What was it like for Jennifer Rubin (of The Washington Post and Jen Rubin's Green Room) to be one of the first conservatives to come out publicly against the candidacy of Donald Trump? What about being the subject of one of Trump's attacks on Twitter? How does one go from making a case for neoconservative positions to aligning more consistently with centrist Democratic policies? Was it really such an evolution? Or has the political climate around us changed more radically? What about the career shift from being a highly successful labor lawyer in Hollywood to becoming one of the most widely read and listened to voices in politics? We discussed all this and more on this week's TP&R!

Jennifer Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post and is the host of Jen Rubin’s Green Room. She covers politics and policy, foreign and domestic, and provides insight into the conservative movement, the Republican and Democratic parties, and threats to Western democracies. Jennifer is also an MSNBC contributor, and was with Commentary magazine before joining the Post. Prior to her career in journalism, Jen practiced labor law for two decades. She is also the author of the 2022 book “Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump.”

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

twitter.com/JRubinBlogger

www.washingtonpost.com/people/jennifer-rubin/

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jen-rubins-green-room/id1686973843

www.harpercollins.com/products/resistance-jennifer-rubin?variant=39933666066466

Journalistic integrity. How can individual reporters and news outlets uphold their professional ethics? Is it possible in today's environment? How can a journalist get a coveted interview, yet be fair without it becoming a hit job or a puff piece? Is it any different now than 5 or 10 or 25+ years ago, when our guest Bob Cusack of THE HILL first entered the business? What is it like interviewing Donald Trump (which Bob has done 4 times)? How can reporters be equipped to deal with attacks from a subject like Trump who repeatedly refers to the press as "the enemy of the people"? What about situations when correspondents are in harm's way due to such attacks? What lessons can be learned from the demise of companies such as BuzzFeed and Vice Media? Oh, and of course we do a little political prognostication!

Bob Cusack serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Hill, a media platform that provides nonpartisan reporting on the inner workings of Government and the nexus of politics and business. Bob has been reporting on policy and politics in Washington, D.C. since 1995 and has interviewed top newsmakers such as former President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He regularly appears on news networks as a non-partisan political analyst and has won six awards from the National Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Bob is also an accomplished tennis player and has appeared in numerous movies and tv shows such as WONDER WOMAN and VEEP.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

thehill.com/

thehill.com/people/bob-cusack/

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

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation like how he and his wife got into the whiskey business; why he joined the Freedom Caucus and whether he regretted that decision; what he learned through his work on the January 6th Committee and what Americans need to know about it; whether some of his former colleagues in Congress are really as crazy as they seem; and the truth about Bigfoot!

Denver Riggleman supported advanced intelligence analysis and technical development programs during his over two decades as an intelligence officer, NSA adviser, federal contractor, research and development technology lead, and successful CEO of support companies for the Department of Defense. A veteran of the Global War on Terror and multiple worldwide operations, he served with honor in the US Air Force for nine active-duty years and is a former member of the House of Representatives from Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District, which he represented as a Republican from 2019–2021. Congressman Riggleman is the former senior technical advisor for the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He is the CEO of Riggleman Information and Intelligence Group, the co-owner of the award-winning Silverback Distillery and is the author of the NY Times bestseller THE BREACH and BIGFOOT… IT’S COMPLICATED.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

denverleeriggleman.com/

www.sbdistillery.com/

amzn.to/3IdodPv

amzn.to/3LYuO0Y

Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several hard follow up questions. We asked Steve if, as a conservative, he could have a political mulligan between the early 90s and 2015, right up to Trump's entry into the presidential race, what would it be? What did Steve and the founding partners of The Dispatch see in the public square and the marketplace that motivated them to launch an independent media outlet that is informed by conservative principles? What were the major factors that led to Steve's decision to leave Fox News as a contributor? And we had to ask him for some recommendations for good Spanish wine!

Steve Hayes is CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, one of our favorite media outlets. The Dispatch provides “Fact-based reporting and commentary on politics, policy and culture – informed by conservative principles.” Prior to The Dispatch, Steve succeeded friend of the pod, Bill Kristol as editor-in-chief of The Weekly Standard. Steve was also a senior writer for National Journal’s Hotline and served as Director of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University for six years. He has written for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, and Reason. He has been a commentator and appeared on such television shows as the Today show, Meet the Press, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and C-SPAN.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

thedispatch.com

twitter.com/stephenfhayes

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

In this conversation with renowned speaker, writer, activist and artist, Lisa Sharon Harper, we discuss Lisa's own genealogy, which she painstakingly researched for her 2022 book FORTUNE: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All, and how doing the work of genealogy is doing the work of history. We also got into some theology! In particular, we explored a profound reading of the first chapters of Genesis. Spoiler alert: I love when Lisa said, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know this is not science!" The truths communicated in Genesis are much more profound than the reductionist reading of some of our young earth creationist friends. That leads us to explore the concept of TOV and TOV M'OD. And we went on to discuss what it will take to repair what race broke in the world.

Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder of Freedom Road, a consulting group dedicated to shrinking the narrative gap by designing forums and experiences that bring common understanding, common commitment and common action. Ms. Harper leads trainings all around the globe that increase clergy and community leaders’ capacity to organize people of faith toward a just world. She is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right and Fortune: How Race Broke My Family and the World and How to Repair It All. She also writes extensively on shalom and governance, immigration reform, health care reform, poverty, racial and gender justice, climate change, and transformational civic engagement with her work appearing in numerous national publications as well as her Substack The Truth Is... Ms. Harper earned her Masters degree in Human Rights from Columbia University, is an Auburn Theological Seminary Senior Fellow, has begun working on her PhD in Christian Public Ethics with Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam aka the VU and also served as Sojourners Chief Church Engagement Officer.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

lisasharonharper.com/

freedomroad.us/

lisasharonharper.substack.com/

www.instagram.com/lisasharper/

www.facebook.com/lisasharonharper.page/

twitter.com/lisasharper

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

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation like how he and his wife got into the whiskey business; why he joined the Freedom Caucus and whether he regretted that decision; what he learned through his work on the January 6th Committee and what Americans need to know about it; whether some of his former colleagues in Congress are really as crazy as they seem; and the truth about Bigfoot!

Denver Riggleman supported advanced intelligence analysis and technical development programs during his over two decades as an intelligence officer, NSA adviser, federal contractor, research and development technology lead, and successful CEO of support companies for the Department of Defense. A veteran of the Global War on Terror and multiple worldwide operations, he served with honor in the US Air Force for nine active-duty years and is a former member of the House of Representatives from Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District, which he represented as a Republican from 2019–2021. Congressman Riggleman is the former senior technical advisor for the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He is the CEO of Riggleman Information and Intelligence Group, the co-owner of the award-winning Silverback Distillery and is the author of the NY Times bestseller THE BREACH and BIGFOOT… IT’S COMPLICATED.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

denverleeriggleman.com/

www.sbdistillery.com/

amzn.to/3IdodPv

amzn.to/3LYuO0Y

We’ve all kind of grown accustomed to Instagram takeovers and other stunty maneuvers to grab attention, but a podcast takeover? I think that’s still kind of a rarity. But Corey Nathan is a rare breed. So, I suppose it isn’t really a surprise that when I contacted him a week ago and asked if we could do a reading of my play LOVE & HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID as a special edition of Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other on May 11 to commemorate the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Declaration in the United States he immediately said yes. So, in a matter of days, I reached out to a few actor friends who lovingly agreed to participate, and we quickly recorded and cut the play so we could have it ready on May 11. We didn’t have time to plan or rehearse, which, in retrospect, seems appropriate since it mirrors the advent of Covid.

Public commemorations are not normally my thing, but I needed something to acknowledge this moment, the millions of people who have died, and the countless people whose lives have been changed forever. When I hesitantly spoke to friends about what I was feeling, I learned they were experiencing something similar. That confirmation gave me the courage to do something, and that’s when I reached out to Corey. We have all been through so much collectively and individually over the past three years. Whatever your politics, whatever your religion, I hope this offering helps heal, inspire, or is of some other service.

Thank you Corey, the extraordinarily talented Kenya Moses, Donnell Smith, Ash Sroka, Xyla Huck, and all the actors who helped me work on this piece. I also want to thank Kevin March for his inspiration, and Reg E. Gaines for his motivation. I’m indebted to all of you and grateful for your help satiating this need.

CAST

Ash Sroka https://www.instagram.com/ash.sroka/

Donnell Smith https://www.instagram.com/donnell.iam/

Kenya Moses https://www.instagram.com/kenyamoses/

Xyla Huck

Playwright www.kimyaged.com

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

Can a modern journalistic enterprise provide information and better analysis rather than merely affirmation for its audience? Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, believes it's not only possible, there's an overwhelming appetite for it. What was it like to be in the room with Donald Trump when he asserted that John McCain was not a war hero? Steve was there and even got to ask him several hard follow up questions. We asked Steve if, as a conservative, he could have a political mulligan between the early 90s and 2015, right up to Trump's entry into the presidential race, what would it be? What did Steve and the founding partners of The Dispatch see in the public square and the marketplace that motivated them to launch an independent media outlet that is informed by conservative principles? What were the major factors that led to Steve's decision to leave Fox News as a contributor? And we had to ask him for some recommendations for good Spanish wine!

Steve Hayes is CEO and Editor of The Dispatch, one of our favorite media outlets. The Dispatch provides “Fact-based reporting and commentary on politics, policy and culture – informed by conservative principles.” Prior to The Dispatch, Steve succeeded friend of the pod, Bill Kristol as editor-in-chief of The Weekly Standard. Steve was also a senior writer for National Journal’s Hotline and served as Director of the Institute on Political Journalism at Georgetown University for six years. He has written for such publications as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, National Review, and Reason. He has been a commentator and appeared on such television shows as the Today show, Meet the Press, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC, and C-SPAN.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

thedispatch.com

twitter.com/stephenfhayes

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

This is a special presentation of TOP OF MIND WITH JULIE ROSE which is about "becoming better citizens, kinder neighbors and more effective advocates." Here are the show notes on this episode from our friends at TOP OF MIND:

About 45,000 Americans died from gun violence in 2022. A similar number died the year before. About half of those deaths are gun suicides. The other half are gun homicides. Mass shootings tend to capture the most attention and outrage, but they’re just a small fraction of the total number of gun deaths each year. How can we reduce gun violence in America? Reducing the number of firearms in the country might help, but significant gun control laws seem unlikely in today’s current political climate. In this podcast episode, we hear the stories of a violence interrupter, a suicide prevention and gun safety advocate, and a mass shooting researcher to help us feel more hopeful about America's gun violence problem. Podcast Guests: DeQuann Stanley, Outreach Supervisor at Save Our Streets, Crown Heights, Brooklyn Erin Dunkerly, trial attorney in California, advocate for suicide prevention Mark Follman, National Affairs Editor at Mother Jones. Author of TRIGGER POINTS: “Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America” **This episode is part of Season 3 on Top of Mind: Finding Fairness. From health and immigration to prisons and pot, how can we get more peace and prosperity for all?

• DeQuann Stanley’s work with Save Our Streets
• End Family Fire's work to prevent gun suicides and unintentional shootings
• Mark Follman's reporting on mass shooting prevention
• APA’s letter to congress: “Gun violence is a public health crisis”
• U.S. gun violence statistics database

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

www.byuradio.org/topofmind

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-019-0496-4

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

Over the last month in Nashville TN, the hope for better gun laws, LGBTQ rights and even democracy itself all seem to be on the line.

We're joined on this episode by Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza and Quinn Joy Bacon, both of whom are activists, organizers and theologians based in Nashville, Tennessee. There are a number of issues that are all at the forefront of what's been happening since 6 people were killed in a mass shooting at a school in the Nashville area. The "Tennessee 3" were engaging in nonviolent protest after the shooting when 2 of the #TN3 were expelled from their duly elected offices. That's when democracy itself became an issue at the center of what's happening there.

Roberto Che Espinoza, Ph.D. has been described in a myriad of ways: a scholar-activist, scholar-leader, thought-leader, teacher, public theologian, ethicist, poet of moral reason, and word artist. Dr. Espinoza is the founder of the Activist Theology Project which is now known as Our Collective Becoming, a Nashville-based collaborative project that seeks to work with the dominant culture and produces curriculum at the intersection of scholarship and activism. Dr. Espinoza was named one of 10 Faith Leaders to Watch by the Center for American Progress in 2018.  As a scholar-activist, Dr. Espinoza is committed to translating theory to action. Dr. E writes and creates academic and other valuable resources, such as in the digital realm. He is the author of Activist Theology which came out in 2019 and his latest book Body Becoming which came out last year.

Quinn Joy Bacon is a poet, organizer, neighbor, cook, and theologian. She is a transfem abolitionist currently studying at Vanderbilt Divinity School, seeking an MDiv with concentrations in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality & Prison and Carceral Studies. At Vanderbilt, they are a member of the Queer Faith and Policy Cohort through the Carpenter Program. Quinn credits her perspective to organizing and working around abolition, housing, mental health, public education, mutual aid, and their formal/informal studies. Broadly, Quinn is interested in Abolitionist Trans Liberation Theologies, and ways church resources can aid freedom struggles. Quinn is also pursuing ordination with the PCUSA.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

activistheology.com/give/

robertoche.com/

activistheology.com/

robertoche.com/writing/

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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

We also covered a ton of ground in the first half of this conversation. We explored how Pete got into stand up comedy, his raison d'etre, how he built his career in television and radio, what it's been like to learn podcasting and growing his show from scratch; and we also got into some current issues like the cases against Trump and what we both saw as more consequential news such as the election of a progressive state supreme court judge in Wisconsin. 

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

standupwithpete.com/

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stand-up-with-pete-dominick/id1485475085

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

In this episode, we're joined by special co-host, writer, producer, storyteller, Kim Yaged as we speak with Emeritus Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin, Robert Jensen. Many people say they are "spiritual but not religious." Bob says he's "religious but not spiritual" - and that's just to start! He also identifies as a "good ole' lefty materialist." We discuss his radical feminist critique of the transgender movement; a broader critique of "the Left" from the left; being able to identify with a Christian tradition and yet hold disparate beliefs; what radical feminism is and why it's a gift to men; what it means to be a radical; whether revolutionary violence is ever justified; the hard questions we need to address in order to deal with the pending ecological "apocalypse"; and the price that comes with, as our co-host Kim Yaged put it, "an attachment to truth."

Robert Jensen is an emeritus professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin and a founding board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. He collaborates with New Perennials Publishing and the New Perennials Project at Middlebury College. Professor Jensen joined the UT faculty in 1992 after completing his Ph.D. in media ethics and law in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a professional journalist for a decade. At UT, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in media law, ethics, and politics until he retired in 2018. In his writing and teaching, much of Dr. Jensen’s work has analyzed pornography and the radical feminist critique of sexuality and men’s violence, and he also has addressed questions of race through a critique of white privilege and institutionalized racism along with his recent work focusing on the ecological crises. Dr. Jensen is a prolific writer for popular media, both alternative and mainstream and is the author of many books, most recently, An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity along with his coauthor Wes Jackson.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

robertwjensen.org

kimyaged.com

thirdcoastactivist.org

www.newperennials.org

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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

Dr. Melissa Deckman is the CEO of PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute), a non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to conducting independent research at the intersection of religion, culture and public policy. Formerly the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs at Washington College, she is a political scientist who studies the impact of gender, religion and age on public opinion and political behavior. She is currently working on a book about the seismic impact that Gen Z women will have on the future of American politics.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

www.prri.org

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

This is a special BONUS EPISODE of Village SquareCast. Here are the show notes from our friends at The Village Square:

"When Daryl Davis was ten, he didn’t understand hate yet. But then he was the only black scout in a parade to honor Paul Revere’s ride to Concord, when he began getting hit by bottles. It was then that he formed a question in his mind that he’s spent much of a lifetime answering: 'How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?' Failing to find his answer in books and history, as an adult and an accomplished musician, he realized who better to ask than a member of an organization formed around the premise—the KKK. So began our guest’s extraordinary story, in which a black man befriended over 200 KKK members, starting with a grand wizard. We’ll learn how his improbable, impossible, openhearted journey can light our way.

"This important programming is offered in partnership with Florida Humanities as a part of our multi-year series 'UNUM: Democracy Reignited.' Keep reading to meet our streaming partners and learn more about Mr. Davis.

"Musician and Race Reconciliator Daryl Davis, has single-handedly been the impetus for over two hundred White supremacists to renounce their ideology and turn their lives around. As a Black man, Daryl has attended more Ku Klux Klan rallies than most White people and certainly most Blacks — short of being on the wrong end of a rope. His true-life encounters with Grand Dragons, Imperial Wizards, neo-Nazi Commanders are detailed in his documentary Accidental Courtesy, and his riveting first book Klan-Destine Relationships. Daryl tours around the country and around the world performing musical concerts and giving lectures on race reconciliation, inspiring both racists and non-racists to redirect their positions toward working together to truly make America the greatest country it can be.

"We’re delighted to welcome streaming partners Braver Angels,  McCourtney Institute for Democracy, National Institute for Civil Discourse, BridgeUSA, Listen First Project, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future,  Common Ground Committee, Civic Health Project, YOUnify, Citizen Connect, Center for the Humanities at University of Miami, Tallahassee Democrat, WFSU Public Media,and Network for Responsible Public Policy."

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

tlh.villagesquare.us/event/daryl-davis/

tlh.villagesquare.us

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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

We also discussed what it's like being sworn in as U.S. Attorney on the very day the infamous "underwear bomber" attempted to blow up a plane in her jurisdiction; the importance of humanizing the victims as well as the accused as an attorney; how Barb was mentored by Jennifer Granholm who was a U.S. Attorney, then Governor of Michigan and is now the Secretary of Energy in the Biden Admin.; how the Conservative Legal Movement is distinct from Trumpism; the damage that was done to our institutions, specifically the Dept. of Justice, during the Trump Admin; whether Barb is optimistic or pessimistic about the future of our country; and much more!

Barbara McQuade is a law professor at the University of Michigan, where she teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and national security law.  She is also a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and a co-host of the excellent podcast #SistersInLaw. From 2010 to 2017, Barbara served as the U.S Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. She was appointed by President Barack Obama, and was the first woman to serve in that position. Barbara also served as vice chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and co-chaired the Terrorism and National Security Subcommittee. Before becoming U.S. Attorney, she was an Assistant U.S. Attorney, practiced law in Detroit from 1993 to 1998, and served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Professor McQuade graduated from the University of Michigan, then from the University of Michigan Law School and was born not too far away in Detroit, Michigan.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

Be sure to check out Top of Mind with Julie Rose: www.byuradio.org/topofmind

www.politicon.com/podcast-title/sisters-in-law/

twitter.com/BarbMcQuade

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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

We're joined this week by Jenna Spinelle and Brandon Stover. Jenna is the Communications Specialist for the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University and the Founder of the Democracy Group Podcast Network. Jenna also teaches journalism in the College of Communications at Penn State. Brandon Stover is the Network Manager of the Democracy Group, he is the host of the podcast Brandon Stover on Life, and he’s the Founder of Plato University where the mission is to help people find purpose and learn skills for social impact careers.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

www.democracygroup.org

twitter.com/JennaSpinelle

democracy.psu.edu

www.brandonstover.com/podcast

www.plato.university

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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This was an eye-opening conversation with Shawnee-Lenape Scholar and Author Steven T. Newcomb whose work examines Christendom’s legacy of domination and dehumanization that has resulted in the near destruction of thousands of years of spiritual and ecological wisdom developed by indigenous peoples and nations.

We discussed how much of the history and culture of original nations and peoples was systematically smothered and ultimately lost; how cutting a people off from their traditional teachings is a form of domination and dehumanization; how Old Testament religious concepts form a significant part of the backdrop of federal Indian law and policy; cognitive theory and what it has to do with the history of the United States and federal Indian law; how the American Enterprise (i.e. Empire) is predicated on the assumption of the right of domination at its root; the significance of the Johnson & Graham's Lessee vs. M'Intosh SCOTUS case of 1823 - "the cornerstone of property law in the U.S."; how the claim of the right of domination has become the organizing principle of the planet and much more.

Steven Newcomb has been studying and writing about U.S. federal Indian law and policy since the early 1980s, particularly the application of international law to Indigenous nations and peoples. Mr. Newcomb is the Director of the Indigenous Law Institute, the author of Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, and the co-producer of the documentary “The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code.” Mr. Newcomb has worked on Indigenous Peoples issues at the United Nations for twenty years. His work has been published by Wiley-Blackwell of Oxford, NYU School of Law, Fulcrum Publishing, UCLA School of Law, and the Griffith School of Law in Australia. In May 2016, Mr. Newcomb met Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square and Archbishop Tomasi at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace regarding the papal bulls of the fifteenth century.

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. 

www.amazon.com/Pagans-Promised-Land-Christian-Discovery/dp/1555916422

vimeo.com/ondemand/dominationcode

originalfreenations.com

www.researchgate.net/publication/368661824_Redthought_Event_200_Years_Since_the_Origin_of_Federal_Indian_Law

www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion

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Our guest on this episode is Lanae Erickson, SVP at Third Way, a national think tank that champions modern center-left ideas. What does it mean to be a pragmatic progressive? How can our country make pragmatic progress on important issues that's actually sustainable: Whether it's immigration, clean energy, the economy, higher education, gun safety or other social issues? Why do so many elected officials and activists treat issues most often as an all or nothing proposition? Has the Biden Administration achieved any major accomplishments? (Spoiler alert: Uh, yeah. And not so coincidentally, most of those legislative accomplishments were negotiated with bipartisan participation.) Is all compromise good? How did certain Democrats lose in Congressional districts Biden won (Eg. CA27, a Biden +12 district)? What does the current makeup of the Democratic Party look like? What about the Republican Party? Which Party is beholden to its extremist wings and which Party is led by a more pragmatic approach?

As Senior Vice President for Social Policy & Politics at Third Way, Lanae tackles hot-button issues like immigration, abortion, religious liberty, education and guns. Previously, Lanae served as a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She was also Legislative Counsel at Alliance for Justice and before that, at the Legal Rights Center and the Center for Victims of Torture. Lanae’s commentary has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Politico and PBS NewsHour among other outlets. She has also appeared on NPR, Fox News, CSPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN, Bloomberg Television and is a regular contributor to one of our favorite podcasts Politicology! Lanae is also the principal second violinist in DC’s Capital City Symphony.

twitter.com/LanaeErickson

www.thirdway.org

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Are you interested in a shared future among people of vast differences? There is so much to unpack in this conversation with Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza. Here are just a few of the concepts we touched upon: While the nature of God doesn't change, the nature of thought about the idea of God changes - eg. the color of the historical Jesus's skin (he has been depicted most frequently as white when history indicates he was a darker skinned Middle Easterner). What does it mean to "decolonize knowledge production"? How do we as a culture know things (i.e. epistemology)? Where are there gaps or "ruptures" in what we know and how we as a culture know things? We discuss Dr. E's involvement in the response to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA in 2017: "Organizing a response to white Supremacy is a big job." We also learned a bit more about the very real threats and attacks he's had to endure from influential figures such as worship leader Sean Feucht and Matt Walsh (@mattwalshblog, 1.3 mil. followers) as well as the Proud Boys. We discussed the fact that "...we have been socialized to reject difference" and how to overcome that disposition. We also explored whether there are people who hold beliefs and views that, by virtue of those beliefs, would render them beyond "en conjunto" - a desire to come together across our differences? We talked about being queer - whether it's an identity or an orientation. How do we engage effectively with those who'd impose their worldview on the rest of us - a worldview that assumes the mantle of owning the exclusive rights to what's "true" and "good"? And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza is a TransQueer Latinx, Activist Scholar, Politicized Theologian and Public Ethicist. Dr. Roberto is the founder of Activist Theology Project which is emerging as Our Collective Becoming, a collaborative team passionate about a commitment to the ethics and politics of en conjunto (togetherness). Our Collective Becoming is a group of politicized theologians and healers, social change agents, and strategy-minded people in the hybrid space of the church, social change, and the academy. Dr. Roberto has spent two decades working on DEIB movements and initiatives focused on new concepts of being and becoming, and decolonizing knowledge production. Most importantly translating theory into action. And Dr. Roberto is a prolific podcaster and writer, most recently of his important latest book Body Becoming: A Path to Liberation. And Dr. E also has a profound Ted Talk that dropped on 2/7/23.

www.ourcollectivebecoming.com

https://robertoche.com/

www.indiebound.org/book/9781506473574

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6LV2KRU40g&t=1s

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We had a ton of questions for Kevin Singer, President of Neighborly Faith which conducts research and organizes events “introducing Christians to neighbors of every faith.” For example, considering Kevin has Jewish relatives, were there ever discussions about Jewish people's cultural allergy to proselytization and ways that American Evangelicals - perhaps unknowingly - cross that line? How does Neighborly Faith go about "train(ing) tomorrow's leaders to be faithful and flourish in an increasingly diverse world” and “knowing and serving all of our neighbors.” Is it an Evangelical bait and switch? Yaqeen Institute founder Imam Omar Suleiman said at one of NF's events, “I was and am fine with his (SBC President JD Greear) vision of the hereafter not having space for me, so long as it doesn’t become an obstacle to me having space in the here and now.” Is that part of the point of the work Neighborly Faith does? We also discussed where folks that are part of GenZ find meaning as individuals and within communities compared to previous generations?

Kevin was raised at the intersection of his mother’s Evangelical faith and his father’s Reform Jewish roots. He earned graduate degrees in Theology from Wheaton College and Higher Ed from NC State. Kevin has extensive teaching and leadership experience in churches, campus ministries, and colleges. He planted two churches with the North American Mission Board (2009-14) and is also head of Media Relations and PR at Springtide Research Institute. Kevin is a prolific writer with placements in Christianity Today, Religion News, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, InsideHigherEd, and more.

www.neighborlyfaith.org

https://www.neighborlyfaith.org/evangelicals-politics-report

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One look at the title of Rabbi Mike's book and one could understand why we loved having him on the pod! With a special return visit from Ronnie Nathan as co-host, we had a great conversation. But here's the thing, if you're one of those folks who goes by the phrase, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" - you're gonna hate this conversation! (Oh and, bless your heart.) Aside from that, we covered a lot of ground. For example, it's okay to question the Bible and wrestle with the idea of God. A rabbi said so! We explored how the Gospels can be interpreted as anti-Jewish. We also discussed whether a Jew could believe in Jesus as the Messiah and still be Jewish.

Rabbi Michael E. Harvey is the Amazon bestselling author of Let’s Talk: A Rabbi Speaks to Christians. An ordained rabbi, he has led congregations and served as a hospital chaplain. Rabbi Mike is passionate about social justice, interfaith cooperation, and bringing deep Jewish learning to the lay public. He has followed these passions in serving his community, including founding and directing the Interfaith Council of the Caribbean as well as directing the Interfaith Leaders of Greater Lafayette. He also serves on the rabbinic advisory council of the American Jewish Archives. When he isn’t writing, Rabbi Mike can be found building community and offering a listening ear in a different kind of congregation: as a bartender in Indiana.

www.rabbimichaelharvey.com

www.rabbimichaelharvey.com/buy-the-book

twitter.com/RabbiHarvey

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Joe Walsh came back for another visit on our program and we covered a lot of ground! Can we share space with folks who have different beliefs than we do - even if they've said some egregious things in the past? If there's a line, where is that line? What does it mean to be a conservative? Is Donald Trump a real conservative? Is Ron DeSantis a conservative? What is a recipe for success for today's conservative media personalities? Is there a trick to their trade? What are effective ways of engaging folks who are still in the MAGA world? Oh, and we get pretty deep into religion too! How did studying the craft of acting prepare Joe for his future jobs as a social worker, an elected official and a radio host? What the hell is wrong in our politics and our country? Most importantly, how do we fix it? And, for the record, Helene Miller Walsh would absolutely get my vote if she ran for office!

Joe Walsh is a former U.S. Congressman, a former Presidential candidate, a nationally syndicated radio host (once dubbed “the next Rush Limbaugh), but now a man whose personal mission is to LISTEN. With his growing podcast, WHITE FLAG with JOE WALSH, he surrenders the urge to fight and strives to find a path to unite, not divide. Joe is also the author of F*ck Silence: Calling Trump Out for the Cultish, Moronic, Authoritarian Con Man He Is. He is a former Tea Party firebrand turned woke never-Trumper. He is also definitely a guy who strives to have meaningful conversations with folks from across the spectrum and yearns to give voice to so many who are somewhere in the middle.

twitter.com/WalshFreedom

linktr.ee/joewalshfreedom

pod.link/1590913798

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If you love charts, data and data analysis, you'll love this conversation. And you'll definitely love this week's guest, Washington Post national columnist Philip Bump's new book THE AFTERMATH about "the Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America." Our conversation covers a lot of ground including how Philip responds to stupidity in politics while still being fair and holding on to the core principles of accuracy and honesty; whether good journalists are merely "preaching to the choir" or actually persuading anyone; what the Baby Boom is and how outsized their influence is - politically and economically; whether social security is really going to run out with all the Boomers drawing on social security; what the demographic differences are between Boomers and other generations; why 4 in 10 Trump voters don't even know anyone who voted for Biden and vice versa; what trends we can reasonably expect as Boomers continue to age; and much more.

Philip Bump is a national columnist for The Washington Post; before that he led political coverage for The Atlantic Wire. One of the paper’s most read writers, he focusses on the data behind polls and political rhetoric. He has been on most major media outlets, from MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to Fox News’s “Special Report,” and on NPR and PBS. His first book, The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America, looks at the overlap of the end of the baby boom and the upheaval in American politics and the U.S. economy.

www.washingtonpost.com/people/philip-bump

www.pbump.com

post.news/@pbump

twitter.com/pbump

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twitter.com/coreysnathan

This is a fun conversation with tech founder and political strategist, Lucy Caldwell.

What causes some issues or politicians to have a "moment" and some others to just die on the vine? How similar is opening a major motion picture with running a political campaign? Can a case be made for open primaries and ranked-choice voting? How can one explain an elected official acting like an extremist while "representing" a purple district? Does it all come down to "algorithm politics"? What is the definition of "memetic candidates" and how bad are they for our politics? Oh, and there is some good advice for Kyrsten Sinema; a hot take or two on Sarah Palin; and some cool stories about running a presidential campaign.

Lucy Caldwell has charted a renowned career in the private & public sectors, in politics and tech. She notably served as former Congressman Joe Walsh’s campaign manager during his Presidential primary challenge against Trump and formed Mockingbird Lab to get issue-advocacy organizations to shift towards data-driven tactics. Until 2019, Lucy served as the Chief Strategy Officer & EVP at Crowdskout when the company was named the Best Advocacy Technology Platform by Campaigns & Elections Magazine. You probably recognize Lucy from her appearances on CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, and NPR or as a regular contributor on one of our favorite podcasts Politicology.

twitter.com/lucymcaldwell

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This is a special episode with Corey's cousins, the Warshawskys. Sheila, Allan, Deena and Jonathan join the pod to recount how our family had to flee Cherny Ostriv, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1920, travel across Europe and finally arrive in America on March 3, 1921.

It's possible that the Blicks and Krivals had been in that region for as long as 1,000 years. So what were the circumstances that led to the family's decision to leave the area where they had such deep roots? What was the trip across Europe and then the Atlantic like? How did the family re-establish itself in Newark, NJ and Brooklyn, NY? Then later (1979), what went into the decision on the part of the Warshawski cousins to make "aliyah" to Israel?

And, oh yes, we do talk about politics! Trump and Bibi Netanyahu and some other issues come up in our conversation. There's even some disagreement just to keep it fun!

This is a special episode of TP&R. We're sharing an interview Justin Peters did with Corey Nathan on Justin's excellent podcast The Struggle Is Real.

Here are the show notes from the original airing on The Struggle Is Real:

Title: How to Talk Politics and Religion Without Killing Each Other | E55 Corey Nathan

Description:

I’ve dreaded some recent get-togethers knowing argumentative political conversations are going to be on the agenda and for quite some time, I’ve taken the approach that it is better to avoid these conversations by staying quiet and giving a friendly nod.

That line of thinking is changing for me now. Avoiding participation in these conversations is forgoing the opportunity to learn something new, and maybe even change my mind. Along with that, if I’m not taking the time or initiative to understand someone else’s point of view, I’m only reinforcing the current state of divisiveness between these binary camps of blue and red.

I invited Corey Nathan on the podcast to give us inspiration on how this could be done right. He shares his personal story of making amends with his dad when he decided to leave the Jewish faith.

In the second half of this episode, Corey shares some basic communication skills to help us have more enabling conversations. Some of my favorites include the feel, felt, found framework, the phrase “help me understand”, and changing our mindset from competition to collaboration.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with the stockbroker by day, theater guy by night, Jew from Jersey that became a Christian, and the host of the incredible podcast, Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other…Corey Nathan.

More of Corey:

Podcast: Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

https://www.politicsandreligion.us/

Instagram: @tpandrpod

More of TSIR:

Find show notes and more at https://www.tsirpodcast.com/

Follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/tsirpod/

Happy to share some of our favorite conversations from this last year. Subsequent to our talk with Christie Whitman, the former Republican Governor of New Jersey has gone on to join the Forward Party as Co-Chair along with former Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang.

In this conversation with Christine Todd Whitman, the former Governor (of the best state in the union!) and Cabinet Member, we talk about how she started her career in politics by going around the country and actually listening to people. Imagine that! We also discussed how she was able to achieve bipartisan collaboration during her 2 terms as governor of New Jersey; an assessment of how the Biden Administration is doing on climate initiatives; other achievable actions that can have a positive effect on the environment; what she's doing to resist the danger posed by candidates who are brazenly anti-democracy; the encouraging work of States United Democracy Center - "more than a think tank... an action tank"; a sober warning about current governors who are deploying the tactics of dictators; her experience with Donald Trump back when he was screwing over small contractors who built his casinos in New Jersey; and we even get to talk about religion!

Christine Todd Whitman is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the States United Democracy Center and she is the President of The Whitman Strategy Group. Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor. Governor Whitman also serves a number of non-profit organizations including as Chairman of the American Security Project, Vice-Chairman of the Trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships and Advisor on Renew America Movement. Among quite a few other non-profits and causes, she was co-chair of the Commission on the Rule of Law and Democracy at the Brennan Center at New York University. Also during the 2020 election cycle she served as Chair of Republicans and Independents for Biden. And on top of all of that, she is the author of a New York Times best seller called It’s My Party Too: Taking Back the Republican Party... And Bringing the Country Together Again.

statesuniteddemocracy.org

whitmanstrategygroup.com

renewamericamovement.com

https://post.news/coreysnathan

What can happen when people from different "tribes" actually get together in person? We often jump to conclusions based merely on how someone votes. But do we take the time to understand how they arrived at that decision? How can we bring our friends and neighbors from a posture of contentiousness to one of curiosity? To put down the weapons of the culture war and pick up a cup of coffee with someone from the "other side"? Does sharing facts change people's minds? Does the tactic of dropping the perfectly worded factoid actually convince anyone of anything? Is there a line someone might cross where they're no longer a person we can even have a conversation with? We can have conversations about what is true, what is meaningful and what is useful. Is that all the same conversation?

Monica Guzman is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; and cofounder of the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey. She was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. She served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize. A Mexican immigrant, Latina, and dual US/Mexico citizen, and is the author of I Never Thought of It That Way: How To Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.

https://braverangels.org/

https://www.moniguzman.com/

https://www.moniguzman.com/book

https://twitter.com/coreysnathan

This is a special bonus episode we're sharing of the Village SquareCast. The panel is titled Bridge Building and Bipartisanship.

Bridge building?!  (We’re not talking about the Golden Gate, people.)  An industry that was recently unknown and almost nonexistent has exploded in recent years, as average citizens begin to see the sharp growth in political divisions as an emergency that requires our attention. In the midst of a divisive election season, we’ll take a pause to chat with leaders in the bridge building field about the outlook for cooperation across political differences and potential improvements on the horizon that we can all reach for.

Is there hope of a tipping point where bridge-building is more prominent than the divide-and-(attempt to)-conquer approach of late?  Might average Americans like our heroic guests and listeners have to roll up their sleeves and show our politicians the way?

Speaking of the politicians:  stay tuned until the end to learn about the Common Ground Scorecard where you can find out which candidates on your ballot are interested in bridging divides. #Mavericks

Joining the conversation are Pearce Godwin, Founder & CEO of Listen First Project; Kristin Hansen, Executive Director of Civic Health Project; and Liz Joyner, Founder and President of The Village Square.

Listen First Project leads the collaborative movement to heal America by bridging divides. They elevate the impact, visibility, and voice of the bridge-building field by aggregating, aligning, and amplifying the efforts of 500 #ListenFirst Coalition partner organizations into large scale, national campaigns and strategies. Together these organizations transform division and contempt into connection and understanding.

Civic Health Project is dedicated to reducing America’s toxic partisan polarization and enabling healthier public discourse and decision-making across our citizenry, politics, and media. Through grantmaking, advocacy, and convenings, Civic Health Project supports the most promising research and interventions to reduce political division and foster social cohesion across the country.

This episode is part of The Democracy Group’s 2022 Midterm Series.

In this coversation with columnist, public speaker, recovering attorney and playwright, Wajahat Ali, we discuss what it's like to live in a country you love that doesn't always love you back; representation and how often different folks are portrayed as invisible, the sidekick, the punchline or the villain; how it was to be the only Muslim kid going to a Jesuit Catholic H.S.; seeing the common values and stories in both the Bible and the Koran; what it was like, as a Muslim who was born here and grew up here, after 9/11; the dangers in turning our prophets into nothing more than mascots; the tendency to "sell Jesus" with the selling points being the promise of having white teeth, a mansion and a yacht; and so much more.

Wajahat Ali is a Daily Beast columnist and co-host of the excellent podcast democracy-ish. His first book Go Back To Where You Came From: And, Other Helpful Recommendations on Becoming American was published in January of 2022. He is all about sharing stories that are by us, for everyone: universal narratives told through a culturally specific lens to entertain, educate and bridge the global divides. You may have seen or heard Wajahat on television and podcasts for his brilliant, incisive, and witty political commentary. His essays, interviews, and reporting have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Guardian, and New York Review of Books.

www.wajali.com/

www.dcpofficial.com/democracy-ish

www.amazon.com/dp/0393867978/

In this roundtable discussion, we're joined by two friends of the pod, Lori Adams-Brown of A World of Difference and Will Wright of Faithful Politics. We discuss what we got right (and wrong) about the Midterms? What does it all mean for our Democracy? And we begin to take a look ahead to the coming legislative session as well as to 2024.

Lori Adams-Brown is a combination of international speaker, business executive, podcaster and relief and development expert. She hosts the popular podcast 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 in Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Malaysia, Venezuela and around the US.  Lori speaks 6 languages, and serves on the board of Justice Revival, and volunteers to help resettle Afghan refugees in the SF Bay Area.

Will Wright has been interested in politics his whole life. He elected not to run for any office because in the third grade his teacher told him that Black people could never be president (true story). But in 2001 after the world trade center towers collapsed, Will felt the need to do something, so he enlisted in the United States Army as an Infantryman. His unit was one of the initial pushes into the streets of Iraq, during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After leaving the service, Will traveled the world as a consultant which is where he really experienced how the world works and got the idea to start a podcast that centers around faith and politics. His political leanings tend to favor Democratic policies, but he has voted for Democrats, Libertarians, and Republicans. He wishes that problems could be fixed by civil dialogue, and hopes his podcast - which is called Faithful Politics - can exemplify what that conversation can look like in the world.

https://a-world-of-difference.captivate.fm

www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

https://justicerevival.org

Robert Draper is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic Magazine. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestseller, Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush and his latest book Weapons of Mass Delusion: When the Republican Party Lost Its Mind.

In this episode we explore a number of pressing questions: What are some characteristics of the "mass delusion" that currently plagues our country? Who is a part of it? Who's responsible for it? Will the results of these midterms start to dissipate the MAGA movement? How could Republican leaders and Republican candidates manage to win in primaries and keep the MAGA base without turning off the general electorate? Is it even possible? Where did this notion begin and who is perpetuating the idea that Democrats are bad people and possibly even evil? As a journalist who'd been to war zones all over the world, what was it like to witness first hand the events of January 6th? What are the beliefs and motivations that drive people to participate in the kind of violence that occurred on that day? What were some of the revelations and conclusions that came out of Robert's dinner with MTG? Trump isn't the world's greatest deal maker afterall (go figure). But which two great deals did he make that can explain his takeover of the Republican Party? What was it like getting to know a leader affiliated with the Oath Keepers? Many of the answers to these questions may be very surprising.

www.nytimes.com/by/robert-draper

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688795/weapons-of-mass-delusion-by-robert-draper/

twitter.com/DraperRobert

twitter.com/coreysnathan

Which states are the bellwethers in the upcoming election? Which states will give the clearest indication of the direction of the House and Senate? Who is showing up to vote that pollsters weren't expecting? And how will those voters who aren't considered "likely voters" change the results? How does a firm like Decision Desk HQ gather the information needed to make election calls as quickly as they do? (Answer: There are 50 states with 50 different ways to get the information.) What is a model? How are election models different from polls? What factors are considered to develop a model? What are some of the differences between DDHQ's model and other models such as fivethirtyeight's? How should we look at projections? We explore these questions and more with DDHQ's Senior Data Scientist Kiel Williams.

Kiel Williams is a Senior Data Scientist at Decision Desk HQ. Decision Desk HQ collects, organizes, and reports election night results and provides election related data to media outlets, political organizations, and anyone interested in who votes and how they voted. Kiel specifically performs electoral analysis, polling and manages data operations at DDHQ. Kyle has an undergraduate degree in physics and math from Guilford College and earned his PhD in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

decisiondeskhq.com/

twitter.com/DecisionDeskHQ

twitter.com/KielTWilliams

twitter.com/coreysnathan

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/

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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."

Ron Steslow is the founder and host of Politicology, a leading voice in the fight against attacks on democracy in America and around the globe. Ron was a rising star in Republican politics before leaving the party in 2016. In 2019, he co-founded The Lincoln Project to lead its renowned marketing operation to defeat Trump and Trumpism. Just last year, Ron was named one of Fortune Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 in Government and Politics. We cover a lot of ground in this dialogue, including Ron's own amazing journey, identity politics, redistricting, the threats to democracy we currently face and a wonderful non-profit Ron supports called Oriented to Love. So cool to have been able to record this conversation in-person on the campus of BOND, a leading entertainment marketing agency that consists of some of the most wonderful artists, innovators and creators we know. https://politicology.com/ https://bit.ly/Oriented_to_Love https://wearebond.com/

From social worker to small business owner to champion for other small businesses to political candidate, Selina Thomas (linktr.ee/selinathomas) is on quite a journey. Indeed, Selina is the first woman of color to be a candidate for City Council in Santa Clarita. On this episode we discuss how she ran toward the challenges small businesses have had to overcome over the last couple years, how she’s been able to answer skepticism and even hateful prejudice with grace, why she chose to run for elected office and much more.

Known as “the Father of Faith-based Diplomacy,” Douglas Johnston has been in the room with such figures as Henry Kissinger and Robert McNamara, and experienced coming under fire from extremists while trying to negotiate peace in the Middle East. Doug is the Pres. Emeritus and Founder of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy. He is the author of numerous books on faith and diplomacy, most recently an in-depth memoir, Mountaintops and Mai Tais. He is also a graduate of the Naval Academy and holds a Masters and PhD from Harvard Univ. He has served in senior positions in government, the military and the private sector, including six years at Harvard where he taught int’l. affairs and was founding director of the university's Exec. Program in Nat’l. and Int’l. Security.

There is still great journalism and excellent reporters contributing to our public square. One such newsman is Jake Sherman, co-founder of Punchbowl News, a daily news service focusing on Congress. After 11 years at Politico, Jake started Punchbowl with Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan. He also co-authored The Hill to Die On: The Battle for Congress and the Future of Trump’s America, which covers the extraordinary period in politics from 2016 to 2018. We discuss what it takes to be a good reporter, what it was like to be in the Capitol on January 6th, what’s happening in Congress today along with some projections for the road ahead.

Jack Taggart is right at the cutoff between the Millenial and GenZ generations. He’s also part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, aka the Mormon Church. In this conversation, we explore what distinguishes the LDS church from other religions and hear some perspectives from a guy who’s a late Millennial early Gen Z.  Jack also has a really cool podcast called “The Moderate Review” where he has civil discussions with folks who have different perspectives on any number of topics. Plus Jack asks Corey a few questions at the end and then we get a little podcast geeky!

Bill Kristol is editor at large of The Bulwark; host of the podcast Conversations with Bill Kristol; and Chairman of the Board of the Republican Accountability Project. In this conversation, we discuss neoconservatism; the diversity of people and perspectives at Harvard; what happened to Tucker Carlson since his time at the Weekly Standard; whether isolationism and bigotry have taken hold; what we should read into recent special elections; and where we go from here.

Jeff Harding is the Area Coordinator at National Network of Youth Ministries, which means he’s a leader of leaders; he is also Youth Minister at Trinity Fellowship Church; and is the Founder and Host of the Youth Ministry Maverick Podcast. We discuss some of the unique challenges youth face today, the divide of social and political leanings between Gen Z  and their parents’ age groups (Gen X), and how to engage with the “Biggest generation ever, with the shortest attention span ever.”

Will Wright and Josh Burtram are the hosts of Faithful Politics where they talk to experts, scholars, theologians, politicians, journalists, and everyday people in order to understand how political decisions affect people of faith and the faithless and are “proving that it is much more rewarding to discuss topics in an effort to understand each other rather than just score points.” Will Wright, a lifelong student of politics who enlisted in the Army after 9/11 and traveled the world as a consultant after his time in the service, is a former atheist, disabled Veteran, and African-Asian American whose political views tend to be more Liberal Progressive; Josh Burtram, who has traditionally stayed out of the political environment is a full-time Pastor at Short Pump Community Church outside of Richmond, Virginia and is a Conservative Republican, who has a heart and passion for theology.

Michael Wear served in the Obama White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships from 2009-2012, and led religious outreach for Pres. Obama’s re-election campaign. In 2020, Michael was Sr. Advisor to Not Our Faith PAC, a bipartisan effort that made a Christian case against re-electing Donald Trump. Today, Michael is the founder of Public Square Strategies, a consulting firm at the intersection of faith and public life. Michael is also Sr. Fellow at The Trinity Forum, and has written for The N.Y. Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Christianity Today and other major publications. He is an author of, among other contributions, Reclaiming Hope, and has a newsletter of the same name, as well as a recent report he co-wrote for Trinity titled Christianity, Pluralism, and Public Life in the United States.

In this conversation, we get to see “inside the room” to learn how decisions at the highest levels of our military and government get made. We get to hear how folks who spent a lifetime serving our country processed personal decisions of working for and then leaving the Trump Administration. David Lapan served more than 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring in 2015 as a colonel. Col. Lapan is a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and was most recently the spokesperson under Secretary John Kelly at the Dept. of Homeland Security. Prior to that, our guest was spokesperson for several Secretaries of Defense; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Commander, Int’l. Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan; and for multinational forces during military operations in Haiti and Iraq. Dave also volunteers with Tragedy Assistance Program For Survivors (TAPS), a great organization that cares for the families of America’s fallen heroes.

Beth Braunstein was elected to be a Director on the SCV Water Board which provides “responsible water stewardship to ensure the Santa Clarita Valley has reliable supplies of high quality water at a reasonable cost.” We discuss water shortages, how an area like SCV is able to source water, how to provide safe water as well as strategies of conserving water. We also branch out into subjects like what prompted Beth as an engaged citizen to run for elected office and even get into some other political issues.

Bill Goebel and Odell Cleveland are the co-hosts of Bill & Odell Are Finding Common Ground. As they describe it, “One Republican, one Democrat, one black, one white, both devoted Christians that love the Lord and one another!” In this conversation, we discuss how two fellows with very different backgrounds and many differing viewpoints have been able to find common ground on some of the most challenging issues from race to politics to religion and everything in between.

Check out Bill and Odell’s program here: http://www.thecommonground.show/

And here’s a great non-profit they support: https://youthofnc.com/

James Patton, CEO of International Center for Religion and Diplomacy joins TPandR along with colleague, Loujain Kiki, to discuss the economic roots of extremism and how their efforts to counter violence overseas are returning home to address our domestic divides.  We cover how to prepare a community for the influx of refugees from Afghanistan and why American xenophobia is on the rise.  Perhaps most important of all, we explore how religious understanding is an underutilized tool in diplomacy and peace-making.

For more information on ICRD: www.icrd.org

Register here for their annual Faith in Action Awards dinner on September 23, 2021.

To discover Center for Women Faith & Leadership: http://www.centerforwomenfaithandleadership.org/

Hear how Craig Snyder (R), candidate for U.S. Senate, answers whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. It's different from what we've come to expect in politics today. We also discuss Craig's upbringing in Philadelphia; the formative years at U. Penn and Temple Law; being Sen. Arlen Specter's Chief of Staff; bringing leaders of diverse views together as head of World Affairs Council of Phila.; and where he stands on current issues incl. CRT, vaccines, Afghanistan, LGBTQ rights and more.

www.craigsnyderforsenate.com

Del Walters is the Washington Bureau Chief of the Black News Channel.  Del hails from Wheeling, West Virginia, where he was the first African American on local television news. Del has reported on American racial justice for more than 40 years, ranging from infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan to outting Nazi Theodore Benzinger who conducted high altitude experiments on Jews. Del joins Jessica and Corey to drill down on race, wokeism and the politics and religion of the African American community.

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Matthew Colwell is Pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena CA and also the co-author of Our God is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice. Matt earned his Masters Degree in Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, his Doctorate from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and is also the author of Sabbath Economics: Household Practices. We discuss economic and military policies that result in "tempest tossed" populations and how the Bible does not support "closed door" policies. Matt also shares stories of some inspiring human beings who are involved in immigrant justice.

Dennis Quinn, of the Pew Research Center, is the Computational Social Scientist who was the Primary Researcher on their recent analysis PASTORS OFTEN DISCUSSED ELECTION, PANDEMIC AND RACISM IN FALL OF 2020. We get great insights into what subjects were being covered in America's churches during election season, how 4 of the largest groups of churches were discussing those subjects and the stark differences among Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Historically Black Protestant and Catholic churches... and wow! There really were some huge differences. Plus we get into some adjacent subjects like how quality polling is done, how machine learning is used to do more comprehensive analysis and we decided what we'll be putting on the first set of TP&R t-shirts! #RelTrad

With deep roots in Republican politics, Mike Madrid has now been on the front lines of defeating Trump and Trumpism. A graduate of Georgetown University and one of America's leading Latino political strategists, Mike has been changing the outcomes of Presidential, gubernatorial, congressional and local campaigns for 30 years. "Strategist, Entrepreneur, Teacher and Artist," Mike serves on the Board of the American Association of Political Consultants, co-founded the Lincoln Project, is a partner at GrassrootsLab and hosts the Americanata Podcast.

Edward-Isaac Dovere is staff writer at the Atlantic and author of the most authoritative account of the Democrats’ presidential campaigns of 2020, Battle for the Soul. In this conversation, Corey and Jessica dive into the book as well as Isaac's professional trajectory and his views on the current political landscape. In our discussion of the book, we learn intimate details of many of the candidates and their campaign teams including Kamala Harris, Mayor Pete, Bernie and, of course, Joe Biden. 

Ayla Shea Nathan is a student and engaged citizen who has personally experienced anti-semitism. Whether it’s historic atrocities, more recent history such as men carrying torches shouting “Jews Will Not Replace Us” or current tensions that have resulted from the conflicts between Hamas and Israel, hostility and even hatred for Jews is all too familiar to our people. Along with co-host Ronnie Nathan, we explore what it means to be a Jew, the history of anti-semitism, a recent set of events at Ayla's school that flared anti-semitic tensions and how we each dealt with personal experiences of anti-semitism.

Ryan Burge is an American Baptist pastor and Doctor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University, making him an ideal fit for our unique crossroads of politics ‘n religion.  Ryan is also the recent author of the book, THE NONES: WHERE THEY CAME FROM, WHO THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY ARE GOING. The book creates a comprehensive picture of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation. Ryan uses statistics and graphs to give readers a nuanced, accurate, and meaningful picture of how this rise happened, who the nones are, and what they mean for the future of American religion.  He publishes articles across the media landscape about the intersection of religion and politics.   Finally, he's the co-founder and frequent contributor to Religion in Public, a forum for scholars of religion and politics to make their work accessible to a more general audience.  In addition to teaching courses at EIU, Ryan is also a husband and a father.

Our guest today, Anthony Scaramucci, is the Founder, Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, a global alternative investments firm, and the Founder, Chairman of SALT, a thought leadership and networking forum encompassing finance, technology and geopolitics. He’s also the author of 4 best selling books. Anthony served on Trump’s transition team then served as the White House Communications Director for a “period” in July of 2017. He has since re-joined SkyBridge Capital and has been a sharp critic of the ex-president, specifically his mishandling of the pandemic, the loss of life, the loss of millions of jobs and has even said that Trump will go down in history as a domestic terrorist and insurrectionist. It’s also worth noting Anthony’s charitable work with such organizations as the Kennedy Center, The Brain Tumor Foundation and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Foundation. Anthony also hosts the podcast Mooch FM.

The four of us banter over how our faith informs our politics, are "straddlers" the future of the GOP, and how our small slice of the political pie can come together and make a difference.

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Tim Alexander has spent his life dedicated to public service and equal justice, currently as Civil Rights Attorney and Activist. He first spent many years in law enforcement, then became a prosecutor before becoming a civil rights attorney. Now, Tim is a candidate for U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd District which encompasses Atlantic City and the whole Southern part of the state. 

www.timalexanderforcongress.com

@talexander_NJ02

Christy Smith was a Member of the California State Assembly and more recently ran for U.S. Congress in CA’s 25th District, which Republican Mike Garcia ultimately won by one of the thinnest margins in the country - less than 1/10th of 1% of almost 350,000 votes. After Garcia voted to challenge the certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6th along with his continued propagation of the "Big Lie," Christy decided to run again. This time she is determined to earn the extra 333 votes that was the margin in the last race. https://www.christyforcongress.org/

Linda Feldmann is Washington Bureau Chief at the Christian Science Monitor and is their senior political and White House correspondent. Linda also served as the Moscow Bureau Chief for the Monitor and has been part of diplomatic efforts through the Dartmouth Conference. She’s won numerous awards and honors for her work and was elected to the prestigious Gridiron Club in 2016. In this conversation, we dig into Linda’s recent article Is Politics the New Religion? and the subject of political sectarianism.

Joe Trippi, the man who “reinvented campaigning,” can be heard these days on the great podcast, That Trippi Show. From Ted Kennedy’s 1980 campaign, Howard Dean’s run in ‘04 to Doug Jones’s surprising victory for the Alabama Senate seat in 2017, Joe’s been running grassroots campaigns at every level in U.S. politics and even internationally. Christine Trippi, the next generation of great political strategists, started in communications focusing on special events, social media and fundraising and recently worked on the Kamala Harris presidential campaign. We get to ask the Trippis about what issues are motivating voters today, how folks are engaging, what’s effective and where things are going from here. We also discuss Operation 147: "restoring our democracy one elected official at a time."

Ravi Zacharias and John Howard Yoder were considered influential Christian leaders. Tragically, they both serially sexually abused women. These are just two of many that were heroes that dreadfully failed leaving many victims. Dr. Amy Laura Hall and Dr. Tommy Givens help us reckon with some of this and how to process it. Amy Laura is Assoc. Prof. of Christian Ethics at Duke Divinity School. Tommy is Assoc. Prof. of New Testament Studies at Fuller Seminary with his ThD in Theological Ethics from Duke.

Charlie Sykes is the editor-in-chief of The Bulwark and host of the popular podcast of the same name. Charlie was a long time, top rated talk show host and was one of the most influential voices in conservative politics, especially in his home state of Wisconsin, having helped elevate figures like Paul Ryan, Scott Walker and Ron Johnson. And in late 2015, early 2016, he gave it all up on principle… What could possibly have happened in the world in 2016 or who could have arrived on the scene to cause a guy at the top of his game in conservative media to risk it all? Hmm… Not really sure, but today maybe we’ll find out. https://thebulwark.com/

Elizabeth Neumann served as Deputy Chief of Staff and then Assistant Secretary of Threat Prevention and Security Policy at the Department of Homeland Security in the Trump Administration - a unique vantage point to see the threats that metastasized on 1/6/21. But in April 2020, Elizabeth not only resigned her post, she became a vocal critic of the former President and many of his policies. She’s now a part of the Republican Accountability Project which recently published the GOP Democracy Report Card. We cover all this and a number of other pressing topics on today’s episode.

Daniel Lippman, is a reporter for Politico covering The White House and Washington. He was one of the co-authors of Politico’s Playbook "the unofficial guide to official Washington." Prior to Politico, Daniel worked for outlets such as Reuters, McClatchy Newspapers, Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal. And very much like one of our prior guests, Julie Mason, Daniel is one of today’s staunchest ambassadors for good journalism and champions of good journalists. Hosts Jessica Stone and Corey Nathan cover a range of topics from Mike Allen's influence, facing danger to get the story and serve the readers, what it's like covering different administrations, and how good journalists approach their work in today's environment.

Jessica Stone returns to TP&R, but this time as co-host to explore more about Ronnie's upbringing in Brooklyn, NY; his career as a guidance counselor and conflict resolution specialist in inner city schools; and how these experiences and his world views informed each other. We get into some candid conversations about race, education and sex. Jessica, as you’ll remember, is a 20 year veteran of local, national and international newsrooms where she’s covered the intersection of politics and business around the world. Her work has appeared in Yahoo Finance, USA Today, South China Morning Post, and Stansberry Research and she’s appeared on FOX and CBS radio & television.

On a recent trip to New Orleans, I happened upon musicians playing on Royal Street in the Quarter. To say it's worth sharing is an understatement. The experience reminded me of some of the profound thoughts I've heard from the great jazz virtuoso and ambassador Wynton Marsalis and the renowned theologian J. Kameron Carter. Jazz is what democracy and religion sound like when at their best: Faithfulness to the composition, brilliance of the individual players, within the context of playing amongst each other, negotiating with each other, lifting each other up, picking up where their partners left off, sometimes keeping rhythm, sometimes taking the lead, sometimes just listening - all for the music, all for 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.