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Welcome back to today’s podcast, a place where we share stories of awakenings—those moments when life disrupts the script and invites us into deeper truth, healing, and courage.

Today’s conversation is especially timely and tender. My guest is Susan Reedy, a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in trauma recovery and resiliency. Susan works with people navigating grief and loss, traumatic experiences, life transitions, and anxiety—and she also trains other therapists in the skills of trauma-informed care, including the Trauma Resiliency Model.

Susan’s own story includes powerful awakenings: growing up in the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong, the long work of de-programming from religious control, and her early work with traumatized children. We’ll talk openly about religious trauma, a theme that shows up often on this podcast, and connect it to broader cultural and political stress many of us are carrying right now.

We’ll also revisit the Altadena fires—how quickly they spread, the scope of destruction, and the deeply human stories of loss that followed. Along the way, Susan helps us understand what trauma is, why trauma therapy matters, and what healing and wellness can actually look like after everything falls apart.

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Today’s episode is an invitation to listen closely—to grief, to courage, and to the hard work of hope. My guest is Darcy McKenzie, a social and political activist in Minneapolis, and our conversation begins where so many lives were altered: George Floyd. Where were you when it happened? What was your response? How did it change you? Darcy answers those questions with honesty shaped by experience—growing up in rural, agricultural America; living with a tenuous relationship to the Church; and carrying the layered truths of atrocities we too often rush past, including the tragic shooting death of Renee Nicole Good.

We talk about Minneapolis in the shadow of ICE, about video evidence without a hearing, about the politics of spectacle—cowboy hats and bounty promises—and about what it means to be a military mom when the state feels like a regime. Along the way, Darcy names political heroes and builders—people like Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Brian O’Hare, and Paul Cumings—and asks what real leadership looks like now.

Most of all, we ask what we’re hoping for in 2026, and why optimism—clear-eyed, grounded optimism—still makes sense.

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Welcome to Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse — where we sift through the chaos and try to make sense of what’s really going on. From the heavy-handed ICE “invasion” of Minneapolis, where thousands of federal agents’ enforcement surge has sparked protests after the shootings and the unnecessary death of Renee Nicole Good. We unpack the video evidence, no hearings, and public outrage over federal power in local streets. Connecting the dots, we’ll talk about Tom Homan’s $50K bounties, Kristi Noem’s cowboy-hat politics, then on to Pete Buttigieg at the Detroit Auto Show, and Rick Wilson’s most recent commentary - “Stopping vs. Ending.” From Jerome Powell and the Fed, America First abroad, Venezuela’s leadership, Nobel chatter around María Corina Machado, to gaudy gold trim in Mar-a-Lago — it’s all here.

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Welcome to The Beached White Male podcast—and to a milestone moment. As the show approaches 500 episodes and more than 75,000 downloads, this episode looks back at how it all began - why the continued commitment to the name (Beached White Male) - and anticipates what lies ahead.

What started as a book project—and some unexpected advice to “start a podcast instead”—grew out of conversations around racial reconciliation and a first improvised interview recorded in a hotel room. Now in its seventh year, firmly planted in retirement, Ken revels in the freedom of open conversations with powerful guests - courageous authors and influencers who share Ken’s passion.

The coming season promises deeper dives into the social and moral questions shaping public life at the intersection of Christianity and American power. Expect thoughtful guests, honest laughter, and questions that challenge assumptions without trying to win arguments. This is a space for curiosity, humility, and better conversations.

Welcome to Season 7.

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As Ken Fong and I wrap up another year of 2KENS, we wanted to create space not just to review what happened in 2025, but to reflect on what still matters—and what gives us reason to hope. This year-end conversation is grounded in honesty, but it’s also shaped by gratitude: for friendship, for thoughtful listeners, and for the enduring power of dialogue in unsettled times.

We revisit the major moments that defined the year—from the inauguration and its ripple effects across government and culture, to global flashpoints in Ukraine and the Middle East, to the economic and political tremors felt here at home. Along the way, Ken and I try to hold two things together: a clear-eyed look at power and policy, and a belief that democratic institutions, civic engagement, and moral imagination are still very much alive.

We also note signs of resilience—voters showing up in off-year elections, communities refusing to disengage, and people across the spectrum asking better questions about leadership, accountability, and the common good. Even amid executive overreach, cultural division, and international instability, the story of 2025 is not only about what was broken, but about what endured.

This episode is less about having the last word and more about keeping the conversation going. If you’re looking for reflection without despair and realism anchored in hope, listen in.

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Welcome to another Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse—a conversation shaped this week by Christmas, contradiction, and the uneasy beauty of holding hope and lament at the same time.

We start with sacred Christmas music. Betsey’s recent church experience reminded her of why Advent refuses to be sentimental. From dazzling GOVEE lights to the Moody Church Christmas concert (both of us have Chicago roots), from neighborhood parades with sirens, golf carts, and off-road vehicles to San Diego’s LIGHTSCAPE, joy is everywhere—but it’s never uncomplicated. A youth group performing a hip-hop retelling of the Bethlehem story captured it perfectly: ancient hope, modern urgency.

And then there’s the lament. Alta Dena, where fires erased hundreds of homes. A Christmas season shadowed by loss. Rob Reiner’s tragic end — and the President’s responding with a post so ugly it united people in disgust. I’ve been writing about this tension in my Substack, A Christmas Lament, because Advent lives right there—between what is broken and what we still dare to hope for.

Betsey and I also dig into politics and power: what democracy looks like when institutions—from the Walk of Fame to the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian to the U.S. Institute of Peace—are tested.

We’ll end on a grace note: my granddaughter playing The Secret Garden - a solo on her new violin at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, and dreams of a European tour—Prague and Vienna calling.

Hope still sings.

Merry Christmas!

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As we close out the year, I’m bringing back one of our most compelling and courageous voices—Nate Manderson—for his sixth appearance on the podcast. And trust me, this conversation lands with urgency, clarity, and fire.

Nate’s journey—from the docks to the classroom, from seminary at Gordon-Conwell to the front lines of working-class advocacy—has shaped him into a writer and thinker who refuses easy answers. You’ve read his work in Baptist News Global, The Boston Globe, and Salon.com. This time, we dig deep into his December article, “Reclaiming Christianity from Evangelical Hypocrites,” and ask what finally motivated him to write it.

We talk about Christian nationalism, MAGA Christianity, and why the public face of faith today feels so disconnected from the teachings of Jesus—especially for women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, and the poor. We unpack the obsession with “family values,” the hypocrisy surrounding power and profit, and the way evangelicalism has become a very lucrative brand.

Nate still identifies as a Christian—but not that version. He offers a different set of priorities: under-resourced schools, desperate communities, a path to citizenship, healthcare, and an unapologetic commitment to the working class. It’s a bracing contrast between two competing visions of Jesus—and two very different futures.

We close with Nate’s predictions for 2026: the midterms, healthcare battles, MAGA Republicanism, and what the 250-year American experiment might demand of us next.

This is not a polite conversation. It’s an honest one—and a necessary way to end the year.

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Today, I welcome back a great friend of the show—ethicist, professor, pastor, and prolific author, Dr. David Gushee.

Over the years, David and I have talked through several of his groundbreaking works: The Moral Teachings of Jesus, Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies, Introducing Christian Ethics, and After Evangelicalism. But today, we’re returning to the book that started a movement—Changing Our Mind—a book that, remarkably, has never stopped selling since its first release ten years ago.

Industry veteran David Crumm recently reminded us that fewer than 1 percent of all books ever reach 40,000 copies sold. Most don’t even hit 2,000. And yet Changing Our Mind continues to travel—passed hand to hand, heart to heart—because people still need it. David tells me he receives messages every week from readers whose lives have been transformed. That kind of impact is rare.

We’re diving into the story behind this book: what prompted David to write it, the initial response, and the personal price he paid. Lost invitations, Christian booksellers who wouldn’t carry his work, and critics who lined up to condemn him. But also, we talk about the courage of those who dared to praise the book—and the remarkable stories that have come back from readers.

We’ll explore the deep divides in today’s church—the boardroom wrestling matches, the “holy haters,” and the rise of Christian nationalism. And, in this Advent season, we’ll ask: What needs to come to an end? And what new future are we longing for?

We’ll also hear what David is working on now, what he’s seeing in the classroom, and what he hopes for in 2026.

Join us!

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Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com