Straight White American Jesus

In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with political scientist Melissa Deckman about 2026 PRRI’s American Values Survey and what it reveals about religion, political power, and American identity. With Americans increasingly pessimistic about the economy and concerned about threats to democracy, Deckman examines whether dissatisfaction is fracturing Trump’s coalition—and whether it will translate into changes at the ballot box.

Melissa Deckman is CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and a political scientist who studies how gender, religion, and age shape American public opinion and political behavior. She is the author of The Politics of Gen Z and Tea Party Women.

For Subscribers

Payne asks Deckman what religious stories she would advise each party to tell. They discuss the appeal of biblical language rooted in compassion, the rise of pastor-candidates, and the opportunities and constraints facing religious messaging across the political spectrum.

Find Dr. Melissa Deckman at Melissa Deckman.com, or on Bluesky and find Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) at PRRI.org

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: The Story of Christian Rock, and read along: God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494

🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com

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/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants

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

🔗 axismundi.us

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Two weeks before the midterms, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the GOP's growing desperation as Cook Political shifts 19 House races toward Democrats and James Talarico polls ahead of Ken Paxton in Texas. They cover the DOJ's push to block certification in Alaska, federal agents visiting California residents flagged as non-citizens from an error-filled list, and Todd Blanche's non-answer on whether the DOJ would step into the election.

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“Is God eternal?” The claim that God is eternal is a central feature of orthodox Christian teaching. But what does it mean? And what consequences follow from affirming that God is eternal? And what happens if we suggest that God is not eternal? Join Dan for this week’s episode to find out.

Axis Mundi Podcasts Between Qi and Science and Radical Buddhism

If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. 

Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494

🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com

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/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants

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

🔗 axismundi.us

www.quo.com/SWAJ -  Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months 

www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription!

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

Tommy Teepell asked Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood, and the clip went viral. But Teepell's ties to Christian nationalist networks run deeper than the reporting so far has shown. Matthew D. Taylor has tracked Teepell and Sean Feucht since 2024, and in this episode he and Brad Onishi lay out what that research shows.

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On this Sunday Interview, Annika Brockschmidt talks with scholar of religion and theologian Matthew Taylor about his new book, Defying Tyrants, Following Jesus: In a World of Christian Antichrists. Writing as a Christian to other Christians, Taylor argues that the propaganda fueling MAGA and the authoritarian turn in American politics is theological, and that the response must be too. He explains why he sees Christian supremacy, the belief that Christians are better than others and entitled to power, as an older and deeper problem than Christian nationalism, tracing it through Constantine, Christendom, the Crusades, and colonialism. Taylor then offers a close reading of 1 and 2 John, where "antichrist" appears mostly in the plural and refers to people who broke away from the community and abused others in Christ's name, which leads him to argue that Christian antichrists are Christians who abuse power under Jesus's banner. They also discuss how to reckon with Christian awfulness without retreating to the "no true Scotsman" defense, what kind of king Jesus actually is, and the personal cost of the book: Taylor lost his job at an interfaith institute because of it. He explains why he refused to withdraw it, and what ordinary Christians can do to resist Christian supremacy in their everyday lives.

If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. 

Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494

🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com

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/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants

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

🔗 axismundi.us

www.quo.com/SWAJ -  Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months 

www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription!

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

In this Straight White American Jesus Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller dig into new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, who is not a licensed attorney and has deep ties to the Southern California Christian nationalist network around Rob McCoy, Charlie Kirk’s pastor, and a past advisory role with White Rose Resistance, a group calling for women who have abortions to be executed in public. They then break down a published plan from Russ Vought’s Center for Renewing America to challenge and block incoming Democrats, especially Muslim and Marxist-identified members-elect, from being sworn in on January 3rd, and why Dan sees it as a strategy to sow doubt about election legitimacy even if it would fail in court. They also cover Trump’s diesel deal with Russia, what it means for Ukraine and sanctions, and close with reasons for hope, including court rulings on ICC sanctions and press access and the called-off live stream of the Fort Hood shooter’s execution.
If you enjoy our work, please subscribe.
Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief.

🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com
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/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants
Full tour dates: https://axismundinetwork.substack.com/p/the-american-caesar-book-tour
🔗 axismundi.us
www.quo.com/SWAJ - Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months
www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription!

Thank you Thomas J, Jane Stevenor, Laura Nelson, Beth Strand, Brady Fern, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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Do all religions lead to God? It's the kind of question that can get you in trouble in strict religious communities, so we look at why. Then we explore who has asked it over the years, from scholars and philosophers to Hindu, Sikh, and mystical traditions, and why many religion scholars today aren't convinced by it.

If you enjoy our work, please subscribe. 

Paid subscribers get bonus content, ad-free listening, access to the entire 1k episode archive, an invite to our Discord community, and access to the Axis Daily Brief. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/axis-daily-brief/id1896931494

🔔Subscribe - Substack: www.axismundi.substack.com

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/product/9798341900370/Defying-Tyrants

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

🔗 axismundi.us

www.quo.com/SWAJ -  Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months 

www.groundnews.com/SWAJ 40% off the Vantage Subscription!

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

In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi is joined by Matthew D. Taylor, author of Defying Tyrants, to discuss the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s home 22 days before the midterms, which came inside the Justice Department’s usual 60-day window for avoiding overt investigative steps. They weigh the evidence that the raid is politically motivated, including years of debunked conspiracy theories about her immigration story, pressure from right-wing influencers, and Trump’s rhetoric about the Somali community, while also acknowledging that a warrant was issued and that questions about her immigration paperwork remain open. They also consider Andy Craig’s argument that the case threatens Congress’s constitutional power to judge its own members, and what it could signal as a trial balloon for 2028. Max from UNFTR then joins to discuss Russ Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget: his Christian nationalism, his role in Project 2025 and impoundment, and a Center for Renewing America piece outlining how members-elect might be refused the oath of office in the next Congress. The conversation closes with thoughts on how citizens and institutions can prepare, including mass action and what Democrats need to do after the midterms.

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Brad Onishi talks with three Wheaton College alumnae about the growing controversy over how the college handled abuse by a former administrator, and why they say the problem is systemic rather than the work of one person. The abuse took place in the 1990s. Alumni say it was covered up for roughly 25 years, leaving students and later victims at risk. The conversation covers the case itself, the calls for President Philip Ryken to resign, the theology of gender and sexuality that shapes how reports are received, and what it’s like to parent students on campus now.

Content note: this episode discusses sexual abuse and assault.

Guests

UPCOMING EVENTS (Brad Onishi, American Caesar)

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They want to rule, not govern. This week on the Weekly Roundup, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down Trump’s “bomb LA” comments, the “enemy combatant” rhetoric aimed at Somalis in Minnesota, Hegseth’s plan to live-stream a firing squad execution, and Tucker Carlson and Curtis Yarvin’s Hitler comments. Then they close with some reasons for hope: Ossoff in the Georgia debate and a Satanic invocation in Ottumwa, Iowa.

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