Religion on the Mind

I sit down with Dr. Nathan Carlin, professor of medical humanities and author of The Secularization of Medicine, to explore his fascinating thesis that doctors have become the new priests of secular society. We trace how this shift began—from medieval cathedrals as the highest points in European cities to modern hospital skylines dominating places like Houston's Texas Medical Center, where people now make pilgrimages seeking salvation of the body rather than the soul. Nathan walks me through the historical intertwining of religion and medicine, from the original Hippocratic Oath invoking Apollo to the 1850s when the American Medical Association's code explicitly grounded medical ethics in religion, and how the 1960s-70s brought radical secularization alongside movements for patient rights and autonomy. We explore the moral complexities of medical decision-making through the haunting case of Dax, a burn victim who consistently demanded to die but was kept alive by doctors who believed they knew best, and examine Canada's controversial Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program, which now accounts for one in twenty deaths. Our conversation explores the tension between patient autonomy and other moral values, the vulnerability inherent in the doctor-patient relationship that mirrors the confessional booth, and why psychedelic research needs the institutional prestige of places like Johns Hopkins to gain legitimacy—a perfect example of medicine functioning as the new church. In the Patron-only second half, we discuss cases of medical fraud, vaccine skepticism and institutional trust, and why medicine needs practices of confession and forgiveness to repair the mistrust that plagues healthcare today. Dr. Carlin's Book | The Secularization of Medicine: Ritual, Salvation, and Prophecy Dr. Carlin's Faculty Page | Med.uth.edu/oep/nathan-carlin-ph-d ___________________________________________ 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: [email protected] YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We ease into today’s topic with a Top of Mind segment on two competing narratives: does having children make the future better? Or worse? From right-leaning fears of population collapse to left-leaning concerns about overpopulation and climate impact, both arguments rely on catastrophizing about opposing dystopian predictions, and I myself have not been immune to them. For our main interview, I’m joined by Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine and author of the "thousand true fans" theory (yes, that Kevin Kelly), to explore his concept of "protopia"—a vision of the future that's neither utopian nor dystopian, but rather a steady 1-2% improvement compounded over time. We get into the weeds on process theology, the cosmic Christ appearing on trillions of planets, why we'll need a "catechism for robots" within 100 years, and how AI might actually make us better humans by forcing us to codify what "better than us" even means.  Kevin's technological optimism isn't naive—he fully acknowledges that more powerful technologies create more powerful problems—but he argues our capacity to solve problems consistently outpaces our ability to create them, and that technology itself carries something divine in how it expands the possibility space for human flourishing. From personal anxiety about parenthood to cosmic theology to the future of consciousness itself—this is exactly the kind of conversation we love to have on this show. Kevin Kelly's Website | Kk.org Article Mentions: https://skepticalscience.com/moving-away-high-end-emission-scenarios.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com ___________________________________________ 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: [email protected] YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the continuation of this series examining how cognitive distortions impact our religious beliefs and experiences, I'm diving into one of the most pervasive distortions with returning guest Molly LaCroix: jumping to conclusions.  This thinking error shows up everywhere: in our relationships (Molly shares a perfect personal example involving this very podcast), our therapy practices, and especially in religious contexts. I break down the difference between evidence-based thinking and filling voids with negative assumptions, examining everything from Job's misguided friends to prosperity gospel theology.  We tackle some genuinely sticky questions: What's the difference between jumping to conclusions and taking a leap of faith? How do we hold beliefs provisionally while maintaining committed faith? And when does this cognitive distortion cross into spiritual abuse territory?  Drawing from evolutionary psychology, Christian tradition, and wisdom from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, we land on something surprisingly hopeful—that both good therapy and ancient religious wisdom point us toward the same antidote: slow down, seek fuller information, and approach others with curiosity rather than suspicion.  Whether you're a therapist, a person of faith navigating deconstruction, or just someone who wants to stop catastrophizing every time a sent text goes unanswered, this conversation offers practical tools wrapped in deeper existential questions about certainty, ambiguity, and what it means to truly have faith. Molly's Website | ⁠Mollylacroix.com Un-Shaming Each Part of Ourselves (#197) Episode #123 with Heather Griffin | "Bible Truths," "Sanctified Common Sense," & "Evangelical Insta-Trust" ___________________________________________ 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: [email protected] YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with another Generation Gap Culture Hour featuring myself, Tony Jones and Josh Gilbert all representing our different generational viewpoints. As is our regular dynamic, this one kicks off with Tony disagreeing with something I say. We quickly get into discussing whether genetic analysis of historical figures like Hitler (yes, they sequenced his DNA from blood on a couch) actually tells us anything meaningful. Tony is skeptical, but I think the connection between genetics and legacy is fascinating in how it informs our understanding of nature versus nurture. We debate about whether or not the word "pedophile" is being misused in coverage of the Epstein files, and why precision in language matters even when discussing despicable people. We cleanse our palates with meditative bushcraft videos served up by my five-year-old’s YouTube algorithm. In the Patreon-only second half we finish our discussion on the re-emergence of "pedophile" into public discourse, debate whether modern guys are too self-conscious about nudity in locker rooms (with Tony lamenting his gym now requires swimsuits in the hot tub), and I somehow end up moderating while Tony and Josh argue about whether co-ed locker rooms would have more or fewer social norms. ___________________________________________ 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: [email protected] YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Definitely don’t play this one with kids around! I’m sitting down with journalist Ellen Huet to explore the rise and fall of OneTaste, a San Francisco wellness startup that built an empire around "orgasmic meditation"—a 15-minute sexual practice wrapped in spiritual language and trademark Silicon Valley business savvy.  Ellen, who wrote the exposé that helped trigger an FBI investigation and whose book Empire of Orgasm releases tomorrow, walks me through how founder Nicole Dadone created a company that promised enlightenment through sexuality, borrowed heavily from Buddhist and tantric traditions (while naming their practice "OM"), and attracted a devoted following among tech workers and entrepreneurs. We get deep into the “ick” of how spirituality, commerce, and exploitation all worked together, discussing how implicit manipulation can be more powerful than explicit demands, why people stayed despite red flags, and how OneTaste's playbook mirrors both traditional cult dynamics and the modern wellness influencer industrial complex.  From "unconditional sex" experiments to forced labor convictions, this conversation reveals how spiritual abuse operates in startup culture and why the future of cult-like control might look less like rural communes and more like your Instagram feed.  Fair warning: this episode includes frank discussion of sexual practices and exploitation. ___________________________________________ 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: [email protected] YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices