https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EitDo0kbwTg
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court ruling will hurt the ‘neediest among us’
"Indeed," she went on, "it is undisputed that systemically undercounting low-income patients for the purposes of the disproportionate-share formula might cause many such hospitals to close their doors entirely, such that patients from our Nation's poorest communities may not be served at all."
But the Biden appointee concluded this doesn't have to be the end of the matter. She called on Congress to step in and "restate its intention that low-income people have access to quality medical care and that hospitals be compensated accordingly."…
Trump's federal return-to-office orders are massively backfiring
…At the Department of Agriculture, the chaos manifests in IT bottlenecks and wireless network failures as staffers struggle with unfamiliar on-site systems. In one case, employees hired for fully remote positions now find themselves conducting private meetings from parked cars outside agency buildings due to inadequate workspace. Ironically, many are still using Microsoft Teams and other virtual tools — only now with more stress, less efficiency, and significantly higher overhead...
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5266355-federal-offices-return-to-office/
Jon Stewart hits Donald Trump over lack of prep for trade war
"How did you not know that other countries weren't going to fight back?" he said of Trump, slamming the president for not preparing for the tariff standoff.
The late night TV host continued, telling the audience, "We could have stockpiled magnets and rare earth materials like Japan did in a spat with China. But why bother preparing for a war that you yourself are launching?"
I used to run Israel’s security agency – now I’m sounding the alarm about our extremist government
Israel's genuine friends abroad, from governments to Jewish communities, must mobilise to help us end this terrible war…
Trump administration’s budget cuts endanger Meals on Wheels: ‘Life and death implications’
Trump team's slashes to US health department threaten popular program that combats elder hunger and isolation…
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/28/meals-on-wheels-cuts-trump-administration-hunger
‘This is a hostile and political act’: White House slams Amazon amid tariff shakeup - POLITICO
Amazon is reportedly considering listing how much tariffs are adding to the price of items...
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/29/tariff-amazon-donald-trump-00315053
‘Maga Catholics’ are gaining ground in the US. Now their sight is set on the Vatican
Conservative US Catholics like Steve Bannon look to win 'war that lasts decades' with pope antithetical to Francis…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/maga-catholics-vatican-pope-conclave
Far-right fight groups endorse ‘youth clubs’ targeting US young men and boys
Using fitness and sports as entry points into neo-Nazi ideologies, 'youth club' chapters are proliferating across US…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/active-youth-clubs-neo-nazi-groups
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Opinion | I’m a Conservative Economist. Here Are 6 Reasons Trump’s Plans Won’t Work. - POLITICO
"If you are a deficit hawk only when addressing the other side's priorities, then you aren't a deficit hawk. You are just grabbing whatever rhetorical weapon is nearest to defeat the other party.
What's more, as we've already seen, none of this is going to fool the markets, particularly the bond market, whose recent gyrations suggest investors' faith in the stability of the U.S. government has been shaken..."
RFK Jr. Misleads on Autism Prevalence, Causes - FactCheck.org
In announcing new autism prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. distorted scientific research to argue that there is an "epidemic" of autism that must be due to an "environmental toxin."…
https://www.factcheck.org/2025/04/rfk-jr-misleads-on-autism-prevalence-causes/
Trump finds yet another political ally to reward with a presidential pardon
…what we have here is a Republican donor, from a Republican family, who was caught siphoning off tax payments for his employees — repeatedly, over the course of a decade — in order to finance an extravagant lifestyle…
Rep. Shri Thanedar targeted by group that helped fuel AOC's shock win
The left-wing group Justice Democrats is launching its first primary challenge of the cycle against Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.)…
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/28/justice-democrats-shri-thanedar-donavan-mckinney
Monday, April 28, 2025
Weekly Roundup: The Pope, JD Vance, and Anti-Christian Bias (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
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 Bondi and Pete Hegseth.
The discussion touches on the differences between genuine religious freedom and Christian supremacy, as well as the potential uses of the task force for political propaganda.
Brad and Dan also cover recent legal losses for Trump, including issues with China trade tariffs, university disputes, and challenges in Ukraine. They conclude with updates on ongoing protests and legal actions, emphasizing growing pushback against the administration.
Interview:
The discussion touches on the differences between genuine religious freedom and Christian supremacy, as well as the potential uses of the task force for political propaganda.
Brad and Dan also cover recent legal losses for Trump, including issues with China trade tariffs, university disputes, and challenges in Ukraine. They conclude with updates on ongoing protests and legal actions, emphasizing growing pushback against the administration.
Interview:
Misdemeanor Terrorist (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Unjustified podcast)
Judge Xinis postpones discovery in the Abrego Garcia after the government files a request to delay under seal.
A conservative three judge panel for the DC Circuit Court of appeals temporarily blocks Judge Boasberg’s opinion that probable cause exists to hold the government in criminal contempt in the Alien Enemies Act case.
The Supreme Court issues a late night order blocking the rendition of hundreds of additional detainees to El Salvador.
A Reagan appointed judge lambasts the Department of Justice for not only failing to provide reasoned analysis for shuttering the VOA, but for failing to engage in any analysis at all.
Plus listener questions…
Interview:
A conservative three judge panel for the DC Circuit Court of appeals temporarily blocks Judge Boasberg’s opinion that probable cause exists to hold the government in criminal contempt in the Alien Enemies Act case.
The Supreme Court issues a late night order blocking the rendition of hundreds of additional detainees to El Salvador.
A Reagan appointed judge lambasts the Department of Justice for not only failing to provide reasoned analysis for shuttering the VOA, but for failing to engage in any analysis at all.
Plus listener questions…
Interview:
Hakeem Jeffries, Cory Booker host sit-in on Capitol steps over GOP budget plan
"That bill, we believe, presents one of the greatest moral threats to our country that we've seen in terms of what it will do to providing food for the hungry, care for the elderly, services for the disabled, health care, health care for the sick and more," Booker said at the beginning of the sit-in…
Jason Smith says Trump ‘does not want’ agenda bill ‘to be a health care bill’
Vulnerable and moderate House Republicans have warned Republican leaders in the House that they will not back the bill encompassing the president's agenda if it features cuts to Medicaid benefits...
Brief: How To Talk To Your Son About Fascism (Pt 1) (Conspirituality podcast)
Historian Craig Johnson (PhD Berkeley) hosts Fifteen Minutes of Fascism, which covers the global rise of the radical right. He’s the author of an excellent new book, How to Talk to Your Son about Fascism, a guide for parents and educators on keeping young men out of the extreme right wing.
In this first of a two-part interview, Matthew and Craig discuss definitions of fascism, why it appeals to young men (or how masculinity is socially constructed), irony poisoning, and whether fascism can be fought through accelerating cringe cycles.
Part 2 drops in Patreon on Monday. That episode centers on an exploration of strategy: how do we theorize the agency of kids becoming political actors? How do we maintain trust while engaging with a family member sliding to the right?
Interview:
In this first of a two-part interview, Matthew and Craig discuss definitions of fascism, why it appeals to young men (or how masculinity is socially constructed), irony poisoning, and whether fascism can be fought through accelerating cringe cycles.
Part 2 drops in Patreon on Monday. That episode centers on an exploration of strategy: how do we theorize the agency of kids becoming political actors? How do we maintain trust while engaging with a family member sliding to the right?
Interview:
Stretch For Something with Brendan Dowling (Mega, the podcast) satire
Brandon Darling (Brendan Dowling, The Improvised Shakespeare Co.) brings Christ-centered yoga to Twin Hills.
An improvised satire from the staff of a fictional mega church.
Mega is a critically acclaimed podcast that satirizes contemporary megachurches and their associated evangelical subculture. Hosted by Holly Laurent and Greg Hess, this show offers a unique take on American religious culture through a range of comedic characters and segments. It was named "Best Satire" by Vulture.
One of the most exciting aspects of Mega is its guest interviews, which feature a variety of comedians, actors, and thinkers such as Louie Anderson, Lauren Lapkus, Duncan Trussell, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Lisa Gilroy, Scott Aukerman, Tom Papa, Jen Hatmaker, Adal Rifai, and more. These guests bring their own comedic styles and perspectives to the show, creating memorable moments that keep fans coming back for more.
In addition to its guest interviews, Mega is also known for its signature episodes featuring Holly Laurent playing Day Labont, a skeptical teenager who brings on guests like his atheist thinker friend Hemant Mehta. The show's humor and tone have been compared to the mockumentary style of Christopher Guest's films and the dry humor of The Office or Parks and Rec, making it a must-listen for fans of these genres.
Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, Mega is a podcast that offers something for everyone. Its witty improvisation, spot-on parodies, and sharp commentary satirizing contemporary religion and politics make it one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking shows available today. Join the Mega congregation and tune in for hilarious insights on the world of megachurches and evangelical Christianity.
Interview:
An improvised satire from the staff of a fictional mega church.
Mega is a critically acclaimed podcast that satirizes contemporary megachurches and their associated evangelical subculture. Hosted by Holly Laurent and Greg Hess, this show offers a unique take on American religious culture through a range of comedic characters and segments. It was named "Best Satire" by Vulture.
One of the most exciting aspects of Mega is its guest interviews, which feature a variety of comedians, actors, and thinkers such as Louie Anderson, Lauren Lapkus, Duncan Trussell, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Lisa Gilroy, Scott Aukerman, Tom Papa, Jen Hatmaker, Adal Rifai, and more. These guests bring their own comedic styles and perspectives to the show, creating memorable moments that keep fans coming back for more.
In addition to its guest interviews, Mega is also known for its signature episodes featuring Holly Laurent playing Day Labont, a skeptical teenager who brings on guests like his atheist thinker friend Hemant Mehta. The show's humor and tone have been compared to the mockumentary style of Christopher Guest's films and the dry humor of The Office or Parks and Rec, making it a must-listen for fans of these genres.
Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, Mega is a podcast that offers something for everyone. Its witty improvisation, spot-on parodies, and sharp commentary satirizing contemporary religion and politics make it one of the most entertaining and thought-provoking shows available today. Join the Mega congregation and tune in for hilarious insights on the world of megachurches and evangelical Christianity.
Interview:
Americans, including Republicans, losing faith in Trump, new polls reveal
Trump scores poorly on economy and immigration as some fear he is 'exceeding powers' and focused on wrong issues…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/26/americans-republicans-trump-ratings-poll
Immigrant Apocalypse with Yii-Jan Lin (Dan McClellan; Data Over Dogma podcast)
The way many people talk about immigration in the United States, you'd assume that it was an apocalyptic event. And actually, many of the most extreme voices in our society are literally saying as much. But this is not the first time American immigration has been linked to Biblical apocalypse.
This week, we're bringing in Dr. Yii-Jan Lin, whose new book Immigration and Apocalypse: How the Book of Revelation Shaped American Immigration chronicles the many twists and turns of the eschatological mindset from Columbus straight through to the present.
Did the first immigrants (the Europeans) think of their own journey as hastening the end times? How did that story change as time passed and they started to think of themselves as the "natives" of the land? What happened when other, non-European, non-Christians started landing on American shores?
Find Dr Lin's book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300253184/immigration-and-apocalypse/
This week, we're bringing in Dr. Yii-Jan Lin, whose new book Immigration and Apocalypse: How the Book of Revelation Shaped American Immigration chronicles the many twists and turns of the eschatological mindset from Columbus straight through to the present.
Did the first immigrants (the Europeans) think of their own journey as hastening the end times? How did that story change as time passed and they started to think of themselves as the "natives" of the land? What happened when other, non-European, non-Christians started landing on American shores?
Find Dr Lin's book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300253184/immigration-and-apocalypse/
Interview:
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Bird Flu, Measles, and Trump’s Ticking Time Bomb (Reveal podcast)
On this week’s episode of “More To The Story,” how public health emergencies and the dismantling of federal agencies are colliding.
This month marks the five-year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed 1.2 million people in the US alone. While life has returned to normal for most Americans, the threats to our health haven’t disappeared. Hundreds of people in the US continue to die of Covid each week, while millions more suffer complications from Long Covid. We’re experiencing the worst flu season in at least 15 years. There are multiple outbreaks of measles, the most serious occurring in an undervaccinated West Texas community. Then there’s the threat of bird flu, which has spread through dairy and poultry farms, sickening dozens of people and killing one so far.
At the same time, the second Trump administration has been actively reshaping and even dismantling the country’s public health infrastructure. Hundreds of employees across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration have been handed termination notices. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s new secretary of health and human services, still questions the use of vaccines, specifically the MMR vaccine to prevent measles.
On this week’s episode of More To The Story, host Al Letson talks with infectious disease epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera about the collision course between the Trump administration’s health priorities and developing public health emergencies.
Rivera says the US is still not testing enough people to determine whether these diseases and others are spreading. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is making things even more difficult by withholding regular public health data that infectious disease experts routinely rely on to assess whether a larger health emergency is emerging. “Without good data, we can’t make good informed choices,” she says. “And it is conceivable that [a pandemic] can be happening and brewing right underneath our nose and us not pick it up.”
Interview:
This month marks the five-year anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed 1.2 million people in the US alone. While life has returned to normal for most Americans, the threats to our health haven’t disappeared. Hundreds of people in the US continue to die of Covid each week, while millions more suffer complications from Long Covid. We’re experiencing the worst flu season in at least 15 years. There are multiple outbreaks of measles, the most serious occurring in an undervaccinated West Texas community. Then there’s the threat of bird flu, which has spread through dairy and poultry farms, sickening dozens of people and killing one so far.
At the same time, the second Trump administration has been actively reshaping and even dismantling the country’s public health infrastructure. Hundreds of employees across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration have been handed termination notices. And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s new secretary of health and human services, still questions the use of vaccines, specifically the MMR vaccine to prevent measles.
On this week’s episode of More To The Story, host Al Letson talks with infectious disease epidemiologist Jessica Malaty Rivera about the collision course between the Trump administration’s health priorities and developing public health emergencies.
Rivera says the US is still not testing enough people to determine whether these diseases and others are spreading. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is making things even more difficult by withholding regular public health data that infectious disease experts routinely rely on to assess whether a larger health emergency is emerging. “Without good data, we can’t make good informed choices,” she says. “And it is conceivable that [a pandemic] can be happening and brewing right underneath our nose and us not pick it up.”
Interview:
New book explores the real-life KGB spy program that inspired 'The Americans' (Dave Davies; Fresh Air podcast)
In The Illegals: Russia's Most Audacious Spies and Their Century-Long Mission to Infiltrate the West, Shaun Walker shares how agents were trained to blend into a target country and pose as citizens.
Interview:
'The Economist' editor unpacks the 'biggest trade policy shock' of Trump's tariffs (Terry Gross; Fresh Air podcast)
Zanny Minton Beddoes Editor-in-Chief of The Economist, says the president seems to believe that the U.S. is getting a bad deal in the global economy, and that the tariffs will be used as a tool to renegotiate trade agreements: "It might be exactly what President Trump loves. Lots of people coming, knocking on his door, fawning, hoping for a good deal. This is The Art of the Deal on steroids," she says.
But, Minton Beddoes adds, the economic turmoil caused by the tariffs creates "a lot uncertainty, and a lot pain for consumers because tariffs are taxes on consumers. The people who pay this in the end, the cost of the tariffs, are people who pay more for the things that they buy."
"I think we've crossed some kind of a Rubicon in the last week or so, and we're not going to go back to the world as it was before," she says. "People, I think, are increasingly looking at the U.S. not as the shining city on the hill, a place which we all aspired to and certainly held in very high regard, but increasingly, it's a sort of bullying, swaggering, selfish, transactional country."
Interview:
But, Minton Beddoes adds, the economic turmoil caused by the tariffs creates "a lot uncertainty, and a lot pain for consumers because tariffs are taxes on consumers. The people who pay this in the end, the cost of the tariffs, are people who pay more for the things that they buy."
"I think we've crossed some kind of a Rubicon in the last week or so, and we're not going to go back to the world as it was before," she says. "People, I think, are increasingly looking at the U.S. not as the shining city on the hill, a place which we all aspired to and certainly held in very high regard, but increasingly, it's a sort of bullying, swaggering, selfish, transactional country."
Interview:
Saturday, April 26, 2025
The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2025-04-25
Domestic
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell is out of President Donald Trump’s sights, for the moment. In recent months, Trump has made incendiary comments about the central bank and its boss, even publicly and privately musing about firing Powell. However, after reportedly being lobbied by some of his advisors to back off, the president has turned his attention elsewhere.
This week, the president attacked Supreme Court Justices for getting in the way of his administration’s efforts to deport migrants, saying that the Court can’t afford trials for everyone they’re seeking to remove from the U.S.
And in health news, scientists say that the measles outbreak in the Southwest is now the largest since 2000.
Interview:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared plans this week to drastically reduce the size of the agency he’s charged with leading, saying that it had become bloated with bureaucracy and beholden to radical political ideology.
And at least 26 tourists died this week in an attack in the India-administered Kashmir. The Indian government has not officially identified any group as being behind the attack, but it did announce a flurry of punitive measures against Pakistan which it said supported the attacks. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack and issued countermeasures. It’s the deadliest attack of its kind in 25 years.
Interview:
This week, the president attacked Supreme Court Justices for getting in the way of his administration’s efforts to deport migrants, saying that the Court can’t afford trials for everyone they’re seeking to remove from the U.S.
And in health news, scientists say that the measles outbreak in the Southwest is now the largest since 2000.
Interview:
International
Tributes for the late Pope Francis are pouring in from across the globe after the Pontiff passed away on Easter Monday. His funeral will be held on this weekend.Secretary of State Marco Rubio shared plans this week to drastically reduce the size of the agency he’s charged with leading, saying that it had become bloated with bureaucracy and beholden to radical political ideology.
And at least 26 tourists died this week in an attack in the India-administered Kashmir. The Indian government has not officially identified any group as being behind the attack, but it did announce a flurry of punitive measures against Pakistan which it said supported the attacks. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attack and issued countermeasures. It’s the deadliest attack of its kind in 25 years.
Interview:
The Churn (Reveal podcast)
People who experience psychosis often cycle through homelessness, emergency rooms, and jail. What happened to America’s mental health system?
Adam Aurand spent nearly a decade of his life stuck in a loop.
He cycled for years among emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and the streets in and around Seattle. During that time, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. He also used opioids and methamphetamine.
Each time he entered an institution for care or incarceration, he was released back into homelessness. And the cycle started again.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but I know that wasn’t the answer,” said his mother, Heidi.
In 2023, when Aurand was discharged from Washington’s largest psychiatric hospital and dropped off on the streets of downtown Seattle, she made a last-ditch effort to interrupt this pattern. This week on Reveal, with reporters from the Lost Patients podcast by KUOW and the Seattle Times, Aurand’s mother shares her attempts to save her son from “the churn” and the forces that pulled him back in.
This churn has contributed to the rising visibility of people in mental health crises on the streets of US cities. It’s fed a political narrative that American cities have fallen into chaos and decay. And it’s powered efforts from New York to California to add psychiatric hospital beds and make it easier to institutionalize people against their will.
Interview:
Adam Aurand spent nearly a decade of his life stuck in a loop.
He cycled for years among emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, jails, and the streets in and around Seattle. During that time, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. He also used opioids and methamphetamine.
Each time he entered an institution for care or incarceration, he was released back into homelessness. And the cycle started again.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but I know that wasn’t the answer,” said his mother, Heidi.
In 2023, when Aurand was discharged from Washington’s largest psychiatric hospital and dropped off on the streets of downtown Seattle, she made a last-ditch effort to interrupt this pattern. This week on Reveal, with reporters from the Lost Patients podcast by KUOW and the Seattle Times, Aurand’s mother shares her attempts to save her son from “the churn” and the forces that pulled him back in.
This churn has contributed to the rising visibility of people in mental health crises on the streets of US cities. It’s fed a political narrative that American cities have fallen into chaos and decay. And it’s powered efforts from New York to California to add psychiatric hospital beds and make it easier to institutionalize people against their will.
Interview:
North Dakota becomes first state to shield farm chemical manufacturers
"Out of state corporate interests are trying to mess with our abilities to reasonably defend ourselves in court from pesticide labels that are not doing their job properly," Sam Wagner of the Dakota Resource Council said during the hearing. "If your products aren't safe, you should be held accountable."…
Federal judge blocks Trump order that could disenfranchise millions of voters
"Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States – not the President – with the authority to regulate federal elections," she wrote in a 120-page opinion. "No statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress's deliberative process by executive order."…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/24/trump-proof-citizenship-vote-blocked
Trump denies aid for Arkansas after storms that killed more than 40 people
Latest denial of disaster funding comes as Trump has repeatedly stated he wants to eliminate Fema…
Donald Trump pardons ‘Lady Trump’ Michele Fiore’s fraud conviction - The Washington Post
Former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore, dubbed "Lady Trump" by pundits, was pardoned after being convicted of fraud. She faced up to 140 years in prison...
Trump administration reinstates international student records - The Washington Post
Piston and other attorneys said that the government's lawyers couldn't describe the legal basis that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was using to remove people from SEVIS. "I think the government realizes now that their position is entirely legally untenable," Piston said...
‘A gut punch’: Trump admin cuts wipe out firefighter health and safety programs - POLITICO
People in and out of government told POLITICO that they fear the cuts will lead to major backsliding on understanding firefighters' health risks...
RFK Jr.’s absurd statistic on the spike in chronic diseases in the U.S. - The Washington Post
"But this is one of those examples of how people (and computers) need to do some critical thinking when they hear statistics like this. John F. Kennedy was elected president 65 years ago. How were numbers collected back then? What were considered chronic diseases back then? Are they comparable to today?
Of course not. Kennedy should be ashamed of spreading misinformation, and interviewers should challenge him when he spouts stuff like this…"
Judge blocks Trump executive order that strips union rights from federal workers - POLITICO
The order from U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman requires federal agencies to engage with their employees' unions and to resume collecting dues payments, among other normal employee relations business. The judge's order covers employees at the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Treasury, Energy, the Office of Personnel Management and other major agencies...
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/donald-trump-federal-workers-unions-00311438
Mike Johnson’s False Jefferson Prayer: The Rest of the Story (Warren Throckmorton; Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
On January 3, 2025, Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson was re-elected to be Speaker of the House. In his acceptance speech, he quoted a prayer that he said Thomas Jefferson said every day during his presidency and every day of his life thereafter.
There is a problem with this story. The prayer was written 56 years after Jefferson died. Jefferson never said the prayer even one day of his life. Later, Johnson and the House chaplain refused to acknowledge they spread false witness to the whole country.
Before the prayer was associated with Jefferson, it was falsely tied to George Washington.
For many years, people who believe America was founded as a Christian nation have desperately wanted George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to be on their team. In this episode, we will hear from Word and Way editor Brian Kaylor and Willamette University history professor Seth Cotlar as they describe how a common prayer became an American myth.
To read the prayer, titled "For Our Country," go to the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, page 36. An online version is here: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928Standard/bcp1928std.pdf
Telling Jefferson Lies is a product of Warren Throckmorton and today brought to you by the 3rd edition of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson. For more information about the book or Warren Throckmorton's substack, go to gettingjeffersonright.com.
The next episode will be out within two weeks and I will announce the schedule for the season at that point.
Music for the segment was provided by Roman Candle, Earl's Taco Shack, Jonathan Swaim, Jonus Fair, Robo Surgeon Fish, and Dustin Blatnik.
If you like what's going on here, please subscribe, tell your friends, and leave a lovely review.
Thanks for listening.
There is a problem with this story. The prayer was written 56 years after Jefferson died. Jefferson never said the prayer even one day of his life. Later, Johnson and the House chaplain refused to acknowledge they spread false witness to the whole country.
Before the prayer was associated with Jefferson, it was falsely tied to George Washington.
For many years, people who believe America was founded as a Christian nation have desperately wanted George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to be on their team. In this episode, we will hear from Word and Way editor Brian Kaylor and Willamette University history professor Seth Cotlar as they describe how a common prayer became an American myth.
To read the prayer, titled "For Our Country," go to the 1928 edition of the Book of Common Prayer, page 36. An online version is here: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928Standard/bcp1928std.pdf
Telling Jefferson Lies is a product of Warren Throckmorton and today brought to you by the 3rd edition of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson. For more information about the book or Warren Throckmorton's substack, go to gettingjeffersonright.com.
The next episode will be out within two weeks and I will announce the schedule for the season at that point.
Music for the segment was provided by Roman Candle, Earl's Taco Shack, Jonathan Swaim, Jonus Fair, Robo Surgeon Fish, and Dustin Blatnik.
If you like what's going on here, please subscribe, tell your friends, and leave a lovely review.
Thanks for listening.
Interview:
Friday, April 25, 2025
Trump’s “Pincer Attack” on Journalism Is Working. But There’s Hope. (Reveal podcast)
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik on the challenges journalists face in covering the White House and his own employer being in Trump’s crosshairs.
David Folkenflik occupies a unique role at NPR: He’s a journalist who writes about journalism. And that includes the very organization where he works, which is once again being threatened by conservatives in Washington.
The second Trump administration has aggressively gone after the media in its first few months. It’s kicked news organizations out of the Pentagon. It’s barred other newsrooms from access to the White House. And Trump supporters in Congress have targeted federal funding for public media.
In late March, the heads of NPR and PBS testified on Capitol Hill to defend public broadcasting from Republicans accusing them of political bias. Meanwhile, some major news organizations seem to be capitulating and bending to the will of the Trump administration.
Folkenflik, who’s been covering media for two decades for NPR, says journalism across the country is facing a two-pronged attack from both commercial and political forces.
“You’re seeing sort of discrete and specific and seemingly almost comedic attacks. You don’t say ‘Gulf of America’? Get to the back of the line,” Folkenflik says. “I think it’s actually part of a larger effort to control the flow of information.”
On this week’s episode of More To The Story, Folkenflik talks to host Al Letson about this unprecedented moment for journalists, why more media outlets seem to be bowing to pressure from the Trump administration, and how journalism can begin to win back public trust.
Interview:
David Folkenflik occupies a unique role at NPR: He’s a journalist who writes about journalism. And that includes the very organization where he works, which is once again being threatened by conservatives in Washington.
The second Trump administration has aggressively gone after the media in its first few months. It’s kicked news organizations out of the Pentagon. It’s barred other newsrooms from access to the White House. And Trump supporters in Congress have targeted federal funding for public media.
In late March, the heads of NPR and PBS testified on Capitol Hill to defend public broadcasting from Republicans accusing them of political bias. Meanwhile, some major news organizations seem to be capitulating and bending to the will of the Trump administration.
Folkenflik, who’s been covering media for two decades for NPR, says journalism across the country is facing a two-pronged attack from both commercial and political forces.
“You’re seeing sort of discrete and specific and seemingly almost comedic attacks. You don’t say ‘Gulf of America’? Get to the back of the line,” Folkenflik says. “I think it’s actually part of a larger effort to control the flow of information.”
On this week’s episode of More To The Story, Folkenflik talks to host Al Letson about this unprecedented moment for journalists, why more media outlets seem to be bowing to pressure from the Trump administration, and how journalism can begin to win back public trust.
Interview:
A dozen US states sue to stop Trump’s ‘reckless and insane’ tariff policy
Lawsuit rebukes claim that president can arbitrarily impose tariffs based on act intended for emergencies…
'No More Tears' author discusses Johnson & Johnson's questionable business practices (Tonya Mosley; Fresh Air podcast)
J&J recently lost a bid to settle lawsuits that claimed its talc powder products, including baby powder, caused cancer. Author Gardiner Harris says the company's defense "is beginning to crumble."
Interview:
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Trump peace plan requires Ukraine to accept Russia occupation
The U.S. expects Ukraine's response Wednesday to a peace framework that includes U.S. recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and unofficial recognition of Russian control of nearly all areas occupied since the 2022 invasion, sources with direct knowledge of the proposal tell Axios…
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/22/trump-russia-ukraine-peace-plan-crimea-donbas
Woman seeks $5M after being dragged from GOP town hall for heckling - The Washington Post
Teresa Berrenpohl was dragged from the February event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, by guards in plain clothes…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/22/idaho-gop-woman-dragged/
Trump’s economic numbers turn dismal - The Washington Post
The big one this week was a Gallup poll that showed, for the first time in at least a quarter-century, a majority of Americans (53 percent) said their personal financial situation was getting worse. That included 28 percent of Republicans...
FDA suspends milk quality-control testing program after Trump layoffs
The suspension is another disruption to the nation's food-safety programs after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, as part of Donald Trump's effort to shrink the federal workforce...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/22/fda-milk-quality-testing-suspended
What did Pope Francis think of JD Vance? His view was more than clear | Jan-Werner Müller | The Guardian
"…Vance is not the only far-right populist who has smuggled nationalism into what he touts as the correct notion of Christianity. Viktor Orbán, a great model for Vance and other self-declared US "post-liberals" (meaning: anti-liberals), has been declaring for years that a proper understanding of "Christian Democracy" is not only "illiberal", but nationalist…
Far-right populists claim that only they represent what they call "the real people". Of course, they have to explain who "the real people" are (and, who by contrast, does not truly belong). Many have instrumentalized Christianity for that purpose. Giorgia Meloni, in her autobiography, states: "The Christian identity can be secular rather than religious." What matters is not believing (let alone actual Christian conduct), but only belonging. It's what the social scientist Rogers Brubaker has called "Christianism", in contrast with actual Christianity…"
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/23/pope-francis-jd-vance-meeting
Trump administration has set Noaa on ‘non-science trajectory’, workers warn | Trump administration | The Guardian
Researchers left at US climate agency say drastic cuts could leave air 'not breathable' and water 'not drinkable'…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/23/noaa-non-science-trump-cuts
Trump’s Deportation Black Hole (Reveal podcast)
Expulsions based on tattoos and students targeted for supporting Gaza: Trump’s immigration actions are raising eyebrows and constitutional questions.
On March 15, federal agents rounded up more than 230 Venezuelan nationals who were then deported to El Salvador and locked up in the country’s notorious megaprison. The Trump administration said the men belonged to a violent Venezuelan gang but presented no evidence, and there were no court hearings in which the men could contest the allegations.
Nearly a month later, families of the Venezuelan men say they have heard nothing about their fate. It’s as if they disappeared.
“We’re living in a world where you can just be rounded up with no hearing, not even an administrative hearing, nothing,” says immigration attorney Joseph Giardina. “Why couldn’t you have let their cases be adjudicated? There’s no logical answer other than a publicity stunt.”
This week on Reveal, Mother Jones reporters Isabela Dias and Noah Lanard speak to the families and lawyers of 10 men now imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. They vehemently deny allegations that the men are members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, and several provided evidence to support that.
To learn more about the Trump administration’s arrangement with the government of El Salvador, host Al Letson speaks with Carlos Dada, co-founder and director of El Faro, a Salvadoran investigative news outlet. Dada says that in addition to foreign nationals, the agreement also allows for American citizens convicted of crimes to be imprisoned in El Salvador.
As the Trump administration also targets international students who have spoken out about Israel’s war in Gaza, Reveal’s Najib Aminy reports on pro-Israel groups that are claiming to have shared lists of student protesters with the White House and then taking credit when some of those young people are targeted for deportation.
Interview:
On March 15, federal agents rounded up more than 230 Venezuelan nationals who were then deported to El Salvador and locked up in the country’s notorious megaprison. The Trump administration said the men belonged to a violent Venezuelan gang but presented no evidence, and there were no court hearings in which the men could contest the allegations.
Nearly a month later, families of the Venezuelan men say they have heard nothing about their fate. It’s as if they disappeared.
“We’re living in a world where you can just be rounded up with no hearing, not even an administrative hearing, nothing,” says immigration attorney Joseph Giardina. “Why couldn’t you have let their cases be adjudicated? There’s no logical answer other than a publicity stunt.”
This week on Reveal, Mother Jones reporters Isabela Dias and Noah Lanard speak to the families and lawyers of 10 men now imprisoned at the Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT. They vehemently deny allegations that the men are members of the Tren de Aragua criminal organization, and several provided evidence to support that.
To learn more about the Trump administration’s arrangement with the government of El Salvador, host Al Letson speaks with Carlos Dada, co-founder and director of El Faro, a Salvadoran investigative news outlet. Dada says that in addition to foreign nationals, the agreement also allows for American citizens convicted of crimes to be imprisoned in El Salvador.
As the Trump administration also targets international students who have spoken out about Israel’s war in Gaza, Reveal’s Najib Aminy reports on pro-Israel groups that are claiming to have shared lists of student protesters with the White House and then taking credit when some of those young people are targeted for deportation.
Interview:
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