The Convocation Unscripted

By Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby

Welcome to "The Convocation Unscripted," a free-wheeling conversation between Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby. We are each scholars (three historians and one soc

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The podcast currently has 86 episodes available.

Best of The Convocation Unscripted

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: The Important of Strengthening Community Ahead of the Midterms
In this TCU+LIVE episode, the Convocation Unscripted team talked about the challenges of finding rest amid the ongoing assaults on our democracy and American decency--from the $100 billion spent on the unjust and unnecessary war in Iran to $20 million for new "shock gloves" that will be issued to ICE agents across the country, which are exactly what they sound like. Diana reminded everyone of the power of beauty and poetry, even--and especially--when they feel dissonant against the destructive background noise. Thanks to all the live subscribers who joined us with insightful questions, which lead us to wrap the conversation about the importance of building local community and connections in these critical months ahead of the challenging midterm elections.
August 14, 20261h 7min
Number 2: What Vance and Thiel's Talk of the Antichrist and End Times Really Reveals
This week, TCU came to you live across multiple platforms--via the Convocation Unscripted substack plus our own individual substack platforms. In this episode, we talk about a recent interview given by J.D. Vance in which he discusses his views of the Antichrist and th end times, echoing themes from his tech bro benefactor Peter Thiel. The actual theology is internally inconsistent and somewhat incoherent, but it does reveal a disturbing world of limitless power for the few chosen ones who literally image the possibility of escaping human finitude and even death through wealth and technology. By contrast, we talk about deep biblical stories that warn against such hubris and callous disregard for the impacts of such elite aspirations on the vast majority of the rest of us. We also discussed the new books coming out from Robby (BACKSLIDE) and Kristin (LIVE LAUGH LOVE). And we took questions from the hundreds of you who joined us live, on climate change and extreme weather, the midterm elections in the US, and what these times demand for all of us. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
September 04, 20261h 3min
Number 3: The Long Shadow of 9/11
Twenty-Five Years Later, the Fear Is Still Running the Country The twin towers fell twenty-five years ago, but the outrage that moment spurred is still shaping life in the U.S. and beyond. Kristin Du Mez, Diana Butler Bass, and Robert P. Jones sit with the anniversary and ask: What became of this country that morning? You’ll hear where each of them was, including Kristin standing in a blood donation line that evening that turned out to be unnecessary, because there were almost no survivors. Then, Robbie brings PRRI’s tracking of American attitudes toward Islam, where the country as a whole has barely moved while the two parties have pulled further and further apart. Diana argues the goodwill drained the moment the president stood on the rubble and chose revenge over imagination. Robbie points to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. And the fact that the first community ICE went after was Somali refugees who were Black and Muslim. As we often do, we end with small signs of hope. Earlier in the hour you’ll get Wild Goose, book launch season, and the books that changed their lives. If you have wondered how we ended up in the country we are living in, this conversation is a large part of the answer. Listen, then send it to someone who still can’t trace the line from the past to the present. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
September 11, 202652min
Number 4: The Smithsonian, the State, and the Spirit of Freedom
Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
July 31, 20261h 2min
Number 5: The Mainstreaming of Doug Wilson, Self-Described Christian Deceiver
This week, we reflect on the anticlimactic America250 celebrations in Washington, DC, and around the country. We also talked about the tragic, suspicious death of African American 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells, whose body was found after he disappeared during a boat trip with a group of white friends on Horn Island over the Fourth of July weekend, and why so many Black Americans are reacting differently than white Americans to this story. Finally, we talk about the mainstreaming of Doug Wilson, an extremist self-described Christian nationalist who leads a small denomination of churches to which Pete Hegseth belongs. In the past year, he's landed high-profile interviews from CNN, New York Times, and most recently NPR. But his rising influence is mostly due to the failure of mainstream white evangelicalism to defend itself from incursions from the far right. Today, mainstream white evangelical leaders are not only failing to condemn his dangerous, illiberal views, they are inviting him into their circles and joining him on his own platforms. If we needed one more piece of evidence of the complete moral and theological collapse of the white evangelical world, the embrace of Wilson is it. Follow on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jemartisby.b... https://bsky.app/profile/kkdumez.bsky... https://bsky.app/profile/dianabutlerb... https://bsky.app/profile/robertpjones... Follow on Substack: The Convocation- convocation.substack.com Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
July 10, 202655min