Reverend Dr. Je' Exodus Hooper is an arts and cultural community curator, clergy leader, and scholar, but none of those words will prepare you for what it actually feels like to be in conversation with them. Je' moves through ideas the way a painter moves through color, layering meaning on top of meaning until you realize you've been seeing the world in a shade you didn't have a name for before.

From the gentrification of Black knowledge within humanist spaces, to why cancel culture is a form of erasure, to the three values Je' will go to their grave defending, this conversation is a full-body experience. Shay walked away from this recording and immediately needed to dance in her living room. If you scooch over the coffee table, you just might dance too.

ABOUT REV. JE' EXODUS HOOPER

Rev. Jé Exodus Hooper, PhD (them/they) is an arts and cultural community curator, clergy leader, and scholar who serves in Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, NJ, the Ethical Culture Movement, and other congregational Humanist spaces.

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist

Jack Harrison-Quintana has spent his career doing work that has shaped LGBTQ lives in corners of the world most advocates never get to reach. He has shown up, in person, in over 76 countries, building real relationships with LGBTQ activists on the ground, helping communities collect their own data on discrimination when their governments wouldn't, and working to make sure that the most vulnerable queer people in the world had access to resources, safety, and each other. His resume reads like a life fully committed to the idea that no one should have to fight for their dignity alone.

This conversation is a rare opportunity to hear someone who has seen the global state of LGBTQ rights up close and still chooses to believe in the direction we are heading. Jack is honest about how bad it is in too many places, and equally honest about why the backlash we are living through right now is not the whole story. If you have been trying to hold onto hope without looking away from the truth, this is the episode for that.

ABOUT JACK HARRISON-QUINTANA

Jack Harrison-Quintana, M.A., is a queer Latino activist, author, and researcher. His work at the intersection of digital advocacy and LGBTQ justice has earned him recognition as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top geopolitical thinkers of 2016 as well as Fast Company’s most creative people in business.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-harrison-quintana-5002958b/
Kink for Dummies: https://bit.ly/kinkfordummies

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As the founder of Yesterqueers, Amanda W. Timpson is doing the work of restoring what got left out of queer history, correcting narratives that were shaped by white supremacy and patriarchy, and sharing it in an accessible and entertaining way.

This conversation goes beyond Stonewall and the names we think we already know. Amanda makes a case that history belongs to all of us. The diary you're not keeping, the photo albums sitting in a box, the family member you haven't interviewed yet -- these are all part of a record that is actively disappearing and worth saving, with help from all of us.

ABOUT AMANDA W. TIMPSON

Yesterqueers founder Amanda W. Timpson is a public historian, a former television executive, and a Carrie Fisher-inspired sass factory who is passionate about celebrating the broad expanse of queer history. As the descendent of a long line of writers and raconteurs, storytelling is part of Amanda’s DNA; she believes that restorative storytelling is our most powerful tool for connection, understanding, and change.

Yesterqueers: https://yesterqueers.com
Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson: https://bit.ly/marshabook

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Shane Lukas runs an award-winning design agency, has a TEDx Talk dropping, and owns a record collection that is genuinely not fair. He also does respite foster care with his partner in North Carolina -- meaning when a kid comes into the system with nowhere to go, sometimes they land at Shane's house. It's a commitment, it's not always easy, and he's not here to make it sound like it is.

What this conversation gets into is the full picture: the kids who are aging out of the age range that most foster parents are comfortable with, the religious institutions that have stepped in to fill a gap that nobody else showed up for, the queer kids who end up in homes that don't see them, and the systemic failures that make all of it so much harder than it needs to be. If you've ever thought about fostering, or wondered why humanists aren't more present in that space, or just wanted to understand what the foster care system actually looks like from the inside -- this is the episode. The need is urgent, it's everywhere, and most people have no idea how close it already is to them.

ABOUT SHANE LUKAS

Shane Lukas (he/him) leads A Great Idea—an award-winning agency delivering digital and print design and content solutions nationwide to grow, empower and activate brand advocates for purpose-driven companies and organizations. In addition to his 10 years of success leading AGI, he is a proud Humanist, lifelong harm reduction organizer, author, and public speaker named one of GDUSA’s “Designers for Good."

A Great Idea: https://agreatidea.com
Shane Lukas: https://shanelukas.com

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist

Shay has been known to keep her cool in interviews... until now. But it's Cain Culto, so... fair. Cain's music and striking visual artistry has been breaking people's brains since from the beginning, even while working at Sprouts and finding ways to build professional-grade visuals from scratch. He is, as Shay's sister Seren put it, a piece of art on two feet.

Get ready for one of the most inspiring conversations this podcast has seen thus far. Cain talks about leaving the church, the shame he carried, the sisters he mourned, and the transmutation of all of it into something that sounds like nothing else on earth in the best way possible. His album drops in September, 2026, and we are vying for a sold out tour and an epic month of Pride performances.

ABOUT CAIN CULTO

Cain Culto is a former worship pastor turned queer renegade, blending left-field pop and hip-hop with global influences. Raised in a Colombian-Nicaraguan household, he grew up between Florida and Kentucky, absorbing salsa, bluegrass, and evangelical culture. After leaving his acclaimed Christian band Ecclesia in 2021, he reemerged as Cain Culto — an artist reclaiming his spirituality, sexuality, and cultural roots. A fearless DIY auteur, he crafts provocative music and visuals that challenge faith, politics, and capitalism, fusing protest, satire, and undeniable pop magic.

Cain Culto Instagram: https://instagram.com/cainculto

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist

Shay has a bestie. Her bestie is a Christian named Cheryl. They have been besties since May 19th, 2009, and neither of them has tried to convert the other once. And yet they've both survived. It's a miracle.

This episode is for everyone who has ever wondered whether an interfaith friendship can actually work, or whether you have to choose between your beliefs and the people you love. You don't. And if you listen closely, there are emotional intelligence cues in this conversation that could genuinely change how you show up for the people in your life — from how to create a protected space for honest conversation, to how to hold your tongue just long enough to actually hear someone. Also, but let's be real... the fact that these two aren't married and living on an island somewhere is honestly a pretty strong argument against the existence of a supernatural being, don't you think?

ABOUT CHERYL ANSCOMBE

Cheryl Anscombe is a Global Talent Development Specialist at NBCUniversal, a mom of two amazing girls, and a self-proclaimed plant mom who is always in the middle of some kind of creative project — whether that's putting together charcuterie boards, attempting a DIY home project she saw on TikTok, or creating digital designs. Lately she has been building fairy gardens with her daughters, and she also loves cooking and baking. A North Jersey native, she currently lives in the Philadelphia suburbs and on occasion, will charge her phone... but only partially.

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist

On our first international episide, we visit Bergen to talk to Christian Lomsdalen -- the president of the Norwegian Humanist Association, a high school teacher, a religious studies scientist at the University of Bergen, and a person who has gods tattooed on his back. Apparently this is completely normal in Norway.

So is a state-funded humanist organization with 180,000 members, a confirmation ceremony that rivals a quinceañera, and a K-12 curriculum where humanism is just part of the lesson plan. The humanist world we are fighting for in the United States already exists there, and nobody has to explain it to the guy in the corner of the room. Can you imagine? This conversation will totally make you jealous and then it will (or at least should) make you want to get to work.

ABOUT CHRISTIAN LOMSDALEN

Norwegian educator, scholar of religion, and the current president of the Norwegian Humanist Association (Human-Etisk Forbund), a position he has held since his election in 2021. He is widely recognized in Norway as a prominent secular humanist leader, academic researcher, and educational podcaster

Norwegian Humanist Association: https://human.no
Confirmation Ceremony: https://fritanke.no/rekordpamelding-til-humanistisk-konfirmasjon-i-2018/19.10614

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist

Dr. Monica Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist, a self-proclaimed Swiss Army knife of a human being, and someone who will absolutely bring up DMX at exactly the right moment in a conversation about allyship. That's ok -- if you've been listening, you'll already know that Shay was ready with her jukebox trigger. "Flesh of my FLESH!", and all that.

Anyway...

This is one of those episodes where you come in thinking you're talking about race-based stress and ADHD, and somehow end up somewhere far more personal and far more honest than you expected, and by the end you're thinking about the reason you're doing this work to begin with. Take a listen.

ABOUT DR. MONICA JOHNSON

Monica Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist, AASECT Certified Sex Therapist, and founder of Kind Mind Psychology, a Black-owned virtual group practice serving clients across New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Delaware, and 40+ PSYPACT states. Kind Mind specializes in evidence-based treatment for ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, borderline personality disorder, and relationship issues using CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, and ERP. The practice is deeply affirming of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and alternative lifestyle communities. Kind Mind also offers executive functioning and ADHD coaching nationwide.

Johnson hosts ADHD & on Understood.org, exploring how ADHD intersects with relationships, identity, parenting, and daily life. She’s also a recurring guest expert on Understood.org’s Expert Answers, ADHD Aha!, and Sorry, I Missed This. Johnson is the author of Push Back: Assert Yourself in Relationships and co-author of Addressing Race-Based Stress in Therapy With Black Clients. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, British Vogue, SELF, the Associated Press, Ebony, and Them.

Official Website: https://kindmindpsych.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/kindmindpsych

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For more on humanism: https://linktr.ee/americanhumanist