Leaving Eden is a personal, reflective 15 episode podcast about faith, doubt, and what happens when the beliefs that once gave life meaning begin to fall apart.
Hosted by Luke Hermann, the series explores loss, grief, curiosity, and the slow work of rebuilding after certainty fades. This isn't a show about winning arguments or tearing belief down... it's about honesty, companionship, and learning to live well when the old answers no longer hold.
Whether you're religious, questioning, or simply curious, you're welcome here.
In this episode, I reflect on finding meaning in the small, finite moments that make up our lives. Through the lens of “little infinities” and insights from Stephen Hawking, I explore how purpose can emerge through curiosity, love, and attention.
10 Apr 2026
Part 13: Purpose
In Episode 13 of Leaving Eden, I explore the idea of purpose... not as something assigned from above, but something built through intention and action. After rediscovering meaning, this episode reflects on how purpose takes shape in the way we live, the values we embody, and the impact we each have on others.
6 Apr 2026
Part 12: Meaning
After confronting nihilism, where does meaning come from?
In Episode 12, I turn to the insights of Viktor Frankl, whose experiences taught that meaning can be found even in the most difficult circumstances. This episode explores how purpose can emerge through responsibility, relationships, and the way we choose to respond to life.
3 Apr 2026
Part 11: Memento Mori
What happens when you stop looking away from death?
In this episode, I reflect on the ancient idea of memento mori and the experience of “staring into the abyss.” Drawing from philosophy, astronomy, and lived experience, this episode explores how the awareness of mortality can either us lead to despair—or sharpen our sense of meaning and responsibility.
29 Mar 2026
Part 10: Depression
In this episode, I examine the role depression played in my deconstruction process... the quiet, internal weight of losing certainty and learning to face truth without a safety net. It's a personal and reflective look at what it took for me to finally speak honestly.
22 Feb 2026
Part 9: Nihilism
In this episode, I confront nihilism... not as a final destination, but as a stage of honest reckoning.
When inherited meaning falls away, what remains? This episode explores the tension between despair and responsibility, and how the absence of a guaranteed objective purpose can become the beginning of something self-authored.
21 Feb 2026
Part 8: Anger
When innocence fades, anger often follows.
In this episode, I talk about the season of bitterness that accompanied my unraveling faith as I wrestled with history, reason, institutional resistance, and the sharp honesty of thinkers who no longer softened their critique of religion. A candid reflection on the phase where disappointment turned into fire.
18 Feb 2026
Part 7: Innocence Lost
Innocence is fragile.
In this episode, I revisit the faith structures that shaped my early understanding of God and the world, and the painful moment when that understanding collided with the realities of human cruelty, history, and suffering. A deeply personal reflection on how innocence is built, and how it is lost when reality refuses to stay contained.
15 Feb 2026
Part 6: Freedom
For a long time, life felt like a game with clear instructions: follow the rules, and you’ll be okay.
In Episode 5 of Leaving Eden, I share how losing certainty didn’t feel liberating at first—it felt destabilizing. A contemplative reflection on structure, responsibility, and the unsettling kind of freedom that comes when the rulebook disappears.
9 Feb 2026
Part 5: Losing My Best Friend
What happens when faith isn’t just a belief, but a relationship?
In this episode, I share the deeply personal experience of losing Jesus—not as an idea, but as a presence I once trusted like a closest friend. This episode explores grief, intimacy, and the quiet heartbreak that can follow when a relationship you depended on begins to disappear.
7 Feb 2026
Part 4: Christian Nationalism
This episode explores the quiet, often invisible marriage between American Christianity and political power.
Growing up immersed in conservative media, patriotic church culture, and a sincere love for Jesus, I didn’t recognize the tension between Christ’s teachings and the worldview shaping my fears. This is a reflection on how that dissonance formed, why so many have begun to question it, and what it costs to finally see it.
6 Feb 2026
Part 3: Intelligent Design
For a long time, Intelligent Design made the universe feel intentional and safe.
In this episode of Leaving Eden, I tell the story of how that sense of order began to waver, and what it felt like to briefly stand without answers. This is a quiet reflection on faith, fear, and the fragile moment when certainty starts to slip.
5 Feb 2026
Part 2: Biblical Inerrancy
Biblical inerrancy was never just a doctrine—it was my foundation.
In this episode of Leaving Eden, I share how my relationship with Scripture began to shift when familiar explanations no longer held the same certainty. This is not an argument against faith, but a personal exploration of what happens when reverence, honesty, and difficult questions begin to collide.
2 Feb 2026
Part 1: The Problem of Evil
In this episode, I explore one of the oldest and most difficult questions people of faith wrestle with: Why does suffering exist?
Through personal experience and reflection, this episode sits with grief, doubt, and the quiet unease that arises when familiar answers no longer bring comfort. This isn’t an attempt to argue anyone out of belief, but an honest look at what happens when suffering becomes impossible to explain away.
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