Straight White American Jesus

An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.

  1. 10h ago

    GOP's Desperate and Dangerous Midterm Closing Message + MAGA Wants A Dictator in Brazil

    MAGA influencers are calling for a coup in Brazil after Lula's win. Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor explain why that matters for the U.S. midterms, and for the weeks between Nov. 3 and Jan. 3. With the midterms days away, we connect Brazil's election to the rhetoric about "illegitimate" Americans, and to what a contested result could look like here. ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Midterms, Brazil, and why they're connected 1:35 Brazil's runoff and the MAGA meltdown 6:23 Why Brazil and U.S. politics are intertwined 9:53 Bolsonaro in prison and the rule of law 12:01 From "rigged" to "Maduro treatment": the escalation ladder 16:28 What Brazil's accountability shows, and what it doesn't 24:35 Hungary, Serbia, Israel: are far-right wins slipping? 31:28 Trump on a "rigged" Brazil, and Minnesota 35:56 Vance, El-Sayed, and "remigration" rhetoric 43:16 Greg Abbott and the "Sharia law" attack 47:18 Three ways to delegitimize election winners: communist, false religion, foreign 51:41 Clip of the week: Trump, Christianity, and "saving God" 58:35 Matt's book tour and upcoming events 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 🔗 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! #MAGA #Midterms2026 #Brazil Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    GOP's Desperate and Dangerous Midterm Closing Message + MAGA  Wants A Dictator in Brazil
  2. 3d ago

    The Sunday Interview: The War on Empathy, Gen Z, and America’s Political Divide with Dr. Melissa Deckman

    In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with political scientist Melissa Deckman about 2026 PRRI’s American Values Survey and what it reveals about religion, political power, and American identity. With Americans increasingly pessimistic about the economy and concerned about threats to democracy, Deckman examines whether dissatisfaction is fracturing Trump’s coalition—and whether it will translate into changes at the ballot box. Melissa Deckman is CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a political scientist who studies how gender, religion, and age shape American public opinion and political behavior. She is the author of The Politics of Gen Z and Tea Party Women. For Subscribers Payne asks Deckman what religious stories she would advise each party to tell. They discuss the appeal of biblical language rooted in compassion, the rise of pastor-candidates, and the opportunities and constraints facing religious messaging across the political spectrum. Find Dr. Melissa Deckman at Melissa Deckman.com, or on Bluesky and find Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) at PRRI.org Find Dr. Leah Payne at drleahpayne.com, subscribe on Substack, follow her on most social media platforms at @drleahpayne, listen along at Spirit & Power: Charismatics & Politics in American Life and Rock that Doesn’t Roll: The Story of Christian Rock, and read along: God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. 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 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

    The Sunday Interview: The War on Empathy, Gen Z, and America’s Political Divide with Dr. Melissa Deckman
  3. 4d ago

    Weekly Roundup: Two Weeks Out and the GOP Is Desperate

    Two weeks before the midterms, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the GOP's growing desperation as Cook Political shifts 19 House races toward Democrats and James Talarico polls ahead of Ken Paxton in Texas. They cover the DOJ's push to block certification in Alaska, federal agents visiting California residents flagged as non-citizens from an error-filled list, and Todd Blanche's non-answer on whether the DOJ would step into the election. The bulk of the episode digs into Vivek Ramaswamy's ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar, despite Acton's childhood abuse case, and JD Vance's defense of the ad, which they read as a window into a politics of ruling rather than governing. They also look at what Franklin Graham's midterm voting guide and Joel Webbon's "I told my wife how to vote" post reveal about the hollowing out of the religious right, using Sarah Palin in 2008 as a benchmark. 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/... 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

    Weekly Roundup: Two Weeks Out and the GOP Is Desperate
  4. Oct 20

    The Viral El-Sayed Clip Was More of a Christian Nationalist Setup Than You Think

    Tommy Teepell asked Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood, and the clip went viral. But Teepell's ties to Christian nationalist networks run deeper than the reporting so far has shown. Matthew D. Taylor has tracked Teepell and Sean Feucht since 2024, and in this episode he and Brad Onishi lay out what that research shows. Reporting by Marisa Kabas and Jason Wilson broke important news on who is behind the effort to derail El-Sayed. This episode adds the religious and Christian nationalist dimension: Teepell's 2024 podcast appearance with Feucht, Camp Elah on Capitol Hill, "deliverance ministry" for Hill staffers, and what it all means for church-state separation. TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro: the viral El-Sayed clip 3:09 Who is Tommy Teepell? 4:51 Camp Elah, Hill staffers, and Jericho marches 11:05 El-Sayed's answer, part one 15:54 Muslim Brotherhood and religious nationalism 22:36 Church and state: two views of the Constitution 28:03 "Do you disavow religious doctrine in law?" 32:37 The Guardian report and America Next 33:30 "At the mercy of a man with an argument" 36:37 Why this kind of religion threatens pluralist democracy 47:25 Chicago temple attack and anti-Hindu, anti-Muslim rhetoric 54:02 Stochastic terrorism 58:19 Why Muslim men in high office provoke anxiety 1:00:06 Books and events 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/... 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

    The Viral El-Sayed Clip Was More of a Christian Nationalist Setup Than You Think
  5. Oct 18

    The Sunday Interview: Matthew Taylor on Risking Everything to Confront Christian Supremacy

    On this Sunday Interview, Annika Brockschmidt talks with scholar of religion and theologian Matthew Taylor about his new book, Defying Tyrants, Following Jesus: In a World of Christian Antichrists. Writing as a Christian to other Christians, Taylor argues that the propaganda fueling MAGA and the authoritarian turn in American politics is theological, and that the response must be too. He explains why he sees Christian supremacy, the belief that Christians are better than others and entitled to power, as an older and deeper problem than Christian nationalism, tracing it through Constantine, Christendom, the Crusades, and colonialism. Taylor then offers a close reading of 1 and 2 John, where "antichrist" appears mostly in the plural and refers to people who broke away from the community and abused others in Christ's name, which leads him to argue that Christian antichrists are Christians who abuse power under Jesus's banner. They also discuss how to reckon with Christian awfulness without retreating to the "no true Scotsman" defense, what kind of king Jesus actually is, and the personal cost of the book: Taylor lost his job at an interfaith institute because of it. He explains why he refused to withdraw it, and what ordinary Christians can do to resist Christian supremacy in their everyday lives. 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 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

    The Sunday Interview:  Matthew Taylor on Risking Everything to Confront Christian Supremacy
  6. Oct 16

    Weekly Roundup: The New Press Secretary Wants Women Executed in Public + The January Surprise is Coming

    In this Straight White American Jesus Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller dig into new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who is not a licensed attorney and has deep ties to the Southern California Christian nationalist network around Rob McCoy, Charlie Kirk’s pastor, and a past advisory role with White Rose Resistance, a group calling for women who have abortions to be executed in public. They then break down a published plan from Russ Vought’s Center for Renewing America to challenge and block incoming Democrats, especially Muslim and Marxist-identified members-elect, from being sworn in on January 3rd, and why Dan sees it as a strategy to sow doubt about election legitimacy even if it would fail in court. They also cover Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, what it means for Ukraine and sanctions, and close with reasons for hope, including court rulings on ICC sanctions and press access and the called-off live stream of the Fort Hood shooter’s execution.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/📗 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-TyrantsFull 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! Thank you Thomas J, Jane Stevenor, Laura Nelson, Beth Strand, Brady Fern, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Weekly Roundup: The New Press Secretary Wants Women Executed in  Public + The January Surprise is Coming
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About

An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.

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