Straight White American Jesus

Brad and Dan begin by discussing how Madison Cawthorn's claims about cocaine and orgies sounded like youth group scare tactics. They then dig into the significance of the texts between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows, focusing on the Christian nationalism rife in their conversations, their characterization of Democrats as "evil," and the hope that God would not allow for the fair and free election o...

How do we understand a complex social and political phenomenon like Christian nationalism? Does it represent a strategic coalition of different identity groups (e.g., political conservatives, conservative Christians, etc.)? Or is it something else? Dan argues that understanding something like Christian nationalism requires a different understanding of social and political identity. Instead of a st...

Dr. Carolyn Chen is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and Co-Director of the Program for the Study of Religion at Berkeley. Her new book, Work, Pray, Code explores the ways tech is replacing religion for some workers--and what this means for the future of the American public square and American religion. Work, Pray, Code: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691219080/work-pray-code...

Brad and Dan are joined by special guest host Dr. Sara Moslener, the professor for our May 2022 seminar: Purity Culture, Race, and Embodiment. The three of them begin by discussing the Senate hearings from SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated for the USA's highest court. We dig into why GOP senators focused their questioning on pedophilia and sex offenders, t...

If individual identity and group identity are deeply intertwined, why does it seem that group identity shapes individual identity, but not the other way around? Why are group identities so hard to change, even when there are those within them working to change them? And what does this mean for understanding identity politics? Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, ac...

In Part 2 of a two-part interview, Brad speaks with Philip Gorski (Yale) and Sam Perry (Oklahoma University) about their new book, the Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-flag-and-the-cross-9780197618684?cc=us&lang=en&#. Gorski and Perry explain what white Christian nationalism is and is not; when it firs...

In Part 1 of a two-part interview, Brad speaks with Philip Gorski (Yale) and Sam Perry (Oklahoma University) about their new book, the Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-flag-and-the-cross-9780197618684?cc=us&lang=en&#. Gorski and Perry explain what white Christian nationalism is and is not; when it firs...

We often think of individual and groups identities as separate, or as incompatible in some way. But in this episode, we consider the ways in which our group identities determine and shape our individual identities, and argue that an understanding of this is crucial for understanding both identity and identity politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to...

While the bill in Florida has received more attention, South Carolina has its own Don't Say Gay bill on the docket. The bill would prevent instruction, presentations, discussions, counseling, or materials in any medium”that involve LGBTQ+ identities. It would prevent queer teachers fro being out to their students because that would constitute discussing such matters. It would prevent teachers from...

Brad and Dan discuss a wide range of topics— from GOP voter fraud to Madison Cawthorn calling Zelenskyy a thug, to Don’t Say Gay Bills—through the lens of the idea that Christian nationalism is about order and violence. The takeaway: whether it’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, or democracy itself— Christian nationalists will use violence to achieve the societal order they want. ...

Why can it be so apparent to us that people’s political behavior or social views are a reflection of their group identity, but they will insist that they’re group identity has no impact on these areas of their life? Or why do we have such a strong sense that we hold the social views we do or behave politically as we do because of who we are as individuals, when we know that people are shaped by th...

Why are American Christians rooting for Putin? How did the Russian autocrat become the ideal leader in their eyes? Brad speaks to Dr. Sara Riccard Swartz, an expert on Russian Orthodoxy and American religions, about her brand new book, "Between Heaven and Russia": https://www.fordhampress.com/9780823299515/between-heaven-and-russia/ Historically a minority immigrant faith in the United States, Rus...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent AFPAC conference, where the far-right figure Nick Fuentes compared Putin to Hitler in a positive way, while giving a speech full of racial and ethnic slurs. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar attended the conference--and Greene gave an address after being introduced by Fuentes. Dan unpacks the historic significance of this chapter in the GOP's i...

What do we mean when we talk about “recognition”? What is it to recognize someone in their identity? What is it to recognize ourselves in a particular way? What happens when someone doesn’t recognize me in the way I identify myself? What happens when I don’t recognize someone others in the way they recognize themselves? This episode explores the complex dynamics of recognition and the significance...

Brad speaks with the Danté Stewart about his journey into, and then out of, the White Church. Stewart grew up a Black Pentecostal until he reached university. There he began attending a White megachurch. He spent years in White churches convinced that the Jesus worshipped there--one coded as a White American, as superior to the one found in the Black church, as the true and right way to be a Chris...

Brad and Dan discuss Putin's war on Ukraine and the Christian nationalist/GOP responses at home. They focus the first segment on how the only people on the global stage defending Putin openly are Donald Trump and select politicians and leaders from the GOP. This leads to an exploration of the Christians who admit that they identify more with Putin's Christian values than Joe Biden's leadership. Li...

This episode explores the concern that people act against their own social or political interests because of their identity. Because they privilege their identity, they oppose political, social, or economic policies that would be beneficial to them. Dan argues that this is a mistaken conception, and that we have to recognize that identity and interests are entangled with each other in complex ways...

*Correction*: "Jeff" says that Locke's church is in McMinnville, TN. It is in fact in Mt. Juliet TN. Brad didn't catch it in the conversation. Both he and Jeff were a bit tense--wanting to get the story right and bring listeners into the scene, without giving away Jeff's identity. Our apologies. Brad speaks with a man he calls Jeff (identity hidden) who went undercover at the book burning led by P...

Steve Bannon is a familiar figure by now. One of the super villains from the Trump administration, he is still a force in right-wing politics in the USA and across the globe. He reportedly pushed Trump to overturn the election by any means possible. He is often referred to as a White nationalist whose misogyny and racism need no further explanation. But what if Bannon's worldview is more complex,...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the Jericho Marches connected to the "Freedom Convoy" protests in Ottawa. Drawing on work by the writer Chrissy Stroop and scholar Thomas Lecaque, they discuss how the Jericho story provides a narrative in which both American J6 and Canadian convoy protesters/rioters are able to use as a way to build group cohesion and justify their actions. Chrissy Stroop on Chris...

What is the relation to class and identity? Does a focus on identity and identity politics overlook, trivialize, or eliminate the significance of class or economic inequality in contemporary politics and social conflict? This episode suggests that a focus on identity does not discount, and is not at odds with, a focus on class or economic inequality. On the contrary, Dan argues that class is a dim...

Brad speaks to filmmaker Kat Gellein Viken who is the co-creator of two recent documentaries on churches, conspiracy, and the war on democracy. In 2020's People You May Know, Gellein and her co-creator Charles Kriel connect the dots among the Council for National policy, American oligarchs, and nefarious data mining firms. The film follows a trail that eventually reveals how churches are collectin...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the RNC calling J6 "legitimate political discourse." While it may seem like a blip in a busy news cycle, Dan relates it to the pearl clutching Republicans did about civility and bi-partisanship early in the Biden presidency, while Brad argues that the history books will reveal it as evidence leading to the GOP's development into full-blown fascism. This segment end...

This episode revisits the idea that identity is about recognition and explores the significance of this. Because identity is not only about how I recognize myself, but also about how others recognize me, identity is never merely a matter of individual preference. Rather, identity is always shared and collective in nature. This is particularly true of identities with the “critical mass” to effect s...

What if J6 and the Anti-CRT movements trace back to the same secretive organization? What if J6 was the result of years of planning and organizing? And what if there's a plan in place to make sure that a secretive network has the chance to pick our next president? Anne Nelson is the author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. She explains how J6 was the result...