Excavations with Connie Chen Fri, 03 Apr 2026 20:32:35 -0400 https://excavations.buzzsprout.com en-us © 2026 Excavations with Connie Chen yes Support this Podcast 5b0b1910-55b7-5663-8988-69a099423952 connie@connie-chen.com Connie Chen episodic false Conversations at the margins of faith. Excavations interviews scholars, survivors, and spiritual truth-tellers doing the work of recovering what religion buried: centering marginalized voices, bodies, and the theologies that were never supposed to survive. Hosted by Connie Chen.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Connie Chen connie@connie-chen.com https://storage.buzzsprout.com/0cogts7u1g3v833xbdamgj4sntlr?.jpg Excavations with Connie Chen Queer God, Queer Sex: A Conversation with Ciarra Jones on Bodies, Pleasure, and Divine Love Queer God, Queer Sex: A Conversation with Ciarra Jones on Bodies, Pleasure, and Divine Love What happens when you stop apologizing for your body and start reading it as sacred text? In this episode of Excavations, I sit down with Ciarra Jones (@thegardeningtheologian) to talk about what it actually means to reclaim the body after religious trauma. We go deep on queer sexual ethics, the theology of pleasure, disability justice, Eve as liberator, and why so much of Christian tradition has needed us to stay at war with our own flesh.
This is a conversation for anyone who grew up being taught that their body was the problem and is starting to suspect the tradition was wrong.


We cover:
Queer theology and sexual ethics
Embodiment, pleasure, and the sacred body
Deconstruction and religious trauma
Disability justice and theology
Eve, death, rebirth, and what liberation actually costs

Support the show

]]> What happens when you stop apologizing for your body and start reading it as sacred text? In this episode of Excavations, I sit down with Ciarra Jones (@thegardeningtheologian) to talk about what it actually means to reclaim the body after religious trauma. We go deep on queer sexual ethics, the theology of pleasure, disability justice, Eve as liberator, and why so much of Christian tradition has needed us to stay at war with our own flesh.
This is a conversation for anyone who grew up being taught that their body was the problem and is starting to suspect the tradition was wrong.


We cover:
Queer theology and sexual ethics
Embodiment, pleasure, and the sacred body
Deconstruction and religious trauma
Disability justice and theology
Eve, death, rebirth, and what liberation actually costs

Support the show

]]> Connie Chen Buzzsprout-18960083 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0400 6624 2 3 full false The Shame Cycle: Sex, Sin, and Scripture The Shame Cycle: Sex, Sin, and Scripture What happens when desire meets doctrine and neither will back down?

In this episode of Excavations, Connie Chen sits down with Colten Barnaby for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation about the tangled roots of faith, sexuality, and identity. They dig into what it means to grow up Christian with a body full of desires you've been taught to distrust, how worshiping a male God shapes the way we relate to ourselves and others, and why shame doesn't just disappear when you leave the pew.

From trans theology to the violence embedded in liberation, this conversation refuses easy answers, and wrestles honestly with scripture, pleasure, body image, and the communities that formed (and sometimes deformed) us.

Because you can't excavate your faith without excavating yourself.

Connect with us:

Help sustain my work and this podcast on Patreon

Support the show

]]> What happens when desire meets doctrine and neither will back down?

In this episode of Excavations, Connie Chen sits down with Colten Barnaby for a wide-ranging, unfiltered conversation about the tangled roots of faith, sexuality, and identity. They dig into what it means to grow up Christian with a body full of desires you've been taught to distrust, how worshiping a male God shapes the way we relate to ourselves and others, and why shame doesn't just disappear when you leave the pew.

From trans theology to the violence embedded in liberation, this conversation refuses easy answers, and wrestles honestly with scripture, pleasure, body image, and the communities that formed (and sometimes deformed) us.

Because you can't excavate your faith without excavating yourself.

Connect with us:

Help sustain my work and this podcast on Patreon

Support the show

]]> Connie Chen Buzzsprout-18786020 Thu, 12 Mar 2026 16:00:00 -0400 6964 2 2 full false Hospicing Whiteness: Learning How to Die So We Can Live Hospicing Whiteness: Learning How to Die So We Can Live Join Connie Chen and Dr. Tamice Spencer-Helms for a rich conversation exploring hospice work as a powerful metaphor for helping whiteness face its own death and transformation. Together, we reflect on the sacred interconnectedness of birth and death, the vital role of embodiment in spiritual practice, and the possibility of resurrection that emerges when we embrace grief, ritual, and our shared humanity.

In this episode, we explore:

  • How the disembodiment of whiteness disconnects us from ourselves and how its death can open the door to a more authentic way of being
  • Choosing joy, depth, and meaningful impact over fame and performance
  • The complex relationship between sin and shame
  • Crying as part of the body’s natural, life-giving cycle
  • How post-Christian identity creates space for more expansive, honest conversations about faith
  • Why God cannot be contained by rigid categories. God is being itself

Connect with us:

Help sustain my work and this podcast on Patreon

Support the show

]]> Join Connie Chen and Dr. Tamice Spencer-Helms for a rich conversation exploring hospice work as a powerful metaphor for helping whiteness face its own death and transformation. Together, we reflect on the sacred interconnectedness of birth and death, the vital role of embodiment in spiritual practice, and the possibility of resurrection that emerges when we embrace grief, ritual, and our shared humanity.

In this episode, we explore:

  • How the disembodiment of whiteness disconnects us from ourselves and how its death can open the door to a more authentic way of being
  • Choosing joy, depth, and meaningful impact over fame and performance
  • The complex relationship between sin and shame
  • Crying as part of the body’s natural, life-giving cycle
  • How post-Christian identity creates space for more expansive, honest conversations about faith
  • Why God cannot be contained by rigid categories. God is being itself

Connect with us:

Help sustain my work and this podcast on Patreon

Support the show

]]> Connie Chen Buzzsprout-18785560 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:00:00 -0500 4283 2 1 full false 8:46 8:46 From the perspective of an Asian American artist, I explore the Instagram blackout designed to prompt reflection and amplify black voices after the death of George Floyd.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review here on iTunes and supporting me on Patreon. 

If you would like to suggest topics for future episodes or send in comments, please email excavationspodcast@gmail.com 

Website: www.connie-chen.com
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube 



Support the show

]]> From the perspective of an Asian American artist, I explore the Instagram blackout designed to prompt reflection and amplify black voices after the death of George Floyd.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review here on iTunes and supporting me on Patreon. 

If you would like to suggest topics for future episodes or send in comments, please email excavationspodcast@gmail.com 

Website: www.connie-chen.com
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube 



Support the show

]]> Connie Chen Buzzsprout-4037933 Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 -0400 633 1 2 full false Unclaimed Bodies Unclaimed Bodies Welcome to the inaugural episode of Excavations, where I share my response to a photo I stumbled upon on April 9th, 2020 and have not been able to look away from since.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review here on iTunes and supporting me on Patreon. 

If you would like to suggest topics for future episodes or send in comments, please email excavationspodcast@gmail.com 

Website: www.connie-chen.com
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube





Support the show

]]> Welcome to the inaugural episode of Excavations, where I share my response to a photo I stumbled upon on April 9th, 2020 and have not been able to look away from since.

If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please consider leaving a review here on iTunes and supporting me on Patreon. 

If you would like to suggest topics for future episodes or send in comments, please email excavationspodcast@gmail.com 

Website: www.connie-chen.com
Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube





Support the show

]]> Connie Chen Buzzsprout-3901682 Sun, 24 May 2020 23:00:00 -0400 741 1 1 full false