As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the nation's semiquincentennial should be a moment for civic reflection, shared history, and democratic renewal. Instead, Donald Trump is transforming the celebration into a political spectacle centered on himself, military power, patronage, and Christian nationalism.
In this episode, Brad Onishi and co-host Dan Miller examine how the National Mall and America's founding story are being repurposed to advance a vision of the country rooted in executive power, religious nationalism, and loyalty to one political movement. From corporate influence and political corruption to the growing role of Christian nationalist organizations in shaping the celebration, they ask what happens when a national commemoration becomes a vehicle for ideological power.
Brad and Dan also discuss a major story from the world of American Catholicism: the excommunication of a priest associated with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The case offers a window into ongoing tensions over authority, tradition, Catholic identity, and the growing influence of far-right and traditionalist movements within the American Church. The conversation explores how these conflicts intersect with broader political currents, including Christian nationalism and the reshaping of conservative religious activism in the United States.
As America approaches its 250th birthday, the stakes are larger than a single event. They concern who gets to tell the nation's story—and what kind of democracy that story will sustain.
Interview:
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Student Voices on Christian Nationalism (Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Freethought Radio podcast)
We look at a new federal “religious liberty” report that could significantly reshape church-state separation in the United States, along with a Supreme Court ruling allowing states to ban transgender girls from school sports. We feature award-winning essays by three students – Gabrielle Williams, Jaianah Hightower and MeKah’E LeClair.
We also hear Dan Barker’s opening statement from a recent debate on whether the God of the Bible exists.
Interview:
The Texas Board of Education and Ruby Bridges: What Whitewashing Looks Like (Warren Throckmorton; The Christian Past That Wasn’t: Formerly Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
Throckmorton says:
This is an opportunity to observe whitewashing as it happened. The Texas State Board of Education has been revising social studies standards for students in K-12. One member wanted to remove a description of why Ruby Bridges was special in civil rights history. As the first Black child to enter an all-white school in the American South, Bridges helped open doors that are still opening.Interview:
In this segment, I provide audio of the Board meeting which demonstrates the majority efforts to push aside minority concerns about the contribution of Bridges and representation in an accurate history. One of the board members who helped lead the successful effort to keep Bridges in the standards, Staci Childs Davis, joins me to talk about the meeting and her reactions to it.
In the second half of this segment, I critique Donald Trump's patriotic education initiative and speak to Jemar Tisby about whitewashing on a national scale as we move through the 250th birthday of the nation. This segment is a highlight of the season.
Friendly Atheist News Roundup 7/2/2026 (Hemant Mehta. The Friendly Atheist podast #642)
Interview:
- Live session with Hemant solo and his audience: https://www.youtube.com/live/--1fbNTL3cU?si=QtZgT0b5Y618i92g
- Version with Jessica: https://youtu.be/ebGDBP4xNrA?si=UHc7DfDr0XKn5ZEy
0:00 Intro
0:26 Viral video shows church staging fake execution during Vacation Bible School.
12:32 A Christian school that tried to shame a gay student just admitted defeat.
32:16 Texas just made Bible reading mandatory in public schools.
45:49 Trump's "Religious Liberty" report is really a blueprint to end church-state separation.
54:45 Trump has now made over $1.5 million from his MAGA Bible grift.
1:02:17 Texas judge who refused to perform same-sex weddings wins $640,000 reward for her bigotry.
0:26 Viral video shows church staging fake execution during Vacation Bible School.
12:32 A Christian school that tried to shame a gay student just admitted defeat.
32:16 Texas just made Bible reading mandatory in public schools.
45:49 Trump's "Religious Liberty" report is really a blueprint to end church-state separation.
54:45 Trump has now made over $1.5 million from his MAGA Bible grift.
1:02:17 Texas judge who refused to perform same-sex weddings wins $640,000 reward for her bigotry.
Chapters and Verses Are Reading the Bible For You (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)
Open any Bible and you'll find it tidily carved into chapters and verses — but the people who wrote it used none of them. This episode it's a Histories and Mysteries deep dive into versification: where those divisions came from, why the last verse numbers weren't added until the 1500s, and how a system built for public reading and scholarly debate quietly shapes what the text is allowed to mean. Turns out the verse you've been quoting might be doing more interpretive work than you ever signed up for.
0:00 Intro
0:16 Chapters and Verses
0:54 Versification Came Later
2:31 Scriptio Continua
3:59 The Masoretes at Work
4:33 Liturgical Reading Cycles
6:18 Langton's Chapter Divisions
8:14 Where the Bibles Differ
9:17 Adding Verse Numbers
11:02 New Testament Manuscripts
12:48 Erasmus Races to Print
14:24 Stephanus Versifies the NT
14:47 Geneva to King James
15:53 Reading Without Verses
17:29 The Ephesians 5 Problem
19:07 Bibliotheca: Just the Text
20:03 Punctuation for the Ear
21:11 A Shakespeare Comparison
23:45 Interpretive Lenses
24:40 Wrap-Up
0:00 Intro
0:16 Chapters and Verses
0:54 Versification Came Later
2:31 Scriptio Continua
3:59 The Masoretes at Work
4:33 Liturgical Reading Cycles
6:18 Langton's Chapter Divisions
8:14 Where the Bibles Differ
9:17 Adding Verse Numbers
11:02 New Testament Manuscripts
12:48 Erasmus Races to Print
14:24 Stephanus Versifies the NT
14:47 Geneva to King James
15:53 Reading Without Verses
17:29 The Ephesians 5 Problem
19:07 Bibliotheca: Just the Text
20:03 Punctuation for the Ear
21:11 A Shakespeare Comparison
23:45 Interpretive Lenses
24:40 Wrap-Up
Interview:
As auto costs rise, will the US miss the golden age of electric vehicles?
Shifting demands and political ideology have left the industry vulnerable to global competition from cheap Chinese cars…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/04/electric-cars-vehicles-united-states
How baby formula recalls have mounted amid Trump staff cuts to the FDA
Multiple brands of infant formula have been recalled recently due to bacterial contamination, and experts say the Food and Drug Administration is inadequately prepared to deal with the health threat they pose in the wake of Trump administration cuts...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/03/infant-formula-recalls-trump-fda-staff-cuts
The Myth of the 12 Tribes of Israel (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)
The Bible is certain there were twelve tribes of Israel — so why does the list keep changing? This episode we track the disappearing tribe of Levi, the two grandsons who quietly fill Joseph's seat, and the ten-tribe roll call buried in the Song of Deborah, all the while asking what that number twelve was actually for. The answer has less to do with a family tree than it does with who gets to count as Israel — and who gets written out.
Chapters:
0:00 Welcome
1:01 Israel is Jacob
2:05 What "Israel" really means
2:59 Tribes as identity markers
4:21 Tribe of Dan merch break
5:45 Where are Ephraim and Manasseh?
6:56 The Song of Deborah
9:48 A confederation, not a family?
10:39 How Levi got added
12:36 When was this written?
13:58 Two kingdoms, one story
15:41 The lost ten tribes
16:48 Exile and the Samaritans
18:28 Identity as ideology
19:39 Why the number 12?
22:10 Replacing Judas
24:38 Jacob's wives and concubines
26:08 Were the tribes ranked?
29:08 Wrap-up
Chapters:
0:00 Welcome
1:01 Israel is Jacob
2:05 What "Israel" really means
2:59 Tribes as identity markers
4:21 Tribe of Dan merch break
5:45 Where are Ephraim and Manasseh?
6:56 The Song of Deborah
9:48 A confederation, not a family?
10:39 How Levi got added
12:36 When was this written?
13:58 Two kingdoms, one story
15:41 The lost ten tribes
16:48 Exile and the Samaritans
18:28 Identity as ideology
19:39 Why the number 12?
22:10 Replacing Judas
24:38 Jacob's wives and concubines
26:08 Were the tribes ranked?
29:08 Wrap-up
Interview:
Tim Miller: I Was Wrong About Impeachment. It's Time.
Tim Miller takes on Trump's 327 unreported stock trades made the day before his surprise tariff pause—and why Tim has come around on impeachment. He also breaks down the July 4th speech from Mayor Mamdani that even this ex-Republican appreciated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s4KBlO5I-g
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