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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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Today we’re celebrating a very special return guest: author, speaker, and independent scholar Diana Butler Bass. If you’ve been with us before, you’ll remember our deep dive into her beautiful book Freeing Jesus. Today, Diana is back with a brand-new offering: A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance—a book designed to guide us through the seasons, the stories, and the spiritual rhythms that shape a life.

You’ve heard Diana’s Substack series, When? When? When? – Longing for the End of Empire. It resonated with me deeply—especially as I write in my own Substack, “When is this going to END?” It echoes Jesus’ ancient warning that even the most imposing empires—Herod’s Temple, Rome’s occupation—will crumble. Empires end, but the Kingdom of God endures. That tension—our longing for an end, and our anticipation of a new beginning—brings us right into Advent.

At seventy-seven, I’ve lived through a decade of Trump-era headlines that have stretched and wrinkled my sense of time. Diana helps us see that time is not just linear—it’s circular, liturgical, meaningful. Not the calendar I grew up with in my evangelical days, but one filled with story, metaphor, archetype, and hope. Advent reminds us: we wait for peace, for justice, for love. And when the signs appear, Jesus says, the time is near.

So join us. Diana’s spiritual kaleidoscope opens a winding, wonder-filled journey through darkness toward light. This conversation will move you—heart, mind, and spirit.

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This Thanksgiving week on Beach Talk, Betsey Newenhuyse and I pause to reflect on what keeps us grounded and grateful in turbulent times. Retirement gives us the space to see the big picture, and family, friends, and caring neighbors remind us we’re never alone. We’re grateful for like-minded resisters, meaningful conversations, and the freedom to speak up. Experience tells us storms pass, truth still matters, and a new generation is rising to shape what comes next. Acts of everyday kindness continue to defy the headlines. And through it all, hope endures—rooted in community, clarity, and the power we still hold together.

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Ken Fong and I sit down for one of our richest, most thought-provoking conversations yet.

We begin with the quietly powerful new film Rental Family, where Brendan Fraser’s lonely American actor in Tokyo becomes the “token white guy” in Japan’s unusual rental family industry. What begins as performance becomes something far deeper — and it opens the door for us to discuss honestly intercultural relationships, identity, belonging, and the longing for genuine connection in an era of isolation.

From there, we take a turn into the world of (now Candidate for Governor of California) Pastor Ché Ahn, the New Apostolic Reformation, and the legacy of C. Peter Wagner — a professor both of us once studied under. We revisit Wagner’s vision of ethnically centered churches, Ahn’s rise as an apostolic figure, and his influential role in the Seven Mountain Mandate and the MAGA movement. This isn’t a hit piece — it’s a candid, personal reckoning with the theological, cultural, and political forces reshaping evangelicalism.

We also dive into Jon M. Chu’s reflections on Wicked, A.I., and Asian representation; the latest Tuesday election results; the troubling Tucker Carlson–Nick Fuentes pipeline; And yes — we talk about the shutdown, the blame game, and why today’s GOP seems allergic to health care, border solutions, and the social safety net.

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Today, another Beach Talk with Betsey Newenhuyse — writer, thinker, and all-around truth-teller. Together, we dig into the week’s headlines with insight, humor, and a touch of coastal calm.

This week, we’re calling it “The Democrats’ Week” — because, let’s face it, it’s been a rough stretch for the President and his MAGA allies. Speaker Mike Johnson can’t get his team together, government shutdown threats kept swirling, and the so-called “Hate America Rally” has proven to be effective. The President’s ranting about Nancy Pelosi being “an evil person,” but the real story is how Democrats are quietly winning — big.

From Virginia to California, blue victories keep stacking up: Abigail Spanberger makes history, Mikie Sherrill and Zohran Mamdani extend a progressive streak, and Democrats hold the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Even in Mississippi and Georgia, new seats are flipping. And those Moms for Liberty losses? A huge crack in the MAGA culture war machine.

We’ll talk about the President’s latest distractions — from Mar-a-Lago’s Halloween bash to his strange foreign policy obsessions — and why Americans still clearly prefer democracy and a working economy over chaos and grievance.

Betsey brings reflections from her Substack. I’ll share a filmmaker’s angle from my current dive into Leni Riefenstahl and then the new film Nuremberg. Together, we connect the dots between history and today’s headlines.

More about Betsey Newenhuyse

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