Best Brian McClellan Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 112: The uncontrolling God - Simon Cross and Thomas Oord 1:01:55

13d ago1:01:55

1:01:55

What if God wasn’t all-powerful? What if you already held a theology that the mainstream Church saw as heretical? What are Process Theology and Open and Relational Theology? Simon Cross and Thomas Oord join us for this episode to talk about a theology that, in a sense, rejects the images of God that don’t make sense in the light of God’s goodness. …

1
Episode 111 - Dan McClellan - the Bible, TikTok and right-wing identity politics 1:01:38

3M ago1:01:38

1:01:38

Dan McClellan is a different kind of biblical scholar. He has a cult following on TikTok, regularly engages with conspiracy and misinformation content to debunk it, and isn't afraid to speak about politics. Many of us have come to welcome Dan's "alright, let's see it" on stitches of lurid and ridiculous pseudo-religion online, and along the way, we…

1
Episode 110 - Naomi Nixon of the Student Christian Movement 1:05:11

3M ago1:05:11

1:05:11

What can good church look like? What is 'success' if you're a progressive Christian? Do Christians who aren't conservative have to give up on things like evangelism and outreach? After a little break, we are delighted to welcome Naomi Nixon, CEO of the Student Christian Movement, which seeks to offer an affirming, progressive space that encourages …

1
Episode 109- The true meaning of Christmas - Yuletide, Luigi and our new magazine: S(h)ibboleth 1:03:06

5M ago1:03:06

1:03:06

What is the true meaning of Christmas? Is there such a thing? What is the Luigi Mangione situation all about? Do we buy the billionaire and media narrative that he (or whoever The Adjuster is) should not be lionized? And more importantly than any of that: why did we create S(h)ibboleth magazine, and what can readers expect from it? A lot of bloody …

1
Episode 108 - Tony Campolo: remembering the man with archive interview 1:05:39

6M ago1:05:39

1:05:39

Tony Campolo, the Baptist preacher, sociologist, Red Letter Christian and ceaseless campaigner for a Christian vision of social justice, has died. In this episode, we pay tribute to Tony in the best way we know how: by letting him speak for himself. Eventually. First, we talk about our own memories of him, and his influence on our theology. But onc…

1
Episode 107 - Religion and the Right: Helen Paynter on the Bible and fighting fascism 58:42

6M ago58:42

58:42

The Far Right is on the rise. And, increasingly, fascists and proto-fascists are using Christian language and imagery to justify their position. What should a Christian response be? Can we really say that our faith is being 'hijacked' by racists and bigots, or is there deeper acknowledgement and repentance to be done in the service of justice? And …

1
Episode 106: Brian McLaren - hope in uncertain futures - plus S(h)ibboleth announcement 52:45

7M ago52:45

52:45

Brian McLaren is one of the most important and influential voices in the Christian deconstruction movement. He's also one hell of a nice guy. Brian's influence on the post-evangelical Church is hard to overstate, and yet he remains humble and approachable as ever. We caught up with him at Greenbelt festival in August 2024 and talked to him about de…

1
Episode 105 - SHORT - October 8th and everything after - with Christians for Palestine 11:59

8M ago11:59

11:59

One year on from the attacks of October 7th 2023, and from the disproportionate Israeli campaign of violence that followed, it is more important than ever for Christians and all people who care about human rights and political justice to stand up and speak out against genocide, occupation and collective punishment. That's why people like Christians…

1
Episode 104 - David Benjamin Blower - Art, anarchism and not deconstructing 1:01:43

8M ago1:01:43

1:01:43

David Benjamin Blower is a musician, poet, podcaster and theologian who you may have encountered on the Nomad podcast, his Messianic Folklore podcast or the Common Era podcast (described as 'conversations between a Catholic Priest and a post-evangelical poet'). With all that in mind, it was very kind of him to join us on Beer Christianity and we li…

1
Episode 103 - Steve Chalke: th eonly Oasis interview you need 1:03:52

9M ago1:03:52

1:03:52

Did we make a joke about the reunion tour? Definitely maybe. Steve Chalke is founder of Oasis, a hugely significant charity most famous for its youthwork initiatives and other social impact subbrands. He's also been a controversial figure in the UK Church, ever since, as a Baptist minister, he came out against Penal Substitution as an image of Chri…

1
Episode 102: Flamy Grant - Drag, Christian music and authenticity 56:43

9M ago56:43

56:43

Flamy Grant is the first drag artist ever to top the iTunes Christian charts, with her soulful songs about growing up queer in the Bible Belt of the US and navigating faith, Scripture, gender and sexuality with honesty. [there would ordinarily be an image here but Libsyn is a bit ropey today] We caught up with Flamy at Greenbelt festival and talked…

1
Episode 101 Greenbelt festival 2024 review 38:57

9M ago38:57

38:57

The greatest festival in the world did not disappoint in 2024. Greenbelt: Dream On was lovely, and we're here to tell you why. If you were not there (or if you've never been to Greenbelt) we're here to tell you why we loved it again this year. If you were there, let's compare notes! We loved: Bob Vylan Dutty Moonshine Big Band Flamy Grant Brian McL…

1
Episode 100 - Greenbelt, reconstructing and deconstructing with Paul Northup 1:00:26

10M ago1:00:26

1:00:26

Warning: This podcast just got that big dawg in it! On Beer Christianity's 100th episode, we are joined by Paul Northup, Creative Director of Greenbelt Festival, to talk about the challenges facing festivals in 2024, some of his memories of festivals past and what he's looking forward to at Greenbelt 2024. We also talk to him about the community th…

1
Episode 99: Election special with Bella Cross, queer Christian political educator 1:03:03

11M ago1:03:03

1:03:03

It's election time in the UK and USA, that magical season when people of conscience and intelligence are told to hold their noses, ignore the stink of corruption and compromise, and vote for one of two parties that are both pro-capitalist, tough on those fleeing danger, and, this year, apparently okay with genocide. Meeerrrry shitmas! To 'celebrate…

1
Episode 98: Jürgen Moltmann (1926-2024) - Archive interview with the theologian of hope 57:43

12M ago57:43

57:43

The sad news of the passing of Professor Jürgen Moltmann prompted us to revisit the richness of his thought and the gracious wisdom of his style with this interview from 2013. From concerns that are very much of the time (the New Atheism and its influence) to issues that are more relevant now than then (the need for Christians to be involved in pol…

1
Episode 97: Deconstruction (Part I) - Deconstructing and reconstructing our faith (with special guests) 1:06:54

12M ago1:06:54

1:06:54

Christian deconstruction: depending on your theology, it's either a dangerous movement of postmodernism in the Church, seducing young people away from orthodoxy, or a new Reformation of Christistianity, replacing certainty, dogma and control with honesty, love and a messy approach to faith. In this episode (Part I of II), the gang talk deconstructi…

1
Episode 96: SHO(R)T - Christians and Palestine: Why it matters and why you should care 34:17

1y ago34:17

34:17

Jonty shares some thoughts on Palestine, US imperialism, the genocide in Gaza, whataboutism, why Palestine matters and why Christians should care. No Laura, Malky or Drabs, just Jonts and a bottle of melktert liqueur. If that's what you're into. He's discussing things like: Why should we care about Palestine when so many other terrible things are h…

1
Episode 95: Nakba Day at the Oxford Palestine solidarity encampment 36:10

1y ago36:10

36:10

Welcome to the liberated zone, Oxford edition. To mark Nakba Day 2024, Beer Christianity co-host Laura visits our local protest encampment to hear from the demonstrators at our local Gaza solidarity encampment. If you have been reading about the student protest encampments at Columbia, UCLA and Berkley universities in the USA (or, better, been seei…

1
104: TJ Klune 51:47

1y ago51:47

51:47

Travis interviews author TJ Klune about Heartsong, his latest book from Tor Books, and Somewhere Beyond the Sea, his upcoming book in September 2024. This episode is spoiler free! TJ and Travis discuss writing romance, managing expectations of different audiences, and the importance of books as escapism and refuge. Want your message featured on the…

1
Episode 94: The Devil's Passion with playwright, activist and actor Justin Butcher 41:32

1y ago41:32

41:32

Is evil structural, spiritual, or a bit of both? Do acts of selfishness or sin have cascading effects that reverberate through history? Can we shine a light on contemporary Western politics by imagining how our politicians would react to a figure like Jesus and the movement he inspired? All these questions and more (mostly about Israel and its war …

1
Episode 93: Belonging - feeling at home, finding your people 1:04:16

1+ y ago1:04:16

1:04:16

Do you feel like you belong at your church? Have you found your people? Do you feel at home? In this episode we explore how much dogma, belief, diversity, relatability and stage of life determine whether we feel 'at home' in church. Along the way we ask what makes a really good home group (spoiler: it may be Jonty and Malky), we discuss wehter the …

1
Leonard Cohen and Saint Paul - Matthew Anderson, Pauline scholar 59:37

1+ y ago59:37

59:37

Is the essence of Christianity basically Judaism through a Zen lens? Can we understand some great artists and theologians better if we assume performative masculinity? Is there really a crack in everything? Is it where the light gets in? In Episode 92 of Beer Christianity we answer these and other important questions (like: Is later Leonard Cohen b…

1
Episode 91: AI, ethics and dangers with JL Ecochard 1:01:16

1+ y ago1:01:16

1:01:16

AI is going to save the world. Or kill us all. Or another, secret, third thing. Trying to find a pattern of truth within all the cultural noise about Artificial Intelligence is pretty hard right now, so we turned to someone who has been working on and with AI since the 1980s. Jean-Louis Ecochard has been in on the development of everythting from ca…

1
Episode 90: Socialism Q&A with Matt McManus 1:04:03

1+ y ago1:04:03

1:04:03

Socialism means 'bad', right? That's what many of our churches assume. Whenever anyone suggests Socialism as an option, many Christians have a set of anti-Socialist questions locked and loaded, ready to fire. We decided to put some of them to an expert. To us, Socialism is really just a system of making sure nobody is left behind, of controlling gr…

1
Episode 89: Congo crisis explained - Maurice Carney, Friends of the Congo 1:06:50

1+ y ago1:06:50

1:06:50

The Democratic Republic of Congo and its citizens should, by rights, be among the richest in the world. Congo is a country with vast and rich natural resources, abundant potential energy and a strategic place in the heart of Africa. And yet, Congo is currently home to one fo the worst humanitarian crises on earth, and its history is littered with g…

1
Episode 88: Jolyon Maugham - Good Law, better world 59:41

1+ y ago59:41

59:41

Jolyon Maugham has been called 'Public Enemy No. 1" by terrible right wing newspapers, attacked by Rishi Sunak and belittled with smears by the BBC. And if that wasn't enough to make you love him, he also heads up an organisation that works for justice in our laws and legal system, challenging powerful elites and holding wealthy corporations and ca…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Brian McClellan Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Page Break with Brian McClellan

Brian McClellan

1
The Fantasy Inn Podcast

The Fantasy Inn

1
Beer Christianity

Jonty Langley

1
Episode 112: The uncontrolling God - Simon Cross and Thomas Oord 1:01:55

1
Episode 111 - Dan McClellan - the Bible, TikTok and right-wing identity politics 1:01:38

1
Episode 110 - Naomi Nixon of the Student Christian Movement 1:05:11

1
Episode 109- The true meaning of Christmas - Yuletide, Luigi and our new magazine: S(h)ibboleth 1:03:06

1
Episode 108 - Tony Campolo: remembering the man with archive interview 1:05:39

1
Episode 107 - Religion and the Right: Helen Paynter on the Bible and fighting fascism 58:42

1
Episode 106: Brian McLaren - hope in uncertain futures - plus S(h)ibboleth announcement 52:45

1
Episode 105 - SHORT - October 8th and everything after - with Christians for Palestine 11:59

1
Episode 104 - David Benjamin Blower - Art, anarchism and not deconstructing 1:01:43

1
Episode 103 - Steve Chalke: th eonly Oasis interview you need 1:03:52

1
Episode 102: Flamy Grant - Drag, Christian music and authenticity 56:43

1
Episode 101 Greenbelt festival 2024 review 38:57

1
Episode 100 - Greenbelt, reconstructing and deconstructing with Paul Northup 1:00:26

1
Episode 99: Election special with Bella Cross, queer Christian political educator 1:03:03

1
Episode 98: Jürgen Moltmann (1926-2024) - Archive interview with the theologian of hope 57:43

1
Episode 97: Deconstruction (Part I) - Deconstructing and reconstructing our faith (with special guests) 1:06:54

1
Episode 96: SHO(R)T - Christians and Palestine: Why it matters and why you should care 34:17

1
Episode 95: Nakba Day at the Oxford Palestine solidarity encampment 36:10

1
104: TJ Klune 51:47

1
Episode 94: The Devil's Passion with playwright, activist and actor Justin Butcher 41:32

1
Episode 93: Belonging - feeling at home, finding your people 1:04:16

1
Leonard Cohen and Saint Paul - Matthew Anderson, Pauline scholar 59:37

1
Episode 91: AI, ethics and dangers with JL Ecochard 1:01:16

1
Episode 90: Socialism Q&A with Matt McManus 1:04:03

1
Episode 89: Congo crisis explained - Maurice Carney, Friends of the Congo 1:06:50

1
Episode 88: Jolyon Maugham - Good Law, better world 59:41

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