Episodes

Host Annika Brockschmidt sits down with historian Thomas Zimmer for a wide-ranging conversation about the politics of history in the age of Trumpism—and why Zimmer ultimately decided to leave the United States after years teaching at Georgetown and return to Germany with his family. Reflecting on the increasingly hostile climate for scholars and public commentators, Zimmer discusses how harassment, threats, and the broader erosion of democratic norms shaped that decision. From there, the convers...

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the Trump administration’s military action against Iran and the political and religious rhetoric surrounding the conflict. They examine the contradictions in Republican messaging, with some officials describing the action as a war while others insist it is not. Brad and Dan also discuss the lack of a clear public justification similar to what preceded previous conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan, the internal...

Sarah Posner sits down with New York Magazine senior writer Sarah Jones to unpack the accelerating assault on transgender rights in Kansas and beyond. They trace how a new Kansas law retroactively invalidating updated gender markers on driver’s licenses fits into a broader, decades-long Christian right strategy—one that cloaks theological convictions in the language of “common sense” and “biology.” From spiritual warfare rhetoric in statehouses to Supreme Court signals about religious motivation...

Josh Hawley informs us that one of the distinctive roles men are called to play is that of “warrior.” But what, exactly, makes a warrior? What are the distinctively masculine “warrior virtues” men are called to live out? It turns out that Hawley’s answers to these questions are not what we might expect. In fact, it’s not clear what, precisely, makes a “warrior” at all. Listen to this week’s episode as Dan explains. Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axismundi.supercast.com/⁠ Subscribe to our free ne...

MAGA Christians are splitting over Donald Trump’s strike on Iran, with high-profile voices like Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Marjorie Taylor Greene arguing the move betrays “America First” principles. For them, foreign intervention—especially on behalf of Israel—undermines the nationalist, anti-entanglement ethos that fueled Trump’s rise. Some Catholic and post-liberal thinkers, including Edward Feser and Sohrab Ahmari, have also criticized the action as strategically incoherent and politica...

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus: The Sunday Interview, Brad Onishi speaks with CNN Chief Investigative Correspondent Pamela Brown about her new documentary examining Christian nationalism, the rise of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), and the growing influence of Idaho pastor Doug Wilson. Brown discusses her viral interview with Wilson, her reporting from Moscow, Idaho, and how Christian Reconstructionist theology is gaining mainstream political visibility. ...

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the spectacle and subtext of the recent State of the Union. While the speech itself felt predictable—long on grievance, short on substance—the real story lies in what surrounded it: questions about presidential mental acuity, the resurfacing of Epstein-related controversies, renewed attacks on Hillary Clinton, and escalating federal retaliation against so-called “blue states” like Minnesota. Brad and Dan expl...

Josh Hawley argues that men are called to be fathers, and that fatherhood is defined by sacrificing oneself. But is it? Should it be? Why does high-control religion demand “sacrifice,” and how does Hawley’s account of masculinity reinforce these demands? How does he use this demand for sacrifice to demonize those who don’t share his social vision? And how do appeals to sacrifice mask the interests that lie behind his vision of masculinity? So many questions—take a listen to this week’s episode t...

In this brief episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi dissects a revealing interview between Tucker Carlson and Mike Huckabee, using it as a window into the growing rift inside the MAGA coalition. At the center of the clash is a theological and political divide: Christian Zionism versus a rising strain of Christian anti-semitism - nationalist, isolationist populism that increasingly traffics in anti-Jewish tropes. Brad unpacks how debates over Genesis 15, biblical land claims, and ...

Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and political scientist specializing in gender, religion, and public opinion, joins host Leah Payne, author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music (Oxford University Press, 2024) and host of Spirit & Power: Charismatics & Politics in American Life. In this Sunday interview, Leah Payne talks with Dr. Melissa Deckman about PRRI’s February 2026 release of findings from the 2025 American V...

Doug Wilson’s appearance at a Pentagon prayer service hosted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is more than a symbolic moment—it’s a window into the kind of Christianity being elevated at the highest levels of American power. Wilson, a self-identified Christian nationalist and longtime pastor in Moscow, Idaho, has built an influential religious and media network rooted in a theology that centers male authority, rejects pluralism in the public square, and frames “Christ is King” as a political cl...

Josh Hawley argues that “modern-day Epicureans” abandon all notions of “history, family, home, and tradition.” He argues that without these, humans have no identity, and that these “Epicureans” have no real sense of who they are. But is this true? Does everyone who disagrees with Hawley’s understanding of the human person lack any identity? And do “history, family, home, and tradition” really define us completely? Join Dan for this week’s episode and find out! Subscribe for $3.65: ⁠https://axis...

When the history of this moment is written, Minneapolis may take its place alongside Selma, Stonewall, and Harper’s Ferry—a name synonymous with resistance. In this episode, Matthew Taylor and Susie Hayward return to American Unexceptionalism to reflect on what has unfolded in the Twin Cities over the past two months: mass ICE deployments, escalating authoritarian tactics, and a powerful, community-rooted response. Drawing from the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, they explore what frontline...

Dr. Andrew Whitehead joins Brad Onishi to discuss his groundbreaking research revealing a disturbing connection: Christian nationalism is one of the strongest predictors of discrimination against Americans with disabilities. As the Trump administration slashes protections, funding, and civil rights for disabled people, from dismantling DEIA efforts to appointing RFK Jr. to HHS, this conversation exposes the theological and ideological roots of ableism in the Christian nationalist movement. White...

In this episode of Straight White American, Jesus, we unpack the unraveling of Pam Bondi’s moral rhetoric under the weight of the Epstein files. Bondi once ran campaign ads promising to protect children from trafficking “monsters,” yet when Epstein survivors stood behind her in a hearing room, she refused to turn around and acknowledge them. Pressed about Donald Trump’s and Howard Lutnick’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, she lashed out at questioners and deflected to stock market numbers. The hypocris...

Josh Hawley identifies the defining roles men are called to play in order to exercise their “masculine virtues.” The second of these is that of father. What are the virtues Hawley thinks fathers embody? And are they really virtues that only fathers can embody? And exactly what kind of a man can even be a father? Finally, how do Hawley’s answers to these questions reveal the ideology at work in his account of “manhood”? Join Dan as he answers these questions in this week’s episode. Subscribe for...

In this episode of Straight White American, Jesus, we dig into the disturbing revelation that James Dobson’s name appears among the Epstein files. :Why would Epstein recommend a James Dobson article to a young woman he was grooming—and what does that reveal about Dobson’s theology of family, gender, authority, and forgiveness. Drawing on the work of DL Mayfield and others, the episode unpacks how Dobson’s advice reframes abuse, minimizes male responsibility, and shifts moral and emotional labor ...

In this episode, host Annika Brockschmidt is joined by historian Seth Cotlar, professor at Willamette University, for a deep dive into the long history of right-wing extremism in the United States and how it migrated from the political fringe into the heart of the Republican Party. Drawing on decades of archival research, Cotlar explains how white Christian nationalism, antisemitism, and “blood and soil” ideology have shaped conservative politics far longer than many people realize. Rather than ...

In this Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack the National Prayer Breakfast and what it revealed about the collapsing boundary between religion and state power in the Trump era. They analyze Paula White’s over-the-top praise of Trump, Trump’s own religious illiteracy, and his threats to weaponize tax-exempt status against critics, all while positioning Democrats as incapable of genuine faith. The conversation highlights how these moments reflect a broader push toward state-controlled...

Josh Hawley argues that America’s restoration can only come as men develop and exercise their unique, God-given masculine virtues and the play their assigned roles in society (the first of these is husband). This is a patriarchal vision of America that most Americans would reject, so he softens the presentation of his high-control religious vision to try to make it seem less radical, more inviting, and more inclusive. But by softening his message, he actually shows readers what he most wants to ...

Host Sarah Posner examines Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s escalating campaign to remake the Pentagon in the image of a militant, hyper-masculine Christian nationalism—from dismantling small-business contracting as “DEI,” to purging diversity programs, hosting monthly Christian prayer meetings inside the Pentagon, and framing U.S. military power as divinely sanctioned. As Trump rattles the global order with threats against NATO allies and Greenland, Posner traces how Hegseth’s theology and poli...

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad is joined by Sarah Moslener, author of After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America and creator of the Pure White podcast. Together, they explore purity culture not as a narrow fixation on teenage abstinence, but as a powerful religious and political system that has long shaped ideas of belonging in the United States. Moslener traces purity culture back to 19th-century slavery, Victorian gender norms, and Protestant theol...

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi—author of American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy —is joined by co-host Dan Miller, Professor of Religion and Social Thought at Landmark College. They begin by unpacking the ongoing ICE operations in Minnesota, framing the federal crackdown as a clash between authoritarian state power and a deeply organized, nonviolent response by ordinary Minnesotans. Drawing on political theory and on-the-gr...

Like many right-wing commentators, Josh Hawley argues that men’s use of pornography represents one of the most significant and pervasive social ills plaguing American society. What dangers does he believe pornography poses? And what does this fear of pornography reveal about the religious ideology expressed in his thought? What do his views reveal for us about American high-control religion? Check out this week’s episode to find out! Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays...