Special Guests

  • Blind Boys Of Alabama — Grammy Winning Recording Artists
    The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. Celebrated by The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and winners of five Grammy Awards, they have attained the highest levels of achievement in a career that spans over 60 years. The Blind Boys are known for crossing multiple musical boundaries with their remarkable interpretations of everything from traditional gospel favorites to contemporary spiritual material by songwriters such as Ben Harper, Eric Clapton, Prince and Tom Waits. They have appeared on recordings with Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits, k.d. lang, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Susan Tedeschi, Solomon Burke, Aaron Neville, Ben Harper and most recently Justin Vernon, Patty Griffin, Merrill Garbus and Sam Amidon on their latest recording I’ll Find A Way. The Blind Boys of Alabama have made appearances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Night with David Letterman, The Grammy Awards, 60 Minutes, The Colbert Report and their own holiday special on PBS.
    **AUDIO NOT AVAILABLE
    www.blindboys.com

  • Philip Yancey — Author of Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News?
    Twenty years after writing his award-winning classic, What’s So Amazing about Grace?, Philip Yancey finds the church failing in its mission to dispense grace to a thirsty world, one in which public opinion about Christians has shifted dramatically. There is hope, however, for the church to once again be seen as a place where grace is “on tap”, Yancey writes in his new book, Vanishing Grace. For nearly three decades, Yancey has given voice to those who feel burned by the church. In his trademark blend of journalism, storytelling, and personal narrative, he explores whether the church truly does have good news to offer the modern world—and if so, why aren’t Christians presenting it more convincingly? He tackles questions such as: Why do Christians turn people off when they share their faith? Does the gospel leave people feeling judged instead of loved? Has political involvement made Christians look like another special-interest group? How can Christians communicate to a culture running away from faith? In a post-Christian world where more people are skeptical of faith, followers of Jesus must rethink the ways in which they share the gospel. “We do not always do so in love,” says Yancey, “it makes all the difference in the world whether I view my neighbor as a potential convert or as someone whom God already loves.”
    www.philipyancey.com
    Listen ← 15m:43s – 7.20 MB → Download

  • Kathy Escobar — Author of Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe Is Coming Apart
    To those who are experiencing doubts about their faith after years of certainty, pastor and author Kathy Escobar always says, “You’re not crazy, and you’re not alone”.
 Kathy encounters many Christians across all denominations that are slowly distancing themselves or dramatically cutting off from organized religion. The reasons are many: lack of trust in church leadership or authority, a shift in theology, experiencing boredom when attending church, spiritual abuse, fear of being judged or ostracized for expressing doubts and concerns.
 In her book Faith Shift, Kathy provides a map for the painful, confusing, and scary process of spiritual shifting and transformation.
 She writes, “This book is not a memoir, a textbook, a ‘Seven Steps to Finding God Again’ treatise, or a self-help book with guaranteed results to squeeze out faith-challenging feelings and put you back into a spiritual box. And rest assured, it’s not a covert tool aimed at getting you to ‘rededicate your life to Jesus.’ What it provides is an honest, hopeful framework for transformation and a path forward through your own spiritual shift when everything you once believed is coming apart”.
 Kathy hopes the reader will come away feeling less crazy, less alone, and more clear that these shifts are part of a healthy spiritual maturity and not rebellion. They will be affirmed and challenged to keep walking toward ongoing transformation, a renewed connection with God, and a freer, more active faith.
 

    www.kathyescobar.com

Journey

  • Elizabeth Correia
    With stories of women being abused all over the news these days, (Ghomeshi, Cosby, etc.) Elizabeth's own journey of emotional, physical and sexual abuse is one that is helping to create awareness for women everywhere. In Elizabeth’s book, If You Played in My Playground, she tells the story of a Portuguese woman navigating the ghetto of Toronto. She trudges through ill-gotten neighbourhoods, through welfare, through drug trafficking, through lost lovers and all forms of physical and sexual abuse... with a strong will to survive. Elizabeth becomes as hardened as the ones who have wronged her, unable to clean the wounds she bore at such a tender age. She is unable to understand why the world has taken everything away from her including the one person who loved her - her Vuvo (Grandmother). Slowly, she finds love, incrementally, through the birth and rearing of her son Keeno and is saved by God in the eyes of the Church. Elizabeth’s story imprints itself on you with it's heartbreaking honesty and her remarkable ability to recall the details of her own coming of age. It's a story that needs to be told and a beacon for women everywhere.
    www.devainyou.com

LIVE! on TDMS - Devoted Souly to the Art of Music

  • This Week's Recording Artist — Sarah Hiltz
    CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT!
    AND Have a look at some of our LIVE in-studio performances on DrewTube
    Sarah Hiltz is emerging as a singularly talented Canadian musician with a voice all her own. Echoes of Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell and Feist ring out faintly through the structure of Sarah's artistry in a modern blend of jazz and folk she's been perfecting over the last 10+ years of performing. Living up to a long tradition of folk music, Sarah has been praised for her ability to tell a story through song. It is with this ability that she bridges the gap between folk and jazz, telling stories not just with lyrics but also through wordless sound. Staying true to the improvisational spirit of jazz, Sarah works to make each live performance a unique and memorable experience for her audience, delving ever deeper into that magic-something that makes live music matter. This fusion of contrasting qualities is what sets Sarah Hiltz apart.
    www.sarahhiltz.com
    Listen ← 46m:13s – 26.45 MB → Download

Pub Crawl

  • Drew & His Mates Crack Open A Few Topics!
    Current affairs, pop culture, even touchy-feely-relational stuff! Listen in OR call and join us, as we crawl from topic to topic! Got a topic you want the gang from the pub to crack open? (Click here)

    THIS WEEKS SPECIAL GUESTS:

    John Fugelsang - Political Commentator, Comedian, Actor, TV Personality
    Top Ten Facts About John Fugelsang:
    1. He interviewed Paul McCartney in London, and George Harrison in New York – in the same week. He also once handed Ringo a glass of water.
    2. He appeared on “Politically Incorrect” more than 20 times, debating Jerry Falwell, David Duke, Erica Jong, Ariana Huffington, Ralph Nader, Michael Steele & Christine O’Donnell; Bill Maher called him ‘one of my favorite comedians’.
    3. In 2013 he hosted “Viewpoint,” weeknights at 8pm, for Current TV. After being hired by Al Gore to host a political comedy talk show, he wound up hosting Keith Olbermann’s former block following the sale of Current. JF created a show that was 1/3 breaking news coverage, 1/3 one-on-one talk show, and 1/3 political comedy and sketch. Guests included Lewis Black, Roseanne Barr, Spike Lee, Bill Bradley, Jesse Jackson, Joy Behar, Michael Moore, Elliot Spitzer, Dick Cavett, Robert Reich, Sister Simone Cambell, John Lydon of The Sex Pistols, and the late Michael Hastings.
    4. His mother is an ex-Nun and his father was a Franciscan Brother. He admires Jesus as any guy would admire mom’s first husband.
    5. He’s been featured on MSNBC, CNN, FOX News, Dennis Miller, Air America, NPR, CNBC, and CurrentTV. He’s been a regular on MSNBC’s ‘The Ed Schultz Show’ and ‘UP with Chris Hayes;’ CNN’s “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien,” HLN’s ‘The Joy Behar Show;’ FOX News’ ‘Fox & Friends’ and ‘Red Eye,’ and Progressive Talk’s ‘The Stephanie Miller Show.’ He’s a regular guest host for ‘Stephanie Miller’ and has co-hosted the conservative ‘Jay Severin Show,’ and been published on The Huffington Post and Daily Kos. He’s guest hosted “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer,” “The War Room with Jennifer Granholm,” and “Talking Liberally with Stephanie Miller” for Current TV. Oh, he also once co-hosted “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”
    6. “CSI” – Dead Drug Mule. “Becker” – Psycopath. “Providence” – Sleazy Lawyer. “Coyote Ugly” – Crooked Club Owner. “Somewhere in the City“ - Sex scene with Sandra Bernhard.
    7. He’s appeared at Montreal’s ‘Just for Laughs’ Festival, HBO’s U.S Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, The Las Vegas Comedy Festival, and he closed last year’s South Beach Comedy Festival in Miami. Booed in Tampa in 2002 for doing Bush material.
    8. He is Irish, Danish and German; which means he gets drunk, hides the Jews, and looks for them.
    9. He’s interviewed Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Yoko Ono, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Joey Ramone, Carlos Santana, James Taylor, Bo Diddley, Stevie Nicks, Robbie Robertson, Ravi Shankar, Beyonce Knowles, Olivia Harrison, Garth Brooks, Dave Matthews & Carl Reiner. His interview with George Harrison included JF persuading George to play several songs on acoustic guitar. This proved to be George’s final televised appearance and was broadcast as “The Last Performance”.
    10. He has the longest bio of any guest we've ever had in 12 years!
    www.johnfugelsang.com

    Frank Schaeffer - NY Times Bestselling Author, Speaker, Artist
    Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books. Frank is a survivor of both polio and an evangelical/fundamentalist childhood, an acclaimed writer who overcame severe dyslexia, a home-schooled and self-taught documentary movie director, a feature film director of four low budget Hollywood features Frank has described as “pretty terrible”. He is also an acclaimed author of both fiction and nonfiction and an artist with a loyal following of international collectors who own many of his oil paintings. Frank has been a frequent guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on NBC, has appeared on Oprah, been interviewed by Terri Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air and appeared on the Today Show, BBC News and many other media outlets. He is a much sought after speaker and has lectured at a wide range of venues from Harvard’s Kennedy School to the Hammer Museum/UCLA, Princeton University, Riverside Church Cathedral, DePaul University and the Kansas City Public Library.
    www.frankshaeffer.com

    THIS WEEKS TOPICS:

    1/ An ex-pastor has been found guilty of manslaughter this week, after his pregnant wife was found drugged & drowned in the bathtub. Now he was free to continue the relationship he was having with a woman from the church. Apparently it's more acceptable to kill her than to get divorced in the eyes of God/church. A woman who kept her dead husband's body in the bedroom for six months because she fully expected God to bring him back to life, has been sentenced to 18 months probation with counselling. Janay Rice (wife of NFL's Ray Rice) said this week in an interview that when her husband knocked her out cold in an elevator, it was all part of God's plan.

    WHY AREN'T THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS/TEACHERS/PASTORS OF THESE PEOPLE BEING ARRESTED AS WELL? Or are all religions the same – they attract people with mental illness?

    2/ (We never got around to this one a few weeks ago) Which do you care about less – theology of abortion, theology of gay stuff, theology of politics, theology of end times, theology of creation, theology of money, theology of hell or... theology?

Talkback, etc.

  • USELESS TELEVISION TRIVIA
    “It's the most - stressful time - of the year.” (I love that Christmas song!) We promise to have at least one completely useless/fun segment during each of our shows in December. So this week - it's time to bring back a crowd favourite USELESS TELEVISION TRIVIA! We play the soundtrack from an old television show and if you're the first caller to guess which TV show it's from - YOU WIN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
    (*NEWS FLASH: We've actually got stuff to giveaway! So tune in & call in to win something perfect to re-gift for that not so special someone!)
    **AUDIO NOT AVAILABLE

  • W.here's T.he F.aith (W.T.F?)
    Join Drew and various religion reporters from an assortment of news outlets, as they catch up on happenings in the world of Religion & Faith & Cults (Oh My!)
    Today's W.T.F. Guest: Kate Shellnutt - Associate Editor
    www.christianitytoday.com