“Let Go and Let God” Maybe you’ve heard the admonition to “let go and let God.” Maybe it provides some comfort. Maybe it’s frustrating. Maybe it makes you angry. What does it mean, and why can it provoke such a range of responses? Why do people say this? How does it relate to a culture of self-help consumerism? Dan explores these issues in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more:...
Sep 14, 2023•28 min
Ahead of the premier of American Idols next week, Brad talks with Dr. Andrew Whitehead about the podcast series, his new book, and why Christian nationalism is such a threat to our democracy. He shares insight from his own life as a kid who grew up in church, only to see many of his fellow Christians succumb to the temptations of Christian nationalism's idols: fear, power, and violence. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive...
Sep 12, 2023•19 min
In her new book, 24/7 News: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America From Watergate to Fox News, Dr. Kathryn Cramer Brownell, Associate Professor of History at Purdue University, shows how cable became an unstoppable medium for political communication that prioritized cult followings and loyalty to individual brands, fundamentally reshaped party politics, and, in the process, sowed the seeds of democratic upheaval. In her conversation with Brad, Dr. Brownell reveals how cable TV created n...
Sep 11, 2023•41 min
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the fact that Trump may be kept off the ballot in some states. The 14th amendment prohibits those who have "engaged in insurrection" from holding office. Dan breaks down the case and what may happen going forward. In the second segment Brad analyzes Project 2025, a program from the Heritage Foundation that lays out a frightening totalitarian vision for a 2nd Trump Term. He also outlines why he won't support a third party candidate this election. In the final segm...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 1 min
“It’s In the Code.” But in what sense is a code something public and shared? And in what sense is a code something secret, communicated only the select few “in the know?” Dan explores these issues in this episode, arguing that secret codes that operate below the surface are dependent on public codes we all share and can understand. He also suggests that this interplay is vital in our current context defined by endless culture war. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listen...
Sep 06, 2023•22 min
Brad talks to Rev. Nathan Empsall, the Executive Director of Faithful America. They discuss the Reawaken America Tour, which just relaunched in Las Vegas a week ago. As Rev. Nathan says, the tour platforms speakers who are anti-Semitic, anti-democratic, and openly violent. It is a dangerous movement that is, unfortunately, tying together explicit Christian practice - like baptism on stage - with insidious American nationalism. The result? Maybe the most potent magnet for Christian nationalism al...
Sep 04, 2023•39 min
How does a racially fueled tragedy tie into the policies of a state governor? And what sinister patterns can we uncover when we trace the origins of the 'lone gunman' phenomenon? Brad and Dan investigate the chilling Jacksonville shootings, the disturbing racial motivations behind the crime, and the ways these events echo the policies of Florida's Governor, Ron DeSantis. . We then shift our focus to the Christian homeschooling movement, helmed by Michael Farris, and its possible impact on public...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 4 min
“You Have to Get ‘Em Lost to Get ‘Em Saved” What can it possibly mean when some Christians say that you “have to get people lost before you can get them saved?” What does it mean to be “lost”? What does it mean to be “saved”? And what are some of the effects of this language? Is it just a way of summarizing basic Christian teachings, or does it have further-reaching, possibly significant, negative effects? Dan tackles these issues in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus ...
Aug 31, 2023•27 min
Brad speaks with Dr. Robert P. Jones, President of PRRI and author of the new book The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: And the Path to a Shared American Future. Beginning with contemporary efforts to reckon with the legacy of white supremacy in America, Jones returns to the fateful year when a little-known church doctrine emerged that shaped the way five centuries of European Christians would understand the “discovered” world and the people who populated it. Along the way, he shows us the conne...
Aug 28, 2023•39 min
Brad and Dan discuss three main stories from the week: The GOP debate, where Trump was somehow both absent and present. The killing of a shop owner in CA over her display of the Pride flag. The appearannce of Spokane mayor Nadine Woodward at a Christian nationalist rally with Sean Feucht and Matth Shea Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ To Donate: venmo - @strai...
Aug 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min
We say someone is “speaking in code,” or talk about “codes,” or discuss things that are “in the code?” But what do we mean by “code?” And when someone uses coded language, do they know they’re doing that? When we talk about people or communities using codes to manipulate or control others, are they doing it on purpose? And do we all use codes, or is it always something “they” (whoever they are) do? Dan tackles those questions in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episo...
Aug 24, 2023•26 min
Brad speaks to Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. They discuss AU's lawsuit with the ACLU and FFRF in the case of the state of Oklahoma agreeing to send taxpayer funds to a Catholic school. This is, in essence, an attempt to make Christian schools into public schools. From AU: And public schools must be secular and open to all students. They are not allowed to discriminate against students or indoctrinate children into one religion. But that i...
Aug 21, 2023•34 min
On a solo Friday, Dan begins by discussing the sprawling indictment of Trump and his co-conspirators in Fulton County, Georgia. This indictment includes lawyers, pastors, and others who allegedly helped Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. Dan then turns his attention to the ruling on the abortion pills out of the 5th Circuit. It's a monumental story that, while unfinished, will have dramatic impacts on reproductive rights all over the country. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get ...
Aug 18, 2023•55 min
What does it mean when a church is “non-denominational”? What is the relation between non-denominational churches and established denominations? In what ways does the designation of being non-denominational encode information about a church’s values and beliefs, its demographics, or its position on hot-button cultural issues? Dan tackles these questions in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord ...
Aug 16, 2023•28 min
Brad analyzes the new hit song, "The Rich Men North of Richmond," which has become an anthem for right-wing populism. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christi...
Aug 15, 2023•40 min
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the latest news from SCOTUS - Clarence Thomas's many vacations with right-wing billionaires - by framing the entire GOP's approach to politics as a will to power. Dan draws on a piece by a retired conservative judge in order to demonstrate that the American right has become the party of power and negativity. Brad then goes through a litany of issues related to sex and gender: from reactions to the World Cup loss of the US women's team to Matt Walsh's comments on ...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Within a certain part of the American Christian subculture, it’s common to speak of people who are “baby Christians.” But what does that mean? Is it just silly? Is it just an effect of biblical understandings of the Christian faith? Or does it have more significant religious, social, and political consequences? In this episode, Dan argues that it does have these consequences, and explains why. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode ...
Aug 09, 2023•24 min
Capitalizing on current, widespread anti-China sentiment in the United States, lawmakers in nearly 30 states have proposed or have passed legislation banning foreign nationals, governments and companies from purchasing land, particularly farmland or property near military bases. Although they ostensibly aim to protect America’s national security, they have other dangerous consequences – stoking xenophobic biases and targeting of Asian Americans for further racial profiling and exclusion. https:/...
Aug 07, 2023•34 min
Brad and Dan discuss the details, reactions, and takeaways to the Trump indictment by Jack Smith. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/15...
Aug 04, 2023•58 min
“Lots of people miss salvation by 18 inches—the distance between the head and the heart.” This (and statements like it) is a phrase that has long circulated within a particular kind of Christian subculture. But what does it mean? What does it mean to “believe” in God with your heart, instead of your head? And how does this language work as a mechanism of social control, beyond or beneath its surface meaning? Dan tackles these topics in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonu...
Aug 02, 2023•24 min
Brad is joined by Julian Walker and Matthew Remski, two of the hosts of the Conspirituality podcast and co-authors of the new book, Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat. Emma Hulbert provided research assistance for this episode. https://www.powells.com/book/conspirituality-9781541702981/1-2 Each of the three authors has witnessed firsthand the use of fear-based political agendas to manipulate the human desire for spiritual fulfillment. They throw a spot...
Jul 31, 2023•58 min
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the new Florida school curriculum that forces teachers to tell students that enslaved people received some benefit from their enslaved condition. Dan reports on Gov. Ron DeSantis' claim that enslaved people would have been able to develop trade skills and other "personal benefits." In the second segment Brad outlines the controversy surrounding Jason Aldean's song "Try That in A Small Town," explaining why it's code and what the history of lynching and other viol...
Jul 28, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Why do so many on the Christian, cultural, and political right receive such obvious pleasure in enacting policies and legislation that harm others? Don’t they care about the harm they’re doing? And if not, why not? Dan tackles this issue in this week’s episode, taking a look empathy, and its lack, as key concept for answering these questions. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi...
Jul 26, 2023•27 min
Brad is scheduled to speak on August 26th at an interfaith event held by the Metropolex Atheists. However, the city of Fort Worth refuses to allow the group to advertise. Brad speaks with Nick Fish, president of the American Atheists, on how the City is creating a false pretext to prevent a group of non-religious Americans from advertising their event in public. "Since at least 1998, Fort Worth has permitted nonprofit organizations to rent out space on downtown lamp posts to advertise events. Th...
Jul 24, 2023•43 min
Brad and Dan begin by discussing a bombshell report at the New York Times outlining Trump's plans to completely transform the executive branch if he becomes president again. Brad analyzes how the playbook he and his team are using comes right from Orban's takeover of Hungary's government from within. In the second segment Dan analyzes the reports that Ron DeSantis is trying to create his own personal militia in Florida that would answer only to him and be deployed in matters of border security, ...
Jul 22, 2023•59 min
Why do those on the religious and cultural right often describe transgender or gender-nonconforming identity as a mental illness? What is the relationship of “gender dysphoria” and trans or gender-nonconforming identity? Why would some who target trans and gender-nonconforming people claim that they are doing it because they care for them? And finally, how can we support trans and gender-nonconforming people and address the concrete effects of gender dysphoria? Dan takes on these issues in this ...
Jul 19, 2023•29 min
Brad speaks with veteran journalist Sarah Stankorb about her new book Disobedient Women. Disobedient Women is not just a look at the women who have used the internet to bring down the religious power structures that were meant to keep them quiet, but also a picture of the large-scale changes that are happening within evangelical culture regarding women’s roles, ultimately underscoring the ways technology has created a place for women to challenge traditional institutions from within. Subscribe f...
Jul 17, 2023•37 min
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the fallout from the 303 Creative SCOTUS case in the form of a hair stylists who claims they will not serve anyone who introduces themselves using pronouns. This follows on a predication made when the ruling came down: Bigots will use the licence of "expression" to justify turning away people on the basis of sex, gender, and so on. In the second segment they discuss an academic article that shows the long term effects of protest movements - and how they shift the...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 3 min
The language of “religious freedom” is often used as a code for the preservation of traditional White Christian privilege in the US. But it is also used as a code for efforts to use religious ideology to influence the secular government, so that the beliefs of a minority of White conservative Christians in the US is forced onto the population as a whole. Dan explores this dimension of the contemporary code of “religious freedom” in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus ep...
Jul 12, 2023•23 min
Last weekend Moms for Liberty held their national conference in Philadelphia. Annika Brockschmidt attended the conference. She talks to Brad about the protests outside the conference, conversations with rank and file members, and speeches from Trump, DeSantis, Haley, and many others. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: ...
Jul 10, 2023•40 min
