*****In the conversation we cover sensitive topics such as child sexual abuse.**** Dr. Audrey Clare Farley rejoins the pod to discuss her new book Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America.In the early 20th Century a set of quadruplet girls became instant celebrities. Like many childhood stars the story b…

Stephen Kinzer returns to discuss the coverage and lack of debate on the war between Russia and Ukraine. Bringing his well-earned experience to bear Stephen calls attention to the realities of war and the need for a rational conversation about a peaceful end to the conflict. We also discuss the existential risk of nuclear war and the US's lack of m…

Writer and historian Aaron Leonard comes back on the show to talk about his latest book Whole World in Uproar - Music, Rebellion and Repression 1955-1972. In the interview we talk about state repression of The Beatles, FBI files on Dylan's girlfriend and why Phil Ochs and Jefferson Airplane deserve attention as radical artists of the 60's. Along th…

Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre, professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, joins the conversation to discuss his new book Resisting Apartheid America: Living the Badass Gospel. We get into what it means to push back against received narratives and roles for the sake of our neighbors as well as the …

Dennis Baron joins the conversation to discuss his forthcoming book ""You can't always say what you want: The paradox of free speech" (Cambridge Univ Press, 2022)" and the state of free speech in today's America. We get into conversation about all things free speech from government interference with social media companies to the impact of a changin…

The justification for war is as endless as the long and virtually unbroken record of war in the US. Is there another way to understand the destruction of Ukraine and the potentialities of direct US or NATO military engagement with Russia? Does it make sense to continue funding a war instead of forcing a peace deal? Is it too late to give peace a ch…

Are we in a new reformation? It sure seems that way. With everything on the table as far as faith, spirituality, along with political unrest and the increasing hollowing out of capitalism's promises, can psychedelics help birth what's next? Dave Barnhart, a pastor, author, teacher, church planter and mental health counselor joins to offer his exper…

Nearly 600 days into coal miners here in Alabama taking a stand for their rights and the wellbeing of their families against the Warrior Met Coal company, the fight continues. Haeden Wright has stepped up as a leading voice within the Brookwood coal mining community. Haeden Wright is UMWA Auxiliary Locals #2368/#2245 President, Alabama SDEC HD 49 R…

Paul Bowers, a writer with a substack called Brutal South (that you should follow immediately). He joins to discuss his recent piece Debt holds the whole thing together. We discuss Biden's $10,000 student debt relief plan, the morality of debt and the collective imagination we might find if we embraced an ethic of Jubilee. Paul's recommended organi…

Dr. Lauren Turek joins to engage in dialogue and debate about our proxy war in Ukraine. We talk propaganda, the morality of sending tens of billions of dollars to a military w/a Nazi battalion and why its so hard to give peace a chance!

Woody Guthrie, Pete Seager and Sis Cunningham, among many others, were the targets of the House of Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) from just before WWII to just after. Aaron Leonard discusses this history and the redbaiting aftereffects still alive and well nearly a century later. Order Aaron Leonard's book: The Folk Singers and the Bureau: …

Ok we've established that the CIA is and has always been an institution that has been up to no good. We've also discussed the fact that Wild Bill Donovan was more than ready from the beginning to use religion as a tool for spycraft both domestically and abroad. This week we complicate matters with the story of the missionary-turned-spies in Germany…

Is nothing sacred? When it comes to American exceptionalism, at least religious practice sure isn't. As Dr. Michael Graziano discusses in this episode, right from the beginnings of the CIA, part of the strategy to advance American interests around the world was the co-opting of religion. The conversation touches on the overthrow of Mossadegh in Ira…

Since at least the early Trump days a curious thing has happened among the liberal/left. Instead of reviling the FBI and viewing it as a tool to enforce Capitalism these same government spooks have become heroes. The bizarre trend goes on with the recent raid of Trump's files in Mar a Lago. Since when is the left supposed to be allied with the DOJ …

Union organizing is in the news for the first time in many of our lifetimes. Christian Smalls and the Amazon Labor Union has inspired workers at Starbucks, Chipotle and brought into focus the traditional unions like the Warrior Met coal miners on strike in Brookwood, Alabama. But what if all of these workers got together - all of us - in the states…

Legendary journalist Stephen Kinzer discusses his 2019 book Poisoner in Chief: Stanley Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control. As it turns out, the CIA is not to be trusted and, yes, US intelligence has a long and unbroken history of torture. But, no, there's not really such a thing as mind control. A decade or so of MK Ultra proved as much. …

Dr. Daniel Williams, Professor of History at the University of West Georgia and author of several books including Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement Before Roe v. Wade and the recently released The Politics of the Cross: A Christian Alternative to Partisanship joins Casey to discuss the recent Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) fallout f…

Dr. Brendan J. Payne joins to discuss his book Gin Jesus and Jim Crow: Prohibition and the Transformation of Racial and Religious Politics in the South from LSU Press. Brendan traces the prohibition debate through the lens of Baptist and Methodist traditions, in concert with the progressive voices of the day who successfully lobbied for the 18th Am…

Dr. Kathryn Gin Lum discusses her forthcoming book from Harvard University Press Heathen - Religion and Race in American History. The conversation includes not only historical context of Christianity's heightened focus on dehumanizing outsiders with the "settling" of America but also contemporary examples of this phenomenon. As usual, we attempt to…

Dr. Kathleen Wellman stops by to discuss her book Hijacking History: How the Christian Right Teaches History and Why It Matters. The subject matter, for Casey, is deeply personal, being taught in Christian schools with Abeka Book curricula from junior high school to graduation. History, in the world of right-wing Christian education is...shall we s…

Audrey Clare Farley joins the conversation to talk about Evangelicals and their longstanding connection to something called "positive eugenics" (looking at you Dr. Dobson). Dr. Farley wrote an article in Religion and Politics on just this topic. It's surprising, shocking, and, well, interesting, if we're being honest! We also talk about her recent …

Fran Quigley, the author of Religious Socialism: Faith in Action for a Better World (Orbis Books) joins the conversation to discuss the long history of socialism in religious communities. In this conversation we focus on the legacy of socialistic Christians (predating the term by 1700 years or so) going all the way back to the book of Acts and the …

Holy shit. Russia has invaded Ukraine. The borders of a sovereign nation (ahem. in Europe) have been compromised for the first time since WWII. Is Putin Hitler? Is Zelenskyy Superman? The narrative around Ukraine is so hysterical that even war criminal Condoleezza Rice - with a straight face - is denouncing preemptive war. The US's role in this? Wh…

Part 2 of 2 Dr. Aaron Griffith discusses his book God's Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America. Aaron and Casey discuss the influence of 20th century Evangelicals (a la Billy Graham and a little Johnny Cash) and the rise of the carceral state in the US. We get into the particulars of the developing focus on individual rede…

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. In the decades that have followed his legacy as a leader, an orator, a thinker and an all-around badass has been well-established. Although, let's be real, there's always more to say. Dr. Biko Mandela Gray joins the conversation to discuss Malcolm X's theological de…

Part 1 of 2 Dr. Aaron Griffith discusses his book God's Law and Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America. Aaron and Casey discuss the influence of 20th century Evangelicals (a la Billy Graham and a little Johnny Cash) and the rise of the carceral state in the US. We get into the particulars of the developing focus on individual rede…

Freddie deBoer, prolific writer, Marxist scholar and influential voice of the American left, sits down for a chat. Typically in political discourse we spend endless time and energy taking shots at opposing political parties. Let's be honest, it's fun and really easy. Sometimes even cathartic. The only problem is that a myopic critique of "the other…

Dr. Maureen H. O'Connell joins the conversation to discuss her new book Undoing the Knots: Five Generations of American Catholic Antiblackness. We talk about the history of racism and antiracism through the prism of her hometown Philadelphia. In the course of our dialogue, we get into what it means to engage in the work of repentance that goes beyo…

How can the Christian Left engage more fully with the broader US Left, particularly when it comes to foreign policy? What do the prophets have to say to us today about whistleblowers like Julian Assange, Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning? What big questions does the broader US Left have for the Christian Left? Daniel Bessner, Assistant Professor i…

Kat Armas joins the conversation to discuss her recently released book from Baker Publishing, Abuelita Faith. We talk about Liberation theology, Womanist theology and the need for the church to hear from the women who have lived out their faith and theology amongst us in the past. Kat is also an excellent example of a woman engaged in all aspects o…

Dr. Lauren Turek, associate professor of history at Trinity University, joins to discuss her 2020 book To Bring the Good News to All Nations: Evangelical Influence of Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Relations. Our conversation ranges from US Cold War policy (and why, oh why Evangelicals lobbied against peace/détente in the face of nuclear catastrophe…

Ryan Cagle, pastor, spiritual director and founding organizer of Jubilee House in Walker County, Alabama, joins Casey this week. Ryan tells us about mutual aid efforts deep in the rural South and what it means to build solidarity among our neighbors regardless of political affiliation. Our conversation is yet another effort on Public Theologians to…

Rebroadcast of last year's Thanksgiving episode with Phil Nellis. We talk Abraham Heschel, Eugene Peterson, the necessity of tending to our souls, slowing down and leaning into the rhythms that Sabbath offers. This is our last broadcast of 2021! We've got some great guests lined up for 2022! In the meantime, wander back through our old shows, check…

Dr.s Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead join the conversation to discuss their research on Christian nationalism. Is Christian nationalism synonymous with white Evangelicalism? What is the difference between civil religion and Christian nationalism? Why does anybody listen to David Barton? Also we get into questions of power. Who benefits from Chris…

Casey reads from/promotes his substack post "Stolen elections: two can play this game." Back to normal programming next week! Follow Casey's substack Rate/Review on Apple Podcasts Support us on Patreon and win a book! Music: Orbach Art: Phil Nellis

Dr. Kristy Nabhan-Warren discusses her new book Meatpacking America in part two of our two-part series. This book deals with the decline of rural (largely white) Catholic parishes consisting primarily of farmers and the influx of immigrants from Central and South America, Congo and Indonesia among other nationalities. The story chronicles Catholic …

Dr. Kristy Nabhan-Warren discusses her new book Meatpacking America in part one of our two-part series. This book deals with the decline of rural (largely white) Catholic parishes consisting primarily of farmers and the influx of immigrants from Central and South America, Congo and Indonesia among other nationalities. The story chronicles Catholic …

Dr. Robert P. Jones joins the podcast this week to discuss his book White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. We discuss the overtly racist religious settings of 18th century Christianity all the way up to the current day. We discuss monuments, felt racism versus material racism. Finally we talk about how the history o…

Dr. Obery Hendricks Jr. joins Casey for a second episode. This time around we discuss the leadup to the War in Iraq, beginning in 2003. Public leaders of the evangelical church...didn't have much to say about it at the time and haven't said much about it since. We dig into the details of Bush's lies, and the political docetism that allows theologic…

Dr. Biko Mandela Gray, Assistant Professor of Religion, African American Religion and Women's and Gender Studies at Syracuse University joins us for the second part of our two-part conversation. This time around we discuss his essay Religion in/and Black Lives Matter: Celebrating the impossible. Stay tuned to the end to hear Casey's first explicit …

Dr. Biko Mandela Gray, Assistant Professor of Religion, African American Religion and Women's and Gender Studies at Syracuse University joins the conversation to discuss his contribution on is essay discussing Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye in Goodness and the Literary Imagination. This one goes deep and moves quick. We talk about how taking our un…

Danté Stewart joins the conversation this week to discuss his forthcoming book Shoutin' in the Fire: An American Epistle. We discuss his experience growing up as a young Black man in white evangelical spaces, what it cost him and what it meant for him to lean in to his roots. Danté discusses the ways Black theologians from James Cone to Toni Morris…

Dr. Brian Stiltner joins Casey to discuss the long-awaited end to the War in (or was it on) Afghanistan and how the outrage of 9/11 was manufactured into a willingness to exact revenge on an enemy that had almost nothing to do with the fall of the Twin Towers. We discuss the changing mission that kept us there for 20 years as well as the moral bank…

Action Alert! On Wednesday, September 1st 2021 there will be a protest outside the Montgomery statehouse to make a statement in solidarity with Kinetic Justice, who is on a hunger strike in an Alabama prison. His comrade, Swift Justice joins us for a second time, along with Nicky from FAM ARM Queen Team to discuss the conditions that sparked Kineti…

Dr. Anthea Bulter joins the conversation to discuss her latest book White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America. Our discussion includes the connections of proto-Evangelicals's theology and lynching, what it means to hide behind theological ideology and why Donald Trump's election was not out of character for religious Americans. …

Eric Hall is running for the District 9 City Council seat in Birmingham, AL. A minister, co-founder of BLM Birmingham and co-chair of Our Revolution Birmingham, Eric has worked as a community organizer with a laser-focus on ending poverty, reimagining policing and working for a better future for Birmingham. In this conversation we get into Eric's b…

Sheila Gregoire, firebrand marriage and sexuality author, researcher and blogger, discusses her latest book The Great Sex Rescue. Based on extensive surveys with 20,000 women the book explores the causes of the 47% orgasm gap between men and women. Sheila and her team analyzed the messages of best selling Evangelical books on marriage and sexuality…

Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox, the authors of Broke in America (Ben Bella Books, 2021), join Casey for a discussion on their work, the state of poverty in America and the fact that poverty is a policy choice. We get into such topics as privatization of basic human needs, school zoning and whether the Biden administration is doing anyth…

Chris Nelson joins Casey for a second time. Chris found out that a private mega-prison was set to be built right around the corner from his childhood home and he got busy hounding small-town Alabama council meetings,, canvassing neighborhoods and spending every spare moment fighting against the state and corporate powers that be. Thanks to Chris' e…

Dr. Obery Hendricks is on the podcast this week. How does Casey keep getting to talk to these AMAZING guests, you ask? Well, let's not overthink a good thing! In this episode we discuss Dr. Hendricks' forthcoming book, Christians Against Christianity: How Right Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith (Beacon Press) and the convers…