The Convocation Unscripted

Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby
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Welcome to "The Convocation Unscripted," a free-wheeling conversation between Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby. We are each scholars (three historians and one sociologist) who write about religion and its intersection with culture, history, and politics in America. We also each take our own Christian faith seriously and are deeply concerned about the future of both democracy and Christianity in the U.S. Most importantly, over the years, we’ve found ourselves to be not just fellow travelers but friends. This is the video/podcast component of our unique Substack magazine "The Convocation," which you can subscribe to here: https://convocation.substack.com/

  1. 1D AGO

    Minneapolis Clergy Standing with Immigrants against ICE, Featuring Rev. Angela Denker

    Following our conversation last week about the senseless, unjustified killing of Renee Good by and ICE agent in Minneapolis, this week we bring you a special episode of The Convocation Unscripted with our first ever guest, Rev. Angela Denker. Angela is an ordained Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis (her full bio is below) and author of DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS: The Radicalization of American Boyhood. We’ve been fans of Angela’s courageous writing and preaching for years, and this week she gives us firsthand experience and reporting of the brutality and chaos that has been unleashed on Minneapolis residents by ICE and CBP, which combined now outnumber local city law enforcement by a factor of five. This invasion of an American city based on the thinnest pretext—over the protests of both the mayor and the governor—is a dress rehearsal for Trump’s dream of authoritarian rule across the country. Angela gives us both the horror and the hope from the faithful resistance. You don’t want to miss this one. Rev. Angela Denker is an award-winning author, ELCA Lutheran pastor, and veteran journalist. Her first book, Red State Christians, was the 2019 Silver Foreword Indies award-winner for political and social sciences. Her second book, Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood, came out on March, 25, 2025. She is a former columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune and has written for many publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post, and FORTUNE magazine, and has appeared on CNN, BBC, SkyNews, and NPR to share her research on politics and Christian Nationalism. Pastor Angela lives with her husband, Ben, and two sons in Minneapolis, where she is a sought-after speaker on Christian Nationalism and its theological and cultural roots. She also serves Lake Nokomis Lutheran Church in Minneapolis as Pastor of Visitation and Public Theology. You can read more of her work on Christian Nationalism, American culture, social issues, journalism, theology, and parenting on her Substack, I'm Listening.

    55 min

  2. JAN 9

    Standing Together for Truth Amid Trump's Lies and ICE Violence in 2026

    Our first conversation of the year was a heavy one. We mourned the senseless, unjustified killing of Renee Good by and ICE agent in Minneapolis, noting that the chain of events that lead to her death is anchored in Trump’s racist lies about Somali immigrants. And we also warned that the $170 billion of our tax dollars that ICE received to dramatically expand operations on U.S. soil in 2026 will mean that this lie-fueled violence is likely coming to a community near you this year. We also saluted the Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for courageous calling out the lies about both the situation in the city and about the circumstances of Good’s killing; the courageous clergy such as Rev. Angela Denker who are speaking out; and the everyday citizens who are standing up. We wrap by noting that Christian faithfulness in this regime will mean taking risks for justice and truth in 2026. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

    1h 3m

  3. 12/19/2025

    MAGA Vanity and Advent Humility

    This week we discuss the explosive Vanity Fair article and accompanying photographs that reveal unflattering images of Trump administration officials, including Susie Wiles, Marco Rubio, and Karoline Leavitt. The photographer, Christopher Anderson, defended his work as authentic journalism rather than celebrity-style portraiture. The article and the backslash against it exposed the vanity and vulnerability of authoritarian regimes, who need to maintain the facade of power. We talk about how this vanity is at odds with the humility of Advent and how the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have distorted and defiled the message of Christmas to celebrate the cruelty of their mass deportation scheme. We close by highlighting a recent “Choose Love, Not ICE” ad—produced by Interfaith Alliance in partnership with Protect Democracy and set to the tune of “O Holy Night”—is pushing back. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

    54 min

  4. 12/05/2025

    The Moment Trump’s Panic Became Visible

    Why his latest rants signal a deeper unraveling We’re living in a moment where authoritarian power is panicking, elites are hiding, and ordinary people are the ones finding their voice. You could read Trump’s outburst against Somali immigrants as just another racist rant. But if you listen more closely you can also hear it as a panic siren from an authoritarian project that knows it’s slipping, even as everyday people quietly find their courage again. Trump’s racist tirade against Somali immigrants wasn’t new, but as Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, and I unpacked on this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, it landed differently. This wasn’t just more ugly rhetoric. It sounded like fear. It sounded like a regime running out of tricks and grasping for one of its oldest tools: dehumanizing immigrants to rally its base. But while the president doubles down, something else is happening on the ground. Diana described a subtle but powerful shift in public spaces. Strangers are groaning out loud at the news, trading comments in security lines, and saying what they used to only text in group chats. In places like Chicago, Nashville, and beyond, people aren’t just talking—they’re organizing, marching, and even turning Home Depot product returns into a protest tactic. Meanwhile, the elites—on both sides of the aisle—feel further away than ever. Bubble-wrapped in security details, donor circles, and curated media, they seem unable or unwilling to name what’s happening: an authoritarian movement testing the limits daily, and a public that is more awake than the political class wants to admit. Kristin put it bluntly: they keep pushing because they keep getting away with it. When there finally is pushback—a lawsuit, an impeachment article, a rare moment of moral clarity—the response is denial, distraction, or outright lies. But beneath that, the fear is showing. The grip is loosening. If you want to hear how all this connects to Advent, empire, and light breaking through the darkness, you’ll want to watch the full conversation. Register to see Jemar, Diana, and more at the Southern Lights Conference. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

    57 min

  5. 11/21/2025

    Trump’s Continued Endorsement of Violence and Christian Nationalism

    Just this week, Trump and his administration have shrugged off the brutal 2018 murder of a Washington Post Journalist and welcomed the person the CIA identified as its mastermind to the White House, called for the death penalty and hanging for six democratic sitting members of Congress, and—over at the Coast Guard under the Department of Homeland Security--downgraded nooses and swastikas from hate symbols to “potentially divisive” objects. We talk about the positive correlations between this increasingly violent rhetoric and Christian nationalism, and the inexplicable tendency of some prominent journalists to refuse to acknowledge the reality of this movement or the scholarship supporting its existence and its threat to democracy. We close with an off-beat segment on the rise of AI-powered chatbots that purport to let Christians text with Jesus. But which Jesus has AI trained itself to emulate? All is not what it seems here. Check out Jemar's new podcast: The Justice Briefing - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-justice-briefing-with-dr-jemar-tisby/id1460240056 Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

    55 min

  6. 11/14/2025

    Shutdown and Release: Dems Cave, Consequences of Epstein Files

    This week, Diana was on the road promoting her new book, A Beautiful Year, but Robby, Kristin, and Jemar took advantage of all being in Washington, DC, together and recorded this special episode from PRRI’s new office. We talked about our disappointment at the capitulation of a handful of Democratic officials, who voted with Republicans to end the record-breaking government shutdown—without securing much in exchange. At best the deal only temporarily restores SNAP funding and reopens the government for six weeks, and it secured no concrete assurances on government funding to protect Americans who depend on Obamacare against skyrocketing health insurance premiums. And worse, Democrats seemed to offer no strong moral case for their actions. We also talked about the bombshell partial release of a trove of emails from the Epstein files, which seemed to show that Trump knew about the pedophilia sex ring that Jeffrey Epstein was running for powerful men. We noted that the Epstein files are creating rare fissures within the MAGA movement, especially since Trump encouraged the conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement during his campaign. But it is still to early to know whether either condoning or failing to protect children from pedophiles would be a grave enough sin for the MAGA faithful to break with Trump, or whether they will continue to find ways to rationalize his immoral behavior.

    47 min

  7. 11/07/2025

    The Most Important 2025 Election Result: A Reminder that an Authoritarian Future is Not Inevitable

    After a month of heavy travel, the Convocation team was all back together for our live show, which we do the first Thursday of every month. This week—for two weeks in a row—we brought mostly good news to the conversation. We talked about the most important lesson from the blue wave 2025 election results: that an authoritarian future is not inevitable.  Just one year into the Trump presidency, there are signs that everyday Americans are stepping up to say that Trump’s lawlessness, chaos, cruelty, and corruption are not in fact what they want in a president. In Virginia, for example, while 80% of white evangelicals continued to vote Republican, 7% of 2024 Trump voters flipped and supported the democratic candidate for governor, Abigail Spanberger. The exit poll breaks by race and gender showed that majorities of every subgroup voted for Spanberger except white men. Latinos in Virginia and New Jersey, who moved toward Trump in 2024 largely over economic concerns, moved strongly back into the democratic column because of both continued economic stress and objections to ICE and harsh immigration enforcement. And importantly, people participated in the democratic process. Turnout was high for an off-year election, which was conducted freely and fairly. We spent the last half of the call taking questions from the live audience.

    1 hr

  8. 10/31/2025

    "A Beautiful Year" with The Convocation Unscripted

    The group discussed Robert's manuscript feedback from his editor and Diana's experience promoting her book "A Beautiful Year" at events, leading to a decision to focus the podcast segment on exploring Robert's book themes rather than PRI studies. The panel shared holiday traditions and decorations, particularly focusing on interfaith celebrations and the liturgical calendar. The main discussion centered on Diana's new book "A Beautiful Year," which examines alternative narratives to Christian nationalism through the lens of the liturgical calendar, with participants exploring its themes of hope, harmony, and peace while discussing its academic and theological foundations. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com

    48 min
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4.9
out of 5
53 Ratings

About

Welcome to "The Convocation Unscripted," a free-wheeling conversation between Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby. We are each scholars (three historians and one sociologist) who write about religion and its intersection with culture, history, and politics in America. We also each take our own Christian faith seriously and are deeply concerned about the future of both democracy and Christianity in the U.S. Most importantly, over the years, we’ve found ourselves to be not just fellow travelers but friends. This is the video/podcast component of our unique Substack magazine "The Convocation," which you can subscribe to here: https://convocation.substack.com/

Information

  • Creator
    Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Convocation Unscripted

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