Podcasts by Depolarize! Podcast
Common Ground at the intersection of Politics, Psychology and Faith.
Further podcasts by Dan Koch
Podcast on the topic Christentum
All episodes
Trump, Evangelicals & Faith in Politics (Peter Wehner) from 2019-09-11T20:15:26
Today’s guest is Peter Wehner — Vice President and Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and a contributing editor for The Atlant...
Listen
Evangelicalism’s Racial Blindspot, Explained from 2019-03-25T10:24:31
This one is a doozy! And it’s both here and in the You Have Permission Podcast feed because it’s just that good. Sociologist Michael O. Emerson breaks down his and Christian Smith’s argument as to ...
Listen
How to Resist the Mob (on the Left and Right) from 2019-03-04T11:57:28
(This episode is appearing on both the You Have Permission and Depolarize! Podcast feeds.) How do we know that we aren’t caught up in a “mob mentality” on social, political, or theological issues? ...
Listen
Dan’s New Podcast / Season 3 Update from 2019-01-14T03:07:42
You Have Permission, Dan’s new faith-focused podcast, is out now, with 4 full length episodes launching from the get-go. Search for it on your favorite podcast app, or head to youhavepermissionpod....
Listen
Breaking Mid-Season for Holidays / New Show Coming! from 2018-12-18T00:31:09
We are taking the holiday season off, and will return with the remainder of Season 3 after New Year’s. Dan’s new show You Have Permission will be launching Jan 14th! Sign up for occasional updates ...
Listen
“Majority World” Christians & How They Help Us from 2018-11-19T15:33:16
Dr. Allen Yeh (Biola University) joins Dan and Ellen to talk about 1) the fact that most Christians in the world do not live in the West (Europe, North America), and 2) the difference between Ortho...
Listen
While You Were Evangelizing: Science (with Keith Ward) from 2018-11-15T08:28:05
Another installment of “While You Were Evangelizing,” where Dan and Ellen consider what was going on in less separatist, non-Evangelical Christian contexts over the previous 70 years or so. Were ot...
Listen
Tribalism: Power, Bias, Performance from 2018-11-05T09:06:02
The first of two episodes (non-consecutive) focusing directly on the phenomenon of tribalism. Dan and Ellen hear from and respond to Donna Freitas (2:00), Michael Blake (15:00), and Christena Cleve...
Listen
The Beauty of a Good Argument with Walter Sinnott-Armstrong from 2018-10-29T07:51:48
We are fortunate to have philosopher Walter Sinnott-Armstrong (Duke University) on the podcast today, talking about arguments — not the kind you have when you’re angry, but the kind you construct i...
Listen
#ChurchToo & More with Karen Swallow Prior from 2018-10-22T07:12:29
Karen Swallow Prior is an author and literature professor at Liberty University — yes, THAT Liberty University. Her contribution to the InterVarsity Press essay collection “Still Evangelical?” expl...
Listen
Should You Stay (Evangelical) Or Should You Go? from 2018-10-15T09:00:38
As we discussed last episode, it is indeed a crazy moment to be an Evangelical Christian. Then again, so what? Does that mean Evangelicals should leave their churches or their tradition to search...
Listen
It’s a Crazy Moment for Evangelicalism from 2018-10-08T11:11:44
What a time to be an Evangelical in America, or to have been raised as one: there’s all the politics, racial tension, “parallel institutions,” and culture wars that continue to rage, but there is a...
Listen
While You Were Evangelizing: Hell (with Dale B. Martin) from 2018-10-01T09:47:19
Welcome to a new season of Depolarize! Dan and Ellen are excited to be back in the saddle, and this week we are debuting a new episode style: While You Were Evangelizing. What was going on in the ...
Listen
A Catholic, a Mennonite & an Orthodox Priest Walk Into a Podcast, Part 2 from 2018-06-25T18:48:02
Part 2 of our episode featuring Mary, Jennifer and Father Tom, and also our last of Season 2! Thank you for your continued support, and we are already looking forward to Season 3. Depolarize! is p...
Listen
A Catholic, a Mennonite & an Orthodox Priest Walk Into a Podcast, Part 1 from 2018-06-18T07:22:25
The first of a two-part episode wherein Dan Koch and Ellen Mauro consider the worldviews and stories of Mary (Roman Catholic), Tom (Greek Orthodox), and Jennifer (Mennonite). This is part of our se...
Listen
An Alternative to Evangelicalism? (Liberal Mainline Pt 2) from 2018-06-04T08:42:49
Dan & Ellen continue their deep dive into Liberal Mainline Protestantism, hearing from voters Jack & Debbie Holloway, as well as experts Dr. Tripp Fuller (Homebrewed Christianity Podcast) and Dr. J...
Listen
What is a Liberal Mainline Protestant? from 2018-05-28T08:13:35
This week and next, Dan walks Ellen (and the rest of us) through the world of Liberal Mainline Protestants: Methodists, Episcopalians, some Lutherans, some Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, a...
Listen
Who Really Thinks Trump is a Christian? from 2018-05-21T07:50:22
Dan and Ellen confront the worry that has been nagging at Dan more than any other, since Trump’s nomination and election: did all those Christian voters *actually believe* that Trump was a Christia...
Listen
Candice Clem Hijacked Her Interview And It Was Great from 2018-05-14T06:52:28
Candice was originally interviewed as one of our five Christians of Color, but our conversation went far enough afield, and was interesting and entertaining enough that we decided to give Candice h...
Listen
Going Deeper with Christians of Color from 2018-05-07T07:47:48
On our previous episode, Dan & Ellen took a backseat to the stories of five Christians of color, told in their own words. This episode is a more standard Depolarize approach: dissecting and respon...
Listen
*Simply Listening* to Christians of Color from 2018-04-30T09:37:56
We're back to our voters this week, introducing five new voices. But this episode is also different: no reaction commentary from Dan & Ellen, and only minimal narration from Dan for context. Rath...
Listen
Get Off Social Media? from 2018-04-23T07:49:19
Zombies? The Rapture? A country song *about* the Rapture? Check, check, and check. This week, Dan & Ellen take a break from voter-based episodes to discuss some more personal matters: anxiety and s...
Listen
White Evangelical Trump Supporters, Pt 2 from 2018-04-16T07:05:14
Dan & Ellen continue their interviews of White Evangelical Trump voters. This episode is best listened to after Part 1. Timeline: 3:16- How political is your church environment? 5:05- “Information ...
Listen
White Evangelical Trump Supporters, Pt 1 from 2018-04-09T08:12:03
The first of two episodes centered on interviews with 10 White Evangelical Trump voters. Timeline: 0:00- Intro/”Family Therapist Soapbox Time” 10:00- Why did you vote for Donald Trump? 13:40- How c...
Listen
Is That “81%” Statistic Reliable? A Closer Look at Evangelicals from 2018-04-02T15:15:19
Ellen and Dan speak with journalists & polling experts — Roxanne Stone of BARNA Group, Jon Ward of Yahoo! News and Robert P. Jones of Public Religion Research Institute — to wrap their heads around...
Listen
White Evangelicals Who Don’t Support Trump, Pt 2 from 2018-03-26T03:06:07
Dan & Ellen continue their interviews of White Evangelicals who did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. This episode is best listened to after Part 1. Timeline: 0:00- Intro/Recap 2:42- ...
Listen
White Evangelicals Who Don’t Support Trump, Pt 1 from 2018-03-18T23:53:31
In the Season 2 premiere, Dan Koch and Ellen Mauro interview 6 White Evangelical Christians, none of whom voted for nor actively support Donald Trump. These voters are a partial sample of the othe...
Listen
Introducing Ellen Mauro (My New Co-Host!) from 2018-03-11T21:32:27
Ellen will be joining Depolarize for Season 2, which begins next week. We hear about her background, political and psychological areas of interest, and we laugh a lot, because Ellen is very funny.
Listen
42: LIVE! White Evangelicalism Today with Jonathan Merritt from 2018-02-18T21:04:22
The final episode before Depolarize enters Season 2! Dan chats live at the BadChristian Conference in Nashville, TN, with author and journalist Jonathan Merritt (The Atlantic, WaPo, Religion News ...
Listen
Dan on “Break It Down” — Charlottesville, Why People Leave the Church from 2017-08-17T21:24:40
Dan stopped by the studio for "Break It Down with Matt Carter" to talk about taking a break from social media/Depolarize, recent events in Virginia, and what he has been thinking about and working ...
Listen
Bonus: Dan on Seattle’s KIRO FM from 2017-08-03T19:35:27
Greg Tomlin, filling in for Dori Monson, interviews Dan on Seattle's KIRO FM about this podcast and what he's learned about political polarization over the past year.
Listen
What I’ve Learned, Season Break & What’s Next from 2017-06-28T19:52:02
Dan discusses what he's learned making 41 episodes of Depolarize!, the principles he still finds valuable, why it is difficult sometimes to follow his own advice, as well as what is next for the sh...
Listen
41: Q&A with Dan from 2017-06-20T04:13:08
Get to know your host a little more! Due to some emergency travel, this week's scheduled interview had to be postponed, so Dan took questions from listeners for his first Q&A episode.
Listen
40: Learning from Non-U.S. Peacemakers with Jer Swigart from 2017-06-13T03:56:40
Jer Swigart stops by to talk about what they're doing over at The Global Immersion Project where he is the Co-Founding Director. He shares some wonderful insight into the complicated conflict in th...
Listen
39: Science, Soil & Farmer’s Profits with David Montgomery from 2017-06-06T02:59:01
David R. Montgomery, a Professor of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington invites Dan over to discuss soil, carbon dating, and how farmers are restoring profitability and reducin...
Listen
38: Depolarizing and Reconstructing with John Raines from 2017-05-30T06:11:59
Dan talks with John Raines, his co-host for their new Reconstruct podcast, about polarization in the world of theology, why they started the podcast, and how the two shows aren't quite as different...
Listen
37: Actual Solutions! (to Group Polarization) with Dr. Ravi Iyer from 2017-05-23T03:41:11
Dr. Ravi Iyer is doing the real social science work of depolarization as Executive Director of CivilPolitics.org and brings some surprisingly simple solutions to the most complex polarizing issues ...
Listen
Bonus: Depolarizing Evangelicalism, a Mutual Interview with Mike Erre from 2017-05-18T19:02:22
Former megachurch pastor Mike Erre and I interview each other about topics ranging from my two podcasts, a communion/eucharist-based church service, and how their church's experiment of holding nei...
Listen
36: Balance Your News Diet with USA TODAY’s Josh Hafner from 2017-05-16T03:06:34
Josh Hafner is a former campaign reporter and now a resident journalist at USA TODAY. In this episode he and Dan discuss media identity and how to choose legitimate news sources.
Listen
35: Everyone Knows They’re Being Judged with David Lapp from 2017-05-09T03:22:17
This week David Lapp stops by to talk about depolarization in action as seen through his experiences with the organization he is with, Better Angels, which facilitates candid conversations between ...
Listen
34: How Political Should a Christian Be? with Greg Boyd from 2017-05-01T21:15:20
Dan chats with one of his favorite American theologians and pastors, Dr. Greg Boyd, for a particularly Christian-themed episode. Dr. Boyd lost about a quarter of his church’s congregants back in 2...
Listen
33: The Media with Conservative Reporter Becket Adams from 2017-04-24T04:50:03
Media reporter Becket Adams gets candid with Dan this week to share his views on our relationship with partisan media and how we should be navigating all the noise.
Listen
32: Artistry & Compassion in the Trump Era with David Bazan from 2017-04-17T04:32
touring brings him especially close to a slice of modern America. David is a ruthlessly honest, compassionate and concise man, a deep thinker and a great conversationalist. Their chat touches on ...
Listen
31: Empathy & Immersion with VICE’s Thomas Morton from 2017-04-10T05:20:43
VICE journalist Thomas Morton reveals the intent behind his unique approach to complete immersion with various subcultures in his docuseries Balls Deep.
Listen
30: In Defense of Moderation with Aurelian Craiutu from 2017-04-03T03:45:55
This week professor and author Aurelian Craiutu illustrates the political and ideological moderate and the value of partisanship.
Listen
29: Despair and Invitation with David Dark from 2017-03-27T16:52:50
Author, professor, and cultural critic David Dark joins Dan to talk about the despair that got Donald Trump elected, and how to invite those we disagree with into conversation and into a fuller com...
Listen
28: What Undecided Voters Teach Us About Depolarizing with Diane Hessan from 2017-03-20T04:16:12
Diane Hessan is known for her entrepreneurial agency work, but in 2016 was tapped by the Hillary Clinton campaign to do some nonstandard polling of undecided voters, keeping in touch with them over...
Listen
27: Apes, Humans, and American Christianity with Adrian Wyard from 2017-03-13T03:51:22
This week Adrian Wyard, Executive Director of Counterbalance, stops by to share some thinking points from his many years of research of common ancestry and theology.
Listen
26: Nonviolence and the New Pro-Life Movement with Aimee Murphy from 2017-03-06T03:05:15
Aimee Murphy is the Executive Director of Life Matters Journal, a pro-life consistent life ethic publication. A victim of sexual assault, Aimee explains what it is to be truly pro-life and to oppos...
Listen
25: Our Vast, Tangled Mortgage Web & More with David Dayen from 2017-02-27T06:04:04
David Dayen, author of Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street's Great Foreclosure Fraud answers the question, "Was Obama good for America on finances?".
Listen
24: Faith, Victories, and Failures in the Obama White House with Michael Wear from 2017-02-20T03:25:03
Michael Wear, author of the new book Reclaiming Hope, gives us a behind-the-scenes look into what was going on in the Obama administration in regards to faith and politics.
Listen
23: Humiliation, Trump, and America’s Shadow Communities with Chris Arnade from 2017-02-13T04:02:57
Chris Arnade is a PhD and former Wall Street trader who ended his career to capture addiction and poverty in America as a photographer and friend. He talks to Dan this week about his experience wit...
Listen
22b: Islam 101 with Judd King, Part 2 from 2017-02-09T05:54:28
Dan is joined by Islamic Studies professor Judd King (American University) to give us something almost all of us could use: a basic primer on Islam. Shariah Law, the Five Pillars, whether or not th...
Listen
22: Islam 101 with Judd King, Part 1 from 2017-02-06T07:10:42
Dan is joined by Islamic Studies professor Judd King (American University) to give us something almost all of us could use: a basic primer on Islam. Shariah Law, the Five Pillars, whether or not t...
Listen
21: Women’s March on Washington with Jessica Hecox, Christian & Amy Piatt from 2017-01-30T03:58:41
Jessica Hecox joins Dan this week on a special double episode featuring Christian & Amy Piatt of Homebrewed CultureCast to discuss what she experienced at the Portland's Women's March and the confl...
Listen
20: Getting Schooled by Dr. Eddie S. Glaude: Race, Values, University Culture, False Equivalence from 2017-01-23T04:26:05
This week Dr. Eddie Glaude, Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Princeton University, poses some interesting challenges to Dan about systematic inequality and what it's going to t...
Listen
19: Trump, Obama, and Big Companies with Matt Stoller from 2017-01-16T05:16:25
Author and policymaker Matt Stoller joins Dan, and Dan picks Matt's brain, a delightful garden full of non-partisan insights into economics, anti-trust laws, and the populist soul (or lack thereof)...
Listen
18: Why Do We Categorize People? with Christena Cleveland from 2017-01-09T05:09:19
Christena Cleveland, social psychologist at Duke Divinity, shares her expertise on how and why we categorize people. It’s an interesting explanation of our built-in biases: socioeconomic, gender, r...
Listen
17: Does America’s History of Racism Matter Today? with Drew G.I. Hart from 2017-01-02T04:39:46
Drew G.I. Hart (author of “Trouble I’ve Seen”) breaks down the racial empathy gap and explains why America continues to function as a systematically racist culture, usually unrelated to individual ...
Listen
16: Does Matt Carter Understand Trump Voters? from 2016-12-19T03:56:24
Matt Carter, host of Break It Down podcast, sheds some light on the reasons he believes so many Americans voted for Trump.
Listen
15: Lesbian Christian Julie Rodgers from 2016-12-12T04:23:51
Writer and speaker Julie Rodgers tells her story of growing up and coming out in the conservative world around her. She gives practical insight into what it really looks like to be a gay Christian ...
Listen
14: White Christian America with Robert P. Jones from 2016-12-05T04:29:43
Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., CEO of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute)joins us to take a closer look at polling results of white evangelicals and the statistics that show a shift in the Christian...
Listen
13: Immigration Expert Dr. Charles Hirschman from 2016-11-28T04:18:53
On this week's episode, we hear from Dr. Charles Hirschman (University of Washington), a social demographer who takes us through several complex and surprising aspects of immigration in the United ...
Listen
12: Reacting to the Election Pt. 3 with D.L. Mayfield, O. Alan Noble, and Billie Anne Davis from 2016-11-21T03:44:25
We hear our final set of reactions to the election of Donald Trump from previous guests D. L. Mayfield and O. Alan Noble, as well as future guest Billie Anne Davis.
Listen
11: Reacting to the Election Pt. 2 with Trump Voter Ian Smith from 2016-11-17T03:58:46
Dan speaks with Ian Smith, a southern Trump voter who opens up about his views on media bias and how he believes it made an impact on the election.
Listen
10: Reactions to the Election Pt. 1 with Julie Rodgers, Chris Hoke & More from 2016-11-14T05:37:28
We hear reactions to the election of Donald Trump from previous guests Chris Hoke (joined by Neaners Garcia), Neil DeGraide and Trisha Ananiades, as well as future guest Julie Rodgers. Dan also br...
Listen
9: Reacting to the Election with “Science Mike” McHargue from 2016-11-10T00:56:23
Well, there’s no way around it. We were all pretty surprised by Donald Trump winning the election. Where do we go from here? How do we reconcile while still working toward a just society? I sha...
Listen
8: Living Amongst Refugees with D. L. Mayfield from 2016-11-07T05:33:37
Writer D. L. Mayfield (McSweeney’s, Christianity Today, “Assimilate or Go Home”) joins Dan to talk about what she has learned over 10 years of living amongst refugees in Minneapolis and Portland.
Listen
7: Third Parties! Evan McMullin Quick Take and Libertarian Neil DeGraide from 2016-11-03T06:13:38
Is there any other option? O. Alan Noble pops in briefly to talk about the recent rise of Independent candidate Evan McMullin, and Dan has a lengthy cordial debate with Libertarian Neil DeGraide.
Listen
6: Institutional Racism with Lawyer Trisha Ananiades from 2016-10-31T04:18:59
Trisha Ananiades is an African-American lawyer who graduated from Harvard Law, and here she makes her case for the presence of serious institutional racism in the United States. Dan and Trisha dis...
Listen
5: Pro-Life, Anti-Trump with Matthew Lee Anderson from 2016-10-27T04:48:27
Dan sits down with Christian ethicist, writer and pro-life advocate Matthew Lee Anderson (Vox, Mere Orthodoxy) to hear his argument that there is no pro-life case to be made for voting for Donald T...
Listen
4: Sharing Your Vote? with Brett Shears from 2016-10-24T06:13:51
Does every immigrant family automatically want Hillary as their president? Will they be happy with her? Actually, no. Dan is joined by Brett Shears of VoteAllies.org, and the two discuss eligibl...
Listen
Bonus: Rigged Elections, WikiLeaks, Electoral College. Lightning Round with Robbie Evans from 2016-10-19T05:44:44
Dan is joined by his old friend and amateur political expert Robbie Evans for a quick-fire bonus episode. It's a "lightning round" of questions raised by recent electoral news: what is the Electora...
Listen
3: Illegal Immigrants with Chris Hoke from 2016-10-17T02:09:22
Dan is joined by Chris Hoke, prison chaplain and author of "Wanted: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jail, Among Outlaws," out now on HarperOne. Hoke lives and works among illegal immigrants, convicts, ...
Listen
2: Conservative Supreme Court with Joe Rose from 2016-10-08T15:52:16
Joe Rose (University of Chicago, Berkeley Law) joins host Dan Koch to both make his argument for conservative Supreme Court justices *and* his argument for why this motivation is insufficient to ju...
Listen
1: Trump Rallies with Jared Yeates Sexton from 2016-10-08T05:05:41
On the first episode of Depolarize!, Dan chats with Jared Yeates Sexton, contributor to New Republic and The New York Times, about covering Trump rallies (2:15), the political divide in America (7:...
Listen