Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other

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. xyRwrZGupmkCZxRfiTCU

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. WHAT'S NEXT? PODCAST: https://www.spreaker.com/user/danielhare/mashup-episode-with-talkin-politics-and- TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Whats_Next_Pod Daniel Hare TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DanielHare Emily Matthews TWITTER: https://twitter.com/EGMatthews #christianity, #conservative, #faith, #gop, #politics, #religion

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!