Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, and professor who teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of the books IRL, Faitheist, and the forthcoming Nothing in Particular, as well as the writer and host of Unread, named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by the Guardian, Vulture, HuffPost, Mashable, the CBC, and others, and honored by the 2022 Webby Awards under Podcasts – Best Writing. 

Chris is the founder of Good Judy Productions, a new podcast studio based in Minneapolis committed to telling stories that, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, take the “view from below,” or “the perspective of the outcasts, the suspects, the maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed and reviled, in short from the perspective of the suffering.” The studio’s first series is currently in production and will be distributed by iHeartPodcasts. In addition to his podcast work, Chris has written popular essays for outlets including the Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, the Washington Post, and others.

At Augsburg, Chris teaches on the search for meaning. He has also held fellowships in Augsburg’s Center for Democracy and Citizenship and Interfaith Institute, and in 2023 the university appointed him as the Institute’s inaugural Research Fellow in support of his ongoing work studying the religiously unaffiliated. He was also awarded a Director’s Residency at the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, named 2025 Scholar-in-Residence at Susquehanna University, and invited to be in residence at Write On, Door County and at the New York Mills Cultural Center for this research and writing.

Previously the founding director of the Yale Humanist Community and a fellow at Yale University, he also served as a humanist chaplain at Harvard University and as a Trainer and Content Developer at Interfaith America. In 2018, Augsburg selected Chris for their annual First Decade Award, which recognizes alumni “who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community” ten years after graduating.

In his free time, Chris is a powerlifting hobbyist and LGBTQIA mutual aid advocate. He currently serves on the board of PFund, a community foundation providing direct financial assistance to LGBTQIA midwesterners, and as the fundraising coordinator for Drop Deadlift Gorgeous, an annual powerlifting event that raises money for transgender midwesterners. In 2024, he was selected for the Moxie Award and the Augsburg Pride Award, both in recognition of his LGBTQIA fundraising and mutual aid advocacy.

To learn more and book Chris as a speaker, visit Blue Flower Arts.