Weekly Roundup: The SCOTUS Surprise and the POTUS Demise
Brad and Dan discuss the expanded recognition of Juneteenth and its significance for American history, the surprising new from SCOTUS on discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace and DACA, Louie Giglio’s “White blessings,” and the growing perception that white people are discriminated against as much as Black people and other minorities. Bonus: explainer on the distinction between taking down Confederate monuments and other historical memorials.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: Trump’s Adding Insult to Tear Gas
Brad and Dan discuss Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Tulsa on June 19. They dig into the historical significance of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and Juneteenth. They also discuss the difference between history and collective memory in the Confederate flag/statue debate. Finally, they touch on Trump’s conspiracy theories about protesters, the first QAnon congressperson, and the ways protests have worked so far.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: A National Uprising
This episode begins with the conveyance of wisdom from two African American women who are scholars of religion. First, Dr. Anthea Butler on how and why protest works. Then, Dr.Shannen Dee Williams on the history of racism in the Catholic church and the need to listen to black activists. Brad and Dan then discuss the awry symbolism of Trump’s photo op, the hypocrisy of invoking Romans 13, comparisons to 1968, Trump’s polling numbers. They finish by discussing the 3rd Amendment, We the People Populism, and the difference between police and military.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
What Do Religion Scholars Think of Trump’s Violent Bible Photo Op?
On this emergency episode, Brad asks religion scholars to weigh in on Trump’s violent Bible photo op. He speaks with first with Dr. Richard Newton, Assistant Professor of Religon at the University of Alabama. They discuss how Christianity often offers a validation to racism and what he means by the term negrophobia. Christian nationalism is a prominent theme on Straight White American Jesus. Brad discusses how it played into Trump’s photo op with Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead, authors of “Taking America Back for God,” a new and important text on Christian nationalism in contemporary USA. Using Christian nationalism as a lens helps clarify why Trump’s base is also populated by a good number of white Catholics. Brad discusses this with Matthew J. Cressler, Asst. Professor of Religion at the College of Charleston. They discuss his work on white Catholicism as a vehicle for segregation in the USA, and the work of black catholics who are working to dismantle the structures of racism in the church. Brad turns next to Dr. Matt Recla, Associate Director of the University Foundations program at Boise State, to get a view of Trump’s weaponization of the Bible from the eyes of a scholar of the Roman empire. Dr. Recla explains the ways Christians and politicians have done the same throughout the last 1700 years. Finally Brad asks his Skidmore college, Dr. Lucia Hulsether, author of the forthcoming book Capitalist Humanitarianism, to help him understand the term racialized capitalism. He finishes the episode with insight from his former colleague Dr. Charles McKinney Jr, professor of Africana studies at Rhodes College, who relays a lesson in how white people often view racist acts and how to begin doing anti-racist work.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: The COVID Info Wars
Brad and Dan discuss recent data that shows White Evangelicals are the only group who believes Trump’s response to the pandemic has been appropriate. They connect this to recent studies that show how Trump supporters get their news/information directly from the president through the Trump App. This leads to a discussion of the proliferation of conspiracy theories and the problem of living in a post-truth world.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: Justice is Barred
Brad tells a story of an encounter with a French philosopher and . . . marshmallows. Then Dan and Brad discuss the DOJ decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn (4:00), William Barr’s dominionist win-at-all-costs politics (12:40), the “Call me a grandma killer” tweet and what is says about the “culture of life” movement (20:00), Trump’s unwillingness to wear a mask, and more.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
QAnon, Evangelicals, and COVID-19
Brad speaks with Marc-André Argentino, a PhD candidate and public scholar at Concordia University in Quebec, and an Associate Fellow with the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) at King’s College London. They discuss the origins of QAnon, its deep connections with evangelical Christianity, the new Q-Church, and the ways QAnon’s conspiracies are worsening the public health crisis by spreading disinformation.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: The COVID Culture Wars
Brad and Dan discuss the COVID culture wars: the armed “protest” at the Michigan capitol, the masculinity of face masks, in-person church meetings, the stunning decline in Trump’s approval ratings, the Bill Gates conspiracy, and Justin Amash’s third-party presidential bid.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Evangelicals, Individualism, and COVID Re-Open Protests
Brad discusses the correspondence between libertarian politics and evangelicalism. He points out that the stay at home orders undercut the central myth of both: working hard leads to God’s favor and economic prosperity. The collective action of staying at home is, in this sense, a blow to core tenets of conservative and evangelical cultures.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support
Weekly Roundup: President Lysol, Mark of the Beast Conspiracies, and Reporters Kidnapped
Brad tells the story of buying an heiress a crepe in France. Then he and Dan discuss the president’s remarks on using disinfectant to help with COVID, the conspiracy theories about vaccines and the Mark of the Beast, a reporter who was kidnapped at a Re-Open protest rally, and more.— Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/messageSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/straightwhiteamericanjesu/support