🎙️ Episode Summary

In this powerful conversation, host Bruce Reyes-Chow sits down with Dr. Liz Theoharis and Charon Hribar to discuss their new book We Pray Freedom: Liturgies and Rituals from the Freedom Church of the Poor. Together, they explore how ritual, prayer, song, and community become vital tools in the fight against poverty and injustice. Despite the darkness of our current moment—from rising authoritarianism to devastating policy cuts—Liz and Sharon remind us that hope is not naive. It's real, attainable, and already blooming in grassroots movements across the country.

From free dental clinics in churches to Jericho walks around detention centers, they share concrete examples of communities living into a vision of abundance and justice. They challenge us to move beyond performative allyship, to sing together, to take action together, and to remember: we get there together or we don't get there at all.

This is a conversation about reclaiming faith traditions rooted in liberation, staying grounded in difficult times, and the radical possibility that poverty could actually end—if only we had the political will.

🤝🏽 About Our Guests

Here is the trailer for Episode 76 of The Amalgamation Podcast: We Pray Freedom: A Conversation with Charon Hribar and Liz Theoharis

✊ About Our Guest

Flamy Grant is a shame‑slaying, hip‑swaying, chart‑topping drag performer and singer‑songwriter who blends folk, gospel, and roots music to tell stories of resilience, faith, and liberation. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Flamy’s work reimagines the intersections of queerness and spirituality — challenging religious trauma and reclaiming sacred belonging through art and performance.

Her debut album Bible Belt Baby soared to #1 on the iTunes Christian chart and was named one of the Top Ten Queer Country Albums of 2023. Her 2024 follow‑up CHURCH hit #8 on the iTunes Country chart, cementing her as a vital new voice in progressive spiritual music. A winner of the 2023 Kerrville New Folk contest and nominee for Artist of the Year at the 2025 International Folk Music Awards, Flamy uses her platform to advocate for inclusion, authenticity, and the divine within us all.

(Her name is a nod to pop icon Amy Grant — a joyful act of reclamation and reverence.)

🎧 Episode Summary

In this episode, host Bruce Reyes‑Chow sits down with Flamy Grant for a conversation that’s equal parts fabulous and faith‑filled. Together, they explore the intersections of drag, spirituality, and authenticity — and how art can become a sanctuary for the marginalized. From performing in churches to topping the Christian charts in full drag, Flamy shares her journey of reconciling queerness and faith while unlearning shame and embracing joy.

This is a powerful, funny, and deeply human conversation about what it means to reclaim the sacred on your own terms.

✨ Episode Highlights

• How drag became a spiritual practice and source of healing.
• What it means to find holiness in queerness.
• The story behind Bible Belt Baby and CHURCH.
• Navigating the backlash and beauty of being a drag artist in Christian spaces.
• How to build communities rooted in radical inclusion and joy.

🔗 Episode Links & Resources

Here is the trailer for Episode 75 of The Amalgamation Podcast: Unashamed: Drag, Deconstruction, and the Divine with Flamy Grant.

🎙 The Amalgamation: Episode 74

🔎 At-a-Glance Summary

In this episode, host Bruce Reyes-Chow speaks with Musa al-Gharbi about his book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite. The conversation dives into wokeness, race, education, and politics, challenging the gap between elite progressive rhetoric and the lack of material change for marginalized groups. Expect a balance of sobering insights and witty exchanges.

✨ Episode Highlights

• Why the term "wokeness" often refers to the symbolic performance of activism rather than substantive policy reform.
• The function of cultural contradictions within elite institutions, and how they neutralize true social justice movements.
• A critical look at the role of politics and education in perpetuating the very systems they claim to be critiquing.
• Musa's perspective on what a truly "woke" or equitable society would actually prioritize.

✊🏽 About Our Guest/s

Musa al-Gharbi (Sociologist, Stony Brook University)

Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist in the School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University. His first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, is out now with Princeton University Press. His second book, Those People, is scheduled for release in late 2026 with Princeton University Press. Musa's Substack, Symbolic Capital(ism), explores themes that cut across both books.

In this episode, Musa joins Bruce to discuss the core arguments of We Have Never Been Woke, examining the gap between stated progressive ideals and their practical, often contradictory, outcomes within influential institutions.

📬 Connect with the Guests