Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

We’ve all kind of grown accustomed to Instagram takeovers and other stunty maneuvers to grab attention, but a podcast takeover? I think that’s still kind of a rarity. But Corey Nathan is a rare breed. So, I suppose it isn’t really a surprise that when I contacted him a week ago and asked if we could do a reading of my play LOVE & HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID as a special edition of Talkin‘ Politics &...

Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several...

This is a special presentation of TOP OF MIND WITH JULIE ROSE which is about "becoming better citizens, kinder neighbors and more effective advocates." Here are the show notes on this episode from our friends at TOP OF MIND:   About 45,000 Americans died from gun violence in 2022. A similar number died the year before. About half of those deaths are gun suicides. The other half are gun homicides....

In this episode, we have two friends who hold many different political views. Corey brought in his pal Darren Harkins to see if they could talk about "politics and religion without killin' eacb other." Despite their differences, they remain good buddies and have learned to navigate conversations that could easily turn heated. Today, they discuss their differences and how they maintain their friend...

Over the last month in Nashville TN, the hope for better gun laws, LGBTQ rights and even democracy itself all seem to be on the line.   We're joined on this episode by Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza and Quinn Joy Bacon, both of whom are activists, organizers and theologians based in Nashville, Tennessee. There are a number of issues that are all at the forefront of what's been happening since 6 people w...

For this edition, we welcome back Pete Dominick , the host of Stand Up! with Pete Dominick . In the second half of our conversation (approx. 50 minutes in), Pete and Corey discuss a major disagreement they had a few months ago. It's about whether someone who identifies with one party - Republican or Democrat - can even fathom the possibility of voting for a candidate from the other political party...

In this episode, we're joined by special co-host, writer, producer, storyteller, Kim Yaged as we speak with Emeritus Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin, Robert Jensen . Many people say they are "spiritual but not religious." Bob says he's "religious but not spiritual" - and that's just to start! He also identifies as a "good ole' lefty materialist....

Our guest on this episode of TP&R is Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institutue . We dive into the nitty gritty of a number of PRRI's recent reports including More Acceptance but Growing Polarization on LGBTQ Rights (3/23/23); Abortion Attitudes in a Post-Roe World (2/23/23); A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Cu...

This is a special BONUS EPISODE of Village SquareCast . Here are the show notes from our friends at The Village Square :   "When Daryl Davis was ten, he didn’t understand hate yet. But then he was the only black scout in a parade to honor Paul Revere’s ride to Concord, when he began getting hit by bottles. It was then that he formed a question in his mind that he’s spent much of a lifetime answeri...

In this edition, we're joined by former U.S. Attorney, Co-host of the wonderful podcast #SistersInLaw and Legal Analyst for NBC News, Barbara McQuade. We, of course, discussed prominent legal cases such as Dominion Voting's defamation case against Fox News; Moore vs. Harper, the North Carolina case pertaining to voting law that tests the "independent state legislature theory"; the numerous cases a...

What are the most pressing concerns about the future of the American experiment and Democracy around the world? How can one person impact the many complex systems going on in the world? How can we better understand what's broken in our democracy? How can we work together to fix it? In what ways can we use the emerging medium of podcasting to explore these questions and help come up with solutions?...

This was an eye-opening conversation with Shawnee-Lenape Scholar and Author Steven T. Newcomb whose work examines Christendom’s legacy of domination and dehumanization that has resulted in the near destruction of thousands of years of spiritual and ecological wisdom developed by indigenous peoples and nations.   We discussed how much of the history and culture of original nations and peoples was s...

Our guest on this episode is Lanae Erickson , SVP at Third Way , a national think tank that champions modern center-left ideas. What does it mean to be a pragmatic progressive? How can our country make pragmatic progress on important issues that's actually sustainable: Whether it's immigration, clean energy, the economy, higher education, gun safety or other social issues? Why do so many elected o...

Are you interested in a shared future among people of vast differences? There is so much to unpack in this conversation with Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza . Here are just a few of the concepts we touched upon: While the nature of God doesn't change, the nature of thought about the idea of God changes - eg. the color of the historical Jesus's skin (he has been depicted most frequently as white when hist...

We had a ton of questions for Kevin Singer, President of Neighborly Faith which conducts research and organizes events “introducing Christians to neighbors of every faith.” For example, considering Kevin has Jewish relatives, were there ever discussions about Jewish people's cultural allergy to proselytization and ways that American Evangelicals - perhaps unknowingly - cross that line? How does Ne...

One look at the title of Rabbi Mike's book and one could understand why we loved having him on the pod! With a special return visit from Ronnie Nathan as co-host, we had a great conversation. But here's the thing, if you're one of those folks who goes by the phrase, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" - you're gonna hate this conversation! (Oh and, bless your heart.) Aside from that, we c...

Joe Walsh came back for another visit on our program and we covered a lot of ground! Can we share space with folks who have different beliefs than we do - even if they've said some egregious things in the past? If there's a line, where is that line? What does it mean to be a conservative? Is Donald Trump a real conservative? Is Ron DeSantis a conservative? What is a recipe for success for today's...

If you love charts, data and data analysis, you'll love this conversation. And you'll definitely love this week's guest, Washington Post national columnist Philip Bump's new book THE AFTERMATH about "the Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America." Our conversation covers a lot of ground including how Philip responds to stupidity in politics while still being fair and holding on...

This is a fun conversation with tech founder and political strategist, Lucy Caldwell. What causes some issues or politicians to have a "moment" and some others to just die on the vine? How similar is opening a major motion picture with running a political campaign? Can a case be made for open primaries and ranked-choice voting? How can one explain an elected official acting like an extremist while...

This is a special episode with Corey's cousins, the Warshawskys. Sheila, Allan, Deena and Jonathan join the pod to recount how our family had to flee Cherny Ostriv, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1920, travel across Europe and finally arrive in America on March 3, 1921. It's possible that the Blicks and Krivals had been in that region for as long as 1,000 years. So what were the circ...

This is a special episode of TP&R. We're sharing an interview Justin Peters did with Corey Nathan on Justin's excellent podcast The Struggle Is Real.   Here are the show notes from the original airing on The Struggle Is Real:   Title: How to Talk Politics and Religion Without Killing Each Other | E55 Corey Nathan   Description: I’ve dreaded some recent get-togethers knowing argumentative political...

Happy to share some of our favorite conversations from this last year. Subsequent to our talk with Christie Whitman, the former Republican Governor of New Jersey has gone on to join the Forward Party as Co-Chair along with former Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang. In this conversation with Christine Todd Whitman, the former Governor (of the best state in the union!) and Cabinet Member,...

What can happen when people from different "tribes" actually get together in person? We often jump to conclusions based merely on how someone votes. But do we take the time to understand how they arrived at that decision? How can we bring our friends and neighbors from a posture of contentiousness to one of curiosity? To put down the weapons of the culture war and pick up a cup of coffee with some...

This is a special bonus episode we're sharing of the Village SquareCast. The panel is titled Bridge Building and Bipartisanship. Bridge building?!  (We’re not talking about the Golden Gate, people.)  An industry that was recently unknown and almost nonexistent has exploded in recent years, as average citizens begin to see the sharp growth in political divisions as an emergency that requires our at...

In this coversation with columnist, public speaker, recovering attorney and playwright, Wajahat Ali , we discuss what it's like to live in a country you love that doesn't always love you back; representation and how often different folks are portrayed as invisible, the sidekick, the punchline or the villain; how it was to be the only Muslim kid going to a Jesuit Catholic H.S.; seeing the common va...