Straight White American Jesus

Brad Onishi on "American Caesar": Inside the Movement to End American DemocracyToday is release day for Brad Onishi's new book American Caesar, and Matt Taylor sits down with him for a deep dive into the ideas inside it. Together they trace how three seemingly separate strands of the American right — Protestant Reconstructionism, radical traditionalist Catholicism, and Silicon Valley technocracy — are converging around a shared vision: an end to liberal democracy and the rise of an American strongman, an "American Caesar."If you enjoy our work, please subscribe.Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief.🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.comBooks mentioned:📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/Live events:🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishiFull tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour🔗 axismundi.uswww.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 monthswww.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription!American Caesar is out today — grab a copy and leave a review if you can.Upcoming events with Brad:📍 Sept 16 — Annie Bloom's, Portland, 7 PM📍 Sept 22 — Amherst College📍 Sept 23 — Northeastern University (with Sarah Ricardy Swartz)📍 Oct 1 — NYU Religion and Media Center (with Emma Goldberg, NYT)📍 Oct 11 — Knoxville, TN📍 Oct 12 — Nashville, TN📍 Oct 14 — Memphis, TN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Onishi previews his new book American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy, out this week, and shares its audiobook introduction. He explains the book's central argument: an unlikely alliance has formed between Protestant reconstructionists, radical traditional Catholics, and Silicon Valley technocrats, united by five shared beliefs — hostility to liberalism, a post-libertarian embrace of strong government, rejection of democracy in favor of a strongman "American Caesar," and a shared rhetoric of "saving Western civilization." He thanks listeners for their support in making the book possible and runs down his upcoming tour stops, including Portland, Amherst, Boston, New York, and several stops in Tennessee. If you enjoy our work, please subscribe.  Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief.  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ -  Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months  www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Brad breaks down Donald Trump's false claims about his experience that day, Rudy Giuliani's attacks on Mayor Zohran Mamdani for attending the memorial as a Muslim, and newly released documents showing NYC officials knew Ground Zero air was toxic but told the public otherwise.Then Brad welcomes former CIA officer Holly Berkley Fletcher to unpack how the "national malaise" of the 1990s — after the Cold War ended and the country turned inward — set the stage for 9/11 to be reframed not as a fight against a terrorist group, but as a civilizational battle against Islam itself. They trace how that shift accelerated Christian nationalism, fractured America's foreign policy consensus, and set the country on a path that runs through the Iraq War, January 6th, and the rise of MAGA Christianity today.📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/e...Live events:🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09...Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... 🔗 axismundi.uswww.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 monthswww.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea of “hell” is a central focus within conservative, high-control Christianity (with analogues in some other traditions as well). But what, exactly, is the teaching concerning hell? And where does it come from? Does the Bible actually teach what religious conservatives say it does about hell? If not, why do they teach it? Why is hell so central to their understanding of Christianity? And what happens if we ask uncomfortable questions about hell? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out! If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom’s Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first time since 1945, a far-right party bordering on Nazism has won real power in Germany. Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor break down the AfD's stunning election result, Elon Musk and JD Vance's public support for the party, and what this signals about the global retreat from liberal democracy. Then, religious historian Warren Throckmorton joins to unpack Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler's growing alignment with Doug Wilson and Christian Reconstructionism — and why it marks a striking departure from historic Baptist commitments to church-state separation and religious liberty. Preorder American Caesar at bn.com from Sept. 9th to Sept. 11th and get 25% off with code PREORDER25. Note, this discount is only available to B&N members but free memberships are available—learn more & sign up here: barnesandnoble.com/membership/ Mixed: https: https://redcircle.com/shows/b09749cc-fdf8-4230-8234-b90e3f11a1c9 Guest: Warren Throckmorton, author of The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/... Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09... Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In PART II A conversation between Robert P. Jones and Brad Onishi, whose books—Backslide and American Caesar—arrive one week apart from the same publisher. Jones traces how "backsliding" carries both theological and political-science meanings, citing survey data showing measurable democratic erosion (from a rating of 67 down to 54, with a projected drop to 47) and arguing white Christianity, not just American democracy, is in "apostasy," pointing to majority white evangelical support for immigrant detention camps as a bright line. Onishi then walks through American Caesar's core argument: that Reconstructionist Protestants, radical traditional Catholics, and tech-world figures have formed a loose coalition around "saving Western civilization," a discourse he argues is really about excluding Muslims, African and Latin American migrants, and anyone outside a narrow white Christian identity, while reaching back not to the 1950s but toward a fantasy of medieval Christendom. The two discuss Hannah Arendt's writing on inner resistance versus external compliance, the media's reluctance to scrutinize Christian nationalism the way it would Islam, and the resurgence of arguments for restricting women to domestic roles. They close on a note of qualified hope: polling suggests a majority of Americans favor religious pluralism and multiculturalism even though a minority currently holds power, and both authors call for renewing—rather than simply restoring—a democratic and theological imagination for a generation to whom "democracy" no longer means much on its own. If you enjoy our work, please subscribe.  Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief.  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ -  Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months  www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In PART I of this conversation, Brad Onishi and Robert P. Jones (author of Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith in a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy) discuss what they call the "war on empathy" within segments of white Christianity in the United States. Robert argues that voices like Allie Beth Stuckey, Joe Rigney, and Elon Musk framing empathy as sinful serves as a theological retrofit that gives people permission to support policies—like mass deportation and detention—that their deeper moral instincts would otherwise reject. Drawing parallels to 1933 Germany, the civil rights era (Emmett Till, Birmingham), and more recent events (George Floyd's murder, January 6th), the two explore how this ideology trains people to override empathetic responses to visible suffering and even to deny documented reality altogether, a phenomenon they tie to Hannah Arendt's writing on self-deception under authoritarian regimes. The conversation closes with a brief teaser about Robby's book concept of "embracing division," which argues polarization is not the core problem in American politics but rather a symptom of a broken system and rising anti-democratic forces. Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom’s Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad and Dan break down JD Vance's wide-ranging interview with Gen Z podcaster Bryce Crawford, unpacking his comments on the end times, the possibility that the Antichrist is "living among us," and his oddly deflated answer about whether he's going to heaven — reading it all as Vance clumsily blending incompatible evangelical premillennial and Christian nationalist post-millennial theologies to court an audience he doesn't quite understand. They also examine the wave of right-wing attacks on Gloria Steinem following her death, using her own words on the "traditional family" to explain why pluralism in family structures is treated as an existential threat by the Christian right. Finally, they dig into new USPS mail-voting rules — including a whistleblower complaint and a tense court hearing before Judge Talwani — that could result in ballots being rejected over postmark delays ahead of the midterms, before closing with reasons for hope in independent medical groups' vaccine guidance and an unusually real consequence for a billionaire sports owner. If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com Books mentioned: 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/... Live events: 🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09... Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... 🔗 axismundi.us www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even people have never set foot in a church have probably heard of “baptism” and know that it’s something…well…Christian. But what exactly IS baptism? Why do Christians do it? How do they do it? Who get baptized? And why don’t Christians all think the same thing about baptism? Why has it been so divisive and such a hot-button issue over time? Join Dan for this week’s episode as he untangles this familiar, but still baffling, practice. SUPPORT US: www.axismundi.us www.irmce.org - our supporting nonprofit Books : 📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ 📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: ⁠https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/... ⁠Live events:🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: ⁠https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09...⁠ 🎤 Brad, Matt Taylor, Robert P. Jones, in Denver — November 20 Full tour dates: axismundi.us🔗 axismundi.us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor break down two major stories reshaping the Trump-era right: the sudden deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos and the escalating chaos inside Pete Hegseth's Pentagon.They dig into how Milo's fast-tracked removal reveals the internal power struggles of MAGA world — including his feud with Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer's growing influence over immigration enforcement — and what it signals about who gets protected and who gets purged within the movement. Then they turn to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, examining reports of mass firings among top generals, a rudderless U.S. Army, unsustainable war spending in Iran, and the Pentagon's controversial move to put paid influencers like "Data Republican" on the payroll to push pro-Hegseth messaging while shutting out the traditional press.Along the way: Christian nationalism's role in reshaping MAGA identity, the military's meritocracy under threat, Silicon Valley's growing alignment with authoritarian politics, and whether Hegseth's rumored presidential ambitions have any real chance.SUPPORT US:www.axismundi.uswww.irmce.org - our supporting nonprofitBooks mentioned:📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/...Live events:🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09...🎤 Brad, Matt Taylor, Robert P. Jones, in Denver — November 20Full tour dates: axismundi.us🔗 axismundi.us Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad sits down with journalist Sarah Stankorb to discuss her new book, Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, out September 15th. They dig into why women — long the backbone of American congregations — are leaving in unprecedented numbers, from Gen Z women outpacing their male peers to the erosion of the gender gap among millennials. The conversation covers the specific fractures driving women out: the Catholic sex abuse crisis and its parallels in evangelical spaces, the racial reckoning of 2020 and churches' silence in its wake, and the deep discomfort many feel over homophobia and transphobia within their communities. They also explore what comes after leaving — the difficulty of trusting institutions again, the patchwork spiritualities (astrology, women's gyms, tarot) many turn to instead, and the striking demographic differences between atheists, agnostics, and the "nothing in particulars." The episode closes with a wide-ranging discussion of institutional trust, political imagination, and whether the energy behind candidates like Zohran Mamdani is connected to this same generational exodus from organized religion. 🔔 Become a paid subscriber for ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the SWAJ Weekly Roundup, Brad and Dan dig into Lance Wallnau's baseless claim that Texas gubernatorial candidate James Talarico is secretly linked to Al-Qaeda, unpacking how this fits a broader Christian nationalist strategy of tying Democrats to Islamist and Marxist "infiltrators" — even as polling shows Talarico outperforming Trump's 2024 numbers in his district. They also break down Enes Kanter Freedom's confrontational stunt at a WNBA game, arguing that anti-trans activism functions as a form of misogyny aimed at enforcing patriarchal norms on women's spaces. The episode closes with a look at a Florida grand jury finding that the DeSantis administration misappropriated $10 million meant for children's Medicaid to fight a marijuana legalization ballot measure — a story Brad and Dan frame as part of a broader erosion of political accountability. 🔔 Become a paid subscriber for ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Noah’s ark is one of the most well-known in the Bible, even among those who are not Christian and have never read the Bible. But what questions come up if we really pay attention to the story? Does it make any sense? Could it actually have happened? What does it mean if it didn’t? And what justifies God killing all the living things on earth? These are big questions, questions we weren’t supposed to ask in church. Check out this week’s episode hear Dan’s answers to these and more. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor examine growing efforts to undermine confidence in the 2026 elections, including claims about foreign interference, voter rolls, mail-in voting, and calls from figures on the American right for a national emergency. They discuss how election-denial rhetoric can shift from questioning election integrity to challenging the legitimacy of results, and why the period after the election could be as important as Election Day itself. The second half of the episode focuses on Jake Lang, his increasingly confrontational political spectacles, his Christian supremacist rhetoric, and the larger movement behind him. Following Lang’s confrontation with a protester dressed as Spider-Man, Brad, Matt, and writer Kate Burns examine how provocation, confrontation, and claims of persecution can become political content. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What can reality TV tell us about Christian nationalism, purity culture, and the politics of gender? Annika Brockschmidt talks with journalist and podcaster Claire Fallon about the surprisingly deep connections between The Bachelor, evangelical Christianity, and the conservative politics shaping American culture. They discuss how the franchise normalizes heterosexual marriage, traditional gender roles, purity culture, and evangelical assumptions; how conservative Christian contestants have turned reality TV fame into influential media platforms; and how figures like Madison Pruitt have moved from The Bachelor into the world of MAGA Christian influence. They also explore the politics of dating in the Trump era, the rise of Mormon reality TV, and what shows like Love Is Blind and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reveal about the changing relationship between religion, politics, sex, and popular culture. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian nationalism is not simply a religious movement—it is a political project that challenges the foundations of a pluralist democracy. Brad Onishi and Dan Miller examine the growing Christian nationalist effort to redefine who counts as a “real” American, from arguments about immigration and religious identity to the defense of Derek Chauvin and the rejection of democratic accountability. They also break down the recent Christian nationalism debate featuring Doug Wilson, Joe Rigney, Al Mohler, and Paul Miller, and explain why the movement’s vision of a Christian America is fundamentally at odds with religious freedom and equal citizenship. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ #ChristianNationalism #Democracy #ChristianNationalismDebate #ReligiousFreedom #AmericanDemocracy #ChristianityAndPolitics #Trump #MAGA #PoliticalExtremism #RuleOfLaw #DougWilson #JoeRigney #DerekChauvin #GeorgeFloyd #JamesComey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theologically conservative Christians believe apparently contradictory things about Judaism and Jewish people. On the one hand, they will often describe Jewish people as being “the people of God.” On the other hand, they typically hold that, as non-Christians, Jewish people are condemned to go to hell when they die. How do these attitudes fit together? Is it possible to hold them together consistently? What do the answers to these questions tell us about conservative Christians’ understandings of Judaism and Jewish identity? And why are questions like these ones we’re not supposed to ask in church? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out! Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: ⁠⁠https://annieblooms.com/⁠⁠ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ Go to ⁠⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ICE agents infiltrated churches, activist meetings, libraries, and community organizations in Minnesota as part of what has been dubbed Operation Puppet Master. In this episode of Axis Live, Matthew D. Taylor and Rev. Susie Hayward discuss what newly disclosed documents reveal about the government's surveillance of protesters—and what it means for religious freedom, constitutional rights, and the future of democracy. They also examine the growing anti-Muslim campaign targeting Dearborn, Michigan, including a planned "Crusader March" backed by MAGA activists, and explore how Christian nationalism is fueling new forms of religious exclusion. Finally, Taylor and Hayward discuss the dismantling of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the loss of religious expertise within American foreign policy, and what the current crisis tells us about the health of American democracy—and where hope for a democratic revival might come from. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ #ICE #OperationPuppetMaster #ChristianNationalism #ReligiousFreedom #Trump #MAGA #Immigration #Minnesota #Dearborn #Islamophobia #AmericanDemocracy #Democracy #USIP #PoliticalExtremism #AxisLive Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi sits down with Congressman Jared Huffman to discuss his new book, No Prophets: The Fight to Save Democracy from Christian Nationalism. Huffman shares his journey from growing up in a devout Mormon community to becoming a humanist and the only openly non-believing member of Congress, and explains how the rise of Trump and Christian nationalism pushed him to speak publicly about the dangers of religious extremism. They discuss the New Apostolic Reformation, January 6, the religious forces surrounding Trump, Mike Johnson, the influence of Christian nationalism in Congress, Christian Zionism, traditionalist Catholicism, and why the separation of church and state is increasingly under threat. Huffman also explains why he believes saving democracy will require religious and nonreligious Americans to work together—and why, even in a deeply troubling political moment, he refuses to give up. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... No Prophets: https://bookshop.org/p/books/no-prophets-the-fight-to-save-democracy-from-christian-nationalism-jared-huffman/b28b36a73cf41cdd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Crowder recently released a video titled “We Need Fascism,” making an explicit argument for fascism rather than merely flirting with the idea. In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down Crowder’s argument and ask what it reveals about the direction of the American right. The conversation connects Crowder’s rhetoric about communism, violence, and “disinfecting” the country to a broader political movement increasingly portraying opponents of MAGA and Christian nationalism as enemies of America. Brad argues that this reflects a deeper shift: if the Christian nationalist right no longer believes it represents a majority of Americans, democracy itself can begin to look like an obstacle rather than a solution. 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Dan on vacation, we bring you one of the most popular episodes of It's In the Code: "Strong Handshakes" In this episode, Dan continues decoding a card from a church bulletin that outlines the features of a particular church. The focus this time is the promise of “strong handshakes.” There’s a lot to decode with this idea: What does it express about gender? About sexuality? About the family? About this church’s view of proper social order? Check it out to find the answers to these (and other!) questions. Church Bulletin Photo ⁠HERE Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: ⁠⁠⁠https://annieblooms.com/⁠⁠⁠ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ Go to ⁠⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/e...⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's Axis Live Brad Onishi begins by breaking down a video posted by the US Department of State that showcases Marco Rubio's Christian nationalism and Western civilizationalism. Brad digs below the surface to decode the ways Rubio outlines a common good conservatism that seeks to impose order and virtue through family, church, and state. Brad then welcomes Rev. Adam Hamilton to the show. Hamilton is the Democratic nominee for Senate in Kansas who is attempting to end a 90-year drought of Democratic Senators from Kansas. Rev. Hamilton talks about how he will be a public servant for all Kansans not despite his faith, but because the Jesus he serves is a public servant for all people. Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: ⁠⁠https://annieblooms.com/⁠⁠ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ Go to ⁠⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does the emerging religious left look like—and is it becoming a force in Democratic politics? In this Sunday interview, Leah Payne speaks with Associated Press religion and culture reporter Kyrsta Fauria about her reporting on progressive candidates and activists drawing on religious traditions to confront economic inequality, defend workers’ rights, and advocate for policies like universal health care. They discuss Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the interfaith coalition supporting his campaign, and the ways his Muslim faith has been both weaponized against him and intentionally foregrounded in his political identity. Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: ⁠https://annieblooms.com/⁠ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. 💬 Join the conversation on Substack and Discord — links below. Go to ⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M..⁠. Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..⁠. 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125..⁠. ⁠#AbdulElSayed⁠ ⁠#MichiganSenate⁠ ⁠#MichiganPolitics⁠ ⁠#DemocraticPrimary⁠ ⁠#ProgressivePolitics⁠ ⁠#ChristianNationalism⁠ ⁠#Trump⁠ ⁠#MAGA⁠ ⁠#TedCruz⁠ ⁠#MikeJohnson⁠ ⁠#Democrats⁠ ⁠#GOP⁠ ⁠#AmericanPolitics⁠ ⁠#IsraelPalestine⁠ ⁠#MedicareForAll⁠ ⁠#CitizensUnited⁠ ⁠#ProjectEsther⁠ ⁠#PoliticalDissent⁠ ⁠#2026Election⁠ ⁠#christiannationalism⁠ ⁠#religion⁠ ⁠#christianity⁠ ⁠#USA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi examines how the American Right and MAGA are reacting to Abdul El-Sayed's victory in Michigan by calling him anti-American, communist, socialist, and more. As Brad explains, these rhetorical choices are strategies that correspond to a larger effort by the Trump administration to criminalize dissent. Brad traces the code words used by the American Right against Sayed, Mamdani, and others to NSPM7 and Project Esther. This is about more than one Senate race in Michigan. It’s about who gets to define what counts as “American,” what kinds of political disagreement are considered legitimate, and what happens when the language of political opposition becomes the language of political persecution. Get signed copies of American Caesar at Annie Bloom's: https://annieblooms.com/ Join us September 16 at Annie Bloom's for the American Caesar book launch! 🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. 💬 Join the conversation on Substack and Discord — links below. Go to groundnews.com/SWAJ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125... #AbdulElSayed #MichiganSenate #MichiganPolitics #DemocraticPrimary #ProgressivePolitics #ChristianNationalism #Trump #MAGA #TedCruz #MikeJohnson #Democrats #GOP #AmericanPolitics #IsraelPalestine #MedicareForAll #CitizensUnited #ProjectEsther #PoliticalDissent #2026Election #christiannationalism #religion #christianity #USA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of It’s In the Code, Dan Miller tackles a question from a Jewish listener that cuts to the heart of Christian theology: if Jesus established a new covenant that fulfilled the Old Testament law, why do so many conservative Christians continue to rely on Old Testament verses to make moral arguments? Dan explores the New Testament's teaching on grace, the Apostle Paul’s insistence that Christians are no longer bound by the Jewish law, and the complicated relationship Christians have with the Hebrew Bible. Along the way, he explains why many conservative Christians selectively appeal to Old Testament commandments—especially on issues like sexuality—while disregarding countless other laws they believe no longer apply. ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..⁠. 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ ⁠ Go to ⁠groundnews.com/SWAJ⁠ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. The Axis Mundi Network A growing independent media institution that combines the expertise of public scholarship with the rapid-response daily drops and live video podcasts. By Brad Onishi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this livestream of Straight White American Jesus (Axis Live), Matthew Taylor and Brad Onishi analyze three stories: 1. The meeting between Bibi Netanyahu and New Apostolic Reformation Leaders like Lance Wallnau 2. The emerging crop of Democratic candidates who are pastors and/or religious leaders 3. With Andrew Whitehead, the new evidence of how Christian nationalism is a predictor for opposition to income equality and a social safety net. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M..⁠. Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast..⁠. 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ ⁠#Warnock #Talarico ⁠#ChristianNationalism⁠ ⁠#Authoritarianism⁠ ⁠#FarRight⁠ ⁠#WesternCivilization⁠ ⁠#Immigration⁠ ⁠#TheEconomist⁠ ⁠#Politics⁠ ⁠#Religion⁠ ⁠#Democracy⁠ ⁠#Trump⁠ ⁠#JDVance⁠ ⁠#PeterThiel⁠ ⁠#AxisMundi⁠ ⁠#BradOnishi⁠ ⁠#PoliticalAnalysis⁠ ⁠#CurrentEvents⁠ ⁠#Geopolitics⁠ ⁠#Civilizationalism⁠ ⁠#AmericanCaesar⁠ Go to groundnews.com/SWAJ to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on the stories shaping our world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Onishi interviews TJ Poortinga, author of Electric Orange, a darkly comic novel about memory, media, and the danger of being taken seriously. Part psychological mystery, part alternate history, it’s a portrait of a person—and a nation—that can’t distinguish madness from insight. When Pieter Verboom has a nervous breakdown on national television, the last thing he expects is to become a populist icon. But when his ironic rant is taken literally by America’s fringe, he’s hailed as the architect of a movement he wants nothing to do with. Desperate to disappear, he’s hounded by an unhinged publicist, Ella Walker, who sees disaster as branding gold. Told through the eyes of his loyal student, Santo Vera, Electric Orange is a surreal odyssey through a nation that mistakes sarcasm for a blueprint. https://bookshop.org/p/books/electric-orange-tj-poortinga/1f28115396e32649?ean=9798999882400 For subscribers, a journey into the archives with Brad's interview of Carolyn Chen, author of Work, Pray, Code. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/e... #ElonMusk #ChristianNationalism #Authoritarianism #FarRight #WesternCivilization #Immigration #TheEconomist #Politics #Religion #Democracy #Trump #JDVance #PeterThiel #AxisMundi #BradOnishi #PoliticalAnalysis #CurrentEvents #Geopolitics #Civilizationalism #AmericanCaesar www.groundnews.com/swaj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller breakdown three stories: 1. The GOP pursuit of Anthony Fauci over COVID era decisions and funding. 2. A new poll that shows 66% of MAGA supporters would continue to push for a candidate accused of sexual assault + Elon Musk's lawsuit against a law that bans nudifying AI. 3. The State Department's humiliating mistake in using an error-filled AI-generated map of Africa. The thesis: You can't have democracy without shared facts, shared reality, and universal accountability. (00:00) – Introduction and technological mishaps (01:03) – The significance of shared facts and democracy (04:12) – Democracy, truth, and trust: Maria Ressa’s insights (08:39) – McCarthyism and the obsession with prosecuting Fauci (12:14) – GOP's distraction tactics: From Fauci to election interference (14:47) – The decline of literacy and its societal consequences (19:23) – The post-literate society and the rise of influencers over facts (22:46) – The crisis of accountability and the patriarchal narrative (27:00) – Support for scandal-ridden politicians among GOP voters (35:52) – The monstrous support for domestic abusers in politics (44:42) – The suppression of free inquiry and Western civilization myths (50:04) – AI, geography errors, and neglect of global health issues (52:47) – Musk, deepfakes, and the devaluation of human life (56:38) – Hope amid chaos: Reflections on political resilience and potential for change https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/ 💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a99b3f1b08e74f55⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠ #ElonMusk #ChristianNationalism #Authoritarianism #FarRight #WesternCivilization #Immigration #TheEconomist #Politics #Religion #Democracy #Trump #JDVance #PeterThiel #AxisMundi #BradOnishi #PoliticalAnalysis #CurrentEvents #Geopolitics #Civilizationalism #AmericanCaesar www.groundnews.com/swaj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Miller continues his "Questions You Weren't Supposed to Ask in Church" series with a reflection on why only some biblical commands are to be taken literally, but others are not. The episode is based on an email from a listener named Matt, who writes: “If we as Christians are to love as Jesus loved (e.g., John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend”), then why don’t conservative, 'Bible-believing' Christians, people who say they take the Bible “literally,” that we’re commanded to do everything it directs us to do, etc., not abide by the social demands that seem to be presented in the Bible?" He offers us a few examples:  Mark 12:31: “Love your neighbor as yourself”  James 1:27: “take care of the infants and the widows”  Hebrews 13:3: “remember those who are in prison”  Matt 25: 40: “just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” If we say we believe the Bible, follow Jesus’ commands, etc., shouldn’t this mean that should support and participate in a robust range of ministries intended to meet social needs? 💙 Support our work: ⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠ ⁠⁠ 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a99b3f1b08e74f55⁠ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠ 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ #ElonMusk #ChristianNationalism #Authoritarianism #FarRight #WesternCivilization #Immigration #TheEconomist #Politics #Religion #Democracy #Trump #JDVance #PeterThiel #AxisMundi #BradOnishi #PoliticalAnalysis #CurrentEvents #Geopolitics #Civilizationalism #AmericanCaesar www.groundnews.com/swaj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk says he just wants “secure borders.” But is that really what his politics are about? In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi breaks down Musk’s explosive interview with The Economist, where he accused its editor of being a “traitor to the West.” Brad explains why this language signals something much larger than immigration policy: the rise of Western civilizationalism, a political movement uniting Christian nationalists, authoritarian populists, tech elites, and the global far right around a shared vision of who belongs—and who doesn’t. The conversation explores Musk’s support for Europe’s far-right parties, the ideology of “remigration,” the growing alliance between Silicon Valley and Christian nationalism, and why protecting “Western civilization” has become the new rallying cry for anti-democratic movements. Brad also connects these trends to his forthcoming book, American Caesar, showing how religion, technology, and authoritarian politics are converging in the United States and around the world. 💙 Support our work: https://www.irmce.org/donate 🎧 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a99b3f1b08e74f55 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494 📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ #ElonMusk #ChristianNationalism #Authoritarianism #FarRight #WesternCivilization #Immigration #TheEconomist #Politics #Religion #Democracy #Trump #JDVance #PeterThiel #AxisMundi #BradOnishi #PoliticalAnalysis #CurrentEvents #Geopolitics #Civilizationalism #AmericanCaesar www.groundnews.com/swaj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Sunday interview, Leah Payne speaks with Dr. Lerone Martin, author of Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King Jr., about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. before he became the civil rights icon we know today. They explore King's teenage years as an agnostic, his struggles with racism and academic challenges, his love of basketball, and the parents, teachers, mentors, and communities that helped shape his faith, intellect, courage, and commitment to justice. Dr. Martin reveals the young person behind the legend—and explains why understanding King's doubts, flaws, failures, and development makes his story even more powerful. The conversation also examines King's early experiences with segregation and freedom, his evolving understanding of leadership and nonviolence, his use of media, and the lessons his life offers movements for social change today. Dr. Martin explains why King would likely warn us not to be surprised by political backlash—and why lasting change requires disciplined organizing, sustained campaigns, economic action, and strong local communities. Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack:⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠ Become a paid subscriber:⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠... Support our work with a tax-deductible donation:⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ Visit the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE):⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠⁠ www.groundnews.com/swaj⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad Onishi and Dan Miller explore the American right’s furious reaction to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and what the controversy reveals about race, representation, gender, sexuality, and the politics of “Western civilization.” From outrage over Black actors and queer representation in contemporary adaptations to the right’s insistence that certain stories, traditions, and cultural identities belong exclusively to white people, the conversation examines why the boundaries of “the West” are constantly being defended—and who gets pushed outside them. The discussion then turns to the rise of civilizational populism and its growing influence on the American right. Brad and Dan unpack how appeals to “Western Christian civilization” are being used to unite Christian nationalists, technocrats, billionaires, and authoritarian political actors around a shared vision of cultural hierarchy and social order. They connect the backlash over The Odyssey to Marco Rubio’s foreign policy, the politics of Venezuela, the disputed results of a national civics competition, and the broader question of who gets to represent the future of America. Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack:⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠Become a paid subscriber:⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠... Support our work with a tax-deductible donation:⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠Visit the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE):⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠ ⁠www.groundnews.com/swaj⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode, I’m sharing the prologue to my forthcoming book, American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy, which will be published on September 15, 2026. The story begins with my own experience as a teenager in evangelical Christianity—and with the way my understanding of Jesus, America, and the role of Christians in public life has changed over the past three decades. From the “missional” church movement of the 1990s to the rise of Christian nationalism, civilizational supremacy, and the growing embrace of authoritarian power, this prologue explores how “Jesus is King” has become not only a statement of faith, but a political demand. This is a sneak peek at American Caesar, a book about the religious and ideological movements reshaping American democracy—and the future of the country I call home. American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠ From Silicon Valley boardrooms to rural pulpits, from Catholic monasteries to Beltway think tanks and Project 2025, a convergence is underway. Reactionary Catholics dream of a new Christendom. Protestant pastors invoke divine right over democratic rule. Tech billionaires, led by the likes of Peter Thiel, argue that freedom and democracy are incompatible. Their solution? A singular ruler to bring “order” out of what they see as liberal chaos.With a theologian’s sensibility, a journalist’s touch, and a historian’s eye for how movements evolve and adapt, Dr. Bradley B. Onishi traces the strange alliance between spiritual warfare and Silicon Valley libertarianism. At the center of it all is the desire for an unbound executive—one man, beyond checks, beyond balance, beyond democracy. This isn’t nostalgia for the 1950s. It’s an organized attempt to abandon the American experiment altogether. A former insider turned academic expert, Onishi brings unmatched depth to this investigation—tracing his own path from evangelical pastor to co-host of Straight White American Jesus, the nation’s leading religion and politics podcast.As the 2024 election fades into history and a new political order takes shape, American Caesar is not just a warning. It’s a map of how we got here—and a call to act before the Republic as we know it becomes just another chapter in a forgotten history book. American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much love is enough? In this episode of It’s In the Code, part of the series “Questions I Wasn’t Supposed to Ask in Church,” we examine one of the most influential teachings in conservative Christianity: that Christians must love God or Jesus more than anyone and anything else. What happens when this teaching becomes an impossible demand? Drawing on a listener’s powerful experience, we explore the connection between the love of God, religious trauma, Christian deconstruction, and the damaging effects that toxic religious teachings can have on relationships with parents, children, partners, and family. For many people leaving high-control religion or evangelical Christianity, questions about how to love God—and whether loving God requires loving other people less—can become central to the process of religious deconstruction. This episode also explores the history of Christian theology and the influence of Greek philosophy on Christian ideas about God, love, the body, the material world, mortality, and human relationships. Is loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength really the same thing as loving God more than everyone else? Can love of God and love of other people exist in harmony? And what if the things we love most are precisely the things that are finite, temporary, and mortal? This conversation about conservative Christianity, religious trauma, spiritual abuse, Christian deconstruction, and the meaning of love ultimately asks whether we need to rethink both love and God. Support independent journalism and public scholarship by becoming a member or making a donation. Follow the Axis Daily Brief for daily analysis of religion, politics, Christian nationalism, and American culture on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Learn more about Axis Mundi and membership at Axis Mundi. ⁠www.groundnews.com/swaj⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump’s war with Iran is exposing a growing fracture inside the MAGA coalition. As the conflict continues, young America First voices—including Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, and Nick Fuentes—are increasingly at odds with the Christian nationalist and Christian Zionist establishment that continues to support Israel and the war. Brad Onishi, Matthew D. Taylor, and Holly Berkley Fletcher discuss the expanding Iran conflict, the Strait of Hormuz, the threat of a wider regional war, and why the consequences could become increasingly difficult for the Trump administration to contain ahead of the midterm elections. They also examine the generational divide within MAGA, the rise of anti-Semitism and Christian Zionism on the far right, and the growing influence of young online figures who may shape what comes after Trump. The conversation also turns to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s obsession with testosterone, masculinity, and the “warrior” ideal. What does the push to increase testosterone levels in the military reveal about Christian nationalism, the manosphere, evangelical purity culture, gender politics, and the growing ideological influence of the far right inside the U.S. military? This episode explores the intersection of Christian nationalism, MAGA politics, the Iran war, Israel, anti-Semitism, Christian Zionism, masculinity, testosterone, Pete Hegseth, authoritarianism, and the future of the American right. If you value independent reporting and analysis on religion, politics, and democracy, please support the Axis Mundi Network. Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack:https://axismundinetwork.substack.comBecome a paid subscriber:https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Support our work with a tax-deductible donation:https://www.irmce.org/donateVisit the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE):https://www.irmce.org#ChristianNationalism #MAGA #Trump #Iran #PeteHegseth #ChristianZionism #Politics ⁠www.groundnews.com/swaj⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Annika Brockschmidt sits down with extremism researcher Eviane Leidig, author of The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization, for an in-depth conversation about the women reshaping today's far-right movement. Together they explore how female influencers have become some of the movement's most effective communicators, using lifestyle content, tradwife aesthetics, motherhood, religion, and social media to normalize extremist ideas for mainstream audiences. From Lauren Southern and Lana Lokteff to the emerging "womanosphere," Leidig explains how these figures bridge fringe ideologies and conservative politics while building powerful online communities that extend far beyond national borders. Annika and Evian also examine the relationship between gender, Christianity, anti-feminism, transnational organizing, and white nationalism, unpacking the contradictions that allow women to thrive within deeply patriarchal movements. The conversation closes with a look at the international networks connecting the American and European far right, including the role of influencers, social media platforms, and digital propaganda in shaping contemporary extremist politics. If you value conversations grounded in scholarship and historical context, consider supporting Straight White American Jesus and Axis Mundi Media by becoming a member at Axis Mundi Membership. You'll receive ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our community. Be sure to subscribe, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and sign up for the SWAJ newsletter to stay up to date with every new episode. Subscribe to the SWAJ Newsletter Support independent journalism and analysis from Axis Mundi Media by becoming a subscriber: ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠ Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@AxisMundiNetwork⁠ Learn more about the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement: ⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠ Eviane Leidig: The Women of the Far Right: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-women-of-the-far-right/9780231210171/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi sits down with renowned scholar, author, and television producer Reza Aslan for a wide-ranging conversation about America's religious past—and why that history matters more than ever. Drawing on Aslan's new podcast series, Our Seven Neighbors, they unpack the myths surrounding "one nation under God," the long struggle for genuine religious freedom, and the forgotten stories of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Catholics, Indigenous peoples, and other communities who had to fight for the rights they were promised. Together they explore how Christian nationalism distorts American history, why religious pluralism has always been contested, and what the nation's 250th anniversary should really invite us to remember. The conversation also turns to immigration, Islamophobia, Chinese exclusion, the enduring legacy of empire, and even an extended behind-the-scenes discussion of HBO's The Leftovers, where Aslan served as a producer and helped shape many of the show's religious themes. Whether you're interested in American politics, religion, history, or culture, this episode offers a compelling reminder that democracy has always depended on expanding the circle of belonging—not narrowing it. Support independent journalism and analysis from Axis Mundi Media by becoming a subscriber: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com Subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AxisMundiNetwork Learn more about the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement: https://www.irmce.org Our Seven Neighbors: https://www.axismundi.us/podcasts/our-seven-neighbors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of It's In the Code, host Dan Miller tackles one of the most provocative questions a believer can ask: Did God lie in the Garden of Eden? Beginning with a listener's question about Genesis and God's warning that Adam and Eve would die if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Dan takes a close look at the biblical text itself rather than the assumptions many Christians bring to it. Along the way, he explores how later theological traditions—including original sin, spiritual death, and the identification of the serpent with Satan—have shaped the way this familiar story is understood, often in ways that go beyond what the text actually says. Drawing connections to his previous episode on Job, Dan argues that some of the Bible's most challenging passages become even more unsettling when read carefully and without inherited interpretations. He examines the role of the serpent, the meaning of knowledge, and why difficult questions about scripture are so often discouraged in high-control religious communities. Rather than seeing these questions as signs of weak faith, Dan suggests they emerge from taking the Bible seriously enough to wrestle honestly with its complexities. If you've ever been told there are questions you're not supposed to ask in church, this episode invites you to ask them anyway. If you value independent analysis at the intersection of religion and politics, subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ for daily briefings, exclusive podcasts, and live events. You can also support our work by becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation through the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) at ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠⁠⁠. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor examine the political and religious legacy of Lindsey Graham following his death, asking how a senator once known for challenging Donald Trump ultimately became one of Trump's most loyal defenders. They explore Graham's transformation through the lens of white evangelical politics, Christian nationalism, and the pursuit of political power, while also discussing the contradictions between the Religious Right's "pro-life" identity and its support for war, immigration crackdowns, and other policies that raise difficult moral questions. The conversation also considers what Graham's passing signals about the future of the Republican Party, particularly as younger America First leaders challenge the foreign policy and evangelical consensus that Graham represented for decades. The second half of the show turns to the ongoing pretrial hearings in the Charlie Kirk murder case, where questions about religion, politics, and Christian identity are already shaping legal arguments. Brad and Matt unpack how prosecutors and defense attorneys are framing Kirk's beliefs, the growing effort to portray him as a Christian martyr, and the broader implications for Christian nationalism in American public life. They are joined by Arizona journalist Haley Orion of Left Coast Right Watch, who offers on-the-ground reporting from the Utah courthouse and explains why the trial has become a flashpoint for MAGA factions, conspiracy theories, and the future of Turning Point USA. Together, they separate fact from speculation while exploring how religion continues to shape America's political conflicts. If you value independent analysis at the intersection of religion and politics, subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack at ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠ for daily briefings, exclusive podcasts, and live events. You can also support our work by becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation through the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) at ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠⁠. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Sunday Interview, Brad Onishi sits down with historian and former CIA Africa analyst Holly Berkley Fletcher, author of The Missionary Kids: Unmasking the Myths of White Evangelicalism. Drawing on her experience growing up as a Southern Baptist missionary kid in Kenya, Fletcher explores how the evangelical missionary movement became intertwined with American exceptionalism, racial hierarchy, patriarchy, and Christian nationalism. Together, they examine why missionary culture often functions as a form of spiritual bypassing—allowing white evangelicals to see themselves as heroes abroad while avoiding difficult conversations about racism, power, and injustice at home. The conversation also explores the hidden costs of missionary life, including abuse, isolation, authoritarianism, and the impossible expectations placed on missionary families. Fletcher explains how the same dynamics that have fueled the Southern Baptist abuse crisis and evangelical support for Donald Trump emerge from a culture rooted in fear, certainty, and hierarchy. It's a wide-ranging discussion about faith, identity, and the future of American evangelicalism—and why understanding the missionary movement helps explain some of the most pressing religious and political conflicts in the United States today. The Missionary Kids: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798889832034/The-Missionary-Kids If you value independent analysis at the intersection of religion and politics, subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack at ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠ for daily briefings, exclusive podcasts, and live events. You can also support our work by becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation through the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) at ⁠https://www.irmce.org⁠. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doug Wilson's recent NPR interview offers a revealing look at how Christian nationalism has moved from the political fringe into the mainstream. In this episode, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack Wilson's arguments about household voting, patriarchy, and the Constitution, showing why his vision represents a fundamental challenge to liberal democracy. They also discuss Ken Paxton's latest controversy, the GOP's continued push to restrict birthright citizenship, and why these stories reveal a broader strategy to reshape American politics around power rather than pluralism. The conversation closes with a surprising discussion of tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's quest to defeat aging and what Silicon Valley's obsession with optimizing human life says about the limits of technology, the meaning of community, and what it means to be human. If you value independent analysis at the intersection of religion and politics, subscribe to the Axis Mundi Network on Substack at https://axismundinetwork.substack.com for daily briefings, exclusive podcasts, and live events. You can also support our work by becoming a member or making a tax-deductible donation through the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement (IRMCE) at https://www.irmce.org. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠ Support our work: ⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did God allow Satan to punish the biblical character Job, if he was a faithful and righteous man? This is a question that has been asked by Bible readers for centuries. But it’s a question that biblicists and high-control religionists get defensive about. Why? And why does the biblical Book of Job make this question even harder to answer? What does it show us about the shortcomings of high-control religion? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out! Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠ Support our work: ⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com⁠... Make a tax-deductible donation: ⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M...⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast...⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patriot Front's July 4 march on the National Mall wasn't an isolated stunt—it was part of a long American tradition of extremist groups using patriotic symbolism to claim ownership of the nation's identity. In this episode of Access Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor trace the historical parallels between Patriot Front and the Ku Klux Klan's massive 1925 march in Washington, D.C., explaining how white Christian nationalism has repeatedly cloaked itself in the language of patriotism, religion, and national renewal. They also unpack the critical distinction between theocracy and theonomy and why those concepts matter for understanding today's Christian nationalist movement. The episode also features Congressman Jared Huffman, who discusses his investigation into how the Trump administration reshaped America's 250th anniversary celebration through the creation of Freedom 250, the sidelining of the bipartisan America250 commission, and the promotion of PragerU as part of a broader campaign of historical revisionism and Christian nationalist messaging. Together, the conversation explores the intersection of extremism, religion, corruption, and democracy—and why recognizing these patterns is essential to defending a pluralistic America. Subscribe to Axis Mundi Media: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com Support our work: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Make a tax-deductible donation: https://www.irmce.org/donate Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast... Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Violence in Nigeria is escalating, and Christians are undeniably among its victims. But does that mean Nigeria is experiencing a "Christian genocide"? In this episode of the Axis Mundi Daily Brief, host Holly Berkley Fletcher examines the growing political narrative surrounding the crisis and asks whether it reflects the realities on the ground. Looking beyond headlines, Holly explores the complex interplay of resource competition, climate change, weak governance, criminal violence, and religious extremism that has fueled years of bloodshed across the country. The episode also explores why the "Christian genocide" narrative has become so influential in American politics, particularly among Christian nationalist leaders and the Trump administration. Holly explains how the stories we tell about persecution shape U.S. foreign policy, humanitarian priorities, and public understanding of global conflicts. By separating evidence from ideology, this conversation offers a deeper look at one of the world's most misunderstood humanitarian crises—and why getting the story right matters. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hs... Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast... Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Sunday interview, Brad Onishi is joined by historian and author Warren Throckmorton to discuss his new book, The Christian Past That Wasn't: Debunking the Christian Nationalist Myths That Hijack History. Together they examine some of the most persistent myths at the heart of Christian nationalism: that America was founded as a covenant nation, that the colonies' state churches prove the United States is inherently Christian, and that the Founders intended to establish a Christian government. Warren explains why these claims collapse under historical scrutiny while revealing how Christian nationalists flatten centuries of history into a single political narrative designed to justify power today. The conversation also explores the outsized influence of pseudo-historian David Barton, whose revisionist accounts of the American founding continue to shape churches, political leaders, and organizations despite repeated factual debunking. Brad and Warren unpack why these myths persist, how they fuel white Christian nationalism and Christian supremacy, and what is at stake as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary. This is an essential conversation for anyone seeking to understand the historical foundations of today's Christian nationalist movement—and why telling the truth about America's past matters for the country's future. https://www.christianpast.com The Christian Past That Wasn't: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9798889835820/The-Christian-Past-That-Wasn-t Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com... Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hs... Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4M... Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast... Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller examine how Donald Trump has transformed the semiquincentennial celebration into a showcase for political patronage, executive power, and Christian nationalism. They unpack the controversy surrounding the America250 festivities on the National Mall, including allegations of corruption, the role of PragerU and Hillsdale College in shaping historical narratives, and what the celebration reveals about competing visions of American identity and democracy. The conversation then turns to the Vatican's dramatic excommunication of clergy and members associated with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), exploring what the schism says about the growing influence of traditionalist Catholicism in American politics and its connections to the broader Christian nationalist movement. Brad and Dan close by discussing the rise of democratic socialists in Congress, what these electoral victories reveal about generational shifts in American politics, and why the future of democracy may depend on who gets to define the nation's story. As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the nation's semiquincentennial should be a moment for civic reflection, shared history, and democratic renewal. Instead, Donald Trump is transforming the celebration into a political spectacle centered on himself, military power, patronage, and Christian nationalism. In this episode, Brad Onishi and co-host Dan Miller examine how the National Mall and America's founding story are being repurposed to advance a vision of the country rooted in executive power, religious nationalism, and loyalty to one political movement. From corporate influence and political corruption to the growing role of Christian nationalist organizations in shaping the celebration, they ask what happens when a national commemoration becomes a vehicle for ideological power. Brad and Dan also discuss a major story from the world of American Catholicism: the excommunication of a priest associated with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The case offers a window into ongoing tensions over authority, tradition, Catholic identity, and the growing influence of far-right and traditionalist movements within the American Church. The conversation explores how these conflicts intersect with broader political currents, including Christian nationalism and the reshaping of conservative religious activism in the United States. As America approaches its 250th birthday, the stakes are larger than a single event. They concern who gets to tell the nation's story—and what kind of democracy that story will sustain. Subscribe for weekly analysis of Christian nationalism, authoritarianism, religion, democracy, and American politics from the hosts of Straight White American Jesus. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 👍 Like this video if you found it valuable. 💬 Join the conversation in the comments. 🔔 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss an episode. #Trump #ChristianNationalism #America250 #Semiquincentennial #NationalMall #AmericanCatholicism #SSPX #Catholicism #Authoritarianism #Democracy #Religion #Politics #Project2025 #StraightWhiteAmericanJesus #BradOnishi #DanMiller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Miller continues the Questions You Weren't Supposed to Ask in Church series by tackling one of the most common—and most unsettling—questions many Christians eventually ask: Why doesn't God perform big miracles anymore? From the parting of the Red Sea to raising the dead, the Bible is filled with spectacular divine interventions. But if God is unchanging, why don't we see those kinds of miracles today? Dan examines the most common Christian response—that God still performs miracles every day in small ways—and explores why that answer often fails to satisfy people wrestling with doubt. In this episode, Dan argues that the "small miracles" explanation creates deeper theological problems than it solves. If God chooses to miraculously heal one person while millions continue to suffer, what does that say about God's goodness? And if miracles are reduced to finding a parking spot or arriving at school pickup on time, does that diminish rather than magnify God's power? Drawing on his experience as a former pastor and on questions from listeners, Dan explores how this issue has led many people to rethink their understanding of God, the Bible, and faith itself. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court's narrow birthright citizenship ruling has triggered an extraordinary reaction from influential voices on the American right—and the backlash reveals much more than disagreement over immigration policy. In this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi, Annika Brockschmidt, and Matthew D. Taylor examine the response from figures including Kevin Roberts, Stephen Miller, Matt Walsh, and Joel Webbon, unpacking what their rhetoric tells us about the future of the 14th Amendment, Christian nationalism, and competing visions of American identity. The conversation explores why this legal battle is far from over and how the movement to redefine citizenship fits into a broader authoritarian political project. The hosts also analyze Texas' decision to mandate Bible readings in public schools, discussing the implications for religious liberty, public education, and Christian nationalism. Finally, they turn to a series of remarkable public appearances by New Apostolic Reformation-linked politicians, including Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith's declaration that Christians should "hate" what God hates and his attacks on Islam. Together, these stories reveal how increasingly radical religious and nationalist ideas are moving from the political fringe into mainstream American public life—and why understanding them is more important than ever. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Straight White American Jesus Sunday interview, Annika Brockschmidt speaks with journalist and researcher Madeleine Peltz about her years-long reporting on the conservative youth ecosystem and the gendered strategies shaping the modern far right. Peltz, formerly of Media Matters, has spent thousands of hours documenting right-wing media and events like Turning Point USA’s Women’s Leadership Summit—an increasingly influential gathering that blends lifestyle branding, faith language, and political recruitment. Together, they explore how the “pink pill” aesthetic fuses pop culture, wellness, and evangelical-coded messaging to draw in Gen Z women, reframing conservative politics through themes of empowerment, marriage, and “biblical womanhood.” The conversation examines the contradictions at the heart of this movement: conferences that market “women’s leadership” while promoting submission, purity culture, and debates over women’s political participation. Peltz describes the summit as both a recruitment pipeline and a social network, where influencers, field organizers, and Turning Point USA infrastructure work in tandem to shape ideology and identity. From MAHA wellness politics to tradwife influencers and viral culture-war media figures, the episode traces the fracturing and evolution of Gen Z conservatism—and asks what it means when aesthetics, faith, and political strategy become indistinguishable. Good Girls and Alpha Males by Madeline Peltz: https://bookshop.org/p/books/good-girls-and-alpha-males-how-conservative-media-is-targeting-gen-z-madeline-peltz/fe9f4d811b430430 https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Brad Onishi argues that a series of seemingly separate headlines point to a single political project: the construction of a white Christian homeland. He examines the unprecedented sentencing of the Prairie Land protesters under domestic terrorism charges, the Trump administration's growing use of "Antifa" as a catch-all label for political dissent, Supreme Court decisions affecting Temporary Protected Status, and the continued targeting of Haitian immigrants. Together, Brad argues, these developments reflect an effort to criminalize protest, narrow who belongs in America, and reshape citizenship around the ideals of white Christian nationalism. Brad also breaks down new efforts to restrict voting through the SAVE Act, analyzes the rhetoric of figures like Stephen Miller, Megyn Kelly, and Rep. Tom Emmer, and reflects on what Zohran Mamdani's growing political influence reveals about the future of the Democratic Party. Wrapping up the week, he shares reasons for hope, updates listeners on the launch of Access Daily, and explains why independent, expert journalism on religion and politics is more essential than ever. https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠ Listen to the Axis Daily Brief: Axis Daily Brief on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/033zp4MbwXJvxp6MoDkmtj?si=a758e87169e74ede⁠⁠⁠⁠ Axis Daily Brief RSS Feed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/1145852/s/400220.rss⁠⁠⁠ Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Support independent religion and politics journalism:⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Donate today: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.axismundi.us/fundraise?hsCtaAttrib=215444059319 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices