Hi, everyone. This is Curtis, and I am excited to tell you about a new feature of the GoodFaith podcast and it's called Campfire Stories.

Now, in a great campfire, everyone has the opportunity to share their stories. And so, in Campfire Stories, we want to hear from you.

We want to hear a story about what you are doing along the themes of the GoodFaith podcast, perhaps it's something about how you're living out your relationships with political polarization, how you are trying to reflect the image of God in your institution and organization, or what you're doing with your money or your vocation, anything that has been sparked by the themes that we've covered here in the GoodFaith podcast is fear game.

It doesn't matter if it's a big story, a small story, or something in between, as long as it's a story about what you are doing in your life.

We're not so much interested in hearing just thoughts. We want to hear stories of doing. So, we'll put a link in the show notes where you can just click on it and then supply us the basic outlines of your story of doing of living out the themes of GoodFaith podcast.

And we'll look at it and we may invite you to share that story on a GoodFaith blog, a social media, or perhaps even invite you to come on the GoodFaith show yourself and talk to me and share your story.

Like, how cool would that be? I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to talk with you. So, please consider joining the campfire by actually joining actively and sharing your story with others gathered around the campfire. Thanks.

Welcome to the GoodFaith podcast. I'm David French with Curtis Chang and Curtis. I'm really excited today. We've got a great guest. My friend, Yubu Patel. I got to know Yubu.

Was it pre-pandemic where we had our, quote, courageous conversation? I think so. And I think you're also part of a new pluralist network, which I'm a part of also.

Yeah. So, I got to know Yubu a couple of years ago. All the time is, it's really amazing how much the time is kind of compressed and hazy in this pandemic era. But I've known Yubu for a little while.

And Yubu has done some tremendous interfaith work. And so we're going to talk to Yubu about this. And we're going to talk to Yubu about his new book, which is really good and interesting called We Need to Build Field Notes for a diverse democracy.

And there's several reasons why I wanted to bring Yubu here. One was, I've been exposed to a lot of interfaith work in my time. And it always is kind of goes like this. And Yubu and I've talked about this. And Curtis, I'm sure you've experienced this.

When you have interfaith work, it's like the gathering of the squishes, right? It's everyone who's the most moderate people in their faith tradition. Sort of that that's who gets together for interfaith work. And what's really fascinating about Yubu is that that is not the precondition for his interfaith work.

Like that is not the way Yubu rolls in interfaith America. It is, look, let's embrace American diversity and pluralism to its fullness, which includes people who are, yes, quite moderate, maybe in their religious point of view, but also people who are quite devout and who are quite whatever the opposite of a squish would be.

And so I've always appreciated that about your work, Yubu. And it's one of the reasons why we wanted to bring you on here. And also your book actually hits on a lot of themes that we talk about a ton, including the importance and power of institutions. So welcome.

It's great to be with you. I've admired both of you for a long time. I consider both of you friends. And David, I have to say that divided we fall was very influential for me in the crafting of my book. And so in a lot of ways, I hope that I consider them complimentary texts and I hope that you do as well.

Oh, well, I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Well, Yubu, I'd love to let's sort of set the stage is for to kind of give a little bit of your own background and how you came in to this interfaith work and how you've sort of taken on the mantle of trying to nurture religion, genuine religious pluralism in the United States.

Sure. So Curtis and I actually grew up quite similarly Asian Americans in the suburbs of Chicago.

I've kids who did very well in school. I grew up in the late 80s and early 90s. That's when I was in high school. I went to the University of Illinois.

Is it downer's grow? Yubu, we went to the Glen Allen actually.

Glen Allen, I think you were a great, right? Curtis. Yeah, main East. That's right.

Yeah, right. So I went to Glen Bruts out. I grew up in Glen Allen, but they're kind of professional middle class suburbs.

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