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Straight White American Jesus episodes
- The Sunday Interview: Deconstructing Wellness Culture: Yoga, Mindfulness, and Appropriation
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, host Brad Onishi sits down with Dr. Liz Bucar, religious ethicist and professor at Northeastern University, to unpack the hidden costs of the modern wellness industry. Exploring themes from her new book, Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us, Dr. Bucar argues that consumer culture has stripped profound traditions like yoga, mindfulness, and psychedelics into a "spiritual salad bar"—trading real transformation for quick dopamine hits. Through her own raw, firsthand experiences—including a grueling silent Buddhist retreat and a transformative ayahuasca ceremony while processing the grief of losing her father—she illustrates why separating these embodied practices from their ethical, communal roots ultimate leaves us spiritually malnourished.
The conversation dives deep into the ethics of cultural appropriation and extraction, questioning how affluent Westerners commodify sacred traditions while the minoritized communities who sustained them struggle to survive. From analyzing Alcoholics Anonymous as the original "spiritual but not religious" program to unpacking a 97-year-old monk's parable on why we fail to find enlightenment, Dr. Bucar and Brad challenge listeners to move beyond self-care and re-engage with true community and obligation. Whether you practice daily meditation, teach yoga, or are simply curious about the intersection of religion and consumerism, this episode is a vital look at what it actually takes to dig a deep spiritual well.
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Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
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50 min - Weekly Roundup: Reparations for Traitors and the Slush Fund Presidency
Brad and Dan show up wired, sleep-deprived, and ready to go, breaking down a week where the absurd somehow outpaced the outrageous. They start with a surreal clip of Donald Trump reflecting on his son’s wedding before diving straight into the heart of the episode: a massive DOJ–IRS settlement that includes a $1.8 billion “slush fund” ostensibly for victims of government “weaponization.” The hosts trace how this fund is likely to benefit January 6 participants and allies, connecting it to the long-running “Big Lie” and what Brad calls real-time myth-making. Along the way, they unpack how narratives about January 6 have shifted from condemnation to celebration—and what it means when those narratives are backed by real money and political power.
From there, the conversation widens to the broader ecosystem of Trumpism: primary victories that show Trump still holds sway, the endorsement of scandal-plagued figures like Ken Paxton, and the ongoing fusion of political loyalty with religious justification. The episode closes with a sharp critique of billionaire logic, as Jeff Bezos defends his tax record and “value to civilization,” prompting a deeper discussion about inequality, power, and what counts as public good. Even in the midst of it all, Brad and Dan find a few reasons for hope, pointing to court losses for the DOJ and small but meaningful acts of accountability—reminders that resistance, however incremental, is still possible.Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
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1 hr 4 min - It's in the Code ep 191: “Does it REALLY Say That?”
Throughout his presentation of manhood and masculine virtue, Josh Hawley assures us that he’s telling us “what the Bible says,” or “what the Bible teaches.” And he’s not alone: biblicist Christians almost always support their claims by assuring us that they’re simply passing along “what the Bible says.” But is it that simple? What else is going on here? How do the claims to merely represent “what the Bible says” operate as mechanisms of control and coercion? How do they serve the interests of Christian nationalism and high-control religion? Check out this week’s episode to find out!
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Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
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36 min - This Is Christian Nationalism: Breaking Down Rededicate 250
Sunday's nine-hour “Rededicate 250” event on the National Mall brought together politicians and religious leaders calling for America to be returned to God. In this episode, Brad Onishi breaks down key statements from figures like Robert Jeffress, Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth, and Marco Rubio, exposing how their claims rely on selective history, mythmaking, and a deeply misleading vision of the founding. From the Doctrine of Discovery to the legend of Washington at Valley Forge, the story being told isn’t just inaccurate—it’s strategic.
This episode argues that Christian nationalism is not about personal faith or patriotism, but about power: the belief that certain religious identities deserve greater authority in public life. By revisiting the Constitution, the founding era, and the principle of “we the people,” Brad shows what’s actually at stake—religious freedom, democratic equality, and the boundary between church and state. The question isn’t whether religion belongs in American life, but whether the government gets to decide whose religion counts.
Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
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26 min - The Sunday Interview: “We Are Not a Monolith”: Latino Evangelicals, Immigration Politics, and the Battle Over Representation
In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with Jonathan Calvillo, sociologist of religion at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and author of The Saints of Santa Ana, about growing tensions within Latino evangelical and Pentecostal communities over immigration, political representation, and the public platforming of prominent evangelical leader Samuel Rodriguez.
The conversation centers on the recent “We Are Not a Monolith” statement issued by Latino pastors, scholars, and ministry leaders calling for greater nuance and accountability in how Latino Christians are represented in national media. Calvillo explains why many faith leaders believe Rodriguez has come to function less as an advocate for vulnerable immigrant communities and more as a defender of Trump-era immigration policies and conservative political networks.
Together, Payne and Calvillo explore how ICE raids and immigration enforcement are reshaping Latino churches across the United States, including the emergence of new theological language around persecution, sanctuary, solidarity, and resistance. They discuss the complex political diversity within Latino evangelicalism, the influence of white evangelical megachurch networks on Latino Pentecostal leaders, and the growing tensions between immigrant-majority congregations and prominent conservative evangelical institutions.
The episode also examines how Latino evangelical and Pentecostal churches are responding to fear, surveillance, and political polarization in this moment, including new collaborations between immigrant churches, ecumenical groups, and unexpected community allies. Throughout the conversation, Calvillo situates current debates within a longer history of migration, marginalization, religious activism, and public theology in the United States.
The “We Are Not a Monolith” statement and the debate over Latino evangelical representation
Samuel Rodriguez, the NHCLC, and conservative evangelical political influence
ICE raids, sanctuary politics, and immigrant church communities
Why some Latino pastors are increasingly using the language of persecution
Latino Pentecostalism, MAGA politics, and white evangelical influence
The role of megachurch culture, class mobility, and political power
Christian nationalism and competing visions of American Christianity
New ecumenical and interfaith collaborations emerging in immigrant communities
Theologies of protest, resistance, and accompaniment among Latino evangelicals
“We Are Not a Monolith” statement: WeAreNotAMonolith.com
Samuel Rodriguez, “ICE Is Devastating Some Latino Churches” (Christianity Today): Christianity Today article
Christianity Today response to the “We Are Not a Monolith” statement: CT response article
Religion News Service coverage: “Latino Christians release letter saying Trump advisor overexaggerated influence”
Robert Chao Romero, “We Refuse to Be Comforted: When Prophets Side with Pharaoh”: Theology and Migration article
Jonathan Calvillo faculty page: Candler School of Theology Faculty Profile
Jonathan Calvillo on Instagram/X: @yocalvillo
Jonathan Calvillo’s book, The Saints of Santa Ana: Faith and Ethnicity in a Mexican-Majority City: Oxford University Press
In This EpisodeLinks:Find Dr. Leah Payne at DrLeahPayne.com, subscribe on Substack, follow her on most social media platforms at @drleahpayne, listen along at Spirit & Power: Charismatics & Politics in American Life and Rock That Doesn’t Roll, and read along with God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music.
Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
54 min - Weekly Roundup: Under-Babied and Overruled: Trump’s Golden Calf Politics
Brad and Dan dig into another whirlwind week in Trumpworld, beginning with the unveiling of a towering gold-leaf Donald Trump statue at his Doral golf resort and the increasingly explicit fusion of political power, religious symbolism, and personality cult. The hosts unpack Trump’s comments that he does not think about Americans’ financial struggles while simultaneously pushing a pro-natalist agenda alongside figures like RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz. From “under-babied” rhetoric to Heritage Foundation proposals incentivizing marriage and large families, the episode traces how Christian nationalism, wellness culture, patriarchal masculinity, and reactionary family politics are converging into a broader authoritarian vision for American life.
Along the way, Brad and Dan connect these themes to neoliberal economics, the collapse of affordable childcare and healthcare, and the deep contradictions at the heart of conservative family policy.
The second half of the episode turns to a lawsuit against Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins over religiously coercive emails sent to federal employees, offering a concrete example of how Christian nationalism operates through state power and workplace culture. Brad and Dan examine how the Trump administration simultaneously promotes an “anti-Christian bias” narrative while embedding conservative Christianity into federal governance. They also discuss a new study showing that corporations rolled back DEI initiatives largely due to direct pressure from Trump and his allies, highlighting the administration’s broader effort to reshape public institutions around a narrow vision of American identity. The episode closes with reflections on resistance inside federal agencies, the Supreme Court’s decision not to restrict access to abortion medication, and why ordinary people continuing to assert their rights still offers reason for hope.Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 4 min - It's in the Code ep 190: “The Atheists Are Coming!”
Despite claiming to present us with a “Christian” vision of manhood, there is nothing identifiably Christian about Josh Hawley’s account of masculinity and masculine virtue. Instead, he can define masculinity any way he wants, and call it “Christian.” But there’s a flip side to this. He can also dismiss anyone who disagrees with him, anyone who doesn’t accept his account of masculinity, anyone who opposes his “Christian” vision, as an “atheist.” How does this work for him? Why make this specific move? And what does this tell us about how Christian nationalist envision manhood, and even nationhood? Check out this week’s episode as Dan explains!
Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
36 min - The Myth of Religious Freedom w/ Reza Aslan and Peter Manseau
In the premiere episode of season five of Our Seven Neighbors: Religion and Resistance in America, host Reza Aslan joins historian and Smithsonian curator Peter Manseau for a sweeping conversation about the real history of religious freedom in the United States. Together, they dismantle the comforting myth that America was founded as a uniformly Christian nation devoted to liberty for all, revealing instead a far more contested and complicated story. From Puritan theocracy and the execution of Quakers to the struggles of Jews, Muslims, Native peoples, and enslaved Africans for recognition and belonging, the episode explores how pluralism in America was not gifted from above, but forged through centuries of conflict, resistance, and negotiation.
Drawing on Manseau’s landmark work One Nation, Under Gods, the discussion reframes American religious history as a living, unfinished struggle over who counts, whose beliefs matter, and what freedom truly means in a diverse democracy. Aslan and Manseau examine the enduring power of myths like the “city on a hill,” the dangers of Christian nationalism, and the ongoing fight to widen the circle of belonging in American life. At a moment when religious diversity and democratic pluralism are once again under pressure, this episode offers a powerful reminder that the American experiment has always depended on people willing to challenge exclusion and insist that the story is bigger than any one faith, nation, or identity.
Subscribe to O7N: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/our-7-neighbors-religion-and-resistance-in-america/id1511771313
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42 min - The Sunday Interview: Paul Pressler, the SBC Takeover, and a Culture of Power and Abuse
Brad Onishi interviews Texas Monthly senior writer Robert Downen about his 12,000-word feature on Paul Pressler, a key architect of the Southern Baptist Convention’s conservative resurgence alongside Paige Patterson. Downen outlines how the takeover, framed around biblical inerrancy, gender hierarchy, abortion, and weakening church–state separation, helped align the SBC with the GOP and built a broader culture-war mindset, aided by sophisticated internal tactics such as tracking pastorates, spying on professors, and manipulating convention rules. He traces Pressler’s privileged Texas lineage and early political training through his grandfather’s Texas Regulars ties and shows how Pressler leveraged SBC power into national influence via the Council for National Policy and Republican politics. The conversation centers on longstanding allegations that Pressler abused young men and how institutional deference and fear of “liberal” attacks enabled silence, shaping SBC responses to the later denomination-wide sexual abuse crisis and ongoing membership decline.
Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
58 min - Weekly Roundup: The Grownups in Charge? SCOTUS, Gerrymandering & White Christian Power
Redistricting Mania and the Christian Nationalist Push for Minority Rule
Brad Onishi and Dan Miller discuss the fallout from a recent Supreme Court decision they say further rolled back the Voting Rights Act, triggering aggressive redistricting across states like Louisiana, Florida, Indiana, Virginia, Texas, and Tennessee, including carving up Memphis’s Black-majority district. They highlight Christian nationalist rhetoric from figures such as Kevin Roberts, Indiana Lt. Gov. Brian Beckwith, and Rep. Andy Ogles, and critique Mike Johnson’s repeated “adults in the room” framing as coded defense of white Christian male authority. They trace continuity to Religious Right strategist Paul Weyrich’s explicit anti-democratic voting strategy and argue the Court’s anti-discrimination logic now enables open discrimination while accelerating polarization and democratic erosion. They note a sharp Jackson–Alito exchange over partisan timing, call for reforms like anti-gerrymandering measures and term limits, and cite hope in Mark Kelly’s legal challenge to the Pentagon.Subscribe for $3.65: https://axismundi.supercast.com/
Subscribe to our free newsletter: https://swaj.substack.com/
Order American Caesar by Brad Onishi: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/
Donate to SWAJ: https://axismundi.supercast.com/donations/new
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
1 hr 6 min
About Straight White American Jesus
From the publisher's feed
An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and…
historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.