Straight White American Jesus

In PART I of this conversation, Brad Onishi and Robert P. Jones (author of Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith in a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy) discuss what they call the "war on empathy" within segments of white Christianity in the United States. Robert argues that voices like Allie Beth Stuckey, Joe Rigney, and Elon Musk framing empathy as sinful serves as a theological retrofit that gives people permission to support policies—like mass deportation and detention—that their deeper moral instincts would otherwise reject. Drawing parallels to 1933 Germany, the civil rights era (Emmett Till, Birmingham), and more recent events (George Floyd's murder, January 6th), the two explore how this ideology trains people to override empathetic responses to visible suffering and even to deny documented reality altogether, a phenomenon they tie to Hannah Arendt's writing on self-deception under authoritarian regimes. The conversation closes with a brief teaser about Robby's book concept of "embracing division," which argues polarization is not the core problem in American politics but rather a symptom of a broken system and rising anti-democratic forces.

Books mentioned:

📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/

Live events:

🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom’s Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09-16/reading-bradley-b-onishi

Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour

🔗 axismundi.us

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Brad and Dan break down JD Vance's wide-ranging interview with Gen Z podcaster Bryce Crawford, unpacking his comments on the end times, the possibility that the Antichrist is "living among us," and his oddly deflated answer about whether he's going to heaven — reading it all as Vance clumsily blending incompatible evangelical premillennial and Christian nationalist post-millennial theologies to court an audience he doesn't quite understand. They also examine the wave of right-wing attacks on Gloria Steinem following her death, using her own words on the "traditional family" to explain why pluralism in family structures is treated as an existential threat by the Christian right. Finally, they dig into new USPS mail-voting rules — including a whistleblower complaint and a tense court hearing before Judge Talwani — that could result in ballots being rejected over postmark delays ahead of the midterms, before closing with reasons for hope in independent medical groups' vaccine guidance and an unusually real consequence for a billionaire sports owner.

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Even people have never set foot in a church have probably heard of “baptism” and know that it’s something…well…Christian. But what exactly IS baptism? Why do Christians do it? How do they do it?

Who get baptized? And why don’t Christians all think the same thing about baptism? Why has it been so divisive and such a hot-button issue over time? Join Dan for this week’s episode as he untangles this familiar, but still baffling, practice.

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Books :

📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠

📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: ⁠https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/...

⁠Live events:🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: ⁠https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09...⁠

🎤 Brad, Matt Taylor, Robert P. Jones, in Denver — November 20

Full tour dates: axismundi.us🔗 axismundi.us

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Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor break down two major stories reshaping the Trump-era right: the sudden deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos and the escalating chaos inside Pete Hegseth's Pentagon.
They dig into how Milo's fast-tracked removal reveals the internal power struggles of MAGA world — including his feud with Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer's growing influence over immigration enforcement — and what it signals about who gets protected and who gets purged within the movement. Then they turn to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, examining reports of mass firings among top generals, a rudderless U.S. Army, unsustainable war spending in Iran, and the Pentagon's controversial move to put paid influencers like "Data Republican" on the payroll to push pro-Hegseth messaging while shutting out the traditional press.
Along the way: Christian nationalism's role in reshaping MAGA identity, the military's meritocracy under threat, Silicon Valley's growing alignment with authoritarian politics, and whether Hegseth's rumored presidential ambitions have any real chance.
SUPPORT US:
www.axismundi.us
www.irmce.org - our supporting nonprofit
Books mentioned:
📕 American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy by Brad Onishi — out September 15: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
📗 Defying Tyrants: Following Jesus in a World of Christian Antichrists by Matthew D. Taylor — out October 6: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/...
Live events:
🎤 Brad in Portland at Annie Bloom's Books — September 16, 7 PM: https://annieblooms.com/event/2026-09...
🎤 Brad, Matt Taylor, Robert P. Jones, in Denver — November 20
Full tour dates: axismundi.us
🔗 axismundi.us

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brad sits down with journalist Sarah Stankorb to discuss her new book, Damned If She Does: Why Women Quit Church and What It Means for the Future of Religion, out September 15th. They dig into why women — long the backbone of American congregations — are leaving in unprecedented numbers, from Gen Z women outpacing their male peers to the erosion of the gender gap among millennials. The conversation covers the specific fractures driving women out: the Catholic sex abuse crisis and its parallels in evangelical spaces, the racial reckoning of 2020 and churches' silence in its wake, and the deep discomfort many feel over homophobia and transphobia within their communities. They also explore what comes after leaving — the difficulty of trusting institutions again, the patchwork spiritualities (astrology, women's gyms, tarot) many turn to instead, and the striking demographic differences between atheists, agnostics, and the "nothing in particulars." The episode closes with a wide-ranging discussion of institutional trust, political imagination, and whether the energy behind candidates like Zohran Mamdani is connected to this same generational exodus from organized religion.

🔔 Become a paid subscriber for ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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This week on the SWAJ Weekly Roundup, Brad and Dan dig into Lance Wallnau's baseless claim that Texas gubernatorial candidate James Talarico is secretly linked to Al-Qaeda, unpacking how this fits a broader Christian nationalist strategy of tying Democrats to Islamist and Marxist "infiltrators" — even as polling shows Talarico outperforming Trump's 2024 numbers in his district. They also break down Enes Kanter Freedom's confrontational stunt at a WNBA game, arguing that anti-trans activism functions as a form of misogyny aimed at enforcing patriarchal norms on women's spaces. The episode closes with a look at a Florida grand jury finding that the DeSantis administration misappropriated $10 million meant for children's Medicaid to fight a marijuana legalization ballot measure — a story Brad and Dan frame as part of a broader erosion of political accountability.

🔔 Become a paid subscriber for ad-free listening, bonus content, and access to daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The story of Noah’s ark is one of the most well-known in the Bible, even among those who are not Christian and have never read the Bible. But what questions come up if we really pay attention to the story? Does it make any sense? Could it actually have happened? What does it mean if it didn’t? And what justifies God killing all the living things on earth? These are big questions, questions we weren’t supposed to ask in church. Check out this week’s episode hear Dan’s answers to these and more.

🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠⁠

www.ground.news/swaj for 40% of the Vantage Subscription

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On this episode of Axis Live, Brad Onishi and Matthew D. Taylor examine growing efforts to undermine confidence in the 2026 elections, including claims about foreign interference, voter rolls, mail-in voting, and calls from figures on the American right for a national emergency. They discuss how election-denial rhetoric can shift from questioning election integrity to challenging the legitimacy of results, and why the period after the election could be as important as Election Day itself.

The second half of the episode focuses on Jake Lang, his increasingly confrontational political spectacles, his Christian supremacist rhetoric, and the larger movement behind him. Following Lang’s confrontation with a protester dressed as Spider-Man, Brad, Matt, and writer Kate Burns examine how provocation, confrontation, and claims of persecution can become political content.

🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠⁠

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What can reality TV tell us about Christian nationalism, purity culture, and the politics of gender? Annika Brockschmidt talks with journalist and podcaster Claire Fallon about the surprisingly deep connections between The Bachelor, evangelical Christianity, and the conservative politics shaping American culture. They discuss how the franchise normalizes heterosexual marriage, traditional gender roles, purity culture, and evangelical assumptions; how conservative Christian contestants have turned reality TV fame into influential media platforms; and how figures like Madison Pruitt have moved from The Bachelor into the world of MAGA Christian influence. They also explore the politics of dating in the Trump era, the rise of Mormon reality TV, and what shows like Love Is Blind and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reveal about the changing relationship between religion, politics, sex, and popular culture.

🔔 Subscribe for daily analysis on religion, politics, and the Christian right. ⁠⁠⁠https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠
💙 Support our work: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.irmce.org/donate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠
📚 Preorder Brad Onishi’s new book, American Caesar: ⁠⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠

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Christian nationalism is not simply a religious movement—it is a political project that challenges the foundations of a pluralist democracy.

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