https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEW9Z_5EuJ0
Thursday, July 31, 2025
What is Christian Nationalism? An Interview with Paul Matzko, Part One (Warren Throckmorton; Telling Jefferson Lies podcast)
Paul Matzko is a historian and senior program manager for AI and emerging technology at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and host of the Unintended Consequences podcast.
Today, he joins me to discuss how Christian nationalism differs from citizen engagement with politics. Often Christian nationalists complain that they are simply living out their faith in the public square. However, Paul teases out the differences between policies which benefit the common good and those which are designed to benefit mainly or only Christians affiliated with the regime in power.
This is part one of a two-part interview. Next week, I will have the conclusion where Paul talks about the bitter consequences of Christian nationalism and addresses the question: Has Christian nationalism ever worked?
Topics today:
Today, he joins me to discuss how Christian nationalism differs from citizen engagement with politics. Often Christian nationalists complain that they are simply living out their faith in the public square. However, Paul teases out the differences between policies which benefit the common good and those which are designed to benefit mainly or only Christians affiliated with the regime in power.
This is part one of a two-part interview. Next week, I will have the conclusion where Paul talks about the bitter consequences of Christian nationalism and addresses the question: Has Christian nationalism ever worked?
Topics today:
- What is Christian nationalism?
- Christian nationalism and the ideology of South African apartheid
- Christian nationalism and Geralf L. K. Smith
- Billy Sunday and the Klan
- MAGA as the modern America First movement
- Christian nationalism is a different faith than orthodox Christianity
- Christian nationalism and public schools
- and much more...
Interview:
Bigots Beat Orphans in Court, with attorney Sam Grover (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #023)
A federal court rules that a bigot has a right to impose their anti-LGBTQ bigotry on orphans.
Andrew breaks down the case, Bates v. Paakseresht, with Sam Grover, a constitutional attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The majority in this case essentially ignored the rights of children and focused solely on the rights of this Christian bigot, represented by ADF.
Plus, a rapid fire round up of everything else that’s happening.
Interview:
Texas Republicans release new House maps as they attempt to take 5 Democratic seats | CNN Politics
Texas Republicans have released their highly anticipated plan for how to tip the balance in their favor in next year's midterms – redrawing the state's congressional map in favor of more GOP seats...
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/30/politics/texas-redistricting-republicans
Minnesota calls in national guard after capital city slammed by ‘digital attack’ | US news | The Guardian
St Paul shut down systems after the cyberattack governor Tim Walz said 'exceeded the city's response capacity'…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/30/tim-walz-minnesota-national-guard
US government may be abandoning the global climate fight, but new leaders are filling the void – including China
China, motivated by economic and political factors, seems to be happily filling the climate power vacuum created by the U.S. exit.
In 2017, China voiced disappointment over the first U.S. withdrawal. It maintained its climate commitments and pledged to contribute more in climate finance to other developing countries than the U.S. had committed to – US$3.1 billion compared with $3 billion.
This time around, China is using leadership on climate change in ways that fit its broader strategy of gaining influence and economic power by supporting economic growth and cooperation in developing countries. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has scaled up renewable energy exports and development in other countries, such as investing in solar power in Egypt and wind energy development in Ethiopia.
While China is still the world's largest coal consumer, it has aggressively pursued investments in renewable energy at home, including solar, wind and electrification. In 2024, about half the renewable energy capacity built worldwide was in China...
More than 50% of Detroit students regularly miss class – and schools alone can’t solve the problem
This is related to the depth of social and economic inequalities that Detroit families face. Compared to other major cities, Detroit has higher rates of poverty, unemployment and crime. It has worse public health conditions. And even its winters are some of the coldest of major U.S. cities. All of these factors make it harder for kids to attend school.
Rates of chronic absenteeism spiked in Detroit during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they did statewide. The Detroit Public Schools Community District has come close to returning to its pre-pandemic levels of absenteeism. The rates were 66% in the 2023-24 school year compared to 62% in the school year right before the pandemic began, 2018-19…
…we need to recognize that chronic absenteeism is not a problem that schools can solve alone. While educators work to improve conditions within schools, policymakers and community leaders can take responsibility for the broader factors that influence attendance.
This could look like investing more resources and fostering collaboration across sectors such as health care, housing, transportation and social services to better support students and their families. Community organizations can play a role too, offering wraparound services such as mental health care, access to transportation, and after-school programming, all of which can support families. In the meantime, educators can focus on what they can control: strengthening communication with families, building supportive relationships and helping families connect with existing services that can remove attendance barriers…
Apple slams DOJ lawsuit: ’threatens the very principles that set iPhone apart’ - 9to5Mac
This lawsuit seeks to attack a random collection of Apple's design choices, degrade the privacy and security benefits of iPhone that customers value, and eliminate the competitive differentiation and consumer choice that currently exist in the marketplace. The Department of Justice and the States (collectively, "DOJ") argue that five of Apple's design choices are examples of a purported "monopoly playbook" to eliminate competitive threats and inhibit switching. DOJ is wrong.
Apple has made careful and deliberate decisions in each of those five areas, all of which are focused on optimizing customer experience and not destroying competitors or making it more difficult for customers to buy another smartphone if they so choose. DOJ posits Apple should have made other choices, but that is not an antitrust violation and, in fact, would restrict Apple's ability to compete and give users the differentiated products they value...
Scientists Say New Government Climate Report Twists Their Work | WIRED
A new Department of Energy report "fundamentally misrepresents" climate research and leaves out key context, multiple scientists cited in the report tell WIRED…
https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-say-new-government-climate-report-twists-their-work/
Hundreds of meatpacking workers with work permits lose their jobs following Trump immigration crackdown
"They're not being treated fairly. They did everything right. They did what they were told do. They followed the procedure," Ulin said. "But because of some political B.S. ... they're caught in the middle."
He also pointed out that these are the same meatpacking workers the first Trump administration deemed essential workers during the Covid pandemic.
"Everybody working on that plant, some of these people were among them, showed up for work willingly and proudly, to put food on the table during a crisis time," Ulin said. "Five short years later, because of some political immigration issue — you're not good enough to work here anymore. I just have an issue with that."…
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/iowa-jbs-plant-lose-work-permits-tps-trump-rcna221672
Scientists discover a whole new type of ecosystem 30,000 feet deep - The Washington Post
Analysis of gases seeping from the seafloor suggests microbes are consuming organic matter that accumulates in the trenches and belching methane after their meals. Symbiotic bacteria inside the tubeworms and mollusks, in turn, absorb the methane and hydrogen sulfide from those cold seeps to produce organic matter to nourish their hosts.
The process, called chemosynthesis, may seem like an alien way for an animal to score dinner, but Papineau noted that humans have their own colonies of microbes that aid in digestion. "We ourselves have bacteria in our gut," he said...
Gamers Are Furious About the Censorship of NSFW Games—and They’re Fighting Back | WIRED
As industry groups decry censorship, players are flooding Visa and Mastercard with complaints and sharing the titles of delisted NSFW games to support developers.
US and China poised to extend tariff truce after failing to find resolution at talks
Beijing's top trade negotiator, Li Chenggang, said the extension of a truce struck in mid-May would allow for further talks, without specifying when and for how long the latest pause would run.
However, the US trade representative Jamieson Greer stressed that President Trump would have the "final call" on any extension...
Tsunami alerts from Japan to the US after powerful earthquake sparks warnings across Pacific
Shallow magnitude 8.8 quake hit near Russia's Kamchatka peninsula provoking warnings as far away as New Zealand and California…
Border agent charged with child sex trafficking, fraud in AZ
"A Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent has been indicted on 24 felony charges, including 10 counts of child sex trafficking, the latest in a series of sexual-misconduct convictions or charges against U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in Arizona.
Willcox border agent Bart Conrad Yager, 39, was also charged with six counts of "pandering," or encouraging someone to engage in prostitution; one count of attempted child sex trafficking; and two counts of fraud, between July 2023 and March 2024 in Cochise County, indictments from the Cochise County Attorney's Office show…"
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_5e596767-4575-485b-88e8-0a6265e5bb41.html
US placed on rights watchlist over health of its civil society under Trump
International non-profit Civicus says 'sustained attacks on civic freedoms' put US on par with El Salvador and Kenya…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/30/us-civil-society-watchlist-trump
Trump says Epstein ‘stole’ Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago staff role
The president and his administration are working desperately to change the subject away from Epstein – an issue that has lately roiled his base. But his latest claim that one of those employees was the 16-year-old Giuffre also complicates the timeline. Giuffre was hired away from Mar-a-Lago in 2000, but two years later, Trump spoke highly of Epstein to a reporter...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/29/trump-epstein-virginia-giuffre
Ex-Trump lawyer Emil Bove confirmed to federal appeals court by US Senate
Top justice department official confirmed 50-49 despite claims that he advocated for ignoring court's orders…
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
A major cooldown is coming for the US, but flooding could return | CNN
But a dramatic cooldown like this always comes at a cost, and in this case it's rain and thunderstorms with a renewed risk of flash flooding for areas that have already been hit hard during a summer full of it...
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/weather/cooldown-pattern-change-heat-climate
Israeli public figures call for ‘crippling sanctions’ on Israel over Gaza starvation | Gaza | The Guardian
Thirty-one high-profile Israelis accuse Tel Aviv of 'brutal campaign' and demand permanent ceasefire in letter…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/29/letter-sanctions-israel-gaza-starvation
EPA moves to end climate regulations under Clean Air Act - The Washington Post
The agency announced a proposal to rescind the landmark "endangerment finding," which says that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health...
UK to recognise state of Palestine in September unless Israel holds to a ceasefire | Foreign policy | The Guardian
The UK will formally recognise the state of Palestine this September as a result of the "increasingly intolerable" situation on the ground in Gaza, unless Israel abides by a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution in the Middle East...
Trump's EU trade deal based on huge energy purchases that are unrealistic, analysts say
The massive energy purchases in the deal are unrealistic due to market and political constraints, analysts said. The EU cannot force member states and companies to buy U.S. energy just as the Trump administration cannot force producers to sell to Europe, said Mathieu Utting, an analyst at Rystad Energy...
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/29/trump-eu-trade-deal-energy-gas-oil-lng-nuclear.html
EPA seeks to repeal finding that carbon dioxide emissions threaten public health
The Trump administration is seeking to repeal a landmark finding that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday.
"This has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion," EPA administrator Lee Zeldin told the conservative "Ruthless Podcast." "Repealing it will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America," Zeldin said…
Chuck Schumer blasts Trump’s EU deal: ‘It’s fake!’
"Trump would have you believe it's the biggest deal ever," Schumer complained. "Europe has admitted that this agreement isn't legally binding, and they have no control over whether these investments even happen."…
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5424604-schumer-blasts-trumps-eu-deal/
Electricity bills are getting more expensive. Here’s why. | Vox
…Trump's signature legislative accomplishment, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is likely to raise prices further. Without better management and investment, the result will be more expensive and less reliable power for most Americans…
https://www.vox.com/climate/420887/electricity-energy-bill-expensive-prices-rising
Are tariffs driving prices up? Here’s what we know : NPR
Prices have risen a tad on some items especially affected by tariffs. But for the most part, companies are finding ways to delay price increases — for now...
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Study warns of alarming decline in freshwater reserves
The planet has endured massive freshwater losses over the past two decades due to the combined effects of climate change, overconsumption and drought, a new study has found...
Massachusetts court orders continued Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood
Talwani wrote that she wasn't preventing the federal government from regulating abortion, or directing it to fund elective abortions or other services not eligible for Medicaid coverage.
But she said the freeze prevents the Trump administration from "targeting a specific group of entities—Planned Parenthood Federation Members—for exclusion from reimbursements under the Medicaid program" when they showed "substantial likelihood" that such a targeted exclusion is unconstitutional...
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/28/massachusetts-court-medicaid-planned-parenthood-ruling-trump
US to allow federal workers to promote religion in workplace | Reuters
U.S. federal employees may try to recruit their coworkers to join their religion, the Trump administration said on Monday in a statement allowing workers to organize prayer groups during non-work hours.
Agency employees may seek to "persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views" in the office, Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. government's human resource agency, wrote in a statement...
Mastercard and Visa face backlash after hundreds of adult games removed from online stores Steam and Itch.io | Censorship | The Guardian
Payment platforms demand services remove NSFW content after open letter from Australian anti-porn group Collective Shout, triggering accusations of censorship…
Electric Bills Are Rising in 13 States Due to Data Centers - Business Insider
"We are witnessing a massive transfer of wealth from residential utility customers to large corporations—data centers and large utilities and their corporate parents, which profit from building additional energy infrastructure," said Lapp.
"Utility regulation is failing to protect residential customers, contributing to an energy affordability crisis," he continued…
https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-bills-rise-13-states-because-big-tech-data-centers-2025-7
Whistleblower evidence suggests Trump judicial nominee Emil Bove misled Senate - The Washington Post
A third whistleblower has new information about a Justice Department official the president has nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit...
Trump administration to allow federal workers to talk religion at work - The Washington Post
The OPM would also not seek to restrict federal employees' expressions of faith in interactions with the public, such as a national park ranger leading a tour group in prayer, or a doctor with the Department of Veterans Affairs praying over a patient for their recovery, Kupor said in the memo...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/07/28/federal-workers-religious-expression/
‘Hundreds’ of people have been removed from ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention camp, says governor
The facility's conditions are reportedly appalling, advocates said, with detained immigrants sleeping in overcrowded pods, along with sewage backups "resulting in cages flooded with feces", and, in addition, "denial of medical care". Advocates said the 39-acre camp, which was built in a matter of days, now holds more than 1,000 men in "flood-prone" tents.
Donald Trump said the jail would be reserved for immigrants who were "deranged psychopaths" and "some of the most vicious people on the planet" who were awaiting deportation, but in mid-July it emerged that the jail contains hundreds of detainees with no criminal records or charges. Democrats have sued DeSantis, demanding access to the facility...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/alligator-alcatraz-detention-camp-removals-florida
Trump Ripped After 'Insane' New Ramble Against Wind Power | HuffPost Latest News
Critics tore into the president after an unexpected digression against a familiar target...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-europe-wind-power-rant_n_6886ecb0e4b0b306e5bb35ac
Two top Noaa officials linked to Trump’s ‘Sharpiegate’ incident put on leave
Two men led inquiry into 2019 debacle involving incorrect hurricane projections that tarnished federal agency's record…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/25/noaa-officials-leave-trump-sharpiegate
Ibram X. Kendi vs. America’s “Antiracism Backlash” (Reveal podcast; More to the Story)
He rocketed to national attention during the BLM movement—then endured a storm of criticism. The author and professor debates America’s choice between democracy and dictatorship.
Just a few years ago, historian and activist Dr. Ibram X. Kendi seemed to be everywhere. At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Kendi became one of the leading voices on racism in America—and particularly what he described as antiracism. In 2019, his book How to Be an Antiracist became a best-seller. And later, just months after the death of George Floyd—a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis—Kendi founded The Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, receiving $55 million in funding.
But over the last few years, as a backlash grew against the BLM movement, Kendi also came under attack. His ideas urging people to be actively antiracist were often the target of conservative critics fighting against DEI policies and the teaching of critical race theory. Kendi was also accused of mismanaging the antiracism center at BU, which laid off much of its staff before closing last month. (BU cleared Kendi of financial mismanagement.) Later this fall, Kendi will head up another academic project, this time at Howard University’s Institute for Advanced Study, which will focus on racism and the global African diaspora.
As the Trump administration eliminates DEI initiatives and erases parts of Black history throughout the federal government, Kendi places this moment alongside two others in American history: the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s and the racial violence that marked the segregation era during the 1920s. “These are moments in which you had very powerful racist forces who were seeking to eliminate policies and practices and ideas that had been created to bring about more democracy and equity and equality,” Kendi says. “We’re literally right now in a very pitched battle for the future of justice in the United States and frankly around the world.”
On this week’s More To The Story, Kendi discusses this historical moment with host Al Letson, responds to the criticism he faced at Boston University, and talks about Malcolm Lives!, his new book for young readers about Malcolm X.
Interview:
Just a few years ago, historian and activist Dr. Ibram X. Kendi seemed to be everywhere. At the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Kendi became one of the leading voices on racism in America—and particularly what he described as antiracism. In 2019, his book How to Be an Antiracist became a best-seller. And later, just months after the death of George Floyd—a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis—Kendi founded The Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, receiving $55 million in funding.
But over the last few years, as a backlash grew against the BLM movement, Kendi also came under attack. His ideas urging people to be actively antiracist were often the target of conservative critics fighting against DEI policies and the teaching of critical race theory. Kendi was also accused of mismanaging the antiracism center at BU, which laid off much of its staff before closing last month. (BU cleared Kendi of financial mismanagement.) Later this fall, Kendi will head up another academic project, this time at Howard University’s Institute for Advanced Study, which will focus on racism and the global African diaspora.
As the Trump administration eliminates DEI initiatives and erases parts of Black history throughout the federal government, Kendi places this moment alongside two others in American history: the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s and the racial violence that marked the segregation era during the 1920s. “These are moments in which you had very powerful racist forces who were seeking to eliminate policies and practices and ideas that had been created to bring about more democracy and equity and equality,” Kendi says. “We’re literally right now in a very pitched battle for the future of justice in the United States and frankly around the world.”
On this week’s More To The Story, Kendi discusses this historical moment with host Al Letson, responds to the criticism he faced at Boston University, and talks about Malcolm Lives!, his new book for young readers about Malcolm X.
Interview:
Monday, July 28, 2025
The Murder End of the Stick (Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill; Unjustified podcast)
Tulsi Gabbard declassifies new documents in the latest attempt to cast doubt on the 2016 Russia investigation.
A former January 6th prosecutor and former DOJ employees are suing the Trump Administration for wrongful termination.
The Department of Justice circumvented the Vacancies Act to install Alina Habba as the interim US Attorney in New Jersey after the NJ District court judges rejected her.
One of the people Trump freed in the prisoner swap with Venezuela using the CECOT detainees is a convicted murderer.
Plus listener questions…
Interview:
A former January 6th prosecutor and former DOJ employees are suing the Trump Administration for wrongful termination.
The Department of Justice circumvented the Vacancies Act to install Alina Habba as the interim US Attorney in New Jersey after the NJ District court judges rejected her.
One of the people Trump freed in the prisoner swap with Venezuela using the CECOT detainees is a convicted murderer.
Plus listener questions…
Interview:
Cruel people believe in cruel gods
The phrase "Cruel people believe in cruel gods" echoes a well-known idea often attributed to thinkers like Thomas Paine and Bertrand Russell. The core notion is that the nature of a person's belief about their god reflects and influences their own behavior...
Revealed: debate opponent of Mehdi Hasan organized violent far-right protests
Richard Black, who appeared on controversial Jubilee video, organized Proud Boys-linked protests in 2017…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/richard-black-proud-boys-mehdi-hasan-jubilee
At least 11 people stabbed at Walmart store in Michigan and man in custody, police say
Hospital says six people in a critical condition after stabbing at Traverse City store…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/michigan-stabbing-police
The Landlord Gutting America’s Hospitals (Reveal podcast)
A real estate company buys up hospitals and then leases them back to health care systems. Dozens of its hospitals have gone bankrupt.
In April 2024, medical staff testified before Louisiana’s House Health and Welfare Committee about just how bad things had gotten at the Glenwood Regional Medical Center.
The West Monroe hospital had been under fire from the state Health Department over lapses in patient care that seemed to be escalating. The hospital had stopped paying bills for oxygen supplies, the blood bank, and repairs to the elevators that take patients up to surgery.
Former Glenwood nurse Debra Russell testified that there wasn’t a cardiologist available when a man suffered a heart attack or a $5 piece of equipment she needed for a routine procedure.
“You would send a nurse to go get it,” Russell said. “And she would come back and say, ‘Oh, Miss Debra, I don’t have any.’ I said, ‘Go to another unit.’…‘We don’t have one.’”
Glenwood was run by Steward Health Care, at the time one of the country’s largest for-profit health care operators. But its building was owned by Medical Properties Trust—a real estate company based in Birmingham, Alabama, that charged Glenwood monthly rent.
State Rep. Michael Echols, a Republican whose district includes Glenwood, had been flooded with concerns from community members. Echols had begun to wonder whether the high rent to MPT was fueling Glenwood’s financial crisis. He struggled to get real answers.
Glenwood is just one of nearly 400 health care facilities owned by MPT and rented out to hospital chains. Nine companies that leased hospitals from MPT have gone bankrupt—including Steward, Glenwood’s former operator. And while dozens of hospitals have been sold, entangled in bankruptcy proceedings, or become depleted shells, MPT’s top brass has earned millions.
This week on Reveal, Mother Jones reporter Hannah Levintova and Reveal producer Ashley Cleek dig into MPT—its history, its business model, and how treating hospitals like financial assets leaves them gutted.
Interview:
In April 2024, medical staff testified before Louisiana’s House Health and Welfare Committee about just how bad things had gotten at the Glenwood Regional Medical Center.
The West Monroe hospital had been under fire from the state Health Department over lapses in patient care that seemed to be escalating. The hospital had stopped paying bills for oxygen supplies, the blood bank, and repairs to the elevators that take patients up to surgery.
Former Glenwood nurse Debra Russell testified that there wasn’t a cardiologist available when a man suffered a heart attack or a $5 piece of equipment she needed for a routine procedure.
“You would send a nurse to go get it,” Russell said. “And she would come back and say, ‘Oh, Miss Debra, I don’t have any.’ I said, ‘Go to another unit.’…‘We don’t have one.’”
Glenwood was run by Steward Health Care, at the time one of the country’s largest for-profit health care operators. But its building was owned by Medical Properties Trust—a real estate company based in Birmingham, Alabama, that charged Glenwood monthly rent.
State Rep. Michael Echols, a Republican whose district includes Glenwood, had been flooded with concerns from community members. Echols had begun to wonder whether the high rent to MPT was fueling Glenwood’s financial crisis. He struggled to get real answers.
Glenwood is just one of nearly 400 health care facilities owned by MPT and rented out to hospital chains. Nine companies that leased hospitals from MPT have gone bankrupt—including Steward, Glenwood’s former operator. And while dozens of hospitals have been sold, entangled in bankruptcy proceedings, or become depleted shells, MPT’s top brass has earned millions.
This week on Reveal, Mother Jones reporter Hannah Levintova and Reveal producer Ashley Cleek dig into MPT—its history, its business model, and how treating hospitals like financial assets leaves them gutted.
Interview:
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Weekly Roundup: Manifesting Destiny: Birthright citizenship, DHS, and “Native Americans” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, hosts Brad Onishi and Dan Miller dive deep into the ongoing fight over birthright citizenship and the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape American identity. They explore:
The latest court battles over the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship, including recent nationwide injunctions and their significance.
The Trump administration’s use of propaganda, including the Department of Homeland Security’s posting of the iconic “Progress” painting by John Gast, and how it ties into white Christian nationalism.
The historical roots of Manifest Destiny, settler colonialism, and the exclusion of Indigenous and other marginalized groups from the American narrative.
The religious and philosophical ideas that have shaped American policies, including the role of Christian nationalism and the reinterpretation of “Native American” identity by white Christian nationalists.
The intersection of current events, including the Epstein case, immigration policy, and the destruction of emergency food supplies, with broader themes of justice, exclusion, and national identity.
Interview:
The latest court battles over the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship, including recent nationwide injunctions and their significance.
The Trump administration’s use of propaganda, including the Department of Homeland Security’s posting of the iconic “Progress” painting by John Gast, and how it ties into white Christian nationalism.
The historical roots of Manifest Destiny, settler colonialism, and the exclusion of Indigenous and other marginalized groups from the American narrative.
The religious and philosophical ideas that have shaped American policies, including the role of Christian nationalism and the reinterpretation of “Native American” identity by white Christian nationalists.
The intersection of current events, including the Epstein case, immigration policy, and the destruction of emergency food supplies, with broader themes of justice, exclusion, and national identity.
Interview:
“Love Is Love, Pt.1” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast) It’s in the Code ep 155
In the third chapter of her book attacking “toxic empathy,” Allie Beth Stuckey mounts her argument against gay rights and, in particular, marriage equality.
Throughout her chapter, she asserts that marriage equality marks a departure from “biblical” or “traditional” marriage, from a model of marriage that has decisively shaped the Christian West from the time of Jesus and before, and that it should therefore be resisted at all costs.
As Dan argues in this episode, the problem with this view is that it simply isn’t true. There has never been a clear, unequivocal “biblical” view on marriage, and understandings of marriage within the Christian tradition have evolved and changed from the time of Christ right up to the present day.
Listen in to hear more about this, and why this matters for confronting the anti-LGBTQ+ agenda of Stuckey and those on the religious and cultural right.
Interview:
Making the Case: Five Alarm Trumpster Fire
- Trump's name is in the Epstein files.
- KBJ's dissents are becoming more pointed.
- Emil Bove's shady nomination process appears highly coordinated.
- The House of Representatives is headed home early for August recess.
- Gerrymandering and voter suppression efforts are gaining steam.
And we're only six months into Trump's second term.
Trump’s New World (Dis)order (Reveal podcast)
The Trump administration’s America First approach to foreign policy is perplexing and even destabilizing some longtime US allies.
During his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump talked a lot about pulling America out of international treaties and disentangling from military operations abroad.
Once in office, he started talking about the idea of Manifest Destiny…that the expansion of the US was both justified and inevitable. In some cases that’s meant turning the tables on America’s friends and allies.
For this week’s show, Reveal reporter Nate Halverson and Panamanian journalist Andrea Salcedo investigate how the Trump administration’s threats to reclaim the Panama Canal are fueling protests and destabilizing a longtime ally. Trump has said military force may be necessary to retake control of the canal from China.
“China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said in January.
But the administration’s allegations about China’s control over the canal perplex many Panamanians.
“We just said wow, how many people can be wrong about the Chinese having a lot of influence over the Panama Canal?” says Jorge Luis Quijano, the canal’s top administrator from 2012 to 2019.
The Trump administration’s threats against Panama are also reviving painful memories of the 1989 US invasion that claimed the lives of an estimated 500 Panamanians.
For wider context, host Al Letson speaks with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who wrote about the Panama Canal in his book American Psychosis. Corn talks about how reclaiming the canal has been used as a political cudgel by conservatives in the US, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. Letson also speaks with Emma Ashford, a foreign policy expert at the Stimson Center, about how Panama fits into the Trump administration’s other moves on the international front.
Interview:
During his campaign for the presidency, Donald Trump talked a lot about pulling America out of international treaties and disentangling from military operations abroad.
Once in office, he started talking about the idea of Manifest Destiny…that the expansion of the US was both justified and inevitable. In some cases that’s meant turning the tables on America’s friends and allies.
For this week’s show, Reveal reporter Nate Halverson and Panamanian journalist Andrea Salcedo investigate how the Trump administration’s threats to reclaim the Panama Canal are fueling protests and destabilizing a longtime ally. Trump has said military force may be necessary to retake control of the canal from China.
“China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said in January.
But the administration’s allegations about China’s control over the canal perplex many Panamanians.
“We just said wow, how many people can be wrong about the Chinese having a lot of influence over the Panama Canal?” says Jorge Luis Quijano, the canal’s top administrator from 2012 to 2019.
The Trump administration’s threats against Panama are also reviving painful memories of the 1989 US invasion that claimed the lives of an estimated 500 Panamanians.
For wider context, host Al Letson speaks with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, who wrote about the Panama Canal in his book American Psychosis. Corn talks about how reclaiming the canal has been used as a political cudgel by conservatives in the US, from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. Letson also speaks with Emma Ashford, a foreign policy expert at the Stimson Center, about how Panama fits into the Trump administration’s other moves on the international front.
Interview:
Epstein Never Died (Conspirituality podcast, episode #267)
Jeffrey Epstein’s name is being screamed into the headlines again.
The late and former self-described best-friend of Donald Trump's highly suspicious 2019 death following his arrest for child sex trafficking has been a loose thread for both rabid conspiracists and the reality-based community.
Now that prominent conspiracy personalities are in the highest positions in America's law enforcement agencies, the QAnon faithful have been expecting all the damning details about the Democrat cabal to emerge.
But that's not what's happened.
Now Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino are in the collective hot seat as MAGA demand answers, while some appear to be colluding with Donald Trump in their own Deep State cover-up.
Interview:
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