In a disheartening but long-anticipated 6-3 decision, the Supreme court struck down 1973’s Roe vs. Wade decision, eliminating constitutional protection for abortion. In this first episode after a 2021 hiatus, the hosts examine several threads in the anti-abortion movement’s generations-long trajectory: * The origins of the modern anti-abortion movement, and Francis Schaeffer’s role in bringing the “Catholic Issue” to a relatively indifferent Evangelical world in the late 70s * The movement’s str...
Jul 03, 2022•2 hr 39 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Jeff and Kristin tackle two separate stories: the rise of a Charismatic worship musician and his path into right-wing politics… and the controversy around an award-winning Christian romance novel whose hunky hero “participates in” genocide. News and Updates * Talking about Doug Wilson’s Neo-Confederate Christianity and the Ivermectin debacle on the I Don’t Speak German podcast * The Cult Behind Josh Duggar on Behind The B******s * Christianity Today’s The Rise and Fall of Mars H...
Sep 15, 2021•2 hr 47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Doug Wilson is a key voice in modern Reconstructionism, an ideology that envisions America (and the world) remade into a confederacy of self-governing, patriarchal theocracies. Despite a history of eye-popping apologia for slavery, Wilson has become a key crossover figure for Reconstructionism. He leads a 1000-strong independent church in Moscow, Idaho; dialogues with more acceptable Fundamentalist leaders like R. C. Sproul and John Piper; laments the ugliness of the MAGA crowd, and does his bes...
Jul 27, 2021•2 hr 52 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s easy to mistake “Purity Culture” — Evangelical Fundamentalism’s distinctive take on sexuality and social mores — for prudishness. It’s much more than a simple “don’t have sex” campaign: the movement combines several related ideological threads in ways that can torment insiders and baffle outsiders. In this episode, Jeff and Kristin explore Purity Culture’s history, its manifestations in popular culture and Christian media, and its impact on the teens and adults who’ve grown up in it. Purity...
Jun 14, 2021•2 hr 49 min•Transcript available on Metacast First: a content warning for Christian Rightcast listeners. This episode directly addresses child sexual abuse, religious abuse, and specific techniques used by the Duggar family and Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Life Principles to protect child sexual predators. Last month, our series on Christian Reconstructionism was hitting its stride. Then news broke that Josh Duggar, made famous by his Christian family’s 19 Kids and Counting television series on TLC, had been arrested for possession of...
May 27, 2021•Transcript available on Metacast Last episode, Kristin walked us through the high points of Christian Reconstructionism — RJ Rushdoony’s extremist vision of a feudal, patriarchal America ruled by religious law. In this episode we explore the racist building blocks of his ideology, as well as the careful definitions many Reconstructionist-inspired movements use to claim their views are actually anti-racist. Warning: Rushdoony’s writing, and the writing of several Reconstructionst offshoot movements, are cited extensively in this...
Apr 26, 2021•2 hr 48 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’ve ever discussed “school choice,” wondered why some Christians , or puzzled over a “Taxation Is Theft” sign, you’ve encountered the legacy of Rousas John Rushdoony — one of the most influential but least-known fundamentalists of the 20th century. Rushdoony founded and shaped the Christian Reconstructionism movement for decades, articulating its principles and goals in innumerable sermons, essays, and a 900 page magnum opus he titled The Institutes of Biblical Law. In this episode, Kristi...
Apr 12, 2021•2 hr 40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Over the course of our series on End Times and Apocalypse narratives in the Christian Right, one name has come up over and over. Hal Lindsey’s breezy 1970 book The Late Great Planet Earth repackaged the broad strokes of Dispensationalist theology for the post-Woodstock world, framing Bible Prophecy as the more accurate version of popular “new age” pursuits like astrology and palm-reading — and the key to unlocking an increasingly frightening modern world. In this episode we take a closer look at...
Mar 16, 2021•2 hr 53 min•Transcript available on Metacast After two episodes of history and context , Kristin and Jeff tackle the movie that put Rapture Horror on the pop culture map: 1972’s A Thief In The Night . It’s short but packed with B-movie flourishes, Evangelical cultural ephemera, and fundamentalist political paranoia. Produced on a relatively slim $68,000 budget, it exploded in popularity and earned millions — primarily from donations collected when the film was shown in churches. A Thief in The Night uses the broad strokes of Dispensational...
Feb 15, 2021•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Apocalyptic narratives have shaped Christian tradition for millennia, but growing demand for “standardized” Christian reading materials at the turn of the 20th century turned End Times theology into big business. Jeff and Kristin follow the rise of the Christian publishing and media industry, zeroing in on key “crossover” hits that transformed Dispensationalist theology into a pop culture powerhouse. Core Reading * American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism , by Matthew Avery Sutton...
Feb 08, 2021•2 hr 37 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’ve read Left Behind , seen A Thief In The Night , or watched any three episodes of Supernatural , you’ve witnessed the basic elements and cultural ubiquity of Biblical prophecy about The End Times. From Jewish resistance literature under Babylonian and Roman rule, to Martin Luther’s theory that the Pope was the Antichrist, to the rise of dispensationalism in the 1800s, the idea of an impending conflict between Light and Darkness has both inspired and terrified believers. More recently, th...
Jan 25, 2021•Transcript available on Metacast Kristin and Jeff discuss the Christian Right’s presence at January 6th’s attempted Capital coup, focusing on three groups: Quiverfull homeschoolers, anti-abortion activists, and Charismatic evangelicals. Articles and groups mentioned in this episode White Christian Nationalism * A White Christian Nationalist Coup Long in the Making , on the Straight White American Jesus podcast * A Christian Insurrection , by Emma Green in The Atlantic Quiverfull and radicalized homeschoolers * What You Need To ...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast This final episode of the Norman Vincent Peale series opens on a different note: a conversation between Kristin and Jeff about how to deal with the radicalization and potential violence of former friends, family members, and fellow travelers. After that, though, the conclusion of the three-part series arrives with a more detailed look at Peale’s best-known book, The Power Of Positive Thinking. Thick with anonymous anecdotes and assurances that success is never more than a trusting prayer away, P...
Jan 01, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Holidays, everyone! This episode is a bit heavier than the previous one, but focuses a critical light on the role that Christian Right ideologies have on current events. In this second part of our series on pastor, speaker, and writer Norman Vincent Peale, Kristin takes a closer look at the trajectory of Peale’s professional life. We discuss his impact on the relationship between psychiatry and pastoral care, the details of the philosophy he advocated in his bestselling book The Power of P...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast How did a Methodist preacher’s kid become a post-war right wing icon… and pastor to the Trump family? In the first episode of a two-part series, Kristin leads a deep dive into the life of “God’s Salesman” — speaker and writer Norman Vincent Peale. As always, thanks to everyone who listens to the podcast, reaches out to comment, and subscribes! You can find new episodes here on Substack, on Google Podcasts , iTunes , Stitcher , Spotify … and the official Christian Rightcast RSS feed . If you’d li...
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Kristin and Jeff give a tour of the myriad groups and movements that form the Christian Right, with an emphasis on the different strains of Protestant thought that contribute to the Right’s biggest power bloc: Evangelical Fundamentalism. Interested in weighing in on this episode, or curious about topics for future ones? Find us on Twitter and strike up a conversation, or comment on the podcast directly on Substack. Key faith-groups, movements, and ideologies discussed include: *...
Nov 19, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to the inaugural episode of Christian Rightcast! In this conversation, Kristin and Jeff discuss the Christian Right in America, their respective histories with the movement, and why it matters. Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be diving deeper into the movement, focusing on specific personalities, organizations, cultural touchstones, and beliefs inside the Christian Right. I there’s sufficient interest, we’d like to spend additional time researching, writing, and augment the episo...
Nov 13, 2020•Transcript available on Metacast 
