Weekly Roundup: The Odyssey, Christian Nationalism, and the Invention of “Western Civilization” (Bradley Onishi and Daniel Miller; Straight White American Jesus podcast)

Brad Onishi and Dan Miller explore the American right’s furious reaction to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what the controversy reveals about race, representation, gender, sexuality, and the politics of “Western civilization.” From outrage over Black actors and queer representation in contemporary adaptations to the right’s insistence that certain stories, traditions, and cultural identities belong exclusively to white people, the conversation examines why the boundaries of “the West” are constantly being defended—and who gets pushed outside them.

The discussion then turns to the rise of civilizational populism and its growing influence on the American right. Brad and Dan unpack how appeals to “Western Christian civilization” are being used to unite Christian nationalists, technocrats, billionaires, and authoritarian political actors around a shared vision of cultural hierarchy and social order. They connect the backlash over The Odyssey to Marco Rubio’s foreign policy, the politics of Venezuela, the disputed results of a national civics competition, and the broader question of who gets to represent the future of America.
Interview: 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weekly-roundup-the-odyssey-christian-nationalism/id1441649707?i=1000778249717

Ralph Reed’s army plans $62 million spending spree backing Trump - POLITICO

Faith & Freedom plans to spend big registering and turning out evangelicals and handing out 30 million pieces of literature at churches...

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/ralph-reed-army-spending-trump-00146170

Beyond The Bible: Where Else Can Wisdom Be Found?

Today's episode is a look at 10 other works of ancient wisdom literature. The bible has its books, but before, during, and after its creation, cultures worldwide wrote down wisdom that compares or surpasses that of a supposedly all-knowing god. Let's take a look!

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/sIi4Zw_QVYw?si=uP1I5X6GUz6C5AXu

"The Hofzinser Club" by Michael Chabon (Levar Burton Reads podcast)

A boy studies magic and escape artistry in 1930s Prague, hoping to become a member of an illustrious magicians' club. From Michael Chabon's THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY.
Interview:
http://www.levarburtonpodcast.com   

If You Could Add One Book to the High School Curriculum, What Would It Be?

Teachers often turn to the same tried and true books for high school reading assignments. So we asked a group of writers: What books would you add to the curriculum? Here are their answers....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/21/books/if-you-could-add-one-book-to-the-high-school-curriculum-what-would-it-be.html

Why you’re probably reading the Bible wrong | Rob Bell

Religious scholar, pastor, and all-around fascinating guy Rob Bell thinks that most everyone teaching religious texts these days is teaching it wrong. It's a lot of parables and metaphors, he posits, and there's no way that people should be reading religious texts like the Bible or the Quran literally....
Interview:
https://youtu.be/k4GjGwjssVQ

Document: The Symbolism Survey

In 1963, a sixteen-year-old San Diego high school student named Bruce McAllister sent a four-question mimeographed survey to 150 well-known authors of literary, commercial, and science fiction. Did they consciously plant symbols in their work? he asked. Who noticed symbols appearing from their subconscious, and who saw them arrive in their text, unbidden, created in the minds of their readers? When this happened, did the authors mind?...
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2011/12/05/document-the-symbolism-survey/