Shows
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationThe Fears of Christian Nationalism: Interview with Andrew WhiteheadSend us a textWhy are Christian nationalists angry about the New York City Democratic mayoral primary victory of Zohran Mamdani? They surely are. Many are blaming "unchecked" immigration for his win. White Christians nationalist fear they are being replaced by too many non-Christians and too many black and brown people. In light of this event and the overall attacks on immigrants taking place in Trump's America, have I got a segment for you. We also hear from a founding father on why Muslims should not be discriminated against. In contrast to prior episodes, this o...2025-06-2939 min
The Daily WhateverThe Daily Whatever, June 21: Happy Funtime Goodnews!Whew, that was fun! A huge, giant The Daily Whatever thanks to Karen Marie Shelton and Robin Wilding who helped me steer this ship while Dana DuBois is away on her top secret mission to dismantle the Iranian nuclear weapons program!Karen, Robin, and I had a fabbo time sharing the GOOD NEWS that is out there in the world, if only you look for it. We had so much good news, we did like seven rounds of sharing stories—so many I can’t list them all here!Giant thanks to our incredible chat—we’re...2025-06-211h 03
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationMike Johnson's False Jefferson Prayer: The Rest of the StorySend us a textOn January 3, 2025, Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson was re-elected to be Speaker of the House. In his acceptance speech, he quoted a prayer that he said Thomas Jefferson said every day during his presidency and every day of his life thereafter. There is a problem with this story. The prayer was written 56 years after Jefferson died. Jefferson never said the prayer even one day of his life. Later, Johnson and the House chaplain refused to acknowledge they spread false witness to the whole country. Before the prayer was associated with Je...2025-04-1442 min
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationLosing Our ReligionSend us a textIn this segment, I argue that Christian nationalism is bad for religion in general and bad for Christianity in the specific case. This segment sets up the finale which argues that separation of church and state is a benefit to the United States and should be strengthened. If you like experts and multiple voices, this is the segment for you. Here is the lineup:Randall Balmer, John Phillips Chair in Religion, Dartmouth CollegePaul Kemeny, Dean of Arts and Letters, Grove City CollegeBob Smietana, Journalist, Religion N...2024-04-2350 min
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationStill Searching for Christian America, Part TwoSend us a textNote: Earlier versions of this segment had a low quality version of a speech by Jerry Falwell. The audio problem has been corrected. In this episode, I describe the National Prayer Breakfast movement, right-wing Christian nationalists, Reconstructionists, and non-denominational charismatic Christian nationalists. My guests for this episode are:Julie Ingersoll, Professor of religion at the University of North Florida and author of Building God's Kingdom: Inside the World of Christian ReconstructionJonathan Larsen: Journalist, https://jonathanlarsen.substack.com/Joel McDurmon: Attorney, t...2024-03-2749 min
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationConspiracy of SilenceSend us a textAfter David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from publication in August, 2012, some Christian organizations wrote critical articles and publicly distanced themselves from Barton and Wallbuilders. Other groups some were caught off guard. The leaders of these groups knew they had false and misleading material being offered to their constituents, but they didn’t make any moves to remove it. This episode examines how two of those organizations, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, handled the situation. I wish I could say this episode has a happy ending. Ult...2024-03-0748 min
Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian NationThe CataclysmSend us a textIn 2012, only four months after release, publisher Thomas Nelson removed David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies from publication. Many people blamed or credited a book by Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter titled Getting Jefferson Right for moving the publisher in that direction. What happened?Building on the foundation of the first two episodes, this installment in the Telling Jefferson Lies series provides the backstory to what was an unprecedented event for one of the largest Christian publishers in the nation. Warren Throckmorton interviews many of the people who were involved and s...2024-02-0156 min