67. Thanksgiving**

Summary

The Tim & April Show — Episode 67: “Thanksgiving”

Podcast: The Tim & April Show
Hosts: Tim Whitaker & April Ajoy
Network: The New Evangelicals
Date: November 27, 2025
Theme: Gratitude, Navigating Holidays, and Reflections on Faith, Politics & Community

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Episode Overview

In this short, pre-recorded Thanksgiving episode, Tim and April reflect on the journey and growth of their show, share gratitude for their audience, and offer thoughtful discussion for those navigating difficult family gatherings during the holidays—especially for listeners engaged in faith deconstruction, political divides, or the progressive Christian community. The episode features personal stories, behind-the-scenes show history, and encouragement for building healthy boundaries and finding community.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Year of Growth & Gratitude

• [03:35-04:26] Tim introduces the episode as a brief message of thanks, noting how the show evolved from a segment under The New Evangelicals podcast to its own successful entity in less than a year.
• April comments on how much they've experimented with formats: “We've kind of thrown a bunch of noodles at the wall to see what sticks… We’re still figuring out what works best for us and for everybody.” (05:04)
• Audience feedback is encouraged via comments and email.

2. Embracing Community Feedback

• [05:53-06:39] Tim acknowledges expanding their audience through a recent partnership with Lincoln Square Media, seeking perspectives from those outside their usual “bubble.”
• April suggests a future episode defining “Christianese 101” to break down common evangelical terminology.
  • April: “Like, give it to God. What does that mean? What that means? Ignore your problem.” (06:39)

3. Navigating Family and Boundaries at Thanksgiving

• [06:55-10:06] Both hosts discuss the complexities of holidays for those with family members having starkly different political or religious beliefs.

  • Tim: “You are allowed to enforce boundaries and not have conversations that you don’t want to have.” (07:38)
  • April shares her personal journey of moving from a Republican family background to a more progressive one, emphasizing that change can happen over time.

• April’s Advice for Dialogue:

  • Ask questions to family, especially rooted in faith (“How do you reconcile Jesus saying ‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ with what ICE is doing?”) to prompt reflection, even if minds don’t change in the moment.
  • “You plant those little seeds. I kind of feel like I’m a missionary to Christian nationalists.” (10:46)

4. Safety and Self-Care for the Holidays

• [10:46-11:54] Tim stresses the importance of personal safety, affirming those who may need to completely avoid unsafe family situations.
  • Tim: “You have to use wisdom and discernment. We don’t know your situation.”
• They both stress that change—personal and familial—is possible, but often slow and complex.

5. Hosts Expressing Gratitude for Each Other and the Show

• [12:22-13:08] Tim turns heartfelt:
  • “I am really grateful for doing this show with you... Out of all the people in the world, I can’t think of a better co-host.”
• April reciprocates, noting how the show has been “therapeutic” for processing heavy topics.

6. Mental Health, Balance, and Family Life

• [13:14-15:09] Tim explains how he’s carved out clear boundaries between work and home for better mental health, especially since the organization has grown.
  • He lauds Melinda Hale’s leadership and mentions the supportive (and now larger) New Evangelicals team.
• April shares her practices for staying centered: prioritizing her children and “reading a lot of fantasy books… so I disassociate.” (15:36)

7. Origin Story: How The Tim & April Show Began

• [19:59-29:40] The hosts tell the story of how their partnership started:
  • They first met in person at a live event in Chattanooga in December 2022, forming instant rapport.
  • April’s spouse Beecher immediately saw the chemistry and encouraged the pair to collaborate.
  • The first version was as a “recap” segment on The New Evangelicals podcast; it later spun off into their independent show.
  • “We hit 10,000 subs on YouTube… our show at one point hit number four in the podcast charts for religion/spirituality, which was amazing.” (29:46)

8. Audience Appreciation & Community Impact

• [30:20-33:02] The hosts repeatedly thank their listeners, attributing the show’s success to their engagement.
  • April: “Truly, we would not have this show without you all.” (30:27)
  • Tim: “We hear all the time—‘you make me feel not crazy or not alone.’ I’m so glad. Same, also. Same.” (31:30)
  • Both hosts underscore the reciprocal nature of encouragement between themselves and the audience.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Navigating Difficult Family Gatherings:
  • Tim: “Who wants to go to your family’s house and argue and bicker and fight over things that, you know they’re never going to change their mind on?” (07:45)
• On Changing Minds:
  • April: “People’s minds… it can happen. I changed my mind.” (09:19)
• On Planting Seeds for Change:
  • April: “You plant those little seeds. I kind of feel like I’m a missionary to Christian nationalists.” (10:46)
• On Audience Support:
  • Tim: “It is like the privilege of my life that I get the opportunity to do this for a living.” (32:12)
• On the Show’s Title:
  • April jokes about potential names: “A ‘Witta Bit of Joy’—like a wit (Whitaker) and a joy (Ajoy).” (29:03)
  • Tim comments on the order of the show’s naming: “It just rolls off the tongue easier.” (29:06)
• On Being Thankful Despite Complex Histories:
  • April: “I don’t love Thanksgiving and the history of Thanksgiving for varying reasons... But I do believe in being thankful and finding time to say thanks.” (33:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Start | End | |----------------------------------------|----------|----------| | Host Banter & Show Introduction | 03:09 | 04:26 | | Reflections on the Show’s Growth | 04:26 | 05:53 | | Audience Feedback & Christianese 101 | 05:53 | 06:39 | | Holidays, Boundaries & Political Divides| 06:55 | 10:46 | | Advice on Changing Minds and Dialogue | 09:17 | 10:46 | | Appreciation Between Hosts | 12:22 | 13:07 | | Mental Health & Finding Balance | 13:14 | 15:09 | | The Origin Story of the Show | 19:59 | 29:40 | | Audience Appreciation & Closing Thanks | 30:20 | 33:37 |

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Tone & Style

The hosts maintain a warm, candid tone—punctuated by humor, camaraderie, and sometimes irreverent in-jokes—grounded in genuine care for their community and listeners. The conversation is accessible, supportive, and rooted in the lived experience of progressive Christians navigating faith and politics in a polarized era.

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers both a window into the behind-the-scenes evolution of The Tim & April Show and a source of encouragement and solidarity for listeners—especially those wrestling with deconstruction, Christian nationalism, and family dynamics during the holidays. Through gratitude, honesty, and humor, Tim and April reinforce the power of community and the importance of holding onto hope, boundaries, and each other.

Transcript

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[April Ajoy]

Hi, I'm here to pick up my son, Milo.

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[April Ajoy]

My son from school.

[Tim Whitaker]

Streaming only on Peacock. I'm gonna need the name of everyone that could have a connection.

[April Ajoy]

You don't understand. It was just the five of us.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

So this was all planned.

[April Ajoy]

What are you gonna do? I will do whatever it takes to get my son back.

[Tim Whitaker]

I honestly didn't see this coming. These nice people killing each other. All her fault. And new series streaming now only on Peacock.

[Melinda Hale]

Hey everyone, Melinda Hale here, the executive director of the New Evangelicals. I just want to take a moment to say thank you for listening to the Tim and April show. This show and everything that we do at the New Evangelicals exists because of people like you. We can't do any of this without your support. Every conversation you hear, every resource we create, every piece of educational content that helps people rethink faith through the lens of love and justice is all made possible through our community. Now, if you believe in what we're building, a faith that unites instead of divides, I'd love to invite you to become a monthly supporter. Even just $5 a month helps us to continue to bring you shows like this one, expand our educational tools and create spaces for honest hope filled conversations. You can join us by going to thenewevangelicals.com support and becoming a monthly donor. Thanks for being a part of this movement and for building a better path forward together.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

You're listening to a new evangelicals production, The Tim and April show, where we unravel faith, politics and culture.

[Tim Whitaker]

Oh, hello friends.

[April Ajoy]

Hello everybody. I'm April.

[Tim Whitaker]

I wasn't sure if you were ready for that because you were looking off camera. So I'm like, that was my, my wink.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Hello.

[April Ajoy]

Wait, it was. Wait, are we starting or do we.

[Tim Whitaker]

Need to start recording?

[April Ajoy]

Oh great.

[Tim Whitaker]

Woo. Do I try it again? I. I can cut that part out.

[April Ajoy]

No, it's fine. Just roll with it. It is what it is.

[Tim Whitaker]

Thanksgiving. Yeah. It's a holiday.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah.

[Tim Whitaker]

Well, welcome in friends. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I'm Tim Whitaker.

[April Ajoy]

Thank you. And I'm April. A joy. And we are. We pre recorded this so we could spend time with our families.

[Tim Whitaker]

I think Sarah would have really killed me if I was like, sorry babe, I gotta go live for the Tim and April show on Thursday.

[April Ajoy]

I gotta go hang out with Tim. Sorry, Ben. Exactly.

[Tim Whitaker]

Look, friends call it, call it, you know, routine, but we decided to do just a short little episode, you know, expressing our gratitude to all of you and just talking about how amazing of a year it's been so far. The show is pretty new. I mean we, we, this started out as a segment under the new evangelicals podcast. And then this year we said, you know what, there's so much traction. Why don't we try and make a show? And we did. And it's been really, really cool and been a very cool ride.

[April Ajoy]

So I know in many ways it feels like we've been doing this for like at least five years because so much has happened. Like this year's going so slow. It's just a weird year. It's gone by fast, but it's also gone by so slow because we just, we started in February, like mid February. Yeah, 2025 this year. So it hasn't even been a year. And yeah, I'm curious too if you're watching this or listening, I think. Yeah, because this will be a podcast too. Let us know in the comments or you can email us.

[Tim Whitaker]

Do we have an email info thenewevangelicals.com.

[April Ajoy]

Info thenewevangelicals.Com so obviously as a new show we've kind of been seeing what works and what doesn't. So we've kind of thrown a bunch of noodles at the wall to see what sticks. So if you have like a favorite style, we've done, we've done a couple interview episodes where we had authors on. We've done, obviously, our lives that are more current, event heavy. We've done deep dives. I don't know, we've tried a bunch of things, response videos to what's happening. So, you know, if there's something that you like that you want to see more of, let us know in the comments. If there's something we haven't done that you'd like to see us try. I feel like we're kind of still in that trial and error mode of the show. So we're still figuring out what works best for us and for everybody.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah. And your feedback really helps with that. We also started going live with our friends over at Lincoln Square Media in September, which has been really cool and kind of introduced us to a new audience and has gotten people to be more aware of the new evangelicals and the work that we're doing as an organization. And so that's been a lot of fun too. So I'm not sure if you're from the Lincoln Square side watching this, because we're not going to be broadcasting obviously on Thursday, but it would be helpful to know from people who maybe did not grow up in the bubble that we did or find the deconstruction bubble that we did. You know, just kind of like an outside perspective on the show. Because sometimes I feel like we just throw around language that we assume everyone knows. And I'm not sure if everyone knows that. So it's always good to know. Okay, we should explain what this means or. No, our audience is largely tuned into what these terms are.

[April Ajoy]

I wonder if we should do like a Christianese 101 episode where we just go through, like popular terms in evangelicalism and just define them. That could be fun, like, give it to God. What does that mean? What that means? Ignore your problem.

[Tim Whitaker]

We also wanted to point out that we know for a lot of people out there, holidays with family can be tough. You know, a lot of people have family who maybe is very maga and who doesn't respect their boundaries. And we understand that, you know, for sure. And I don't know, I just want to say, I guess a couple things about this. First, I want to say that you are allowed to hold your own boundaries and people are. Should respect those boundaries. I'm Very fortunate with my family, you know, even though we don't see things the same way politically, we make room for each other and those boundaries are respected on both sides, so it works out really well. But I know for a lot of people that's not the case. And I just want you to know that you are allowed to enforce boundaries and not have conversations that you don't want to have. And if loved ones or family can't respect that, it might be an awkward conversation, but it's necessary for your own well being and frankly, for theirs. I mean, who wants to go to your family's house and argue and bicker and fight over things that, you know they're never going to change their mind on? Like, that's, it's, it's difficult to do that, you know, so just hang in there and we're thinking about you guys and we understand what that's like for sure.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah, I, I, I'm very fortunate. This will be the first, I think, Thanksgiving that I've had in a long time where everybody that's going to be there is on the same side politically.

[Tim Whitaker]

Wow.

[April Ajoy]

I know. I feel like I, it's really nice actually. I mean, part of that is because some people aren't making it this year. So to be fair. But it is kind of funny that I'm very fortunate that when Beecher and I got married, we were very Republican. When we got married, our families were very Republican and now both of our immediate families are not so. And we were kind of the first people that really changed or like started vocally changing. And it was like, I just want to encourage people because we've had some very intense conversations with family members over the last decade about politics as we started changing and people got scared and freaked out and wanted to argue with us about how wrong we were. But now those people have moved along with us. Now we're not exactly all at the same spots, but no one is maga. And honestly, I feel pretty good about it.

[Tim Whitaker]

Wow. Well, good for you.

[April Ajoy]

People's minds. Like, it can happen. Like, I change my mind. And I will say from experience, I found the best strategy if you're wanting to have these conversations, which I know it takes a lot of mental fortitude to do, asking them questions to get them to explain their positions on certain things, especially if they're Christian and they claim to follow Jesus, like saying like, you know, well, how do, how do you reconcile Jesus saying, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me and what you do to Lisa, these you do to Me, like, how do you reconcile that with what ICE is doing? And then explain some of the stories, you know, like of the, them pulling moms out of the, you know, the school pickup lines. Because I do think a lot of people that are MAGA are not seeing these stories because Fox News is not covering them.

[Tim Whitaker]

Right.

[April Ajoy]

You know, asking, asking them questions and just, they're not going to change their mind in that moment. They'll, they'll be spinning their wheels and they'll try to explain it, but, you know, let them explain it because they will realize as they're saying that what they're saying really doesn't make sense. Even if they are doubling down on the moment that happened to me. I would double down hardcore in the moment, but in the back of my head I knew that it wasn't fully making sense. Yeah, so that's just, that's something that I've seen work. Obviously everybody's different. It's not going to work for everybody and it's not going to work right away. But you know, you plant those little seeds, I kind of feel like I'm a missionary. You Christian nationalists?

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah. You know, look, I think that our audience is wide and diverse. There are some people who might be queer or might be other types, you know, maybe trans and be like, I, it's not safe. I just can't go to my family house. And we respect that. We're not telling you to put yourself in harm's way. You have to use wisdom and discernment. We don't know your situation. But yeah, I mean, April, it is true, like I changed my mind over time as well. I had people who, who planted these seeds. I just think for some reason with family it's like extra hard. I, I, I don't know what the why that is. Maybe because they know you the best or because your parents raised you or whatever it is. But I think that it's just difficult and awkward sometimes to have these conversations where it's like, how do you talk to your mom or dad about things where you just know, like even if you're right, they're never going to want to concede the point because you're still their kid. I mean, I'm 37. I love my parents. Like they are truly good people and like sometimes you have conversations where I'm like, you know, in their mind I'm still little 10 year old Timmy and I just have to be okay with that. Like I'm not going to be able to change their mind on how they perceive me, which I mean, as a parent, I kind of get. Because, you know, I don't. I don't want my. I don't want my kids to grow up. I understand it, you know, but. Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

Have you seen there's like, a trend on TikTok right now where. Where people are saying, like, if I see my mom's, like, my MAGA mom's phone lying around, you know, how, like, it tracks what you say and then will start serving you ads based on your conversations. They're just, like, going up to the phone and being like, therapy near me. Like, religious trauma.

[Tim Whitaker]

Funny. I. I love that. I think the other thing I wanted to mention too, is, you know, April, I'm. I am really grateful for doing this show with you. I mean, I didn't tell. I was gonna say this on the air, but, like, I really do. Out of. Out of all the people in the world, I can't think of a better co host. And I mean, even off camera, we work really well together. I love doing the show with you. It really is probably my favorite thing that I do right now publicly, is probably. It's probably the show.

[April Ajoy]

Aw, Timothy.

[Tim Whitaker]

I'm just saying.

[April Ajoy]

No, I am very thankful for you too. I really. I enjoy doing the show, even though we do talk about a lot of heavy things sometimes. Yeah, you know, it's kind of. It's. It's in a way therapeutic to have someone to decompress and talk through a lot of this stuff with, as opposed to, like, just keeping it all pent up. Yeah.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

What do you do for, like, your mental health? Like, how do you. What is that?

[Tim Whitaker]

What? Mental health? No, I don't know what I do. I will say in all seriousness, doing the new evangelicals for five years, founding the organization, and really, like, you know, working as hard as I could as like, a solo entity for a long time with support, for sure, but kind of being like, like the main driver. I really have, over the past year, made intent. More intentional time to, like, not do work after 5 o' clock or, like, you know, I told myself, this can wait till tomorrow. I don't to be glued to my phone. It's not always easy. There are times where I don't succeed at that. But I have told myself, like, hey, you can let this go. Especially now. I mean, we have Melinda Hale as the executive director. She is, like, evolving the organization so beautifully, so well. Oh, it's amazing. I mean, I. I tell her all the time, I'm like, you are doing things that I knew the organization had to Do I just had no ability or skill set to do. Like, I am not an executive director. It's just the story of it just is what it is. I am a content creator. I like doing this kind of content. And so watching Melinda take the bare bones that I kind of laid down in the beginning and watching her just evolve it into all these different resources and tne connect our community space, that's totally off of the all seeing eye of the meta platform and all the resources and, and classes that we do and book club and all the content and the advocacy hour and all this stuff. It's been so great. So that's been helpful. But yeah, I think what I do for, for fun is, I mean, more and more it's family, you know, it's family. It's maybe watching a good TV show. It's things like that. My kids are getting older now. We're able, we're able to really interact with them and start some of those, you know, yearly traditions of, oh, we do this for Halloween. Oh, we do this for Thanksgiving. So that's been a lot of fun. But other than that, I mean, you know, this, this, if you can even call it a job, it's more like a passion project that we're fortunate enough to get paid for to do it in a full time capacity. But it's a passion. Like I. This is what I do for fun sometimes too. You know, it's this stuff.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah.

[Tim Whitaker]

So I don't know.

[April Ajoy]

Well, good. I'm glad you found a balance. I do think, like, since like it's like my small world with my family is great. Right. I have like no complaints of what's going on in my small world. And then it's just like the big world.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

Is like crazy. So like, just reminding myself of like, no, my children are what matters like the most to me and that they, they definitely keep me center. I also read a lot of fantasy books.

[Tim Whitaker]

Oh, good for you.

[April Ajoy]

So I disassociate.

[Tim Whitaker]

That's nice. Yeah, that's. That sounds awesome. But no, for real, I really am grateful to do the show with you. It is, it's great. I think we have a lot more in store for next year as kind of keep developing the show and. Yeah, it's just been really. I mean, this has been a pleasant surprise.

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[Tim Whitaker]

We were returning home and one of the flight attendants asked Bronx if he wanted to see the flight deck and meet Kathy and Andrew.

[April Ajoy]

I got to sit in the driver's seat.

[Tim Whitaker]

I grew up in an aviation family, and seeing Bronx kind of reminded me of myself when I was that age.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Tim Whitaker]

These small interactions can shape a kid's future.

[April Ajoy]

It felt like I was the captain.

[Tim Whitaker]

Allowing my son to see the flight deck will stick with us forever. That's how good leads the way.

[Melinda Hale]

Hey everyone, this is Melinda Hale, the executive director of the New Evangelicals. Listen Every day We hear from people who feel isolated, disillusioned, and hurt by a version of Christianity that has been hijacked by politics and nationalism. And yet they still long for a faith that is rooted in love, justice, and compassion. And that's why the new evangelicals exist, because we believe there is a better path forward. We're creating resources, hosting conversations, and we're building communities for people who want to reclaim Christianity and stay rooted in the teachings of Jesus. But building a movement like this takes time. It takes energy, and it takes financial support. So if this podcast or our YouTube, our educational offerings or community space or any. Anything that we've created has impacted you, would you consider becoming a donor? Even a gift of $5 makes a huge difference for small organizations like this. Your support helps us to continue empowering people to put their faith into action by rejecting Christian nationalism and to live in a way that shows people how to truly love our neighbors. Together, I know that we could build something beautiful. So visit theneweevangelicals.com support to give today.

[April Ajoy]

You.

[Melinda Hale]

You can find the link right in our show notes. Thank you for standing with us.

[Tim Whitaker]

Maybe we should give credit where credit is due because Beecher was the one who saw this before you and I did that.

[April Ajoy]

That's true. So, like, here's Tell the people the story comes Tim and April, like origin story lore. Yeah. Back in. Was it 2022?

[Tim Whitaker]

I think it was, yeah.

[April Ajoy]

Okay, so it was December of 2022. Yeah. Well, I guess it was the fall leading up to it. You and I were mutuals online, but we had never met in person and we kind of cheered each other on from a distance. I think maybe I had you on our podcast. I had been on your podcast at one point, which my bone to pick with you was that we recorded that episode in like, January or something. And it was before Beecher came out. Non binary. And so be like, I knew. But Beecher hadn't publicly come out, and they were working at a conservative Christian school at the time. And so we had decided, like, publicly I would still use he pronouns because they weren't out yet. So I used he pronouns in our discussion because it was like my deconstruction story. But you took a few months to edit before you released it. And by the time you released it, Beecher was out. And I got 2 hate dms of people furious with me for misgendering my spouse. I would be like, we recorded that before, right? Like, I didn't know it was gonna take so long anyway. So that was There. But it's fine. It worked out. And so you reached out because you were doing a live show in Chattanooga.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah, So I was working with. With Mad Priest Coffee, the great people, by the way, Mike was his name. He liked my content, and we decided, let's do a first ever in person event in Chattanooga and see who comes out to the podcast. So we got, like, a little. A little hall or like, a little venue that we rented out, and we sold some tickets. I was like, you know, we need. I want, like, another co host. Because Mike wasn't really a podcaster. I was like, well, let me just shoot my shot with April and see if she wants to kind of come out and be a part of this.

[April Ajoy]

I only lived, like, 30 minutes from where you were going to be, too. And you're like, whoa, April, a joy lives there. Because you didn't know it was a joy.

[Tim Whitaker]

Ajoy. Ajoy. Tomato tabato.

[April Ajoy]

You know, you're like, hey, would you want to do the show with us? And I said, sure. And I remember it was called. We did. It was like, Three Wise Men.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

And that was back when I was doing a lot of my drag pastor videos, and I was like, like, would you want to be one of the men? I was like, yeah. So I literally. I literally took headshots of me in drag for the promo for this event. Are you trying to find it?

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah. Yes, I am. I'm trying to find it. You keep talking, I'll keep digging.

[April Ajoy]

So anyway, so it was Three Wise Men. It was a live show in Chattanooga with the new evangelicals. Did that episode ever release on podcast?

[Tim Whitaker]

I don't know. Probably not.

[April Ajoy]

Too. Yeah, too late now. Anyway, so we do this live show. It was this packed little theater in Chattanooga. A lot of people came out for it. It was a lot of fun. And you. And I am. And what was his name was a Mad Priest, guys.

[Tim Whitaker]

Mike.

[April Ajoy]

Mike. Yes. He was great. He was so funny. So we were talking, and it was just. We just had really easy banter. Really? You found it. Okay, pull it. Pull that. But pull that bad boy up.

[Tim Whitaker]

I got to make sure it's. Yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah, this is it. This is it. Hold on. I'm working on it. I'm giving me a sec.

[April Ajoy]

I wish I still had my headshots that I. That I sent in.

[Tim Whitaker]

Here it is. Three Wise Mad Men.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah. So it's this animation, and there I am in the back. That was based on me with an actual mustache that I put on. I think the ones I sent in, though. Like, my actual headshots, I was wearing a wig, so it looks like they gave me my normal hair.

[Tim Whitaker]

Oh, my gosh. That. That Mike was a. Mike's a good branding person, and he did a good job with that.

[April Ajoy]

So, anyway, yeah, yeah, so we did this live show, met you for the first time in person.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yep.

[April Ajoy]

And literally after the show, be came up to me, or we were talking about it, and Beecher's like, man, you and Tim need to do a podcast. That was. That was Beecher. And so, literally in the next, like, year and a half, Beer kept reminding me, like, hey, you should reach out to Tim. You should really do stuff with Tim. You and Tim have, like, a chemistry that I've not seen you have with other people. And so you, I think, had texted me because you were like, man, it's just really hard to do this on my own. I would love to have a co host. And at that point, like, I was doing another podcast, and. And I love them, but it was kind of. It was starting to dwindle. You know, you kind of see, like, yeah, it had. It had run its course. They were great. It was a great show.

[Tim Whitaker]

Right. It's a lot of work, by the way, to make a podcast. Yeah, a lot of one or, you know, two or three of them. Yeah, for sure.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah. And I just messaged you, was like, hey, if you. You know, if you want to try out a co host, I think I said, like, I volunteer as tribute because I'm also, like, not an entrepreneur. I don't like stepping on people's toes. I don't like, like, pitching myself at all. So it's like my gentle way to be like me.

[Tim Whitaker]

Well, it's interesting because at the time. So, okay, we're telling. I guess it's story time for Thanksgiving, you know, while you're driving to your family, you can listen to us talk about the origins of how this show happened. But at the time. So the New Evangelicals podcast was happening. One of my fatal flaws is that I think too broadly, I can't stay in a freaking lane. I'm like, oh, this. Oh, let's try this. Oh, a response. And so the New Evangelicals podcast kind of became like, my dumping ground of ideas. Like, oh, let's try A, let's try B. Let's do a response format. Let's do interview format, maybe a monologue format. And we tried different approaches. Like, at one point, we broke it out by tne talks, tne responds, tne recaps. And so as we developed this plan, I'm like, you know what? For the recap that we would do, in theory, every Friday, I would love a co host. It'd be fun to have almost like a morning talk show kind of vibe, which someone else. Because that if you have the right chemistry, the banter could be so good. And it also takes a lot of stress off of you to be the main driver talking the entire time. Right?

[April Ajoy]

Yeah.

[Tim Whitaker]

So as we developed this idea, I was like, you know, April might be a good person that might be interested in this, but it's a commitment. Like, you know, we make time on Thursdays and we record on Tuesdays for our prerecorded episodes. Like, it's not. This is not a hobby where you just wake up one day and go, oh, let's just go live. There's a team now that preps this stuff. There's thumbnails to make. So, yeah, I think I probably reached out and was like, hey, would you be interested in, like, maybe being my co host just once a week on Fridays where we could just talk about the news and kind of just, you know, shoot the shit and see what happens? And we call that the TNE recap. That was the original version of that.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah, I know. And I had time at the. At that point, because my other show, we went live on Wednesday nights, and so my days were actually best for me, too. And I was like, yeah, I can. I can. I can add this in and see what happens. And then, you know, then we had the idea, or you had the idea to, like, what if we did our own show?

[Tim Whitaker]

Yep.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah.

[Tim Whitaker]

Because one of the visions I've always had for TNE is I. I wanted, like, a media. Something like. Like just a place where, like, there were different shows underneath the umbrella of, like, a TNE media kind of idea. I've always had that idea of, like, multiple shows. You know, it's, again, hard to do, but I always thought, like, there's. There's a real potential for, like, some kind of network or something like that, because there's no one really out there who, in my opinion, was covering Christian nationalism from our perspective and also covering politics at the same time. A lot of the more progressive talk shows, like, you're. And this is no shade, you're David Pakman or Brian Tyler Cohen's, you know, that type of vibe. A lot of them don't really talk about Christian nationalism a lot. Or if they do, in my opinion, they don't really understand the world that it comes from. Like, they don't know some of the inside players, like Doug Wilson, for example. Right. But we do, because we grew up in that space. Like we know who Lance Wall now is. And I interviewed so many scholars on Christian nationalism by that point. You wrote you're writing a book on it because you grew up in it. So, like, we had a very unique angle I thought, to give people. So that's what I, I think maybe it was sometime middle of, of last year. I said, you know, April, like, we should consider just, you know, making this its own show completely so that way the new Evangelicals podcast can breathe as like a more theological, interview driven show. And then we could do our recap and kind of be a little more light hearted and also cover the news, but it's just a separate thing entirely. And we, we, we thought about so many names. We thought about so many names and none of them really worked. Yeah, yeah, most were taken.

[April Ajoy]

We thought about calling it just like the recap, since Recap. The old one was recap. But yeah, eventually we're like, like the Tim and April show was like a placeholder for a long time.

[Tim Whitaker]

A long time.

[April Ajoy]

Because we were like, we gotta come up with something more clever. And we just couldn't. My favorite though is remember, someone left a. Was it a review or. No, it was. We, we crowdsourced. We're like, what should we name our new show? And someone said, call it a wita Bit of Joy. Like a wit. Like Whitaker. And then a Joy.

[Tim Whitaker]

My Joy.

[April Ajoy]

A witta Bit of Joy.

[Tim Whitaker]

But then when we leave it to show, someone was like, of course Tim's name is going to be first. And it was like, guys, it's just because it sounds, it just rolls off a tongue easier.

[April Ajoy]

No, I agree.

[Tim Whitaker]

Like the April 1tim show, it doesn't sound the same.

[April Ajoy]

I know, because you. I, I do think the, the single syllable is better. Now if we went with Timothy, the April and Timothy show, that works completely. April is shorter.

[Tim Whitaker]

Or the April and Timothy Chalamet show.

[April Ajoy]

You know, Timothy Chalamet. I know.

[Tim Whitaker]

I mean, hey, if your name was Tim and my name was April, it'd still be called the Tim and April show, to be clear. You know, like ye.

[April Ajoy]

It maybe for April Fools, I'll be Tim and you can be April and we'll just do our best impersonations of each other.

[Tim Whitaker]

I love it. Well, yeah, I mean, that's how this show came about. And it's been, it's been a while. I mean, we hit 10,000 subs on YouTube, which is great. Our show at one point hit Hit number four on the podcast charts for religion spirituality, which was amazing. We partnered with Lincoln Square to reach a whole new audience. And, you know, the new evangelicals is. Is really set up for a really successful 2026. It's gonna be a really cool year. And having this show be a part of that is just. I. So it's been. It's been a good year, for sure. I mean, personally, obviously, politically, we all know what's going on, but it's been a good year for us.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah, no, it has been. And I. And. And that's really only because of the people that listen and watch. So thank you all.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

For all of the, like, your interactions when we're live, your. Your comments, your shares, your sub. Your subs. You know, when you subscribe, that helps. Liking our videos. Yeah. All the people that have left reviews on Apple Podcasts and Spotify it. Truly, we would not have this show without you all. And so thank you. Like, every time you listen or watch, really, it really does help. So, you know, and. Oh, and all the super chats that come in every week too, like that. That helps the people that help us get this show going. Yeah. Like, so we thank you.

[Tim Whitaker]

Yeah.

[April Ajoy]

What's the PBS like? Viewers like you.

[Tim Whitaker]

Thanks to you. This shows me possible. Thanks to viewers like you. Yeah, no, for sure.

[April Ajoy]

No, I mean, it encourages me, like, even just seeing the comments that come in or reading, you know, I try to read as many as I can. I don't read all of them, but the comments just on our videos that we post of people that. It makes me feel less alone, too.

[Tim Whitaker]

That's the thing is, like, people need to understand how reciprocal this is. Like we hear all the time. You make me feel not crazy or not alone. I'm so glad. Same also. Same.

[April Ajoy]

Same.

[Tim Whitaker]

Like, you guys make us know that we're not crazy or that we're not alone. I mean, when I started tne, that was the question, right. Was like, am I the only one out here? I'm sure you felt the same way when you started going online. Am I the only person out here seeing this stuff? And so this is very much a reciprocal, you know, connection between the audience and what we do because we also feed off of the comments. We feed off of when we're. When we go live, people responding in real time. We feed off of the. Thanks for your work. It makes you feel not alone. Like, that is rocket fuel for us to keep going. Because, look, we. We know. We know how this feels. We cover this stuff. We know how dark it can feel at times. And so without the audience, without people engaging in the content, this is useless. Like, it would be ridiculous to do this show if. If no one was watching or subscribing or listening. Right. So it's because of those people, folks like you who listen to the podcast, who download it or who watch on YouTube. It's because of you guys that we can do this. And I tell people, and I mean this. It is like the privilege of my life that I get the opportunity to do this for a living. You know, it is like. I don't take it for granted. It is. It is not. It's a very unique thing. And I. And I know April is, too. We're committed to being here as long as you will have us to make this show the best that it can be. Helping you guys understand Christian nationalism, holding space for folks who are deconstructing, and, you know, just helping you find a better path forward in politics, faith, and culture, you know, and while having. Having a little bit of fun along the way.

[April Ajoy]

Yeah. And I'm excited to see what the next year may hold. So. Yeah. So we just wanted to come on here real quick, give. Give our thanks, say Happy Thanksgiving. Even though I have. I don't love Thanksgiving and the history of Thanksgiving for. For varying reasons. You know, go for the obvious. Go read some history of indigenous people and Native Americans. But I do. I do believe in being thankful and finding time to say thanks.

[Tim Whitaker]

So I agree.

[April Ajoy]

That's it.

[Tim Whitaker]

Thanks for being here, friends. Well, I'm Tim Whitaker.

[April Ajoy]

And I'm April. Ajoy.

[Tim Whitaker]

See you later.

[April Ajoy]

Bye.