Why I Turned My Podcast into an Ebook
If you told me a year ago I would write a book with significant aid from a Large Language Model (Claude), I would have laughed. I once thought AI books were worthless. If an author isn’t going to spend the time to write it themselves, then why should a reader take the time to read it?
So, why am I launching an ebook today that was made with the help of AI? What is it? And why did I change my mind?
Jesus Was a Techie: How Christians Can Lead the Technology Age
Let’s face it, not everyone has the time to listen to our What Would Jesus Tech archive of 112 episodes! I know some people want to get a sense of our approach before subscribing. Other people want a list of our best episodes. Others simply do not prefer podcasts and would rather get to the point by reading a book. Others find our podcast is a bit too academic at times (or a bit too deep on technology) and so they want a summary that doesn’t skip the most important parts. All very reasonable! This is why I made this book.
Further, podcast apps are increasingly designed for popularity over regularity. People listen and move on, only to return to a popular episode months later. But with our podcast, this new norm stunts wisdom. Some of our episodes are very positive on technology. Some are very negative. Both are needed! The ebook pushes against the one-off nature of podcasting in 2026 and toward more reflective and sustained thought.
What is the book about? Here’s how I put it in the preface (I wrote the preface without the aid of AI, except for minor grammar and spelling edits):
The core thesis of this book: Christians can lead the technological age through imitating Christ. Such an approach is neither anxious nor blind, neither nostalgic nor futurist, but based on the gifts of God’s Word in the Scriptures and the help of one another. Theologians must learn from technologists. And those working in technology need to learn from pastors. All of us need to learn from Jesus. And Jesus was a tekton (Matt. 13:55, Mark 6:3).
This book matters to me. It matters for disciple-makers who want to do a better job navigating technology. I believe it will be helpful to you.
Though you may be wondering… how exactly was AI involved? What does it mean to have AI help turn a podcast into an ebook?
How I Used AI to Write an Ebook
It wasn’t all done by AI. I wrote the preface, summary, four introductions (at the beginning of each part), and an epilogue. For these, I only used AI for spelling, grammar, and minor suggestions. I still wanted to have a human voice throughout.
I downloaded the AI-generated transcript from Riverside (our recording and editing software) for each episode. These are mostly accurate, but often get a few words wrong. I gave it to Claude and asked it to write an episode summary, one at a time. Each summary includes the key points, direct quotes, and a “going deeper” section at the end. I instructed Claude to use lots of direct quotes and to stick to the content of the episode. I then verified each chapter at a time, always making at least a few edits.
At first, this was only a test. I was curious how it would go. But I was so impressed by the output that I realized the potential value. It captured the same key insights I would have captured. It stayed on topic. The writing wasn’t perfect (it flattered too much before I edited it), but I found myself engaged in reading it in precisely the same way the episodes engaged me!
For context, our podcast’s transcripts total over 500,000 words. This book is only 40,000 words with around 37,000 words written in this manner (the remaining 3,000 written solely by me).
In other words, this project is entirely different than the AI slop you can find on Amazon in the form of fake AI-generated theology books. I was present for all of these podcast recordings. These aren’t chapters merely based around the episodes; they contain the best aspects of the episode in written form. Unlike those fake books, we are being fully transparent about where AI is and isn’t being used.
If you prefer reading over listening, or if you prefer key concepts over tangential conversations, or if you simply want to grow in your ability to lead and make disciples in our technological age, then I made this book for you.
I pray this book will help people lead more like Jesus and suffer less from the harms of technology.
Download Jesus Was a Techie for free.
I want to add one more thing for readers who are still thinking through the differences between a podcast and an ebook.
The medium of a podcast is unique. Listening to a podcast is like building a one-way friendship. Audio includes emotional reactions, thoughtful pauses, and even the character of the hosts expressed through their tone. A podcast is formative in the way a book is not. It’s not better than a book. But it is different. And to take something from one medium and transfer it to another is not merely to adapt it, but to change it entirely (Marshall McLuhan would nod).
You won’t get the same feeling of tension in the book. A good example of this is our episode with Kirsten Sanders, when she debates Joel about whether his desire to “get more done for Jesus” is really what a Christian life is about. That episode is completely different in your ear than it is in your eye.
These are the kinds of tradeoffs that we are often unaware of when we think about technology. We don’t realize how technology changes us, disciples us, and forms us into a new kind of human.
You will need to be mindful of those tradeoffs. Even in writing the book and reading so much text that came through an LLM, I started catching myself writing in sentence structures which LLMs prefer. That’s a real side-effect. But to me, this is more like the side-effect of a sore back after mowing grass than that of a steroid.
Consider the pros and cons. Be thoughtful. That’s what this book is about. As I state it in my first of seven laws of technology, consider how all technology is good and cursed. I hope you learn with me, whether that’s through the ebook, this Substack, or the podcast.
Thanks for reading.
- Andrew
Recent podcast episodes I’ve hosted:
Thinking About It | Season 5: Live Like a Christian (Links: Website | Apple | Spotify):
Should Christians Journal?
You Should Be Serving, Guilt-Free
On Sharing Your Faith
When, Why, and How to Fast
Taking Care of Your Body
What Would Jesus Tech (Links: Website | Apple | Spotify | YouTube):
Today’s episode:
How Christians Can Harness the Power of AI
My cohosts Austin and Joel recently covered Meta’s lawsuit and “Why John Piper Changed His Mind on AI.”
Other episodes
We Need to Talk About Cars
An Honest Conversation About AI Chatbots (with Bonnie Kristian)