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In this episode of Faithful Politics, we’re joined by Marc J. Defant, a professor of geology and geochemistry at the University of South Florida, to discuss his controversial peer-reviewed paper Evolutionary Psychology and the Crisis of Empirical Rigor in Feminist Studies.

Marc explains how his scientific training shaped his concerns about how some areas of feminist scholarship handle evidence, critique, and falsifiability. We walk through the core claims of evolutionary psychology, how it differs from social constructionism, and why Marc believes certain academic fields have shifted away from empirical methods toward ideological frameworks.

The conversation also explores academic peer review, cancel culture, emotional safety versus intellectual inquiry, and what universities lose when dissenting ideas are treated as harm rather than arguments. Along the way, Marc reflects on backlash to his work, the changing culture of higher education, and why he thinks truth-seeking requires discomfort.

• Marc's website: https://www.marcdefant.com/
• Article discuss: Evolutionary Psychology and the Crisis of Empirical Rigor in Feminist Studies https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s12119-025-10465-7?sharing_token=xhLL_kUU3AJoozWOStCtNPe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY7qhjlkYrDnv0nFUr1VvYzTCYBHSTVW-yEPNQylsA981gK0c23F0a6k3aPlfqm7DyZEyCJfPpG8vxwrAaQNK1T4wUIgNwdfhLSIcCOOkeI5yj6S2np70SCryX2HcwsAUaQ%3D

Guest Bio

Marc J. Defant is a professor of geology and geochemistry at the University of South Florida. Trained as a physical scientist, his academic work spans volcanology, geochemistry, and evolutionary psychology. In recent years, he has published peer-reviewed research examining methodological weaknesses in feminist studies and critiques of evolutionary psychology. Marc has appeared on platforms including TEDx, The Joe Rogan Experience, and numerous academic and media outlets, where he focuses on evidence-based inquiry and scientific standards across disciplines.

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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Note: Audio from our most recent POV. You can watch the live version on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/Mw5zzuCeIRY

POV episodes are intentionally slower. They create space to step back from the constant churn of headlines and talk through what’s happening without rushing to conclusions. Will Wright and Josh Burtram use these conversations to think out loud, ask honest questions, and stay focused on clarity rather than reaction.

In this episode, we reflect on three developments that raise serious questions about power and accountability. We begin with the U.S. seizure of Venezuela’s president and what that action means for constitutional authority, regime change, and America’s role in the world. We then turn to growing discussions around Greenland, national security in the Arctic, and how those conversations are being received by U.S. allies.

The episode closes with a difficult discussion about the killing of an American citizen during a federal immigration operation in Minnesota. We walk through what is known, what remains unclear, and how quickly public narratives form before investigations are complete.

Throughout the conversation, Josh works to frame a Christian perspective shaped by human dignity, restraint, truthfulness, and lament. POV is a space to slow down, think carefully, and keep people at the center when policy decisions carry real human consequences.

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 this conversation, we sit down with Amar D. Peterman to talk about his new book, Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local. Amar reflects on his experience as an Indian American adoptee formed across Catholic, evangelical, and interfaith spaces, and how those tensions shaped his understanding of belonging, faith, and the common good.

We explore why “neighbor” is an active practice rather than a passive label, how shared tables create space for real relationship across difference, and why listening, lament, and accompaniment matter more than efficiency or winning arguments. The conversation moves from theology to lived practice, grounding big ideas like evangelism, interfaith dialogue, and Christian witness in everyday, local relationships.

Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local -https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780802884121

Guest Bio
Amar D. Peterman is a writer and theologian focused on religion, civic life, and community formation. He is the founder of Scholarship for Religion and Society, LLC, a former Assistant Director of Civic Networks at Interfaith America, and a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Amar holds an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary and has written for outlets including Sojourners, Christianity Today, The Christian Century, The Future Institute, The Berkeley Forum, and The Anxious Bench. He also publishes regularly on Substack at The Common Life.

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 this conversation, we’re joined by Ryan Burge, professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and author of The Vanishing Church. Burge walks us through what the data actually shows about religion in America—especially the quiet collapse of mainline Protestantism and the growing alignment between political identity and religious affiliation. We talk about why religious change is usually slow, why the 1990s marked a real inflection point, and how churches that once brought politically diverse Americans together are disappearing. The result, Burge argues, is not just a weaker church, but a weaker democracy—more isolated, more polarized, and less capable of holding disagreement without rupture.

Book Mentioned
The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781587436697

Guest Bio
Ryan Burge is a sociologist of religion and political scientist who studies religious change, polarization, and the rise of the religiously unaffiliated. He serves as Professor of Practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. Before entering academia full-time, Burge spent nearly two decades as a local church pastor. He is the author of The Nones, The Great Dechurching, and The Vanishing Church, and writes regularly at his Substack, Graphs About Religion.

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 this episode of Faithful Politics, Will Wright and Josh Burtram are joined by Jonathan Freedland, an award-winning journalist, longtime Guardian columnist, and bestselling author, to discuss his latest book, The Traitor’s Circle.

Freedland unpacks the true story of a small, elite group of German citizens who quietly resisted Adolf Hitler from within Nazi Germany - and the devastating betrayal that ultimately exposed them. Through the lens of faith, conscience, and moral authority, the conversation explores why some people resist tyranny while most comply, how fear and partial courage shape human decisions, and why belief in a higher authority - whether God, conscience, or moral tradition - can give people the strength to say no when it matters most.
The discussion draws powerful connections between history and the present without collapsing them into easy analogies, offering listeners a sobering and deeply human exploration of complicity, resistance, and the cost of moral clarity in dangerous times.

Guest Bio
Jonathan Freedland is a British journalist, author, and broadcaster. He is a longtime columnist for The Guardian, former Washington correspondent, and host of Politics Weekly America. Freedland is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Escape Artist, and his work often focuses on democracy, authoritarianism, antisemitism, and moral responsibility in modern history.

Book Discussed
The Traitor’s Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany and the Spy Who Betrayed Them by Jonathan Freedland https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9780063373204

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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Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected]

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will and Josh sit down with attorney and EPPC fellow Rachel Morrison to unpack the legal and political fight over “anti-Christian bias” in America. Drawing from her new Ethics and Public Policy Center report responding to President Trump’s Executive Order 14202, Rachel explains what the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force actually is, how it differs from the new Religious Liberty Commission, and why her research focuses less on sound bites and more on concrete federal actions. She walks through three key areas where she believes the Biden administration has sidelined religious liberty: conscience protections in health care at HHS, rulemaking that treats religion as an afterthought, and EEOC enforcement choices that chill religious exercise in the workplace. 

Along the way, the conversation hits RFRA, the Affordable Care Act’s contraception and abortion mandates, pronoun and dress-code disputes, and the messy reality of COVID vaccine mandates for employees who requested religious accommodations. Rachel closes with what she sees as the most important fix Congress could make right now and why everyday people of faith should care about the “boring” world of federal regulations as much as the headlines. 

Guest Bio:
Rachel N. Morrison is a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she focuses on the intersection of law, religious liberty, and public policy. She directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project, monitoring and challenging federal agency regulations that affect life issues, conscience protections, and nondiscrimination laws. 

Links and Resources Mentioned:
EPPC Report: Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias: A Response to Executive Order 14202 – https://eppc.org/publication/eradicating-anti-christian-bias-a-response-to-executive-order-14202/


Executive Order 14202: Trump administration order establishing the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/12/2025-02611/eradicating-anti-christian-bias

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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Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

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Subscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

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In this wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation, Will Wright sits down with comedian, broadcaster, and author John Fugelsang to unpack how Christianity became entangled with political power - and how the teachings of Jesus have been distorted to justify cruelty, exclusion, and authoritarianism.

Drawing from his book Separation of Church and Hate, Fugelsang challenges the idea that modern right-wing politics reflect Christian values. He walks through how scripture is selectively weaponized around issues like immigration, LGBTQ rights, abortion, gun policy, and punishment, while the actual teachings of Jesus - care for the poor, welcome the stranger, reject violence, and show mercy - are ignored.

The discussion moves beyond critique and toward hope. Fugelsang reflects on his unusual upbringing as the son of a former nun and Franciscan brother, his journey through faith and doubt, and why he still believes Jesus matters even for people who have deconstructed organized religion. Together, Will and John explore what a healthier relationship between faith and public life could look like - one rooted in compassion rather than dominance, and transformation rather than fear.

This episode is an honest, challenging, and often humorous examination of what it really means to follow Jesus in a polarized political age. 

Buy Separation of Church and Hate
A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds: https://bookshop.org/a/112456/9781668066898

Guest Bio
John Fugelsang is an actor, comedian, broadcaster, and political commentator known for blending humor, history, and faith-based critique. He hosts nightly programming on SiriusXM Insight and the daily John Fugelsang Podcast. A former host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, Fugelsang has become a leading voice confronting Christian nationalism and religious hypocrisy with wit and moral clarity. His latest book, Separation of Church and Hate, offers a guide to challenging extremist theology using the Bible itself.

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/

Support the show

Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

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Subscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected]

In this powerful episode, Will and Josh talk with Justin Giboney, attorney, minister, political strategist, and co-founder of the AND Campaign. Justin unpacks the themes of his new book, Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around, exploring how the Black church’s public witness offers an alternative to today’s culture-war discipleship. The conversation ranges from Shirley Chisholm’s moral courage to the failures of identity-based politics, the Imago Dei as a corrective to good-vs-evil partisanship, the dangers of Christian nationalism, and why Christians must resist being discipled by political outrage. Giboney offers a deeply hopeful but honest framework rooted in Scripture, justice, and civic responsibility.

Additional Resources
The AND Campaign: https://andcampaign.org
Justin on Instagram: @andcampaign
Justin on Twitter/X: @JustinEGiboney
Church Politics Podcast (weekly commentary)

Guest Bio
Justin Giboney is an attorney, ordained minister, political strategist, and co-founder of the AND Campaign, a Christian civic-engagement organization rooted in both conviction and compassion. He is a two-time Democratic National Convention delegate, a published author, and co-host of the Church Politics Podcast. His work focuses on restoring a faithful Christian witness in the public square by combining moral clarity with a commitment to justice and neighbor-love.

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/

Support the show

Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

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faithfulpolitics.substack.com

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Follow Faithful Politics:
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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected]

In this episode of Faithful Politics, Will and Josh sit down with journalist Jack Jenkins, a leading religion and politics reporter known for his thoughtful coverage of faith movements, extremism, and spiritual life in America. The conversation explores how compassion shows up in ordinary religious communities, why moments of unexpected moral clarity matter, and how American faith traditions continue shaping public life even in deeply polarized times. Jack shares insights from years of reporting at Religion News Service, including what he’s learned from covering everything from clergy on the front lines to the spread of Christian nationalism. This is a grounded, hopeful conversation about the spiritual instincts that still emerge even in messy political moments.

Additional Resources
Jack Jenkins’ website: https://jackjenkins.me
Jack’s work: https://religionnews.com

Guest Bio
Jack Jenkins is an award-winning national reporter covering religion and politics. He writes for Religion News Service, where his work focuses on Christian nationalism, social movements, church-state issues, and the role of faith communities in American public life. His reporting has appeared across major national outlets, and he is known for bringing nuance, empathy, and deep context to some of the country’s most contentious debates.

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/

Support the show

Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

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faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

Support the show and help us keep these conversations going:
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faithfulpolitics.substack.com

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Have a comment? Send us a text! (We read all of them but can't reply). Email us: [email protected]

In this episode, Will and Josh talk with Dr. George Yancey, a sociologist at Baylor University who specializes in race, identity politics, Christianophobia, and how faith communities can move beyond today’s culture-war structures. The conversation unpacks why identity politics has become such a powerful force, how Christians can disentangle their core identity from political tribes, and why social identity theory helps explain today’s polarization. Dr. Yancey also discusses his research on Christianophobia, the limits of both conservative and progressive models, and how a Christ-centered identity offers a more honest path forward than culture-war loyalty.

Additional Resources
Dr. Yancey’s YouTube channel: Shattering Paradigms
Sociology Department at Baylor University (contact): https://www.baylor.edu/sociology/

Guest Bio
Dr. George Yancey is a sociologist and professor at Baylor University whose work focuses on race, social identity, anti-Christian bias, and the intersection of faith and culture. He is the author of several books on racial reconciliation, Christianophobia, and sociology of religion. His research emphasizes data-driven analysis and a Christ-centered approach to navigating America’s most polarized debates.

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/

Support the show

Keep the conversation going.

Want to learn more about Faithful Politics, suggest a future guest, or connect with us directly?

Visit our website:
faithfulpoliticspodcast.com

Browse our bookstore, featuring books from many of our guests:
faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/bookstore

Support the show and help us keep these conversations going:
patreon.com/cw/FaithfulPolitics

Subscribe for behind-the-scenes content, reflections, and updates:
faithfulpolitics.substack.com

Contact the hosts:
Josh Burtram, Faithful Host: [email protected]
Will Wright, Political Host: [email protected]

Follow Faithful Politics:
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