Episodes

Weekly Roundup: Trump's Adding Insult to Tear Gas
June 13, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Trump's Adding Insult to Tear Gas

Brad and Dan discuss Trump's decision to hold a rally in Tulsa on June 19. They dig into the historical significance of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and Juneteenth. They also discuss the difference between history and collective memory in the Confederate flag/statue debate. Finally, they touch on Trump'…
The Orange Wave Ep. 2: From the Goldrush to the Tea Party
June 9, 2020

The Orange Wave Ep. 2: From the Goldrush to the Tea Party

In the early 1960s, Orange County became the hub for both white evangelical Christianity and libertarian politics. It was the epicenter of the John Birch Society and the Goldwater campaign. This history is crucial for understanding the rise of the Religious Right throughout the 80s and beyond. It w…
Weekly Roundup: A National Uprising
June 5, 2020

Weekly Roundup: A National Uprising

This episode begins with the conveyance of wisdom from two African American women who are scholars of religion. First, Dr. Anthea Butler on how and why protest works. Then, Dr.Shannen Dee Williams on the history of racism in the Catholic church and the need to listen to black activists. Brad and Da…
What Do Religion Scholars Think of Trump's Violent Bible Photo Op?
June 4, 2020

What Do Religion Scholars Think of Trump's Violent Bible Photo Op?

On this emergency episode, Brad asks religion scholars to weigh in on Trump’s violent Bible photo op. He speaks with first with Dr. Richard Newton, Assistant Professor of Religon at the University of Alabama. They discuss how Christianity often offers a validation to racism and what he means by …
Every End is a Beginning: The Orange Wave Episode 1
June 2, 2020

Every End is a Beginning: The Orange Wave Episode 1

On this installment of the Orange Wave: A History of the Religious Right Since 1960, Brad traces two intertwined histories. First, the Sun Belt Migration, which led to a massive westward population shift in the 1950s and 1960s. The Sunbelt Migration turned Orange County into the nation's hub of def…
Oranges and Peanuts: The Orange Wave: Episode 0
May 26, 2020

Oranges and Peanuts: The Orange Wave: Episode 0

The Religious Right has not always existed. White evangelicals have not always been the guardians of far-right immigration policies and patriarchal models of the family. In the 19th century, they were often progressive activists fighting for labor rights, abolition, and women's suffrage. How did th…
Weekly Roundup: The COVID Info Wars
May 15, 2020

Weekly Roundup: The COVID Info Wars

Brad and Dan discuss recent data that shows White Evangelicals are the only group who believes Trump's response to the pandemic has been appropriate. They connect this to recent studies that show how Trump supporters get their news/information directly from the president through the Trump App. This…
Weekly Roundup: Justice is Barred
May 8, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Justice is Barred

Brad tells a story of an encounter with a French philosopher and . . . marshmallows. Then Dan and Brad discuss the DOJ decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn (4:00), William Barr's dominionist win-at-all-costs politics (12:40), the "Call me a grandma killer" tweet and what is says about th…
QAnon, Evangelicals, and COVID-19
May 6, 2020

QAnon, Evangelicals, and COVID-19

Brad speaks with Marc-André Argentino, a PhD candidate and public scholar at Concordia University in Quebec, and an Associate Fellow with the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) at King's College London. They discuss the origins of QAnon, its deep connections with evangelical Christia…
Weekly Roundup: The COVID Culture Wars
May 1, 2020

Weekly Roundup: The COVID Culture Wars

Brad and Dan discuss the COVID culture wars: the armed "protest" at the Michigan capitol, the masculinity of face masks, in-person church meetings, the stunning decline in Trump's approval ratings, the Bill Gates conspiracy, and Justin Amash's third-party presidential bid. --- Send in a voice me…
Evangelicals, Individualism, and COVID Re-Open Protests
April 28, 2020

Evangelicals, Individualism, and COVID Re-Open Protests

Brad discusses the correspondence between libertarian politics and evangelicalism. He points out that the stay at home orders undercut the central myth of both: working hard leads to God's favor and economic prosperity. The collective action of staying at home is, in this sense, a blow to core tene…
Weekly Roundup: President Lysol, Mark of the Beast Conspiracies, and Reporters Kidnapped
April 24, 2020

Weekly Roundup: President Lysol, Mark of the Beast Conspiracies, and Reporters Kidnapped

Brad tells the story of buying an heiress a crepe in France. Then he and Dan discuss the president's remarks on using disinfectant to help with COVID, the conspiracy theories about vaccines and the Mark of the Beast, a reporter who was kidnapped at a Re-Open protest rally, and more. --- Send in …
Evangelicals and Inoculation
April 22, 2020

Evangelicals and Inoculation

Brad discusses the "re-open" protests happening at state capitols through the historical episode of the Puritans and their protests to inoculation efforts during a smallpox outbreak in 1721. The historical parallels shed light on why many are motivated to protest in God's name and reveal how fear a…
Weekly Roundup: COVID-19 Protests, Confederate Flags, and Stimulus $ Going to Churches
April 17, 2020

Weekly Roundup: COVID-19 Protests, Confederate Flags, and Stimulus $ Going to Churches

Brad begins with another story of hijinks and nostalgia from Oxford. Then Brad and and Dan discuss a long list of religion, politics, and COVID-19 stories, including Gov. DeSantis classifying wrestling as essential business, Franklin Graham's homophobia, Confederate Flag and gun-laden protests at t…
Weekly Roundup: Is COVID-19 a Punishment from God?
April 10, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Is COVID-19 a Punishment from God?

Brad and Dan begin by discussing a the demand for in-person church meetings in Kansas, Liberty University's attack on the press, and Bill O'Reilly's comment that most of those who have died from COVID-19 were "on their last legs anyway." They then examine Franklin Graham's and Pope Francis' theolog…
Freedom from Religion Enables Freedom of Religion
April 7, 2020

Freedom from Religion Enables Freedom of Religion

During the COVID-19 pandemic many are discussing the liberty to hold religious gatherings despite the public health risks. In an interview from 2019, Dan speaks with Andrew Seidel, constitutional lawyer at the freedom from religion foundation, about how freedom from religion guarantees freedom of r…
Weekly Roundup: Pastors Endanger Lives by Holding Services: Masculinity, Anti-Intellectualism, and Ecclesiology
April 3, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Pastors Endanger Lives by Holding Services: Masculinity, Anti-Intellectualism, and Ecclesiology

Brad and Dan begin by adding some humor to the mix--they tell stories of how they didn't fit in at Oxford and the hijinks that ensued (00:30). They then discuss the pastors who continue to hold services and how a mix of toxic masculinity, resistance to science, and disdain for the government are fa…
The Entangled Histories of Christianity, Atheism, and Racism
April 1, 2020

The Entangled Histories of Christianity, Atheism, and Racism

Brad speaks to Dr. Nathan Alexander about his new book on the entangled histories of Christianity, atheism, and racism in the 19th and 20th centuries. They try to answer some compelling questions: Are non-religious people more or less susceptible than Christians to supporting racism and racist poli…
Weekly Roundup: Trump, Evangelicals, and Covid-19
March 27, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Trump, Evangelicals, and Covid-19

Religion was in full view this week as it relates to COVID-19. Brad and Dan discuss evangelical leaders and politicians resisting shelter in place directives, the Trump Bible study leader blaming LGBT+ people for the pandemic, Hobby Lobby and visions from God, Liberty University going back to schoo…
From Evangelical Leader to Feminist Superhero
March 24, 2020

From Evangelical Leader to Feminist Superhero

Asha Dahya was a happy evangelical when she moved to LA from Australia. But the politics of the Religious Right led her out of the faith. Indian by ethnicity, British-born, Australian raised, and living in the USA since 2008,...
SWAJ Daily: All the Made-Up Things
March 24, 2020

SWAJ Daily: All the Made-Up Things

" . . only the invented part of life was satisfying." -Gerald Murphy to F. Scott Fitzgerald. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straig…
Weekly Roundup: Bernie Sanders and American Civil (Non) Religion
March 20, 2020

Weekly Roundup: Bernie Sanders and American Civil (Non) Religion

Brad and Dan discuss why in this sort of crisis everyone's a socialist (2:55), the fallout from the Burr/Loeffler revelations (7:35), and then spend the bulk of the episode discussing why Bernie Sanders would be a revolutionary candidate in religious terms--the first None President in our country's…
SWAJ Daily: Burr Should Resign, Fact-Checking Cornyn, How to Avoid Turning Anxiety to Racism
March 20, 2020

SWAJ Daily: Burr Should Resign, Fact-Checking Cornyn, How to Avoid Turning Anxiety to Racism

Brad discusses the moral failing of Senator Richard Burr and calls on him to resign, fact checks Sen. Cornyn on China, viruses, and more, and challenges us not to allow our fear to transform into racism and xenophobia. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/mess…
A White Southern Pentecostal Bernie Voter
March 18, 2020

A White Southern Pentecostal Bernie Voter

Aaron Simmons has been asked to leave numerous churches over the last decade. Not over theology or the Bible. But because he votes the wrong way and wants to have open discussions about abortion, race, justice, and other issu...