In this episode, we debrief the student-led anti-war movement escalating across college campuses, and the subsequent repression and violence from campus administrators and police.

This moment reveals there is neutrality when it comes to living in the imperial core. In academia and across all institutions, we either uphold the empire or actively work to dismantle it. 

This week, we discuss Western Christianity’s historical and contemporary entanglement with imperialism. From the rise of white Christian nationalism to the prevalence of Christian Zionism, white supremacist colonial logics and theologies seem to have not only our country, but our Asian ethnic churches, in a chokehold. 

We ask, what does it look like to decolonize our faith? How do we decouple imperialist theologies of domination from our sacred spaces? How do faith and theology of the Global South counter the violence of empire?

Bianca and Jeff unravel the complexities of Asian representation & Asian romance/relationships against the backdrop of US imperialism. From fetishization to emasculation to the “military sexual complex,” we highlight the socio-political context of these experiences and explore how we decolonize not only the stereotypes, but this conversation altogether to center those most impacted by gendered imperialist violence. 

In this episode, Jeff and Bianca examine the complexities of motherhood, family, and resistance in the imperial core.  We review some of the ways this genocide has ravaged Palestinian motherhood, and we discuss the impacts of colonialism in our own  stories of family and family-making. We explore the deep emotional debts, or 'utang ng loob,' that shape our families and politics, and look to alternative forms of collective care as we parent towards healing and revolution. 

In this first episode of Good Thunder, Bianca and Jeff navigate the labyrinth of issues around technology, American imperialism, and our own roles within violent, capitalist systems. Focusing on the SXSW boycotts, we look to the artists, musicians, and organizers to lead the way as we work to align our professional ambitions with our commitments to liberation. 

Bianca and Jeff introduce the pod, talk about why they each wanted to start this new project, and share what listeners can expect in the coming episodes. Enjoy.