Impolite Company

This week, Nish and Amy talk about the wrong way to do faith outreach, as well as an attempt by a group of LDS women to appeal to the four Mormon senators who sit on the Judiciary Committee. 

We also introduce a new segment called "Race to the Bottom," in which we nominate some nonsense we've heard from conservative white evangelicals and ask listeners to vote on the very worst. 

And Amy talks with writer Danielle Mayfield about the spiritual and moral themes of "The Good Place," which returns this week for its third season on NBC. They also talk about Mister Rogers and the righteous anger that drove this famously calm and gentle man.

NOTE: In her recommendation for the week, Amy encouraged everyone to read a James Baldwin novel but never actually said the name of it--doh! It is "If Beale Street Could Talk," also coming out in November as a film.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're halfway to our goal, which will allow us to actually release the podcast on a regular schedule you can count on!

Discussed This Week:

• Republicans in Texas Apologize for Hindu-Themed Campaign Ad (Kimberly Yam, Huffington Post)

• Official Statement from Mormon Women for Ethical Government with regard to the Brett Kavanaugh Confirmation Proceedings

• 'Not relevant:' Franklin Graham weighs in on Kavanaugh sexual assault allegations (Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer)

• Eric Metaxas' selfie with Donald Trump on Twitter

• Rob Schenck on Twitter, actually showing how to speak truth to power

• Nish, telling off Erick Erickson on Twitter

• Is Neighborly Love Enough in The Good Place? (D.L. Mayfield, Christ and Pop Culture)

• Mr. Rogers Had a Dangerous Side (D.L. Mayfield, Christianity Today)

• Educated: A Memoir(Tara Westover, Random House)

• If Beale Street Could Talk(James Baldwin, Vintage)

And we are back! Welcome to the Season Two premiere of Impolite Company, in which we discuss new revelations of abuse and coverup in the Catholic Church, the increasingly contested nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, and Democratic faith-outreach efforts. 

We'll be returning to that last topic throughout the fall as we talk with Democratic candidates and former Obama aides about why there's been such traditional resistance in the party to faith outreach and how some newer candidates are trying it for themselves.

As always, if you want to become a monthly patron of the podcast, you can do so via our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/impolitecompanypodcast

We're just days away from launching the second season of Impolite Company, listeners! In the meantime, we wanted to share this conversation Amy had with Calvin College historian and gender studies professor Kristin Du Mez. 

Du Mez is writing a book about white evangelicals, toxic masculinity, and militarism. She and Amy talked about the way in which those factors actually make Donald Trump not just an acceptable figure for many white evangelicals but perhaps an ideal figure. 

Enjoy the conversation and join us soon for the new season!

In this mini episode, Amy checks in to tell listeners that Impolite Company will be back for Season Two after Labor Day, and bemoans the many religion & politics stories that have gone uncommented on over the summer. 

Mentioned this week:

• Nish's idyllic summer with her REI-catalogue family

• The Pope's Groundbreaking Rejection of the Death Penalty (Emma Green, The Atlantic)

• Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up (Kathy Khang, IVP Books)

• Nish on the podcast Her With Amena Brown

• The I am NOT your Superwoman episode of Truth's Table podcast

• AMY GRANT LEADING AN "EL SHADDAI" SING-A-LONG AT WILD GOOSE. WHAT WHAT WHAT.

Note: This episode was recorded before Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, and before an armed man slaughtered five journalists at the Annapolis Capitol Gazette.

We're one week away from taking a break for much of the summer--but we're starting up an Impolite Company newsletter to fill the void, and we'll drop in occasionally with a few mini episodes.

In the meantime, this week's show features Amy in conversation with two women who are leading figures in the area of religion and politics. 

First up is Rachel Laser, a legal expert who heads up Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. She walks us through the Masterpiece Cake decision and talks about how religious liberty is currently being interpreted in our culture and our courts.

Then Amy talks with Julie Rodgers, a popular writer and speaker who made national news a few years ago when she was hired--and then quickly fired--by Wheaton as the school's first and only chaplain to LGBT students.

Keep sending us your good news and recommendations for the summer! Your voice memos and emails can reach us at [email protected]

Buckle up, listeners. We recorded this week's episode just an hour or so after Jeff Sessions cited Romans 13 to justify the Trump Administration's policy of ripping families apart at the border, so we were in full NOT TODAY SATAN mode. You have been warned, and you're welcome.

We also discuss the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting, at which the denomination tiptoe into discussions of church abuse and gender, but then leapt about 72 steps backward by hosting Mike Pence for a campaign-style stump speech.

And we consider what it means for a U.S. Catholic bishop to even propose the idea of withholding the Eucharist as a way of sanctioning Republican Catholics who have been complicit with the Trump approach to immigration.

(Technical note: Amy's audio sounds like she was recording either underwater or in an echo chamber this week. It won't happen again.)

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. In return, you'll receive our eternal gratitude, some fun extras, and make possible a higher-quality show.

This week we're taking a break from our regular discussions of everything awful and devoting an entire episode to fielding listener questions! From how Nish and Amy met to favorite tv shows to parenting tips, we've got answers. 

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month.

This week, we talk about Vice President Mike Pence's commencement address at Hillsdale College, in which he declared that religiosity is on the rise in America (it's not). 

We also discuss the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem AND to invite John "the Apocalypse is coming and it will be in Israel" Hagee to represent the United States by offering a benediction at the opening ceremony for the new embassy.

And Amy phones Emma Green, the Jerusalem-based religion writer for the Atlantic, to learn more about how the move is being received by those in the region.

(Note: Due to some technical difficulties, some of Amy's audio got garbled, which explains one or two odd transitions you might notice. Thanks for bearing with us!)

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're halfway to our goal, which will allow us to actually release the podcast on a regular schedule you can count on!

This week, Nish and Amy talk about Trump's belated announcement of a White House faith office, as well as the backlash among Southern Baptist women to comments from Paige Patterson regarding marriage and domestic abuse.

We also interview journalist Ruth Graham about her recent Politico Magazine story, which laid out in fascinating detail the extent to which Christian media have become an extension of the White House communications effort.

And Amy takes over Three Minutes of Nish this week to rant about the National Rifle Association's prayer breakfast.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're halfway to our goal, which will allow us to actually release the podcast on a regular schedule you can count on!

Discussed This Week:

'Jesus loves me and my guns': Faith and firearms touted at the NRA's prayer breakfast (Bobby Ross, Jr., Washington Post)

Amid Stormy Daniels news, Trump announces faith-based effort on National Day of Prayer (Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)

'We are shocked': Thousands of Southern Baptist women denounce leader's objectifying comments, advice to abused women (Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post)

Letter from Southern Baptist women to the SWBTS Board of Trustees

A letter to my brothers (Beth Moore)

Church of the Donald (Ruth Graham, Politico Magazine)

We begin this week by discussing the Case of Paul Ryan and the Disappearing Chaplain. But in the time between recording this episode and releasing it, the chaplain in question rescinded his resignation and Paul Ryan gave in, restoring the chaplain to his position. 

You come at a Jesuit, ya best not miss, Mr. Speaker.

We also talked about the record number of Hindu candidates running for office as Democrats this year. 

And Amy spoke with Elijah Zehyoue, associate pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC, about the loss of a theological giant, Dr. James Cone.

Please visit our Patreon Page and consider becoming a monthly patron of the show, for as little as $1 per month. We're halfway to our goal, which will allow us to actually release the podcast on a regular schedule you can count on!

Discussed This Week:

House Chaplain Was Asked to Resign. He Still Doesn't Know Why (Elizabeth Dias, New York Times)

Paul Ryan dismissed the House chaplain. Wait, why does Congress even have a chaplain? (Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post)

Is the GOP at risk of losing Catholics? (Ronald Brownstein, CNN)

Trump May Be a 'Big Fan of Hindu,' But Hindus are Running--and Winning--As Democrats (Murali Balaji, Religion Dispatches)

At Hindu-American rally, Trump pitches India and U.S. as 'best friends' (Max Bearak, Washington Post)

James Cone, a Father of Black Liberation Theology, Dies at 79 (Jacey Fortin)

Why REI Stopped Selling Products That Support a Gun Manufacturer (Patrick Redford, Deadspin)

Vista Outdoor to Stop Manufacturing Guns (Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill)