Advancing the stories and ideas of the kingdom of God.
Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
They say the Devil’s in the details, but when conspiracies captivate our imaginations, we often overlook the real devils walking among us. From the creators of the hit podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill comes a new show, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which takes you back to the Satanic Panic that gripped America in the 1980s and ’90s. This limited series explores how hysteria gripped parents and teens through cautionary tales like Go Ask Alice, influenced notorious criminal cases like the West Memphis Three, and catapulted the political agenda of the Moral Majority. Join as we seek to understand how this wave of panic devastated innocent lives and diverted the church’s attention from the evil lurking in its own pews.
Available on
Episode 15 | 1 hr 1 min
BONUS: Amanda Knox on the Satanic Panic and Wrongful Convictions
How elements of the satanic panic and conspiratorial thinking shaped a wrongful conviction.
Episode 14 | 58 min
BONUS: Survivors & Abuse Continued – Rachel Denhollander on Faith and Accountability
How should we think about what it takes for an abuse survivor to come forward with the truth?
Episode 13 | 1 hr 2 min
BONUS: Chris Lane and Matt Martens on the West Memphis Three and the Criminal Justice System
Unpacking the disturbing case of the wrongfully accused West Memphis Three.
Episode 12 | 43 min
BONUS: Adam Kinzinger on January 6 and Conspiracy Thinking
A sobering discussion on the events of January 6th with a former US Congressman.
Episode 11 | 39 min
BONUS: What Does It Mean to Believe Survivors? In Conversation with Mary DeMuth and Colleen Ramser
A deep dive into the tender and complex topic of abuse discussed in season one.
Episode 10 | 52 min
BONUS: Livestream Q&A with Mike Cosper, Matthew D. Taylor, and Robert Downen
The lasting effects of the Satanic Panic, an Australian exorcism, and exposing abuse within the SBC.
Episode 9 | 1 hr 50 min
Forgetting What Happened
The Satanic Panic may have faded, but its legacy lives on – reshaped into modern conspiracies, political crusades, and weaponized fear.
Episode 8 | 59 min
The Spell Breaks
How do false memories take hold—and what happens when they drive real-world consequences? Two experts unpack the role of memory in the rise and fall of the Satanic Panic.
Episode 7 | 43 min
The Joke’s on Us
We unpack the rise and fall of two central figures in the Satanic Panic—Mike Warnke and Lauren Stratford.
Episode 6 | 1 hr 19 min
BONUS: Deep Dive with Mike Cosper: Q&A + Best of DDBS Live Streams
In this interview with show creator and host Mike Cosper, we explore the series title and peek into where we’re headed on this journey.