Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ “It’s An Easy Fix” “It’s an easy fix.” That’s what the proponents of high control religion often say in response to those who ask hard questions or level pointed critiques. But is it an “easy fix”? If not, what is the strategy behind suggesting that it is? How does the assertion that high...
Apr 30, 2025•27 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad discusses recent news about the Trump White House considering a $5,000 baby bonus to increase the US birth rate and similar incentives to support traditional family structures. Brad argues that these measures are deeply rooted in white nationalist ideas and reflect a broader agenda t...
Apr 28, 2025•40 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan talk about the controversial legacy of Pope Francis following his recent death, discussing his mixed reception among both conservatives and progressives. They highlight recent initiatives, including President Trump's anti-Christian bias task force led by figures such as Pam B...
Apr 25, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad speaks with Dr. Ruth Braunstein about her new podcast on the evangelicals resisting extremism within their communities. https://www.ruthbraunstein.com/podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 24, 2025•23 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Advocates of high-control Christianity often admonish those undergoing faith deconstruction not to “throw out the baby with the bath water” as they level their critiques against high-control religion. The suggestion here is that, no matter what it’s faults might be, high-control Christian...
Apr 23, 2025•28 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad discusses the current trends in Christian nationalism with Kiera Butler of Mother Jones. They talk about Andrew Isker and C.Jay Engel's plans to build a Christian nationalist society in Tennessee, funded by venture capitalists. Isker's antisemitic and anti-Civil Rights Act views are ...
Apr 21, 2025•43 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad presents a 'Good News Friday' amidst various hard and difficult topics, focusing on positive developments from the past week. Key highlights include Andrew Seidel and Brian Kaylor's inspiring talks at Capitol Hill about the threats of Christian nationalism and authoritarianism. Brad ...
Apr 18, 2025•1 hr 3 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: https://bookshop.org/a/95982/9781506482163 Check out BetterHelp and use my code SWA for a great deal: www.betterhelp.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 17, 2025•41 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ When those undergoing faith deconstruction appeal to the Bible to raise questions or level critiques against high-control Christianity, they are often dismissed as “cherry-picking” particular Bible verses to suit their purposes. What exactly does this accusation mean? And how does it rela...
Apr 16, 2025•30 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this episode, Brad speaks with journalist Amanda Marcotte about her recent Salon article dissecting the rise of Girls Gone Bible—a podcast hosted by two former actresses turned Christian influencers. While the show presents itself as a lighthearted, faith-based space for young women, A...
Apr 14, 2025•45 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan discuss the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump's recent tariffs and draconian deportation policies. They tie these events to broader themes of Christian nationalism, authoritarianism, and Trump's governing style. The episode covers Trump's unpredictable tariff policies, the econ...
Apr 11, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Dr. Gillian Frank continues to explore the progressive religious communities in conservative areas, focusing on the Unitarian Universalist ministers and LGBTQ couples who participated in same-sex marriage ceremonies in Birmingham, Alabama. The episode highlights Reverend Luna Jensen Borad's, detailing the political and religious struggles leading to and following the legalization of same-sex marriage. Personal stories from Kay and Andrew illustrate the impact of finding liberal religious spaces ...
Apr 10, 2025•31 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Partisans of high-control Christianity attempt to insulate their version of the Christian tradition from criticism by arguing that the questions and challenged posed by those experiencing faith deconstruction do not apply to the “core teachings” of the tradition. But even a cursory look a...
Apr 09, 2025•32 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad discusses the growing trend of young men, particularly in the 18-35 age group, trending conservative and the impact of radicalization on masculinity and gender roles. He is joined by Reverend Angela Denker, author of 'Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood,'...
Apr 07, 2025•37 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan dive into Cory Booker's historic filibuster, analyzed in the context of the Democrats' struggles to regroup, the election of a liberal judge in Wisconsin despite significant funding from Elon Musk, and the broader political landscape. Additionally, personal anecdotes and ligh...
Apr 04, 2025•1 hr 14 min
In the first episode of 'Red State Religions,' host Dr. Gillian Frank explores the progressive religious communities in conservative areas, focusing on the Unitarian Universalist ministers and LGBTQ couples who participated in same-sex marriage ceremonies in Birmingham, Alabama. The episode highlights Reverend Luna Jensen Boad's and Reverend Lne Broussard's roles in these historic events, detailing the political and religious struggles leading to and following the legalization of same-sex marria...
Apr 03, 2025•42 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Practitioners of high-control Christianity present the “core” teachings of the tradition as being about God’s unconditional love and acceptance of human beings. This is the “public-facing” presentation of high-control Christianity. But when we take a deeper look within high-control Christ...
Apr 02, 2025•28 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this final installment of the series, Brad discusses the concept of 'toxic empathy' as introduced by Ali Beth Stuckey in her book and critiques its impact on empathy within Christian and nationalistic contexts. He explores how empathy is being demonized by figures such as Elon Musk and...
Mar 31, 2025•38 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ This episode of 'Straight White American Jesus' explores recent major political scandals, specifically the SignalGate scandal involving members of the Trump administration inadvertently adding journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal chat containing sensitive military information. Brad and...
Mar 28, 2025•1 hr 10 min
On April 16th of 2021, Clay Clark, a far-right conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed "alpha toxic male," from Tulsa, Oklahoma held his first "ReAwaken America" tour—an event that began in Oklahoma as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions and quickly grew into a nationwide platform for nationalism, so-called "patriotic streetfighters," and prophetic politics. In the buckle of the proverbial Bible belt, Clark created a cavalcade of Trumpian support, attracting actor Jim Caviezel, former U.S. n...
Mar 27, 2025•55 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ "Subscribe to Red State Religions here" What is “love-bombing,” and how does it operate to reinforce high-control Christianity? How is it used in an attempt to discredit those undergoing faith deconstruction, whose questions and critiques threaten to undue high-control religion? And how d...
Mar 26, 2025•33 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, we explore the troubling idea—promoted in some evangelical circles—that empathy is a sin. The conversation centers around Joe Rigney’s book The Sin of Empathy, unpacking its flawed biblical and theological claims. We examine how this persp...
Mar 24, 2025•41 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad speaks to Professor Anthea Butler, a captain in the Biden campaign's "Catholics for Biden" initiative, and chair of the Religious Studies department at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss the details of Trump's COVID diagnosis and how his recklessness is fueled by four thing...
Mar 24, 2025•14 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad and Dan discuss a range of controversial issues. They start with the ongoing mass deportations of Venezuelan nationals under the Trump administration, ignoring a judge's injunction. They talk about the use of tattoos as markers for ga...
Mar 21, 2025•1 hr 7 min
On October 12, 2024, tens of thousands of Christians gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., answering a call from charismatic activist Jenny Donnelly and pastor Lou Engle. The event, held on Yom Kippur, blended prayer political mobilization as speakers urged believers to take action ahead of the 2024 election. With banners reading #DontMessWithOurKids, the rally tapped into fears about gender and sexuality, echoing similar movements abroad. The results of the 2024 election suggest Do...
Mar 20, 2025•48 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ “Are you mad at God?” This is a question that will almost certainly be posed to anyone undergoing faith deconstruction. It might come from someone who means well and who cares about the person deconstructing. Or it might come from a partisan advocate of high-control religion. What is happ...
Mar 19, 2025•30 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this episode, Brad breaks down the troubling rhetoric from Christian nationalist pastors—and even figures like Elon Musk—who claim that empathy is a sin and a societal weakness. He critically examines Pastor Joe Rigney’s book, The Sin of Empathy, which argues that empathy is particular...
Mar 17, 2025•45 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ When The Wolves Came / Series Description Over the last decade, large swaths of evangelicals in the U.S. have embraced an extremist politics that threatens to turn our democracy into a theocracy. Through the eyes of one pastor in Phoenix, WHEN THE WOLVES CAME shows how some evangelicals a...
Mar 14, 2025•1 hr 11 min
Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 800-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ In this special episode of Straight White American Jesus' Brad and Dan delve into the recent indictment of Robert Morris, a former evangelical leader and advisor to Donald Trump. They discuss the intersection of patriarchy, purity culture, and the disturbing allegations against Morris, re...
Mar 14, 2025•27 min
One Sunday morning in Georgia, a family walks into their Pentecostal church ready for worship. They're unaware that outside something life changing is about to unfold. During the service, ICE arrests a man just outside the church doors while his family sits inside. A moment of worship and community suddenly turns into a moment of fear and uncertainty. This is the reality for many facing immigration enforcement in unexpected places today. This week on Spirit and Power: Apocalypse Now - how Pentec...
Mar 13, 2025•46 min
