Whiplash with Maxwell Kuzma

In this episode, we’re joined by Theo, the creator and host of Disordered: Responding to Catholic Teachings on Gender and Sexuality. Their podcast takes on the harmful narratives that many conservative Catholic voices promote about LGBTQ people—arguments that are often cloaked in the language of love and pastoral care, but ultimately rely on shame, fear, and pseudoscience. Episode by episode (there are 5), Theo dismantles these claims with clarity, lived experience, and a deep understanding of the Church’s own teachings.

Check out their podcast (only on Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/5KGCDh8YLjn7J8Ur11iaWp

Together, we talk about the joy and solidarity that comes from sharing space with other queer Catholics, and the power of speaking truthfully about what we’ve survived. We reflect on how familiar rhetoric from figures like Jason Evert and Fr. Mike Schmitz shaped our understandings of ourselves—and how Theo’s work helps expose the holes in those narratives. If you’ve ever been told that queerness is a wound to be healed, this conversation is for you. And after listening, we highly encourage you to check out Theo’s podcast, Disordered, available now on Spotify.

Content warning: This episode includes discussions of transphobia, conversion therapy, religious trauma, and Side B theology.

Raised in the Lamb of God Covenant Community, Audrey Clare Farley grew up in a tightly controlled environment shaped by charismatic Catholicism, rigid gender roles, and a theology that demanded obedience at all costs. Now a historian and author, Audrey reflects on how that formative experience shaped her work on eugenics, religious fundamentalism, and the ways society constructs categories like “madness” and “monstrosity” to justify violence.

In this conversation, Audrey joins Max and Emma to discuss the quiet violence of spiritual abuse, how high-control religious spaces blur the lines between holiness and harm, and why storytelling is vital for recovery and resistance. Together, we explore what happens when faith communities become more invested in control than care—and how reclaiming your voice can be an act of liberation. Look out for the recap essay on our Substack, which functions as long-form show notes and will include relevant links to Audrey’s work and more.

Content statement: Before you listen to this episode, take a beat. Today's episode features discussions of clergy sex abuse, sexual assault, purity culture, grief and loss. As someone who lived through purity culture, Emma knows that discussions of virginity can be especially triggering to many of us, so before diving in, take a breath and assess where you are. If you're not in a good spot right now, feel free to come back later. We really appreciate you holding space with us and taking care of yourselves. The conversations we have are difficult but important, but to create change, we need to respect and maintain our boundaries and prioritize our well being.

What does it mean to investigate the Church you still call home? And what happens when Catholic media itself becomes a tool of control?

This week on Whiplash, we continue our High-Control Catholicism series with a powerful conversation with journalist, editor, and teacher Heidi Schlumpf. Heidi reflects on her career investigating the Catholic Church from within, and what it means to report on far-right Catholic media empires as a person of faith. Together we explore the tensions of holding institutions accountable while still being rooted in the tradition — from covering figures like Matthew Kelly to chronicling the rise of conservative movements in Catholic media and politics.

We also talk about the challenge of teaching Catholic Social Teaching to a new generation, and the bridge liberal Catholics have built between the past and the present. This is a conversation about faith, power, resilience, and what it means to speak the truth even in high-control spaces.

Full show notes and a deeper written recap of this episode are available in our Substack essay, published two days after the show airs. https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/podcast

What happens when faith becomes more about control than love? In this episode, we kick off our High Control Catholicism series by unpacking the patterns of authoritarianism, rigidity, and fear that show up in certain corners of the Catholic Church—from the windswept plains of St. Marys, Kansas to the halls of Opus Dei and Franciscan University. We share stories from our readers, reflect on our own encounters with high-control dynamics, and explore how seemingly small practices, like the Marian consecration chain bracelet, reinforce a culture of conformity.This series isn’t about condemnation—it’s about naming what so many of us have experienced but didn’t always have language for. Whether you grew up in a traditionalist parish, encountered Catholic fundamentalism in college, or just want to understand how these patterns emerge, this conversation offers tools to help you see and speak about them. Share your own story in the comments—we’d love to hear from you. And don’t forget to subscribe for more deep dives on faith, power, and healing.Check out our longform written essay on St. Marys here: https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/p/out-of-time-catholic-separatism-in

Kaya Oakes is a Catholic writer, feminist, teacher, and author of Radical Reinvention, The Defiant Middle, and most recently, Not So Sorry. Kaya’s work wrestles with some of the deepest tensions in faith: grief and joy, resistance and belonging, accountability and forgiveness. In this conversation, we explore her journey from Catholic schoolgirl to Bay Area punk activist and back to church on her own terms, her critique of how institutions weaponize forgiveness against survivors, and her vision for a more honest, embodied, and inclusive Catholicism.

We also discuss the impact of purity culture, queer joy, respectability politics in church spaces, and why she calls herself an “accomplice” to the queer community. Kaya challenges both secular and religious narratives that demand reconciliation without accountability — and reminds us that Catholicism can and must evolve.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of sexual abuse, conversion therapy, purity culture, family estrangement, cancer, and loss. Please take care while listening.

In this special Pride Month episode of Whiplash, Max and Emma sit down with Evelyn Lundy, cohost of the podcast Leave, Laugh, Love, to talk about queer awakening, Catholic deconstruction, and what happens when faith communities can’t hold the fullness of who we are. Evelyn shares her journey from youth group devotion to Franciscan University, where a mix of theology classes, queer Catholic classmates, and a whole lot of fundamentalism led her to start questioning everything. It's a conversation filled with honesty, laughter, and a few eyebrow-raising stories—yes, including Catholic monarchists.But this episode is also about reclaiming what was left out. Emma puts on her “history hat” to lead a deep dive into the roots of Pride Month, tracing the stories, resistance, and erasure that shaped our understanding of queerness and liberation. Together, we reflect on what it means to unlearn harmful theology, remember queer history, and take pride in becoming who we are. Whether you're in the church, out of it, or still sorting things out—this one’s for you.

Dani (@andhersaints) is a queer Catholic artist who grew up in an Opus Dei all-girls high school, where they were assigned to make religious art long before they believed in God. What started as a reluctant chore became a source of spiritual freedom. In this episode, Dani shares how they reclaimed Catholic imagery through humor, creativity, and queer embodiment—transforming saints from symbols of repression into icons of resistance and joy.

We talk about everything from St. Thérèse of Lisieux to the gay subtext in Michelangelo’s art, from side-eyed Tumblr theology to the healing power of silliness. Dani reminds us that many queer people have always found refuge and expression through art in the Church—and that no one should have to justify their dignity in order to belong.

Whether you’ve wrestled with your faith or just love weird saint trivia, this episode is a playful, powerful look at what happens when queer people take back the canvas.

Twenty-five years ago, Shannon Vavich heard someone say, “It will all be better when there’s a Catholic king.” At the time, it sounded like fringe fantasy. But today, she sees that same dream resurfacing in the far-right Catholic movement, Project 2025, and a growing push toward theocracy. In this episode, Shannon—a progressive Catholic and outspoken critic of far-right groups—joins us to talk about how authoritarian ideals are quietly gaining ground under the guise of faith.

From her time inside Opus Dei circles in North Carolina to raising seven children outside of purity culture, Shannon shares how monarchy, gender roles, and natalist ideology are being used to control families and communities. We talk about what it takes to resist these forces—and why rejecting Catholic extremism is not a rejection of faith, but a defense of it.

What happens when doctrine demands obedience, but love calls you to something deeper? In this episode, we speak with Julie, a Catholic mother from Texas whose journey took her from conservative Anglicanism to the Catholic Church—and eventually into full affirmation of her LGBTQ+ children. Along the way, she confronted the harms of fundamentalism, rejected fear-based theology, and embraced the radical call to love without condition.Julie now works with Mama Dragons, leads an interfaith support group for parents, and organizes Pride events for LGBTQ+ youth—all while remaining deeply rooted in her Catholic faith. Her story is a testament to what happens when we put compassion before control and choose to let love, not fear, guide our families and our faith. Whether you’re a parent, a faith leader, or someone healing from the wounds of religious rejection, we hope this episode invites you into a deeper conversation about affirmation, accountability, and the kind of Church our children deserve.

In this episode of Whiplash, we sit down with our friend Jessica—a musician, theologian, and educator who grew up in a relaxed, West Coast version of Catholicism that stood in sharp contrast to the rigid forms Emma and I were raised with. From youth ministry to music, Jessica shares how her understanding of faith, aesthetics, and queerness evolved over time, eventually leading her to teach theology with a deep awareness of power, vulnerability, and liberation.

Together, we unpack the sometime-codependent culture of Catholic ministry, the aesthetics of faith as performance, and the reality of queer exclusion in the church. It’s a tender, thoughtful conversation about healing, holding complexity, and finding God beyond the roles we were handed.