Spiritual Misfits Podcast

Pearl is a queer pastor with a PhD in history. Rev Kev is a former missionary who now sometimes identifies as an atheist pastor. Together, they are forming a new church community in Maitland — with misfits front of mind. Will is joined by Pearl and Kev in Mitch Forbes' office, where the four of them have a conversation about queering the bible, exploring negative/apophatic theology and how these approaches might translate into the formation of a new church. Want to reach out and let us know y...

Ken Scott D is an author and thinker exploring the evolution of human intelligence, faith, and relational capacity in an age of rapid technological change. His work examines AI and modern technologies as extensions of human perception, and invites the church into a renewed vocation as a steward of relational and spiritual intelligence during times of transition. In this conversation we explore his framework for reading the Christian story not primarily as a moral system but as a map of human ...

This is a replay of one of our highlight conversations from the archive. Originally released September 2024. Amy Kenny, author of 'My Body Is Not A Prayer Request,' joins Will for a discussion about disability justice and ableism in the church. She shares her experiences of being prayed over for her disability to be erased and the harmful treatment she received in the church. Amy emphasises the importance of recognising the image of God in disabled bodies and reframing our understanding of he...

Andrew Cox is a Filipino-Australian poet, performer, and the facilitator of Canberra Poetry Slam. In this conversation, we explore how poetry spaces can function as alternative spiritual communities — places of transcendence, vulnerability, and belonging outside traditional religious frameworks. Andrew shares his journey from earnest young performer to community curator, wrestling with questions of colonial identity, the tension between certainty and conviction, and what it means to create sp...

What if the beliefs you were taught don't all have to stand or fall together? James McGrath, a New Testament scholar who went through his own faith reconstruction, joins Will to talk about what comes after deconstruction. Using the metaphor of DIY home renovation, James explores how we can take ownership of rebuilding our worldview without guilt - recognising that even the most conservative Christians are already "picking and choosing," doing it thoughtfully is what matters. We discuss the ti...

What comes after faith deconstruction? Tiffany Yecke Brooks joins Will to talk about "second-time-around spirituality" — the beautiful, uncertain space of rebuilding after everything falls apart. Drawing on the final image from Dante's Inferno, Tiffany explores what it means to emerge from hell and 'rebehold the stars'. Tiffany and Will discuss why our understanding of God is only as big as our language for God, how to develop a unique spiritual lexicon that fits your experience, and moving f...

Simon Buckingham-Shum is Professor of Learning Informatics and Director of the Connected Intelligence Centre at the University of Technology Sydney. Learn more: https://Simon.BuckinghamShum.net Abundant Intelligences (Abundant-Intelligences.net): Indigenous knowledge systems provide a way to rebuild AI's epistemological foundations - transforming tools that currently reinforce colonial practices of extraction and exclusion into engines of abundance that enable us to care better for ourselves,...