Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

What is an "Evangelical Entrepreneur"? There is a long history of Evangelical Entrepreneurs in this country. We trace a long line of leading figures from the likes of Dwight L. Moody to Billy Sunday to Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell to Paula White and Robert Jeffress. Are there common themes and grievances in the messages of these leaders that we're still hearing today? What are some of the hallmarks of Evangelicalism that led to its close alignment with the Republican Party? What do Evangelicals see in Donald Trump? We explore all that and more in this conversation with David Clary.

David Clary is an award-winning author and news editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. Clary’s latest book is Soul Winners: The Ascent of America’s Evangelical Entrepreneurs, which we discuss at length in this episode. David's previous book, Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America, explores how and why states have encouraged and promoted the expansion of legalized gambling in America. Interestingly, that book was cited five times in the U.S. Supreme Court’s majority opinion that struck down the federal ban on sports gambling in May 2018. Before joining the Union-Tribune in 2002, David worked in a variety of editing and design roles at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. He is a native of Central New York and studied Journalism and PoliSci at Syracuse University.

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

www.davidclaryauthor.com/

julieroys.com/

twitter.com/coreysnathan

We're joined by Lincoln Project Sr. Advisor Stuart Stevens and cover a lot of ground. What have been the 2 dominant genes of the Republican Party going back to post-WWII? And which one won? What does the guy who got more Republican politicians elected than just about anybody think of the state of the Party? What was the 2016 election really about? What are all the baseless claims of election fraud in 2020 really about? How do modern democracies die? How can the Republican Party be cured of all that is wrong with it? What has the Lincoln Project done to address the issues that arose at the end of 2020 and early 2021? What is the Lincoln Project doing now to save our democracy?

Stuart Stevens is a seventh generation Mississippian who has been driven by a fascination and love of politics, film, and writing and has pursued those interests throughout his life. Stuart did a lot of school, having attended Oxford; Middlebury College, UCLA Film School’s MFA program, and the American Film Institute. He is the author of eight books including his latest, published in 2020, It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Esquire, among other publications. He has written extensively for television shows, including Northern Exposure, Commander in Chief, and K Street. For twenty-five years, he was the lead strategist and media consultant for some of the nation’s toughest political campaigns including 5 presidential campaigns. In 4 of those campaigns, his candidate became the nominee. And in 2 of them, they won "the big enchilada". Stuart's had a long time interest in endurance sports which, as he says, he pursues badly. Stuart has been a Senior Advisor with the Lincoln Project since 2020.

https://lincolnproject.us/

https://www.stuartstevens.com/

https://twitter.com/stuartpstevens

bit.ly/itwasallalie

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

Hopefully this conversation with Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis will be as much of a gift to you as it was for me. We explored some deep questions like, What was the failure of the people of Israel around the time of Yeshua ben Yosef? Is our own generation also failing Jesus as Messiah? What does it mean to be a "drum major for peace"? What is the church's culpability in racism? What is ubiquitously God's call on our life - whether we're Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Bantu, Sikh, or any other faith? What does it mean to be a theologian in residence in one's own life?

The REV. DR. JACQUI LEWIS is Senior Minister and Minister for Vision, Worship, and the Arts at Middle Collegiate Church, a church that was founded in 1628 and one of the oldest continuous Protestant congregations in North America; and she is Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Middle Project which, along with Middle Church, hosted fifteen annual conferences to train faith leaders to combat racism, poverty and bigotry by growing multiethnic congregations that work for justice. Rev. Dr. Lewis is a prolific author, her latest book teaches us how to love the hell out of the world. It’s called Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World.

https://jacquijlewis.com/

https://www.middlechurch.org/

https://www.middleproject.org/

https://jacquijlewis.com/fierce-love/

https://twitter.com/RevJacquiLewis

https://www.instagram.com/revjacquilewis/

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

If you're a political junkie like me, this conversation will knock your socks off! Joe Trippi and Mike Madrid, one long time Democratic strategist, one long time Republican strategist discuss how DEMOCRACY IS ON THE BALLOT (and how 67% of BOTH Republicans and Democrats believe this). We also get into how candidates who have huge scandals (clears throat... did someone say "Herschel Walker"?) are able to stay in their races (and sometimes even get a bump!); what a "Bannon line" voter is and how to win them; where the real tossup races are in the House and Senate; what happened to the party that used to stand up to Russia that's now an extension of Putin's propoganda operation; what the most important hidden metric is that no one is paying attention to (Hint: It's neither the generic ballot nor presidential approval); what the best political strategists in the country are doing at this stage of the campaign; and much, much more!

Many know Joe Trippi from his excellent podcast, That Trippi Show. Joe’s been running political campaigns at every level in U.S. politics and even internationally, starting in city politics in Northern California and then jumping into the big leagues on Ted Kennedy’s campaign for the Democratic nomination for President in 1980. Joe’s also been involved in some groundbreaking “bottom up” strategies along the way like when he ran Governor Howard Dean’s grassroots presidential campaign in 2004. More recently, he helped Doug Jones, a Democrat, win the Alabama Senate seat, the first Democrat to get elected to the Senate in Alabama in decades. Joe has also joined Lincoln Project to "build a pro-democracy coalition."

Mike Madrid is a national political strategist, an expert in demographics and Latino politics. Mike’s academic work on Latino politics became the foundation for groundbreaking communications and outreach strategies in California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Later, Mike was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project which played a significant part in defeating Donald Trump. Mike also lectures on race, class and partisanship at USC and he’s a regular contributor on one of our favorite programs Politicology with Ron Steslow. He is the co-host of the excellent and timely podcast The Latino Vote along with Chuck Rocha. Mike also hosts the program Mike Drop on the CallIn app which is then released as a podcast. And most notably, Mike Madrid is the first guest ever to score a hat trick on the TP&R pod!

https://twitter.com/JoeTrippi

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-trippi-show/id1523896927

https://twitter.com/madrid_mike

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latino-vote/id1613279254

https://www.callin.com/show/mike-drop-WBRuydpbns

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

In this conversation with Catherine Manfre, author of the new book Not There Yet: Living Through Egypt, Love and Uncertainty, we discuss how 9/11 shaped Catherine and changed the course of her life; the importance of being an ally against bigotry even in moments when no one else is watching; how to confront prejudice in more productive, persuasive ways; strong women leaders in Egypt who lead their own movement; when the systems that are supposed to be established for justice fail us; how often women need to put their lives and their bodies on the line for what is right (not just in Egypt and the U.S., but in the protests in Iran today); having lived through the revolution in Egypt in 2011, how the events here in the States after the 2020 election leading up to Jan. 6th and beyond really hit hard; how the government in Egypt would use tactics like manipulating the media, finding scapegoats real or imagined, and sparking political violence and how there's an eerie similarity to what some leaders and elected officials have resorted to here in the States; and that if we can't find common ground, it's going to be difficult for us to get through life together as one united country.

Catherine Manfre is a business and strategy advisor and consultant with an MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business and a BA in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies from NYU. She has advised private and public sector organizations on a range of business and management challenges and is passionate about solving the hardest, most difficult problems. She lived in Cairo, Egypt for four years where she learned Arabic, met her husband, and became an Egyptian street food connoisseur. 

Voice of Freedom - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV9UY_8qABY

www.amazon.com/Not-There-Yet-Through-Uncertainty-ebook/dp/B0BDQQTV6P

In this conversation with Reed Howard of the Millennial Action Project we discuss his experience as a millennial who identified as a Republican but then had to figure out how he could move forward in his party in the age of Trump; going to divinity school to study why evangelical voters were so drawn to Donald Trump; the perils of making politics one's religion; how elite level communications tell people how to think and feel about important issues like abortion, same sex marriage and even democracy itself; creating space to have cross-partisan conversations; what Reed really thinks of 3rd party efforts; his concern that if Republicans abandon the Republican Party, it will result in more illiberalism and more of a threat; how folks can get involved in campaigns and their political party; and methods of talking to persuadable voters about supporting candidates and issues they haven't supported in the past.

Reed Howard is the Senior Director of Communications at the Millennial Action Project, which activates young leaders to bridge the partisan divide and transform American politics. Reed is a strategist and practitioner at the intersection of democracy reform, cross-partisan politics, and faith who has advised the nation’s leading nonprofits, political organizations, and public figures on how to engage America’s young people across the political spectrum. Reed led communications at Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service. He worked with Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign to reach Republican voters; he is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Millennial Leadership Network, the Board of Directors for Republican Women for Progress, and the senior leadership team of Principles First. He served as a minister at Central United Methodist Church in downtown Atlanta, and currently serves as a chaplain-in-residence at Georgetown University.

https://twitter.com/ReedHowardVA

https://www.millennialaction.org/

https://twitter.com/MActionProject

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-future-is-faction

Christy Smith is campaigning to represent CA27 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The current Congressman, Republican Mike Garcia won the district in 2020 by 333 votes out of over 340,000 that were cast. Yet Mike’s voting record and public statements while in office have represented only the most extreme MAGA fringe and not the entirety of this very purple district. 

In this conversation with Christy, we discuss a wide range of issues from saving our democratic institutions to student debt relief, environmental issues to education, and we even discuss her position on providing police and first responders with the resources they need. We also discussed the politics of 2022 including how it's different campaigning this year vs. 2020; Christy shares how she's connecting with folks such as college-educated women in her district, many of whom have never voted for a Democrat before; she also specifies ways she's reaching out to another important constituency of CA27, Latinos; and we talk candidly about how her opponent Mike Garcia, despite his campaign promises to be a moderate, has actually governed as an extremist kowtowing only to the MAGA fringe of his Party.

Christy has a long track record in public service in the district she hopes to represent in Congress. While serving in the CA State Assembly, Christy authored nine bills which became law focusing on education reform, homeowner protections, college affordability, good governance and protection for victims of human trafficking. Prior to the State Assembly, Christy served two terms as a Governing Board Member of the Newhall School District, notably helping to secure $60 million in resources for facility and technology upgrades for the school district. It’s also worth noting that Christy graduated high school in Santa Clarita, went to College of the Canyons (before graduating from UCLA) and has also raised a family in the Santa Clarita Valley.

https://www.christyforcongress.org/

https://twitter.com/ChristySmithCA

https://www.politicsandreligion.us

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

This is a bonus TP&R episode of Freedom Road Podcast with our friend and colleague Lisa Sharon Harper and her guest the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III. 

Listen in as Lisa Sharon Harper and Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III do this deep dive on the meaning of and the hunger for the unfettered right to vote in the United States of America.

Freedom Road Podcast brings together national faith leaders, advocates, and front-lines activists for candid conversations about the pressing issues of our times.

Lisa Sharon Harper leads trainings that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. A prolific speaker, writer and activist, Ms. Harper is the founder and president of FreedomRoad.us, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap in our nation by designing forums and experiences that bring common understanding, common commitment and common action.

With civil rights advocacy in his DNA, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III built his ministry on community advancement and social justice activism. As Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problems of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic inequality.

https://freedomroad.us/

https://freedomroad.us/category/freedom-road-podcast/

https://twitter.com/lisasharper

https://twitter.com/om3

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

Peter Wehner is a contributing editor at The Atlantic and contributing writer to the New York Times which is where he wrote a column in January of 2016 that he would not be voting for Donald Trump under any circumstances. Pete is also the author of The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump. Earlier in his career, Pete worked in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations. In the George W. Bush White House, Pete was deputy director of speechwriting before becoming director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. Additionally, he was involved in President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign as well as Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. 

Pete and Corey talked about the virtue of grace; the catastrophic effect that the failures of leaders such as Ravi Zacharias and others have had on the church; the marriage of American Christianity with Christian nationalism; what it means to be a "theoretical pessimist but an operational optimist"; how we can fight against the influence of those who can't be reached by reality while persuading those who can; and more broadly how to have healthier encounters among folks who disagree.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Politics-Frayed-Republic-After/dp/1982661798

https://www.nytimes.com/column/peter-wehner

https://www.theatlantic.com/author/peter-wehner/

Would you consider becoming one of our patrons? 

https://patron.podbean.com/politicsandreligion

With Danielle Moodie, we get into a range of pressing topics. Lots of politics and culture but also a dash of religion such as how Danielle connects with a higher power without needing to go to a specific place or read a specific text. We also discuss the importance of recognizing systemic failures and being a part of the "democracy perfection marathon"; how Danielle's not asking people to deny their own stories but to be honest about the story of this nation; the differences between conversation and debate, and being right vs. opening our minds; how to overcome the dangerous tendency to dehumanize those we think are on "the other side" and so much more.

Danielle Moodie is the host of Woke AF, where she explores the many facets of what it means to be "woke" in our modern life. Danielle also co-hosts democracy-ish with Wajahat Ali, a podcast dedicated to fighting for democracy and preserving your sanity in a time when both are under active assault. Never shy about shaking things up and calling out BS where she sees it, Danielle has been an unapologetic commentator about America’s racism problem. A former (and self-proclaimed recovering) lobbyist turned media maven, her opinions and cultural commentary have been published in a variety of outlets, including Daily Beast, Medium’s Zora Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Essence, The Atlantic, Ebony, Huffington Post, and others. She also makes frequent appearances on MSNBC, CBC, PBS, and BBC America.

https://twitter.com/DeeTwoCents

www.dcpofficial.com/woke-af

www.dcpofficial.com/democracy-ish

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.

Lisa Sharon Harper is Founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group which leads trainings all around the globe that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. Ms. Harper is a critically acclaimed author of several books including her latest, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All, which we discuss in this episode. Ms. Harper earned her Masters degree in Human Rights from Columbia University, is an Auburn Theological Seminary Senior Fellow and served as Sojourners Chief Church Engagement Officer. We were also grateful to have special co-host Will Chan Wright of Faithful Politics join us for this in-depth conversation.

This is a bonus TP&R episode of Faithful Politics with our good friends Josh Burtram and Will Wright when they interviewed Amanda Carpenter of The Bulwark.

Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality. Enter former-President Trump. Over the last four years, America has been under the influence of a person who seemingly graduated from Gaslighting University with a Ph.D. in Alternative Facts. Whether Trump knows it or not, he is masterful in the art of gaslighting-jitsu. The guest this week may know a thing or two about being gaslit, as she has been the target of this Trump tactic, Amanda Carpenter joins Will and Josh to discuss her book, Gaslighting America: Why We Love It When Trump Lies to Us. They also discuss the future of the Republican Party, and how faith played a key role in her life during one of the most heinous acts perpetrated by the Trump campaign during 2016 primaries.

Amanda Carpenter is a political commentator for CNN and author of GASLIGHTING AMERICA: Why We Love It When Trump Lies To Us. Prior to CNN she was the Communications Director for Senator Ted Cruz and previously served as Senior Communications Advisor and Speechwriter to Sen. Jim DeMint.

For both senators, Carpenter crafted countless op-eds, speeches, talking points, briefing papers, jokes, press releases, tweets, Facebook posts, and other materials on a range of subjects before the United States Senate, including but not limited to economics, campaigns, healthcare, foreign affairs, and constitutional matters. Her work for them has been published in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and other outlets.

Roll Call featured her in a 2014 front-page profile, "Ted Cruz's Twitter Torrent: Outspoken GOP Aide Takes on Own Party" calling her "Capitol Hill's most-followed staffer" on Twitter with more than 56,000 followers.

In 2013, she led the creation of Cruz’s viral #MakeDCListen speech and campaign that pollster Frank Luntz said produced "the best political sound-byte of 2013.” In 2011, she was named by the Washington Post as one of the "Top 10 Capitol Hill Staffers to Watch." 

https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/

https://www.thebulwark.com/author/amanda-carpenter/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gaslighting-america-amanda-carpenter/1126314531?ean=9780062748003

Susan Del Percio is a highly accomplished political strategist and crisis communications consultant who is a political analyst for MSNBC as well as a contributor to Know Your Value - Mika Brzezinski's initiative that is helping women to grow their career, form healthy habits and reach their full potential. Susan is also a regular on one of our favorite podcasts Politicology. Appointed as a Special Advisor to Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, she initiated and implemented communication strategies, and advised and developed policy initiatives. Susan also served as Deputy Commissioner in the Giuliani Administration prior to founding her firm in 2001 which serves private corporate clients, leading elected officials, political organizations and candidates as well as non-profits. Susan is also a Distinguished Lecturer at Emerson College where she received both her Bachelor and Master’s degrees.

In this conversation we cover a lot of ground including the sad decline of Rudy Giuliani as someone who worked for him when he was Mayor of NYC; how it was to go to work for a Democratic Governor after having been in Republican politics; her experience of being in New York on 9/11 and what it was like in the days and weeks after that historic day; what it cost her, as a longtime Republican strategist, to be an early critic of Donald Trump and Trumpism; we get into one of our favorite pods Politicology, of course; whether the GOP can be redeemed; and Susan gives some candid advice to Democrats for the 2022 midterms and beyond.

https://twitter.com/DelPercioS

https://www.msnbc.com/knowyourvalue

https://politicology.com/

In the 2nd part of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch, we do a deeper dive into his timely, ground breaking book THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE: A DEFENSE OF TRUTH. We discuss its goals of peace, freedom and knowledge; why authoritarians hate the Constitution of Knowledge; how to diagnose and resist the ills of disinformation and cancel culture; the effects of cancel culture such as "the spiral of silence"; how, at its center, the MAGA movement is all about disinformation; and how to transform the world by planting the seeds of big ideas.

JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp!

www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html

www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/

www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/

https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-constitution-of-knowledge/

Grateful to be able to talk about politics and religion without killin' each other!

www.politicsandreligion.us

twitter.com/TPandRPod

www.facebook.com/TPandRPod

www.instagram.com/tpandrpod/

www.linkedin.com/company/tpandrpod

www.tiktok.com/@tpandrpod

...and our host

twitter.com/coreysnathan

www.facebook.com/coreysnathan

www.instagram.com/coreysnathan/

www.linkedin.com/in/coreysnathan/

This is part 1 of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch. We had to have Jon back for a follow up because, as you'll hear, he's such a genuine, inquisitive fellow, he ended up asking Corey more questions than the other way around. We touch upon a number of big ideas like the existence of God; how the gospel of Jesus contrasts with the way a lot of self-professed Christians act; the trauma gay Americans have had to endure from Christians; Jon also talks about amazing Christians he's gotten to know and the concept of grace; and how we can make religion less stupid. 

JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp!

www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html

www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/

www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/

www.amazon.com/Constitution-Knowledge-Jonathan-Rauch/dp/0815738862/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0 

In this conversation with Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, we discuss the "equation" we've been given to be happy and how unhappy that's left many of us; how she experienced a radical and seemingly impossible forgiveness; when religion gets it right; some of the core tenets of being Hindu; the power of a name; and the "groundwork and grand work" that Sadhviji is a part of among a number of other meaningful topics.

Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, PhD is a renowned spiritual leader in India. She is President of Divine Shakti Foundation, a charitable organization bringing education and empowerment to women and children.  She is Secretary-General of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, launched by UNICEF, the first alliance of religious leaders for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. Sadhviji is also Director of the world-famous International Yoga Festival. Originally from Los Angeles, and a graduate of Stanford University, Sadhviji has lived at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh in the Himalayas for 25 years, where she gives spiritual discourses, satsang and meditation, and leads myriad humanitarian programs.

https://sadhviji.org/

www.facebook.com/SadhviBhagawatiSaraswati/

www.instagram.com/sadhviji/

www.youtube.com/channel/UCYY3tI53Jy5MUABaYGuSoEQ

Today we're joined by Liz Joyner and Vanessa Rowse of the Village Square. Liz is the Founder and CEO and Vanessa is the Podcast Producer of their great podcast Village SquareCast.

We get into all kinds of important, timely topics including 

• how we're all living in this "high energy environment";
• the "us vs. them dynamic" and what the solution is;
• the value of actually getting together in person;
• how the Village Square is able to get people of diverse views in the same venue together;
• how the first casualty in this environment is nuance;
• and being played by the "conflict entrepreneurs";
• in addition to a lot more ground we cover.

The Village Square is a nonprofit organization devoted to building vibrant civil dialogue across partisan and ideological divides on matters of local, state, and national importance in communities across America. Founded in Tallahassee, Florida in 2006 after a contentious debate on a local issue, the Village Square builds social civic community in a 21st century revival of the old-fashioned American town hall. The Village Square offers a menu of cutting-edge civic engagement programs, many in partnership with local government.

https://tlh.villagesquare.us/

https://pod.link/1520059234

Why are more and more young people leaving religion? Is religion the only way we can define our values? From what sources do nonreligious folks derive shared morals? We explore all these questions and much more, such as how the Secular Student Alliance is providing a point of connection for nonreligious students all over the country. We discuss secular and humanistic values, how SSA has been received on campuses, and of course we get into plenty of politics.

Kevin Bolling is the Executive Director of the Secular Student Alliance, an educational nonprofit and the only national organization dedicated to atheist, humanist, and other non-theist students. Kevin has served as the executive director of SSA since 2017 and has over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. His career has included over 10 years of student association management and on-campus program development from Los Angeles to Boston as well as serving in leadership positions with the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation and the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles.

https://secularstudents.org/

Brian Kaylor is the President and Editor-in-Chief of Word and Way (a Christian media company founded in 1896), he’s Associate Director of Churchnet and the host of an excellent podcast called Dangerous Dogma. Brian is also a prolific author, most recently of the books For God’s Sake, Shut Up!: Lessons for Christians on How to Speak Effectively and When to Remain Silent and Vote Your Principles: Party Must Not Trump Principles. Brian has a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Missouri, and serves the Baptist World Alliance as chair of the Communication Advisory Committee and chair of the Resolutions Committee. He is a board member for the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and for the St. Louis Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Brian has also taught college courses in advocacy studies, political communication, research methods, and public speaking.

Brian and Corey discuss a number of pertinent issues including how pastors are having to conform with their parishioners politics; a daunting comparison - that would be surprising to some - between the faith of Barack Obama and that of Donald Trump; the nature of faith and the opposite of faith; and we also discuss the separation of church and state among a number of other topics.

http://briankaylor.com/about/

https://wordandway.org/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dangerous-dogma/id1570193355

"There's a gap between the realistic possible and the actual...and what can we do about it?" That's a premise we explore with our renowned guest, Dr. Rick Hanson, across numerous domains from the very personal to the political. Along with special co-host Savannah Nathan, we discuss the scientific observations of the benefits of meditation; Buddhism as a psychology and not necessarily a religion; and the nature of the mind and how it works. We also get into plenty of politics from unique traits humans developed over millions of years to many of the problems that ail us today to a simple yet ambitious vision Rick has articulated in the 2100 Project.

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and is a New York Times best-selling author of such impactful books including NeuroDharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. An expert on positive neuroplasticity, his work has been featured on the BBC, CBS, NPR, on his podcast that he co-hosts with his son Forrest Hanson Being Well and other major media. He began meditating in 1974 and is the founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom.

Here are some helpful links:

www.rickhanson.net

www.rickhanson.net/being-well-podcast/

www.rickhanson.net/books/neurodharma/#order

www.wisebrain.org/wellspring-institute

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439760.2021.2006759

https://www.positiveneuroplasticity.com/

Kaitlyn Schiess is a writer and author who’s studying for her doctorate in political theology, ethics and biblical interpretation at Duke Divinity School and has earned her ThM in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. In 2020, Kaitlyn’s book The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor created quite a stir. She has also written about theology, politics, and culture in outlets such as Christianity Today, The New York Times, Sojourners, several other national publications and is rather prolific on Twitter!

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation. Part of Kaitlyn's journey that is unique is that not a lot of people start out at Liberty Univ. for undergrad and then end up at Duke Divinity for their doctoral work. It was interesting to hear Kaitlyn's thoughts about where many of her Liberty classmates stand in terms of politics and theology today. We also talked about "What story am I buying into?" and how our paradigms affect how we interpret what's happening in the world. We went on to assess some of the problems that ail our culture in the church and more broadly, and we explore prescriptions of how we might be able to move forward.

https://kaitlynschiess.com/

https://twitter.com/KaitlynSchiess

https://www.instagram.com/kaitlynschiess/

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780830848300

Here's Part 2 of our conversation with Chuck Rocha and Mike Madrid, picking up where we left off. In Part 1, we had a chance to talk with Chuck, who's best known for running Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and then getting out the vote in the critical state of Nevada in the general election for Biden. In this part of the conversation Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, jumps in to offer his thoughts about what both parties are getting wrong in terms of understanding and reaching Latino voters. And yes, the terms "Latinx" does come up! We also talk about why 1 Republican and 1 Democrat, both national strategists, often adversaries on campaigns, would come together to collaborate on their excellent new podcast THE LATINO VOTE.

Mike Madrid is a national political strategist, an expert in demographics and Latino voters. Mike’s academic work on Latino politics became the foundation for groundbreaking communications and outreach strategies in California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Later, Mike was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project which played a significant part in defeating Donald Trump. Mike also lectures on race, class and partisanship at USC. 

Chuck Rocha became National Political Director of the United Steel Workers of America at 29 and was also the first person of color hired to that position. In 2010, Chuck founded Solidarity Strategies, a nonprofit and political consulting firm built on diversity, inclusion and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of minority professionals. He went on to advise on both Bernie Sanders campaigns and is the first Latino to run a presidential campaign. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latino-vote/id1613279254

https://twitter.com/madrid_mike

https://twitter.com/ChuckRocha

https://www.solidaritystrategies.com/

On Part 1 of our conversation with Chuck Rocha and Mike Madrid, we get right into it. First with Chuck, who's best known for running Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and then getting out the vote in the critical state of Nevada in the general election for Biden. We look behind the curtain at what national parties are getting wrong when it comes to reaching and engaging the Latino vote. We also talk about what's even more important than particular Democratic or Republican issues that he and Mike Madrid, often his adversary on campaigns, would come together to collaborate on their excellent new podcast THE LATINO VOTE.

Chuck Rocha became National Political Director of the United Steel Workers of America at 29 and was also the first person of color hired to that position. In 2010, Chuck founded Solidarity Strategies, a nonprofit and political consulting firm built on diversity, inclusion and mentorship opportunities for the next generation of minority professionals. He went on to advise on both Bernie Sanders campaigns and is the first Latino to run a presidential campaign. 

Mike Madrid is a national political strategist, an expert in demographics and Latino politics. Mike’s academic work on Latino politics became the foundation for groundbreaking communications and outreach strategies in California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Later, Mike was a co-founder of the Lincoln Project which played a significant part in defeating Donald Trump. Mike also lectures on race, class and partisanship at USC. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latino-vote/id1613279254

https://twitter.com/madrid_mike

https://twitter.com/ChuckRocha

https://www.solidaritystrategies.com/

TIO BERNIE: THE INSIDE STORY OF HOW BERNIE SANDERS BROUGHT LATINOS INTO THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION - https://www.amazon.com/T%C3%ADo-Bernie-Sanders-Political-Revolution/dp/1947492527

Michael David Cobb Bowen is co-founder and co-editor of Free Black Thought - a group of scholars, technologists, parents, and citizens determined to amplify vital black voices that are rarely heard on mainstream platforms. Michael is a Business Intelligence professional and Data Engineer, he is a past contributor to NPR, Young Republicans and TV One, and is an essayist at Stoic Observations. Michael might describe himself as an entrepreneur, foodie, anti-fragile, true neutral, audiophile, gearhead, hacker, shooter and ooda buddha. We discuss all that and even talk a little jazz!

https://www.freeblackthought.com/

https://mdcbowen.substack.com/

http://www.mdcbowen.info/

John Popper is a singer, songwriter and one of the world's greatest harmonica players. He's the longtime frontman of Blues Traveler (which happens to be one of, if not my favorite band ever!) and has jammed with any number of virtuosos across multiple genres of music. Of course, we talk about the music, his influences and inspirations, but we also get into plenty of politics and religion!

As our special co-host we were joined by Matt Lewis of THE DAILY BEAST. This interview can also be heard on Matt's awesome podcast MATT LEWIS AND THE NEWS. 

https://twitter.com/blues_traveler

https://twitter.com/mattklewis

In this conversation with Melanie Ross of Yale Divinity School, we explore the music in American Evangelical churches; what the worship music says about the people of particular churches; how politics, and specifically Trump, was discussed during services and other church gatherings; and how to make space to have healthier dialogue and to listen to each other well. Melanie also shares about her cancer diagnosis in 2014, her 2 year recovery process and how different the political landscape was when she returned to her research for this project in 2016.

Dr. Melanie Ross is Associate Professor of liturgical studies at the Yale Divinity School.  She studies North American contemporary evangelical worship, and argues that the common ground shared by evangelical and liturgical churches is much more important than the differences that divide them. She most recently authored the book, EVANGELICAL WORSHIP: AN AMERICAN MOSAIC. Plus, she and co-host Jessica Stone went to high school together! So we get to hear some tidbits about what Jess was like as a teenager.

Dr. Napp Nazworth joined us to discuss how one of the country's leading Christian online media outlets transformed over the last 5-6 years into one that is explicitly on team Trump, eschewing much of its founding journalistic and theological principles. We also delve into other topics such as how the oft-quoted 81% support for Trump among Evangelicals is a myth. Among other issues we explored, Napp shared a thought-provoking assessment of how Trump/Trumpism has actually inflicted long term damage to the pro-life movement.

Napp Nazworth has a PhD in Political Science with the focus of his dissertation on the Christian Right. After working for a number of years in academia, Napp went on to be the Politics Editor and Political Analyst for the Christian Post for 8 ½ years before he had to part ways with the organization after they “sold their soul to Trump” as Napp described it. Dr. Nazworth is now the Executive Director of the American Values Coalition which is “a growing community of Americans empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy.”

Josh Lewis is concerned about the problems of "...the loneliness epidemic and loss of genuine community, a rapidly changing job market that threatens our ability to earn a living, nearly insurmountable debt, and growing polarization," among others. Josh also believes conservatism provides a cogent framework to address these issues effectively. Unfortunately, the word conservative has been co-opted by many who are not conservative at all including the alt-right, Christian nationalists and "a cult of personality that surrounds Donald Trump."

That's why Josh started the Saving Elephants Blog and the Saving Elephants Podcast several years ago. The podcast and blog serve as a platform devoted to saving the Republican party as it faces the twin threats of demagoguery from within and looming extinction at the hands of demographic trends from without. The mission is to ensure true conservatism not only survives but thrives in the 21st century. But first, it has to be reclaimed from those who've hijacked the label.

Josh Good is the Director of Faith Angle Forum, a program of the Ethics and Public Policy Center which aims to strengthen reporting and commentary on how religious believers, religious convictions, and religiously grounded moral arguments affect American politics and public life.

We discuss the concept of covenantal pluralism; how locked in our feedback bubbles we are; some of the obstacles to the business of journalism; how local journalism has dried up and how that's affected our communities.

Candice Marie Benbow is a multi-genre theologian who was named by Sojourners as one of “10 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2020”, Candice has written for various outlets including The Grio, ESSENCE Magazine, Glamour Magazine, The Root, VICE, Shondaland, MadameNoire and the Me Too Movement. Convergent Books has just published her first book, Red Lip Theology: For Church Girls Who’ve Considered Tithing to the Beauty Supply Store When Sunday Morning Isn’t Enough. Candice is also involved in numerous charitable organizations including one she founded in her mother’s memory, The LouiseMarie Foundation which supports HBCU nursing students.

We discuss what it means to be a multi-genre theologian; how the death of Whitney Houston influenced the questions she grappled with at Duke Divinity School; how we as a culture are doing in terms of mental health; living with grief; her book RED LIP THEOLOGY and what that is; assigning gender to God; giving each other grace; and so much more.

Andrew Regalado is Legislative Assistant in the office of U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. Andrew is also the Grassroots Director of Country First, a Political Action Committee that is a home for reasonable people of goodwill, seeking common ground to make our country better for future generations. 

We discuss how Andrew began to develop his political views, how he charted the first chapters of his career and why he gravitated to a leader like Rep. Kinzinger. We also discuss Country 1st and how the organization is addressing the priorities of “Opportunity for All, Climate and Conservation, Mental Health and a Culture of Service.”

Matt Lewis is a senior columnist for The Daily Beast. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, GQ, The Washington Post and he's a regular contributor on MSNBC, CNN, PBS NewsHour, HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and CBS News’ “Face The Nation.” He also dissects the day’s issues in conversations with other thinkers, authors, and newsmakers on his podcast Matt Lewis and the News.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground. We discuss Matt’s book Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump; what it was like to work for Tucker Carlson; how his views of Sarah Palin have evolved; whether we can find our way out of this cold civil war; plus we go pretty deep into method acting and hair care!

Curtis Chang is Founder of Redeeming Babel, which provides “biblical thinking in a confusing world,” and co-hosts the podcast GOOD FAITH with David French. He has won a White House award for social innovation, consulted with the State Dept. and multiple MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant winners, teaches strategic planning at American Univ. in D.C., is Sr. Fellow at Fuller Theological Seminary and is consulting faculty at Duke Divinity School. We discuss vaccines, institutions, anxiety, redemption and more.

Nadine Epstein is Editor-in-Chief of MOMENT MAGAZINE which was co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. Nadine is also Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Creative Change, the Founder of the Daniel Pearl Investigative Journalism Initiative and has now launched the Role Model Project which was established in memory of her dear friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with whom she collaborated on Nadine’s latest book RBG’S BRAVE & BRILLIANT WOMEN: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone.

Dr. Sameer Yadav, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College, discusses his trajectory from being raised by immigrant Hindu parents in rural Idaho to becoming a conservative Christian, finding himself at odds with fundamentalist teaching while doing his first Masters degree (including how his experience at a certain hardcore conservative college was akin to farting in an elevator), his critique of "The Bible Says, I Believe It, That Settles It," the origins of Christian and secular racism, reckoning with insurrectionists invoking the name of Jesus, and other heresies occurring in America today. Sameer earned a Masters Degree from Yale Divinity School and his doctorate in theology and ethics from Duke Divinity School. He’s a prolific writer, his dissertation being adapted and expanded for his first book The Problem of Perception and the Experience of God and has been published in a numerous academic and theological journals. He is multilingual and understands Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, French, German and rumor has it he’s studying Na’vi in anticipation of the upcoming Avatar movies.

The Franklin Project was started for folks who are “unafraid of a diversity of opinions; want our elected representatives to work together to get things done; and want the shrieking, shrill, dangerous extremist voices to quiet down so that the rest of us can be heard.” Erin Dobson and Greg Jenkins both have experience at the highest levels of politics and the corporate world. Now, with the Franklin Project, they are "dedicated to promoting true American values of democracy and civility. Through the Democracy Corps we engage and empower everyday people to become extraordinary defenders of a more perfect union."

Many know Dr. Russell Moore from his 8 year tenure leading the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention before his high profile exit due to his opposition to Donald Trump and the SBC’s differences with how to handle issues such as sexual abuse and race relations. Currently, Dr. Moore is Public Theologian at Christianity Today and Director of Christianity Today’s Public Theology Project. He is the author of several books, most recently The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul. He also hosts The Russell Moore Show and shares essays through his newsletter.

Jamal Watkins is SVP of Strategy and Advancement at the NAACP. Prior to NAACP, he held leadership positions with a number of organizations dedicated to community organizing and civil and human rights. In this discussion we explore important topics including how NAACP carried out its mission through the many challenges of 2020; how the Association is helping to protect against attacks on voting rights (fightingforourvote.org); and how to talk about race in a meaningful way without it dividing us immediately.

Sarah Isgur, staff writer at The Dispatch and host of its flagship podcast as well as Advisory Opinions with David French, has served on 3 presidential campaigns and in 3 branches of government. Sarah is a graduate of Harvard Law School where she was president of the Harvard Federalist Society and is a veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice. We cover a lot of ground in this energetic conversation from her youth in rural Texas and going on birding excursions around the world; the viability of a center-right non-Trumpian coalition; whether pro-insurrectionist votes by members of Congress will matter in 2022; how a principled, intelligent public servant was able to function in a Trump administration; and many other "buckets" of juicy behind-the-scenes tidbits about the real Washington, D.C.

As described on his new podcast, “Joe Walsh is a former U.S. Congressman, a former Presidential candidate, a radio host, and a man whose personal mission is to LISTEN. With WHITE FLAG with JOE WALSH, he surrenders the urge to fight and strives to find a path to unite, not divide.” Walsh is also the author of a book with one of our favorite titles ever: F*CK SILENCE: CALLING TRUMP OUT FOR THE CULTISH, MORONIC, AUTHORITARIAN CON MAN HE IS.

Brad Edwards and Bryce Hales are co-hosts of Everything Just Changed, a podcast about good faith participation in community, grace-saturated conversations and committed to the common good. Their podcast has impressive, engaging guests and they have a knack for exploring the most relevant topics in thought-provoking ways. Brad and Bryce are also pastors at The Table Church which is, “rooted in selfless love for our fellow man to such a degree that we are never fully able to achieve it… a humble hypocrisy."