J.Kwest interview from Wild Goose 2016

​As you may know, the Sectarian Review Podcast was graciously invited down to the 2016 Wild Goose Festival in Hot Springs, North Carolina (and I don't know about the springs, but, yes, the air was hot at least).

I have many thoughts about Wild Goose, some of which I expressed on the show that I recorded there with the Christian Feminist Podcast's Carla Ewert and the OPEN initiative's Michael Kimpan. That conversation focused on finding a definition of hipsterism as a stance that seeks a positive moral position in society. The conversation was really fun and it still has my brain buzzing as I try and figure out what the heck this podcast is. Let me just say for now that that discussion really helped.

Right on the heels of that show, look for this episode, which is an interview I did with the pastor and hip hop artist J.Kwest (aka Rev. Julian DeShazier). His latest album, Lemonade, is a fantastic example of the kind of Christian art we argued for in our "Against Praise Movies" episode. In our conversation, we talked about art, faith, race, and the role of activism in fostering change. As you no doubt know, while we were in North Carolina, our country experienced more horrifying tragedies that once again demonstrate the persistence of racial injustice in America. These events hung over the whole festival (and J. Kwest's performance in particular) and I was lucky to have the chance to talk to Rev. DeShazier about it. It was profoundly moving for me.

This interview (and the trip to Wild Goose as a whole) felt like a turning point for this show. I've been struggling to figure out what this podcast is and I now feel like I have a glimpse of what it at least might be. The episodes will be up soon. In the meantime, please take the time to look up J.Kwest on YouTube and www.jkwest.com. His wonderful album, Lemonade, is available on iTunes and well worth the purchase.