In this episode, we return to the persistent presence of conspiratorial, supremacist logic embedded in American politics. Notably, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is swimming deep in QAnon waters. She believes a laser controlled by Jewish bankers caused California wildfires. She believes Zionists fuel immigration to corrupt white bloodlines. And, unfortunately, she isn't alone. Such odious ideas are a part of the political mainstream.

A recent New York Times article posits: "If you're steeped in creationism and believe that elites are lying to you about the origins of life on earth, it's not a stretch to believe they're lying to you about a life-threatening virus. If what you know of history is the revisionist version of the Christian right, in which God deeded America to the faithful, then pluralism will feel like the theft of your birthright. If you believe that the last Democratic president was illegitimate, as Trump and other birthers claimed, then it's hard not to believe that dark forces would foist another unconstitutional leader on the country."

What do we do about the millions of people (predominantly White Christians) whose faith nurtures such falsehood? How do we proclaim the Gospel and call them to repentance (in the best and fullest sense of those words)?

Today we discuss the ways victims of abuse, violence, and harassment are silenced within religious organizations in order to protect the reputation of those institutions. Silencing victims ends up protecting perpetrators while communicating "our mission is more important than your life."

They thought they were safe. They thought the eldritch terror from the deep had been defeated, its nefarious tentacles stilled forever. They thought wrong...

The dying video game retailer GameStop has captivated the world's attention this week. Hedge fund managers have targeted the company in order to "short" the stocks—essentially betting against the company. In response, an army of Reddit nerds have turned the tables, pushing stock sales, driving up the value of GameStop and causing "short sellers" to lose $23.6 billion.

Today, we discuss what the case of GameStop tells us about the nature of our economy, and what it may mean for the future of Wall Street.

In the wake of under-ordering vaccine doses, supply cannot meet demand. States and counties are often left to fend for themselves as schedule vaccination appointments get cancelled. Meanwhile, wealthy and powerful people pull strings to jump the line, getting doses ahead of people in greater need. What many are calling a "hunger games" approach to vaccination is exposing the deep flaws of our healthcare system.

An often unstated commitment to "purity" undergirds hegemony. A commitment to purity (and a rejection of impurity) is very old...a mechanism driven by evolution that has often been (intentionally or not) exploited by those in power. All religions seem to have some purity concept: how to have sex the proper way, how to eat properly, etc. Notions of purity and impurity may aid in survival. But when they get baked into social constructs, they can become rigid and evil.

We hear appeals to unity a lot. In politics. In religion. The ideal of everyone coming together in a common cause, despite our differences, is noble. But all to often it obscures or conceals the underlying causes of conflict. Or to minimize deep issues of oppression.

Biden is president. Trump supporters are scattered. Many are breathing easy now that the worst is behind us.

Or is it? History reveals that massive religious movements emerge from failed prophecies. And vast political movements from failed coup attempts. Trump's political ascendancy resulted from him pulling taboo levers...levers that are still in place. Unless we hold him and other political leaders accountable, they will learn that the path of neofascism is a great way to rile a base without consequence.

As weary as many of us are, now is the time for vigilance. Our troubles haven't gone away; they are just is disarray. And our hopes are too important to place in the hands of Joe Biden and walk away.

White Christianity in America is complicit with the resurgence in right wing authoritarianism. But this isn't new. If we look to the most odious moments in US history, we can find toxic Christian influence.

Most discussions of this Trumpian moment have focused on evangelical power brokers. Or charismatic prophets declaring Trump to be God's chosen. Now, as things fall apart, the few prophets who have publicly repented for falsely prophesying Trump's reelection have received death threats.

But this isn't simply an evangelical problem. White Christianity is in decline in the US. Every major denomination is struggling financially. And institutions in decline will almost always sacrifice people for power, stability, and position. Instead of treating evangelicals as easy scapegoats, we need to break our addiction to relevance and influence. We need to let white Christianity die.

As folks justifiably applaud the social media crack-down on ultra-right wing messaging and call for the arrests of those involved in the Coup Klux Klan, we must proceed with caution. Legislators are pushing the same anti-protestor legislation that they introduced to stifle Black Lives Matter protests. They are using the coup attempt to reinforce neoliberal hegemony. In the same way, giving social media platforms more power to root out fascism will leave them with more power to turn around and use on leftist movements. In our battle against fascistic white supremacy, do we want to give neoliberal white supremacy more power? Is the enemy of our enemy our friend?