Episodes

Brad and Dan take a winding tour through a bundle of issues: the GOP's failed impeachment vote; the lampooning of their own bill in the Senate; Red Shirts beating a Latino man live on Fox News; Elise Stefanik saying she wouldn't have certified the election if she was VP; book burning political candidates; a woman who has faith that God has chosen Trump for the presidency. The common thread: Democracy requires faith; authoritarianism only requires fear and anger. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to ...

Inerrantists who claim that the Bible is “without error,” right down to the individual words of the text, also recognize that the Bible is full of factual inaccuracies. How do they reconcile these two positions? How can they acknowledge factually inaccurate claims and still insist that the Bible is “without error”? One theological strategy is to insist that the Bible is without error only in what it “affirms.” What do they mean by this? And does this slick theological trick work? Unsurprisingly,...

Brad speaks with Dr. Kelly J. Baker, author of Gospel of the Klan. In the first segment, Brad outlines how TPUSA is akin to the 1920s Klan. Then he speaks with Dr. Baker, who outlines how the Klan was seen as a patriotic Christian organization that put God and country first. Sound familiar? In its time, the Klan was not considered a beyond the pale White supremacist group. It was part of mainstream society. Part of churches. Part of the American way of life. And, as they discuss, we are repeatin...

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Brad and Dan begin by discussing the right-wing meltdown about Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl. They point out the misogyny at the heart of the discourse, as well as the Christian nationalist and patriarchal dimensions. In the second segment, Brad analyzes the trucker convoy headed the Border - centering on how its participants are using J6 as its inspiration to be warriors for God. In the final segment Dan takes us through how satanists are warding of Christian nationalism in Idaho by using t...

Those who claim that the Bible is “inerrant” are clear that this applies to the “autographs,” or original manuscripts, of the Bible. But we don’t have ANY of those original manuscripts. What does that mean for claims that the Bible is “inerrant”? And even if we did have those originals, most of us can’t read the Bible its original languages. Can a translated Bible still be inerrant? In this episode Dan shows why the lack of manuscripts is a HUGE problem for claims to inerrancy, and argues that i...

In the first part of this episode, Brad talks with journalist Annika Brockschmidt about what under reported or under the radar things she is watching in 2024. Annika walks through a number of court cases on reproductive rights and what they will mean for access to the abortion pill. She also analyzes the violent rhetoric Trump and MAGA Nation have been employing over the last month through the lens of the history of fascism. Finally, she details how the far-right is organizing around the world -...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing what happened to Ron DeSantis. Taking stock of pundits who blame his failure on policy or lack of people skills, Brad argues that DeSantis lacks the aesthetic and eroticism to be a fascist leader. He was never Trump+. Just Diet Trump. The MAGA movement wants a strongman autocrat - and so he didn't have it. In the second segment, Dan reports on "man camps" around the country where guys are going to "get hard." It's a wild ride. In the final segment, the hosts di...

When inerrantists say that the Bible is “without error,” one of the things they mean is that the very words of the Bible itself were chosen by God. When they say that the Bible is “God-breathed” or “inspired,” this inspiration goes all the down to the biblical authors’ very choice of words. Why is this important to them? What does this claim mean? Does it remove the human element of the Bible’s production? Can we make this understanding of the Bible make sense? Take a listen to this week’s episo...

Exclusive to SWAJ - the Freethought Caucus in the House of Representatives held a seminar on Mike Johnson's Christian nationalism. Rep. Jared Huffman chaired the panel and heard comments from Dr. Matthew Taylor, Rachel Laser, President of Americans United, and Darcy Hirsch of the Interfaith Alliance. We are the only media outlet to distribute a recording of the event. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, ...

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the ways White evangelicals pushed Trump to victory and Iowa - and then dispel a bunch of myths about why White Christians keep voting for him. They also dig into reactions to a mainstream media source calling out Christian nationalism (hint: White Christian nationalists weren't happy). In the second segment the hosts examine Charlie Kirk's characterization of MLK as "a bad guy" and his claims that the Civil Rights Act was a mistake because it signified a "refou...

The claim that the Bible is inerrant is a claim that it is the sole and absolute authority in matters of religious truth. For millions of American Christians, that also means that it should be the source of social policy and legislation that shape public life for every American. Those are BIG claims. So what is the evidence for inerrancy? Why should we accept these claims for the Bible? As it turns out, inerrantists aren’t able to provide such evidence. The result is that inerrancy is either inc...

Part II of Brad's interview with journalist Tim Alberta, author of the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: Evangelicalism in an Age of Extremism. In his intro, Brad goes through his criticisms of the book. They come down to three main points: It is a normative project in a journalistic format; it reproduces the theological frame it is trying to fix; it poses a neat separation of the religious and the political in a way that is incoherent. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-fre...

On the eve of the Iowa caucuses, Brad and Dan first take stock of two wild but related claims by Trump: He is immune from the law and chosen by God to enact it. Sounds more like a medieval monarch than a democratically elected president . . . In the second segment, the two hosts analyze how Iowa, the center of American politics this weekend, became deeply red while its neighbors - Illinois and Minnesota and Michigan, and to some extent Wisconsin - have trended blue and progressive. It's a matte...

“The Bible is without error.” This claim, the claim that the Bible is “inerrant,” is what lies behind most Christians’ claims when they insist they are “preaching the Bible,” that they attend a “Bible church,” that “the Bible is true,” and so on. When most conservative Christians claim to be “literalists,” what they mean is that they are “inerrantists.” But what does this claim mean? Why is it so central and widespread among conservative Christians? Dan explores these topics in this week’s episo...

Part I of Brad's interview with journalist Tim Alberta, author of the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: Evangelicalism in an Age of Extremism. In his intro, Brad goes through what he learned from the book - and hints at his criticisms of it (those are coming next week). In the interview, Brad asks Tim about his experience as a pastor's kid, what changed in evangelical culture during COVID and the Trump years, and why conspiracy and resentment are now the driving forces of this religious traditi...

More Americans think J6 was not big deal than ever. Why? Because the myth of the Big Lie has festered in the three years since the Insurrection, creating an alternate reality in which Donald Trump is not responsible for what happened - and the event wasn't that violent. Brad and Dan break down the statistics and take stock of where we are 3 years from the riot and less than a year from the election. In the second segment, Dan provides an in-depth look at the formation of the 14th amendment, poi...

“I believe the Bible is literally true.” Such is the claim of many self-professed biblical “literalists.” Academics and journalists who study American religion also often describe conservative Christians, in particular, as “literalists.” But in this episode, the first of several related to the understanding of the Bible within popular American Christianity, Dan argues that no one is actually a literalist. In fact, he argues that the idea of biblical literalism is incoherent. Why? Listen in and f...

On the first episode of the year, Brad looks ahead to various scenarios in 2024 and what they might mean for our country. One thing is certain: This year will shape our country for the rest of our lives. It could mean a second Trump term. It could mean more political violence. It could mean an acceleration of the American cold civil war. But, there are reasons to hope. Reasons to keep fighting. To stay vigilant. Not to look away. Brad talks about those too. Subscribe now to Pure White: https://...

Brad begins by discussing the news that Trump is off the ballot in Maine and what that means in the wake of the Colorado decisions. He breaks down why the complexity and tumult of these decisions does not warrant objection to them and why they are necessary in order to safeguard democracy. In the second segment he decodes Nikki Haley's weak answer on the causes of the Civil War (and her follow up remarks), showing how she winked at Neo-Confederates and others in her answer. He references a figh...

“Everyone has an ultimate authority.” Last episode considered the intellectual merits of this claim. In this episode, Dan considers the emotional appeal of this claim and the work that claims like this do within high-control religious contexts. How do claims to ultimate authority provide us with a sense of control over, or assurance about, our lives? And how do they serve the interests of those who would claim to speak on behalf of that “authority”? Check out the episode to find out! Subscribe ...

School Vouchers, Abortion, Chaplains, and Bought Elections

For the end of the year Weekly Roundup, Dan provides his airing of grievances in the great Festivus tradition. Brad's to come soon. Subscribe now to Pure White: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pure-white/id1718974286 To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Na...

Brad speaks to constitutional lawyer Andrew Seidel about the Colorado Supreme Court decision barring Trump from the ballot. They discuss whether or not this was the right decision, what will happen if it goes to SCOTUS, the arguments for leaving Trump on the ballot, and much more. Subscribe now to Pure White: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pure-white/id1718974286 To Donate: venmo - @straightwhitejc Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com...