Tyler Bieber on Whiplash Podcast: A Conversation Worth Hearing
I’m genuinely impressed by Tyler Bieber’s commitment to outreach—his willingness to seek out and show up for conversations, events, and sustained engagement around his book. That level of care and follow-through is a gift in any author–publisher relationship.
Following his recent appearance on God Talk, Tyler joined Whiplash with Maxwell Kuzma alongside co-host Maddie Marlett for a conversation that widens the frame around Father Tom Oddo once again. Where God Talk offered an intimate, relational entry point, Whiplash situates Tom’s life and advocacy within longer histories of queer Catholic presence, institutional resistance, and moral risk.
The hosts were open about encountering Father Tom’s story for the first time through Against the Current, yet the conversation quickly revealed how closely his life intersected with the people, institutions, and questions already shaping their own work—underscoring how his influence continues to ripple outward.
Rather than revisiting the basics, the episode presses into deeper questions: fear as a condition of justice work, education as a liberatory practice, and integrity inside systems that resist it. The conversation reinforces why Against the Current continues to resonate beyond Catholic audiences. Listeners interested in LGBTQ history, higher education, social justice, or ethical leadership will find a lot to sit with.
Side note: When this episode ended, the next one autoplayed (as they do); it hooked me. The episode, “After Purity: A Conversation with Sara Moslener,” hosted by Emma Cieslik, reframes purity culture as a racial and political project, tracing how innocence myths, nationalism, and the policing of bodies continue to shape anti-trans fear campaigns, reproductive control, and contemporary Catholic nationalism. Between the podcast and Max’s recent essay “Anti-LGBTQ Catholicism is Inauthentic,” it became clear that this Substack is something of a gem—sharp, morally grounded work that refuses to trade complexity for certainty. I’m glad I stumbled into this corner of the internet, and grateful it exists.
