Is My Podcast Title Mean? (and other deep thoughts)

I'm having an identity crisis.

Okay, maybe not an identity crisis. But I've been wondering whether There Is No God and We're All Gonna Die is actually a good name for a podcast that I'm hoping will bring people together.

Dolly Parton's death got me thinking about it.

Dolly had this extraordinary ability to make people feel like they mattered. She brought people together. She made people feel welcome.

And I started wondering whether my podcast title does the opposite.

Is it provocative? Is it funny? Is it intriguing?

Or is it just vinegar?

I'm genuinely asking.

Because here's the thing: I don't think the title is actually pessimistic. To me, both halves of the title are spiritual ideas.

If there is no God, then the responsibility for creating the goodness I want to see in the world belongs to me.

And if we're all gonna die, then this moment matters.

From there, we get into your voicemails.

I talk about my Facebook post that unexpectedly went viral after people decided that calling me gay was an insult. We talk about being proud of the identities other people might try to use against us.

We talk about feeding our pets, overcrowded animal shelters, and the impossible choices people sometimes face when they can no longer afford to care for their animals.

We talk about planning for death and why making those decisions ahead of time can be an act of love.

And then we get philosophical.

I'm an atheist, but I find plenty of wisdom in religion. I talk about the Serenity Prayer and the Prayer of St. Francis — two pieces of religious tradition that I find meaningful even though I don't believe anyone supernatural is listening.

We also talk about forgiveness, including my own struggle to forgive the men who brutally attacked me because I was gay.

I didn't forgive them because what they did was okay.

I forgave them because I didn't want their hatred to continue taking up space inside me.

And maybe that's what this whole podcast is really about.

If there is no God, then it's up to us.

If we're all gonna die, then we'd better make the time count.

So what do you think?

I'd genuinely love to hear from you.