Weekly Roundup: Transcontinental Spy Buffoons
Brad and Dan break down three issues: The GOP attack on trans people and drag queens – why the obsession? The removal of Ilhan Omar from House committees and the blatant hypocrisy behind it The Neo-Nazi homeschool network and how it is related to Christian nationalist organizing efforts Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get […]
It’s In the Code Ep. 37: Purity
The language of “purity” looms large within certain Christian discourses in the US. But what is “purity”? What are the religious, cultural, and religious implications of employing the metaphor of purity? Why might be a considered a problematic, or even dangerous, metaphor? Dan explores these and other issues in this week’s episode. Subscribe for $5.99 […]
Trad Catholics and the Liturgy Wars
Brad speaks with Zac Dayvis and Ashley McKinless, co-hosts of Jesuitical and editors at America Magazine, about why young Catholics are drawn to the Latin mass, the contours of traditional Catholicism, and the ways that right-wing politics and culture attach themselves to older forms of the liturgy. Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus […]
Weekly Roundup: 2016 Has Been a Long Year
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the arrest of the FBI agent who was in charge of the NY bureau in the lead up to the 2016 election. He was arrested for working for Oleg Deripaska, a man who was at the center of the Trump-Russia scandal. In the second segment they transition to the […]
It’s In the Code Ep. 36: A God-Shaped Hole in My Heart
Many have had someone tell them, or grew up hearing, that we all have a “God-shaped hole” in our souls or hearts, and that only faith in (or a “personal relationship with”) Jesus can fill it. What do they mean by this? Where does this idea come from? And what are the consequences, intentional or […]
Astrotopia: The Religion of Space Exploration
As environmental, political, and public health crises multiply on Earth, we are also at the dawn of a new space race in which governments team up with celebrity billionaires to exploit the cosmos for human gain. The best-known of these pioneers are selling different visions of the future: while Elon Musk and SpaceX seek to […]
Weekly Roundup: God, Guns, Gas Stoves
Brad and Dan begin by discussing the recent news that Ron DeSantis and his administration rejected the AP course in African American studies course in Florida high schools, because in their estimation it holds no “educational value” and does not align with the historical record. This leads to a longer examination of the history of […]
It’s In the Code Ep. 35: It Gives Me Purpose
Many conservative Christians describe their “faith” as giving “purpose” or “meaning” to their life. What do they mean by this? And why does it does it feel to many that there’s more than a confession or description about their own spiritual life here? Why does it seem that this testimonial is aimed at others in […]
Purity Culture is a National Health Risk
Brad speaks with journalist Anna Beahm from Reckon South. Anna shares her harrowing stories from living through (and surviving) purity culture. Over the last few years she has become one of the few journalists whose beat is purity culture, abstinence only sex ed programs, and related issues. She shares her perspectives on the negative effects […]
Weekly Roundup: J8 in Brazil to Biden’s Classified Corvette
Brad and Dan begin by breaking down how the attempted coup in Brazil is a Christian nationalist copycat of J6, and what this means for how the world views the USA. Annika Brockschmidt at Religion Dispatches: https://religiondispatches.org/coups-of-a-feather-the-striking-similarities-between-brazils-insurrection-and-jan-6-may-be-due-to-authoritarian-learning/ Brian Klass on Substack: https://brianklaas.substack.com/p/bolsonaro-trump-and-authoritarian Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood at Word and Way: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/christian-nationalism-invades-brazil They then discuss […]