Straight White American Jesus

Melissa Borja, associate professor and creator/host of One Million Neighbors, narrates a probe into refugee resettlement and faith-driven civic action. She contrasts a 2026 ICE crackdown in the Twin Cities with the 1970s Midwest movement that welcomed over a million Southeast Asian refugees. Short scenes explore raids, community trauma, religious mobilization, and what radical hospitality once looked like.

Jay Stringer, therapist and author of Desire and Unwanted, reflects on growing up in evangelical purity culture and its lifelong effects on shame and desire. He discusses how arousal was taught as sin, the limits of popular male purity programs, differentiation as the basis for real intimacy, and reimagining masculinity toward vulnerability, meaning, and defiant connection.

They dig into proposed changes to military chaplaincy and worrying Christian nationalist language shaping that vision. They read and react to a Pentagon prayer that invokes violence and damnation. They examine GOP devotion to tax cuts amid red-state budget crises and note the political theater around CPAC and Trump’s absence.

A critique of claims linking a masculinity crisis to men refusing to work. Exploration of elite hypocrisy and how political policies have hollowed out blue-collar livelihoods. Analysis of rhetorical strategies that valorize manual labor while defending economic arrangements that harm workers. A look at cultural‑war distractions that obscure material causes.

A sharp critique of claims that the American presidency was meant to be a king. Discussion of how appeals to the "common good" can be used to justify centralized, authoritarian power. Examination of integralist ideas that urge law to enforce a singular moral order. A call to defend democratic limits and resist religious or monarchic justifications for concentrated authority.

Caleb Gayle, journalist, historian, and Northeastern professor who wrote Black Moses, discusses Edward McCabe’s near-success in founding a Black-governed state. Conversation covers McCabe’s audacious political vision, organizing and coalition-building in the Oklahoma Territory, conflicts on the Western frontier, and how forgotten stories reshape ideas about American democracy and race.

They unpack Joe Kent’s resignation and debates over whether Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat. They track how political loyalty and rhetoric often override expertise in national security. They examine violent religious language used against James Talarico and how spiritual warfare talk can normalize dehumanization. They connect militarism, nationalist fervor, and extremist theology as a dangerous political fusion.

A critique of Josh Hawley’s portrayal of men as “warriors,” tracing how biblical conquest gets turned into personal self-help. Discussion of rhetorical evasions, literalism versus metaphor in conservative preaching, and how warrior rhetoric collapses into generic virtues. Argues the book functions more as culture-war polemic than a distinctively Christian or masculine guide.

In this episode, Brad Onishi takes on a provocative question: is James Talarico really a “liberal Christian nationalist,” as critics on both the right and left have claimed following his primary victory over Jasmine Crockett? Drawing on the widely cited definition from sociologists Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, the episode breaks down what Christian nationalism actually is: a fusion of Christian and American identity, a belief in divine sanction for political domination, and a moral framework that privileges Christians as uniquely legitimate citizens. Onishi argues that simply being a religious politician—or even using theological language in public debate—does not meet this threshold, pushing back on claims from figures like William Wolfe and C.J. Engel, as well as critiques from scholars like Heath Carter. Through close analysis of Talarico’s own words and political theology, the episode contends that his emphasis on pluralism, the separation of church and state, and universal human dignity stands in direct opposition to Christian nationalist ideology. Rather than advocating for a theocratic state or privileging Christians above others, Talarico frames his faith as a call to inclusive democracy and care for all neighbors. Onishi warns that labeling figures like Talarico as “Christian nationalists” risks flattening important distinctions and obscuring the anti-democratic aims of actual Christian nationalist movements. The result is a deeper exploration of how faith can show up in politics without undermining democracy—and why precision in our language matters now more than ever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew Avery Sutton, historian and author of Chosen Land, explores how Americans turned North America into a perceived “holy land.” He traces how the First Amendment spurred religious innovation, how Protestant cultural dominance shaped politics, and how evangelical identity was modernly reinvented. The conversation also covers religious entrepreneurship, media-driven faith, and apocalyptic strains in contemporary political debates.