Curated Questions: Conversations Celebrating the Power of Questions! When Cognitive Dissonance Breaks Open | Matthew Pridgen #67
"You can only live with so much cognitive dissonance in your life." - Matthew Pridgen
Matthew Pridgen joins Ken Woodward for a raw, wide-ranging conversation about how questions can crack open denial and move us toward truth, repentance, and reconciliation.
Matthew shares his dramatic journey from addiction and a near-fatal suicide attempt to a decades-long pursuit of faith, justice, and historical honesty. His pivotal moment was when an eight-year-old girl asked, “Why did you take my church down?” after a tent revival in Charleston’s historically Black East Side, which became the question that launched his racial awakening.
Together, they explore how American “mythology” hides the realities of slavery, Jim Crow, and modern dog whistles, and how the Black church has sustained a prophetic witness against oppression.
The episode highlights the personal cost of cognitive dissonance, the freedom of living without lies, and a central challenge for today: are Christians willing to abandon Christian nationalism and follow Jesus’ actual teachings?
Check out Matthew's documentary The Sins of Our Fathers: Race, Religion, and the Rise of Trump on Amazon Prime, and his new Sins of Our Fathers podcast wherever you find your favorite podcasts. (https://www.amazon.com/Sins-our-Fathers-Religion-Trump/dp/B0G1XD7TQT)
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Curated Questions Dispatch newsletter for more fun with questions and curiosity! (https://substack.com/@curatedquestions)
Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
00:00 Introduction to Curated Questions
02:05 Meet Matthew Pridgen: A Story of Redemption
03:38 Matthew's Tent Revival and Racial Awakening
05:02 Confronting Myths and Realities of American History
05:57 The Impact of Systemic Racism
07:19 The Power of Film in Social Change
08:41 Charleston's Unique Racial History
09:13 The Great Migration and Segregation
11:01 The Role of White Supremacy in American History
11:37 Theological Justifications for Racism
17:16 Matthew's Higher Call to Christians
21:37 Matthew's Personal Journey to Faith
25:06 Homeless Ministry and Community Engagement
27:12 Understanding Institutional Poverty
30:29 The Prophetic Witness of the Black Church
34:28 Cognitive Dissonance and Historical Awareness
37:20 The Need for National Reconciliation
42:28 The Uncomfortable Work of Facing Truth
48:56 The Role of Motivation in National Policy
50:23 Soft Power and Global Influence
50:55 The Motivation Behind Our Actions
52:25 Impact of USAID and Trump's Policies
53:13 The Harm of White Supremacy
53:46 Christianity and Political Disillusionment
54:58 The Hypocrisy in Evangelical Christianity
56:25 The Existential Crisis of Faith
57:07 False Prophets and Historical Atrocities
58:12 Embracing the Black Church Tradition
59:18 The Prophetic Witness of Black Women
01:02:12 The Legacy of Slavery and Black Women's Burden
01:04:21 The George Floyd Protests and Aftermath
01:05:50 The Need for National Conversation on Race
01:08:38 The Role of Individual Awakening
01:09:32 The Importance of Historical Awareness
01:12:56 Taking Action and Refusing to Be Complicit
01:16:37 The Influence of Barbara
01:22:34 The Freedom of Honesty and Repentance
01:28:25 Increased Sensitivity of Raised Defenses
01:31:28 The Challenge of National Pride
01:32:32 The Role of Humility in Overcoming Bias
01:33:41 Final Thoughts and Call to Action
Resources Mentioned
From Folly by Matthew Pridgen
America Street by Matthew Pridgen
South of Broad neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina
Center for the Study of Slavery at the College of Charleston
The Naked Truth Art Project by Ephraim Urevbu
The Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry
Ann Caldwell Gospel singer
The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby (https://jemartisby.com/the-color-of-compromise/)
How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby
The Sins of Our Fathers on Amazon Prime