The Delve

The Delve
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The Delve breaks down one issue each week with the people who know the most about it.

  1. FEB 21

    Soft Life, Hard Reality: Trad Wife Content and What It’s Selling with Bridget Todd

    The “trad wife” aesthetic is everywhere: immaculate kitchens, from-scratch meals, and a kind of calm that feels like an antidote to a chaotic world. But what happens when a performance starts to look like a blueprint? In this episode, Chalin is joined by Bridget Todd—host of There Are No Girls on the Internet—to break down how the trad wife trend spreads, what it’s really selling, and why it resonates so strongly in a moment of economic anxiety and social instability. We talk about the difference between fantasy and advice, how the algorithm turns lifestyle content into ideology, and the fine print that often gets left out of the “soft life” pitch—money, risk, power, and what happens when reality doesn’t match the reel. We also dig into a crucial dimension that gets overlooked: how this content shows up differently for Black women, and why “traditional” roles carry a different historical weight depending on who you are.

    35 min

  2. FEB 13

    God, TikTok, and the Age of Religious Misinformation with Dr. Kevin Carnahan (Part 2)

    In Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Kevin Carnahan, we go from TikTok theology to the deep end of the biblical pool. Chalin and Kevin dig into some of the big, nerdy questions that fuel both faith and conspiracy theories: Is “Elohim” really a plural word—“gods” or “the powerful ones”—and what does that mean for how we read the Old Testament?Was YHWH originally one god among many in a divine council, like we see hinted at in Psalm 82?How do stories like Noah’s Flood echo older Mesopotamian myths—and does that undermine scripture, or give us a richer sense of how these texts came to be? Along the way, they talk about what makes a claim fringe vs. faithful, how scholarship actually works, and whether admitting that the Bible sits inside a larger ancient Near Eastern story makes belief weaker or more honest. If Part 1 was about recognizing bad religious information, Part 2 is about what to do when the good information is more complicated than the Sunday School version. (This is Part 2 of a two-part series with Dr. Kevin Carnahan. If you haven’t heard Part 1 yet—start there.)

    46 min

  3. FEB 6

    God, TikTok, and the Age of Religious Misinformation with Dr. Kevin Carnahan (Part 1)

    What happens when a professor of religion wades into TikTok and starts saying, “Jesus is disappointed. Do better”? In Part 1 of this two-episode series, Chalin sits down with Dr. Kevin Carnahan—Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Central Methodist University and co-editor emeritus of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics—to talk about what he does all day: untangling bad theology, half-remembered Bible verses, and full-blown religious conspiracy theories. They get into how religion is being weaponized online, why certain misreadings spread so fast, and what’s really going on when people use faith to push political or cultural agendas. Kevin explains how he thinks about “debunking” as a person of faith, the difference between honest questions and manipulative claims, and why calling out misinformation can actually be an act of care. If you’ve ever heard a wild religious take on social media and thought, there’s no way that’s right… right? — this episode is for you. (This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Part 2 dives deeper into ancient texts, plural “gods,” and what happens to faith when you admit the Bible has a history.)

    56 min

  4. JAN 30

    When Everyone’s an Expert (and Almost No One Is) with Dr. Blitz

    Is science “just another opinion”? In a world of confidence-soaked hot takes, conspiracies, and “do your own research” culture, it can start to feel that way. In this episode of The Delve, Chalin sits down with physicist and TikTok science creator Dr. Blitz to unpack what science actually is — and what it isn’t. They dig into why real science builds on doubt, not certainty; how to tell the difference between healthy skepticism and denialism; why so many people feel personally attacked by changing evidence; and what to do when a friend or family member goes all-in on bad science online. If you’ve ever felt caught between blind faith in “experts” and total distrust of institutions, this conversation is a field guide for staying curious, grounded, and intellectually honest in an information ecosystem that rewards the exact opposite. https://www.instagram.com/blitzphd https://www.youtube.com/@blitzphd https://www.tiktok.com/@blitzphd

    33 min

  5. JAN 23

    Inside Iran’s Long Fight for Freedom

    Iran has lived through revolutions, crackdowns, and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising — but the story isn’t over. In this episode, Chalin talks with human rights activist Zolal Habibi about life inside a system built on fear, why the recent protests changed the regime’s calculations, and how the internet became a weapon and a lifeline. They trace the arc from the 1953 coup to today’s theocracy, unpack the debate over the exiled crown prince, and ask what meaningful support from the outside world should actually look like. To learn more about how to get involved please visit these sites: maryamrajavi4change.com ncri-iran.org iranfreedom.org oiac.org

    59 min

  6. JAN 10

    Venezuela, Oil, and the Limits of Moral Purity

    In the wake of the U.S. mission that removed Nicolás Maduro from power and sent him to stand trial abroad, millions of Venezuelans have poured into the streets in celebration while much of the Western left has erupted in outrage over oil, sovereignty, and process. Meanwhile, some estimates suggest 8–9 million Venezuelans have already been driven from their homes in one of the largest displacement crises on earth. In this Season 9 opener, Chalin revisits a conversation he recorded back in 2020 with “Jesús,” a young Venezuelan whose name has been changed for his safety. Speaking from exile, Jesús walks us through what daily life under Maduro actually felt like—empty shelves, broken institutions, fear in the streets, and the slow shattering of any belief that peaceful pressure would work. We use his story to tackle the hard question almost everyone is dodging: when every non-violent tool has failed, what do we owe people living under sustained political terror? Our Substack: The Delve Notes

    25 min

  7. SEASON 9 TRAILER

    Season 9 Trailer

    Season 9 of The Delve is here. This season, host Chalin Askew goes after the people and systems that quietly — and not so quietly — run our lives. From science and faith to freedom, work, masculinity, and the rise of the tech lords, each Friday we take one big question and pull it apart with people who actually know what they’re talking about. If you’ve ever looked around and thought, “Is this really happening?”, Season 9 is for you. Start here with the trailer — and follow The Delve so you don’t miss what’s coming next.

    1 min
  8. Andrew Freaking Yang: AI, Extremism & Fixing American Democracy

    12/29/2025 · BONUS

    Andrew Freaking Yang: AI, Extremism & Fixing American Democracy

    In this December Revamp, Chalin revisits his conversation with Andrew Yang about why American politics keeps rewarding the loudest extremes—and how we can redesign the system itself. They dig into democracy reforms like ranked-choice voting, open primaries, and independent redistricting, and explore how these changes could dial down polarization by giving more power to exhausted-but-engaged voters in the middle. Yang also reflects on AI, the future of work, and what it means to build a political movement that’s actually oriented toward the long term instead of the next outrage cycle. If you’re tired of choosing between “lesser evils” and want to understand concrete ideas for a saner democracy, this episode is a roadmap. More about the Forward Party: https://www.forwardparty.com

    30 min
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About

The Delve breaks down one issue each week with the people who know the most about it.

Information

  • Creator
    The Delve
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    116
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Delve
  • Show Website
    The Delve