Facing Anxious Times Together, Part 5 (#393)

Facing Anxious Times Together, Part 5 (#393)

Author: Dan Koch April 9, 2026 Duration: 44:34
This is the fifth and final installment of the Anxious Times series, and we're bringing it home by exploring what existential psychology has to say about community, belonging, and civic engagement. I’m joined by returning guest Kristen Tideman and Brian Adoff, founder of Join Philly, a directory and events platform helping Philadelphians connect with each other.  In the Patreon-only second half, we dig into how Kristen's own anxiety triple crown — MS, new motherhood, and ongoing religious change — has been shaped by her distance from the Philly community she helped build, and what it looks like to find connection in a new chapter of life. Join or Die Film Anxious Times Episode Part 1⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Anxious Times Episode Part 2⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Anxious Times Episode Part 3 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Anxious Times Episode Part 4 Highlights: Collective effervescence, good and bad  Bowling alone and belonging  Tech, phones, and the dopamine trap  Participation gaps and on-ramps ___________________________________________ Follow Dan on IG: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/dancoke/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠twitter.com/DanKoch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Faith deconstruction resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.soyouredeconstructing.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/dankoch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YHP Patron-only FB group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join Dan's email list: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.dankochwords.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Artwork by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nickryanluevano.com⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by Dan Koch, Religion on the Mind digs into the messy, fascinating, and deeply personal space where our inner lives meet our search for meaning. This isn't a sermon or a debate; it's a series of conversations that feel more like late-night talks with curious friends. Each episode brings in a different voice-psychologists, scholars, writers, and other experts-to explore how our beliefs, doubts, rituals, and spiritual yearnings are intertwined with the workings of the human mind. We get into the psychology behind religious experience, the spirituality that emerges outside traditional structures, and the very real ways these forces shape identity, community, and coping. The tone is thoughtful but unvarnished, embracing complexity without pretension. You'll hear genuine curiosity, nuanced perspectives, and, yes, the occasional bit of cussing when the topic calls for it. The goal is to offer a space for reflection on how these fundamental aspects of being human collide and coexist. If you've ever wondered about the psychological roots of faith, the spirituality of non-belief, or just how our brains make sense of the profound, this podcast provides a grounded, accessible entry point to those questions.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Religion on the Mind
Podcast Episodes
Purpose & Calling After Religious Change (#400) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:29:10
Psychologist Dr. Pamela Epstein King returns to explore how religious systems provide purpose, calling, and meaning — and what happens to those foundations when people go through significant religious change. Pam's Facul…
The Jewish Renewal Movement with Rabbi Simcha Raphael (#399) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:30
I sit down with Rabbi Dr. Simcha Raphael and learn about his remarkably wide-ranging spiritual journey. From a traditional Montreal Hebrew education through India, the San Francisco counterculture, and ultimately into th…
Study Hall: Nature v. Nurture (#398) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:29
The nature vs. nurture debate is largely settled (spoiler alert: it's both), but the implications for how and when religious identity forms are striking. The research points to a surprisingly early window for faith forma…
Parenting After Faith Deconstruction with Meredith Miller (#397) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:44
Meredith Miller returns to talk about something many of us have been navigating in our personal lives: how do you raise kids with a meaningful faith after your own deconstruction? We cover the real reasons to consider ch…
Eclectic Therapy: Mind, Body & John Wesley with Brad Strawn (#396) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:43:06
Brad Strawn of Fuller Seminary returns to unpack the four clinical and theological influences that shape his work as a therapist, pastor, and professor (Wesleyan theology, relational psychoanalysis, 4E cognition, and ter…
Sh*tty Minister’s Club with Lillian Daniel (#394) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:12
Lillian Daniel returns after five years to discuss her new book Defrocked: Good News from a Bad Pastor for a Better Church — a candid, often funny, and deeply human account of the misconduct process she underwent in the…
Naming Your Limits As a Tool For Hope: Anxious Times, Part 4 (#391) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:54
Co-host Kristen Tideman and I work through the final two legs of Emmy van Dersen's triad — the impossible and the desirable — using Kristen's new motherhood, MS diagnosis, and ongoing religious change as real, lived test…
Western Psychology, Eastern Spirituality with Jeffrey Rubin (#390) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:57
I sit down with clinical psychologist and author Dr. Jeffrey Rubin to explore his concept of meditative psychotherapy — a genuinely reciprocal integration of Western psychoanalysis and Eastern contemplative practice that…