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On the first of our two series on remembering the attacks of September 11, 2001, we speak with veteran journalist, Olivier Knox, National Correspondent for The Washington Post. Olivier reflects on what it was like on that day as he was covering President Bush in Sarasota Florida for what was supposed to be a non-eventful day. From the suspension of air travel to the necessity to factually report on a fast paced attack on America, Olivier provides a rare glimpse into the life of a journalist during this pivotal time in history. 

We then shift gears to talk about Afghanistan, and the end to a 20 year war in a country that we occupied shortly after the attacks. This episode covers roughly a 20 year span but we tried our best to encapsulate all of the feelings and memories of an event that shaped Americans, both personally, and politically. 


Guest Bio:
Olivier Knox is Washington Post National Political Correspondent and Anchor of The Daily 202. He previously hosted a national SiriusXM show focused on politics and policy. Before that, he covered politics and policy at Yahoo News and at Agence France-Presse.

Education: Columbia University, BA in Political Science, 1992; Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, MA in Latin American Studies and International Economics, 1996. Languages spoken in addition to English: French, Spanish, a smattering of Italian

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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With school starting in many states around the country, a lot of parents are wondering if it's safe for their kids to be back in public school especially with the prevalence of the Delta Variant. We talk with Dr. Danny Avula this week to answer many of your COVID-19 questions about this. Dr. Avula is the Virginia State Vaccination Coordinator, as well as, a practicing pediatrician so if anyone can answer these questions it's definitely him! We also talk about why kids have been relatively sparred from high rates of covid and whether or not he expects that to change. Then we discuss the important role of the church in promoting vaccinations. As a practicing Christian, Dr. Avula has some thoughts on this as well!


Guest Bio:
Dr. Danny Avula is Director of the Richmond City and Henrico County Health Departments. He is a public health physician board certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine, and he continues to practice clinically as a pediatric hospitalist. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he attended the VCU School of Medicine, and completed residencies at VCU and Johns Hopkins University, where he also received a Master’s in Public Health. He is an Affiliate Faculty member at VCU, where he regularly serves as an advisor and preceptor to graduate and medical students.

Governor McAuliffe appointed Dr. Avula to the State Board of Social Services in 2013 and he served as Board Chair from 2017 to 2019. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, and serves on several other community boards. He has been named one of Richmond's "Top Docs" every year from 2013-2019. He is a recent recipient of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Community’s Humanitarian Award, and in 2019, he was a Richmond Times Dispatch ‘Person of the Year’ honoree.

At home, Danny devotes his time to life with his wife and five kids, and to learning how to be a good neighbor in the rapidly changing community of Church Hill, where he has lived for the past fifteen years. His work has been featured nationally by the CDC, The New York Times, NPR, PBS Newshour, Christianity Today, and MSNBC.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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We recorded this podcast in 2021, but you wouldn't know it, and could be easily forgiven if you thought it was still 2020. Arizona's election audit has finally come to a close and with it the "official" report from the Cyber Ninja's is due out any day now. But like most ninjas, they will likely announce their report when you least expect it. What does this mean for other audits in battleground states that Trump lost? Jessica gives us some insight about all the things happening in Arizona's election, as well as, the Texas voting bill that is soon to be voted upon. We also talk about pillows, and try to get an interview with Walter the dog about National Dog Day!

Guest Bio:
Jessica Huseman was previously the lead elections reporter for ProPublica, and helped manage the Electionland project for three federal election cycles, sharing information and tips with hundreds of newsrooms across the United States. She is an award-winning educator, and has taught at Columbia Journalism School, New York University, and wrote a high school investigative journalism curriculum in use by more than 200 high schools. Jessica is a graduate of Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she graduated with honors.

For more information, visit VoteBeat: https://www.votebeat.org

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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The closest many people ever get to Afghanistan is turning on the TV and watching events unfold as America tries to fully disengage from the conflict we've been fighting  for 20 years. From this viewpoint, many Americans form opinions about whether or not we should have stayed or exited like the Biden Administration did in recent weeks. This week we get the perspective of someone who has actually been there, multiple times, and has trained the Afghan military special forces in an attempt to keep their government from collapsing. Ret. MSG Mata goes through his experience in Special Forces and the mission America has had there for several presidencies. While we didn't spend much time assigning blame, you'll find his explanation of what the outcome would have been if we had a different president. 



Guest Bio:
Retired Master Sergeant Juan Mata, served in the Green Berets for 14 years, and before that was a Ranger, and an Infantryman. He now runs a company called Quiet Pro Tactical, an organization dedicated to giving back to local communities and teaches law enforcement to be better protectors for their citizens. Juan Mata, the Principal Instructor, a former 14-year Green Beret Combat Veteran. He has numerous combat deployments including Iraq and Afghanistan. His qualifications include Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course, Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Special Operations Terminal Attack Controller, Technical Surveillance, Counter-surveillance, and U.S. Army Ranger School.

Visit their website: https://www.quietprotactical.com

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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Recently we published three episodes surrounding critical race theory. If you haven't watched it yet, please check them out. 

On this episode Will and Gerald do a recap of the CRT series and provides their own viewpoints and opinions about this controversial topic! 

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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Whether you like him or hate him, Joe Biden is the President of the United States and Donald Trump is not. If this is the first time hearing this, you may want to sit down and brace yourself for how Trump lost the 2020 election. We talk this week with a man who has spent considerable time with the former President, and probably knows why Donald Trump didn't get a second term. In his recent book, "Frankly, We Did Win This Election" Michael Bender, reporter for the Wall Street Journal chronicles the last year of Trump's presidency and highlights some of the significant moments that convinced the country to make a different choice for who they want as President. With carefully sourced interviews and conversations with Trump himself, Michael provides the reader of his book with an inside look at the chaos, confusion, and even compassion, that existed in the White House during Trump's tenure. 

This is a phenomenal read, that we highly recommend you buy. Trust me on this!

Guest Bio:
MICHAEL C. BENDER is the senior White House reporter for the Wall Street Journal whose coverage of President Trump has been recognized for its deep sourcing, balance, and valuable behind-the-scenes portraits of Trump’s administration and presidential campaigns. Bender was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Foundation Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2019 for work that “set a consistently high standard of reporting” and “provided a valuable chronicle of the president, his team, and the movement that has reshaped American politics and national policy.” In 2020, he received the National Press Club award for political analysis for a series of stories that detailed the sights, sounds, and inner workings of Trump campaign rallies. Since 2000, Bender has covered local, state, and national politics for the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado, Dayton Daily News, Palm Beach Post, Tampa Bay Times, and Bloomberg News. He joined the Journal in 2016 and published more than eleven hundred stories about Trump in the next five years. He has also served as an on-air political analyst for CNN. Born and raised in Cleveland with his six younger sisters, Bender graduated from the Ohio State University in 2000 with a degree in history and now lives in Washington with his wife, Washington Post White House bureau chief Ashley Parker, and their two daughters.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

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Subscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:
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In the final episode of our series exploring what Critical Race Theory (CRT) is, we speak with author, mathematician, and political commentator, Dr. James Lindsay. James has written six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science and postmodern theory. He is the founder of New Discourses and currently promoting his new book "Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody."

Dr. Lindsay offers a viewpoint and opinion on Critical Race Theory that differs from the previous two guests in this series. While many believe that CRT is a legal framework by which to view the racial disparity among minorities, Dr. Lindsay argues that this is a dangerous, and racist, theory that undermines the progress and the vision of the Civil Rights Movement.

If you are interested in hearing a counter argument to CRT, Dr. Lindsay provides a well informed and well researched view that you are unlikely to hear anywhere else.

To learn more about New Discourses, please visit: https://newdiscourses.com

Here is an article from the Atlantic about the Sokal squared paper we referenced in the show: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/new-sokal-hoax/572212/

Guest Bio:
James Lindsay has a doctorate in math and background in physics. He is the author of five books and his essays have appeared in TIME, Scientific American, and The Philosophers’ Magazine. He led the "grievance studies affair" probe and his forthcoming book with Helen Pluckrose, Cynical Theories, looks at the evolution of postmodern thought in scholarship and activism.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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In the second episode of our series on Critical Race Theory, Will (Political Host) talks with one of the foremost experts on CRT, Professor Ian Lopez. Professor Lopez is more than just a academic who teaches it, but is also an understudy of Derrick Bell who often is credited as one of the originators of critical race theory. Unlike the first in the series, where we speak with Yale Professor Daniel Hosang, and break down some of the basic principles of CRT, Professor Lopez goes into the weeds a little bit deeper and talks about the significance of Dog Whistle Politics and how it is being used as a tool to manipulate voters, and is used by both Republicans and Democrats alike. The conversation then turns to the work he's done to research aspects of CRT in our national discourse with the Race-Class Narrative Project. 

• For more information about Professor Ian Lopez, please visit his website:https://ianhaneylopez.com
• If you want to learn more about the Race-Class Narrative Project visit:https://www.demos.org/campaign/race-class-narrative-project
• If you'd like to take the free Race-Class Academy course mentioned in the show visit: https://race-class-academy.com

Guest Bio:
Ian Haney López is a law professor at UC Berkeley who studies racism. His focus for the last decade has been on the use of racism as a class weapon in electoral politics, and how to respond. In Dog Whistle Politics (2014), he detailed the fifty-year history of coded racism in American politics. Ian has since actively promoted the idea of a race-class fusion as the basis for a multi-racial progressive majority. He co-chaired the AFL-CIO’s Advisory Council on Racial and Economic Justice, along with Dorian Warren and Ana Avendaño, and founded the Race-Class Narrative Project, along with Anat Shenker-Osorio and Heather McGhee. In his latest book, Merge Left: Fusing Race and Class, Winning Elections, and Saving America (2019), Ian explains Trump’s complex relationship with dog whistling and further develops the race-class response.

Ian is the Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He has published four books and two anthologies, and has been a visiting professor at Yale, New York University, and Harvard. He lives in Richmond, California.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

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We begin our discussion about Critical Race Theory (CRT) with a Primer of sorts to lay down the foundation for what CRT is, it's origins, and the different aspects of its application in academia and the classroom. As Michael Scott says in the office, "Why don't you explain it to me like I'm five", and this is just the approach we took with this episode. Whether you've been studying CRT your whole life, or have very strong opposition to it, this episode will at least lay down the framework for understanding it and help us navigate this controversial topic and series. 

In the first of our three part series we talk with Daniel Hosang who is a Professor at Yale University and teaches Ethnicity Race & Migration, and  American Studies. He is a well respected scholar in this field and has worked with many of the pioneers of CRT, to include Kimberle Crenshaw. 

Guest Bio:
Daniel Martinez HoSang received his BA in History from Wesleyan University and PhD in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. He is the author of Racial Propositions: Ballot Initiatives and the Making of Postwar California (University of California Press, 2010) which was awarded the 2011 James A Rawley Prize from the Organization of American Historians. He is co-editor, with Oneka LaBennett and Laura Pulido, of Racial Formation in the 21st Century (University of California Press, 2012). HoSang’s research and teaching explore the contradictory labor of race within U.S. political culture across a wide-range of sites, including electoral politics, social movements, and cultural production.

He has a long record of collaboration with community-based organizations and labor unions as a trainer, board member, and advisor, with groups including the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), the Alliance for a Just Society, Oakland Kids First!, the Partnership for Safety and Justice, and Forward Together.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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Did you know that since the nations founding there has always been a congressional chaplain?  It's true, and to be honest, I didn't know that until I read "When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill" written by C-SPAN Communications Director, Howard Mortman. Josh and Will talk with Howard's unprecedented examination of 160 years of Jewish prayers delivered in the literal and figurative center of American democracy. They discuss the journey, research, and stories of over 400 rabbis giving over 600 prayers since the Civil War days―who they are and what they say. Rabbis speak on a range of issues, to include one who has been in the news recently, Bill Cosby. This episode isn't uniquely focused on the Jewish community, nor does it attempt to further the "church and state debate". However, if you're interested in Congressional history, and how the prayer portion is, and always has been, the least offensive period during an open session, you'll want to listen/watch the whole episode. 

Guest Bio:
Howard Mortman is communications director for C-SPAN, the public service providing television coverage of the U.S. Congress. A veteran of Washington, DC, media organizations, he has observed Congress from positions at MSNBC, National Journal’s Hotline, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and New Media Strategies. Howard Mortman's first book was just published: "When Rabbis Bless Congress: The Great American Story of Jewish Prayers on Capitol Hill." He graduated from the University of Maryland and has appeared on stage performing stand-up comedy at the DC Improv -- although the two aren't related.

Support Sarah Stankorb’s work and preorder Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, Releases September 15, 2026.  Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9798889837091

Website: https://www.sarahstankorb.com/

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