204 episodes

A podcast about building new faith. Its all about construction, but sometimes that means you have to deconstruct a little. Questions, exploration, mystery...

The Deconstructionists John Williamson

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 4.5 • 770 Ratings

A podcast about building new faith. Its all about construction, but sometimes that means you have to deconstruct a little. Questions, exploration, mystery...

    Doug Smith "Growing up in a cult"

    Doug Smith "Growing up in a cult"

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is comedian Doug Smith. Doug is a former Jehovah’s Witness who is searching for silver lining in growing up inside a doomsday cult. We talk about how his family got involved with the Jehovah’s Witnesses and what it was like to walk away. 

    Check out Doug’s podcast: Jehovah Boy with Doug Smith
    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    www.dougsmithcomedy.com 
    Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, & YouTube: @whodougsmith 

    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic 

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 

    Starting your own podcast? Try Riverside! https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=john-williamson


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 52 min
    Sarah Stankorb "Disobedient Women" pt. 2

    Sarah Stankorb "Disobedient Women" pt. 2

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is Sarah Stankorb! Sarah is the author of the book Disobedient Women, which is a culmination of years reporting on women who used the internet to call out abuse within their evangelical communities. It is a book for and about people of faith and those who have walked away. The deeply researched work gives long-overdue recognition to the women who upturned their lives to speak out boldly, even as they were expected to submit and remain silent. 

    Sarah’s articles and essays have appeared in publications including The Washington Post Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, O Magazine, Longreads, Catapult, Slate, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Atavist, CNNMoney, GOOD Magazine, Salon, KIWI, Babble, Geez, The Morning News, DAME Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Brain, Child Magazine, Proto, Skirt, Bethesda Magazine, and Cincinnati Magazine. 

    Her beat spans politics, the environment, health, technology, religion and cultural commentary. 

    Guest (select) publications: Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning. 

    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    www.sarahstankorb.com 
    Twitter: @sarahstankorb 
    Instagram: @sarahstankorb 
    TikTok: @sarahstankorb 


    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic  

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media. We have a brand new webstore with faster shipping, new products, new designs, and international shipping! 

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 40 min
    Sarah Stankorb "Disobedient Women" pt. 1

    Sarah Stankorb "Disobedient Women" pt. 1

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is Sarah Stankorb! Sarah is the author of the book Disobedient Women, which is a culmination of years reporting on women who used the internet to call out abuse within their evangelical communities. It is a book for and about people of faith and those who have walked away. The deeply researched work gives long-overdue recognition to the women who upturned their lives to speak out boldly, even as they were expected to submit and remain silent. 

    Sarah’s articles and essays have appeared in publications including The Washington Post Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, Marie Claire, Glamour, O Magazine, Longreads, Catapult, Slate, The Guardian, The Atlantic, The Atavist, CNNMoney, GOOD Magazine, Salon, KIWI, Babble, Geez, The Morning News, DAME Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, Brain, Child Magazine, Proto, Skirt, Bethesda Magazine, and Cincinnati Magazine. 

    Her beat spans politics, the environment, health, technology, religion and cultural commentary. 


    Guest (select) publications: Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning. 

    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    www.sarahstankorb.com 
    Twitter: @sarahstankorb 
    Instagram: @sarahstankorb 
    TikTok: @sarahstankorb 


    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic  

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media. We have a brand new webstore with faster shipping, new products, new designs, and international shipping! 

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 44 min
    Dr. Greg Garrett "The Gospel According to James Baldwin" pt. 2

    Dr. Greg Garrett "The Gospel According to James Baldwin" pt. 2

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is Dr. Greg Garrett! Greg is a writer, speaker, musician, and professor. He’s the critically acclaimed author of over two dozen books of fiction and nonfiction including his latest, “The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity.” 

    Greg studied at Oklahoma State University where he received his PhD in English. He then continued his education with post-doctoral studies in Holocaust Studies at the University of Oregon and later received his Masters in Divinity from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. 


    Guest (select) publications: My Church is NOT Dying: Episopalians in the 21st Century; Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth; We Get To Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2; Holy Superheroes; The Gospel According to Hollywood; The Other Jesus: Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love; Stories From The Edge: A Theology of Grief; Living With The Living Dead: The Wisdom of the Zombie Apocalypse; Entertaining Judgement: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination; The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity 

    James Baldwin (select) publications: The Fire Next Time; Giovanni’s Room; Go Tell It on the Mountain; Notes of a Native Son; Another Country; If Beale Street Could Talk; Nobody Knows My Name


    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    Twitter: @Greg1Garrett 

    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic 

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    Check out Factor 75 and use my code deconstruct50 for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com/

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media. We have a brand new webstore with faster shipping, new products, new designs, and international shipping! 

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 

    Starting your own podcast? Try Riverside! https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=john-williamson


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 40 min
    Dr. Greg Garrett "The Gospel According to James Baldwin" pt. 1

    Dr. Greg Garrett "The Gospel According to James Baldwin" pt. 1

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is Dr. Greg Garrett! Greg is a writer, speaker, musician, and professor. He’s the critically acclaimed author of over two dozen books of fiction and nonfiction including his latest, “The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity.” 

    Greg studied at Oklahoma State University where he received his PhD in English. He then continued his education with post-doctoral studies in Holocaust Studies at the University of Oregon and later received his Masters in Divinity from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. 


    Guest (select) publications: My Church is NOT Dying: Episopalians in the 21st Century; Crossing Myself: A Story of Spiritual Rebirth; We Get To Carry Each Other: The Gospel According to U2; Holy Superheroes; The Gospel According to Hollywood; The Other Jesus: Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love; Stories From The Edge: A Theology of Grief; Living With The Living Dead: The Wisdom of the Zombie Apocalypse; Entertaining Judgement: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination; The Gospel According to James Baldwin: What America’s Great Prophet Can Teach Us about Life, Love, and Identity 

    James Baldwin (select) publications: The Fire Next Time; Giovanni’s Room; Go Tell It on the Mountain; Notes of a Native Son; Another Country; If Beale Street Could Talk; Nobody Knows My Name

    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    Twitter: @Greg1Garrett 

    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic 

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    Check out Factor 75 and use my code deconstruct50 for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com/

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media. We have a brand new webstore with faster shipping, new products, new designs, and international shipping! 

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 37 min
    Rabbi Brad Hirschfield "Stories From The Old Testament: The Flood" pt. 4

    Rabbi Brad Hirschfield "Stories From The Old Testament: The Flood" pt. 4

    Guest Info/Bio:
    This week’s guest is the return of the amazing Rabbi Brad Hirschfield! We continue our discussion on stories from what we refer to as the Old Testament from the Christian and Jewish perspectives. This episode we cover the story of the great flood.
    Listed for many years in Newsweek as one of America’s “50 Most Influential Rabbis,” and recognized as one of our nation’s leading “Preachers & Teachers,” by Beliefnet.com, Fox News regular contributor, Washington Post blogger, and think tank President Brad Hirschfield is the author of You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism (Harmony, 2008). He also conceived and hosted two groundbreaking series for Bridges TV—American Muslim TV Network, Building Bridges: Abrahamic Perspectives on the World Today (three seasons), and American Pilgrimage. He is also the Co-founder and Executive Editor of The Wisdom Daily.

    An expert on religion and public life, Hirschfield offers a unique perspective on the American spiritual landscape and political and social trends to audiences nationwide. A regular on Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network, and The Washington Post’s Conversations: Live Q & A, he’s been a contributor on ethical issues for Tru-TV, co-hosted the weekly radio show Hirschfield and Kula and is frequently quoted in the press. A popular guest on such shows as The Dennis Miller Show, Lars Larson, and Fox News.com Live, he has appeared on CNN, PBS, MTV and NPR, among others, and was featured on PBS’s “Frontline: Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero,” and the acclaimed documentary, Freaks Like Me. A regular commentator for The Huffington Post and one of Patheos.com’s Experts, he contributes frequently to Fox News Opinion, writes a column, For God’s Sake, for the WashingtonPost.com’s “On Faith.” His blog, Windows & Doors, appears on Beliefnet.com (the net’s largest site for spirituality and inspiration), and was featured on the homepage of Digg.com.
    Rabbi Hirschfield is also an interfaith activist, he has inspired audiences from the Aspen Institute and the Washington National Cathedral, to the Islamic Society of North America and many leading universities and religious institutions. A featured speaker at Parliament of the World’s Religions in both Barcelona and Melbourne, he was recently invited by the Governments of the United States and the Republic of Indonesia to speak at the Jakarta Interfaith Dialogue

    Guest (select) publications: You Don’t Have to Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism 

    Guest Website/Social Media: 
    www.clal.org 
    Twitter: @BradHirschfield 


    Special Theme Music by: Forrest Clay
    Instagram: @forrestclaymusic 
    Twitter: @clay_k
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/claykmusic  

    Songs featured on this episode were from the Recover EP

    You can find Clay’s music on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere good music is found!

    This episode of the Deconstructionists Podcast was edited, mixed, and produced by John Williamson 

    Stay on top of all of the latest at www.thedeconstructionists.com Go there to check out our blog, snag a t-shirt, or follow us on social media. Check out our brand new print to order page with new international shipping and brand new designs and products!

    Join our Patreon family here: www.patreon.com/deconstructionists 

    Website by Ryan Battles
    All photos by Jared Hevron
    Logos designed by Joseph Ernst & Stephen Pfluig
    T-shirt designs by Joseph Ernst, Chad Flannigan, Colin Rigsby, and Jason Turner. 

    Starting your own podcast? Try Riverside! https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=john-williamson


    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-deconstructionists/donations

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

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    • 1 hr 14 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
770 Ratings

770 Ratings

Mommamader ,

I love the new 2 part podcasts

This is an intelligent and thought provoking podcast that keeps expanding my heart and my horizons! The God I know is so much bigger than the box that most churches try to stuff Him into…and this podcast of love stretches me each time! I appreciate the 2 part podcasts…allows for the discussions to not be rushed and I am able to be thoughtfully more engaged.

MsFitzie ,

Affirming and Growth oriented

So glad I found this podcast a few months ago. I’m working my way through the older episodes and listening to the new ones as they drop as well. I’ve been on this journey for so long and am exponentially comforted to find community to learn and grow with.

Darmox ,

I keep coming back

Don’t be deterred by long episodes! This is an excellent podcast! Intelligent and thoughtful hosts, interesting and articulate guests, helpful and thought-provoking content.

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