The Disrupters: Faith Changing Culture

Latest Episodes:

You’re Ready to Heal. Now What? With Dr. Christina Edmondson Nov 14, 2022

Show notes

It can be exhausting to fight injustice. But for those who are marginalized, it can be traumatizing. And especially when that injustice is around every corner, it can often seem impossible to heal in the face of it. But according to educator and activist Dr. Christina Edmonson, healing is a gift that has already been given: “For believers, healing is one of our blood-bought rights. It is something that has been given to us to do this. It has been won for us in the resurrection.” If that’s true, what can the marginalized believer do to experience that kind of healing in their reality? This week, Nancy Wang Yuen and Dr. Christina Edmondson discuss the tangled knot of what it means, and what it takes, to truly heal from racial trauma. Disruptions discussed in this episode: Faithful Antiracism: Moving Past Talk to Systemic Change by Christina Edmondson and Chad Brennan Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation by Christina Edmondson, Ekemini Uwan, and Michelle Higgins. Healing Racial Trauma by Sheila Wise Rowe The Witness’ #LeaveLOUD Campaign Truth’s Table Podcast Get in the Word with Truth’s Table

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SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Producers: Richard Clark and Maila Kim, mixed and edited by Matt Linder Executive Producers: Andrew Bronson and Helen Lee

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Leaving Evangelicalism, with Jon Ward Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

If you’re listening to this podcast, you’ve probably left, or considered leaving evangelicalism. But what does it mean to leave evangelicalism, and what is evangelicalism anyway? In today’s episode, Nancy speaks to reporter Jon Ward about the disparity between what the evangelical movement’s aspirational ideas and the current reality of the evangelical movement at work in the world. “A lot of evangelicalism is a cultural project, which presents itself as a theological project,” says Ward. “There's a disconnect between the faith and the principles of the faith, and how to apply them broadly,” So what does that mean for those of us who aren’t exactly feeling the “cultural project” of evangelicalism? And how do we focus on moving forward rather than merely looking back? Nancy and Jon bring their unique perspectives to a complex topic in this week’s episode of The Disrupters. Disruptions discussed in this episode: Jon Ward’s upcoming book, Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation Interview about the Greg Thompson/Duke Kwon book, Reparations The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America “Shame” by Jake Meador The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby Culture Care by Makoto Fujimura

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Producers: Richard Clark, Matthew Linder, and Maila Kim Executive Producers: Andrew Bronson and Helen Lee

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

What Happens If We Don’t Tell Our Stories, with Jemar Tisby Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Back in early 2020, on the first season of The Disrupters, Jemar Tisby told then-host Esau McCaulley that a person of color’s participation in historically white Christian spaces inherently come with a cost: “You get pushed out, you burn out, or you sell out.” For McCaulley, this was a challenge to his own approach, as a black Christian who was a professor in a white-Christian institution: “This podcast is a record in time, and this is a hypothesis.” Said McCaulley at the time. “Let’s follow God in this way, and then let’s check back in 5-10 years and see what God has done with both. Hopefully, he’s blessed both.” It hasn’t yet been five years, but for both Tisby and host Nancy Wang Yuen, the writing is on the wall. White Christian institutions have not created spaces where they can thrive. But what does that mean for the way forward? For Tisby, a key component of moving forward involves telling his own story in as truthful a way he can. “What I realized over time is if we don't tell our stories, then they can continue the really unhealthy, traumatic, abusive behavior. In some cases, the malpractice is allowed to continue.” Jemar Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, national speaker, and public historian on a mission to deliver truths from the Black experience with depth and clarity. Disruptions discussed in this episode: An Open Letter to the Board of Trustees at Grove City College White Awake by Daniel Hill Those Meddling Kids Pass the Mic Truth’s Table: The Podcast and The Book Truth's Table: Get In the Word Podcast Tyler Burns’ Sermons at All Nations Fellowship Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman Let us Google that for you. Amanda Gorman Reads Inaugural Poem, The Hill We Climb

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SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

The Disrupters is hosted by Nancy Wang Yuen. Theme song is New Eyes by Jason Chu. Executive Producers are Helen Lee and Andrew Bronson.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Coming October 31: Disrupters Season 4! Oct 27, 2022

Show notes

Nancy Wang Yuen is back for Season 4, and this season, she’s going to spill some tea. Join us on Monday, October 31 for the first in a series of conversations about how to heal and move on from the toxic religious institutions and movements that many of us have been a part of for years.

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The Oscars Preview Bonus Episode! Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

We're back, with a bonus Oscars episode of The Disrupters. Nancy talks to Rebecca Sun, the senior editor of diversity and inclusion at the Hollywood Reporter to discuss the various nominees, the lack of a dominant Oscars narrative, the confounding nature of Drive My Car, and the upcoming Pachinko TV series.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Mike Cosper Explores Why White Evangelical Churches Implode Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

"I think it fundamentally comes back to, we want to win. We want to be told we're right. And we don't want to be put in a position where we're being called to lay down our lives for our friends and neighbors." Mike Cosper is perhaps best known for his breakthrough podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. The podcast experienced crossover success, rising up the mainstream podcast charts and being listened to by Christians and non-Christians alike. Having finished the series, Mike has clear eyes about the failures of the white evangelical church, and while race may not have been a major factor in the original podcast, he sees a direct line from white evangelicalism's struggle against racial justice to the kinds of attitudes that lead to the titular disaster of his podcast. In this episode, we ask Mike Cosper why people of color stayed away from churches like Mars Hill, and explore the deeper reasons for the vitriol they're experiencing now.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Why You Need a Korean Dad Like Nick Cho Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

As we exist in this life, in what ways can we make this world a better place? The simplicity and depth of this question exemplifies who Nick Cho is. As “Your Korean Dad” on TikTok, with over 3 million followers, Nick speaks gently and directly to viewers in his less than a minute-long videos. Each one is characterized by fatherly care, authenticity and whimsy. Nick takes us to buy snacks at Walgreens. He makes coffee for us while we do homework. He also addresses Transracial adoptees, acknowledging their struggles and telling them “I see you.” Some have dubbed him a modern-day Mr. Rogers. In this episode, we talk to Cho about how church life has formed him and why he walked away.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Phil Yu & Jeff Yang are "Very Asian," and Just as Christian Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

“I find that my journey as an Asian-American parallels my journey of faith as well this is where it intersects.” -Phil Yu “I don’t think I can talk about being Asian-American really without talking about the communities of faith that have fed that identity.” -Jeff Yang Phil Yu and Jeff Yang are the godfathers of Asian American pop culture and men of faith. On this episode of The Disrupters, we talk about how the two identities intersect when it comes to community and continual investment.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Terry Wildman Reframes the Message Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

“When you take a story as beautiful as the Gospel of loving sacrifice, of a man who would heal the sick, care for the poor, bound up the brokenhearted, and you begin to force that belief in institutional settings, it destroys that message.” Terry Wildman understood what he was up against when he took the lead in a new Native-centered translation of the Bible: “If we can separate Jesus from the colonial baggage…then our Native people can take a real honest look at this holy man.” Addressing how words like “sin” were once used to oppress Native peoples, Terry Wildman explains how the First Nations Version of the New Testamentgets back to the heart of Creator’s message of love.

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

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Olivia Liang Fights for Nuanced Representation in Hollywood Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

“I’ll be honest, my initial reaction to seeing an email that said ‘Audition for role of Nikki, Kung Fu,’ was like, 'Really? Haven’t we gone past this? Aren’t we done with the trope of the Asian doing martial arts?'” When Olivia first saw the audition email for the reboot of Kung Fu, the once popular 1970s TV starring David Carradine, she was not impressed. Olivia Liang is an actor and director with no interest in playing a stereotype, even going so far as to set a personal boundary for herself not to learn martial arts unless she was actively paid to do so. When she was cast as the star of Kung Fu, that's precisely what happened. After becoming more acquainted with the reboot project, she said she got “really excited” that Kung Fu was “going to celebrate…martial arts, which is so near and dear to our culture” and the Chinese Americans “get to be fully formed characters.” For Olivia Liang, this role was a fulfillment of God’s “calling.” Listen as she describes how she wants to be a light in Hollywood through story-telling and “just loving on people.”

Learn more about The Disrupters Podcast here.

SPECIAL OFFER | Effective Jan. 1st, 2024, all promo codes/opportunities mentioned in this episode are expired. Please use the code IVPOD25 at ivpress.com for 25% off your order.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands