Politics and Religion. We’re not supposed to talk about that, right? Wrong! We only say that nowadays because the loudest, most extreme voices have taken over the whole conversation. Well, we‘re taking some of that space back! If you’re dying for some dialogue instead of all the yelling; if you know it’s okay to have differences without having to hate each other; if you believe politics and religion are too important to let ”the screamers” drown out the rest of us and would love some engaging, provocative and fun conversations about this stuff, then ”Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other” is for you!
Episodes
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
Thursday Sep 08, 2022
This is a bonus TP&R episode of Freedom Road Podcast with our friend and colleague Lisa Sharon Harper and her guest the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III.
Listen in as Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III do this deep dive on the meaning of and the hunger for the unfettered right to vote in the United States of America.
Freedom Road Podcast brings together national faith leaders, advocates, and front-lines activists for candid conversations about the pressing issues of our times.
Lisa Sharon Harper leads trainings that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. A prolific speaker, writer and activist, Ms. Harper is the founder and president of FreedomRoad.us, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap in our nation by designing forums and experiences that bring common understanding, common commitment and common action.
With civil rights advocacy in his DNA, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III built his ministry on community advancement and social justice activism. As Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic inequality.
https://freedomroad.us/category/freedom-road-podcast/
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Sunday Sep 04, 2022
Peter Wehner is a contributing editor at The Atlantic and contributing writer to the New York Times which is where he wrote a column in January of 2016 that he would not be voting for Donald Trump under any circumstances. Pete is also the author of The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump. Earlier in his career, Pete worked in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations. In the George W. Bush White House, Pete was deputy director of speechwriting before becoming director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Additionally, he was involved in President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign as well as Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Pete and Corey talked about the virtue of grace; the catastrophic effect that the failures of leaders such as Ravi Zacharias and others have had on the church; the marriage of American Christianity with Christian nationalism; what it means to be a "theoretical pessimist but an operational optimist"; how we can fight against the influence of those who can't be reached by reality while persuading those who can; and more broadly how to have healthier encounters among folks who disagree.
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Politics-Frayed-Republic-After/dp/1982661798
https://www.nytimes.com/column/peter-wehner
https://www.theatlantic.com/author/peter-wehner/
Would you consider becoming one of our patrons?
https://patron.podbean.com/politicsandreligion
Sunday Aug 28, 2022
Sunday Aug 28, 2022
With Danielle Moodie, we get into a range of pressing topics. Lots of politics and culture but also a dash of religion such as how Danielle connects with a higher power without needing to go to a specific place or read a specific text. We also discuss the importance of recognizing systemic failures and being a part of the "democracy perfection marathon"; how Danielle's not asking people to deny their own stories but to be honest about the story of this nation; the differences between conversation and debate, and being right vs. opening our minds; how to overcome the dangerous tendency to dehumanize those we think are on "the other side" and so much more.
Danielle Moodie is the host of Woke AF, where she explores the many facets of what it means to be "woke" in our modern life. Danielle also co-hosts democracy-ish with Wajahat Ali, a podcast dedicated to fighting for democracy and preserving your sanity in a time when both are under active assault. Never shy about shaking things up and calling out BS where she sees it, Danielle has been an unapologetic commentator about America’s racism problem. A former (and self-proclaimed recovering) lobbyist turned media maven, her opinions and cultural commentary have been published in a variety of outlets, including Daily Beast, Medium’s Zora Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Essence, The Atlantic, Ebony, Huffington Post, and others. She also makes frequent appearances on MSNBC, CBC, PBS, and BBC America.
Sunday Aug 21, 2022
Sunday Aug 21, 2022
In this lively and fun dialogue, this week's guest, Timber Hawkeye shares why Buddhism attracted him most - that is, Buddhism didn't pretend to have answers. We discuss how to have conversations with people who see things differently than we do; how "to love more people, not less"; the concept of where we get the foundation of our moral ethical structure and, as Timber said, "I don't care if you get it from Jesus or Buddha or your Aunt Bettie"; how "the word 'should' is the most hostile word in our language"; and, of course, we get into Timber's fascinating journey among so much more.
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of BUDDHIST BOOT CAMP; FAITHFULLY RELIGIONLESS; and the recently released THE OPPOSITE OF NAMASTE. His books and the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast offer a secular and non-sectarian approach to being at peace with the world (both within and around us), with the intention to awaken, enlighten, enrich and inspire.
www.buddhistbootcamp.com/
www.buddhistbootcamp.com/books
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
Sunday Aug 14, 2022
In this special episode, Lori Adams-Brown and Corey talk a great deal about Lori and her husband Jason's experience with spiritual abuse while working at Echo Church under Pastor Andy Wood. In an astonishing turn of events, Wood was hired as Rick Warren's successor at megachurch Saddleback. (To this date, Saddleback has not reversed - one could say "repented of" - their decision to hire Andy Wood. In fact, the tactics the church leaders have deployed to dismiss the charges and even vilify those who've come forward with credible accounts of abuse is chilling.)
But that's not all we discussed. We also covered Lori's remarkable background having grown up as a "missionary kid" in different parts of the world; her incredible experience over the course of many years aiding in disaster relief; how Lori is now helping others through her coaching and mentoring practice; ways we Christians can decolonize through "cultural humility"; how certain churches pressure or coerce exiting employees into signing Non-Disclosure Agreements (aka NDAs); how systems in the Evangelical Industrial Complex are designed for narcissists to come in; and so much more.
Lori Adams-Brown is a combination of international speaker, business executive, podcaster, and relief and development expert. She hosts a wonderful podcast called A World of Difference, celebrating humanity’s unique differences and encouraging us all to make a difference around the world. Since growing up in international schools in Costa Rica and Venezuela, Lori has spent her career working in Indonesia, Singapore and the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked in disaster relief in the 2004 Indonesian tsunami where she consulted with the UN coordination efforts, and she has spoken to audiences all over the U.S. and all around the world. Lori also speaks 6 languages, and brings a rare multicultural perspective to all her work.
a-world-of-difference.captivate.fm
julieroys.com/former-staffers-expose-bullying-rick-warren-successor-andy-wood/
religionnews.com/2022/08/01/church-conflict-or-spiritual-abuse-saddleback-echo-wood-driscoll-reyes/
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Sunday Aug 07, 2022
Much of our conversation with Dr. Paul D. Miller is about his recent book THE RELIGION OF AMERICAN GREATNESS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM. Over the course of our talk, we do a deep dive into the very definition of Nationalism and Christian Nationalism; the difference between tribal evangelicalism and biblical Christianity; how jazz was used as an example by Rich Lowry of National Review to make an argument FOR Nationalism that Dr. Miller then uses to make quite a thorough argument AGAINST Nationalism; the particular chauvinism of Christian Nationalists; the blasphemy of the insurrectionists who invoked God's name in the midst of a terrorist attack on January 6th; and, yes, we did talk about what Professor Miller meant when he said he would not want to live in a country where drag queens were barred by law from going to the library or hosting an event.
Dr. Miller is a political theorist and political scientist focusing on international affairs, the American experiment, and America’s role in the world. Previously, he spent a decade in public service as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He was also an intelligence analyst for the CIA and a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He is currently a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Georgetown University. He is also a research fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a visiting professor with the American Enterprise Institute’s Initiative on Faith and Public Life. Dr. Miller writes widely on international affairs, political theory, religion and public life, and film and culture. In addition to his most recent book, The Religion of American Greatness, he is also the author of Just War and Ordered Liberty; American Power and Liberal Order; and Armed State Building. More of his writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The New Republic, Mere Orthodoxy, The American Interest, The World Affairs Journal and quite a few other publications. Dr. Miller holds a PhD in international relations and a BA in government from Georgetown, and a master in public policy from Harvard University.
https://www.pauldavidmiller.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Religion-American-Greatness-Christian-Nationalism-ebook/dp/B09MSNPQZ4/
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Monday Aug 01, 2022
Danny Cevallos is a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC and co-founder of the law firm Cevallos & Wong, LLP. He focuses his practice in the areas of state, federal, and territorial criminal defense and civil litigation. Danny also handles wrongful conviction and malicious prosecution cases; he has handled a number of high profile cases in the federal, state, and territorial courts, ranging from white collar criminal matters to first-degree murder cases; and you may have previously seen him as a Legal Analyst at CNN, HLN and TruTV and as a regular on shows such as Erin Burnett OutFront and AC 360 with Anderson Cooper. But perhaps most impressive is Danny’s distinction as a 7x winner of a 10 out of 10 rating on Rate my Skype Room!
We dove into a number of the pressing legal issues at center stage in our politics including "the real story" of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade; the legal doctrine of "substantive due process" and whether cases pertaining to same sex marriage, contraception and sexual intimacy by same sex couples will come into question; the Texas statute that deputizes the entire citizenry of the state as a means of enforcing abortion restrictions; whether or not the conservative Justices on the Court want to be in the business of making law; the effectiveness of the January 6th hearings; and what's at the core of the criminality of Trump's actions pertaining to Jan. 6th. We also discuss a highly recommended podcast called WHY DON'T WE KNOW with host Sara Ganim; and we even talk about how everyone in Corey's family (including Corey!) has a crush on Anderson Cooper.
Sunday Jul 24, 2022
Sunday Jul 24, 2022
Miles Taylor served in the White House, initially in the George W. Bush administration and then later during Donald Trump’s presidency. He was brought into the Department of Homeland Security as a Senior Advisor to General John Kelly and then became Chief of Staff of that Department under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Miles is also known as “Anonymous” - the writer of the infamous New York Times OpEd and later the bestselling book A Warning, sounding the alarm about the chaos of the Trump White House and the amorality of Trump himself. Miles later contributed to the efforts of Republican Voters Against Trump and then went on to Co-found and is the Executive Director of the Renew America Movement, an organization committed to supporting principled Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the upcoming elections as well as shedding light on extremist candidates who are a danger to our democracy.
In this candid conversation we discuss how surreal the extremism that dominates political engagement today would have seemed 10 years ago; his concern about the looming threat of political assassinations; the reality that the universe doesn't "bend" but that "we bend it"; his advocacy for democratic reforms such as ranked choice voting and open primaries; how different the Trump Administration was compared with the George W. Bush (or any other) Administration; how Donald Trump turned the Oval Office into an echo chamber; and much more.
www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html
www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL2GR4G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Monday Jul 18, 2022
Ali Noorani is a Fellow at the Arizona State University Social Transformation Lab and the new program director for U.S. Democracy at the Hewlett Foundation and author of “There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration” and his new book “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” Previously, Ali served as president & chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum for 14 years. Ali has appeared in the majority of mainstream television, radio and print outlets and is a regular speaker at conferences and campuses across the country. Having worked with faith, law enforcement and business leaders to promote the value of immigrants and immigration, Ali is known as one of the nation’s most creative coalition builders. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, holds a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University and is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
We discuss a number of pressing issues including when Latino support peaked for Democrats and why they've begun losing significant percentages of that support; how the National Immigration Forum appealed to conservatives and moderates during the Trump era on immigration issues based on conservatives' values; he shares that the point of our immigration policy, at times, has been cruelty, but by depriving others of their dignity, it's a reflection of our own dignity; he talks about outreach they did with Evangelical women, how they were asking tough questions about immigration but didn't have a place to explore those questions; how to have grace in conversations across differences; and much more.
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Thursday Jul 14, 2022
Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, knows today's Republican Party better than just about anyone from having run GOP campaigns for decades. But Rick was an early and vocal critic of Donald Trump which ultimately cost him a great deal in the Trump era. He also co-founded @ProjectLincoln to help defeat Trump in 2020. We discuss all that as well as how TLP addressed the problems that were revealed about the organization in late 2020. We also talk about what Democrats need to do in 2022 and beyond.
Rick Wilson is a renowned Republican political strategist and infamous negative ad maker getting his start on Connie Mack’s Senate campaign in 1988 as well as on the Presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush that same year. Since that time he’s been the key advisor to political candidates, SuperPACS, state parties and the national campaign committees. Rick is also a writer, speaker and commentator who regularly appears on national news networks including CNN and MSNBC, shows such as Real Time with Bill Maher, and has had columns published in The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Hill and The Bulwark among others. Rick is also the author of Everything Trump Touches Dies (a NYT #1 bestseller) and Running Against the Devil which came out in January of 2020.
Shoutout to our friends at The Village Square right in Rick's neck of the woods, Tallahassee, FL. They have a great podcast called Village SquareCast.
https://tlh.villagesquare.us/squarecast/
https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson
https://twitter.com/projectlincoln
https://twitter.com/VillageSquareFL
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Monday Jul 11, 2022
Will Saletan, writer for THE BULWARK, came in for a conversation about a range of issues including what's really important; how the scientific method compares with our political way of behaving; how traffic rewards the wings; the culture of authority; recognizing our biases; the proclivity of deploying rhetoric in bad faith; the significance of what's happening in Ukraine; why he made the move from SLATE to the THE BULWARK; and how his own writing process has evolved.
William Saletan wrote for SLATE for 25 years contributing over 2,700 pieces for the daily online magazine. He’s also the author of BEARING RIGHT: HOW CONSERVATIVES WON THE ABORTION WAR. Will is now a writer at THE BULWARK who, as he says, questions everything.
Thursday Jul 07, 2022
Thursday Jul 07, 2022
Lisa Sharon Harper is Founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group which leads trainings all around the globe that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. Ms. Harper is a critically acclaimed author of several books including her latest, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All, which we discuss in this episode. Ms. Harper earned her Masters degree in Human Rights from Columbia University, is an Auburn Theological Seminary Senior Fellow and served as Sojourners Chief Church Engagement Officer. We were also grateful to have special co-host Will Chan Wright of Faithful Politics join us for this in-depth conversation.
Sunday Jul 03, 2022
Sunday Jul 03, 2022
This is a bonus TP&R episode of Faithful Politics with our good friends Josh Burtram and Will Wright when they interviewed Amanda Carpenter of The Bulwark.
Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality. Enter former-President Trump. Over the last four years, America has been under the influence of a person who seemingly graduated from Gaslighting University with a Ph.D. in Alternative Facts. Whether Trump knows it or not, he is masterful in the art of gaslighting-jitsu. The guest this week may know a thing or two about being gaslit, as she has been the target of this Trump tactic, Amanda Carpenter joins Will and Josh to discuss her book, Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us. They also discuss the future of the Republican Party, and how faith played a key role in her life during one of the most heinous acts perpetrated by the Trump campaign during 2016 primaries.
Amanda Carpenter is a political commentator for CNN and author of GASLIGHTING AMERICA: Why We Love It When Trump Lies To Us. Prior to CNN she was the Communications Director for Senator Ted Cruz and previously served as Senior Communications Advisor and Speechwriter to Sen. Jim DeMint.
For both senators, Carpenter crafted countless op-eds, speeches, talking points, briefing papers, jokes, press releases, tweets, Facebook posts, and other materials on a range of subjects before the United States Senate, including but not limited to economics, campaigns, healthcare, foreign affairs, and constitutional matters. Her work for them has been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and other outlets.
Roll Call featured her in a 2014 front-page profile, "Ted Cruz's Twitter Torrent: Outspoken GOP Aide Takes on Own Party" calling her "Capitol Hill's most-followed staffer" on Twitter with more than 56,000 followers.
In 2013, she led the creation of Cruz’s viral #MakeDCListen speech and campaign that pollster Frank Luntz said produced "the best political sound-byte of 2013.” In 2011, she was named by the Washington Post as one of the "Top 10 Capitol Hill Staffers to Watch."
https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/
https://www.thebulwark.com/author/amanda-carpenter/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gaslighting-america-amanda-carpenter/1126314531?ean=9780062748003
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Susan Del Percio is a highly accomplished political strategist and crisis communications consultant who is a political analyst for MSNBC as well as a contributor to Know Your Value - Mika Brzezinski's initiative that is helping women to grow their career, form healthy habits and reach their full potential. Susan is also a regular on one of our favorite podcasts Politicology. Appointed as a Special Advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, she initiated and implemented communication strategies, and advised and developed policy initiatives. Susan also served as Deputy Commissioner in the Giuliani Administration prior to founding her firm in 2001 which serves private corporate clients, leading elected officials, political organizations and candidates as well as non-profits. Susan is also a Distinguished Lecturer at Emerson College where she received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees.
In this conversation we cover a lot of ground including the sad decline of Rudy Giuliani as someone who worked for him when he was Mayor of NYC; how it was to go to work for a Democratic Governor after having been in Republican politics; her experience of being in New York on 9/11 and what it was like in the days and weeks after that historic day; what it cost her, as a longtime Republican strategist, to be an early critic of Donald Trump and Trumpism; we get into one of our favorite pods Politicology, of course; whether the GOP can be redeemed; and Susan gives some candid advice to Democrats for the 2022 midterms and beyond.
https://twitter.com/DelPercioS
https://www.msnbc.com/knowyourvalue
https://politicology.com/
Monday Jun 20, 2022
Monday Jun 20, 2022
In the 2nd part of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch, we do a deeper dive into his timely, ground breaking book THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE: A DEFENSE OF TRUTH. We discuss its goals of peace, freedom and knowledge; why authoritarians hate the Constitution of Knowledge; how to diagnose and resist the ills of disinformation and cancel culture; the effects of cancel culture such as "the spiral of silence"; how, at its center, the MAGA movement is all about disinformation; and how to transform the world by planting the seeds of big ideas.
JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp!
www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html
www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/
www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/
https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-constitution-of-knowledge/
Thursday Jun 16, 2022
Thursday Jun 16, 2022
Grateful to be able to talk about politics and religion without killin' each other!
www.linkedin.com/company/tpandrpod
...and our host
Monday Jun 13, 2022
Monday Jun 13, 2022
This is part 1 of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch. We had to have Jon back for a follow up because, as you'll hear, he's such a genuine, inquisitive fellow, he ended up asking Corey more questions than the other way around. We touch upon a number of big ideas like the existence of God; how the gospel of Jesus contrasts with the way a lot of self-professed Christians act; the trauma gay Americans have had to endure from Christians; Jon also talks about amazing Christians he's gotten to know and the concept of grace; and how we can make religion less stupid.
JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp!
www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html
www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/
www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/
www.amazon.com/Constitution-Knowledge-Jonathan-Rauch/dp/0815738862/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
In this conversation with Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, we discuss the "equation" we've been given to be happy and how unhappy that's left many of us; how she experienced a radical and seemingly impossible forgiveness; when religion gets it right; some of the core tenets of being Hindu; the power of a name; and the "groundwork and grand work" that Sadhviji is a part of among a number of other meaningful topics.
Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, PhD is a renowned spiritual leader in India. She is President of Divine Shakti Foundation, a charitable organization bringing education and empowerment to women and children. She is Secretary-General of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, launched by UNICEF, the first alliance of religious leaders for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Sadhviji is also Director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival. Originally from Los Angeles, and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji has lived at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh in the Himalayas for 25 years, where she gives spiritual discourses, satsang and meditation, and leads myriad humanitarian programs.
Monday May 23, 2022
Monday May 23, 2022
Today we're joined by Liz Joyner and Vanessa Rowse of the Village Square. Liz is the Founder and CEO and Vanessa is the Podcast Producer of their great podcast Village SquareCast.
We get into all kinds of important, timely topics including
- how we're all living in this "high energy environment";
- the "us vs. them dynamic" and what the solution is;
- the value of actually getting together in person;
- how the Village Square is able to get people of diverse views in the same venue together;
- how the first casualty in this environment is nuance;
- and being played by the "conflict entrepreneurs";
- in addition to a lot more ground we cover.
The Village Square is a nonprofit organization devoted to building vibrant civil dialogue across partisan and ideological divides on matters of local, state, and national importance in communities across America. Founded in Tallahassee, Florida in 2006 after a contentious debate on a local issue, the Village Square builds social civic community in a 21st century revival of the old-fashioned American town hall. The Village Square offers a menu of cutting-edge civic engagement programs, many in partnership with local government.
https://tlh.villagesquare.us/
https://pod.link/1520059234
Monday May 16, 2022
Monday May 16, 2022
Why are more and more young people leaving religion? Is religion the only way we can define our values? From what sources do nonreligious folks derive shared morals? We explore all these questions and much more, such as how the Secular Student Alliance is providing a point of connection for nonreligious students all over the country. We discuss secular and humanistic values, how SSA has been received on campuses, and of course we get into plenty of politics.
Kevin Bolling is the Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance, an educational nonprofit and the only national organization dedicated to atheist, humanist, and other non-theist students. Kevin has served as the executive director of SSA since 2017 and has over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. His career has included over 10 years of student association management and on-campus program development from Los Angeles to Boston as well as serving in leadership positions with the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation and the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.
https://secularstudents.org/
Monday May 09, 2022
Monday May 09, 2022
Brian Kaylor is the President and Editor-in-Chief of Word and Way (a Christian media company founded in 1896), he’s Associate Director of Churchnet and the host of an excellent podcast called Dangerous Dogma. Brian is also a prolific author, most recently of the books For God’s Sake, Shut Up!: Lessons for Christians on How to Speak Effectively and When to Remain Silent and Vote Your Principles: Party Must Not Trump Principles. Brian has a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri, and serves the Baptist World Alliance as chair of the Communication Advisory Committee and chair of the Resolutions Committee. He is a board member for the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and for the St. Louis Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Brian has also taught college courses in advocacy studies, political communication, research methods, and public speaking.
Brian and Corey discuss a number of pertinent issues including how pastors are having to conform with their parishioners politics; a daunting comparison - that would be surprising to some - between the faith of Barack Obama and that of Donald Trump; the nature of faith and the opposite of faith; and we also discuss the separation of church and state among a number of other topics.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dangerous-dogma/id1570193355
Monday May 02, 2022
Monday May 02, 2022
"There's a gap between the realistic possible and the actual...and what can we do about it?" That's a premise we explore with our renowned guest, Dr. Rick Hanson, across numerous domains from the very personal to the political. Along with special co-host Savannah Nathan, we discuss the scientific observations of the benefits of meditation; Buddhism as a psychology and not necessarily a religion; and the nature of the mind and how it works. We also get into plenty of politics from unique traits humans developed over millions of years to many of the problems that ail us today to a simple yet ambitious vision Rick has articulated in the 2100 Project.
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and is a New York Times best-selling author of such impactful books including NeuroDharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, on his podcast that he co-hosts with his son Forrest Hanson Being Well and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom.
Here are some helpful links:
www.rickhanson.net/being-well-podcast/
www.rickhanson.net/books/neurodharma/#order
www.wisebrain.org/wellspring-institute
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2021.2006759
https://www.positiveneuroplasticity.com/
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Monday Apr 18, 2022
Kaitlyn Schiess is a writer and author who’s studying for her doctorate in political theology, ethics and biblical interpretation at Duke Divinity School and has earned her ThM in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. In 2020, Kaitlyn’s book The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor created quite a stir. She has also written about theology, politics, and culture in outlets such as Christianity Today, The New York Times, Sojourners, several other national publications and is rather prolific on Twitter!
We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. Part of Kaitlyn's journey that is unique is that not a lot of people start out at Liberty Univ. for undergrad and then end up at Duke Divinity for their doctoral work. It was interesting to hear Kaitlyn's thoughts about where many of her Liberty classmates stand in terms of politics and theology today. We also talked about "What story am I buying into?" and how our paradigms affect how we interpret what's happening in the world. We went on to assess some of the problems that ail our culture in the church and more broadly, and we explore prescriptions of how we might be able to move forward.
https://twitter.com/KaitlynSchiess
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Here's Part 2 of our conversation with Chuck Rocha and Mike Madrid, picking up where we left off. In Part 1, we had a chance to talk with Chuck, who's best known for running Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and then getting out the vote in the critical state of Nevada in the general election for Biden. In this part of the conversation Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, jumps in to offer his thoughts about what both parties are getting wrong in terms of understanding and reaching Latino voters. And yes, the terms "Latinx" does come up! We also talk about why 1 Republican and 1 Democrat, both national strategists, often adversaries on campaigns, would come together to collaborate on their excellent new podcast THE LATINO VOTE.
Mike Madrid is a national political strategist, an expert in demographics and Latino voters. Mike’s academic work on Latino politics became the foundation for groundbreaking communications and outreach strategies in California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Later, Mike was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project which played a significant part in defeating Donald Trump. Mike also lectures on race, class and partisanship at USC.
Chuck Rocha became National Political Director of the United Steel Workers of America at 29 and was also the first person of color hired to that position. In 2010, Chuck founded Solidarity Strategies, a nonprofit and political consulting firm built on diversity, inclusion and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of minority professionals. He went on to advise on both Bernie Sanders campaigns and is the first Latino to run a presidential campaign.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latino-vote/id1613279254
https://twitter.com/madrid_mike
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Monday Apr 11, 2022
On Part 1 of our conversation with Chuck Rocha and Mike Madrid, we get right into it. First with Chuck, who's best known for running Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and then getting out the vote in the critical state of Nevada in the general election for Biden. We look behind the curtain at what national parties are getting wrong when it comes to reaching and engaging the Latino vote. We also talk about what's even more important than particular Democratic or Republican issues that he and Mike Madrid, often his adversary on campaigns, would come together to collaborate on their excellent new podcast THE LATINO VOTE.
Chuck Rocha became National Political Director of the United Steel Workers of America at 29 and was also the first person of color hired to that position. In 2010, Chuck founded Solidarity Strategies, a nonprofit and political consulting firm built on diversity, inclusion and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of minority professionals. He went on to advise on both Bernie Sanders campaigns and is the first Latino to run a presidential campaign.
Mike Madrid is a national political strategist, an expert in demographics and Latino politics. Mike’s academic work on Latino politics became the foundation for groundbreaking communications and outreach strategies in California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Later, Mike was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project which played a significant part in defeating Donald Trump. Mike also lectures on race, class and partisanship at USC.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latino-vote/id1613279254
https://twitter.com/madrid_mike
https://twitter.com/ChuckRocha
https://www.solidaritystrategies.com/
TIO BERNIE: THE INSIDE STORY OF HOW BERNIE SANDERS BROUGHT LATINOS INTO THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION - https://www.amazon.com/T%C3%ADo-Bernie-Sanders-Political-Revolution/dp/1947492527
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Monday Mar 28, 2022
Michael David Cobb Bowen is co-founder and co-editor of Free Black Thought - a group of scholars, technologists, parents, and citizens determined to amplify vital black voices that are rarely heard on mainstream platforms. Michael is a Business Intelligence professional and Data Engineer, he is a past contributor to NPR, Young Republicans and TV One, and is an essayist at Stoic Observations. Michael might describe himself as an entrepreneur, foodie, anti-fragile, true neutral, audiophile, gearhead, hacker, shooter and ooda buddha. We discuss all that and even talk a little jazz!
https://www.freeblackthought.com/
https://mdcbowen.substack.com/
Monday Mar 21, 2022
Monday Mar 21, 2022
John Popper is a singer, songwriter and one of the world's greatest harmonica players. He's the longtime frontman of Blues Traveler (which happens to be one of, if not my favorite band ever!) and has jammed with any number of virtuosos across multiple genres of music. Of course, we talk about the music, his influences and inspirations, but we also get into plenty of politics and religion!
As our special co-host we were joined by Matt Lewis of THE DAILY BEAST. This interview can also be heard on Matt's awesome podcast MATT LEWIS AND THE NEWS.
https://twitter.com/blues_traveler
https://twitter.com/mattklewis
Monday Mar 14, 2022
Monday Mar 14, 2022
In this conversation with Melanie Ross of Yale Divinity School, we explore the music in American Evangelical churches; what the worship music says about the people of particular churches; how politics, and specifically Trump, was discussed during services and other church gatherings; and how to make space to have healthier dialogue and to listen to each other well. Melanie also shares about her cancer diagnosis in 2014, her 2 year recovery process and how different the political landscape was when she returned to her research for this project in 2016.
Dr. Melanie Ross is Associate Professor of liturgical studies at the Yale Divinity School. She studies North American contemporary evangelical worship, and argues that the common ground shared by evangelical and liturgical churches is much more important than the differences that divide them. She most recently authored the book, EVANGELICAL WORSHIP: AN AMERICAN MOSAIC. Plus, she and co-host Jessica Stone went to high school together! So we get to hear some tidbits about what Jess was like as a teenager.
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Monday Feb 28, 2022
Dr. Napp Nazworth joined us to discuss how one of the country's leading Christian online media outlets transformed over the last 5-6 years into one that is explicitly on team Trump, eschewing much of its founding journalistic and theological principles. We also delve into other topics such as how the oft-quoted 81% support for Trump among Evangelicals is a myth. Among other issues we explored, Napp shared a thought-provoking assessment of how Trump/Trumpism has actually inflicted long term damage to the pro-life movement.
Napp Nazworth has a PhD in Political Science with the focus of his dissertation on the Christian Right. After working for a number of years in academia, Napp went on to be the Politics Editor and Political Analyst for the Christian Post for 8 ½ years before he had to part ways with the organization after they “sold their soul to Trump” as Napp described it. Dr. Nazworth is now the Executive Director of the American Values Coalition which is “a growing community of Americans empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy.”
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Monday Feb 21, 2022
Josh Lewis is concerned about the problems of "...the loneliness epidemic and loss of genuine community, a rapidly changing job market that threatens our ability to earn a living, nearly insurmountable debt, and growing polarization," among others. Josh also believes conservatism provides a cogent framework to address these issues effectively. Unfortunately, the word conservative has been co-opted by many who are not conservative at all including the alt-right, Christian nationalists and "a cult of personality that surrounds Donald Trump."
That's why Josh started the Saving Elephants Blog and the Saving Elephants Podcast several years ago. The podcast and blog serve as a platform devoted to saving the Republican party as it faces the twin threats of demagoguery from within and looming extinction at the hands of demographic trends from without. The mission is to ensure true conservatism not only survives but thrives in the 21st century. But first, it has to be reclaimed from those who've hijacked the label.
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Monday Feb 14, 2022
Josh Good is the Director of Faith Angle Forum, a program of the Ethics and Public Policy Center which aims to strengthen reporting and commentary on how religious believers, religious convictions, and religiously grounded moral arguments affect American politics and public life.
We discuss the concept of covenantal pluralism; how locked in our feedback bubbles we are; some of the obstacles to the business of journalism; how local journalism has dried up and how that's affected our communities.
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Monday Feb 07, 2022
Candice Marie Benbow is a multi-genre theologian who was named by Sojourners as one of “10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2020”, Candice has written for various outlets including The Grio, ESSENCE Magazine, Glamour Magazine, The Root, VICE, Shondaland, MadameNoire and the Me Too Movement. Convergent Books has just published her first book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. Candice is also involved in numerous charitable organizations including one she founded in her mother’s memory, The LouiseMarie Foundation which supports HBCU nursing students.
We discuss what it means to be a multi-genre theologian; how the death of Whitney Houston influenced the questions she grappled with at Duke Divinity School; how we as a culture are doing in terms of mental health; living with grief; her book RED LIP THEOLOGY and what that is; assigning gender to God; giving each other grace; and so much more.
Monday Jan 31, 2022
Monday Jan 31, 2022
Andrew Regalado is Legislative Assistant in the office of U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. Andrew is also the Grassroots Director of Country First, a Political Action Committee that is a home for reasonable people of goodwill, seeking common ground to make our country better for future generations.
We discuss how Andrew began to develop his political views, how he charted the first chapters of his career and why he gravitated to a leader like Rep. Kinzinger. We also discuss Country 1st and how the organization is addressing the priorities of “Opportunity for All, Climate and Conservation, Mental Health and a Culture of Service.”
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Monday Jan 24, 2022
Matt Lewis is a senior columnist for The Daily Beast. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, GQ, The Washington Post and he's a regular contributor on MSNBC, CNN, PBS NewsHour, HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and CBS News’ “Face The Nation.” He also dissects the day’s issues in conversations with other thinkers, authors, and newsmakers on his podcast Matt Lewis and the News.
In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground. We discuss Matt’s book Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump; what it was like to work for Tucker Carlson; how his views of Sarah Palin have evolved; whether we can find our way out of this cold civil war; plus we go pretty deep into method acting and hair care!
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Monday Jan 10, 2022
Curtis Chang is Founder of Redeeming Babel, which provides “biblical thinking in a confusing world,” and co-hosts the podcast GOOD FAITH with David French. He has won a White House award for social innovation, consulted with the State Dept. and multiple MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant winners, teaches strategic planning at American Univ. in D.C., is Sr. Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary and is consulting faculty at Duke Divinity School. We discuss vaccines, institutions, anxiety, redemption and more.
Monday Jan 03, 2022
Monday Jan 03, 2022
Nadine Epstein is Editor-in-Chief of MOMENT MAGAZINE which was co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. Nadine is also Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Creative Change, the Founder of the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative and has now launched the Role Model Project which was established in memory of her dear friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with whom she collaborated on Nadine’s latest book RBG’S BRAVE & BRILLIANT WOMEN: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone.
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Thursday Dec 30, 2021
Dr. Sameer Yadav, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College, discusses his trajectory from being raised by immigrant Hindu parents in rural Idaho to becoming a conservative Christian, finding himself at odds with fundamentalist teaching while doing his first Masters degree (including how his experience at a certain hardcore conservative college was akin to farting in an elevator), his critique of "The Bible Says, I Believe It, That Settles It," the origins of Christian and secular racism, reckoning with insurrectionists invoking the name of Jesus, and other heresies occurring in America today. Sameer earned a Masters Degree from Yale Divinity School and his doctorate in theology and ethics from Duke Divinity School. He’s a prolific writer, his dissertation being adapted and expanded for his first book The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God and has been published in a numerous academic and theological journals. He is multilingual and understands Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, French, German and rumor has it he’s studying Na’vi in anticipation of the upcoming Avatar movies.
Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
Tuesday Dec 28, 2021
The Franklin Project was started for folks who are “unafraid of a diversity of opinions; want our elected representatives to work together to get things done; and want the shrieking, shrill, dangerous extremist voices to quiet down so that the rest of us can be heard.” Erin Dobson and Greg Jenkins both have experience at the highest levels of politics and the corporate world. Now, with the Franklin Project, they are "dedicated to promoting true American values of democracy and civility. Through the Democracy Corps we engage and empower everyday people to become extraordinary defenders of a more perfect union."
Sunday Dec 26, 2021
Sunday Dec 26, 2021
Many know Dr. Russell Moore from his 8 year tenure leading the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention before his high profile exit due to his opposition to Donald Trump and the SBC’s differences with how to handle issues such as sexual abuse and race relations. Currently, Dr. Moore is Public Theologian at Christianity Today and Director of Christianity Today’s Public Theology Project. He is the author of several books, most recently The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul. He also hosts The Russell Moore Show and shares essays through his newsletter.
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Jamal Watkins is SVP of Strategy and Advancement at the NAACP. Prior to NAACP, he held leadership positions with a number of organizations dedicated to community organizing and civil and human rights. In this discussion we explore important topics including how NAACP carried out its mission through the many challenges of 2020; how the Association is helping to protect against attacks on voting rights (fightingforourvote.org); and how to talk about race in a meaningful way without it dividing us immediately.
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Sarah Isgur, staff writer at The Dispatch and host of its flagship podcast as well as Advisory Opinions with David French, has served on 3 presidential campaigns and in 3 branches of government. Sarah is a graduate of Harvard Law School where she was president of the Harvard Federalist Society and is a veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice. We cover a lot of ground in this energetic conversation from her youth in rural Texas and going on birding excursions around the world; the viability of a center-right non-Trumpian coalition; whether pro-insurrectionist votes by members of Congress will matter in 2022; how a principled, intelligent public servant was able to function in a Trump administration; and many other "buckets" of juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits about the real Washington, D.C.
Monday Dec 13, 2021
Monday Dec 13, 2021
As described on his new podcast, “Joe Walsh is a former U.S. Congressman, a former Presidential candidate, a radio host, and a man whose personal mission is to LISTEN. With WHITE FLAG with JOE WALSH, he surrenders the urge to fight and strives to find a path to unite, not divide.” Walsh is also the author of a book with one of our favorite titles ever: F*CK SILENCE: CALLING TRUMP OUT FOR THE CULTISH, MORONIC, AUTHORITARIAN CON MAN HE IS.
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Monday Dec 06, 2021
Brad Edwards and Bryce Hales are co-hosts of Everything Just Changed, a podcast about good faith participation in community, grace-saturated conversations and committed to the common good. Their podcast has impressive, engaging guests and they have a knack for exploring the most relevant topics in thought-provoking ways. Brad and Bryce are also pastors at The Table Church which is, “rooted in selfless love for our fellow man to such a degree that we are never fully able to achieve it… a humble hypocrisy."
Monday Nov 29, 2021
Monday Nov 29, 2021
Ron Steslow is the founder and host of Politicology, a leading voice in the fight against attacks on democracy in America and around the globe. Ron was a rising star in Republican politics before leaving the party in 2016. In 2019, he co-founded The Lincoln Project to lead its renowned marketing operation to defeat Trump and Trumpism. Just last year, Ron was named one of Fortune Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in Government and Politics.
We cover a lot of ground in this dialogue, including Ron's own amazing journey, identity politics, redistricting, the threats to democracy we currently face and a wonderful non-profit Ron supports called Oriented to Love.
So cool to have been able to record this conversation in-person on the campus of BOND, a leading entertainment marketing agency that consists of some of the most wonderful artists, innovators and creators we know.
https://politicology.com/
https://bit.ly/Oriented_to_Love
https://wearebond.com/
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
Sunday Nov 21, 2021
From social worker to small business owner to champion for other small businesses to political candidate, Selina Thomas (linktr.ee/selinathomas) is on quite a journey. Indeed, Selina is the first woman of color to be a candidate for City Council in Santa Clarita. On this episode we discuss how she ran toward the challenges small businesses have had to overcome over the last couple years, how she’s been able to answer skepticism and even hateful prejudice with grace, why she chose to run for elected office and much more.
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Known as “the Father of Faith-based Diplomacy,” Douglas Johnston has been in the room with such figures as Henry Kissinger and Robert McNamara, and experienced coming under fire from extremists while trying to negotiate peace in the Middle East. Doug is the Pres. Emeritus and Founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. He is the author of numerous books on faith and diplomacy, most recently an in-depth memoir, Mountaintops and Mai Tais. He is also a graduate of the Naval Academy and holds a Masters and PhD from Harvard Univ. He has served in senior positions in government, the military and the private sector, including six years at Harvard where he taught int’l. affairs and was founding director of the university's Exec. Program in Nat’l. and Int’l. Security.
Monday Nov 01, 2021
Monday Nov 01, 2021
There is still great journalism and excellent reporters contributing to our public square. One such newsman is Jake Sherman, co-founder of Punchbowl News, a daily news service focusing on Congress. After 11 years at Politico, Jake started Punchbowl with Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan. He also co-authored The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America, which covers the extraordinary period in politics from 2016 to 2018. We discuss what it takes to be a good reporter, what it was like to be in the Capitol on January 6th, what’s happening in Congress today along with some projections for the road ahead.
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Thursday Oct 28, 2021
Jack Taggart is right at the cutoff between the Millenial and GenZ generations. He’s also part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church. In this conversation, we explore what distinguishes the LDS church from other religions and hear some perspectives from a guy who’s a late Millennial early Gen Z. Jack also has a really cool podcast called “The Moderate Review” where he has civil discussions with folks who have different perspectives on any number of topics. Plus Jack asks Corey a few questions at the end and then we get a little podcast geeky!
Monday Oct 25, 2021
Monday Oct 25, 2021
Bill Kristol is editor at large of The Bulwark; host of the podcast Conversations with Bill Kristol; and Chairman of the Board of the Republican Accountability Project. In this conversation, we discuss neoconservatism; the diversity of people and perspectives at Harvard; what happened to Tucker Carlson since his time at the Weekly Standard; whether isolationism and bigotry have taken hold; what we should read into recent special elections; and where we go from here.
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Jeff Harding is the Area Coordinator at National Network of Youth Ministries, which means he’s a leader of leaders; he is also Youth Minister at Trinity Fellowship Church; and is the Founder and Host of the Youth Ministry Maverick Podcast. We discuss some of the unique challenges youth face today, the divide of social and political leanings between Gen Z and their parents’ age groups (Gen X), and how to engage with the “Biggest generation ever, with the shortest attention span ever.”