This Fire

This month on This Fire, we’re looking at the April 1989 episode of Fire By Nite: “Idols in Your Life”, as we explore just how Evangelical Christians warned themselves about the pitfalls of worshipping false idols…and then promptly fell into a decades long pattern of electing them into office.

PLUS, the return of Christianity’s own American Idol: The man, the myth, the MAGA entertainer in the making - CARMAN! 

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This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic. 

Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or at AcquireThisFire.com

Join us for a look back at the last 3 years of Fire By Nite musical guests as Steve and Alec finalize the very first THIS FIRE MIXTAPE.
 
We’re sequencing, we’re toasting, we’re roasting, and above all we’re giving up props to the tunes that made 1986-1988 such a watershed time for the CCM industry. If you’re in the mood for an upbeat and SHOCKINGLY free from snark episode of This Fire, you’ve come to the right place!

This week on a very special bonus episode of This Fire, we take a break from our analysis of Fire By Nite, and instead sidestep into the world of faith based programming aimed at the elementary school set, as we embark upon the first episode of our brand new sub-series ‘This Fire: Kids Klub’!!

And on this maiden voyage into early childhood centric content, we look at the pilot episode of co-host Alec’s favorite walking, talking, Bible memorizing computer - that’s right, it’s Colby’s Place! With special guest, Fire By Nite alumnus, Christian skateboarder Andre Walton!
 
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This Fire is (usually) taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic. This one is a bonus Satanic panic media critique episode!

Tis the season, and you know what that means. Warm glass of eggnog, the yule log burning in the fireplace, and of course ‘This Fire’ playing in your headphones as you try and avoid problematic family members at your holiday get together.

And this year Steve and Alec have a doozy for you, as they explore the 1989 Christmas classic: Turmoil in the Toybox 2. Your guide to the DEMONICALLY INFLUENCED toys and games your child might ask for this holiday season…or, well, your nostalgic 40 year old child might ask for this holiday season. Do the kids today still like He-Man?

Find out which dolls and board games were on your evangelical parents’ naughty list 36 years ago, with this stroll down Satanic panic lit memory lane!
 
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This Fire is (usually) taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic. This one is a bonus Satanic panic media critique episode!
Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or at AcquireThisFire.com

Hey bruh, it’s time to get radical for Christ, as This Fire looks at the March 1989 episode of Fire By Nite - “Finding Your Place In God”.

We got skateboarding for Jesus. Stand-up comedy for Jesus. Going to 3rd world countries for Jesus. Anything you want? We got it. Anything you wanna do? Do it. (Editors Note: As long as its for Jesus.)

Everyone’s got a role to play in the body of Christ, what appendage will you be?

When we tell you this episode has everything, trust we mean EVERYTHING. Jesus, Satan, a French speaking Mother Mary, a man and a woman using allegations of ritual abuse to mask the fact that they’re clearly having an affair.
 
That’s right! This week we get back to the root of our evil, and FINALLY polish off seminal Satanic Panic tome: Michelle Remembers, on this extra special SUPER-SIZED episode of This Fire!
 
CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of child abuse, sexual assault, murder, and (supposed) Satanic ritual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Picture this. It’s 4pm, on a sleepy May 1989 afternoon. You just got home from school, you want to settle in for some Duck Tales, but your mom flips the channel for her daily dose of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
 
Only on this episode, Oprah’s not talking to the celebrity of the day about their new movie, or to some self help guru turned author. Nope, today she’s detailing grizzly murders, baby sacrifice, generational Satanists, and the psychologists just trying to make sense of it all.
 
That’s right, today on This Fire we take a look back at Oprah’s May 1st 1989 episode, where everyone’s mom’s favorite day time talk show host cribs directly from Fire By Nite’s homework and “exposes” Satanic ritual sacrifice happening from sea to shining sea, and maybe even in your own backyard!

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!!

Its time to learn the RIGHT and WRONG way to beat yourself up, as this month we take a look at the February 1989 episode of Fire By Nite: “Why Feel Guilt?”
 
Youth groups often get accused of breaking kids down, demolishing their self esteem, so that they can be built back up in the image of God (or…maybe just the image of whichever church they were at’s youth pastor). But here, Blaine and crew let us know that it’s not all self flagellation and internalized hatred. Sometimes kids? Things aren’t your fault…except when they are…but sometimes they aren’t!

I dunno, it’s all a bit murky. At least we’ve got the dulcet tones of CCM rocker girl Margaret Becker to look forward to!
 
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This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic.
 
Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or at AcquireThisFire.com

This week, we’ve officially stared into Fire By Nite long so long, that Fire By Nite has started to stare BACK, as we welcome to the show Clarence Stanley himself…the one, the only, Chris Theis!!
 
Our conversation runs the gamut, from the origin of Fire By Nite itself, to CCM music videos shot in irradiated desert towns, to the time the FBN production crew brought a Satanic Bible to set!
 
You DON’T wanna miss this one!
 

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This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic.
 
Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or at AcquireThisFire.com

Teen Mania Ministries. From the very start it’s been a through-line of our survey of Fire By Nite, and one that will be there til the bitter end of FBN’s run in 1994.
 
In light of a certain recent docuseries, we felt there was no better time to have our first (but certainly not last) conversation focusing on Teen Mania’s influence on the broader Gen-X/Millennial Youth Group culture; and what better place to start than with someone who back in the 1990s was a regular attendee of Acquire the Fire and Teen Mania affiliated events - our sister from another mister (and very first guest) Molly!

Join us for a candid conversation about growing up, and growing out, of the evangelical world in the 90s, set against the backdrop of Ron Luce’s expanding empire of teen warriors for Christ. 

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This Fire is taking an in depth look at Fire By Nite - a Christian teen variety show produced at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic.
 
Subscribe NOW wherever you find your podcasts, or on AcquireThisFire.com