Today, we flip the script: Kent C. Dodds is the host, and I'll be the guest.

I had the opportunity to talk about how I was raised in a nominally Catholic environment, but left it at age 14 when I was convinced atheism was the thing smart people do.

We also chatted about what brought me back, and why I decided to, among all possible paths, to join the Catholic Church.

In this episode, TJ DeVries joins me to talk about Dostoevsky, suffering, and whether nailing your own testicles to the ground is a smart idea.

We talked about predestination, Calvinism, the various views of God's omnipotence, and resolve the 500-year long dispute on the matter. It is safe to say if we were alive in the 16th century, history would have been a lot more peaceful.

We also covered the universe as a simulation, and how order in the universe points to design.

Connect with TJ:
https://twitter.com/teej_dv
https://twitch.tv/teej_dv
https://www.youtube.com/@teej_dv

Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Brandon Bayer. He is the creator of Blitz.js, and the founder of Flightcontrol. Brandon and I talked about his upbringing in the Old German Baptist Brethren Church. He walked us through his journey from a social Christian towards a true believer, and how that impacted his life, and his work.

Learn more about Brandon:
https://twitter.com/flybayer

Learn more about Flightcontrol:
https://flightcontrol.dev

In today's episode I spoke to ThePrimeagen. One of the biggest influencers in tech today, we chatted about his difficult upbringing, his struggles resulting from nihilism, and how one day, his life suddenly changed.

In today's episode I had the pleasure of speaking to Nadia Asparouhova - x.com/nayafia, a writer and researcher, and the author of Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software (Stripe Press).

We discussed how after a life of atheism, transcendental experiences like childbirth and the Jhanas, an ancient attention-based meditation technique led her to believe there is more to life than matter. We also discussed the surprising connection between meditation and Mr. Miyagi, from the movie Karate Kid.

In today's episode, I had an emotional conversation with Aaron Francis, the founder of TryHard Studios, and a powerhouse in the PHP/Laravel Community.

Aaron went to school to become an accountant, but later found love the love for technology that propels him to these days.

He shared with us an inspiring example of how he persisted in his faith, which he considers irresistible, through hardship and periods of questioning.

Learn more about Aaron Francis:
https://x.com/aarondfrancis
HighPerformanceSQLite.com
http://tryhardstudios.com

In today's episode I spoke and got to know Joshua Berrios - @JBerri0s, the host of the @code_fellowship podcast. We discussed his life as a military man, his relationship with his father and how he got into technology. Whether or not NDEs are to be believed, and his journey into his current ministry.

Meet Joshua in his own words:

I am a military vet in tech that was saved by grace. I am a podcast host of codeFellowship, a video podcast centered around bringing light to Christian Developers' testimonies and how they intersect their faith with their work in tech. Just a few months ago, God confirmed codeFellowship as a ministry He wants me to continue developing all while being a full-time software engineer at a healthcare SaaS company and a dad of 3.

Today's episode is a bit of a reversal: Lane Wagner is a former member of the Church of Mormon, that after being confronted with things he had growing up without knowing, abandoned the church at first, and shortly after, religion altogether. We had a great time discussing how his stance evolved over the years, the problem of evil, and how the need for faith for salvation (in his view) is the thing that still keeps him grounded in atheism.