Ken's Blog and Show Notes

Musings, reflections, and observations from the Beached White Male

Ken's Blog and Show Notes

Musings, reflections and observations from the Beached White Male​

David Dark, Ph.D.

Professor, Author, Advocate

We Become What We Normalize | Life’s Too Short to Pretend You Aren’t Religious

Associate Professor of Religion and the Arts

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES

Ph.D., Vanderbilt University; 

B.A., Middle Tennessee State University

The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp

S5E72 David Dark - We Become What We Normalize (Reprise)

December 04, 2024

Ken Kemp

Send us a text

Ken welcomes back professor, author, and activist Dr. David Dark to discuss his new book, We Become What We Normalize. David shares the recent tragedy on Belmont University's campus in the shooting of the popular freshman, accomplished musician Jillian Ludwig . He tells us about the impact of this horrible incident on his students. The entire nation took note - raising the issue of gun control. David asks a provocative question: "Am I responsible for the lies that other people voice in my presence unchallenged?" When we are silent, we normalize. The conversation picks up Part I - discussing David's assertion that all of us -because we are human - are "religious." There exists good and bad/toxic and healthy religion. We must apply critical thinking to discern. Dr. Dark agrees with Christopher Hitchens that there is a form of religion that "poisons everything." To illustrate, they consider a diverse collection of individuals including Colin Kaepernick, Howard Thurman, Rush Limbaugh, and Donald Trump. In conclusion, David shares his long-time work in the Tennessee prison system - regrettably, a for-profit enterprise.

David Dark Part I

SHOW NOTES | Become a Patron

Support the show


Support the show

Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com

Podcast Interview Part II
The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp

S4E70 David Dark Part II - We Become What We Normalize

November 30, 2023

Ken Kemp

Send us a text

Ken welcomes back professor, author, and activist Dr. David Dark to discuss his new book, We Become What We Normalize. David shares the recent tragedy on Belmont University's campus in the shooting of the popular freshman, accomplished musician Jillian Ludwig . He tells us about the impact of this horrible incident on his students. The entire nation took note - raising the issue of gun control. David asks a provocative question: "Am I responsible for the lies that other people voice in my presence unchallenged?" When we are silent, we normalize. The conversation picks up Part I - discussing David's assertion that all of us -because we are human - are "religious." There exists good and bad/toxic and healthy religion. We must apply critical thinking to discern. Dr. Dark agrees with Christopher Hitchens that there is a form of religion that "poisons everything." To illustrate, they consider a diverse collection of individuals including Colin Kaepernick, Howard Thurman, Rush Limbaugh, and Donald Trump. In conclusion, David shares his long-time work in the Tennessee prison system - regrettably, a for-profit enterprise.

SHOW NOTES | Become a Patron

Support the show

Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com

Podcast Interview Part I
The Beached White Male Podcast with Ken Kemp

S4E63 David Dark: Life's Too Short to Pretend You Aren't Religious Part I

October 26, 2023

Ken Kemp

Send us a text

When Wheaton College released it's anticipated Report on Race, there was a glaring omission. A comprehensive self-study over the history of the college had an arbitraty cut-off date of the year 2000. While it was an attempt to be transparent, vulnerable, and forthright over past mistakes, the report failed to address the painful departure of the first African American woman tenured professor, Dr. Larycia Hawkins. Ken reached out to Professor David Dark of Belmont University, an outspoken advocate of Dr. Hawkins and her work. They discuss the Wheaton episode. A very popular professor, Dr. Dark is active on social media and highly regarded for his books, his lectures and social commentary. Ken and David cover many topics including the Nashville political scene. Dr. Dark has a personal connection to The Covenant School, where a mass shoting gained national attention and introduced us to the "Tennessee Three" - legislators who made "Good Trouble" on the floor of the legislature demanding a debate on gun control. Ken asked David to continue this lively conversation in a part two, scheduled for next week where they will continue the conversation, including his book Life's too Short to Pretend you aren't Religious. SHOW NOTES

Become a Patron

Support the show

Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!

Ken’s Substack Page

The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com

Wheaton Report on Racism

Linda Midgett wrote, directed and produced the documentary around the dismissal of tenured professor, Dr. Larycia Hawkins at Wheaton College. This incident is not addressed in Wheaton’s report.

View SAME GOD on 

Amazon Prime

Books by David Dark

To be released November 14, 2023

We Become What We Normalize

What We Owe Each Other in Worlds That Demand Our Silence

From one of the most respected thinkers and public intellectuals of our day comes a book that is both a cultural critique of the state of our country and a robust summons to resist complicity. As we move through the world, we constantly weigh our conscience against what David Dark calls “deferential fear”–going along just to get along, especially in relation to our cultural, political, and religious conversations. Dark reveals our compromised reality: the host of hidden structures and tacit social arrangements that draw us away from ourselves and threaten to turn us slowly into what we decry in others.

Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious 

Reframed and Expanded

David Dark is one of today’s most respected thinkers, public intellectuals, and cultural critics at the intersection of faith and culture. Since its original release, Dark’s Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious has become essential reading for those engaged in the conversation on religion in contemporary American society. Now, Dark returns to his classic text and offers us a revised, expanded, and reframed editionthatreflects a more expansive understanding, employs inclusive language, and tackles the most pressing issues of the day.

Advanced Praise for David Dark

More Pending