Whiplash with Maxwell Kuzma

For more than five years, I’ve had the privilege of working with Corey Harvard, Executive Director of Prism United, to tell the stories of LGBTQ+ people in Southwest Alabama. In this episode of Whiplash, Corey and I talk about how that collaboration began, why storytelling became such an important part of Prism’s work, and what it means to document the lives of LGBTQ+ people in a community that doesn’t always get the attention—or the resources—it deserves. Prism United began as a grassroots effort supporting LGBTQ+ youth and has grown into a community-rooted organization offering support, connection, mental health resources, education, and advocacy.

We also talk about what happens when you give people the opportunity to tell their own stories: the visibility that comes from seeing yourself represented, the relationships that develop behind the camera, and the ways documentary storytelling can become a form of community-building in its own right. This conversation is personal for me because these projects have allowed me to do something I care deeply about as a filmmaker—to make space for people to be seen and heard in their own words. Learn more about Prism United and their work serving LGBTQ+ youth and their loved ones in Southwest Alabama at prismunited.org.

In this episode of Whiplash, Max sits down with the Reverend Liz Edman, Episcopal priest and author of Queer Virtue, to explore what queer experience can teach Christianity. Rather than treating queerness as simply an identity to be debated or affirmed, Edman argues that it offers a theological lens—one that challenges false binaries, cultivates virtues like courage and truth-telling, and invites Christians into a richer understanding of vocation, community, and faith.

Together, Max and Liz discuss the spiritual significance of coming out, the role of human suffering in theological reflection, the dangers of fundamentalism, and why Christianity has much to learn from those who have long lived at its margins. Whether you're interested in queer theology, Christian ethics, or simply looking for a deeper conversation about faith and human flourishing, this episode offers a thoughtful and compelling invitation to see Christianity through a new lens.

To stay up to date on new podcast episodes, essays, and other projects, subscribe with your email at https://MaxwellKuzma.substack.com.

Also, if you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out Maxwell's recent webinar with Tyler Bieber on his biography of Fr. Tom Oddo, now available on the LGBTQ Religious Archive Network YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Jreo7n4DFUUPjR9u&v=TL9dPT4Y85I&feature=youtu.be

In this episode, I reflect on the recent New York Times essay by Matthew Vines, "I'm Gay, Not Queer. It Matters," and use it as a starting point for a broader conversation about what queer means to me. As a transgender Catholic, I've come to understand queerness not simply as a label for sexual orientation or gender identity, but as a way of living beyond society's assumptions about what is "normal" or "default." We explore why these conversations matter in a time of renewed backlash against LGBTQ people, how my faith has shaped my understanding of identity and belonging, and why I believe the Gospel has always made room for lives that challenge conventional expectations.

For more podcast episodes and essays, subscribe at: https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/

The Vatican's declaration that the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is in schism immediately ignited debate across Catholic social media. Why was the SSPX declared schismatic? Why not other controversial Catholics? In this episode, we move beyond the memes and culture-war talking points to explain what schism actually means in Catholic theology, the history of the SSPX, and why this moment has become such a flashpoint in online Catholic discourse. Together, we explore how questions of authority, history, and politics shape the stories Catholics tell about who's "faithful," who's "rebellious," and what the Church is actually responding to.

If you'd like to dive deeper into the SSPX and the separatist Catholic community in St. Marys, Kansas, check out Max and Emma’s long-form essay, "Out of Time: Catholic Separatism in St. Marys, Kansas," originally published as part of the “High Control Catholicism” series:

https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/p/out-of-time-catholic-separatism-in

The article provides additional historical background on the SSPX, its culture, and the broader phenomenon of Catholic separatism that complements this week's conversation.

For many Catholics, the story of racism and justice is often taught in fragments — as individual moments of prejudice rather than as part of a larger arc of history that continues to shape people’s lives today. Issues like policing, incarceration, housing, employment, and the criminalization of drug use are deeply connected to histories of racial inequality that have shaped the experiences of Black communities, including Black Catholics seeking to live out their faith in a society and Church that have not always fully recognized their dignity.

In this conversation, I’m joined by Alessandra Harris to explore the importance of learning Black Catholic history as an essential part of understanding the Church itself. We talk about what it has meant for Black Catholics to navigate racism in society while also confronting the ways the Catholic Church has often been slow to respond to these realities, and why listening to these stories is necessary for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of the Catholic tradition.

Learn more about Alessandra’s work: https://alessandraharris.net/

What is missing from my understanding of the Black Catholic experience?

In this episode, I reflect on what I’ve been learning about the history of Catholic involvement in slavery, the development of Black Catholic thought, and the ways Black Catholics have challenged the Church to more fully live into its teachings on justice and human dignity.

This conversation draws from the work of Black Catholic journalists, including reporting from the Black Catholic Messenger, as well as historians and theologians such as Alessandra Harris, Fr. Bryan Massingale, and James H. Cone.

This episode is not meant to speak for Black Catholics or provide a definitive account of Black Catholic history. Instead, it is a reflection on my own learning process as a white Catholic: the questions I’ve been asking, the gaps I’ve discovered in my own formation, and the history I’m continuing to learn.

My next episode features a Black Catholic guest, Alessandra Harris, as we continue this conversation through her work and scholarship.

What kind of God is being presented to LGBTQ Catholics? In this episode, Max and Emma respond to Fr. Mike Schmitz and Kim Zember's recent EWTN video "Can You Be Gay and Catholic?" and argue that beneath the conversation lies a troubling image of God—one that encourages self-doubt, scrupulosity, and fear rather than dignity, relationship, and freedom. From purity culture and evangelical testimony narratives to same-sex weddings and Catholic teaching, they explore how theology shapes people's lives and ask a simple question: if the Gospel is good news, why does this message feel so bad?

This Pride Month, Max explores what Pride means through the lens of transgender identity, liberation, and faith. Beginning with the history of Stonewall and the central role that transgender and gender-nonconforming people played in the Gay Liberation movement, this episode examines why Pride remains both a celebration and a protest. Drawing on scripture, queer history, and contemporary reflections on trans life, Max argues that trans people are not merely part of the story of Pride—they help reveal a deeper truth about human freedom, transformation, and possibility. In a world that often fears change, transness offers a powerful reminder that, as the prophet Isaiah writes, God is always "doing a new thing."

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In this episode, I break down Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, offering both a clear overview of its main themes and a deeper reflection on what it means theologically and politically. The document engages artificial intelligence, modern warfare, labor, and global inequality through the lens of Catholic Social Doctrine, including striking moments like its critique of “just war” theory and its acknowledgment of the Church’s historical role in slavery. But beyond summary, I also explore what it feels like to read a text that is at once significant and limited—especially from the perspective of liberation theology and my own experience as a transgender Catholic formed at the margins of the Church. This episode asks what it means when institutional theology begins to name realities that marginalized communities have long been living and thinking through, and why that tension between excitement and frustration might actually be the most important part.

Check out more of my work at: https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/

Today I’m joined by Dr. Ish Ruiz for a conversation about queer theology—what it means to “queer” theology itself, and how that moves us beyond questions of simple inclusion into deeper questions about scripture, doctrine, tradition, and power. We explore what shifts when theology is approached from the margins rather than assumed centers, and how queer theology opens up more liberatory and expansive ways of understanding God and the Church.

Dr. Ish Ruiz is an assistant professor of Latinx and Queer Decolonial Theology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. His work sits at the intersections of queer theology, Catholicism, Latinx theology, sexual ethics, liberation, and ecclesiology, shaped by both academic scholarship and years of ministry alongside LGBTQ Catholics. In this conversation, we also discuss his theological vision for the Church, his two recent books—LGBTQ+ Educators in Catholic Schools: Embracing Inclusivity, Synodality, and Justice and Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions—and the pastoral importance of remembering the inherent dignity and belovedness of LGBTQ people.
To learn more about Dr. Ish Ruiz and his work, visit his website here: https://www.ishruiz.com/