Impolite Company Nish Weiseth and Amy Sullivan

This Is My Story is a special season of Impolite Company focused on telling the stories of women who have made voting an act of faith. In this first episode, we talk with Megan Westra, a Milwaukee-based pastor and author of the new book Born Again and Again: Jesus' Call to Radical Transformation.

Coming Soon: This Is My Story, a special season of Impolite Company, focused on telling the stories of women who have made voting an act of faith.

TRAILER TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Amy Sullivan, and you’re listening to This Is My Story, a special season of Impolite Company.

 

In the conservative Baptist church in the Midwest where I grew up, women weren’t allowed to have roles in Sunday worship, outside of the music ministry. They didn’t even pass out bulletins as ushers. Although, to be honest, I’m not sure what biblical authority would have been violated there.

 

Instead, once a year, we’d hold Women’s Sunday, letting women pretend they were in charge for the day. There was obviously no question of having a woman preach. So instead of a sermon, every year one woman would share her testimony. Because apparently the men of the church decided that was safe. After all, it was just her own story.

 

They didn’t understand the power of stories.

 

You see, personal stories are how we relate to one another. More than that, research tells us that the most effective social change happens through storytelling, that people are most persuaded by their peers who have stood where they are. People need to feel understood, and they need to hear that change is possible.

 

That’s why I’ve left two decades in journalism to launch This Is My Story, a new initiative to help women tell their stories of making voting an act of faith. In each of the twelve weeks between now and Election Day, this special podcast season of the same name will tell the story of a different woman’s shift in her faith and politics, about what convicted her to see loving her neighbor as a commandment to shape not only how she lives her life, but also how she votes.

 

We’ll talk to women who were once firmly in the conservative Christian world. They include former street-corner evangelists, crisis pregnancy clinic workers, and a surprising number of former missionaries. You’ll hear how each of them ventured outside the bubbles in which they’d been raised, and what it was that caused them to embrace a kind of politics that’s more focused on loving our neighbors than protecting an in-group.

 

We would love to have you join us for this special season. Subscribe to Impolite Company wherever you listen to podcasts. And follow us on ThisIsMyStoryProject.com for more conversation, free downloads, and live events. It’s long past time to use the power of our stories to bring about justice and change. 

Your eyes and ears do not deceive you! We are back with a special Campaign 2020 episode. This episode was recorded before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday (in other words, when many more candidates were still in the race), but we take a look at the Democratic presidential campaign in its entirety. 

That means finding possible silver linings for future female candidates, looking at how this cohort of candidates talked about their faith, and whether the Democratic Party needs to put out a welcome mat for voters who may disagree with the party platform on some key issues. (Spoiler alert: the answer is YES.)

This week Amy is joined by journalist and author Steven Waldman, whose new book SACRED LIBERTY: AMERICA'S LONG, BLOODY, AND ONGOING STRUGGLE OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM was published this week. 



Their conversation covers the long and evolving history of religious liberty in America, the fact that anti-Catholicism has been the most common feature of religious liberty violations, and the role that evangelicals could--emphasis on could--play in easing current tensions over clashing rights.



Discussed This Week:



Sacred Liberty: America's Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom (Steven Waldman, 2019)

We are back! (Sort of.) With everyone but your condo board president jumping into the Democratic presidential race, and an astonishing number of them comfortable talking about issues of faith and morality, we couldn't just sit by and watch.



This week Amy is joined by Guest Co-Host Extraordinaire Jack Jenkins, a national correspondent for Religion News Service. Jack has interviewed a number of the Democratic candidates about their faith and has some insights into why Democrats may be recognizing the value of religious progressives. 



This episode is the first in a series: "Leveling the Praying Field: Democrats, Religion & 2020." If you have questions you'd like answered or related topics you want to see us tackle, reach out via Twitter at @ImpolitePod.



Discussed This Week:



• Evangelicals helped get Trump into the White House. Pete Buttigieg believes the religious left will get him out. (Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post)



• Julián Castro: Catholicism 'has never been far from my life'(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)



• Pete Buttigieg on faith, his marriage, and Mike Pence (Father Edward Beck, CNN)



• Pollster says progressive 2020 candidate with faith ties would be valuable asset (The Hill)



• Cory Booker: 'I'm calling for a revival of grace in this country' (Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)



• Mayor Pete Buttigieg's countercultural approach to Christianity is what America needs now (Kirsten Powers, USA Today)



• Clip of Pete Buttigieg on Real Time with Bill Maher



• Booker and Warren fuse faith and politics in appeal to mainline preachers (Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)



• The real meaning of Barack Obama's speech on religion and politics (Amy Sullivan, Slate)

Nish is off this week, so Amy is joined by award-winning journalist Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service for a discussion about the civil religion rituals of American state funerals, allegations of election fraud in a North Carolina congressional race involving a Republican candidate who is also a Southern Baptist pastor, and the potential resurgence of the religious left as a political force.



And because it's December, the Impolite Company Holiday Playlist is back! To listen along with us, go to Spotify and look for "An Impolite Company Holiday"



An earlier version of this episode contained audio difficulties. This version should be problem-free!