NPR’s Sarah McCammon on “The Exvangelicals”
- The Crawford, 474 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
Join us for an in-depth conversation with NPR’s Sarah McCammon (she/her) about her new book, “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.” LAist’s Julia Paskin (she/her) will chat with Sarah about her personal experience growing up in the evangelical church and what ultimately led her to leaving the church as an adult.
Ready to dig into the story? Buy a copy of the book with your ticket purchase here or in person at the event from our bookseller partner, Flintridge Bookstore.
Bar concessions will be available starting at 6 p.m.
This project is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.
ABOUT “The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church”
Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, or that her Muslim friend would need to be converted, and that she, too, would go to hell if she did not believe fervently enough, McCammon was a rule-follower and—most of the time—a true believer. But through it all, she was increasingly plagued by fears and deep questions as the belief system she'd been carefully taught clashed with her expanding understanding of the outside world. Read more about the book here.
ABOUT SARAH MCCAMMON
Sarah McCammon is a National Political Correspondent for NPR and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion policy and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news programs. During the 2016 election cycle, as NPR's lead political reporter covering the Donald Trump campaign, she reported on the rise of the Trump movement, divisions within the Republican Party over its future and the role of religion in those debates. McCammon's reporting has documented the growing political power of the anti-abortion-rights movement culminating with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, efforts by abortion rights advocates to push back and the rising tide of white Christian nationalism. McCammon is frequently called upon to cover breaking news events and national politics. Her work has won numerous awards, including a 2023 Wilbur Award for religion reporting, a Gracie in 2020 for her reporting on reproductive rights and a National Press Club Journalism Award for team coverage of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018. Prior to joining NPR in 2015, McCammon reported for NPR Member stations in Georgia, Iowa and Nebraska. She began her career as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago area.
ABOUT JULIA PASKIN
“I think of myself as a reverse engineer when it comes to the experiences of Southern Californians. I work to understand and highlight stories from often unheard voices and work backwards to demonstrate how and why that experience is possible. From immigration, law enforcement, to homelessness, to the environment, how do laws and policies impact our lives? And what social, political, and environmental forces inform our experiences? What solutions work and who do they serve? I grew up in an old New York City tenement, raised by a working-class, single mom (shout out to Mama Paskin). I came to California to study at CalArts and in search of lower rents (the misguided irony!) so issues of economic equity and the arts are both close to my heart. I came to journalism after working in the performing arts and then social justice and political organizing. While I may have left NYC fleeing an unlivable economy, I stayed here after falling in love with Greater Los Angeles and all that our diverse communities have to offer. I have now spent nearly half my life here and have made an art of defending LA from anyone who dares to talk trash-- because anyone who doesn’t have anything nice to say about our town, just doesn’t know enough about it.”
ACCOMMODATIONS
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