On this episode of Exvangelical, I start experimenting with the show formats. This is an audio essay; the transcript is below. Hello and welcome to Exvangelical. I’m your host, Blake Chastain. As we settle into 2022 and the realities of the omicron variant - the immensity of what it means for us to be living through a third year of the pandemic, things got a little dark for me. With the anniversary of the Jan 6 insurrection and the seeming ineptitude of the Biden administration to manage the public health toll of the pandemic or to take any meaningful steps to shore up small-d democratic infrastructure agains the tireless onslaught of far-right fascistic attempts to undermine governance & install permanent minority rule, there wasn’t much to be optimistic about. Couple that with a growing awareness that I am lonely for local friends and haven’t made any because we relocated during the pandemic, depend on social media for connection, and don’t really know how to ask for help when I know nearly everyone else is feeling the same way or similarly, I started to spiral.