I’m fascinated by the different ways humans express what it means to do good: why they do good, how they do good, and what their consequences of their actions are. One of most widely used mechanisms for doing good is through religion. As with everything humans do, this is interpreted in vastly different ways: all driven by a personal interpretation of what it means to be a believer in one’s chosen religion.

Evangelism and missionary work are expressions of this and each year, millions of Americans travel overseas for missions trips. Some of them head off for a short term mission, while others dedicate years of their lives to mission, fully supported by their home churches to set up home in far-off places and embed themselves and their beliefs in communities they deem in need of saving.

Race and power dynamics play a huge role in how missionary work is conducted and to help me unpack this, I invited Dr. Andreana Prichard on to the podcast. Andreana is an Associate Professor of African History at the University of Oklahoma whose work deals with the history of gender, Christianity and development in Africa and explores the history of evangelical child sponsorship initiatives in East Africa and the American Bible belt.

Andreana is listening to Serial by NPR, the Undisclosed Podcast, Missing and Murdered by the CBC,

Andreana is reading The Searcher by Tana French, and Cribsheet by Emily Oster