Podcasts about moral combat

Marie Griffith, PhD, John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis. She served for 12 years (2011-2023) as the director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and the editor of the Center's journal, Religion & Politics. Her research focuses on American Christianity, including the changing profile of American evangelicals and ongoing conflicts over gender, sexuality, and marriage. Author of several books, including Moral Combat: How Sex Divided America and Fractured American Politics, the book discussed in this episode. Uncertain is a podcast of Tears of Eden, a community and resource for those in the aftermath of Spiritual Abuse. If you're enjoying this podcast, please take a moment to like, subscribe, or leave a review on your favorite podcasting listening apparatus. You can support the podcast by going to TearsofEden.org/supportTo get in touch with us please email tearsofeden.org@gmail.comFollow on Instagram @uncertainpodcastTranscript is unedited for typos or misspellings[00:00:00] I'm Katherine Spearing, and this is Uncertain. Hello. How are you? How are you hanging in there? I hope you're doing okay. I'm doing semi okay. It's been a lot inundation with this very real, very damaging type of abuse. One thing that you may or may not know is folks who have experienced spiritual abuse and folks who have experienced sexual abuse.They're very similar to each other. Spiritual abuse and sexual abuse are very, very similar. The impact is very, very similar because it is so, so vulnerable. You are so vulnerable when this happens and it violates our intimacy and it violates our very souls in a way that maybe other abuse doesn't. So if you are traumatized.By the abuse that you experienced in a church [00:01:00] or a high control environment or religious environments in your family. There's a reason for that. It makes a lot of sense. It's very, very serious trauma. So one of the things that we discussed in this episode is how the folks who. experience sexual abuse when they go to the religious institution where they experience that abuse and say, Hey, help me, this happened, this was awful, please help me.When they get dismissed or falsely accused or sidelined or silenced, that that is sometimes worse than the sexual abuse that they experienced in that institution. This episode is with Marie Griffith. She is the author of Moral Combat, How Sex Divided America and Fractured American Politics. It's an intense book.A lot of research went into this book. She's also a scholar [00:02:00] and a professor of religion at Washington University. And one of the things we will also discuss in this episode is how she literally taught a class on abuse in the church in a secular university. What? Crazy, crazy, crazy. Great conversation, lots of mind blowing moments about the connection between sex and sexual abuse and the rampant abuse that is happening in the evangelical church right now.Enjoy, or don't enjoy, but take it in for sure. And as always, take care of yourself, get some rest, give yourself some time after this episode to go for a walk, take a sip of water, breathe. You're okay, wherever you are, you are okay, take a deep breath, you are safe, you are here, you are now, you are present, you're going to be okay.[00:03:00] Here is my interview with Marie Griffith. Katherine: Hi, Catherine. Oh, how are you? How are you? And I have your big book here. This was a lot of work. She took this.Marie: And that was like I don't even want to tell you how many years. I mean, it was really sort of 15 years. I did other things as I was doing that, Katherine: but yeah. Yeah, just like the amount of research that went into just like one chapter I was like, this was a very large endeavor. But how are you this morning? How are you doing? How is your writing? Is it like a writing sabbatical? Is that kind of what this season is called?Marie: Yeah, I'm on, I'm on research leave. You know, it's just a standard leave that scholars get every few years. So but yeah, it's focused on working on this book about sexual clergy, sexual Katherine: abuse. Oh, my gosh. Did I know that? Did you tell me about that? I don't know if I knew from Marie: that [00:04:00] I had taught that course on the abuse crisis in modern Christianity.And so the reason I taught the course was because I started doing research on clergy sexual abuse in both the U. S. Catholic Church And evangelical groups, particularly the Southern Baptist Convention, although not only Katherine: the Southern. Okay. I don't know if I knew that the book itself was about clergy sexual abuse.So I definitely want to hear so much about that. Really excited to talk to you. I'm just like, as I'm like reading this book, I'm like, okay. We just need to be friends because I like everything that you research and everything that you're, I'm like, it's all like stuff that I'm like thinking about constantly.And then just like even reading your book. And then when Megan told me that she literally had a class on like abuse that is happening in the church, I was like. Wait, who, like, led this? Whose idea was it to have this class? Like, tell me, tell me so much more. And so that's why I was, like, very [00:05:00] interested to talk to you.And so I would just love to hear very just to start how you got into doing what you're doing and how this became important to you. Marie: Sure, sure. Yeah. And thank you so much. I really love your podcast and admire the work that you do too, Catherine. So thank you. Well, I am from Chattanooga, Tennessee originally.I was raised Southern Baptist. I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. So as you may know, that was a time of just tremendous change in the culture, but also for Southern Baptists in particular, and within evangelical Protestantism more generally. The church I grew up in was a really, I thought of it as just a very kind of, you know, ordinary.Church, it was 1st Baptist Church Chattanooga, you know, the kind of flagship Southern Baptist Church of the city. But the, the kind of tensions in the Southern Baptist Convention. Between, [00:06:00] you know, for shorthand, let's say the fundamentalist and the moderates, because that's, you know, what they called each other, at least at the time was really strong.And my mother was the pastor's secretary over a number of years, and she cared deeply about these issues. My dad was the deacon chair for a number of years. So this was dinner table conversation. What was happening within the denomination and. My parents were both moderates. And so I kind of heard that side of it.And it was really painful. A lot of the pastors that I had that worked at our church felt very betrayed by things that happened, convention politics and all of that. And when I left for college, I thought I left it all behind. I mean, it was really painful enough that I just turned my back on a lot of that.But I found myself studying religion and really sort of wondering how all of that came to be. So in some ways, I mean, I think that has, explains a lot about my career, why I became a [00:07:00] scholar of American religion. I've focused on evangelicals. I focused on women. I focused on debates over women's roles, sexuality, and sex.And now clergy sexual abuse. So it really is. There's a personal story behind that, as I think it is for so many scholars. Katherine: Absolutely. And then have you been able to trace? So you're working on a book right now about clergy sexual abuse. And then your book that I was reading before we interviewed.Moral combat. The subtitle is how sex divided American Christians and fractured American politics. Have you been able to trace? The link from this divide to clergy sexual abuse, is that pretty, a pretty clear link for you? Marie: I think so. And, you know, I, critics may argue with me, and they have every right to argue with me, but what I see from the sources, the [00:08:00] long historical sources that I've looked at over many archives that really begin in the really the late 19th century, but certainly by the 1920s and the birth control movement has been a real power struggle within American Christianity, Catholicism as well as, as, as Protestantism, I should say over leadership, over theology, and maybe more than anything else over the appropriate role of women and, and how to think about gender, how God created men and women.and what their appropriate roles are supposed to be. I think we can see that debate starting with The birth control movement, really going back before that, but my book started with the birth control movement, moving through debates over literary censorship sex education in the public schools, homosexuality, same sex rights, abortion, reproductive rights, sort of all the way through.And so, you know, that's, that's an [00:09:00] oversimplification to some degree, but I do think that those wars over sex. over gender, over, over women and, and women's roles in the public sphere and in the family explain an awful lot of our conflicts culture wars conflicts as they are. And, and I do think that's what's led us to the current moment and the, the real fervor over clergy sexual abuse.Katherine: Yeah, and just all of it packaged together when you, and when you put sex sexual abuse itself, and you, and you realize that sexual abuse itself is really not about sex, it is about power, and you, and you see the power dynamic happening in these debates, and like, it's about who's going to get it. To be in charge, basically and, and then you add that in with this dynamic of sexual abuse happening and like less about just [00:10:00] urges that need to be fulfilled, but more about like who gets to be in charge and who gets to have a say and who gets to decide.It makes so much more sense through that lens than just like. Sex addiction which is what it sometimes gets boiled down to, but it's, but that's, it's way more than that one. It's something this rampant. And so I see the connection. And it's, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty clear to me. But I would love to hear So you taught a class and what was the class called?Can you confirm the name of Marie: that? Sure. Yeah. The class was called the abuse crisis in modern Christianity. Katherine: Okay. And what led you to teaching that class? And then what were, what were the, the, what was the process of getting that class to Marie: be taught? Yeah, yeah, no, and it's maybe my favorite class I've ever taught, so I just want to say that at the outset, which sounds strange [00:11:00] because it was also the most painful class I've ever taught, the most difficult class I've ever taught.You know, you all, this sort of Me Too, Church Too movement that's been so extraordinarily important over the last, seven or eight, 10 years, again, going longer than that, even, but really these this past decade. I have so many undergraduate students who have come to me with stories of sexual assault or sexual abuse, and I realize it's something that college students are grappling with.All the time. But there are, at least in the institutions where I've taught, there are almost no classes, you know, that address that it's it's sort of we're expecting our student life personnel and our R. A. S. And people who aren't even trained in some cases to kind of be the ones to manage. sex on campus or the sexual lives of our students.And so, and as I was doing the research on clergy sexual [00:12:00] abuse and just realizing how rampant some of this has long been and still is, it felt like something that I thought students would take a real interest in. So I taught the course, I put it on the books for fall of 2022. I limited it at first to 15 students and I immediately, when registration opened, it immediately filled up and I had.double that number of students on the wait list. And so I wound up with about30 students that, that were there off all undergrad, except for one graduate student. And that was, that was Megan. Katherine: And then and so you didn't have any trouble like hot, like saying, Hey, I want to offer this class. Was that something that you did you have any hurdles with the institution offering the class?Marie: Well, that's that's a very good question. You're the first person to ask me that. As it happened, I was at the time the director of the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, which is our unit. And [00:13:00] so I was able to just offer the class and it really didn't go through any kind of Katherine: formal approach.I could do whatever I want. Marie: if I teach the course again, which I definitely plan on doing, it's possible that I would get some pushback. But the course really it was, it got very high course evaluations. I think the students were saying, these are conversations we all need to be having, and we're so thankful to be having it.So I think I would be able to make the argument that this is an important course Katherine: to keep on the books. Absolutely. And then you had, I know that Megan had mentioned I think like a former nun and like a former prosecutor that you had in. Was it more of a like a, a workshop style, lecture style, or was it more like you teaching and then you would occasionally have people come in?Marie: Yeah. Well, the course met twice a week for an hour and 20 minutes, and I did very little lecturing. I mean, I would set out the context, you know, for a short period [00:14:00] at the beginning. But as you say, I brought in a lot of experts. I brought in lawyer, a lawyer who has prosecuted these cases and worked a lot with sexual abuse survivors.I brought in Catholic survivors. I brought in a Catholic survivor who is now working for the Catholic church on prevention programs. You know, and has very much considers himself a devout Catholic still archivist, just a whole range of different types of people. We talked to journalists. I just wanted them to really see Things from a wide range of perspectives.I will say that when I started the course, most of my research until then had focused on the Catholic Church. So it was maybe overly focused on Catholicism. And I wish I had had time to do more. with evangelicals, with Mormons their orthodox Jewish cases and coverups of sexual abuse. Muslim communities in [00:15:00] the U.S. have grappled with this. So, you know, it's almost an overwhelming amount of material and WashU is a very multicultural, multi religious university. So, you know, I think covering these power dynamics, as you say, this is not just about sex, it's really about power and gender. Covering these across different religious traditions, I think is a really important, Katherine: you know, thing to do.Absolutely. And I still think that the Catholic church is the most well known. I was at a, I was at a class. Sunday night and I had your book with me to just like read while when there was like not stuff going on or while I was like waiting for people and and somebody was like, Oh, what's, what's that book about?And so I like, I talked a little bit about the book and then said, I was interviewing someone who taught a class and abuse in the church. And they were like, Oh, like the Catholic church. And I was like, well, I was like actually like I focus on like the evangelical church. And the person that I was talking to you was actually someone who like attends.Church [00:16:00] and and so it was almost like they just like had no idea that that, but that was like happening within the actual like regular everyday evangelical churches, I think a lot of evangelicals will still try to like, think, oh, that's a Catholic church problem and that happened over there in the Catholic Church, when it is.very rampant in the evangelical church across every denomination. Like I haven't, I have not met or encountered the denomination yet. That was like, Oh no, we're good. We don't have that. That doesn't, that doesn't happen. And so I'm really, really grateful that you were teaching that class and just like thinking of the students that got to be in there and be a part of it.And I got to have that conversation. I'm just like. Woo, would I, would I love, you know, I went to seminary and I'm like for grad school and I'm like, would I have loved to have a class like that in seminary? Yes, but they're not going to have that kind of class in seminary. Like critiquing the church that they're like creating ministers for.[00:17:00] And, and someone asked me that the other day of like, did you ever have a class on like abuse in the church? And did anyone ever talk about like clergy abuse or spiritual abuse or anything in seminary? I was like, no. It was like it did not exist. It was like that didn't happen at all. Marie: Well, I think, I think you're absolutely right.I am hopeful. I feel like in a lot of the conversations that I'm having now, and I, you know, I'm doing interviews with survivors, but also with. Pastors with people working for the church, developing curricula and training programs, you know, for pastors in seminary. I mean, I actually feel some hope that there's so much energy around bringing some of that knowledge into the seminary classroom requiring.No, in some way, either at the local church level or at seminary. Now it's difficult because as you know, church autonomy is a hugely important principle for groups like Baptists [00:18:00] and other, a lot of other evangelical groups. And so requiring a church. To have a training or requiring certain courses, even in seminary is it's it's hard.And I think a lot of these denominations right now are debating this issue. But still, I think people realize more and more. I mean, the Southern Davis Convention has had Terrible PR over the last several years around its own cover ups of sexual abuse. It's starting to look as bad as the Catholic Church's cover up, right?And so I think Southern Baptist leaders I've talked to, they know they've got to do something. And not just for optics, they've really got to do something, you know big to, to bring knowledge to this issue. So I am hopeful that some of that, what you didn't have in seminary You know, the next generation is going to have some version of Katherine: it, at least.Absolutely. Yeah. Cause I just, I mean, you can't ignore it at this point. It's, it's everywhere. It is everywhere. What was the response? [00:19:00] So you said that you got a really good response from your students in terms of just like evaluations at the end. What was some of like the personal response of students within the class?Marie: Yeah, and I want to say, you know, I gave a lot of trigger warnings at the outset. In the course description, I said, if this is a personal issue for you, Really think hard before you take this class, but come talk to me and I can help you find resources if you want to find resources, but I warned people we're going to read graphic, you know, accounts of sexual abuse.It's hard, even for those of us who are not survivors and I do not consider myself a survivor. It's still it's grueling. It's wrenching it. Keeps you up at night when you read the stuff. So I, I really warned students and I warned them on the first day of class and, and all of that nonetheless, you know, kind of midway through, I knew that I had three or four students who were struggling they [00:20:00] were not getting their work in, you know, I reached out to them and they admitted to me, like this was bringing stuff up for them.So I found myself just saying, don't worry about deadlines. Like take care of yourself, you know, and I told students in class if you need to take a break when we're in class, you know, I've never said this in any other class, but I'm going to tell you now you can walk out and walk around and get a drink of water and come back when you can.And I'm not going to penalize you for that. I, you know, your mental health. is most important here and come talk to me. So students expressed appreciation, you know, in their evaluations that I had been flexible about that as I think anyone should be. One suggestion they did have for me about changing in the future is that my very first minister probably should have been a counselor, probably should have been someone who could come in and talk about trauma and not just the trauma that abuse survivors that we're reading about have suffered, but trauma that you might feel.You know, absorbing [00:21:00] these stories. And so I take that to heart. And I think when I teach the class again, I teach the class again that I'm going to do that first and make sure that I've got better supports set up for students. If, if the, the sort of secondary trauma or tertiary trauma of reading and absorbing all of this gets Katherine: to be too much.Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, I can imagine that that would be, that would be. A great idea. To start it out that way. What were some of the people that you brought in, was there someone that like really stood out to you that a story that they told really resonated with you? Marie: Yeah. Well, you know, they, they all stand out for me, but I'll just tell a couple of stories that I think the students found particularly meaningful. And I should say again, to go back to the personal and the student said, it wasn't just hard for them. You know, they loved the class.They loved getting to think about this and process this. And I think they all. felt that this would really shape them going forward. Help [00:22:00] them be better friends and, and helpers of other people who've gone through trauma. You know, I think for a lot of us who aren't survivors, we don't realize how deep the trauma goes until you read and learn.You've got to be educated about that. And I think these guests really helped do that. So I had guests two of the guests have been. Leaders in an organization called snap the survivors network of those abused by priests, which was founded primarily as a Catholic organization for Catholic survivors of clergy abuse, and they really went back into first kind of realizing that the abuse that they had experienced, trying to tell going to church authorities and having in their cases door slammed against them over and over again.And that the trauma of that was worse than the original sexual abuse itself. Right. I'm sure you hear this over and over again. Very Katherine: common. Very common. [00:23:00] Marie: And I think for students to hear their story, but also, you know, they helped create SNAP. They've been public spokespeople across the country. They have helped so many people, so many victims.And, you know, I think educated so many of us who are not victims. about this, that the students found them really inspiring. That was, that was really great. And David Clossie, who was the longtime leader of the SNAP, I'm just lucky because he lives here in St. Louis. And so he was able to visit our class in person along with Barb Doris who was also a SNAP leader, but he's a very emotional person still.And he cries a lot and he'll tell you that. So he'll tell stories and he is, his emotions are right there. But he has also processed it. He has sort of come out on top of it and he's just a really inspiring figure. So students really loved hearing from him. Another standout, I'll just mention just one more.We had a local lawyer and I won't mention her [00:24:00] name because she's really had a tough time. She has worked on a lot of different clergy, sexual abuse cases in the states of Illinois and Missouri primarily, and the laws here. are really, really tough. I would say they are stacked against victims in a lot of very concrete ways.And she talked to us about that and really educated us about the law. And it got so bad for her that after 25, 30 years or so of practicing and working in that area, she just was burned out. She realized that she She could even be a suicide risk after all that she had to leave. And so she went and is now in a completely different field of law.And the students were really, I think, moved by her. Some of my students want to go to law school. They want to work in that area, but they also recognized, you know, what she had to say about the toll that this can take on people. Who really try to find justice for survivors, because it's a lot [00:25:00] harder in some states than others, but it's hard everywhere.Yeah. Katherine: You know? Yeah. It's just, yeah. It really, the justice system doesn't work in favor of of someone coming forward and saying, this happened. Especially if there's, if there's not like, Capturing physical evidence of something like that is just not easy. If it if it even is possible. Yeah, that is, that is really really incredible.Did you have anything else to say about the class and then I would love to just talk a little bit about book. Marie: . No, I would just say that I would encourage if anybody is interested in thinking about teaching a class like this for undergrads, for grad students, seminary students, feel free to contact me, rmg567 at gmail.com. And also I'll just say, I'm still, you know, interviewing survivors and people and would love to hear from folks, but I would just really encourage people to consider doing it. I think. Think it's a very, I, I'm so glad that I was able to do it, [00:26:00] and I will keep teaching that class until I can't teach anymore in retirement.Katherine: Oh, I'm so glad. I'm really, really glad that there are dozens and dozens of more students who are going to get that class so I'm really glad to hear that. So switching to talking about this book, Moral Combat that I mentioned.Earlier, the subtitle has sex divided American Christians and fractured American politics. And then I want to hear about a little more about the current book that you're working on as well. But my main question about this book is why sex? Why is sex such a big deal? What is it about sex that is making it this thing that divides people?Marie: Catherine, that is the question. That is absolutely the question. That's really the question that sent me on the journey to write this. And I don't know if even now I have an answer to it. And really, I came to it thinking like, you know, sex is not a big [00:27:00] topic in the New Testament. It's really not compared to caring for the poor.Caring for the poor, caring for people, helping the world, helping those in need, visiting the prisoner, feeding the hungry. Those are the themes, right? Those are the crucial, crucial themes. They're not the only themes, but that, to me, is so obviously the core that Jesus taught, that that should be the obsession.And it's not. It's, it's not, it's not to say churches don't care about those things, of course they do. Catholic, Protestant, they all care about those things, but the thing that has seemed to be the obsession is around disciplining people for their sexual behavior. And that just struck me and, and it was true in my Southern Baptist upbringing.I mean, that was just like, you know, a very strong theme in life generally. So I think I've always wondered. Why is something like [00:28:00] that so important? And you know, it's partly, I mean, our sexuality goes to the core of who we are, right? In every aspect of our lives. And if we wanna discipline people into being certain kinds of people, that's sort of a really key area.You know, that, that the rules need to be sort of upheld and abided by. But to me, I honestly feel and I know a lot of folks would disagree with me on this, but I think a lot of Christian leaders have really gone way beyond anything, you know, biblical to create systems and structures and rules. That, that weren't really of, of great interest or concern to Jesus or to to any of these early teachers.The early church fathers, you know, once Jesus is dead and Paul's dead and the kind of church is sort of coming into being in the early centuries, those leaders carried up, cared a lot about sex and disciplining the flesh and celibacy of [00:29:00] course, and, and thought the body was evil and thought sexuality was sort of this evil demonic force.That's kind of where a lot of this influence comes from. If, if you, if you're more interested in going back to a biblical view of Christianity, I just think a lot has been invented, has been weaponized, has been interpreted a specific way to make sex more important than it, than it really ought to be for, for Christian for Christians generally.Would Katherine: you say if... If it's about power, let's just theorize that it's about power. Is there a possibility that sex is just an easy thing to control? And it's more just like open and, you know, like, you can hide it but like something like, attracted to the same sex and you want to have that kind of relationship or, or like that physical act of Being with someone and having [00:30:00] intercourse and like, like those are just like physical things and it's just like an easier thing to control and because it's more like out there could that be a reason why this is the thing if it's about power?I don't know.Marie: No, I think that's definitely part of it. And of course, sex is tied to reproduction, too, right? So it's not just about sexual behavior. It's about, you know, women bearing children and whose children will they be bearing. So, you know, we know that in cultures all across time and place that we've been able to study, sex is also very important in societies.It's not just Christians who have made sex important. So I want to be clear about that. And part of that is because it is still, in many cases, about power. Men want to know that the children their wives are bearing are their children. Like, that's, that's one thing that anthropologists have, have a lot of times talked about.Kinship relations and, you know, these kinds of things. So, sex has been important in part because it is... [00:31:00] deeply tied up in in reproduction. And, and I think our reproductive politics today, a lot of the, you know, the, the refusal to see that the way to reduce the abortion rate is to make contraception more available to prevent problem pregnancies and unwanted pregnancies.But you don't see this huge push on the part of Christians, mostly. To provide free birth control and to make sure that there's sex education in the public schools of a certain kind, those issues often, you know, are still kind of, you know, forbidden and go with anti abortion politics. So I think the reproduction part is really a key part of this, but, but yes, I think it is also about power and.restricting women's movements, restricting you know, this huge portion of their lives and, and, and making a certain model of marriage, you know, seem like the norm, seem like the God ordained norm. There's one norm for marriage and, and that's [00:32:00] it. And you know, really, I think there's had to be a lot of.Inventiveness to make that seem like, you know, something that God so deeply cared about right, Katherine: right, right. So would you say that aside from it being a sex thing, that it really is a gendered thing? I know you had mentioned that earlier and like more about dare we say it's control of women and it's not just about.celibacy and like purity. It's really about the purity of women. Oh Marie: yeah. I, I, I think the sources bear that out very, very clearly that the, you know, the, the sort of purity obsession has always been the purity of women. It's not to say men's purity hasn't been talked about and emphasized to a degree, but men have been far less punished for sex outside of marriage and sometimes not punished at all compared to the, the sort of discipline.of women for, for, for that. So [00:33:00] I think it's very much about gender. The book, Moral Combat, you may remember, you know, I start the book with the suffrage movement, the women's suffrage movement, because that, to me, in some ways, is, is one of the, the kind of, of the core culture war issue we we almost think now so women got the right to vote in 1920, of course, and we kind of think of that as like, Okay, well, that happened and then everything you know, everybody accepted that.But in fact, there was so much energy against allowing women to vote, you know, it was very close that the, you know, the states had to ratify, you know, this amendment Tennessee my home state was the final one to ratify it. I'm proud to say. My grandmother was a suffragist who, who marched for that, but it wasn't easy.And the animus against women voting or women having something like equal rights, at least in that one sphere, you know, that animus didn't go away. And so I think a lot of what [00:34:00] you see in these later movements against birth control. Against homosexuality, against sex education, against reproductive rights.The roots are there in the anti suffrage movement. So it's very much about women, about a desire for women to stay in their place. And let me say clearly, it's not just men who have wanted that. I don't write this as a men against women yeah.just as many women are invested in that kind of patriarchal hierarchical system because they benefit from it in some way economically, socially. And so patriarchy, or I want to say misogyny, these are systems held up, I think equally by men and women in many, many cases. And and that's a crucial part of the story that we also sometimes I think tend to forget.Katherine: Yeah. And I think it's a, it's harder. , I would just say from just like [00:35:00] purely from a personal personal perspective to see women fighting so hard for these things. And when I see women upholding it and defending it just it feels very different and it lands very different than like a man.Upholding it and and defending it as well. But it's also true. It's also very, very true. And, and I, and I learned that very quickly working in and very patriarchal spaces that just because there was a woman in the room didn't make it safer and didn't necessarily mean that women were actually respected in that space., and yeah, absolutely. And then I don't remember the name of the person, but the person that was fighting for Susan's Someone maybe fighting for contraception and like the main argument was that it was gonna allow women to be loose and, and have sex with anyone they wanted. And, and she was just like, give us a, give us a break.Maybe we just like, just want to have freedom. Maybe that, [00:36:00] maybe that's what it, maybe it has nothing to do with promiscuity and just like, just like that being the argument, like, and that is. It's still the argument and that's why I like the church isn't, you know, pushing contraception and making contraception available as a, as a potential solution to mitigating abortion is because it's, it's that same thing, like present day, that same argument is just going to give them license.Yet we're not talking about that for men, like men who don't have to most of the time. deal with a fear of getting pregnant. Like that's not something that men have to carry. So we're not worried about them. We're not worried about it in that, in that context. And so, oh my gosh, there's so many, so many things.Is there anything else you want to say about that? And then I'd, I'd love to hear about your, your latest that you're working on now. Marie: Sure. I think you're right. I mean, just. stress. I think what [00:37:00] you're saying is we're still having the same debates that we were having in the 1920s.It's a maybe a modernized version of it. But I do think our contemporary debates over abortion and and even to some degree, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, you know, I write about Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas and also about Paula Jones and Bill Clinton, the kind of sexual harassment wars of the 1990s, some of which has been a little bit Thank forgotten.Those were really critical to because it was about how are women treated in the workplace and what is okay and what is not okay. And it's shocking to think what we used to tolerate. You know what? I mean, my mother, who's now in her eighties, she'll tell me what she tolerated as a secretary, you know, in the 19 sixties and seventies and in the church.Well, yes, in the church and outside the church, both the kind of soft sexism that we all accepted. Not so soft sometimes. So anyway, I would just say that I do think we learn a lot from history [00:38:00] and that reading up on these earlier debates, I think really sheds important light. On the kinds of arguments that we're still having now, both within the church and within our larger culture.Yeah, Katherine: and then just like the context of history about just like history just like repeats itself and then repeats itself and repeats itself and, and it's typically about one group of people or one set of people wanting to be in charge, and in America, it's about like the religious right. It seems wielding Christianity and this war for morality as the way to have power and be in charge and just even just thinking about like very recent election and political figures who, who didn't give a shit about, actual Christianity.They just got people. You know, whipped up into a frenzy and made them fearful of, , the trans, the trans [00:39:00] agenda, the figurative trans agenda. And before that it was the gay agenda, and then the feminists, and the feminists are after your children, and and then, and then now, like, making abortion the thing and it's about, like, saving children, but it's not about saving children, it's about this, like, control thing and so that to me is, I mean, just intersects with my work, and is, is pretty scary to me that this, And there was kind of just this out of body experience a little bit just like reading the book and thinking about that and then I'll have those moments at times of like, this was the sect, and I came from a very fundamentalist world that was, was very militant in fighting abortion and getting, you know, Christian people that they claimed were Christians into politics and fighting, against like sex, sex education in school because it would just give people license to promiscuity.They were very, very militant and it's just a very out of body experience to think like that was a sect that I used to be a part of. And I believed they were good people, and [00:40:00] some of them are very good people and, and that the outside world was bad, like those, those bad people that are pro abortion or pro, pro same sex marriage, and to think just like how militant it was.Now, like looking back on it and just like how just active it was and genuinely good people within it. Absolutely. 100 percent at the same time, people who are just wielding this for power and, and wanting to like claim all of this power in the name of Jesus. And it's, it's scary. It's, it's real.Marie: I would just say I, yeah, that is, that's it's so true. I, I see it as a true tragedy that Christianity has been so weaponized in this country and elsewhere, not just in the U. S. And all the time and energy and money that has gone into some issues at the [00:41:00] expense to, in my mind.Of the poor and the suffering and other, you know, really critical issues and how blase we are about economic inequality in this country and, and the state of the poor and suffering of many kinds. To me, it's a tragedy, you know that that we allowed ourselves to get so hung up on particular issues, and have just been almost blinded.To what I see is really the core message, Katherine: In the Bible. How does that. Message tie in with what you're working on right now. Marie: Yeah. Well, it's you know So now this is a hard it's a it's an even more grueling Project as you can imagine because a lot of my sources now are interviews And I really spent a few years now and i'm really in the thick of it now that i'm on leave Interviewing, you know, survivors mostly, but also family members, pastors, you know, people, as I said earlier, just like [00:42:00] my class, different visitors coming from different places, but the vast majority are survivors, survivors of childhood sexual abuse, of abuse when they were teenagers, and also adults, you know, adults, largely women I've interviewed so far, but of course there are men too, you know, who have been abused as men sexually abused.And abuse happens everywhere. You know, abuse happens absolutely everywhere. The church is not, you know, the only place it happens. But cover ups feel different in different spaces, I think. And the, the degree of the cover up in the church, Is so disillusioning for so many people, the spiritual abuse, the spiritual damage that that has caused people in many ways.That's sort of the big takeaway for me right now is just how profoundly damaging. Sexual abuse is for people when they are not believed, when they are not treated with love and care. [00:43:00] And, when they are prevented from seeking justice, it's crazy making. I mean, people can just go absolutely crazy.And the degree, you know, the levels of substance abuse and all kinds of. You know, self destructive behaviors that emerge from that is just stunning. And, we've learned a lot about this since 2002. And that 2002 is an important year because that was when the Boston Globe broke the big stories, the early stories about abuse in the Catholic Church in the, in the archdiocese of Boston.And, you know, that kind of began this trajectory of attention to the abuse crisis, at least within the Catholic Church, and then more recently in Protestant groups, too. But I think we still have no idea the scope, the scale, the damage that has been done and is still being done because of the cover ups, because of bullying by pastors who refuse to acknowledge this problem [00:44:00] and women who enabled them pastors wives or, or church staff or others who just don't want to believe this is true.And so really, enable abusive environments to thrive. It's a hard subject. And, you know, I want to write a book people want to read. So I've got to find a way to be, you know, I want to say Here's what we do, like here's where hope is because otherwise who wants to read a book that's such a downer? But I think we all need to be better educated about the realities out there so that we can be equipped to know what to do about them.Katherine: Mm hmm. Is there any Distinction made or is this part of the scope of the book where you're outlining just the difference between someone who experiences that sexual abuse and cover up within a spiritual context versus. Or, you know, Hollywood, is there a distinction made at all?Marie: Yeah. And, you know, a lot of the guests who came to my class, we asked them this and I asked [00:45:00] survivors this, I think so because so let me separate out Catholics and Protestants here because one, one big difference between, I think what Catholics are taught about priests and what Protestants are taught about ministers is the sort of stature of the priest.So traditionally Catholics were really taught that priests. It's were of a higher order, almost a human being, they, they had a sacramental status closer to God. They were the closest thing that anyone was going to get to God. And the kind of deference that that created is part of why children felt they couldn't tell if a priest abused them, because it was, this was God.And I think the damage for them, it was as if God Had done the abuse and that's very hard to get over and I've heard this from some Protestants, too I think evangelicals at least for me don't have quite the same, you know, the the pastor is still a human being He's perhaps been called, he's [00:46:00] got a calling.And so there's still, you know, a lot of deference given to him. But I thought when I started this project, okay, there's a difference in how pastors are viewed. But I am coming to realize that in a lot of these evangelical churches, It's pretty close to the same as the Catholics were taught that pastor.He's on a higher level And what he says, people believe there's been a lot of abuse of women working for churches. You probably know if I had a lesson for listeners right now, I would say if any pastor comes to you And asks you to come work for his church A red flag up in your mind because he, if, if the pastor needs a new church staff, they need to open the search.They need to go through HR. They need to have a whole process like companies have, like universities have not, you are being targeted. I think in many, many cases, if someone comes to you and says, Hey, you know, you're doing a great job in the church. Come work for me. I have heard so many [00:47:00] stories from women now.That's where it starts. Or, or maybe she was already being grouped, you know, she's come to the pastor for counseling, she's having difficulty in her marriage or some kind of difficulty with her children. And just, there's a certain kind of pastor who will target the vulnerable in that way.Now, let me say clearly the vast majority of pastors are not abusers, I definitely believe that. But. There, there are a lot more than I think most of us are aware of people or maybe that because once they reach that position of power, they become sort of convinced of their own authority in a way and they become abusive.I don't know the psychology of it. I don't know how all that works. But I think that's really critically important for people to, to recognize. Katherine: Absolutely. Yeah, and I would say like maybe the distinction between like the Catholicism, the elevation of a priest is it's elevated institutionally, whereas, at least what I have seen [00:48:00] when it's a pastor in that place they've sort of put themselves there, and it's not necessarily.Institutionally across the board, that's what the institution is pointing people towards, but they have managed to get into that position and created that for themselves. Marie: That's a very good point. I hadn't thought of that. And I think that's a very good point, but the ones who are best at it, they persuade everyone in the congregation that they deserve to be in that place.Right. But you're right. It's the kind of, the, the charismatic leader, you know, the Ravi Zacharias or, you know, at the local level, whatever, you know, person that is. But you're right. They managed to kind of accrue that charisma and that sense of leadership themselves. Katherine: Yeah, and maybe the institution comes after in terms of picking it up and not addressing it and not feeding into it.Chicken or egg. I don't know which comes first. Well, this has been really great and I'm just, I feel like there's so much more to talk about, [00:49:00] but I will wrap us up there. Is there anything else that you wanted to share as we Wrap up the interview part. Marie: No, I would only ask if anyone listening is interested in talking to me.I really am. I am trying to interview as many people as I can survivors, but also people who want to work for reform in the church and don't know how family members. friends of people that they worry are being abused. Counselors, anyone, if you are interested in speaking with me, my email is open. R. M. G.567 at gmail dot com. And I would welcome correspondence with people. I am willing for anyone who wants to be anonymous, to be anonymous. I'm keeping confidentiality from people. A lot of people have very good reason to be confidential. They have children. Sometimes an abuser is, is someone's spouse or ex spouse, and they really don't want their children to know, right?There's all kinds of reasons. And I'm sensitive to that and we want to protect anyone and not [00:50:00] re traumatize them. But yes, I welcome anyone to contact me who would be Katherine: interested and your timeline for. When they hear this episode versus when your book is coming out. So timing, when is, when are you hoping to finish?Marie: Well, I'm a scholar, not a journalist and scholarship is slow. So this book is going to be, you know, a few years in the making realistically. So it's not like I've got a deadline, you know, of the end of October or something, I I'm on leave all of this year, the 2023, 2024, I could. Here and Katherine: anytime. All right, great.And I will put that information in the show notes so people can easily access and thank you so much for your time and all of the work that you're doing. Marie: Thank you, Catherine, for all the work you do. Yeah, I love your work and you keep at it. Katherine: Thank you.Thank you so much. Uncertain is produced, recorded, edited, and hosted by me, Katherine Spearing. Intro music is [00:51:00] from the band Green Ashes. I hope you've enjoyed this podcast. And if you have, please take a moment to like subscribe and leave a review. Thank you so much for listening and I will see you next time.

This message continues the series Life in the Kingdom: the Sermon on the Mount, "Moral Combat." October 1, 2023. Pastor Sam Polson. Auditorium.

We are joined by the fraternal podcasting duo Zach Blaustone and Nathan Blaustone from the Moral Combat Podcast to take a wild ride through an unregulated theme park filled with giant monsters that a certain Mr. Meteor long ago decided should take a long nap. This classic doesn't disappoint upon close inspection and rewatch, and we all agree that this movie still holds up.Thanks again to Zach and Nathan Blaustone for joining us. You can see their wonderful Moral Combat podcast here:https://www.youtube.com/@MoralCombatPodcastThis Episode Features:Chuck StarzenskiLuc LondeZach BlaustoneNathan BlaustonePlease consider joining our Patreon for $5/mo and listen to our post show drivel and smack talking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grorg continues to fight his father in the duel of rights. One will win the duel, one will win the respect of the family, and that could be different orcs. Eloise and Quis try their best to aid their friend. Raner never gives up. And Grorg learns what it truly means to win.

Grorg continues to fight his father in the duel of rights. One will win the duel, one will win the respect of the family, and that could be different orcs. Eloise and Quis try their best to aid their friend. Raner never gives up. And Grorg learns what it truly means to win.

On today's show: 00 - Male birth control is almost a thing! 3:43 - Moral Combat about looking great at the gym and someone who wants to break up your relationship. 7:17 - Moral Combat PTII 11:02 - Y2K, what a time! something very fashionable is making a comeback. 14:59 - Will Caitlin 'Beat Backstage Ben'? 22:16 - 'Deals, Deals, Deals' DIY equipment to flights up to 50% off, and even the day to day staples that cost you more! 26:38 - 'Geddes Gossip' 30:00 - 3 Stars Of The Day

On today's show: 00 – Uber is letting you see behind the curtain with your rating!?! 4:06 – Meta Employees now have a new name, and it's not staffer or team member. 7:26 – ‘Dumb Local Criminal' – When you should have just taken the speeding ticket. 11:24 – ‘Moral Combat': Jeff received a small inheritance (a few hundred dollars) from his Oma, but with a catch. 15:40 – ‘Moral Combat' PTII 19:37 -  ‘Moral Combat' PTIII 23:38 – ‘Geddes Gossip': Ye's ex is trending for the wrong reasons. Pete Davidson is back on IG and for an interesting reason. 27:24 – Will Kelly ‘Beat Backstage Ben'?. 33:45 – ‘Deals, Deals, Deals' on Meat, Video Games, Fitness Equipment, and even an 88% deal on a lifetime subscription of the Calm App.

Matt Sanchez of the Moral Combat (no K) podcast drops by to introduce himself and talk about all the craziness involved in producing a 5-host, live - that's right, live - video inclusive podcast. Have I helped you today? Buy me a beer! https://buymeacoffee.com/tannerhelps (https://buymeacoffee.com/tannerhelps) Have a question for me? Submit it here: https://podinbox.com/podcastingsucks (https://podinbox.com/podcastingsucks) Reference Links from the EpisodeFollow the Moral Combat podcast [https://facebook.com/moralcombatpod (facebook)] [https://twitter.com/moralcombatpod (twitter)] [https://instagram.com/moralcombatpod (instagram)] Follow Matt on Twitch [http://twitch.tv/ntrlhattrick (link)]

OMAHA OMAHAAA...SET...HUT! Welcome to another episode of Reddit on Wiki, hosted by Sean! We're talking Canadian Football and we gotta shout out Dustin, from Sandman Stories Presents, for giving us the idea. We talk CFL vs NFL, Erik Marshall, and we have the loser of episode 8's Reddit Games reading some erotic fan fiction! This week's promo is from our friends at Moral Combat. You can find all their information at https://moralcombatpod.com/ (https://moralcombatpod.com/) Consider being a Patron! The biggest benefit to you Wikimaniacs is that we have a combined https://www.patreon.com/cultiv8podcastnetwork (Patreon)! Signing up for only $5 will not only get you access to this show a week early and ad-free, but it will also get you a week early and ad-free episodes of Let's Start A Cult and The Dumb, Found Dead! A god damn it that's not all because you will also get access to John's new series Kaba, where he dives into cryptids, spooky stories, and creep folklore. So sign up today and help support yuh bois in starting something fun and exciting! Become a Patreon for early episodes: https://www.patreon.com/redditonwiki (Patreon) Follow Us For Memes: https://twitter.com/redditonwiki (Twitter) https://www.instagram.com/redditonwiki/ (Instagram) https://www.tiktok.com/@redditonwikipod? (Tik Tok) https://www.redditonwiki.com/ (Website) RESOURCES https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_football (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_football) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Football_League (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Football_League) https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Top10-NFL-vs-CFL-Differences (https://howtheyplay.com/team-sports/Top10-NFL-vs-CFL-Differences) https://www.reddit.com/r/nevertellmetheodds/comments/b8pqon/during_halftime_at_a_cfl_game_a_fan_was_picked_to/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/nevertellmetheodds/comments/b8pqon/during_halftime_at_a_cfl_game_a_fan_was_picked_to/) https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/n4nz68/i_dont_think_as_baseball_fans_we_talk_enough/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/n4nz68/i_dont_think_as_baseball_fans_we_talk_enough/) https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/dt89gv/checkdown_raiders_db_erik_harris_was_a_d2_walkon/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/dt89gv/checkdown_raiders_db_erik_harris_was_a_d2_walkon/) https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/ayxozf/schneidman_erik_harris_went_from_lifethreatening/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/ayxozf/schneidman_erik_harris_went_from_lifethreatening/) https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/16/the-unlikely-rise-of-raiders-safety-erik-harris/ (https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/08/16/the-unlikely-rise-of-raiders-safety-erik-harris/) https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425773?view_adult=true (https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425773?view_adult=true) Mentioned in this episode: Cultiv8 Patreon Page If you want to help support this show join our Patreon to get access to episodes a week early and ad-free!

Sip along as Johnny and I count down our favorite moves with asian lead characters and actors. We'll also do some Sip Libs along the way! Please follow Johnny on Moral Combat and Filmlovers Guide to the Galaxy podcasts! https://goodpods.app.link/HUf2uIaJSjb https://goodpods.app.link/8WmF5HgJSjb You can find The Sip List on social media! https://www.thesiplistpodcast.com/ https://www.facebook.com/thesiplistpod https://www.instagram.com/thesiplistpod/ https://twitter.com/list_sip Merch Store: https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-sip-list-podcast music cred: Make love not war - Patino https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_dmlF5VHqk --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/amanda-kohlhofer/support

When it comes to Matt from the Moral Combat podcast, he is much more than the pop culture debates you see and hear on the show. His passion for creating the show, not just for himself, but for the Combat Crew that tunes in every episode shines through in this interview that will make you want to hop on over and listen in to one of their episodes. We talk podcasting, hockey and some D&D in this really inspiring interview.   Be sure to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/TheMYAMPodcast

Jay and Kay are hanging out with Matt from the Moral Combat podcast this week. Matt has some fun stories from past jobs: we talk food, customer service, office hi-jinx, and foul-mouthed grannies.Indie Podcast spotlight: Zed 1Send your workplace stories to fmwlpod@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail 310-818-3273Please subscribe, follow, rate, and review on your favorite podcast app! Find us on Podchaser,  Goodpods, and all major podcast platforms. For more fun content, follow us on Twitter, Tik Tok, IG & FB: @fmwlpodSupport our podcast by Buying Us a Beer!Sound effects and music obtained from https://www.zapsplat.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/fmwlpod)

Today's Show: Why living on a tree lined street is good for you, "Moral Combat" regarding dropping your wallet in the worst place possible. The weirdest field trip you ever went on, #GeddesGossip, will Jessica 'Beat Backstage Ben'? and Covid variant names are getting a different system as they're running out of letters/words.

In this episode we're hearing wedding bells as we prepare for our upcoming wedding and talk about you can possibly incorporate games into your special day. For our Shelfie we have some Quirky Circuits to program and for our Escape Room Report we return with special guest Matt Sanchez from Moral Combat to Escape Games Irvine with their version of Prison Break and we finish with a deep dive into our Friday Favorites. Music: Mega Rust by Twinmusicom.org

Rubber suits...check. McDonalds Flash Mob...check. Promised sequel that we're still waiting for...check. Join guest co-host Greg from Movie Date Night and Moral Combat and I as we go through all the 80's glory that is Mac And Me, find the nuggets of gold in this Coka-Cola-fueled adventure and prove to you that it's not that bad. Be sure to follow the podcast on Twitter at @notthatbadcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's Show: High Speed rail is coming to SWO!?! or not. "I Did Not Know That" about brushing your wrong. "Moral Combat" about Bluetooth Speaker rules in public, "Dumb Local Drivers" - what a bunch of weens, and "DEALS, DEALS, DEALS" with Jeff Kelly, saying you money on: Paint, Front door Nest locks, Steak, Tea, and massive spring clearance from The Bay.

Michaela hat sich einen Handheld PC von Valve reserviert. Das Teil heißt Steamdeck und soll eine tragbarer Gaming PC sein, der Zugriff auf die Bibliothek von Steam hat und soll ab Dezember 2021 erhältlich sein. Jeanette hat in letzter Zeit "Overcooked" gespielt, einem witzigen Game über kochen. Michaela hat die ersten Stunden mit dem Spiel Hades auf der Switch verbracht und sie findet es sehr schön gemacht und interessant.Jeanette spielt zur Zeit "BaBa is You" auf dem Handy, wobei das Game eine interessante Spielmechanik aufweist. Jeanette war nach langer Zeit wieder mal im Kino und konnte sich "Black Widow" anschauen. Bei Amazon hat sie eine lustige Serie geschaut, sie heißt "LOL" und dreht sich um Comedians. Weiter hat sie sich die letzte Folge von "Atypical" angeschaut sowie die Filme "Tomorrow Wars" und "Moral Combat". Zum Schluss berichtet Michaela noch, dass sie angefangen hatte, "Nier Automat" zu spielen, sowie "Bayonetta.

Today's Show: Roads are melting! "I Did Not Know That" features new info if you ditch this one thing, your overall health will improve. Playgrounds in 2021 are looking very different, "Moral Combat" makes return, Jeff had a dream where a friend died -- should he share this with the friend? and "Geddes Gossip" with Backstage Ben (the most boring famous couple gets married and ANOTHER Britney update)

A combo effort - from Thursday June 10 and weekly podcast mash-up. We chat the re-opening, Laura is the "Question Master", also -- Manitoba has a vaccine lottery, "Moral Combat" returns, and Jeff Kelly needs help with the A/C in his house.

On this episode of FLGTTG, we celebrate the 4th with all things Star Wars!  The guys discuss their first memories of the franchise, the games associated with the movies and finish off the episode with their top personal top five list! We also start the episode with a guest promo spot from our friends at Moral Combat!  You can check them out at www.moralcombatpod.com  

In this episode we Crown our OverR80's champion! We announce more details for the Hot Sauce Stream supporting Make-A-Wish on Dec. 12th 2020. This is the final episode for 2020 and all of us here at Moral Combat want to thank you for supporting us, we could not do any of this without all of you listeners! We will be back in January to kick off a new Tournament!

There's nobody better to kick off our new season — and "Plan Be" — than the man who helped inspire it: Citizen Baratunde, Executive Producer and Host of the hit podcast How to Citizen with Baratunde. Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston has been "citizening" since way back in high school (which we discuss). In addition to his podcast, check out his Ted Talk, and his New York Times bestselling book, How to Be Black. You can find all of that and more on his website: www.baratunde.comOVER ON THE WEBSITE>We've got a new website: www.anewnormalpodcast.com>This is where we will post show notes, transcripts and more. It's also the place to subscribe, rate, review and share the show and to sign up for our email newsletter.>If you've got a Be the Change story you'd like to share—or like for us to share—on the podcast, please get in touch with us via our contact form, which you can find here. SHOW NOTES>Cindy mentioned an episode of NPR's Hidden Brain podcast called Moral Combat. Listen to it here. >Here's links to some resources Cindy and I are using as we set up our Plan Be conversation project, as mentioned in the last part of this episode:The Listen First ProjectThe National Conversation Project>Another podcast we're enjoying that speaks to these themes and this time: To See Each OtherMUSIC>Slide guitar:  Thomas Robertson>Theme music: Fragilistic by Ketsalicensed under CC BY NC ND 4.0

Most of us have a clear sense of right and wrong. But what happens when we view politics through a moral lens? This week, we talk with psychologist Linda Skitka about how moral certainty can produce moral blinders — and endanger democracy. 

It’s the Movie Fantasy Draft Season 1 Finale! This week in Steve & Izzy from ‘Everything I Learned From Movies’, Johnny from ‘Moral Combat’ and Cullen from ‘I Want You To Watch This’ join the discussion of Roger Moore’s third Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are:-Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11 -Steve & Izzy from @EilfMovies

Snow vs. Teixeira vs. Mattingly who amongst these three are considered the best defensive first basemen from 1990 and beyond? Tommy, Brenden, and Derrick argue it out as Moral Combat host Matt Sanchez makes his verdict.

This week Cullen from ‘I Want You To Watch This’, Johnny from ‘Moral Combat’, and Matt from ‘Moral Combat’ join the discussion of Roger Moore’s fourth and most outrageous Bond film, Moonraker. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are: -Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod -Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11

This week Johnny from ‘Moral Combat’, Matt from ‘Moral Combat’ and Cullen from ‘I Want You To Watch This’ join the discussion of Roger Moore’s premiere James Bond adventure Live and Let Die. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are: -Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod -Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11

In this episode we’re joined by our special guest Matt from Moral Combat to talk about being a better Game/Dungeon Master. For the Dice Roll we talk elements that kill replayability, we have another virtual escape room with The Escape Game: TEG Digital and of course share our Friday Favorites. Music ‘Mega Rust’ by http:www.twinmusicom.org/ You can find Matt online at Moralcombatpod.com and @MoralCombatPod

This week Matt from ‘Moral Combat’, Cullen from ‘I Want You To Watch This’, and Johnny from ‘Moral Combat’ join the discussion of Roger Moore’s fifth Bond film For Your Eyes Only. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are: -Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod-Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11

Dr Patrick M. Markey, PhD, is a professor of psychology, the director of the Interpersonal Research Laboratory at Villanova University, and a former president of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research. Markey received his doctorate from the University of California. Dr Markey is the author of the science based books Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong and, coming soon, "F*ck Divorce. We discuss how violent games are used as an excuse for school shootings even when Dr Markey’s research for his book doesn’t support this direct influence that impacts a school shooters behaviour. There’s so much more to this conversation than blaming video games: mental health, racial differences, access to guns and overall wellbeing of the individual. We also discuss how recent research continues to compare social media to the addictive nature of heroin. Mention the word addiction when comparing games such as Fortnite or Social Media, the word addiction is not being used in the sense of true addiction. Dr Patrick Market can be found on Twitter @patmarkey Get Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong 

The book "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong" is one that provided clear and concise information about the history of flawed and agenda driven research against video games. This is a book that I encourage any educator who wants to become involved in esports to read and know backwards and forwards. It provides data and reasoning for when we are surely asked "don't violent video games make violent kids?" Published in 2017, the view on video games has changed dramatically. Dr. Chris Ferguson, Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, and one of the authors, was so kind to give his time to answer questions related to the book and discuss the changing landscape around the perceptions of video games in our society. -- Dr. Chris Ferguson (Website // Twitter) Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) -- Esports is organized competitive video games allowing schools to redefine their athletic culture, diversify opportunities for student participation, promote physical and mental health, increase collegiate scholarship pathways, and play games! We cannot forget the importance of play! James O'Hagan (LinkedIn // Twitter) is the Founder and Host of The Academy of Esports podcast. The Academy of Esports (Website // Twitter) You may email any questions or topic suggestions to contact@taoesports.com. -- Music provided Royalty Free "8 Bit Adventure!" Querky Fun Game Music by HeatleyBros iTunes: https://goo.gl/M3b16f Spotify: https://goo.gl/5SbVuk License: https://goo.gl/jadB5E Twitter: https://goo.gl/fKqyrj Facebook: https://goo.gl/PrsTvS --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/taoesports/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/taoesports/support

This week Steve & Izzy from ‘Everything I Learned From Movies’, Johnny from ‘Moral Combat’, Matt from ‘Moral Combat’ and Cullen from ‘I Want You To Watch This’ join the discussion of Roger Moore’s seventh and last Bond film A View to a Kill. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are: -Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod -Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11 -Steve & Izzy from @EilfMovies

Lucky #7 month in review with Jesse Miller. Almost halfway through 2020 - why does it feel like such a long year. So much stuff to chat about... Are we one screenshot away from losing our jobs (or NHL career)? Social media as a megaphone! We review May which had so much going on with social media posts, moderations, riots, pandemics, fake news and more. We live in truly crazy times. Is the future of social media paid? How the fitness app, Strava, made more freemium features available only for premium and pledging no ads and not sharing users' data. A brief discussion about violent games and an upcoming episode of Bench Banter with Dr Patrick Markey, co-author of the book Moral Combat.  Do you feel your voice in reflective in your community? This is an example of looking at timestamps on articles to make sure it is not something from the past that was reposted with the goal to incent reactions (both negative and positive). The Verge re-releases the same article from December 2019 in June 2020 to on How to fight lies, tricks, and chaos online. We need more ❤️ in the world. 

This week Johnny from , Matt from Moral Combat and Cullen from I Want You To Watch This join the discussion of Roger Moore’s second Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. You can find the full point breakdown for this and previous episodes of the draft online at Facebook & Twitter @MovieDateNight. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are: -Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT -Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod -Johnny from https://jngotopfive.blogspot.com/  @Jngo11

This week we are reviewing and scoring Octopussy. Unfortunately a few members of the draft were unable to make it to the recording due to various issues but we were still able to get together and record this episode with two Cullen from FlicksXrayed and Matt from Moral Combat. We will be releasing these episodes every other week on Saturday so stay tuned for future episodes but for now, please enjoy our conversations and scorings of Octopussy. Music by http://www.twinmusicom.org/ Guests for this episode are:-Cullen from I Want You To Watch This @IWYTWT-Matt from Moral Combat @MoralCombatPod

This is the first episode of Moral Combat, a podcast where we live by 1 rule......We argue, you vote! In this episode we introduce our hosts, reveal our first tournament topic and field of combatants, talk about our favorites and even get a call telling us we are already making grave mistakes! Finally we argue who should move forward in the first "Vote-in" rounds to try and write our first Cinderella story! Follow us on all social media platforms @moralcombatpod! Welcome, to Moral Combat!!!!

Our month in review covers a few hot topics that families are adjusting to with the COVID-19 (coronavirus) impact. From relaxing screen time limits so kids and adults can keep in touch with their family and friends, lack of kid activities after school and the indefinite postponement of school classes across North America. We ever discussed about violent games, such as old school originals like Doom and comparing to the newer ones. The biggest issue is how realistic the games look like but it never gave me violent tendencies. Plus, how can parents keep their kids busy with school work while at home. How not being able to visit and present to school, Jesse’s inbound feedback from parents has dried up. We also chat about how professional athletes are coping with this lock down such as the NBA having some of their players embrace eSports and how Zak Hyman from the Toronto Maple Leafs is inviting anyone to join him at Fortnite.  Lastly, as adults we are amazed at how kids can be fearless and carefree yet as they grow up, they seem to lose a bit of that. We love how many kids can easily express themselves online, via YouTube videos, selfies and more. Yet, I think society can force this change on our kids. Let's remind ourselves and our kids to "Dance like no one's watching". Dance can be replaced with any action!  Thanks for tuning in!  -Justin Payeur, Digital Wellbeing app cofounder  17:25: Zack Hyman, Toronto Maple Leafs Forward mention: Jesse’s current favorite player, smart guy but plays for his least favorite team but recently shared how he shared his time by inviting anybody to join him at Fortnite.   20:40: Violent games - We've played Doom growing up and occasional dab into the new and more realistic violent games like Call of Duty. None made us develop violent tendencies. Looking forward to have Patrick Markey, author of Moral Combat, on the podcast to discuss this in May!

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies.

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan's Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan's questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan’s Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan’s questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gerry Milligan's Moral Combat: Women, Gender and War in Italian Renaissance Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2018) takes as its subject the woman warrior in early modern Italy as she was and as she was represented across varied types of texts, both literary and historical. What emerges is a discursive construction of the role gender played in the concept of warfare during this time period. How are women depicted in relation to warfare? Are they non-combatant innocents protected by male warriors? If this is not (only) the case, how does the representation of the woman warrior illuminate men and masculinity in the Italian Renaissance? How are gender roles rewritten, challenged, and reaffirmed in the texts under consideration? How do the figures of the virago and the woman warrior resonate with 21st century gender norms? These are some of Milligan's questions, as well as some of the topics, we consider in this podcast. Ellen Nerenberg is a founding editor of g/s/i-gender/sexuality/Italy and reviews editor of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies. Recent scholarly essays focus on serial television in Italy, the UK, and North America; masculinities in Italian cinema and media studies; and student filmmakers. Her current book project is La nazione Winx: coltivare la future consumista/Winx Nation: Grooming the Future Female Consumer, a collaboration with Nicoletta Marini-Maio (forthcoming, Rubbettino Editore, 2020). She is President of the American Association for Italian Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey game this is the in my mind segment and this morning I talk about the character jax’s ending in mortal Kombat 11. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/latefortheparty/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/latefortheparty/support

The book "Moral Combat" (2017) by Patrick M. Markey, PhD, and Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD, provides excellent information and details refuting the notion that violent video games lead to violence. In this episode, James goes through some of his key take aways from the book. Not mentioned in the podcast is the tremendous number of violent video games sold in Japan, more than anywhere else in the world per person, and yet they have one of the lowest crime rates in the world. -- Buy the book on Amazon The Milgram Experiment -- Esports is organized competitive video games allowing schools to redefine their athletic culture, diversify opportunities for student participation, promote physical and mental health, increase collegiate scholarship pathways, and play games! We cannot forget the importance of play! James O'Hagan (LinkedIn // Twitter) is the Founder and Host of The Academy of Esports podcast. The Academy of Esports (Website // Twitter) You may email any questions or topic suggestions to contact@taoesports.com. -- Music provided Royalty Free "8 Bit Adventure!" Querky Fun Game Music by HeatleyBros iTunes: https://goo.gl/M3b16f Spotify: https://goo.gl/5SbVuk License: https://goo.gl/jadB5E Twitter: https://goo.gl/fKqyrj Facebook: https://goo.gl/PrsTvS --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/taoesports/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/taoesports/support

1 Corinthians 5: 1-13

The follow-up live public conversation Q&R (Question & Response) time.

From birth control and abortion, to sexual harassment and sex education, R. Marie Griffith's most recent work Moral Combat is a sweeping historical account of the people and ideas that shaped how American Christianity taught, lived, and legislated sex over the last hundred years. We have asked Dr. Griffith to come share on the topic "Moral Combat: How Sex Formed and Fractured American Christianity" to help us better understand Christianity's past ideas of sex in relation with power, gender, race, education, etc. Perhaps we can then forge a redemptive and life giving way forward.

This month, we welcome back friend-of-the-show Ann Duncan to talk about the 2017-18 Supreme Court season, including Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, NIFLA v. Becerra, and Trump v. Hawaii. She helps us understand why this was such a good year for conservatives in terms of the Court's religion cases, and scopes out what soon-to-be Justice Kavanaugh portends for the terms to come. And in One Last Thing, Dan has been spending his summer at the movie house, while Tim has been catching up on Chinese science fiction. Some of the things we discuss in this episode: Ann mentioned Moral Combat by Marie Griffith and this article by Winnifred Sullivan. Here's a case summary of Korematsu v. US, which many (including the dissenting justices) compared to the ruling in Trump v. Hawaii. Dan's OLT was about Deadpool 2 (trailer NSFW) and The Incredibles 2. And Tim's OLT was about The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin. 0:00-1:05 Introduction 1:05-50:40: Duncan interview 50:45-53:02: Dan's OLT 53:03-55:33: Tim's OLT 55:33-56:38: Credits

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press.

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

Marie Griffith‘s new book Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (Basic Books, 2017) offers a portrait of how religious views regarding sexuality became entangled with multiple political debates including those over feminism, gay rights, sex education and in charges of communism and secular humanism. Beginning with the controversies over birth control in the 1920s, she takes us through the twentieth century to the most recent battles over same-sex marriage dividing American Christians both politically and religiously. Moral Combat features pivotal figures including, birth control advocate Margaret Sanger, the fundamentalist radio preacher Billy James Hargis and the first gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. She demonstrates how pro and con positions were not always clearly defined and adherents could change sides in a matter of a decade, finding surprising allies. In the new millennium two distinct religious visions for society and human sexuality had taken root unraveling any hope of consensus. Marie Griffith is the John C. Danforth Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis where she directs the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. This episode of New Books in Gender Studies was produced in cooperation with the Society for U.S. Intellectual History. Lilian Calles Barger is a cultural, intellectual and gender historian. Her current book project is entitled The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology, forthcoming in 2018 from Oxford University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  - Many of the stories we hear about the video games influencing acts of mass violence are exaggerated or incorrect - The flaws of the research pointing to violent content as a cause of actual violence - How video games and other media can incidentally lower violence - Guests Dr. Patrick Markey and Dr. Christopher Ferguson discuss their book and research that runs against the tide of popular opinion about the harmful effects of video games   Links - Dr. Christopher Ferguson's website - Dr. Patrick Markey - Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong - LOOT   +++++++   About +7 Intelligence   +7 Intelligence is the podcast about how games impact people. Each episode explores a different perspective on how games profoundly influence the real world. Interviews with game designers, psychologists, professionals, and everyday players discuss the unique way that games influence their life and work.   +++++++   Listen to the show:   Apple Podcasts | Android | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Play | Radiopublic RSS feed   Find the show online: +7 Intelligence Website On Twitter: @7_Intelligence On Facebook: @plus7intelligence +7 Intelligence is a member of the Podglomerate network.   +++++++   Music by Creo Epilogue by Creo is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subtweeting is all the rage these days. And no, we don't mean tweeting from a Subway. Rae Sterling, writer and twitter role-player, joins us this week to talk about how (and why) passive-aggressiveness crops up in online gaming spaces. Join us this week to learn more about Twitter roleplay, the benefit and detriment of anonymity on the internet, and the toxic effects of passive-aggression on community-building.  While the anonymity of the internet is what has allowed Rae to really delve deep into the cathartic (and often therapeutic)  world of role-play, Rae thinks that anonymity also makes space for people to dredge up the worst part of themselves in the form of trolling, pile-ons, and emotional abuse. Subtweeting and vaguebooking is a way that a lot of folks deal with the fear of internet aggression, but these indirect forms of communication wind up creating toxic play spaces. Subtweeting, indirectly tweeting something about someone without mentioning their name (even though it's KIND OF clear who the person tweeting is referring to), can have surprisingly devastating effects on individuals and communities. Add in an anxiety disorder? The effects become ten-fold! This episode is part four in Gaming Broad(ly)'s series on violence and video games. Continuing from previous conversations, this week we look at how just the FEAR of violence in online gaming spaces causes ripple effects that impact even our conversations and interpersonal relationships. For the full conversation, start with “Episode 10: Moral Combat—Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong” with researchers Chris Ferguson and Patrick Markey on the (lack of) data about video games causing real life acts of violence, followed by “Episode 11: Why Are You So Angry?”, with Ian Danskin of Innuendo Studios, to learn more about why folks get so, well, aggressive about making sure games stay violent. Part three will bring you to "Episode 12: Why Are You Afraid of Virtual Reality?" with Gijs Molsbergen for a discussion on virtual reality, violence and trauma, and the responsibility of VR advocates to make psychologically healthy and enjoyable VR experiences. Rae Sterling (they/them) is a gender adjacent in-progress writer of both comics and prose based in Austin, Texas. In their spare time, they work full time at Austin Books and Comics and at reading more than your daily suggested serving of comics to keep up with the ever-moving world. They participate in online role-playing on Twitter and Tumblr, play Overwatch, and describe themselves as "bad at video games". Their passions include speaking loudly and to whomever will listen about both LGBT+ comic books, diversity in comics, and the importance of all-ages comics in the lives of young readers. In Austin, Rae is working hard to become a source of information to both schools and parents for all-ages graphic novels and comic books. Stuff we mentioned...Slime RancherDream DaddyOverwatchFighting Games (like Moral Combat, Tekken, etc.)Twitter RoleplayTumblr RoleplayShadow BanningVaguebookingSubtweetingPassive-aggressive behavior JD (The Broad)Website: GamingBroadly.comTwitter: @JayDeeCepticonInstagram: @JayDeeCepticon Rae Stirling (The Cast)Twitter: @dragonosaurusWebsite: Genretastic.com Gaming Broad(cast) is the official podcast of GamingBroadly.com. Thank you to everyone who has liked, subscribed, and commented about Gaming Broad(cast) on Apple Podcasts! You can also follow this podcast on Spotify, Podbean, Stitcher, Google Music, or subscribe directly using our RSS feed. Want some gamey goodness in your email inbox? Sign up for some occasional(ly) playful newsletter updates. Thanks to Los Kurados for the use of their song "Rojo Y Azul" for the intro and outro music of our podcast.

In a time of nation-wide unrest and division, it's surprising to hear that politicians from both sides of the aisle are united on one thing: violent video games are bad and must be stopped. Blamed for everything from school shootings, suicide, and even rickets, video games have been shouldering the burden for our society’s ills for a long time now (or, at the very least, ever since comic books and ozzy osbourne have taken a back seat as the source of all evil). Politicians, pundits, and even psychologists, are quick to point a finger at the guns in video games in order to make sense of the guns in the hands of real life people, especially when those guns are in the hands of school shooters. But is playing too much Call of Duty really causing killing sprees? Christopher Ferguson and Patrick Markey are two psychology experts who have been on the front line of the violent video game debate for years. Their new book, Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong, debunks the stark picture media, politicians, and other personalities tend to paint in order to sway public opinion about the impact of gaming. In this episode, with complete honesty and extensive research, the informative (and often entertaining) Ferguson and Markey duo lays the data out on the table to reframe the conversation on the real life effects of gaming. Patrick M. Markey is a professor of psychology, the director of the Interpersonal Research Laboratory at Villanova University, and a former president of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research. Markey received his doctorate from the University of California. Chris Ferguson is professor of psychology and director of the Psychotechnology Lab at Stetson University as well as a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He has a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Central Florida. This episode kicks off Gaming Broad(cast)'s new mini series exploring the relationship between violence and video games.  Stuff we mentioned...Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is WrongAmerican Psychological AssociationAPA Review in 2015 Confirms Link Between Playing Violent Video Games and AggressionHillary Clinton on video game violence (comparing it to lung cancer)James Dallas Egbert III (Michigan State University student whose suicide was blamed on Dungeons & Dragons)Mazes and Monsters with Tom HanksAssassin’s Creed 4The families of Columbine victims sue the makers of DOOM, blaming them for tragedyLeland Yee (politician against violent video games, later charged with real life arms trafficking)Proof that Chris really did meet with Former Vice President Joe Biden and talked about video gamesHilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump on the same page when it comes to gamesGames for ChangeTransfer of LearningThe Oregon Trail (video game)  JD (The Broad)Website: GamingBroadly.comTwitter: @JayDeeCepticonInstagram: @JayDeeCepticon Patrick M. Markey, PhD (The Cast)Website:PatrickMarkey.comTwitter:@PatMarkey Christopher J. Ferguson, PhD (The Cast)Website: ChristopherJFerguson.comTwitter: @CJFerguson1111 Gaming Broad(cast) is the official podcast of GamingBroadly.com. Thank you to everyone who has liked, subscribed, and commented about Gaming Broad(cast) on Apple Podcasts! You can also follow this podcast on Spotify, Podbean, Stitcher, Google Music, or subscribe directly using our RSS feed. Want some gamey goodness in your email inbox? Sign up for some occasional(ly) playful newsletter updates. Thanks to Los Kurados for the use of their song "Rojo Y Azul" for the intro and outro music of our podcast.

In family rooms across America, millions of children and teenagers are playing video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto, roaming violent virtual worlds—with virtual guns in their hands. In what sometimes seems like an increasingly violent world, it's only natural to worry about the effects of all this pixelated gore. But is that concern misplaced? Authors and psychologists Patrick M. Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson say it is.  

In family rooms across America, millions of children and teenagers are playing video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto, roaming violent virtual worlds—with virtual guns in their hands. In what sometimes seems like an increasingly violent world, it's only natural to worry about the effects of all this pixelated gore. But is that concern misplaced? Authors and psychologists Patrick M. Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson say it is.  

In family rooms across America, millions of children and teenagers are playing video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo, and Grand Theft Auto, roaming violent virtual worlds—with virtual guns in their hands. In what sometimes seems like an increasingly violent world, it's only natural to worry about the effects of all this pixelated gore. But is that concern misplaced? Authors and psychologists Patrick M. Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson say it is.  

My guests on this episode are Dr. Chris Ferguson and Dr. Patrick Markey, the authors of the new book Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games is Wrong. We talk about why people tend to blame violent video games for all kinds of things, the state of the research, morality and games, and some of the reasons why games are actually good for you.About the podcast:Previous episodesBuy the Moral Combat book on Amazon

My guest for today is Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson. She’s the author of many books, including Moral Combat, Godless Americana, and the new novel White Nights, Black Paradise, which is a fictional account of the Jonestown massacre. She also contributes to the blog Black Skeptics, which can be found on FreethoughtBlogs. Today we’re gonna talk about her life, her books, and her work. Links:·         Sikivu Hutchinson’s website: http://sikivuhutchinson.com/   ·         Black Fem Lens: http://blackfemlens.org/   ·         Black Skeptics Los Angeles: http://blackskepticsla.org/   ·         Black Skeptics blog on Freethought Blogs: http://freethoughtblogs.com/blackskeptics/   ·         Ashley F. Miller’s Reason Rally blog post: http://freethoughtblogs.com/ashleymiller/2016/01/15/reason-rally-2016-71-minority-and-89-white/   ·         Promoting Secular Feminism: http://www.promotingsecularfeminism.com/   ·         Shift to Reason conference: http://lanyrd.com/2016/shifttoreason/   ·         Dream Youth: http://dreamyouth.bandcamp.com   ·         Asher Silberman: http://www.ashersilberman.com/   ·         My Twitter: http://twitter.com/tmamone   ·         Bi Any Means on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bianymeanspodcast   ·         Listener line: 410-690-3558   ·         My Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/tmamone   ·         Bi Any Means Blog: http://www.bianymeans.com  

In this episode, Kim Ellington speaks with author and activist Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson about her latest book, "White Nights, Black Paradise", and the state of race in America today. Later, Peggy Knudtson speaks with Dr. Richard Carrier about the “evidence” of miracles. Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson is an American feminist, atheist and author. She is the author of "Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels" (2013), "Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars" (2011), and "Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Travel Writing Across the Disciplines)" (2003). Moral Combat is the first book on atheism to be published by an African-American woman. In 2013 she was named Secular Woman of the year. Dr. Richard Carrier is a world-renowned author and speaker. As a professional historian, published philosopher, and prominent defender of the American freethought movement, Dr. Carrier has appeared across the U.S., Canada and the U.K., and on American television and London radio, defending sound historical methods and the ethical worldview of secular naturalism.

Please join us as we welcome Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, author of Moral Combat, to discuss her new book, "Godless Americana" and social justice. The call-in number is 310-982-4273. You can also Skype into the show by clicking the big, blue S during the broadcast. You can also set a reminder for yourself by clicking the link, clicking reminder and set for a time most convenient for you. Time: 10AM PST/NOON CST/1PM EST.  

This is the original interview uncut. Please join us as we welcome Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, author of Moral Combat, to discuss her new book, "Godless Americana" and social justice. The call-in number is 310-982-4273. You can also Skype into the show by clicking the big, blue S during the broadcast. You can also set a reminder for yourself by clicking the link, clicking reminder and set for a time most convenient for you. Time: 10AM PST/NOON CST/1PM EST.  

Sikivu Hutchinson‘s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011) is a brave examination of African American religious perspectives vis a vis progressive racial politics, gender relations, and cultural values. She tackles uncomfortable questions about the possibly excessive role of religiosity among African Americans, especially woman. And she wonders even as she offers a critique about the abundance of storefront churches in communities that need essential resources. Why so many churches? Why so few activist cultural institutions? A prolific cultural critic and writer, Hutchinson received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has taught women’s studies, cultural studies, urban studies and education at UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and Western Washington University. She is also the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Lang, 2003) and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report, Free Inquiry and American Atheist Magazine. She is the editor of blackfemlens.org and a senior fellow for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Readers can also look forward to the publication of her latest project, Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels. But for now, enjoy our conversation about Moral Combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sikivu Hutchinson‘s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011) is a brave examination of African American religious perspectives vis a vis progressive racial politics, gender relations, and cultural values. She tackles uncomfortable questions about the possibly excessive role of religiosity among African Americans, especially woman. And she wonders even as she offers a critique about the abundance of storefront churches in communities that need essential resources. Why so many churches? Why so few activist cultural institutions? A prolific cultural critic and writer, Hutchinson received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has taught women’s studies, cultural studies, urban studies and education at UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and Western Washington University. She is also the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Lang, 2003) and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report, Free Inquiry and American Atheist Magazine. She is the editor of blackfemlens.org and a senior fellow for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Readers can also look forward to the publication of her latest project, Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels. But for now, enjoy our conversation about Moral Combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sikivu Hutchinson‘s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011) is a brave examination of African American religious perspectives vis a vis progressive racial politics, gender relations, and cultural values. She tackles uncomfortable questions about the possibly excessive role of religiosity among African Americans, especially woman. And she wonders even as she offers a critique about the abundance of storefront churches in communities that need essential resources. Why so many churches? Why so few activist cultural institutions? A prolific cultural critic and writer, Hutchinson received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has taught women's studies, cultural studies, urban studies and education at UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and Western Washington University. She is also the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Lang, 2003) and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report, Free Inquiry and American Atheist Magazine. She is the editor of blackfemlens.org and a senior fellow for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Readers can also look forward to the publication of her latest project, Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels. But for now, enjoy our conversation about Moral Combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Sikivu Hutchinson‘s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011) is a brave examination of African American religious perspectives vis a vis progressive racial politics, gender relations, and cultural values. She tackles uncomfortable questions about the possibly excessive role of religiosity among African Americans, especially woman. And she wonders even as she offers a critique about the abundance of storefront churches in communities that need essential resources. Why so many churches? Why so few activist cultural institutions? A prolific cultural critic and writer, Hutchinson received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has taught women’s studies, cultural studies, urban studies and education at UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and Western Washington University. She is also the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Lang, 2003) and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report, Free Inquiry and American Atheist Magazine. She is the editor of blackfemlens.org and a senior fellow for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Readers can also look forward to the publication of her latest project, Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels. But for now, enjoy our conversation about Moral Combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sikivu Hutchinson‘s book Moral Combat: Black Atheists, Gender Politics, and the Values Wars (Infidel Books, 2011) is a brave examination of African American religious perspectives vis a vis progressive racial politics, gender relations, and cultural values. She tackles uncomfortable questions about the possibly excessive role of religiosity among African Americans, especially woman. And she wonders even as she offers a critique about the abundance of storefront churches in communities that need essential resources. Why so many churches? Why so few activist cultural institutions? A prolific cultural critic and writer, Hutchinson received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and has taught women’s studies, cultural studies, urban studies and education at UCLA, the California Institute of the Arts and Western Washington University. She is also the author of Imagining Transit: Race, Gender, and Transportation Politics in Los Angeles (Lang, 2003) and has published fiction, essays and critical theory in Social Text, California English, Black Agenda Report, Free Inquiry and American Atheist Magazine. She is the editor of blackfemlens.org and a senior fellow for the Institute for Humanist Studies. Readers can also look forward to the publication of her latest project, Godless Americana: Race and Religious Rebels. But for now, enjoy our conversation about Moral Combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices