Episodes

We are joined in this episode by Writer, Producer, Actor and Mentor, LARRY WILMORE! We discussed what drew Larry to comedy, writing, acting and producing; and, yes, we did talk about the WGA strike; why, as a kid, he was compelled by the work of such greats as Houdini, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers and Flip Wilson; rebounding from professional setbacks and keeping a healthy mindset; his thoughts on the "TP&R question" - how to be better at talking about politics and religion across our differ...

First, can we talk about polling? Todd Rose can! Todd and his team at Populace are figuring out how to do better surveys to get more accurate information. No, really. It’s all about methodology. And wow, do they have some surprising and encouraging takeaways! In particular, WE’RE NOT REALLY AS DIVIDED SO MUCH AS WE THINK WE’RE DIVIDED. So how much are the loudest, most extreme voices driving the conversation in public spaces? And how many of the rest of us are self-silencing? What about COLLECTI...

Tim Keller and Michael Gerson were both at the top of the list of guests we wanted to have on TP&R. Sadly we lost both gentlemen within the last year. Mike passed away last November and Tim died in May of this year. But we’re lucky to have Jonathan Rauch and Pete Wehner for this conversation because they were all friends and had a big impact on each other’s lives. Timothy Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. As Sam Roberts described him in The New York Times, T...

Jonathan Rauch and Pete Wehner both return to the TP&R pod. Only this time we get them together! For a little background, Jon and Pete have a number of fundamental differences (eg. Jon is an atheist and Pete is a devout Christian); yet, they also happen to be good friends. So the conversation was flowing before we even hit record. We were discussing Pete's recent essay in THE ATLANTIC "Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind." We discussed pervasive cognitive dissonance, specifi...

"What the hell are you talkin' about?!?!" Have you ever yelled that at the Thanksgiving table when someone in the family said something about politics? Or when you're hanging out with friends? Or at your church or synagogue? Or at a PTA meeting? Okay, if you haven't yelled it out loud, have you thought it? Really passionately? What about online? Come on, you know you've had those moments when you saw what a friend or relative said on social media and you just wanted to say, in one way or another...

In this interview, we discuss how Al Cardenas developed his conservative views and why he became a Republican; his personal story of arriving in the U.S. from Cuba all the way to running for Congress and joining the Reagan Administration; some of the ways he helped the Republican Party gain so much ground in Florida politics; why he voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and when he began to question whether he could support him any longer; at what point he got involved in No-Labels and the Problem Solv...

What was it like for Jennifer Rubin (of The Washington Post and Jen Rubin's Green Room) to be one of the first conservatives to come out publicly against the candidacy of Donald Trump? What about being the subject of one of Trump's attacks on Twitter? How does one go from making a case for neoconservative positions to aligning more consistently with centrist Democratic policies? Was it really such an evolution? Or has the political climate around us changed more radically? What about the career ...

Journalistic integrity. How can individual reporters and news outlets uphold their professional ethics? Is it possible in today's environment? How can a journalist get a coveted interview, yet be fair without it becoming a hit job or a puff piece? Is it any different now than 5 or 10 or 25+ years ago, when our guest Bob Cusack of THE HILL first entered the business? What is it like interviewing Donald Trump (which Bob has done 4 times)? How can reporters be equipped to deal with attacks from a s...

"What's your source?" That's the question former Congressman Denver Riggleman will often ask in order to cut through the walls that divide people - whether it's patrons who visit Silverback Distillery that he and his wife own, his former constituents from when he was a U.S. Congressman in Virginia's 5th, or even friends and family who object to his record of taking independent stances against the MAGA wing of his former political party. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation like how he ...

Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several hard follow up questions. We asked Steve if, as a conservative, he could have a political mulligan b...

In this conversation with renowned speaker, writer, activist and artist, Lisa Sharon Harper, we discuss Lisa's own genealogy, which she painstakingly researched for her 2022 book FORTUNE: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All, and how doing the work of genealogy is doing the work of history. We also got into some theology! In particular, we explored a profound reading of the first chapters of Genesis. Spoiler alert: I love when Lisa said, "It doesn't take a rocket scien...

"What's your source?" That's the question former Congressman Denver Riggleman will often ask in order to cut through the walls that divide people - whether it's patrons who visit Silverback Distillery that he and his wife own, his former constituents from when he was a U.S. Congressman in Virginia's 5th, or even friends and family who object to his record of taking independent stances against the MAGA wing of his former political party. We cover a lot of ground in this conversation like how he ...

We’ve all kind of grown accustomed to Instagram takeovers and other stunty maneuvers to grab attention, but a podcast takeover? I think that’s still kind of a rarity. But Corey Nathan is a rare breed. So, I suppose it isn’t really a surprise that when I contacted him a week ago and asked if we could do a reading of my play LOVE & HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID as a special edition of Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other on May 11 to commemorate the end of the COVID-19 Public Health ...

Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several hard follow up questions. We asked Steve if, as a conservative, he could have a political mulligan b...

This is a special presentation of TOP OF MIND WITH JULIE ROSE which is about "becoming better citizens, kinder neighbors and more effective advocates." Here are the show notes on this episode from our friends at TOP OF MIND: About 45,000 Americans died from gun violence in 2022. A similar number died the year before. About half of those deaths are gun suicides. The other half are gun homicides. Mass shootings tend to capture the most attention and outrage, but they’re just a small fraction of t...

In this episode, we have two friends who hold many different political views. Corey brought in his pal Darren Harkins to see if they could talk about "politics and religion without killin' eacb other." Despite their differences, they remain good buddies and have learned to navigate conversations that could easily turn heated. Today, they discuss their differences and how they maintain their friendship despite their political disagreements. Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other ...

Over the last month in Nashville TN, the hope for better gun laws, LGBTQ rights and even democracy itself all seem to be on the line. We're joined on this episode by Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza and Quinn Joy Bacon, both of whom are activists, organizers and theologians based in Nashville, Tennessee. There are a number of issues that are all at the forefront of what's been happening since 6 people were killed in a mass shooting at a school in the Nashville area. The "Tennessee 3" were engaging in n...

For this edition, we welcome back Pete Dominick, the host of Stand Up! with Pete Dominick. In the second half of our conversation (approx. 50 minutes in), Pete and Corey discuss a major disagreement they had a few months ago. It's about whether someone who identifies with one party - Republican or Democrat - can even fathom the possibility of voting for a candidate from the other political party. It's a barn burner. Not quite like any conversation we've had on the program so far. Let us know wha...

In this episode, we're joined by special co-host, writer, producer, storyteller, Kim Yaged as we speak with Emeritus Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin, Robert Jensen. Many people say they are "spiritual but not religious." Bob says he's "religious but not spiritual" - and that's just to start! He also identifies as a "good ole' lefty materialist." We discuss his radical feminist critique of the transgender movement; a broader critique of "the Le...

Our guest on this episode of TP&R is Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institutue. We dive into the nitty gritty of a number of PRRI's recent reports including More Acceptance but Growing Polarization on LGBTQ Rights (3/23/23); Abortion Attitudes in a Post-Roe World (2/23/23); A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture (2/8/23) as well as the subject her academic work and books Tea Party Women: Mama Grizzlies, Gr...

This is a special BONUS EPISODE of Village SquareCast. Here are the show notes from our friends at The Village Square: "When Daryl Davis was ten, he didn’t understand hate yet. But then he was the only black scout in a parade to honor Paul Revere’s ride to Concord, when he began getting hit by bottles. It was then that he formed a question in his mind that he’s spent much of a lifetime answering: 'How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?' Failing to find his answer in books and history,...

In this edition, we're joined by former U.S. Attorney, Co-host of the wonderful podcast #SistersInLaw and Legal Analyst for NBC News, Barbara McQuade. We, of course, discussed prominent legal cases such as Dominion Voting's defamation case against Fox News; Moore vs. Harper, the North Carolina case pertaining to voting law that tests the "independent state legislature theory"; the numerous cases against Donald Trump and which ones should concern him the most. We also discussed what it's like be...

What are the most pressing concerns about the future of the American experiment and Democracy around the world? How can one person impact the many complex systems going on in the world? How can we better understand what's broken in our democracy? How can we work together to fix it? In what ways can we use the emerging medium of podcasting to explore these questions and help come up with solutions? The Democracy Group is a network of podcasts that is united around the goal of answering these ques...

This was an eye-opening conversation with Shawnee-Lenape Scholar and Author Steven T. Newcomb whose work examines Christendom’s legacy of domination and dehumanization that has resulted in the near destruction of thousands of years of spiritual and ecological wisdom developed by indigenous peoples and nations. We discussed how much of the history and culture of original nations and peoples was systematically smothered and ultimately lost; how cutting a people off from their traditional teaching...