Straight White American Jesus

When the rallying cry “Black Lives Matter” was heard across the world in 2013, Andre Henry was one of the millions for whom the movement caused a political awakening and a rupture in some of his closest relationships with white people. As he began using his artistic gifts to share his experiences and perspective, Henry was aggrieved to discover that many white Americans—people he called friends and family—were more interested in debating whether racism existed or whether Henry was being polite enough in the way he used his voice. Now Andrew calls on Black people and people of color to divest from whiteness and its false promises, trust what their lived experiences tell them, and practice hope as a discipline as they work for lasting change. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Andre Henry, All the White Friends I Could Not Keep: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/673889/all-the-white-friends-i-couldnt-keep-by-andre-henry/ To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Produced by Bradley Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a small world after all. So small we can go from Florida to Alaska to Arizona to California in one episode. A magically tragic journey through American politics and history. Brad and Dan begin the road trop in Florida, where Uncle Ron DeSantis has labeled Disney the wokest place on earth due to its opposition for the Don't Say Gay bill. Marjorie Taylor Greene stated that Disney wants to indoctrinate children with sexual filth. While it's laughable to think of Disney as "woke," the absolute temper tantrum GOP leaders have thrown over this matter is reflective of how extremism has become the only virtue in GOP politics. In order to understand how this works and where it came from, Brad and Dan turn to the news that Sarah Palin is running for Congress in Alaska. While this may not seem like big news nationally, it opens a window into the "Palinization" of politics over the last fifteen years. Brad and Dan recall how and why John McCain chose Palin as his running mate and what this unleashed in the Republican party: Birtherism, the Tea Party, obstructionism, xenophobia, and so on. From an examination of McCain, they look to his predecessor in the Senate, Barry Goldwater, who also ran for president and courted radical White Christians in order to get ahead in the polls. What emerges from this picture is a look at American politics that shows how for 65 years Republicans have tried to use extremists for political gain, only to unleash a disease on the American body politic. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Link to Satanic Panic Episode: https://getpodcast.com/podcast/straight-white-american-jesus/satanic-panic-then-and-now_1c0f630e61 Link to the Graham and Dias article at NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/christian-right-wing-politics.html Link to Goldwater's remarks on regretting alliance with White Christian nationalists: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/us/excerpts-from-goldwater-remarks.html To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the fallacies that often arises when we think about diverse identities, marginalization, and exclusion, is that all those groups who have experience marginalization or exclusion will naturally or organically come together in solidarity. But the social and political landscape is full of examples illustrating that this doesn’t happen. This episode explores this fallacy and looks at how it operates with an eye to thinking about how we can cultivate real solidarity and shared social identities. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation." It may surprise you to learn that this statement was crafted in principal by a Baptis and has been signed by hundreds of other faith leaders. We hear all the time about the threat of Christian nationalism. But what about the Christians fighting to prevent another J6 and for the American principles of religious liberty and freedom from religion? Amanda Tyler is executive director of BJC. She leads the organization as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty, defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government.. Called a “powerful advocate” and “rising star in the sector” by The Nonprofit Times, she was named one of the nation’s top 50 nonprofit leaders in 2018. Tyler was named “Baptist of the Year” by EthicsDaily.com in 2019. She also co-hosts the Respecting Religion podcast series, and she serves on the board of the Center for Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Bradley Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin by discussing how Madison Cawthorn's claims about cocaine and orgies sounded like youth group scare tactics. They then dig into the significance of the texts between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows, focusing on the Christian nationalism rife in their conversations, their characterization of Democrats as "evil," and the hope that God would not allow for the fair and free election of Joe Biden to go through. They also point out how this poses a conflict of interest for Clarence Thomas on SCOTUS cases involving January 6 and provide rebuttals to the Uncle Ron claims that criticism of Ginni Thomas is just misogyny. In the second segment Brad examines Trump's hopes that since Putin is now mad at Biden, Putin might release dirt on the President. For Brad and Dan this shows how the enemy of the people in the minds of MAGA Nation is not a war criminal like Putin, but their political opponents, who are not real Americans. The episode finishes with a lengthy discussion of the rise of Donald Crow--arguing that Trumpism will outlast Trump through the bundle of policies that are being passed at the state level. Trump himself was very bad at passing legislation. But governors and state legislatures are now putting into law the animus that his platform activated in the MAGA base. In the future, regardless of what happens with Trump and his role in public office, the legacy of Donald Crow will divide the country along lines similar to Jim Crow. This idea was first put forth by Charles Blow: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/27/opinion/desantis-trump-republican-party.html Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do we understand a complex social and political phenomenon like Christian nationalism? Does it represent a strategic coalition of different identity groups (e.g., political conservatives, conservative Christians, etc.)? Or is it something else? Dan argues that understanding something like Christian nationalism requires a different understanding of social and political identity. Instead of a strategic coalition, a phenomenon like Christian nationalism represents the emergence of a single new, complex social identity. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Dan Miller and Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Carolyn Chen is Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and Co-Director of the Program for the Study of Religion at Berkeley. Her new book, Work, Pray, Code explores the ways tech is replacing religion for some workers--and what this means for the future of the American public square and American religion. Work, Pray, Code: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691219080/work-pray-code Silicon Valley is known for its lavish perks, intense work culture, and spiritual gurus. Work Pray Code explores how tech companies are bringing religion into the workplace in ways that are replacing traditional places of worship, blurring the line between work and religion and transforming the very nature of spiritual experience in modern life. Over the past forty years, highly skilled workers have been devoting more time and energy to their jobs than ever before. They are also leaving churches, synagogues, and temples in droves—but they have not abandoned religion. Carolyn Chen spent more than five years in Silicon Valley, conducting a wealth of in-depth interviews and gaining unprecedented access to the best and brightest of the tech world. The result is a penetrating account of how work now satisfies workers’ needs for belonging, identity, purpose, and transcendence that religion once met. Chen argues that tech firms are offering spiritual care such as Buddhist-inspired mindfulness practices to make their employees more productive, but that our religious traditions, communities, and public sphere are paying the price. We all want our jobs to be meaningful and fulfilling. Work Pray Code reveals what can happen when work becomes religion, and when the workplace becomes the institution that shapes our souls. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan are joined by special guest host Dr. Sara Moslener, the professor for our May 2022 seminar: Purity Culture, Race, and Embodiment. The three of them begin by discussing the Senate hearings from SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to be nominated for the USA's highest court. We dig into why GOP senators focused their questioning on pedophilia and sex offenders, the definition of womanhood, and whether or not children are born racists. As Dan and Sara explain this all comes from a history of trying to make Black women into something other than real mothers and wives--much less real women--and framing safety and purity in racialized terms. Brad also notes that these foci played right into the hands of the QAnon crowed--a constituency Republican Senators now actively try to woo. The second segment examines the anti-trans and restrictive abortion laws in Idaho and TN. One law allows for the family members to sue a woman who decides to get an abortion. Another calls for life in prison if one leaves the state to get their kid gender-affirming care. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If individual identity and group identity are deeply intertwined, why does it seem that group identity shapes individual identity, but not the other way around? Why are group identities so hard to change, even when there are those within them working to change them? And what does this mean for understanding identity politics? Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Dan Miller and Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Jimenez-Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 2 of a two-part interview, Brad speaks with Philip Gorski (Yale) and Sam Perry (Oklahoma University) about their new book, the Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-flag-and-the-cross-9780197618684?cc=us&lang=en&#. Gorski and Perry explain what white Christian nationalism is and is not; when it first emerged and how it has changed; where it's headed and why it threatens democracy. Tracing the development of this ideology over the course of three centuries—and especially its influence over the last three decades—they show how, throughout American history, white Christian nationalism has animated the oppression, exclusion, and even extermination of minority groups while securing privilege for white Protestants. It enables white Christian Americans to demand "sacrifice" from others in the name of religion and nation, while defending their "rights" in the names of "liberty" and "property."To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 1 of a two-part interview, Brad speaks with Philip Gorski (Yale) and Sam Perry (Oklahoma University) about their new book, the Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-flag-and-the-cross-9780197618684?cc=us&lang=en&#. Gorski and Perry explain what white Christian nationalism is and is not; when it first emerged and how it has changed; where it's headed and why it threatens democracy. Tracing the development of this ideology over the course of three centuries—and especially its influence over the last three decades—they show how, throughout American history, white Christian nationalism has animated the oppression, exclusion, and even extermination of minority groups while securing privilege for white Protestants. It enables white Christian Americans to demand "sacrifice" from others in the name of religion and nation, while defending their "rights" in the names of "liberty" and "property." Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We often think of individual and groups identities as separate, or as incompatible in some way. But in this episode, we consider the ways in which our group identities determine and shape our individual identities, and argue that an understanding of this is crucial for understanding both identity and identity politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the bill in Florida has received more attention, South Carolina has its own Don't Say Gay bill on the docket. The bill would prevent instruction, presentations, discussions, counseling, or materials in any medium”that involve LGBTQ+ identities. It would prevent queer teachers fro being out to their students because that would constitute discussing such matters. It would prevent teachers from affirming or supporting queer students, offering them materials, or even assigning books that mention gender or sexuality. Taryn Auerbach is a queer educator in South Carolina. She shares with Brad the devastating effects this bill would have on her and her students. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan discuss a wide range of topics— from GOP voter fraud to Madison Cawthorn calling Zelenskyy a thug, to Don’t Say Gay Bills—through the lens of the idea that Christian nationalism is about order and violence. The takeaway: whether it’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, or democracy itself— Christian nationalists will use violence to achieve the societal order they want. Also: Trump says to bomb Russia and say China did it. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why can it be so apparent to us that people’s political behavior or social views are a reflection of their group identity, but they will insist that they’re group identity has no impact on these areas of their life? Or why do we have such a strong sense that we hold the social views we do or behave politically as we do because of who we are as individuals, when we know that people are shaped by their group identities? This episode explores these questions and outlines the relation between individual identity and group identity, arguing that an understanding of this dynamic is crucial for thinking about identity and identity politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are American Christians rooting for Putin? How did the Russian autocrat become the ideal leader in their eyes? Brad speaks to Dr. Sara Riccard Swartz, an expert on Russian Orthodoxy and American religions, about her brand new book, "Between Heaven and Russia": https://www.fordhampress.com/9780823299515/between-heaven-and-russia/ Historically a minority immigrant faith in the United States, Russian Orthodoxy is attracting Americans who look to Russian religion and politics for answers to Western secularism and the loss of traditional family values in the face of accelerating progressivism. These converts sought and found a conservatism more authentic than Christian American Republicanism and a nationalism unburdened by the broken promises of American exceptionalism. Ultimately, both converts and the Church that welcomes them deploy the subversive act of adopting the ideals and faith of a foreign power for larger, transnational political ends. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent AFPAC conference, where the far-right figure Nick Fuentes compared Putin to Hitler in a positive way, while giving a speech full of racial and ethnic slurs. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar attended the conference--and Greene gave an address after being introduced by Fuentes. Dan unpacks the historic significance of this chapter in the GOP's intimacy with what are essentially Neo-Nazi White supremacists, while Brad compares Greene's remarks to the KKK of the 1920s. Interview with Kelly J. Baker: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/PPY9950636314?selected=PPY8028158396 In the second segment, Brad investigates the responses of QAnon adherents and other conspiracists to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He links the polarization and instability in our public square back to Russia's cyber warfare during the 2016 presidential election. The show wraps with reflection on what these issues mean in light of the news that the J6 Select Committee has evidence to prosecute Trump and close allies for various crimes related to January 6th. Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery: https://www.traumaresolutionandrecovery.com/ Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do we mean when we talk about “recognition”? What is it to recognize someone in their identity? What is it to recognize ourselves in a particular way? What happens when someone doesn’t recognize me in the way I identify myself? What happens when I don’t recognize someone others in the way they recognize themselves? This episode explores the complex dynamics of recognition and the significance of identity and recognition for understanding our current cultural politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with the Danté Stewart about his journey into, and then out of, the White Church. Stewart grew up a Black Pentecostal until he reached university. There he began attending a White megachurch. He spent years in White churches convinced that the Jesus worshipped there--one coded as a White American, as superior to the one found in the Black church, as the true and right way to be a Christian and an American--was saving him from his own blackness. The murder of Trayvon Martin, the election of Donald Trump, the massacre of the Charleston 9--these events and more slowly opened his eyes to the way White Jesus had made him anti-black. Danté Stewart's Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672938/shoutin-in-the-fire-by-dante-stewart/ Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Documentary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan discuss Putin's war on Ukraine and the Christian nationalist/GOP responses at home. They focus the first segment on how the only people on the global stage defending Putin openly are Donald Trump and select politicians and leaders from the GOP. This leads to an exploration of the Christians who admit that they identify more with Putin's Christian values than Joe Biden's leadership. Link to Brad's interview on Putin and American Christian nationalists: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/im-a-fascist/id1441649707?i=1000519920471 Video of Lauren Witzske praising Putin: https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1496937857839153168 The second segment explores the frightening anti-trans legislation at play in Texas. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Go follow https://www.tiktok.com/@adhdeconstruction! Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode explores the concern that people act against their own social or political interests because of their identity. Because they privilege their identity, they oppose political, social, or economic policies that would be beneficial to them. Dan argues that this is a mistaken conception, and that we have to recognize that identity and interests are entangled with each other in complex ways. Changing how we understand the relationship between identity and interests is the key to advancing transformative politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Correction*: "Jeff" says that Locke's church is in McMinnville, TN. It is in fact in Mt. Juliet TN. Brad didn't catch it in the conversation. Both he and Jeff were a bit tense--wanting to get the story right and bring listeners into the scene, without giving away Jeff's identity. Our apologies. Brad speaks with a man he calls Jeff (identity hidden) who went undercover at the book burning led by Pastor Greg Locke. The book burning happened ominously in the wake of the banning of Art Spiegelman's acclaimed graphic novel on the Holocaust "Maus" in a nearby school district. Jeff wrote an article on the event: https://leftcoastrightwatch.org/2022/02/pro-coup-tennessee-pastor-holds-anti-masonic-anti-disney-bonfire/ Here is an excerpt: In between threatening to kick in Dunkin Donuts employees teeth and refusing to follow his own dictates opposing divorce, Greg Locke is a pastor at Global Vision Bible Church (formerly Global Vision Baptist Church.) It takes little to find offensive comments on from him. “Your kid could be demonized and attacked, but your doctor calls it autism.” “Transgenderism is not a civil right. It’s not normal, it’s anti-biblical. And I’m sorry, just because I have morals and values that does not make me a discriminatory bigot. I’m sick of the day and age in which we live when people call good evil and evil they call good.” Recently Locke also put out more serious calls to join things like the Black Robe Regiment, a far-right nationalist group of pastors that advocates preaching a “patriotic view” of American politics. Locke’s idea of patriotism meant encouraging his followers to attend the January 6th insurrection during sermons and railing in support of Trump’s lies about election fraud. But Locke also calls for more local forms of violence. Recently, he organized burnings of so-called “demonic” items like the Harry Potter and Twilight children’s/young adult books from almost two decades ago. LCRW attended one incognito on Wednesday last week and will tell the tale later. Burning books isn’t new to Greg Locke. In 2019 he jumped to twitter to post a video of himself burning a book titled “The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American.” Locke’s beliefs are firmly rooted in Christian Fundamentalism. The church he leads, Global Vision Bible Church, originally identified itself with the Independent Fundamental Baptist movement (IFB)—one of the most conservative groups of Christians in the nation. He dissociated from the IFB in mid 2011, claiming that the leadership of the movement had tried to pressure him into taking on a “legalistic mindset of man-made regulations.” Locke claims he pledged to remain amicable with the IFB despite parting ways. Incidentally, in 2019 in Knoxville an IFB pastor and sheriff’s detective called for the trial and summary execution of queer people. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Bannon is a familiar figure by now. One of the super villains from the Trump administration, he is still a force in right-wing politics in the USA and across the globe. He reportedly pushed Trump to overturn the election by any means possible. He is often referred to as a White nationalist whose misogyny and racism need no further explanation. But what if Bannon's worldview is more complex, more sinister, and more weird than you ever expected? Brad speaks to Dr. Benjamin Teitelbaum about his new book, War for Eterinity: Inside Bannon's Far Right Circle of Global Power Brokers: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/war-for-eternity-benjamin-r-teitelbaum?variant=32123408941090 Inspired by a radical twentieth-century ideology called Traditionalism, Bannon and a small group of right-wing powerbrokers are planning new political mobilizations on a global scale—discussed and debated in secret meetings organized by Bannon in hotel suites and private apartments in DC, Europe and South America. Their goal? To upend the world order and reorganize geopolitics on the basis of archaic values rather than modern ideals of democracy, freedom, social progress, and human rights. Their strenuous efforts are already producing results, from the fortification of borders throughout the world and the targeting of immigrants, to the undermining of the European Union and United States governments, and the expansion of Russian influence. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the Jericho Marches connected to the "Freedom Convoy" protests in Ottawa. Drawing on work by the writer Chrissy Stroop and scholar Thomas Lecaque, they discuss how the Jericho story provides a narrative in which both American J6 and Canadian convoy protesters/rioters are able to use as a way to build group cohesion and justify their actions. Chrissy Stroop on Christian nationalism and the Canada convoy: https://conversationalist.org/2022/02/17/freedom-convoys-extremism-poses-long-term-damage-to-canadian-civil-society/ Thomas Lecaque on the Jericho Marches: https://www.editorialboard.com/that-freedom-convoy-in-ottawa-its-partly-inspired-by-a-biblical-account-of-divine-massacre/ In the next segment Dan walks us through the new John Durham/Hillary Clinton/Spygate distraction making the rounds in the MAGA Universe. In the final segment, Brad links Charlie Kirk's freakout about the Super Bowl halftime show to the long entanglement among Muscular Christianity, American imperialism, and toxic masculinity. Jack Moore on the connections among all three: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/may/08/muscular-christianity-and-american-sports-undying-love-of-violence Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the relation to class and identity? Does a focus on identity and identity politics overlook, trivialize, or eliminate the significance of class or economic inequality in contemporary politics and social conflict? This episode suggests that a focus on identity does not discount, and is not at odds with, a focus on class or economic inequality. On the contrary, Dan argues that class is a dimension of identity of vital relevance for understanding, and changing, political and social culture. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett-"Yellow Leaves" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks to filmmaker Kat Gellein Viken who is the co-creator of two recent documentaries on churches, conspiracy, and the war on democracy. In 2020's People You May Know, Gellein and her co-creator Charles Kriel connect the dots among the Council for National policy, American oligarchs, and nefarious data mining firms. The film follows a trail that eventually reveals how churches are collecting their parishioners' most sensitive data and how that data is being sent to political operatives in order to use it as a weapon to wage war on democracy. In 2022's Dis/informed the duo pull back the curtain on the 12 sources of disinformation that account for over 60% of the pandemics spread of disinformation. This time, the trail leads to online wellness spaces full of yoga moms into alternative medicine and natural remedies. The filmmakers reveal how yoga moms became allied with conspiracy theorists and far-right agitators as part of the anti-vax and QAnon movements. People You May Know: https://www.amazon.com/People-You-Know-Charles-Kriel/dp/B08LHH7QJZ Dis/informed (coming soon from PBS America): https://metrotonemedia.com/ Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett - "846" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the RNC calling J6 "legitimate political discourse." While it may seem like a blip in a busy news cycle, Dan relates it to the pearl clutching Republicans did about civility and bi-partisanship early in the Biden presidency, while Brad argues that the history books will reveal it as evidence leading to the GOP's development into full-blown fascism. This segment ends with a comparison of this language with the once-upon-a-time concern about Hillary Clinton's emails. In the second segment Brad takes a semi-deep dive into Putin's assault on Ukraine and how it traces all the way back to the Cold War. There are clues in Putin's worldview as to why so many American Christian nationalists are enamored with him--the binary thinking, the strongman masculinity, and the nostalgia for a lost world. The final segment is a brief exploration of the trucker convoy protests in Canada and their wider implications for the political moment. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode revisits the idea that identity is about recognition and explores the significance of this. Because identity is not only about how I recognize myself, but also about how others recognize me, identity is never merely a matter of individual preference. Rather, identity is always shared and collective in nature. This is particularly true of identities with the “critical mass” to effect social or political change. This is one of the reasons why criticisms of identity politics on the grounds that it is merely individualistic and socially divisive are misguided. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett-Yellow Leaves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if J6 and the Anti-CRT movements trace back to the same secretive organization? What if J6 was the result of years of planning and organizing? And what if there's a plan in place to make sure that a secretive network has the chance to pick our next president? Anne Nelson is the author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. She explains how J6 was the result of a year-long strategy implemented by the Council for National Policy. Once the CNP realized that Trump would most likely not win the popular vote or the electoral college, they set in motion a plan to skew doubt on the integrity of the election. They helped organize various events and rallies calling for the election to be overturned and supported the events on the ground on J6. Afterwards, they set in motion another set of plans to win back moderate voters by convincing them that their kids's schools were teaching CRT. Anne Nelson's Washington Spectator article: https://washingtonspectator.org/school-boards-nelson/ Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by: Brad Onishi Edited by: Shannon Sassone Music by: Matt Puckett-Here We Go Again Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin with a discussion about the new bill in Florida that would outlaw referencing gender and sexual identity. This new "Don't Say Gay Bill" is an attempt to create a patriarchal safe space in which all those who are not straight are considered outside threats to children. It shows how, despite all their ire toward the idea of safe spaces, Christian nationalists and conservatives attempt to create safe spaces as same spaces--a place where everyone is made to be, or assumed, to be the same so that no one is uncomfortable. https://abcnews.go.com/US/dont-gay-bill-moves-forward-florida/story?id=82481565 https://www.vox.com/2016/7/5/11949258/safe-spaces-explained The next segment looks at militia movements in California taking over rural counties and what this says about the state of trust in democratic institutions and the radicalization of the right. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/03/california-county-controlled-by-militia-group Finally, Brad and Dan look at Lauren Boebert's tweet wherein she suggests that the Constitution doesn't evolve. What does this say about her worldview and how does it relate to biblical inerrancy and constitutional originalism? Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Contemporary critics on both the right and the left essentially accuse those who politically mobilize around social identities of being fundamentally selfish in nature. The charge is that their politics reflects only personal interest, that they seek special treatment or privilege on the basis of an identity that isn’t shared with others, and that they fragment any shared political vision. But none of these criticisms hold up if we consider the actual social groups that figure prominently in current discussion of identity politics. Rather, we find that these groups originate in the experience of marginalization and social and political exclusion, radically changing the light in which we should view identity and identity politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller Edited by Shannon Sassone Music by Matt Puckett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Dana Lloyd is an expert on Native American religious traditions and faculty at Villanova University. She speaks to Brad about how the QAnon Shaman's appropriation of Native American symbols extends a long lineage of White people "playing Indian." According to Dr. Lloyd, "playing Indian" is a means of eliminating indigenous peoples by using their symbols, rituals, and traditions while leaving them behind--often through violence and attempted genocide. She draws on her own upbringing in Israel-Palestine to explain how the J6 rioters as a whole saw themselves taking what has always been given to them by God. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin this episode with a discussion of the new profile of Jerry Falwell Jr. at Vanity Fair. In their view, Falwell is a type for contemporary Christian nationalism. He describes himself as not particularly religious while subscribing to a vision of the United States wherein White Christian men hold power. He was formed politically by Rush Limbaugh. He lavished praise on Donald Trump. For Dan, it's a perfect example of how Christian nationalism is a religious-political-cultural identity that often time has little to do with persona religious practice. They then segue into analysis of a new piece by sociologist Ruth Braunstein that investigates the backlash against the Religious Right and White Evangelicals. Braunstein examines the rise of the Nones--those unaffiliated with religion--but also looks at how the Religious Left and the "spiritual but not religious" also represent a backlash to conservative American Protestants. In the final segment Brad goes through the history of SCOTUS picks based on identity. Dan argues that identity politics are always at play and that there are no objectively best candidates for SCOTUS. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If all of politics involves “identity,” and if we all possess identities, why do so many feel like contemporary “identity politics” is something new and experience it as threatening? If identity has always been a fundamental part of shared social and political life, why does identity figure so prominently in that shared life now? In this episode, we explore this question, looking at three significant social and political events over the latter half of the 20th century that help us to understand how identity has come to hold such a prominent place in our social and political life. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Leah Payne is a historian of Pentecostalism and other Christian traditions in the United States. She speaks with Brad about the overwhelming presence of charismatic Christians at the Insurrection. Drawing on her insider-scholar perspective, Dr. Payne helps decode some of the religious elements at at J6: the shofars (the horns used as instruments to declare war), the flags, and other symbols. She also explains why charismatic Christianity became such a prominent part of Trump's presidency and MAGA Nation as a whole. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan lay out the timeline and details of the fake electors the Trump campaign organized in order to overthrow the election. If you thought the details of Trump’s coup couldn’t get worse, wait until you hear the full scope of the plan to commit election fraud throughout the country in order to overturn the will of the people. They then discuss a new article at Christianity Today that maintains God’s pronouns must be he/him. Dan draws on his training as a theologian and queer theory to disssect the argument’s misguided and disingenuous foundations. The episode finishes with a discussion of the difference between feeling unsafe and uncomfortable a propos a new bill in Florida that would make it illegal for schools or workplaces to make people feel “uncomfortable” based on their racial identity. It is another ploy by Uncle Ron DeSantis to whitewash American history. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller. Edited by Shannon Sassone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is identity? It isn’t something limited to particular social groups claiming equal rights or something that only applies to minority groups of different kinds. On the contrary, “identity” is something we all have and it’s how we categorize and sort individuals and groups to shape our shared social life. It’s also fundamental to our shared political life, which means that the concept of “identity politics” is actually redundant. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Episode produced by Brad Onishi and Daniel Miller. Episode edited by Shannon Sassone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is identity? It isn’t something limited to particular social groups claiming equal rights or something that only applies to minority groups of different kinds. On the contrary, “identity” is something we all have and it’s how we categorize and sort individuals and groups to shape our shared social life. It’s also fundamental to our shared political life, which means that the concept of “identity politics” is actually redundant. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad interviews Phil Gorski, Professor of Sociology at Yale, and the author of the new co-authored book with Sam Perry, The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to Democracy. Gorski breaks down how the rioters thought about the Insurrection–it was not about right or wrong. It was about us vs them. This explains how the various spiritualities on display at J6 worked to form a coalition of forces even if they don’t all have the same worldview. It also explains the function of religious symbols, rituals, and dress on display that day. They all worked to tell a story of one team trying to overtake another. The discussion finishes with Gorski explaining how the Reformation and the wars that followed it are a good comparison point for our current situation. The breakdown of authority, the transmission of information, and the individualism of our time resonate with the Reformation period and portend difficult days ahead. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin this MLK weekend show by going over the outlines of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the Selma marches, and King’s missives to White moderates. They link this to the current fight for voting rights and the misugided logic of Senator Synema, who continues to stand in the way of new voting rights legislation. They then transition to new scholarship that shows White Christian nationalists are on the whole in favor of making it harder to vote and are unwilling to admit that voter suppression is a factor in American politics. The show ends with reflections on the sedition charges against a number of Oath Keepers–and the Christian nationalist logic they use to defend their traitorous actions. In a bonus segment, Brad and Dan discuss the NFL MVP race as a referendum on White identity politics. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Episode produced by Brad Onishi and Daniel Miller. Episode edited by Shannon Sassone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do politicians like Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders have in common? They’re critical of “identity politics.” In this episode, we’ll take a closer look at how people on both the political left and the political right are critical of identity politics and the unexpected similarities of their perspectives. We’ll also talk about some of the obvious problems with these perspectives and suggest some of the issues we’ll tackle in future episodes. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Episode produced by Daniel Miller and Brad Onishi. Royalty Free Music; "Documentary" by Coma-Media Episode edited by Shannon Sassone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with journalist and researcher Teddy Wilson, who has spent a decade covering the Radical Right in the United States. Teddy describes the J6 rioter network map he has built, showing the connections among the 725+ rioters who have been arrested in the year since the Insurrection. He paints a picture of how radical right groups like the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers, and 3 Percenters were already at the Capitol before anyone else arrived. He also connects J6 to a lineage of right-wing terrorism in the USA. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin this J6 anniversary episode by zooming in on certain religious elements manifest at the Insurrection. Dan decodes the various Braveheart references and signs on display, connecting them to a form of Christian nationalist masculinity via work by Kristin Kobes du Mez. Brad talks about how and why the rioters prayed as they crossed every boundary and threshold of the Capitol. It was a way of transforming the space into theirs and transforming them from criminals to God’s warriors. They then discuss what has happened in the year since–pointing to stats of how many Republicans and Evangelicals believe the 2020 election was stolen. This give’s Dan a chance to explain what people are really saying when they repeat the mantra, “Don’t make it political.” The last segment is on what happened on the one-year anniversary of the Insurrection. Brad and Dan analyze reactions from political leaders, religious leaders, and Trump admin figures, showing how the myth of the Big Lie took root and blinded Americans en masse. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the first episode in this series, Dan Miller explains why identity politics gets a bad rap and why that's a mistake. He introduces basic concepts in identity formation, group dynamics, and cultural identity in order to explain how identity is at the core of everything we do--including politics. It's not a matter of doing away with identity politics. It's a matter of understanding how they work and why in order to create a society in which everyone can flourish. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first installment of J6 One Year Later, Brad speaks with the journalist Sarah Posner. Sarah discusses the various aspects of Christian supremacy and myth that provided a basis for the religious dimensions of the Insurrection. She and Brad touch on the Oath Keepers, Proud Boys, and the Jericho March in order to uncover how and why the Insurrection was saturated with Christian imagery and symbols. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan kickoff this New Year's Day roundup with a look at the false binary anti-vaxxers use to criticize the COVID vaccine and put forth a bad argument as to why they shouldn't get it. Dan discusses the case of NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, while Brad uses the binary reference point to show why anti-vaxxers are natural allies to those who adhere to fundamentalist religions. They then discuss the very cringe worthy poster for the Alpha Conference--a gathering for male entrepreneurs who want to be "Alphas" in business and life. Brad dispels the myth of the Alpha male, while pointing out how it damages both men and women. The episode finishes with the wild details of how Madison Cawthorn met his wife. It involves a cruise. Russia, and a man named Captain Todd. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an interview from early 2020, Brad talks with Dr. Samuel Perry, co-author of Taking America Back for God and a leading scholar on the phenomenon of Christian nationalism. They discuss the principles, structures, statistics, and threat of Christian Nationalism. For Perry, Christian Nationalism isn't just theocracy. As they discuss, it's a code word--a dog-whistle--used to signal xenophobia, racism, patriarchy, and so on. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad speaks with scholar Mark Fugitt whose recent work explores the various sources and factors in evangelical opposition to the COVID vaccine. He provides the historical context for this movement, showing that it is half a century in formation. He explains to Brad how everything from creationism, to Christian wellness, to anti-abortion sentiment, and the apocalypse play into fear-mongering around the COVID vaccine. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan begin by discussing how Joe Manchin is giving everyone coal for Christmas, even though coal workers want him to vote for the Build Back Better Act. It shows that his actions are based on corporate lobbying, rather than looking out for his voters. They then discuss Americafest--the event put on by Turning Point USA where Kyle Rittenhouse was given celebrity treatment. The episode finishes with a look at how the war on Christmas in America was started and waged by Puritans. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an interview recorded in 2019, Brad talks with Dr. Kelly J. Baker, author of the award-winning book "Gospel According to the Klan." They talk about how and why the Klan's story is THE story of white Protestant America and how the Klan is an important antecedent to the modern-day Religious Right. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/ Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Venmo: @straightwhitejc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices