's books:

“The Founding Myth: why christian nationalism is unamerican”

https://a.co/d/6s0bYGt

“American Crusade, how the supreme court is weaponizing religious freedom”

https://a.co/d/eoUQlMg

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

_______________________________________


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Find more “Growing Up Fundie” here:

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