Episodes

Brad and Matt Taylor discuss recent flag controversies and the dishonest ways leaders have dismissed the Appeal to Heaven symbol as innocuous. They explore the historical and political influence of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) in U.S. presidential elections since 2000, detailing their involvement in George W. Bush's and Donald Trump's campaigns. The conversation shifts to the current strategies of the NAR and its coordination with Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk in swing states for the...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad Onishi converses with Dr. Scott Coley, author of 'Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right.' Coley discusses the concepts of ideology, propaganda, and legitimizing narratives within conservative evangelical communitie...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad Onishi and Dan Miller examine the shocking comments by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito caught on tape and contrast them with Chief Justice John Roberts' more measured approach. The hosts also delve into the Southern Baptist Convention's recent resoluti...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ If you’ve encountered today’s right-wing culture warriors, you have heard them lambast efforts at LGBTQ+ inclusion, police reform, combatting climate change, and myriad other issues as reflecting the “spirit of the age.” But what do they mean by this? Where does this phrase come from? Is ...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad Onishi discusses with Eric Kleinberg the long-lasting social and political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, framing it as a form of 'social long COVID.' The conversation highlights how the events of 2020 intensified distrust in gover...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan discuss the harsh rhetoric from the American right in response to Trump's recent conviction on 34 felonies, including calls for retribution against Democrats. They explore the significant ethical issues surrounding Supreme Court Justices Clarence ...

Brad speaks with journalist and scholar Philip Deslippe about the origins of yoga in the United States as a response to the precarity of South Asian lives in 20th century America. "A century ago, students of yoga in the United States, like many practitioners today, believed that they were engaging in something pure, ancient, and Indian. In reality, the yoga they were doing was a bricolage of the metaphysical and mundane presented to them in an exotic, Orientalized package by largely educated and...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Mike Hixenbaugh is a Pulitzer finalist, Peabody award winner, and the author of They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms. In the book, Hixenbaugh delivers an immersive and eye-opening story of...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Last night we learned that Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 accounts of falsifying business records. Brad and Dan ask what this means for the coming months, how it will affect the election, and why the GOP refuses to abandon a man who has been impeached tw...

Dan had a family emergency this week, so instead of It's In the Code we have a special episode. In the first part, Brad speaks to Dr. Jeffery Stoyanoff and Dr. Brian Onishi about their new podcast Horror Joy - a deep dive into horror in hopes of finding joy lurking in the shadows. They talk about the allure of horror films and books, the ways horror provides a window into our contemporary hopes and fears, and why Jaws is actually reallly good f*cking movie. In the second part, Brad speaks to Dr....

On this Memorial Day, we are proud to introduce the newest limited series from the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement and Axis Mundi Media. Miss Information is a podcast about how conspiracies and misinformation infiltrate wellness communities and religious spaces. Subscribe here: https://redcircle.com/shows/21b4b512-ceef-4289-b9fc-76f302f5bd22/episodes/3532f1b2-5f15-4302-82f6-8a281d676871 Misinformation is big news, but what does it mean and why does it matter? If misinformatio...

Brad and Dan discuss the Alito Appeal to Heaven flag controversy, Trump's "Unified Reich" video, and the affirmation of Palestinian statehood by US allies. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of the news that Justice Alito flies an Appeal to Heaven flag over his beach house, Brad speaks to four experts on what it means and why it's a truly significant moment in the life of SCOTUS. Dr. Matthew Taylor, author of the Violent Take It By Force: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506497785/The-Violent-Take-It-by-Force Annika Brockschmidt, journalist, author: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Annika-Brockschmidt/author/B06XH8QPWM?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share&isDramIntegra...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” If you’ve encountered this invocation, it’s almost certain that you’ve encountered it in the con...

In Oklahoma over the past few years, there have been bills put forward: - Designating the Bible as the Official State Book. - Establishing the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. - Displaying the Ten Commandments at the state capitol. - Mandating the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom. - Using Bible verses to justify spanking children with disabilities in school. - Religious school tax credits. - Banning the teaching of evolution in public schools...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan take on a series of stories related to hypermasculinity, politics, and religion. They begin with the commencement speech by Harrison Butker, the NFL player who sparked controversy with his rad-trad commencement speech. From there the hosts move to...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ While the term “cult” still has a broad popular usage, it’s a term of analysis that has virtually disappeared from the field of Religious Studies. It also isn’t a word that people will hear often when listening to Straight White American Jesus. Instead, they’l...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get full access to this episode, bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ On the first episode of our new monthly sit-down with Dr. Matthew Taylor, he and Brad discuss startling new findings about the mainstream adoption of NAR ideas. They then get into a prophsesy from a NAR apostle about the creation of a global Muslim caliphate t...

+ The Unholy Trinity: Leonard Leo, Clarence Thomas, and Ginni Thomas

NAR WATCH: a monthly episode on the New Apostolic Reformation with Dr. Matthew Taylor debuts on the SWAJ feed next week. Become a premium member to get full access! https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Brad and Dan begin by discussing the fact that the trial surrounding Trump's payment to Stormy Daniels has buoyed his support among religious conservatives. They break down this confusing phenomenon through the story of Samson and Delilah, and great scholarship on the connections among hyper-masculini...

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ “We’re all sinners.” People who’ve spent any time in Christian contexts will have heard this phrase. But what does mean, exactly? And how is it used? Why does it sometimes feel like an affirmation of radical acceptance, while others it feels judgmental and profoundly negative? Dan explore...

SWAJ Premium IS ON SALE! $50 for the whole year! Subscribe to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/  Growing up in a deeply evangelical family in the Midwest in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Sarah McCammon was strictly taught to fear God, obey him, and not question the faith. Persistently worried that her gay grandfather would go to hell unless she could reach him, ...

SWAJ Premium IS ON SALE! $50 for the whole year! Subscribe to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Our monthly bonus episode begins with a visit from Dr. Leah Payne, author of God Gave you Rock and Roll: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. Brad and Dan ask her about the cultural significance of God rock and the ways that it reflects White evangelic...

+ The UMC Does Something Right