In this lively and fun dialogue, this week's guest, Timber Hawkeye shares why Buddhism attracted him most - that is, Buddhism didn't pretend to have answers. We discuss how to have conversations with people who see things differently than we do; how "to love more people, not less"; the concept of where we get the foundation of our moral ethical structure and, as Timber said, "I don't care if you get it from Jesus or Buddha or your Aunt Bettie"; how "the word 'should' is the most hostile word in our language"; and, of course, we get into Timber's fascinating journey among so much more.
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of BUDDHIST BOOT CAMP; FAITHFULLY RELIGIONLESS; and the recently released THE OPPOSITE OF NAMASTE. His books and the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast offer a secular and non-sectarian approach to being at peace with the world (both within and around us), with the intention to awaken, enlighten, enrich and inspire.
www.buddhistbootcamp.com/
www.buddhistbootcamp.com/books

In this special episode, Lori Adams-Brown and Corey talk a great deal about Lori and her husband Jason's experience with spiritual abuse while working at Echo Church under Pastor Andy Wood. In an astonishing turn of events, Wood was hired as Rick Warren's successor at megachurch Saddleback. (To this date, Saddleback has not reversed - one could say "repented of" - their decision to hire Andy Wood. In fact, the tactics the church leaders have deployed to dismiss the charges and even vilify those who've come forward with credible accounts of abuse is chilling.)
But that's not all we discussed. We also covered Lori's remarkable background having grown up as a "missionary kid" in different parts of the world; her incredible experience over the course of many years aiding in disaster relief; how Lori is now helping others through her coaching and mentoring practice; ways we Christians can decolonize through "cultural humility"; how certain churches pressure or coerce exiting employees into signing Non-Disclosure Agreements (aka NDAs); how systems in the Evangelical Industrial Complex are designed for narcissists to come in; and so much more.
Lori Adams-Brown is a combination of international speaker, business executive, podcaster, and relief and development expert. She hosts a wonderful podcast called A World of Difference, celebrating humanity’s unique differences and encouraging us all to make a difference around the world.  Since growing up in international schools in Costa Rica and Venezuela, Lori has spent her career working in Indonesia, Singapore and the San Francisco Bay Area.  She worked in disaster relief in the 2004 Indonesian tsunami where she consulted with the UN coordination efforts, and she has spoken to audiences all over the U.S. and all around the world.  Lori also speaks 6 languages, and brings a rare multicultural perspective to all her work.
www.loriadamsbrown.com
a-world-of-difference.captivate.fm
julieroys.com/former-staffers-expose-bullying-rick-warren-successor-andy-wood/
religionnews.com/2022/08/01/church-conflict-or-spiritual-abuse-saddleback-echo-wood-driscoll-reyes/

Much of our conversation with Dr. Paul D. Miller is about his recent book THE RELIGION OF AMERICAN GREATNESS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM. Over the course of our talk, we do a deep dive into the very definition of Nationalism and Christian Nationalism; the difference between tribal evangelicalism and biblical Christianity; how jazz was used as an example by Rich Lowry of National Review to make an argument FOR Nationalism that Dr. Miller then uses to make quite a thorough argument AGAINST Nationalism; the particular chauvinism of Christian Nationalists; the blasphemy of the insurrectionists who invoked God's name in the midst of a terrorist attack on January 6th; and, yes, we did talk about what Professor Miller meant when he said he would not want to live in a country where drag queens were barred by law from going to the library or hosting an event. 
Dr. Miller is a political theorist and political scientist focusing on international affairs, the American experiment, and America’s role in the world. Previously, he spent a decade in public service as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the National Security Council staff under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. He was also an intelligence analyst for the CIA and a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. He is currently a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Georgetown University. He is also a research fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a visiting professor with the American Enterprise Institute’s Initiative on Faith and Public Life. Dr. Miller writes widely on international affairs, political theory, religion and public life, and film and culture. In addition to his most recent book, The Religion of American Greatness, he is also the author of Just War and Ordered Liberty; American Power and Liberal Order; and Armed State Building. More of his writing has appeared in the Washington Post, The New Republic, Mere Orthodoxy, The American Interest, The World Affairs Journal and quite a few other publications. Dr. Miller holds a PhD in international relations and a BA in government from Georgetown, and a master in public policy from Harvard University.
https://www.pauldavidmiller.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Religion-American-Greatness-Christian-Nationalism-ebook/dp/B09MSNPQZ4/

Danny Cevallos is a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC and co-founder of the law firm Cevallos & Wong, LLP. He focuses his practice in the areas of state, federal, and territorial criminal defense and civil litigation. Danny also handles wrongful conviction and malicious prosecution cases; he has handled a number of high profile cases in the federal, state, and territorial courts, ranging from white collar criminal matters to first-degree murder cases; and you may have previously seen him as a Legal Analyst at CNN, HLN and TruTV and as a regular on shows such as Erin Burnett OutFront and AC 360 with Anderson Cooper. But perhaps most impressive is Danny’s distinction as a 7x winner of a 10 out of 10 rating on Rate my Skype Room!
We dove into a number of the pressing legal issues at center stage in our politics including "the real story" of the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade; the legal doctrine of "substantive due process" and whether cases pertaining to same sex marriage, contraception and sexual intimacy by same sex couples will come into question; the Texas statute that deputizes the entire citizenry of the state as a means of enforcing abortion restrictions; whether or not the conservative Justices on the Court want to be in the business of making law; the effectiveness of the January 6th hearings; and what's at the core of the criminality of Trump's actions pertaining to Jan. 6th. We also discuss a highly recommended podcast called WHY DON'T WE KNOW with host Sara Ganim; and we even talk about how everyone in Corey's family (including Corey!) has a crush on Anderson Cooper.
https://dannycevallos.com/
https://cevalloswong.com/
https://whydontweknow.com/

Miles Taylor served in the White House, initially in the George W. Bush administration and then later during Donald Trump’s presidency. He was brought into the Department of Homeland Security as a Senior Advisor to General John Kelly and then became Chief of Staff of that Department under Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Miles is also known as “Anonymous” - the writer of the infamous New York Times OpEd and later the bestselling book A Warning, sounding the alarm about the chaos of the Trump White House and the amorality of Trump himself. Miles later contributed to the efforts of Republican Voters Against Trump and then went on to Co-found and is the Executive Director of the Renew America Movement, an organization committed to supporting principled Democrats, Republicans and Independents in the upcoming elections as well as shedding light on extremist candidates who are a danger to our democracy.
In this candid conversation we discuss how surreal the extremism that dominates political engagement today would have seemed 10 years ago; his concern about the looming threat of political assassinations; the reality that the universe doesn't "bend" but that "we bend it"; his advocacy for democratic reforms such as ranked choice voting and open primaries; how different the Trump Administration was compared with the George W. Bush (or any other) Administration; how Donald Trump turned the Oval Office into an echo chamber; and much more.
renewamericamovement.com
www.nytimes.com/2018/09/05/opinion/trump-white-house-anonymous-resistance.html
www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL2GR4G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
rvat.org

Ali Noorani is a Fellow at the Arizona State University Social Transformation Lab and the new program director for U.S. Democracy at the Hewlett Foundation and author of “There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration” and his new book “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants.” Previously, Ali served as president & chief executive officer of the National Immigration Forum for 14 years. Ali has appeared in the majority of mainstream television, radio and print outlets and is a regular speaker at conferences and campuses across the country. Having worked with faith, law enforcement and business leaders to promote the value of immigrants and immigration, Ali is known as one of the nation’s most creative coalition builders. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, holds a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University and is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.
We discuss a number of pressing issues including when Latino support peaked for Democrats and why they've begun losing significant percentages of that support; how the National Immigration Forum appealed to conservatives and moderates during the Trump era on immigration issues based on conservatives' values; he shares that the point of our immigration policy, at times, has been cruelty, but by depriving others of their dignity, it's a reflection of our own dignity; he talks about outreach they did with Evangelical women, how they were asking tough questions about immigration but didn't have a place to explore those questions; how to have grace in conversations across differences; and much more.
https://alinoorani.org/
https://alinoorani.org/crossing-borders/
https://hewlett.org/

Rick Wilson, co-founder of The Lincoln Project, knows today's Republican Party better than just about anyone from having run GOP campaigns for decades. But Rick was an early and vocal critic of Donald Trump which ultimately cost him a great deal in the Trump era. He also co-founded @ProjectLincoln to help defeat Trump in 2020. We discuss all that as well as how TLP addressed the problems that were revealed about the organization in late 2020. We also talk about what Democrats need to do in 2022 and beyond.
Rick Wilson is a renowned Republican political strategist and infamous negative ad maker getting his start on Connie Mack’s Senate campaign in 1988 as well as on the Presidential campaign of George H.W. Bush that same year. Since that time he’s been the key advisor to political candidates, SuperPACS, state parties and the national campaign committees. Rick is also a writer, speaker and commentator who regularly appears on national news networks including CNN and MSNBC, shows such as Real Time with Bill Maher, and has had columns published in The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, Politico, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Hill and The Bulwark among others. Rick is also the author of Everything Trump Touches Dies (a NYT #1 bestseller) and Running Against the Devil which came out in January of 2020.
Shoutout to our friends at The Village Square right in Rick's neck of the woods, Tallahassee, FL. They have a great podcast called Village SquareCast.
www.therickwilson.com/about/
https://lincolnproject.us/
https://tlh.villagesquare.us/squarecast/
https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson
https://twitter.com/projectlincoln
https://twitter.com/VillageSquareFL
 

Will Saletan, writer for THE BULWARK, came in for a conversation about a range of issues including what's really important; how the scientific method compares with our political way of behaving; how traffic rewards the wings; the culture of authority; recognizing our biases; the proclivity of deploying rhetoric in bad faith; the significance of what's happening in Ukraine; why he made the move from SLATE to the THE BULWARK; and how his own writing process has evolved.
William Saletan wrote for SLATE for 25 years contributing over 2,700 pieces for the daily online magazine. He’s also the author of BEARING RIGHT: HOW CONSERVATIVES WON THE ABORTION WAR. Will is now a writer at THE BULWARK who, as he says, questions everything.