Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

As a continuation of our series "The Folks of Our Town," Mayor Bill Miranda talks to us about growing up in New York City; how a kid from NYC became the Mayor of Santa Clarita; going to military school; his time in the business world; how, as a Latino, he was often the only person of color at school or work; and taking that experience to help Latino owned small businesses. We also talk about plenty of politics, including local politics. With Bill being a moderate Republican and Ronnie being a Democrat, we still manage to find plenty of common ground. Go figure!

Ryan Meeks might be best known for being the pastor of a megachurch who became one of the first evangelical churches in the country to support full inclusion of LGBTQ people. Ryan founded and led Eastlake Community Church, a very different, evolutionary, transformative church community for 16 years. Now, one can simply say Ryan’s lifework is to “help people feel alive.” Having endured everything from the scrutiny of the entire Evangelical movement to beating cancer, Ryan now provides spiritual direction and holistic coaching, wilderness retreats and psychedelic integration.

Today’s episode is the 1st installment of our series “The Folks of Our Town.” In this series, we get to hear from the “The Folks of Our Town” that have really interesting stories to tell and whose voices deserve to be heard.

One of these folks is Aron Bender. Aron is a recently widowed father of two daughters. He is the host of the Santa Clarita Valley Signal’s first podcast, “The Signal News” and "The Aron Bender Podcast," a news anchor at PasadenaNow.com and a Digital and Broadcast Journalism Professor at his alma mater, Cal State Northridge. Aron is also a 20 year veteran of the news business having worked at KFI in Los Angeles, WIOD in Miami and KMPH in Fresno.

(Originally aired 1/3/21, but that was a weird week as you might recall. Plus, Julie's wicked awesome!)

Julie Mason, a White House correspondent with the Houston Chronicle, Washington Examiner and Politico, has been the host of The Press Pool on SiriusXM's POTUS channel since 2011 and will now have a new show called Julie Mason Mornings @MasonMornings. What's it like to be in the WH press corps? How different is it from one administration to another? Are politicians and Press Secretaries different on camera vs. off camera? Which tv show is most accurate: West Wing, House of Cards or Veep? And of course, isn't the entirety of the "MSM" completely in the tank for Hugo Chavez's zombie army that took over the election? Some of the answers may shock you!

Reed Galen, Co-Founder of The Lincoln Project talks about his background from growing up as the kid of a political strategist to his time as an intern on George W. Bush's Texas gubernatorial re-election campaign. We learn what it's like to be an Advanceman for a presidential campaign, working in an administration and all that led to his role with TLP. We dive in to what they knew about Trump and how they got to him. He also opens up about mistakes that were made, what they're doing to "get their act together" and getting back to work.

https://lincolnproject.us/

@ProjectLincoln

It's been one year since the first shelter-in-place orders were implemented. So this episode is dedicated to frontline and essential workers. One group in particular that hasn’t had nearly as much applause but certainly deserves it is truckers: The men and women who move everything from face masks to fresh food, toothpaste to toilet paper.

One of those truckers who’s been on the frontlines the entire time is my very own brother, Eddie Nathan. Eddie has an interesting trajectory that brought him to this career. He spent about 20-25 years at all levels of education including as a teacher as well as administration in both main stream public schools and charter schools. So not only does he have a broad range of experience in education, when he decided to transition to trucking a couple years ago, he was arguably one of the most highly credentialed individuals in the history of the trucking industry! 

And just so no one misses their healthy dose of politics and religion, we definitely get into it along with our dear old dad Ronnie. In fact, we get to hear all about Eddie's very refined, erudite analysis he calls "the a55h0le theory."

Danielle Pletka is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and co-host of What the Hell Is Going On, having served as the SVP for foreign and defense policy studies there, and is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Prior to joining AEI, Danielle was a senior staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as the point person on Middle East, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. 

Dany discusses how she formed her conservative views, developing an expertise in foreign policy, her experience working on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee including with firebrand Senator Jesse Helms, her candid and nuanced assessment of the Trump Admin's Middle East policy, her concerns about the Democratic Party's "lurch to the left," and what happened leading up to and since January 6th.

Jessica Stone, author of the new book Crossing the Divide, is a veteran of national and international newsrooms where she’s covered the intersection of politics and business around the world. Her work has appeared in Yahoo Finance and USA Today among others, and she’s appeared on FOX and CBS radio & television. Her work’s taken her to 5 continents and has included accompanying President Barack Obama to Brazil and traveling with President Donald Trump to China. She’s interviewed former CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former presidential candidates John Kerry, John Edwards, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

On this episode, we discuss Jessica's new book which is a candid account of different chapters in her own life that's culminated in "20 lessons to help you thrive in cross-cultural environments."

Sarah Stewart Holland, creator and cohost of the bipartisan political podcast Pantsuit Politics and author of ​I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations, joins Ronnie and Corey for... a grace-filled conversation. Sarah discusses her background from conversations she had with her Papa Stewart about FDR and JFK to earning her law degree and working in politics; moving back to her hometown to raise her family and serving on the Paducah KY City Commission. We then cover a wide range of topics from "our people" to Christian Trumpism, progressive Christianity, Oprah, proportionate representation and the controversial subject of privilege.

Michael Gulker is President of The Colossian Forum. Much like us, he has a long-standing interest in the oft-times contentious intersection of faith and culture, in particular you might have read recently in publications like the Wall Street Journal about the program they’ve developed at the Colossian Forum that helps churches facilitate healthier conversations around politics and other challenging issues.  A native of West Michigan, he studied philosophy and theology at Calvin College, has a divinity degree from Duke Divinity School, and is an ordained Mennonite pastor. Before coming to The Colossian Forum, Michael served as pastor of Christ Community Church in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kurt Bardella was a rising star as a staffer for high profile political leaders such as Republican Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine and Republican Congressman Darrell Issa when he famously chaired the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During that time, Kurt choreographed the media strategy for investigations related to the 2008 financial crisis, the bailouts of major Wall Street firms and probes into corporate conglomerates such as BP. He later went on to build and lead Endeavor Strategies which represented clients such as Breitbart until early in 2016 when Kurt notably parted ways with this major client on principle after Corey Lewandowski, then Trump’s campaign manager, seriously man-handled one of Breitbart’s reporters. Since that time, Kurt not only switched party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, he was most recently a Senior Advisor to the Lincoln Project and runs the Country Music media platform, the Morning Hangover. Kurt is also on USA Today's Board of Contributors and an NBC NEWS THINK contributor. 

Pete Dominick is a stand up comic, speaker, news commentator, host, journo activist, moderator, professional speaking consultant, husband and proud father of 2 daughters. Pete was the host of a daily 3 hour live radio show on SiriusXM for almost 12 years. The show welcomed 3-4 expert guests on a broad range of issues from parenting to politics, health care, sustainable living and so much more. 

Pete began his career as a stand up comic making a name for himself in the major leagues of stand up - the best clubs of the NYC comedy scene. Pete was hired for the very coveted gig as the warm up comic first for Jon Stewart and The Daily Show and then The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Pete is now creating his own content while speaking on a wide range of issues, performing stand up and doing his best to continue to learn how to make the world a better place everyday.

https://standupwithpete.libsyn.com/

https://www.givewell.org/

Dr. Southers is a Prof. of the Practice in Nat'l & Homeland Security, Dir. of the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) and Dir. of Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at USC. He was CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Deputy Dir. for Critical Infrastructure of the CA Office of Homeland Security and President Obama’s first nominee to head the TSA.

Ronnie and Corey discuss Dr. Southers' humble beginnings as a kid from New Jersey who is the son of two educators, was a competitive body builder and then traversed a career at every level of law enforcement from dog catcher to the FBI to being nominated by President Obama (with many stops along the way).

We get into some timely and salient issues including his informed insights about the attack on the Capitol, constructive police reform and how he's standing on the shoulders of his parents who marched on Washington for Civil Rights in 1963.

We also discuss his book Homegrown Violent Extremism and the work he's doing with LEWIS (named after John Lewis) Law Enforcement Work Enquiry System.

Anna Palmer is the Founder and CEO of Punchbowl News and Co-host of The Daily Punch podcast. Punchbowl, the Secret Service nickname for the Capitol, is "...a content company and news community focused on Power, People and Politics in Washington" that publishes 3 newsletters and a podcast daily. We talk about Anna's journey from growing up on a farm in N. Dakota to contributing at the highest levels of journalism in D.C.; how to deliver great reporting; plus we get some behind-the-scenes insights into what politicians are really saying in their most candid moments; as well as Anna's thoughts on the attack on the Capitol and other salient issues.

Daniel Darling, SVP at Nat'l. Religious Broadcasters, came in for a healthy exchange about several pertinent issues such as sanctity of life, public heresies in the conservative Christian movement, online rhetorical combat and the "Pharisee fallacy."

Daniel Darling is also a bestselling author of several books including A Way With Words, released last summer, and is co-editor of The Church and the Racial Divide, a study for small groups on racial reconciliation. He’s also a regular contributor to a wide variety of publications such as In Touch Magazine and Christianity Today and has had op-eds in USA Today, National Review, Washington Times and the Washington Post and has appeared on CNN, Fox and MSNBC. He also has a popular podcast called The Way Home where he interviews Christian leaders, politicians and journalists.

Senator Scott Wilk of the 21st Senate District of California discusses the inner workings of CA politics, what it's like to be a Republican in a state heavily dominated by Democrats, how he works productively with folks across the aisle yet maintains his own principles and effectively represents his constituents. This was recorded prior to the attack on the Capitol, but it's interesting to hear some prescience in some of what we discuss such as the divisiveness and heated rhetoric around politics in the country. Fortunately, Scott is not one of those exacerbating these problems but is part of the solution in the way his staff represents the diversity of his district and his record reflects his friendship and collaboration with Republicans and Democrats alike.

Kim Yaged has worked for the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, and is also an award-winning writer having received the Kennedy Center Meritorious Achievement Award for her theater/dance hybrid America which explores ethnicity, race, religion, and culture in the United States as well as many other awards such as for her renowned work Hypocrites & Strippers. What’s even cooler is that Kim and Corey are from the same hometown in New Jersey. And, yeah, we both had the same high school English teacher as Bruce Springsteen! On this episode, Kim joins Ronnie and Corey for a very different conversation than we were planning.

On today's episode, our friend Paige Pendleton, who voted differently than Ronnie and Corey in the presidential election, came in for a great conversation about politics, the state of the media, how we engage and how we raise our kids among other topics. Paige is an author of children and adult fiction (including The Black Ledge series, The Keeper of the Rune Stone, The Keeper of the Alabaster Chalice and Reginald the Railway Rat). Paige also sits on the Maine Animal Science Committee and, with an educational background in biology/microbiology, has advised on infectious disease control. With the COVID-19 outbreak she's been working with businesses, schools and other organizations advising on infectious disease prevention full time all over the state of Maine.

Peter Englert, Adult Ministries Director at Browncroft Community Church in upstate NY, has a very innovative, practical approach to staying connected with his community using social and digital media, such as through his podcast Why God Why and his website peterenglert.com. We explore how he pastors at a church that has members who identify across the political spectrum. Ronnie also asks about the nature and purpose of prayer, the intersection of faith and politics (of course) and about a Christian pastor's mission.

On this bonus episode, our pal Harrison Leonard gets real about his journey from being a conservative (politically and theologically) to having a crisis (or crises) of faith, identifying as a libertarian, veering back towards conservatism and then ultimately to a more progressive political disposition and a "live and let live" theological one, all the while affirming both his Jewish heritage and Christian faith. 

R.C. Sproul, Jr. is a Christian writer and theologian who’s written over a dozen books on topics ranging from Homeschooling to Economics to Theology, including most recently a tribute to his  father, the renowned apologist and pastor of the same name, Growing Up (with) R.C. Ronnie and Corey have a candid conversation with R.C. about dealing with our own failings and scandal. They also do a deep dive on how to interpret Scripture and cover some current politics, each coming from a very different perspective.

On this episode, Ronnie and Corey talk with the brilliant, renowned economist, Michael Ferrantino. In his current role at the World Bank, Michael is ensconced in promoting recovery in global trade in the wake of COVID-19. We also mix it up with a discussion of our religious formation, get into some politics (of course) and even talk some baseball. Most importantly, back by popular demand is a special cameo by the now infamous Phyllis, aka Grandma. It's priceless. Trust me.

What is expertise? Does it still matter? How can we know things? How can we know what the truth is? How does our faith inform everything else? And what's up with anti-intellectualism? 

Dr. E. Johanna Hartelius is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She's the author of The Gifting Logos: Expertise in the Digital Commons and The Rhetoric of Expertise. She's also a co-host on the podcasts You're Not Accepted and Crackers and Grape Juice. And yeah, she's pretty bad-ass!

Dr. Amy Laura Hall is Assoc. Prof. of Christian Ethics at Duke Divinity School and the author of several books including Kierkegaard and the Treachery of Love; Conceiving Parenthood: American Protestantism and the Spirit of Reproduction; Writing Home, With Love: Politics for Neighbors and Naysayers; and Laughing at the Devil: Seeing the World with Julian of Norwich. 

Many will find our conversation highly engaging and fun while others may just get ticked off! Here's some of what we discuss:

• Who are "they"?
• The ministry of "that sucks!"
• Descending that damn escalator
• "...beautifully and wonderfully made gay by God..."
• Muscular Christianity
• Welcome to the “tzitzka-macha club”
• Plus, a cameo by Lisa Nathan

As you'll find, Amy Laura happens to be the most gracious, thoughtful, empathetic spit-fire of an activist, minister, teacher, mother, good trouble maker Durham’s ever seen!

Ross Patterson is a NY Times Best-Selling Author, Actor, Writer, Director, Producer, who has been leading the way in the podcast space, garnering millions of listeners with Drinkin’ Bros, Drinkin' Broettes, Ross Patterson Revolution, American Party Podcast and will soon be putting their sports show on it's own feed. On this episode, Corey and Ross talk about everything from the current state of media to politics (of course) and how Post Malone stole our beer pong show. Just totally ripped it off!

Dr. George Yancey is a sociologist and a professor at the Institute for Studies of Religion and Sociology at Baylor University. On this episode Corey and Ronnie cover critical issues such as Professor Yancey's alternative to anti-racism, mutual responsibility; Christianaphobia; the reasons for and dangers of the evangelical community's support of Donald Trump; the American Solidarity Party; and his read of the election results.

Dr. Yancey is a prolific author of many books including his most recent contributions So Many Christians, So Few Lions (dealing with Christianophobia); Transcending Racial Barriers; and Compromising Scholarship (on religious and political bias in Amer. higher education) among many others. And you can also have your paradigms shattered on the aptly called Shattering Paradigms his Patheos blog.

Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami discusses how he became a rabbi, the differences between the Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism and his expanded role with JLTV, the network his father Phil Blazer started that garners 10s of thousands of Jewish, Christian and secular viewers from around the world. Ronnie and Corey also explore the state of politics today, in particular: Was Trump good for Israel? If so, was it worth it? You might be surprised by the answer!

Tommy Givens, author of We the People, Israel and the Catholicity of Jesus, is Assoc. Prof. of New Testament Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tommy talks with Ronnie and Corey about growing up as a "pastor's kid," his formative years as a missionary in Spain and working for his doctorate at Duke Divinity School, and how his theological convictions have shaped his participation in the greater redemption project, sometimes putting him at odds with the same Evangelical community he grew up in.

In the first of our series, "The Garbage Man and the Window Washer Save the Universe," two engaged citizens discuss everything from the final presidential debate of 2020, to "the Garbage Man's" background as a local businessman as well as his religious formation, to THE POLLS! We have a lengthy conversation about how to read the polls, different factors to consider, the fact that not all polls are equal, and Corey even gives some prognostications on key swing states!

An intro to co-host Ronnie Nathan and the back story about how Corey, after growing up in a very observantly Jewish family, became a Christian, the impact that had on Ronnie and Corey's relationship as father and son, how others absorbed the news (including Phyllis, Ronnie's wife and Corey's mom), and the conversation that started that Thanksgiving morning 20 years ago involving religion, family, politics and everything in between continues to this day.