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 Sins of Our Fathers From Folly by Matthew Pridgen America Street by Matthew Pridgen South of Broad neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove George Floyd Emancipation Reconstruction Jim Crow Laws Civil Rights Era Tower of Babel Day of Pentecost Martin Luther King, Jr. Tulsa Race Massacre Donald Trump DEI CRT Antifa The Great Party Switch Southern Strategy Dr. Bernard Powers College of Charleston Center for the Study of Slavery at the College of Charleston Jemar Tisby Duke University Rev. Dr. Dallas Wilson, Jr. Emancipation Proclamation Reverent William Barber II Poor People's Campaign 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 Resmaa Menakem The New Deal Joe Biden Jeffrey Epstein Files Instagram Facebook TikTok YouTube The Sins of Our Fathers on Amazon Prime Producer Ben Ford Beauty Pill