In PART II A conversation between Robert P. Jones and Brad Onishi, whose books—Backslide and American Caesar—arrive one week apart from the same publisher. Jones traces how "backsliding" carries both theological and political-science meanings, citing survey data showing measurable democratic erosion (from a rating of 67 down to 54, with a projected drop to 47) and arguing white Christianity, not just American democracy, is in "apostasy," pointing to majority white evangelical support for immigra

In PART I of this conversation, Brad Onishi and Robert P. Jones (author of Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith in a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy) discuss what they call the "war on empathy" within segments of white Christianity in the United States. Robert argues that voices like Allie Beth Stuckey, Joe Rigney, and Elon Musk framing empathy as sinful serves as a theological retrofit that gives people permission to support policies—like mass deportation and detention—that their dee

Brad and Dan break down JD Vance's wide-ranging interview with Gen Z podcaster Bryce Crawford, unpacking his comments on the end times, the possibility that the Antichrist is "living among us," and his oddly deflated answer about whether he's going to heaven — reading it all as Vance clumsily blending incompatible evangelical premillennial and Christian nationalist post-millennial theologies to court an audience he doesn't quite understand. They also examine the wave of right-wing attacks on Glo

This week we talk about the moms of the bible and how their parenting holds up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even people have never set foot in a church have probably heard of “baptism” and know that it’s something…well…Christian. But what exactly IS baptism? Why do Christians do it? How do they do it? Who get baptized? And why don’t Christians all think the same thing about baptism? Why has it been so divisive and such a hot-button issue over time? Join Dan for this week’s episode as he untangles this familiar, but still baffling, practice. SUPPORT US: www.axismundi.us www.irmce.org - our supporti

Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor break down two major stories reshaping the Trump-era right: the sudden deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos and the escalating chaos inside Pete Hegseth's Pentagon. They dig into how Milo's fast-tracked removal reveals the internal power struggles of MAGA world — including his feud with Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer's growing influence over immigration enforcement — and what it signals about who gets protected and who gets purged within the movement. Then they turn