Episodes

Josiah Hesse grew up in northern Iowa during the farm crisis of the 1980s, a moment of economic collapse, rising poverty, and quiet desperation across the rural Midwest. In this episode, he joins Straight White American, Jesus to talk about his new memoir, On Fire for God: Fear, Shame, Poverty, and the Making of the Christian Right. Through his family’s story—parents who poured everything into a prosperity-gospel church, even giving dollar-for-dollar what they earned—Hesse traces how faith, trau...

Straight White American Jesus digs into the Minnesota church protest that’s been framed as “anti-Christian”—and explains why that framing collapses on contact. Brad Onishi and Dan Miller connect the dots between City’s Church, ICE, Doug Wilson’s theological orbit, and the ideology behind The Sin of Empathy, showing how a strain of Christian nationalism produces pastors who see no contradiction between pulpit ministry and state violence. What looks like an isolated protest turns out to be part of...

Josh Hawley identifies six roles that men are called to play. The first is that of “husband.” But what, exactly does that mean? And what is the point or purpose of marriage? For Hawley, marriage holds the promise of countering all the evils that confront contemporary American society. But who, exactly, is called to play this role of husband? And how can marriage possibly be everything Hawley says that it is? And perhaps most importantly, why does he argue that marriage is so significant? Listen ...

MLK Day, Postliberalism, and the Assault on Civil Rights On Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026, Brad Onishi reflects on the legacy of civil rights in a moment when those rights are under unprecedented threat, one year into Donald Trump’s second term. From Trump’s humiliating and dangerous letter asserting U.S. control over Greenland to the escalation of ICE abuses in Minnesota, this episode argues that the core idea of civil rights—inalienable human dignity promised to all—has entered a period of o...

Brad and Dan examine the escalating ICE presence in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Goode, situating the operation within a broader pattern of authoritarian governance under the Trump administration. They unpack how federal immigration enforcement has begun to resemble occupation style tactics, including minimal vetting of ICE agents, sweeping immunity claims for officers, and the use of overwhelming force in civilian spaces. Drawing on historical parallels to fascist regimes a...

Josh Hawley offers us a story about men, masculinity, and American society. But his patriarchal vision, with its appeals to Rome and medieval Christendom, is not a popular story—it’s not a story that most Americans are eager to hear. So how does Hawley try to make that story more attractive? How does he make it feel more inviting and reasonable? He does it the same way other storytellers might—he creates antagonists that an audience will hate and fear. Check out this week’s episode to hear more....

In this episode of Straight White American, Jesus, Brad Onishi kicks off 2026 by unpacking a new framework that helps make sense of the escalating cruelty, chaos, and seemingly self-destructive moves of the Trump administration—from ICE violence in Minnesota to threats against Greenland and Venezuela. Drawing on a recent paper by scholars Stacey Goddard and Abraham Newman, Brad introduces “neo-royalism”: a vision of power that rejects democracy in favor of loyalty to a sovereign, enforced by pol...

Brad returns from a two week break to examine three disturbing stories that reveal how authoritarian power is expanding in the United States and how empathy is being systematically stripped from public life. He begins with the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, a white American poet and mother shot by an ICE officer during an operation. The administration’s response was marked by complete indifference, with officials offering no compassion for Good or her family and JD Vance asserting ...

In this special episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi is joined by the Reverend Angela Denker to discuss the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE in Minneapolis on January 7th. As video footage circulates and national leaders offer sharply conflicting accounts—from Minnesota officials describing an unjustified killing to figures like JD Vance and Kristi Noem framing it as lawful self-defense—the episode centers on the human cost of gaslighting and state-sanctioned violence. Denker...

Josh Hawley wants us to believe that his vision of manhood and masculinity comes from the Bible, and specifically from its first book, Genesis. But does it? If it’s supposed to come from Genesis, why does he spend so much time talking about people like the ancient Romans and King Arthur? And if he’s being “biblical,” why does he talk about topics that just aren’t in the biblical text, like “leadership” and “representation”? In this episode, Dan decodes how Hawley actually uses the Bible to expla...

Subscribe to Reign of Error: https://redcircle.com/shows/fbed712f-0027-40af-a33b-fd9de05efc5c In this special episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad introduces Reign of Error, a new investigative series hosted by journalist Sarah Posner. The pilot episode, titled “The Gospel of Deportation: Why Christian Nationalists Love ICE,” sets the tone for the series by examining how Christian nationalist theology is shaping immigration policy, public rhetoric, and the use of state power. Brad join...

Dan Miller examines how the Trump administration is beginning 2026 and what recent policy decisions reveal about its priorities. Dan breaks down the administration’s signature “one big beautiful bill,” its continued unpopularity, and the GOP’s insistence that the problem is messaging rather than substance. The episode also explores why widely supported policies like ACA subsidies, childcare funding, and disaster relief continue to be undermined, while legislation consistently favors the wealthy...

Is the slogan, “stand for the flag, kneel for the cross” a harmless expression of the conviction that good Christians can also be good citizens? Or if we decode it, do we find that a meaning that’s much more pernicious than that? In this episode, Dan argues that this slogan is an expression of Christian nationalism, giving voice to anti-Black racism and licensing election denial and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episo...

Brad revisits the idea that exvangelicals are just broke and giving up on faith. He responds to an interview at the Remnant Radio with Skillet's John Cooper. Topics discussed: Do non-Evangelicals allow culture to shape them, while Evangelicals allow Scripture to be the formative influence? Is Truth all or nothing? Why are Evangelicals so upset when exvies "share the Gospel" of their deconstruction? Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad...

In this special episode, Brad introduces an audio essay by Matt Taylor titled 'The Colonized God.' Taylor, known for his work on the New Apostolic Reformation, explores the complex relationship between Christians who are not Christian nationalists and Christian supremacists, who use Christianity to gain power and marginalize others. The essay delves into how different interpretations of Jesus' teachings can divide communities and the impact of Christian supremacy on contemporary American politic...

Who “owns” Christmas? When Christians tell non-Christians that they need to “remember the reason for the season,” or accuse them of engaging in a “war on Christmas,” do they have a right to do so? Is Christmas “theirs” just because it originated as a Christian religious holiday? In this episode, Dan argues that American Christians made Christmas a mainstream part of American culture, a dimension of general Americana, and that as a result they no longer have a claim on the holiday or the right to...

In this end-of-year episode of Straight White American, Jesus, Brad Onishi steps away from headlines, interviews, and analysis to offer something closer to a sermon—a reflection shaped by grief, exhaustion, and defiance at the close of 2025. Naming this past year as the hardest in the life of the show, Brad traces the weight of watching democratic erosion, state violence, and everyday cruelty unfold alongside ordinary life: birthday parties, school pickups, conversations about weather and sports...

Dan Miller unpacks how Republican policy and ideology are converging around harm rather than governance. He begins with healthcare, breaking down how congressional action allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to lapse and what that means for millions of Americans who rely on them. Rather than offering alternatives, the GOP continues to frame healthcare through an ideological lens that treats public support as illegitimate, even when the human cost is clear. From there, Dan traces the familiar s...

Josh Hawley suggests that men are tasked with being “leaders.” But what does that mean for him? In what ways does he mix and match his terms to mask his real understanding of leadership and masculinity? And how does it bring to light the ways he presents a caricature of anyone who would question his vision of masculinity? Check out this week’s episode to find out. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus content most Mondays, bonus episodes every month, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1...

Brad sits down with Dr. Rachel Wagner, Professor of Religious Studies at Ithaca College and author of Cowboy Apocalypse, for a sobering and necessary conversation about why guns hold such powerful meaning in American life. Prompted by recent mass shootings, the episode explores how firearms have become more than tools or political symbols and instead function as sacred objects tied to religion, masculinity, and apocalyptic imagination. Dr. Wagner introduces the idea of the “cowboy apocalypse,” a...

Brad and Dan return to unpack another week of chaos, contradictions, and creeping authoritarianism in American politics. They open with what seems like a small story but carries outsized symbolic weight: the State Department’s decision to ditch Calibri and return to Times New Roman. It’s a font change driven not by aesthetics but by politics, revealing how the Trump administration is using even bureaucratic details to signal exclusion, target accessibility, and roll back DEI efforts. What looks ...

In this special episode of 'Straight White American Jesus,' the host introduces the podcast series 'When We All Get To Heaven,' which chronicles the history of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic. The series, produced by Lynn Gerber and available on Slate, uses an archive of 1200 cassette tape recordings from the church to explore themes of grief, joy, faith, and community amidst the crisis. The episode features reflections from church members, including R...

Josh Hawley argues that “man’s mission” is to combat evil. Defining men in this way makes evil necessary, and it transforms every political, social, and cultural disagreement into a moral conflict of cosmic significance. In this episode, Dan shows how this leads Hawley to distort the “modern culture” and “liberals” he opposes. He also looks at the ways in which Hawley, and those who share his worldview, accuse their opponents of doing exactly the same things they do in practice, and he discusses...

Brad is joined by Alan Elrod, CEO and founder of the Pulaski Institution, for a wide-ranging conversation about what happens to democracy when entertainment values replace empathy. They start with the Olivia Nuzzi scandal and what it exposes about journalistic ethics, voyeurism, and the public’s fascination with watching someone fall apart in real time. From there, Brad and Alan zoom out to look at the rise of reality TV and algorithmic social media, tracing how both have shaped a political cult...