'Addiction' is a word that conjures up so many images, ideas, and reactions in so many people. And because it has become so politicized, stigmatized, misunderstood, and/or dealt with poorly, it can be difficult to discern the addiction signals from the addiction noise these days.

That's why I find the perspective of Quentin Genius—so helpful and refreshing. Not only is Quentin an ER doctor at Saint Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada—and consequently embedded within a veritable world of addiction—he’s a theologian, ethicist, and an avid reader of Dostoevsky and poetry.

In other words, Quentin is a rare bread; a real Renaissance man who can speak to the realities of addiction in a way that is informed, compassionate, insightful, practical, and even... hopeful.

So, if you find yourself wrestling with the reality of addiction in one way or another, my hope is that you’ll find this conversation helpful. And if you or someone you know are struggling with addiction, reach out to someone you trust, make a call to a crisis line, or jump online and search for support wherever you are.

Because hear me, really hear me, when I say this: there is no such thing as a lost cause. There really is hope. Freedom from addiction is possible. Something as seemingly simple and inconsequential as friendship, friendship with God and other people, really can move us closer and closer to this kind of hope and freedom.

Bio

Dr. Quentin Genuis is an emergency physician and ethicist at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. He serves as the physician ethicist for Providence Health Care, and is a Sessional Faculty and the Professional in Residence at Regent College in Vancouver, where he teaches on topics including medical ethics and addiction.

Links

Website: https://quentingenuis.com

Recovering People (book): https://wipfandstock.com/9798385231232/recovering-people/

To kick off a new year, and the first episode of 2026, I’ve got a special treat for you: an on location dialogue with none other than Nick Boyczuk, the founder and proprietor of Electric Eagle Tattoo Shop, and as you may have heard me mention in other episodes: my very own tattoo artist. In this sense, our conversation is about as personal (and weirdly personalist) as you can get. In fact, at one point in the conversation, it occurred to me that having Nick on the podcast is like having my therapist on the podcast. Except in this case, it’s my salty languaged therapist who draws on me with a tattoo rig made from electric doorbell components (the old school, traditional way).But there’s more to our conversation than tattoo talk among trauma-bonded buds here. There’s conversation about creativity; about commitment; about discipline; about tradition; about listening; about care; about courage; about growth; and about… God.All the elements, in other words, of the kinds of conversations you normally hear on Personalist Manifesto(s).BioNick's a mustachioed, deep thinking, fast working tattoo artist who lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia, with his wife, kids, and cats. LinksNick's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickboyczuktattoo/Electric Eagle Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electriceagletattoo/Nick's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Nick-Boyczuk-Tattoo-61559196154551To book with Nick, email: nickboyczuktattoo@gmail.com

In this final episode of 2025, I’m joined by Tripp Fuller from Homebrewed Christianity and Paul Hoard from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. We talk about the Christmas story, and how, in so many ways, it moves in the opposite direction of the stories being told by artificial intelligence prophets, power brokers, and profiteers today.

So, wherever you are at in this advent season, I hope this conversation brings you a bit of hope as it reminds you of what it is to be human, what love truly is, and how, even when it seems so dark out there, the light of the world really has overcome that darkness.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I’ll see you in 2026.

Bios

Tripp Fuller is a podcaster, theologian, minister and competitive home brewer. Currently, he is visiting Professor of Theology at Luther Seminary. He received his PhD in Philosophy, Religion, and Theology at Claremont Graduate University. For over 12 years Tripp has been doing the Homebrewed Christianity podcast where he interviews different scholars about their work so you can get nerdy in traffic, on the treadmill, or doing the dishes. Last year it had over 3 million downloads. It also inspired a book series with Fortress Press called the Homebrewed Christianity Guides to topics like God, Jesus, Spirit, Church History and so on.

Paul Hoard, PhD, LMHC, is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and associate professor of counseling psychology at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. His work sits at the intersection of Lacanian theory, theology, and culture, examining how desire, disgust, trauma, sexuality, and play shape our lives and imaginations. He maintains a clinical practice, provides supervision for therapists integrating psychoanalysis and theology, and is the co-author (with his sister Billie Hoard) of Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life, a book that reimagines the theological logic of disgust as a site of transformation rather than exclusion.

Tripp's Links

Website: https://www.homebrewedchristianty.com/

Substack: https://processthis.substack.com/

Bluesky: @trippfuller.bsky.social

Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/homebrewed-christianity/id276269040

Paul's Links

Substack: https://paulhoard.substack.com/

Paul's Book: https://wipfandstock.com/9798385213726/eucontamination/