Dr. Higgins interviews Dr. Jim Beitler, Director of the Marion E Wade Center at Wheaton college, about the nature of rhetoric. Jim shares his expertise in transitional justice in South Africa’s truth and reconciliation process. They reflect on the role of storytelling in reconciliation and the power of confession, realizing that dehumanization does damage to the speaker, not only the recipient. They lament times when theological discourse gets co-opted by political discourse and talk about cultivating virtue (especially humility) while Writing. They share their experiences with Rogerian Discourse and try to separate wicked words from prophetic words. 

Sørina Higgins talks with Rev. Aaron Williams about his work as a Black Baptist preacher in a white Presbyterian church and the challenge of addressing political topics from the pulpit. Aaron gives a history of evangelicalism getting mixed up with politics and talks about justice as the public work of love. They lament the human tendency to reduce others by putting them into categories and agree we need to be good stewards of the words we speak because they carry power. Rev. Williams urges people to be a voice for those who were being mistreated, protest, and get into good trouble.

In this rerun from an episode of the 1619 & 1776 podcast that originally aired on October 17th, 2022, Dr. Sørina Higgins interviews Rev. Aaron Williams about gospel fluency, messy unity, and reconciliation across differences. 

Sørina Higgins and former Baylor colleague Jeremy Larson, both English PhDs, get their nerd on in this episode. They talk about definitions of rhetoric and the art of learning to read, write, and speak well. They talk about the natural neutrality of words that can be used for good or ill. Some chat about magic and miracle comes up, as do some surprising topics such as the Deplorable Word in Narnia, the Black Speech in Middle-earth, and the varying origins of orcs. While sometimes getting theological, they riff on Milton, Disney, Lewis, Tolkien, theatre, music, grammar, and more. Enjoy this pretty much politics-free episode!   

Dr. Higgins talks with two Episcopal priests about how politics always intrude upon church and how the Bible itself is political, since politics refers to how we live together in communities. They discuss how people's objections to political statements from the pulpit are often reactions to the words of Jesus Himself, Who is the Word of God to create reality. Topics such as disability, animal communication, queerness, pronoun usage, and the role of social media. 

Sørina and her sister Eve (a sociolinguist) talk about situations in which words can cause psychological or emotional harm, marginalize people with intellectual differences, or even contribute to attempted genocide. Drawing on her field work in Russia, Romania, and the Middle East, Prof. Droma provides an overview of linguistic work and encourages listeners to use the terms that people want them to use and that are currently operating as tools of communication. She speaks of the importance of forgiveness and acceptance as ways to ameliorate combative and hurtful rhetoric. 

Sørina's friend Michael Hitchcock, co-director of a radical nonprofit, shares his hatred of euphemistic language and explains how enforcing civil discourse can be unfair and oppressive. The two of them talk about propaganda and narrative-shaping in the hands of the powerful, and he defines important terms such as "intersectionality" and "genocide."

Dr. Higgins interviews Dr. Christian Dickinson, a former grad school colleague who holds controversial conservative views on gender, economics, and public discourse. He is concerned about nice-sounding terms that either do not conform to his view of reality or that disguise policies he thinks are harmful or impractical. Although he does not approve of ad hominum attacks, he's more worried by words that have the power to make people do bad things, that make something he doesn't approve of seem more palatable, that assert a reality or an identity he thinks is deceptive or unreal, or that attack or dismantle a reality or an identity that he thinks is true or correct. 

The Rev. Charis Weathers talks about kindness and love in the ways we address each other and shares how she and members of her church participate in political protests. She recounts how studies of Christ as the incarnation of the Divine Feminine helped confirm her calling, and she surveys the history of the word "queer."

For the first time on this podcast, Sørina reaches out beyond pastors and begins inviting guests who engage with public rhetoric in other ways besides the specifically theological. Today, she talks to Melissa Chaudhry, a community organizer, author, public speaker, former state congressional candidate, and wife of a disabled American veteran detained by ICE. They discuss truth vs. injustice, principle vs. corruption and how narratives enable systemic violence. Melissa urges local communities to share and transmit memories and warns about impending social collapse. They discuss tradition, faith, integrity, morality, and our power to help one another and nurture positive change. Whether advocating for immigrants or fighting fascism, Melissa decries dehumanizing and violent rhetoric but believes in bold, direct speech and action. Visit https://substack.com/@votemelissa4congress or https://linktr.ee/justice4zahid for more of the Chaudhry's story.