Ask the Next Question

Why are so many prominent evangelical influencers losing their minds over James Talarico? In this episode, we break down the evangelical panic surrounding the Texas Democrat who just won his Senate primary — and we react to some of the worst takes from Allie Beth Stuckey, Mark Driscoll, andothers. We dig into Talarico's actual policy positions, fact-check clips that were deliberately cut out of context, and have a real conversation about intellectual humility, liberation theology, what the Bible actually says about immigration, and why "biblical view" doesn't mean what they think it means.TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Cold Open: Matthew 25 & The Judgment of Nations 0:40 - Welcome to Episode 14! 1:06 - Who We Are: Not Your Average Christian Podcast 3:25 - Why Atheists Still Listen to Gospel Music 5:14 - James Talarico: Why Evangelicals Are Scared 7:00 - Talarico's Background: Teacher, Seminary Student, Future Pastor 9:00 - Did Race Play a Role in Beating Jasmine Crockett? 11:13 - Talarico's Policy Positions Breakdown 13:20 - Political Calculation vs. Authenticity 14:15 - Hasan's Warning: Tucker vs. Newsom in 2028? 16:04 - Anti-Zionism vs. Anti-Semitism (Important Distinction) 18:38 - Evangelical Reactions: Tweets & Hot Takes 21:15 - Mark Driscoll's Hypocrisy & The NDA Scandal 24:01 - Reacting to Allie Beth Stuckey: She Cut His Quote! 28:10 - "God Is Love" — But What Does That Actually Mean? 32:01 - Matthew 25: How God Judges Nations 34:55 - There's No Single "Biblical View" (And That's OK) 37:00 - "Nothing Beautiful About Islam"?! — Biggest L of the Episode 44:00 - Reading the Bible vs. Reading the Newspaper 47:19 - James Cone & Liberation Theology 49:55 - Why Talarico Actually Matters for the Left 53:10 - Final Thoughts + Help Us Hit 2K Subscribers!

Episode 13 covers a lot of ground. Greg Laurie is praying for Trump at the White House while a federal lawsuit alleges his church covered up child SA for over a decade. Mark Driscoll is preaching against socialism when everything he describes is capitalism. John Piper is being called woke for quoting the Bible. America double tapped a school in Iran and Trump says he doesn't know about it. And a reaction to Joshua Dos and Umar Johnson turns into a deep dive on the Black radical tradition, the ratchet effect, and why "Vote Blue No Matter Who" might be the most dangerous phrase in American politics.00:00 Intro & Studio Catch-Up03:05 Basketball Debate → Christian Apologetics08:37 Wes Huff, Apologetics & Evangelical Theology27:20 John Piper, Calvinism & Political Christianity40:07 Greg Laurie Lawsuit & Mark Driscoll Controversy50:26 Evangelicals, Capitalism & Christian Nationalism55:19 Umar Johnson, Voting Strategy & Black Political Thought

Military commanders saying Trump was anointed by God to start Armageddon, the Iran war nobody can explain, Kristi Noem getting fired, and Shia LaBeouf being a coward in a nice sweater.Joshua and Colten break down the viral story about a military commander allegedly telling troops that Trump was chosen by God to hasten the return of Jesus, and why the story might not be as solid as it went viral. Then they get into what's actually going on with the Iran strikes, why none of the official explanations make any sense, and what people reaching for The Fourth Turning and random YouTube prophets says about how we cope with uncertainty.They also get into the theology that actually matters here. Pre-mil vs post-mil is not just nerdy Christian trivia when the people running the Pentagon might believe one of them.Plus Kristi Noem is out at DHS, Mark Wayne Mullin is in (yes, that guy), Shia LaBeouf went on Channel 5 and said some things he probably should not have said, and Joshua and Colten have thoughts about all of it.Ask the Next Question drops every week. Like, subscribe, and ring the bell so you don't miss it. Drop a comment telling Joshua and Colten what you want them to cover next week.0:00 Intro & Back at the Apartment3:45 The Armageddon Briefing Story8:00 Should You Actually Believe This?10:20 Pre-Mil vs Post-Mil & Why the Theology Matters15:50 Why Nobody Can Explain the Iran War18:00 The Fourth Turning & the Industry of Certainty25:00 The Only Distraction That Matters33:30 Kristi Noem Fired & Mark Wayne Mullin Is Your New DHS Secretary40:10 Shia LaBeouf on Channel 547:00 Religion as a PR Strategy53:00 Final Thoughts & Outro

In Episode 11, we break down the book Don't Talk About Politics and what it gets right (and wrong) about how political change actually happens. We react to the Hasan Piker clip that had liberals calling leftists "secret MAGA" for refusing to pledge loyalty to Gavin Newsom, and we get into why the ratchet effect means the Democrats keep moving right while telling you this is the most important election of your lifetime. We also talk Obama casually confirming aliens are real and trying to walk it back, and then we get into it over Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show. This is the first time we've really disagreed on the pod, and we hash it out honestly. Was it a cultural victory? Absolutely. But does capitalism want you to celebrate and go back to sleep? TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Intro & New Studio Tour 2:30 "Don't Talk About Politics" Book Breakdown 12:00 Passive Allies, Propaganda & Why Talking Still Matters 20:00 Hasan Piker Won't Vote for Gavin Newsom (Reacting to the Clip) 30:00 The Ratchet Effect & Why Democrats Keep Moving Right 38:00 Marco Rubio Tells on Himself in Munich 42:00 Organizing the Left 48:00 Obama Says Aliens Are Real & the Maduro Weapon 55:00 Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show 1:05:00 Cultural Victory vs. Policy Victory 1:18:00 TPUSA Halftime Show Exposed (XQC Finds the Bots) 1:22:00 Final Thoughts & Closing

This week Colten and Joshua dive into the emotional weight of the current political moment, what it means to grieve a world that was never as stable as we thought, and why "stay inside, this isn't our fight" might be the most dangerous narrative circulating right now.We pull clips from creators like Vic Mensa, Deante Kyle, and others to unpack what's actually happening on the ground in Minnesota, why ICE now has more funding than the U.S. Marines, and how movements like FBA are fracturing solidarity at the worst possible time.We get into the difference between grieving the future and grieving the past, why both Republicans and Democrats have blood on their hands, and what it actually looks like to organize when your nervous system is fried from doomscrolling.

This week Colten and Joshua are asking an uncomfortable question: what happened to "love your enemy"?Starting with clips from David French and some viral church moments, we trace how American Christianity drifted from its roots into something tangled up with fear, nationalism, and an us-versus-them mentality. We get into church history, Christian nationalism, immigration, nonviolence—and why so many believers today hold positions that seem hard to square with what Jesus actually taught.We're also wrestling with some bigger questions: Has political identity quietly replaced faith identity? How does being in power (or losing it) change what people believe? And when everyone calls themselves "Christian," does the word even mean anything anymore?

This week Colten and Joshua dive into the cultural churn around AI, the future of work, and why so many men feel unanchored in a world that’s changing faster than anyone can track. We pull clips from creators like Ruslan, Mark Driscoll, Scott Galloway, Joe Rogan, and Caleb Bartlett’s conversation with Tristan Harris to ask what’s actually true, what’s hype, and what’s quietly shaping the way people think.We get into how AI is rewriting the rules of creativity and labor, why “masculinity discourse” keeps spiraling in every direction at once, and what all of this means for real people trying to build meaningful lives. It’s part cultural analysis, part media criticism, part therapy session for a society trying to figure out what comes next.

In Episode 6 of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten take on a week where politics, power, and everyday ethics collide.We start with the newly passed Epstein File Release Bill and what it means when the government suddenly decides to pull back the curtain. Who benefits from transparency, who gets protected, and what does the public have a right to know?From there we explore a bigger question: what people mean when they talk about revolution. Is it a moment, a movement, a mindset, or a format? We break down the difference between spectacle and substance.To close, we dig into a scenario that blew up online this week: should someone be fired for cheating? We look at the ethics, the power dynamics, and why so many workplaces fold moral judgment into employment decisions.It is a packed episode that moves from Capitol Hill to the messy gray zones of modern work and culture. Tune in and ask the next question with us.0:00:00 Intro,0:03:15 Epstein Files,1:03:28 Fired for cheating?

In Episode 5 of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten trace the fault lines running through our culture, between wealth and justice, masculinity and meaning, power and possibility.We begin with Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory in Queens and what it signals about the future of left politics in an era where capitalism feels increasingly exhausted. What does it mean to win inside a system that seems to be falling apart, and can movements rooted in solidarity survive the pressures of late-stage capitalism?From there, we turn to Scott Galloway’s new book on masculinity, a conversation that opens up bigger questions about what men are actually longing for, and why Galloway’s brand of self-help liberalism might be more symptom than solution. Can someone like him really lead a generation through crisis, or does his success expose the contradictions of the culture he critiques?Finally, we turn to The Will to Change by bell hooks, whose vision of love, vulnerability, and responsibility offers a deeper path forward. What if healing masculinity isn’t about reclaiming strength, but redefining it?It’s an episode about hope in hard times, how to build a new kind of strength, a new kind of politics, and a new kind of love in the ruins of the old world.

In Episode 4 of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten dive into a week where money, morality, and meaning all collide.We start with the NBA gambling scandal and the ongoing drama around Drake, Adin Ross, and the blurred line between entertainment and exploitation. What happens when the culture of betting becomes the culture itself, and who is really paying the price?Then we move to politics and principle as we look at the fallout around Graham Platner and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. Why does the left hold its leaders to higher moral standards, and should it? We talk about forgiveness, accountability, and whether people can actually change in public life.With Halloween in the air, we lighten things up before taking on a deeper question: did Jesus really rise from the dead, and what would that even mean if he did? We unpack historical evidence, theological interpretations, and the enduring power of resurrection as both symbol and scandal.It is a conversation about power, redemption, and why integrity matters more than ever in an age where everything, including faith, politics, and even sports, is up for sale.00:00 Intro,08:20 NBA Betting Scandal,31:06 Graham Platner,1:00:35 Our experience with Halloween growing up,1:12:29 Did Jesus rise from the dead?

In Episode 3 of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten take on a week full of controversy, conviction, and cultural tension.We start with the No Kings rally and the internet fallout that followed. Is it an effective movement for liberation, or just liberal branding with better aesthetics? We unpack the arguments flying between leftists and liberals and what the debate reveals about power, ego, and genuine movement building.Then we turn to red flags and green flags in church culture. From manipulative “accountability” talk to genuine community care, we break down how to tell the difference between spiritual authority and spiritual control.Next up: The Deante Kyle controversy. what happens when someone says “Jesus is in the way”? We explore the clash between ancestor veneration and Christian orthodoxy, how online faith communities are shifting, and why conversations about spiritual identity so often become culture wars.Finally, our Book of the Week is Marimba Ani’s Yurugu. We discuss how her searing critique of European cultural thought and behavior still echoes today and what it might mean for building a new moral language of freedom, belonging, and repair.

In Episode 2 of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten dive deep into faith, politics, and pop culture. We start with Gaza: is the new ceasefire a real step toward peace, or just another pause in an endless cycle of violence? From flotillas to propaganda, we ask what justice looks like when power writes the narrative. Then we pivot to culture war absurdity: Turning Point USA is planning its own halftime show in protest of Bad Bunny. Who would actually perform? We've both got lists and yes, TobyMac made the cut. From there, we explore why the Black Church still matters. What does it mean when even “multiracial” churches center whiteness as the norm? How did the Black Church become both sanctuary and protest movement, and why that witness still matters today. Finally, our Book of the Week is Phil Christman’s “Why Christians Should Be Leftists.” We unpack how the gospel’s moral logic confronts the comfort of capitalism and why personal piety without social justice isn’t righteousness at all.

In the very first episode of Ask the Next Question, Joshua and Colten sit down to talk about what really shapes our world: power, politics, and the stories we tell about both. We break down Napheesa Collier’s bold statement about leadership in the WNBA, challenge Charlie Kirk’s culture-war narratives, and expose how Obama’s neoliberal legacy still haunts American politics.