Episodes

What does it look like to spend 25 years covering a story you wish you could stop covering — and still refuse to despair? Gustavo Arellano is an LA Times columnist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and the son of two Mexican immigrants. In this conversation he covers the Trump deportation machine, Rancho Libertarianism, why Americans hate Mexicans but love Mexican food, and what it actually looks like to stay in relationship across political difference. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates,...

What does it cost a person to go unseen? And what does it ask of us to truly see one another? In this solo reflection, Corey Nathan explores the moral weight of being seen and the deliberate cruelty of being made invisible. From Marilynne Robinson's Lila to Muhammad Ali's thundering "What's my name?" to Mother Teresa's gaze upon the discarded, this episode traces a thread that runs through literature, history, jazz, and the headlines of this particular moment. When Attorney General Pam Bondi tu...

How do we rebuild the social fabric of our neighborhoods and congregations in an age of disconnection and division? In this episode, Pastor Amy Schenkel joins Corey to talk about what it means to be a "weaver" in your own community. From a front-yard picnic table that became a neighborhood gathering place to decades of church planting in downtown Grand Rapids, Amy brings a grounded, practical theology of neighboring that cuts across political and religious lines. Along the way, she and Corey exp...

A Note for TP&R Listeners From time to time, it helps to talk about something other than politics in order to understand politics. Sports is one of the last shared civic spaces where identity, loyalty, disagreement, trash talk, and even tribalism can play out without destroying relationships. In other words, many of the same human instincts we explore on Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other show up in a baseball season just as clearly as they do in an election season. So tod...

How do we balance free speech, platform accountability, and democratic integrity when technology moves faster than policy? In this episode, Katie Harbath, the "election whisperer to the tech industry," joins Corey Nathan to discuss the impossible trade-offs facing social media platforms, the evolving landscape of AI and misinformation, and what it means to "panic responsibly" in an era of rapid technological change. Katie spent a decade at Facebook as a policy director managing elections globa...

In Davos last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney lamented what he called “the end of a pleasant fiction.” That notion has is hard to fathom yet impossible to ignore. For decades, the United States did not merely wield power. It framed power in moral terms. Legitimacy. Integrity. Rules. Whether we always lived up to those words is one question. Whether we still speak them with credibility is another. In this solo reflection, Corey Nathan explores what it means when America is no longer t...

How do we learn to see one another as human again in a moment shaped by fear, fragmentation, and outrage? In this episode, photographer, author, and storyteller John Noltner joins Corey Nathan as part of TP&R’s ongoing Weavers series in partnership with Weave: The Social Fabric Project. John’s work spans five continents and centers on a simple but demanding conviction: storytelling and art can help restore trust, dignity, and connection in a divided world. From Minneapolis in the midst of natio...

Most people imagine themselves as the ones who would have resisted. The ones who would have spoken up. The ones who would have refused to go along. History tends to tell a different story. In this episode, Corey Nathan explores how anonymity subtly yet significantly reshapes moral responsibility. Not all at once, and not dramatically, but steadily. What begins as distance or abstraction often ends as permission. Permission to flatten, dismiss, or dehumanize without fully reckoning with the human...

How do societies decide which stories to tell about themselves and which truths to soften or ignore? In this episode, historian, communications strategist, and Freedom Over Fascism host Dr. Stephanie Wilson joins Corey Nathan to discuss collective memory, historical narrative, and the language shaping American civic life right now. Drawing on her academic work on Jerusalem, her experience in political communications, and her current focus on democracy and messaging, Stephanie explores how myths...

Where do we actually place ourselves in the stories we tell about courage, faith, and power? In this solo episode, Corey reflects on how individuals and communities locate themselves within history, scripture, and national memory. The temptation, especially among those shaped by religious or moral traditions, is to imagine oneself as prophetic rather than complicit, as a resister rather than an enabler. History, however, is rarely judged by intention or self identification. It is judged by outco...

What does it mean to live in an age where disorder is no longer a temporary crisis but a permanent condition? Corey is joined by Jason Pack, a geopolitical analyst and founder of Libya Analysis, to discuss global instability, institutional decay, and what Jason calls the Enduring Disorder. Drawing on experiences spanning post-9/11 Middle East policy, Libya’s fragile political landscape, and years of work with NATO affiliated institutions, Jason argues that the world has moved beyond the post Col...

Why a ballgame can become a ritual and how shared attention carries meaning across generations. In this solo episode, Corey reflects on a conversation with his oldest child that began with skepticism about sports and opened into something deeper. Calls to Action: ✅ If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder that disagreement doesn’t have to mean dehumanization. ✅ Check out our Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spo...

What happens when political labels lose their meaning and institutions begin to forfeit public trust? Corey is joined by Matt Lewis to reflect on how American politics arrived at its current moment and why many of the warnings raised a decade ago now feel unavoidable. The conversation coincides with the ten year anniversary of Matt’s book Too Dumb to Fail, which examined the rise of populism, intellectual decay, and the erosion of conservative principles long before Trump reshaped the political ...

Today’s episode is a little different. From time to time on Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other, it feels right to widen the lens and explore the cultural spaces where identity, community, leadership, and rivalry show up in everyday life. Sports is one of those spaces. In this crossover episode, Corey shares a conversation from his new weekly show, East Meets West Sports, co-hosted with longtime broadcast journalist Rick Garcia. The discussion blends NFL playoff analysis, coll...

What happens when a nation debates whether it has a moral obligation to intervene in the suffering of others — and who gets to decide? Corey is joined by Pulitzer Prize–finalist historian and bestselling author H.W. Brands, Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, to explore the moral, political, and human tensions behind one of the most consequential debates in American history. The conversation centers on Professor Brands’ latest book, America First: Roosevel...

What happens when global power politics collide with lived human suffering — and who gets centered in the story? This conversation was recorded in the immediate aftermath of dramatic U.S. military action in Venezuela and amid rising concerns about immigration enforcement and political violence in the United States. If you’re joining us via Pocket Casts, welcome — this show brings journalists, scholars, and public thinkers together for conversations across disagreement without turning each other...

This conversation was recorded in December, in the aftermath of a deadly antisemitic attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Australia and before subsequent escalations by the Trump administration, including actions involving Venezuela. If you’re joining us via Pocket Casts, welcome—this show brings journalists, scholars, and public figures together for conversations across disagreement without turning each other into caricatures and shouting past one another. Former Congressman Joe Walsh returns to...

Bishop Mary Glasspool models what it looks like to live one’s convictions with courage, humility, and grace — this “Best Of” episode reminds us that pluralism is not an abstraction, but a practice. Best Of TP&R As we close out the year, we’re resurfacing a small handful of conversations from the Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other archive that best reflect what this show exists to do: create space for thoughtful disagreement, moral seriousness, and the hard work of living tog...

E.J. Dionne brings moral clarity and humility to the hardest questions in public life — this “Best Of” episode reminds us what real dialogue can be. Best Of TP&R As we close out the year, we’re resurfacing a small handful of conversations from the Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other archive that best reflect what this show exists to do: create space for thoughtful disagreement, moral seriousness, and the hard work of living together in a pluralistic democracy. In this Best o...

Best Of TP&R As we close out the year, we’re resurfacing a small handful of conversations from the Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other archive that best reflect what this show exists to do: create space for thoughtful disagreement, moral seriousness, and the hard work of living together in a pluralistic democracy. This conversation with Jonathan Rauch and Liz Joyner stands out as a true highlight — not just because of the ideas discussed, but because of the spirit in which t...

A conversation worth revisiting. Mónica Guzmán’s work captures the spirit of Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other at its best: fearlessly curious, deeply humane, and committed to bridging divides without sacrificing conviction. In this Best of TP&R episode, Corey revisits his wide-ranging and deeply grounded conversation with Mónica Guzmán — journalist, author of I Never Thought of It That Way, Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, and one of the most trusted voic...

A raw, reflective journey through the political upheavals, personal reckonings, and hard-won hope of 2025. Episode Summary Corey takes us on a tour of 2025’s most pivotal moments—both in politics and in his own life. He recounts the Trump administration’s controversial actions, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and civic responses like the No Kings Rallies. Interwoven are deeply personal stories: Corey’s mental health struggles, the loss of a friendship, and a psychotic break that led to cruci...

A Weaver’s Journey of Art, Advocacy, and Belonging — from WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project In this edition of our special Weavers series, we sit down with Nikki Harris—fiber artist, mother, advocate, and community connector from Baltimore, Maryland. Through art and action, Nikki embodies what it means to weave the social fabric. She shares her journey from self-taught fiber artist to founding HGE Designs, and from 911 dispatcher to autism advocate with Pathfinders for Autism. This conversation ...

A deeply clarifying conversation about fear, faith, and how Christians can reclaim a healthier way of engaging in public life. In this ICYMI release, Corey revisits his thoughtful and timely dialogue with Curtis Chang—public theologian, founder of Redeeming Babel, and co-creator (with David French, Dr. Russell Moore and Nancy French) of The After Party, a project devoted to healing the political fractures tearing churches and friendships apart. Curtis explains why so much of our modern polariz...