Highest Power: Church + State cover art

All Episodes

Highest Power: Church + State — 126 episodes

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Title
1

Ep125: How Pro-Natalists Coopted Mother's Day & How Black Women Liberate Us from White Patriarchy, with Braxton Wade

2

Ep124: Are Aliens Here? Why Pastors are Claiming that Government Officials are Asking Them to Prepare Their Congregations for Disclosure

3

Ep123: The Newsboys Scandal & How American Dominion Theology Is Coopting the Worship Industry, with Keri Ladner

4

Ep122: How MLK Jr.'s Nonviolent Support of the Oppressed Contrasts with the Motive in the White House Correspondents' Dinner Shooting, with Lerone Martin

5

Ep121: How Theologies of Hell Can Hold Violent Men Accountable Rather than Threaten Women and Children

6

Ep120: How "America Reads the Bible" Is an Attempt to Normalize a Theocracy

7

Ep119: Mark Driscoll's Role in the Freedom 250 Event & How Complementarianism Sacralizes Violence Against Women, with Sheila Gregoire

8

Ep118: How the "America Reads the Bible" Event Promotes Myths about Our Christian Past, with Warren Throckmorton

9

Ep117: The 'Trump as Jesus' Painting & My Conversation with Pat Kahnke about the Common Values of Diverse Christian Nationalist Expressions

10

Ep116: Healing When Our Families Break Apart over Politics, with Lauren Smallcomb

11

Ep115: How the White House Holy Week Events Promoted Trump

12

Ep114: The SCOTUS Ruling Against Colorado's Ban on Conversion Therapy, with Cody Sanders

13

Ep113: Attending CPAC and a No Kings Rally Back to Back, with Mara Richards Bim

14

Ep112: Pete Hegseth's Holy War in Iran & the Absurdity of Authoritarian Power, with Ginny Brown Daniel

15

Ep111: The Duggar Scandal, Christian Nationalism, & the Seeming Inescapability of the Abusive Power Dynamics Many of Us Left Behind, with Tia Levings

16

Ep110: Rhymes of Power between the Epstein Files & Complementarian Ministries like The Gospel Coalition

17

Ep109: James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, & Liberating Feminine Wisdom from Christian Patriarchy, with Angela J. Herrington

18

Ep108: Responding to Sexual Abuse in the Church & in the Epstein Files, with Laura Thien & Robert Peters of GRACE

19

Ep107: How Evangelicals Pick and Choose What Parts of the Bible to Emphasize to Sacralize Trump's Violence

20

Ep106: How the IFB Dispensationalism We Grew Up with Is Affecting Opinions on the Iran War Today, with David Bumgardner

21

Ep105: The American Military Fetish, Pacifism, & the War in Iran, with Ben Daniel

22

Ep104: Trump's State of the Union Address & Belittling the Women's Olympic Hockey Team

23

Ep103: Doug Wilson Preaches at the Pentagon, with Brian Kaylor

24

Ep102: How Jesse Jackson's Legacy Inspires Young Black Civil Rights Leaders Today, with Braxton Wade

25

Ep101: How the Worship Industry's Racial & Ethnic Hierarchies are Harming Black Christians

26

Ep100: Howard Thurman's View of Jesus Could Heal Us from Today's Christian Nationalism, with Jacob Robinson

27

Ep99: Bad Bunny vs. TPUSA – A Tale of Two Super Bowl Halftime Shows

28

Ep98: Trump's Sexist Attack on Kaitlan Collins

29

Ep97: Erika Kirk and Sean Feucht's ICE Revivals, Their Demonization of Protestors, & James Dobson in the Epstein Files

30

Ep96: Does Law Enforcement Deserve Benefit of the Doubt & How Regular People Can Expose the Truth

31

Ep95: Alex Pretti & How Patriarchy Cares More about Power over Women than Protecting Women

32

Ep94: How Patriarchal Pastors (Like Those at Cities Church) Use Theology to Sacralize Violence Against Women and Minorities

33

Ep93: How White Congregations Can Listen to and Learn from Marginalized Communities, with Braxton Wade

34

Ep92: ICE is Building Warehouses to Store and Ship Humans like Amazon Prime Packages, with Mara Richards Bim

35

Ep91: ICE Agents are Getting Angry, Reckless, and Violent Over Feeling Disrespected

36

Ep90: The Killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE Agent in Minnesota, with Martha Bardwell

37

Ep89: How Trump's Kidnapping of Maduro and Attacks on Venezuela Compare to the Colonizing Doctrine of Discovery

38

Ep88: Making All Things New

39

Ep87: BNG's Three Podcasts & What We Covered in Them in 2025

40

Ep86: How the Incarnation Informs Conversations about Salvation & Sexuality

41

Ep85: The Willful Ignorance of Our "Christian Nation" Claims & the Violence They Cover Up

42

Ep84: How Trump & Hegseth's Speeches Blame Others & Solve Problems that Aren't Real

43

Ep83: How Evangelical Theologies of Hell Produce the Fruit of Sexual Abuse

44

Ep82: Should Journalists Write from a Place of Anger? with Wendell Griffen

45

Ep81: The Advent Candle of Peace & the U.S. Government's Bombing of Defenseless People

46

Ep80: How Advent Helps Us Process the Darkness in the News Today, with Marc Schelske

47

Ep79: Immigration Hypocrisy, Demonic Puppetry, & How We Respond to Family Members Who are Okay with Violence Against Us

48

Ep78: Thankfulness in Light of Hierarchy

49

Ep77: Trump's Threats to Execute Democratic Lawmakers by Hanging

50

Ep76: How Our Allegiance to Political Teams Leads Us to Excuse Sexual Abuse

51

Ep75: The Epstein Coverup & How Rightwing Pundits are Minimizing Sexual Abuse

52

Ep74: Reopening the Government & Releasing the Epstein Files - What Our Political Parties' Internal Debates Say About Their Values

53

Ep73: The GOP's Islamophobia and the War Between Authoritarian Christianity & Authoritarian Islam

54

Ep72: Election Results & the GOP Nazi Civil War

55

Ep71: ICE Attacks on Chicago & Pastors Getting Arrested, with Hannah Kardon & Quincy Worthington

56

Ep70: Government Overreach & How Misogynists are Tapping into Christian Biases to Gain Power

57

Ep69: The Government Shutdown & Trump's Ballroom

58

Ep68: The Nazi Chat Groups Among Young Republicans

59

Ep67: The Republican Reaction to No Kings Day and the GOP's Plan for a Dictatorship

60

Ep66: How Biblical Interpretation & Theology Contribute to Our Political Differences, with Lily Wood

61

Ep65: The War and the Peace Deal Between Israel and Hamas

62

Ep64: Authoritarian Christian Nationalists are Redefining the Church, Communion, and Revival

63

Ep63: Pete Hegseth's Pentagon Worship Service

64

Ep62: How the Teachings of John MacArthur, James Dobson, and Voddie Baucham Harmed Kids & What Christian Parenting Alternatives are Available, with R. L. Stollar

65

Ep61: "Render Unto Caesar" - Matthew D. Taylor on Preaching the Gospel in an Era of Christian Power

66

Ep60: How Rapture Predictions Center Ourselves Over Valuing Our Neighbors

67

Ep59: How the Trump Administration's Attack on Free Speech & Press Serves the Seven Mountain Mandate

68

Ep58: Charlie Kirk's Popularity with College Students & How Universities Should Respond, with Matthew Boedy

69

Ep57: Charlie Kirk

70

Ep56: Vaccines, Autism, & the Chaos at the CDC, with Janet Kellogg Ray

71

Ep55: Listening to Survivors of Abuse & the Epstein Survivors' News Conference, with Mallory Challis

72

Ep54: The Battle Between Christian Nationalist Worshipers and LGBTQ-Supporting Kazoo Players in Seattle

73

Ep53: The Unhealed Trauma & Theology of God Driving Violent Authoritarianism in White Evangelical Politics

74

Ep52: The Toll on Women of Doug Wilson's Christian Nationalist Patriarchy, with Sarah Bader

75

Ep51: How Authoritarian Christians Appeal to the Bible but End Up Recreating Ancient Empire Dynamics in Modern Politics

76

Ep50: Getting Trump into Heaven Through His Foreign Policy, & the Death of James Dobson

77

Ep49: The Big Meeting & How Christian Nationalists are Torn Between Allegiance to Trump and Idolization of Putin

78

Ep48: How Should the Media Cover Doug Wilson? with Sarah Stankorb & Peter Bell

79

Ep47: An Update on Laura Anderson & Navigating Therapy, Coaching, & Religious Trauma, with Emily Maynard

80

Ep46: Gun Violence & the Shooting at Fort Stewart

81

Ep45: Eugenics, JD Vance, & Sydney Sweeney's "Jeans," with Audrey Clare Farley

82

Ep44: Religious Trauma Coach Laura Anderson's Code of Ethics Violations

83

Ep43: Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters Caught with Porn on Screen During School Board Meeting

84

Ep42: Trump's Distractions & Ego

85

Ep41: "When Deconstruction Becomes a Brand" by Katelyn Beaty

86

Ep40: John MacArthur, Alligator Alcatraz, & the Epstein Coverups

87

Ep39: Sexual Entitlement & the Epstein Files

88

Ep38: BNG Writer's Roundtable

89

Ep37: The So-Called Big Beautiful Bill

90

Ep36: Alligator Alcatraz

91

Ep35: Traci D. Blackmon Preaches Romans 13 at CBF's McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Luncheon

92

Ep34: Paul Raushenbush's Keynote Speech at the CBF General Assembly

93

Ep33: Bombing Iran, Violent Men, & Why Women are Leaving the Church, with Liz Cooledge Jenkins

94

Ep32: MAGA's False Dichotomies: The Minnesota Shooting, the War in Iran, & Immigration

95

Ep31: No Kings Day, Trump's Parade, & the Assassination in Minnesota

96

Ep30: Protests in L.A. & Trump's Targeting of White Evangelical Support

97

Ep29: SBC Annual Meeting & the Role of Denominational Institutions in Our Lives, with Matt Tebbe

98

Ep28: Allegations Against Sean Feucht & Tensions in the Worship Industry, with Kelsey Kramer McGinnis

99

Ep27: RFK Jr.'s Attack on Science, with Kristine Johnson

100

Ep26: Battle of Seattle Follow-up - How Violent Rhetoric Leads to Violent Retribution

101

Ep25: Worship Battle of Seattle

102

Ep24: Biden's Cancer Diagnosis

103

Ep23: Conservative Christianity Erased Her Asian Heritage, with Priska

104

Ep22: The GOP's 'Big Beautiful Bill' & the Seven Mountain Mandate, with Matthew Boedy

105

Ep21: Is Pope Leo XIV 'Woke'?

106

Ep20: Authoritarian Theology & Entitlement, with Christa Brown

107

Ep19: Healing Wounds Caused by White Communities, with Tori Williams Douglass

108

Ep18: The Pope & the President, Part 2 - JD Vance & Catholic Integralism

109

Ep17: The Pope & the President, Part 1 - Traditional Latin Mass & Christian Nationalism

110

Ep16: Responding to the Claims of Trump's Anti-Christian Bias Task Force

111

Ep15: Pope Francis, Resurrection, & Restorative Justice, with Nicole Wiesen

112

Ep14: White Evangelical Atonement Theologies & Holy Week

113

Ep13: Effects of Tariffs on Asian Americans, with R. Scott Okamoto

114

Ep12: Immigration, Tariffs, & Loving Neighbors, with Karen Swallow Prior

115

Ep11: Flags as Symbolic Power, with Mara Richards Bim

116

Ep10: Cory Booker's 25-Hour Speech, Tariffs, & Retributive Justice

117

Ep9: Trump's Executive Order & Rewriting History, with Beth Allison Barr

118

Ep8: Domination, Liberation, & Christian Aid, with Chrissy Stroop

119

Ep7: Crisis of Masculinity, with Rev. Angela Denker

120

Ep6: GRACE Report: Tim Whitaker & The New Evangelicals

121

Ep5: The Media vs. Trump, with Mark Wingfield

122

Ep4: Standing Up for the Marginalized Amid Trump's Reign of Terror, with Susan M. Shaw

123

Ep3: Measles Outbreak & Listening to the Experts, with Janet Kellogg Ray

124

Ep2: Trump's Address to Congress, with Anthea Butler

125

Ep1: Zelensky, Trump-Gaza, Prayer, & Andrew Tate

126

Pilot