Podcasts about Religion Dispatches

This week, author and journalist Annika Brockschmidt joins John to talk about the perception of the American Christian Right in Europe, the possibly intentional downplaying of Christian Nationalism in Trump 2.0, and Pete Hegseth's tattoos. Annika Brockschmidt studied History, German Studies, and War and Conflict Studies in Heidelberg, Durham and Potsdam. She is a freelance journalist and author, Worked for the capital city studio of German public-broadcaster ZDF and produces the podcasts “Kreuz und Flagge” And “Feminist Shelf Control”. She is senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches and writes for example for German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel, German online magazine Zeit Online, Frankfurt-based daily Frankfurter Rundschau, Swiss online magazine Republik, and German cross-regional weekly Der Freitag. Her Book “Amerikas Gotteskrieger. Über die Macht der Religiösen Rechten in den USA” (American Holy Warriors. The Power of the Religious Right in the USA) was a bestseller in 2021. Annika is on Bluesky @ardenthistorian.bsky.social  

Following Episode 4 on Propaganda, we take aim at a crucial evangelical pillar: patriarchy. Patriarchy designed specifically around religious convictions to ultimately control the bodies of women and children. It’s also a tool to support authoritarian leadership explaining the rationale behind why evangelicals overwhelmingly support authoritarian governments: it’s what they practice in their own churches. Episode 5 welcomes three exciting guests. Cait West, author of Rift, opens our conversation by sharing her story growing up in the Christian Patriarchy Movement. CPM has developed an enterprise that pulls in billions of dollars in revenue from their materials overtly supporting the values of Christian patriarchy. Cait shares her journey escaping what she would ultimately describe as a cult, but in reality looks like a lot of conservative churches out there. How to attune to your bodies and trust your intuition are two important attributes for folks still stuck in the clutches of malformed churches. Liz Cooledge Jenkins is my second guest. She is the author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. We discuss how evangelical churches hide their patriarchy; how they might look ‘cool’ on the outside, but in fact operate with the same tools of patriarchy behind the veil. Finally, DL Mayfield returns from Episode 4 to conclude a conversation about patriarchy and the intersections of white supremacy with eugenics. “There is no finish line to healing even though we want to be in a place where you’re perfectly happy. And there is a lot of resources now to minimize symptoms and heal from it. What worked for me was trauma therapy, which is different than talk therapy….” Cait West “[In patriarchy] there’s encouragement to not trust your gut, and encouragement not to talk to other women about unequal power structures.” Liz Jenkins “America has this horrific history of white supremacist patriarchal aims including in the realm of eugenics.” D.L. Mayfield Episode 5 – Chapters (00:00) – Introduction (04:40) – Introducing Cait West (09:20) – The size of Christian Patriarchy Movement including Goddard, IBL, Vision Form…. (12:20) – How to notice all that ain’t right in churches that love patriarchy. (18:00) – Pathways of healing from religious patriarchy. (30:00) – Introducing Liz Jenkins (32:00) – Chatting about patriarchy that’s not so ‘in your face’. (36:30) – Culture problems in parachurch and socialization. (40:20) – Returning to a conversation with DL Mayfield. (42:00) – DL on eugenics. (46:00) – DL Mayfield teasing out aspects of liberation from malformed intersections of patriarchy. (54:30) – Outro Featuring your host, Rohadi (from Rohadi.com). Rohadi’s books can be found here, including his latest publication, When We Belong. Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins. Special guests in Episode 5: Cait West – Author of Rift. A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy Cait West lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawaii Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Find out more. Substack | Instagram | TikTok Liz Jenkins – Author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy. If you’d like to read more, check out her now-occasional blog, her Substack, and/or her book Nice Churchy Patriarchy. Find Liz via Instagram: @lizcoolj and @postevangelicalprayers. Author/Podcaster – D.L. Mayfield D.L. Mayfield (they/them) is a podcaster and author. After a decade of writing for Christian spaces, they now write primarily about issues of neurodivergence and healing from high-control religion. D.L. and their partner Krispin Mayfield are currently working on a multimedia publishing project entitled STRONGWILLED, which is available on Substack. You can read along here. Bumper music by Daniel Wheat.

One week in, Sam talks with Chrissy Stroop, Senior Correspondent for Religion Dispatches, and co-founder of The Fly Trap. Subscribe to Chrissy's Substack: https://www.bugbeardispatch.com/. Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT, join us for a Patron-only Zoom discussion with historian Paul Street & host of the pod Sam Goldman, to discuss Trump's first 10 days and ways we can refuse fascism together. See link to register at our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/refusefascism. The Inauguration song by Jesse Welles on YouTube. Follow Jesse at wellesmusic.com. Resources: Refuse Fascism merch including stickers and beanies ⁠⁠⁠⁠Refuse Fascism T-Shirts and Hoodies ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠In the Name of Humanity We REFUSE to Accept a FASCIST America T-Shirts and Hoodies (white ink on colored options)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ In the Name of Humanity We REFUSE to Accept a FASCIST America T-Shirts and Hoodies (black ink on colored options)⁠⁠⁠⁠ Signs & Banners Refuse Fascism Mission Statement Defend & Recruit Playbook Immigration Know Your Rights Resources Send your comments to samanthagoldman@refusefascism.org or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@SamBGoldman⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and find her on TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@samgoldmanrf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Record ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a voice message for the show here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with the movement at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠RefuseFascism.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and support: · ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/refusefascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠paypal.me/refusefascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ · ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠donate.refusefascism.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown

This week's guest is Lucas Wilson (he/him). Lucas is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy, which features personal essays written by survivors about their experience in Conversion Therapy (CT). Lucas is also a survivor of CT and this is the focus of our conversation today - his own personal journey as a survivor of conversion therapy, and his experience studying and knowing the experiences of other survivors. This conversation includes discussion of conversion therapy, religious trauma and mentions of sexual abuse. We also talk about what it means to heal and liberate after these experiences. About the guest:Lucas Wilson is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto Mississauga and was formerly the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy (out January 21st!), and he is the author of At Home with the Holocaust: Postmemory, Domestic Space, and Second-Generation Holocaust Literature, which received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award. His public-facing writing has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues. He is currently working on two interrelated monograph projects that examine evangelical homophobia and transphobia in the U.S.Pre-order Shame-Sex Attraction HERE.Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilsonThreads: @lukeslamdunkwilsonBluesky: @lukeslamdunkwilson.bsky.socialTwitter/X: @wilson_fwLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-wilson-2a0753b1/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luke.wilson.96For more, visit www.secondadolescencepod.com and @secondadolescencepod (IG).

In this contemplative practice, Samir Knego invites us to embrace the ordinary act of cooking as a time for contemplation. In "⁠It Shall Be Food for You: A Brief Cooking Meditation⁠," Samir guides us through the process of cooking dried black beans, prompting us to thoughtfully consider our actions in each step, and to use times of waiting to reflect on God's process of creation in Genesis. Samir Knego spends his days photographing archival materials and thinking about the past. His essays, poems, and visual art have appeared all over the place, including in Religion Dispatches, Anti-Racism Daily, and Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, and he has had solo shows at the Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery, Art Therapy Institute of NC, and Eno Arts Mill Gallery.

We are survivors. We were subjected to dehumanizing practices by people who sought our erasure. We believe telling our stories is both powerful and political. Shame Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025) is an edited collection that brings together the experiences of those who have been subjected to queer conversion therapy - it is an effort to expose conversion practices for what they are - pseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic - and to recognise and listen to survivors. With contributions from Gregory Elsasser-Chavez, Chaim J. Levin, Lexie Bean, Syre Klenke, and many more from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum - this is an attempt to ensure that what happened within these pages cannot - and will not - happen to future generations. Lucas Wilson is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto Mississauga and was formerly the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy. He is also the author of At Home with the Holocaust: Postmemory, Domestic Space, and Second-Generation Holocaust Literature, which received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award. His public-facing writing has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues. He is currently working on two interrelated monograph projects that examine evangelical homophobia and transphobia in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

We are survivors. We were subjected to dehumanizing practices by people who sought our erasure. We believe telling our stories is both powerful and political. Shame Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025) is an edited collection that brings together the experiences of those who have been subjected to queer conversion therapy - it is an effort to expose conversion practices for what they are - pseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic - and to recognise and listen to survivors. With contributions from Gregory Elsasser-Chavez, Chaim J. Levin, Lexie Bean, Syre Klenke, and many more from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum - this is an attempt to ensure that what happened within these pages cannot - and will not - happen to future generations. Lucas Wilson is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto Mississauga and was formerly the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy. He is also the author of At Home with the Holocaust: Postmemory, Domestic Space, and Second-Generation Holocaust Literature, which received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award. His public-facing writing has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues. He is currently working on two interrelated monograph projects that examine evangelical homophobia and transphobia in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

We are survivors. We were subjected to dehumanizing practices by people who sought our erasure. We believe telling our stories is both powerful and political. Shame Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025) is an edited collection that brings together the experiences of those who have been subjected to queer conversion therapy - it is an effort to expose conversion practices for what they are - pseudoscientific, bogus, ineffective, and wildly traumatic - and to recognise and listen to survivors. With contributions from Gregory Elsasser-Chavez, Chaim J. Levin, Lexie Bean, Syre Klenke, and many more from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum - this is an attempt to ensure that what happened within these pages cannot - and will not - happen to future generations. Lucas Wilson is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Toronto Mississauga and was formerly the Justice, Equity, and Transformation Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary. He is the editor of Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors' Stories of Conversion Therapy. He is also the author of At Home with the Holocaust: Postmemory, Domestic Space, and Second-Generation Holocaust Literature, which received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award. His public-facing writing has appeared in The Advocate, Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Religion Dispatches, among other venues. He is currently working on two interrelated monograph projects that examine evangelical homophobia and transphobia in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

This week we return to the Vault and have only one question: IS THERE A CAVE?Two scholars ready to get medieval on us all: Thomas Lecaque and John Wyatt Greenlee.  We're celebrating the great epic that wasn't: The 13th Warrior. This movie is so good and so bad at the same time that it's hard to quantify. But we're gonna do it anyway. We're talking Vikings, the Abassid Empire, man-bears, and maybe the greatest language scene in film history. Grab some mead, because it's made from honey, just like this podcast.About our guests:Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others.John Wyatt Greenlee is  a medievalist and a cartographic historian.His academic research is primarily driven by questions of how people perceive and reproduce their spaces:  how movement through the world — both experiential and imagined — becomes codified in visual and written maps.  

Charlotte Dalwood has written a fantastic new book, Until at Dawn We Wake, (Now Available from Quoir publishing) which takes us on a revealing, bold, raw journey through the experience of psychosis, gender dysphoria, and Christian faith. In this bold, honest conversation, Charlotte shares her journey with us and how it has urged her to reexamine creation, sin, and redemption. We cover a wide range of territory, including disability theory, anti-carceral politics, feminism, and how our theology might be shaped by the ongoing abuse crisis plaguing American churches. Charlotte Dalwood a commentator on Canadian constitutional law, 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and religion. Her monthly column for Rabble.ca appears on the third Monday of each month. She also regularly writes for Xtra Magazine, and her work has appeared in in CBC News, Religion Dispatches, and Sojourners. Until At Dawn We Wake is her first book. Charlotte's scholarly research spans the fields of law, religion, and contemporary critical theory. She also blogs at The Ends of Justice about administrative and constitutional law.Find your guides at Quoir Academy! If you've ever deconstructed your faith you know it's not easy. But just imagine if you could have people to guide you through your process? People like, Jim Palmer, Kristin Du Mez, Jennifer Knapp, Brad Jersak, Brian Zahnd, Paul Young, and more? Well, if you head over to Quoir Academy and register for SQUARE 2 using the Promo Code [RAD] you'll get 10% off the regular registration cost of this awesome course and community just for being a fan of our show. Follow this registration link: https://www.bk2sq1.com/square-2-next-steps-into-reconstruction?coupon=RAD

In our final episode of Season 1, we are joined by Sarah A. Bowen, an animal chaplain and a co-founder of Compassion Consortium―the first interfaith, interspiritual, and interspecies community for people who care about and advocate for animals and the planet―where she leads the Animal Chaplaincy Training program. She also companions animals through death, creates sacred memorial rituals, counsels humans grieving animal loss, and advocates for exploited and endangered species in both religious and secular contexts. An RNS Vatican News Reporter featured her response to Pope Francis's suggestion that having pets is selfish.  An award-winning author, her latest book is Sacred Sendoffs: An Animal Chaplain's Advice for Surviving Animal Loss, Making Life Meaningful, & Trying to Heal the Planet  (Monkfish Publishing). A columnist on animal/human relationships for Spirituality & Health magazine, Bowen's work has also appeared in Parabola, Tricycle, Religion Dispatches, Psychology Today, and Animal Culture Magazine, ​​A passionate speaker and teacher, Bowen has presented for the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, Parliament of the World's Religions, Spiritual Directors International, Best Friends National Conference, and the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab. Sarah is also an academic dean at One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, where she encourages emerging clergy to align their spiritual values with animal and planetary welfare.  Sarah holds a BA in Human Ecology from Michigan State University, MA in Religious Studies from Chicago Theological Seminary, was ordained through One Spirit Interfaith Seminary, completed Emerson Theological's Passmore Animal Chaplain Program, and is joyfully engaged in postgraduate research in Humane Religious Studies and Anthrozoology. You can find her: Instagram @modernreverend Website: https://www.sacredsendoffs.com/ And in so many other places!  Do YOU want to be an animal communicator? Email us at info@theanimalcommunicationpodcast.com and ask to be alerted to the Black Friday deals our teacher, Danielle MacKinnon, will be announcing later this week! Meet the hosts- Julie Hirt is a Certified Soul Level Animal Communicator®, Certified Heart Animal Soul Professional Communicator, Certified Soul Level Intuitive Coach® and Certified Spirit Animal Sacred Alchemy Practitioner. She writes the column “Trust the Animals” on Substack and is a teaching assistant for the Danielle MacKinnon School. Julie is also the Social Media Director for The Animal Communication Collective®. Find out more about her at her website: https://www.juliehirt-intuitive.com/ Karen Dendy Smith is a Soul Level Animal Communicator®, Soul Level Intuitive Coach®, Pangu Shengong (qigong) Instructor and Energy Healer. She is an End-of-life Companion Animal Doula through the UVM certificate program and a teaching assistant for the Danielle MacKinnon School. She is also on the board of NicaLove Animal Rescue and the Founder and a Director of The Animal Communication Collective®. Find out more about her at her website: https://www.karendendysmith.com/ Meredith Tollison is a Soul Level Animal Communicator®, Soul Level Intuitive Coach®, Let Animals Lead® Animal Reiki Practitioner, and certified dog trainer with a focus on behavior modification and positive reinforcement. She is also a Director of The Animal Communication Collective®. Find out more about her at her website: https://www.meredithtollison.com/ You can also learn more about podcast news, your hosts and upcoming events at https://www.theanimalcommunicationpodcast.com/. And to learn more about the fundraising work Karen, Meredith and Julie do with The Animal Communication Collective, please visit https://www.animalcommunicationcollective.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's spooky season around here and that means it's time to visit Dawn of the Dead. Kelly Baker and Thomas Lecaque drop into to talk about the history of zombies in western culture, our favorite zombie kills, and exactly what we'd do in the zombie apocalypse.About our guests:Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Kelly J. Baker is a freelance writer with a religious studies PhD who covers religion, racism, higher education, gender, labor, motherhood, and popular culture. She's written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Rumpus, Chronicle Vitae, Religion & Politics, Killing the Buddha, and The Washington Post among others.Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @tlecaque.

Mississippi sheriff's solution to the drug crisis? Everyone must 'truly find Jesus' The Friendly Atheist, By Hemant Mehta, on September 13, 2024https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/mississippi-sheriffs-solution-toChurch Attendance is (Once Again) Correlated with Authoritarianism — So Why Do We Refuse to Acknowledge It?Religion Dispatches by Chrissy Stroop on September 13, 2024https://religiondispatches.org/church-attendance-correlated-with-authoritarianism-again-so-why-do-we-still-refuse-to-acknowledge-it/The sheriff of Monroe County, Mississippi, recently posted two public messages after arresting a man for methamphetamine and weapons possession. He proclaimed that the only solution to the county's drug problem was to find Jesus, raising concerns about mixing religious proselytization with law enforcement duties. His focus on religious salvation over actionable solutions to address the root causes of drug addiction sparked debate. The sheriff's belief that turning to religion, rather than critically addressing systemic issues, could solve the drug crisis highlights a troubling approach in regions saturated with religiosity.Additionally, research has indicated that individuals with higher religiosity often exhibit more authoritarian attitudes and lean toward conservative political figures. This correlation between religiosity and authoritarianism complicates efforts to address public health crises like drug addiction. The articles discussed point out that while religion may provide some individuals with tools to cope with addiction, it often relies on fear and dogma rather than addressing the root causes. In fact, there's evidence that individuals sometimes replace one addiction, such as drugs, with religious fervor, which can be considered a process addiction.Interestingly, some religious recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous have reported success. However, studies show that non-religious recovery programs, which share structural similarities to religious ones, are just as effective. These programs focus on social support, group meetings, and creating a sober culture, rather than attributing success to divine intervention. The research suggests that it is not the religious content that makes a difference but the social support networks that these programs foster.In contrast to the religious approach, countries with more secular policies like Switzerland and the Netherlands have successfully used harm reduction programs, including supervised use sites, mental health treatment, and naloxone distribution. These initiatives have significantly reduced drug overdose rates and have been more effective than punitive measures or solely religious approaches. Though the U.S. attempted a decriminalization program in Oregon, the COVID pandemic hindered its full potential, ultimately leading to its repeal in 2022.The conversation highlights the tension between religious ideology and practical, evidence-based solutions to public health crises like drug addiction. While religious organizations offer community and support, focusing exclusively on spiritual salvation can overlook the underlying issues and solutions grounded in health policy and social services.The Non-Prophets, Episode 23.39.1 featuring Cynthia McDonald, Scott Dickie and AJBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-non-prophets--3254964/support.

This week, in part inspired by the anniversary of 9/11, Kelly and John invited Thomas Lecaque on the show to talk about the ways the Christian right frame the Crusades and other violent failures to justify their own acts of political and religious violence. Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others. He has recently turned his attention to colonial America, examining the ways in which Christian holy war zeal shaped the American landscape Also this week, John delivers some really bad news about ciabatta, and Thomas and Kelly go head to head in POK's exciting new game "What The Hell Was He Talking About?" You can find Thomas on Twitter @tlecaque

Sam talks with returning guest Annika Brockschmidt about the ideology that binds Trump's GOP. Brockschmidt is a trained historian, author and journalist. She wrote two bestselling books on the history of the US religious right and the Republican Party. Follow Annika on BlueSky. German-speaking audiences can read her latest book Die Brandstifter: Wie Extremisten die Republikanische Partei übernahmen and listen to her on the two podcasts she hosts Kreuz und Flagge and Feminist Shelf Control. Mentioned In The Interview: The GOP Is Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud by Annika Brockschmidt Coverage of NATCON for Religion Dispatches by Annika Brockschmidt and Ben Lober Related Episodes: Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy Fascism Isn't Just a German Problem Rick Perlstein: The Infernal Triangle + Christian Nationalist Project 2025 The Evangelical Prophets Anointing Trump By popular demand! Get your Refuse Fascism T-Shirt here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bonfire.com/refuse-fascism-pod-shirt⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find out more about Refuse Fascism and get involved at RefuseFascism.org. Find us on all the socials: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@RefuseFascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Plus, Sam is on TikTok, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@samgoldmanrf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/RefuseFascism⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music for this episode: Penny the Snitch by Ikebe Shakedown⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Photo copyright for Annika Brockshchmidt is Frederike Wetzels

Join the conversation by letting us know what you think about the episode!In this week's episode, Raquel and Jennifer speak with guest Cait West about her new book, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, which chronicles her upbringing in the world of ultra-conservative, high control, patriarchal religion. The discussion touches on how things started to shift for Cait, how she left, what her life is like now, and how she's helping others looking to break away.Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, MI. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai'i Pacific Review, among others. As a survivor of Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse. Cait also cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Where to find Cait West:Website: https://www.caitwest.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitwestwrites/Substack: https://caitwest.substack.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/caitwestwritesSupport the Show.Be part of the conversation by sharing your thoughts about this episode, what you may have learned, how the conversation affected you. You can reach Raquel and Jennifer on IG @madnesscafepodcast or by email at madnesscafepodcast@gmail.com.Share the episode with a friend and have your own conversation. And don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you listen!Thanks!

Ben Lorber and Shane Burley, co-authors of Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide to Fighting Antisemitism, join me to discuss the absolutely timely moment and context this book is being published in. They raise the need for, and the strong historical legacies of, Jewish anti-Zionist solidarity with pro-Palestine movements, while articulating and bringing forward critical analysis of the shape, character, and histories of antisemitism in primarily Western Christian societies. With antisemitism and Islamophobia on the rise, Shane and Ben articulate a vision and present a radical guide to fight antisemitism and build safety through solidarity for Jewish and non-Jewish peoples and communities alike. Ben Lorber is a researcher, journalist and movement strategist. He works at Political Research Associates, a social movement think tank, as a Senior Research Analyst focusing on antisemitism and white nationalism. Lorber's work has appeared in The Nation, Salon, Jewish Daily Forward, Religion Dispatches and more, and a range of outlets including The Washington Post and Huffington Post turn to him regularly for quotations on antisemitism and the Right. Shane Burley is an author and filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2017) and Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2021), and the editor of No Pasaran: Antifascist Dispatches from a World in Crisis (AK Press, 2022). His writing has appeared in places such as NBC News, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, The Baffler, Jacobin, Jewish Currents, Haaretz, Oregon Humanities, Protean, Yes Magazine, In These Times, and the Oregon Historical Quarterly. Episode Notes: - Purchase a copy of Safety Through Solidarity from Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/24168/9781685890919 - Follow Ben's work: https://benlorber.com - Follow Shane's work: https://linktr.ee/shaneburley - The song featured is “Kodoma” by Nick Vander from the album Kodama (Nowaki's Selection), used with permission by the artist. Listen and purchase at: https://nickvander.bandcamp.com WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

"The modern world is impossible to narrate without the idea of land as property and the seizing of land as property." "Imagination is our gift in creating and building new worlds." In this episode, Amanda talks with Dr. Willie James Jennings about the profound impact of our conceptions of land on our world today. Our distorted understanding of land as a possession has led to a shallow sense of connectivity and belonging, impacting our relationship with the earth and each other. The conflicts around us are often centered in conflicts over land, and we need to restructure our communities to create shared living and press against how our communities have been shaped. Understanding the history, shape, and function of the land where we live is essential for deepening our connection to the earth and each other. Imagination plays a crucial role in anticipating the possibility of a lively life together, preparing us to receive the stranger and care for those who are different from us. GUEST: Dr. Willie James Jennings is an American theologian, known for his contributions on liberation theologies, cultural identities, and theological anthropology. He is an associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale Divinity School. Willie Jennings' book The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race (Yale 2010) won the American Academy of Religion Award of Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective category the year after it appeared and, in 2015, the Grawemeyer Award in Religion, the largest prize for a theological work in North America. Englewood Review of Books called the work a “theological masterpiece.”  His commentary on the Book of Acts, titled Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate (for the Belief Series, Westminster/John Knox) received the Reference Book of the Year Award from The Academy of Parish Clergy in 2018. Dr. Jennings has also recently published a book that examines the problems of theological education within western education, entitled After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging Writing in the areas of liberation theologies, cultural identities, and anthropology, Jennings has authored more than 40 scholarly essays and nearly two-dozen reviews, as well as essays on academic administration and blog posts for Religion Dispatches. Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. He is in high demand as a speaker and is widely recognized as a major figure in theological education across North America.

Send us a Text Message.In this deeply moving and insightful episode of Faithful Politics, your political host Will Wright dives into an essential conversation with writer and editor Cait West.  The episode centers around Cait's journey of breaking away from the Christian Patriarchy Movement, which she details in her powerful new book, "Rift." She explains the metaphorical significance of the title, reflecting on her personal experiences and the geological imagery it conjures.Cait provides an in-depth look at the Christian Patriarchy Movement, describing it as a strict ideology where men are seen as divinely appointed leaders, and women are groomed to be subservient. She shares her personal story of being a "stay-at-home daughter," expected to remain at home until marriage, with no access to college, dating, or jobs.The conversation touches on the broader implications of patriarchy, exploring how it impacts gender roles, personal autonomy, and religious beliefs. Kate also discusses the difficult process of leaving this movement, the emotional and practical challenges involved, and the impact on her relationship with her family.Will and Cait discuss the intersection of politics and religion, the rise of Christian nationalism, and the implications for women's rights and bodily autonomy. Cait's insights into the authoritarian nature of the movement and its reactionary stance against feminism provide a compelling backdrop to her personal narrative.Cait's memoir not only tells her story but also serves as a voice for others who have experienced similar trauma. She emphasizes the importance of validation, support, and the ongoing journey of healing. The episode concludes with a message of hope and resilience for those who may be experiencing similar struggles.Buy her book, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy" https://a.co/d/8TJMMyiAbout the guestCait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss.Support the Show.To learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @FaithfulPolitik Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics Subscribe to our Substack: https://faithfulpolitics.substack.com/

This Quoircast podcast episode is brought to you by A New Way Of Seeing: Meaning In Life And The Christian Vision Of Nature by Pierce Alexander Marks. Available June 25, 2024 and published by QuoirIn this episode we chat with Cait WestCait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss.You can follow Cait on:Facebook     Instagram     Twiter     Threads     TikTok     You can find all things Cait West on her websiteYou can purchase Rift on Amazon.comYou can connect with This Is Not Church on:Facebook     Instagram      Twitter     TikTok     YouTubeAlso check out our Biolink for all things This Is Not Church relatedPlease like and follow our Quoircast Partners:Heretic Happy Hour     Messy Spirituality     Apostates Anonymous    Second Cup with Keith     The Church Needs TherapyIdeas Digest      Snarky Faith Podcast     Wild Olive     Deadly Faith     Spirituality Brew Pub     Faith For The Rest Of UsJonathan_Foster     Sacred Thoughts     Holy Heretics     Reframing Our Stories     Bros Bibles & Beer      Liminal LivingLove Covered Life     The Social Jesus ProjectEach episode of This Is Not Church Podcast is expertly engineered by our producer The Podcast Doctor Eric Howell. If you're thinking of starting a podcast you need to connect with Eric!

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse.In Cait's memoir Rift, she tells a harrowing story of chaos and control hidden beneath the facade of a happy family. Weaving together lyrical meditations on the geology of the places her family lived with her story of spiritual and emotional manipulation as a stay-at-home daughter, Cait creates a stirring portrait of one young woman's growing awareness that she is experiencing abuse. With the ground shifting beneath her feet, Cait mustered the courage to break free from all she'd ever known and choose a future of her own making. 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 and misspellings:I am so excited about today's guest. Kate West has a very special place in my heart. We met over the internet in the very early days of Tears of Eden, in the early days of the podcast Uncertain. She was the first person that I encountered outside of my family who'd Similar to the way that I had, who was talking about it openly in public, online, we have been friends and colleagues ever since then.Her book is about that experience of growing up in the Christian patriarchy movement in the stay at home daughter movement. We'll talk a little bit about the dynamics of that. podcast before. So I'm going to link to some of those episodes in the show notes. She's also a member of Tears of Eden's editorial board.and is responsible for a lot of the content that is on the Tears of [00:01:00] Yin blog, the website. Super grateful for her. Very grateful for her story. And here is my interview with Kate West. katherine: Well, hello, Kate. Hello. How are you? I'm doing all right it is good to see you. Cait: You too. And I think we both have sunny days. It seems like you have some sunshine in your room. katherine: Yes. It's going to be, it's going to be a relatively warmer weekend. I think like 60s ish. How's weather where you are?Cait: Yeah, I think it might get up to 60 today. And I want to, I want to get outside and start. Scraping around in the dirt and get my garden started, but we'll katherine: see. Speaking of dirt, your book. Cait: What a segue. katherine: Your book is called Rift, and you have a metaphor throughout your book about geology. And the earth, you talk a lot about like the earth [00:02:00] and I'm not even going to try to like get into scientific things.So talk to me about your book, which is the full title is rifts, a memoir of breaking away from Christian patriarchy. You have been on the podcast a couple of times before, so I'm going to link to some of those episodes in the show notes. But talk to me about the, the theme of this book and that metaphor, that geological earth metaphor that you use here.Cait: If you've listened to other interviews, the other interviews, you'll know I grew up similar to you, like, as a stay at home daughter, Christian patriarchy movement, quiverful. And this book is a story of me growing up in that and not understanding the world I was living in until it started going wrong and how I figured out how to leave and my life afterwards.And the idea of rifting comes from [00:03:00] this idea in, Well, there's this interesting thing that happens in geology where the earth splits apart and something like continents can be caused by rifts. You might think of like, there's this big rift in Africa where you can see the rift valley. And where I live in Michigan, rift, a rift started the great lakes.That's, we're surrounded by water in Michigan. And that's, that's partly why I talk about rifting is because I'm surrounded by water and I'm fascinated by this idea of, Breaking away because when I left patriarchy, I, I wanted to start over, start with a clean slate and never have to think about my past again.And so I wanted to break away, right? But, but I couldn't escape who I am and where I came from. No matter what I tried, it, it kept coming back. And I feel like that trauma is stored in your body and you just can't. Move on without healing from that. So the idea of a rift is both sides of it [00:04:00] are the same materials, you know, the same ground, but over time they change.in separate ways. So I've, I've moved on from the Christian patriarchy movement. There's still part of me that is because of what happened to me, but I'm changing now and I'm separated from it in a way that allows me to grow. So that's just like a bigger metaphor I'm using throughout the book. It helps me to think bigger picture instead of focusing in on my own story all the time.It's, it's kind of like a grounding practice. katherine: Oh, for sure. And it's a perfect metaphor too, because the new space or the new geological formation, Comes from the old and it's still the same earth, but it's a, it's completely new thing. And it's perfect. And I've been thinking about that so much lately, because I think we all have this leaning of [00:05:00] like, of wanting to have a before and an after, and like, I went through this, but then I healed and now I'm better.And here I am. And this, the reality is. We are impacted forever. Especially something as traumatic as what you went through as what I went through impacted our very identities impacted our bodies. We're never going to not have lived that story, but this. new formation and this new life that we create on the other side of it is, is also possible.So it's not like it has to control the narrative of at all. That's perfect. I love it. I love it. I love it as a metaphor. Yeah. So just in case folks are not familiar with the Christian patriarchy. Would you mind talking about some of the key factors and, and feel free [00:06:00] to just share like how that showed up in your family as well.Cait: Sure. I try to explain this in the beginning of the book because it's, I feel like, I relate to a lot of cult documentaries and cult vocabulary, but the Christian patriarchy movement isn't one singular church. It's this bigger movement. And there are churches within that, but they're across different denominations.And what's really happening is each family is a cult. I know you've talked about that too, where the fathers are the cult leaders and. The mothers, the wives and the mothers are supposed to obey their husbands and all things and then the children under underneath that so It's this hierarchy But it's based on this literal interpretation of of the Bible at least a cherry picked version of that I would say a katherine: version of the a version Cait: And it's this it's really problematic [00:07:00] Belief system where men are on the top, women are beneath them and women essentially don't have any agency in this system.And so you see it in a lot of churches. Some churches will actually say they're patriarchal and they're proud of it, but then other churches will be more subtle about it. And I consider something like complementarianism to be. a version of patriarchy. It's just more, more subtle, something like soft patriarchy.So the bigger movement, I think we grew up like in the nineties where This was a big part of the homeschooling movement, quiverful ideology, having as many children as you can. So it's all tied together, I think, with that, and it's connected to evangelicalism. So it's very complicated. And people are still living this way, so katherine: Yes, they are.A lot of Cait: churches who are patriarchal. katherine: And I think the connection between the [00:08:00] extreme version of patriarchy that we grew up with and the evangelical version of patriarchy, I think a lot of folks don't want to acknowledge the connection. And, and I just, I mean, I worked in the evangelical church for almost a decade and they were so proud of how well they cared for women.And the same things existed, they were just smiling more and weren't as overt about you're supposed to serve men. But, but that mentality was still embedded into it. And I, I sometimes feel like it can be more damaging when it's that subtle, because You're so confused and you're constantly being gaslit.Yeah. And, and then you can't address it because they're constantly like, you know, but we do , right? We do really, we really care about [00:09:00] women. Yeah. And I think that the argument in the Christian Patriarchy movie is the same thing about caring about women because it's like, this is what's best for you. Like this is God's best.For you, and we're doing this because this is God's best. Talk about how that dynamic showed up for you of, and just the, so it's your father giving you these rules. What is that extra layer that's added when he's doing it in God's name? Cait: Right. There's secular patriarchy, right?And so religious patriarchy takes that idea of men are in charge, men should be the leaders men should benefit from the way society is built, and it adds that level of divine blessing. It's almost like, Back in the day when kings said they were divinely appointed to be kings. So it's your father saying he's divinely appointed to be [00:10:00] the authoritarian leader in your life.And, If for me, that meant if I disobeyed my dad, it was disobeying God, which meant I deserved eternal punishment in hell. So it's very fear based mentality, but when you believe that you take it very seriously. And so I think that's why it falls under spiritual abuse because you're, they're using God and this threat of, of divine punishment and, and to build, to hold up men with power.In your life. And so there's, they're talking like they're talking for God, basically, and you're supposed to obey them no matter what. But when you realize that's not actually God's voice, it can be devastating to realize like it's all built on a lie. katherine: it's a genius mechanism and every cult leader has used it because it works like [00:11:00] to just be able to say like, Oh, it's not me saying this.Yeah. This is, this is the Lord. I'm just, I'm just following what God, God wants me to do. And the cult leaders will do that. They'll like reflect back onto the deity. And that's what makes it a cult, in my opinion, because. They, they have set themselves up as this divine leader, but in this way that I am special and I am chosen by the Lord, you know, and, and you can't question it.Cait: Right. And it's like, it's so violating for your, your spiritual life because growing up I really wanted to follow God. I wanted to, I, I was taught that God was loving and that I should. Church. You know, like I belonged and so I really was committed to that. So when the men in my life were using that [00:12:00] against me to keep me under control and to keep me from making choices about my life, especially as I became an adult, it, it was really disruptive to how I even viewed the world.katherine: Yeah. Cause it's everything. Cait: Yeah. katherine: And, and. And I just think of like, how much our identity was rooted in our gender. And like, how, just when you discover gender is a theory. Wait a second. And human beings. We're really not, there's some, you know, normalized like biological differences, but in general, like there's, there's not a lot of difference.And when you realize how deeply embedded this lie is, and yet it was so much a part of our identity, it's so disrupting. And I think [00:13:00] that that's something that a lot of people can't. Understand and we can we can experience validation on the other side of it of like, well, why did you believe that? Like, that's stupid.That's dumb. Talk to me a little bit about that. And how do you experience that invalidation from folks once you got out of https: otter. ai Well, why did you stay? And cause you were 20, 26. Cait: I was 25 katherine: when I left 25 when you left. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me about some of the invalidation that you have experienced.Cait: Well, I, I avoided talking about it at all for a long time. And I remember the first time I shared a little bit of my story with a coworker. She didn't seem to get it, and then later I heard her talking about me like I was Amish. She was telling somebody that I grew up Amish, and I was like, no, but I didn't correct her, because it's like, well, they're kind of the same thing, it's just they look a little bit different externally. you know, I knew [00:14:00] right away that, My experience was not the norm and that people wouldn't get it. And so I avoided talking about it a lot and I'm very much a book learner and. You know, being homeschooled, I had to teach myself a lot. So I feel like I studied. Outside culture when I left and try to fit in as best I could.And I remember another job I was working at a community college and I shared something with a coworker there and he was so confused, like, well, then why are you acting so normal? Like, are you like, why do you speak English? Yeah. Like so confused that I like. was a normal human being. And I was like, I don't know what you, what you want from me.katherine: What do you want Cait: from me? Yeah. Cause I think people have this idea that you grow up and you're just like an alien, you know, if you believe extreme, what other [00:15:00] people believe are extreme ideologies. But for us, it wasn't extreme. It was normal. And I just didn't have anything to compare it to. So that was just the way I grew up.And I. Now that I've left, I don't know if there is like a normal way to grow up. I think people go through a lot of hard times. Yeah, katherine: absolutely. And people Cait: believe a lot of, to me, seem like they're strange beliefs. You know, I think a lot of people believe things. It's just a matter of like how committed you are to it and how willing you are to put relationships above your beliefs, which didn't happen in my family.So katherine: meaning that you're the beliefs came first, Cait: right? Like doctrine was more important than people. And I think that's when you get into these cult like environments is when the beliefs are more important. The doctrine is more important. It doesn't matter who's being harmed, especially when you can say, Oh, this is love, even though you're being, I hate that because it's like, [00:16:00] You know, it, it messes with your head when you, when someone's telling you, they love you and this is love and I'm hitting you because I love you.And then it's just abuse. You just don't have the word for that. katherine: Yeah. And I think that that's helpful just for wider abuse situations is, this is getting more complex and stuff, but like. This is not presented to people as abuse, like, like nobody, like the leaders and our fathers are not coming at us like I'm here to abuse you.They are, they are presenting it as love and doing what is right and doing what God wants you to do. And then. If we have any feeling of like, I don't like this, or I don't want this to happen, or I don't like this direction, then we instantly. Self gaslight self and validate because it must [00:17:00] be my problem at must be me not devoted enough to God, or not trusting my father that he actually loves me.What were some things that I don't want, I want people to read your book, but give me maybe one or two things that caused you to wake up and say something isn't okay here. Like, yeah. And start that process. Cait: Yeah. And I think it kind of ties into what we were talking about before of, of like the outside world and how they perceive you.So I, I found that people on the outside thought that I had chosen this life. You know, versus I'd grown up in it. And I think a lot of people in cults. Or high control groups, they might choose initially to join, but then they become so limited in their choices that it's not really true consent anymore.So I think that's a big misunderstanding. So one of the [00:18:00] biggest things that happened to me, it sounds like such a small thing, but a couple people when I was in, you know, my early twenties, they asked me if I was okay with this life and if this was my choice. And. One of them was my sister in law, my brother had left years earlier, and another person, and they didn't realize how much that affected me because, of course, I had my answers, like, Oh, yes, this is my choice, and I'm gonna be a wife and mother someday.I don't need to go to college. I don't need to have a job. So I had the script that I could say, But just them asking my opinion and what I wanted, nobody had ever asked me that before, because it didn't matter what I wanted and my choices didn't matter. So, so they didn't have to do a whole lot to get me to think for myself.It was just a, just a simple question of, well, what do you think? And I was like, well, nobody, nobody cares about what I think. [00:19:00] And katherine: that Cait: was really impactful for me. So that's, that's one part. Of me like mentally trying to leave another part in the story is when I have this long courtship and my father puts an end to it.I'm feeling heartbroken. And then I am punished because I have too many. I feel love for this person that I thought I was going to marry and. In my father's opinion, that's emotional impurity. And so I've basically cheated on my future spouse by loving this other man. And I have to repent and, you know, turn back to the right path.And I just knew that I just knew in that moment, like, this is wrong. This can't be true because. How could me loving someone be wrong katherine: or Cait: sinful or deserve God's wrath? And so I just didn't believe it at that moment. I was like, [00:20:00] that's not true. And I kept that to myself. Well, I actually think I did say something to my dad, like, how can that be wrong?That didn't go over very well, but katherine: Oh my goodness. Cait: It took me four more years to leave, you know, so, but, Okay. Those were big moments for me to shift my thinking and start thinking for myself, start making plans and realizing I might be able to choose something different in the future. katherine: Mm hmm. I think that's why I enjoy talking to you, like, whenever we get to spend time with each other and talk about our families.It's just such a It's so soothing and like such a relief to talk to you because I'll tell, I'll tell the story to other people. And there's, there could be fun. I have a group of friends where like, I'll talk about it and we'll just like laugh about it and just be like, Oh my gosh, I'll just like, make fun, make fun of it.But I think that. Just talking to you, you get how [00:21:00] complex it is. And like, everyone is like, well, I wouldn't put up with that. And I would just, you know, flip the middle finger and I would be done with it. And like all of the layers that are, that are present, not just that emotional layer and that trauma bond and that betrayal bond that exists, but then the Economic layer too, of not having a college degree, not being able to have a career, not having we had skills, like we knew how to do things, but we didn't know how to write resumes.We didn't know how to, you know interview, we didn't know how to apply for a job, you know, like gratefully we had like, You know, drivers license and social security numbers, but there are plenty of people who don't even have that. And yeah, you know, wives whose have their husbands have their passports locked away in a safe.And, you know, just like all of these dynamics that, [00:22:00] like, You're you're traumatized and you're in the survival state and you're trying to figure out how to escape with all of these things against you. Like four years is a long time, but it's also like, that's how long it takes to just kind of figure out like what to do, where to go, especially when you and I were both raised in this, like to even have, we don't have a baseline.to go to. We're having to like create our own baseline with nothing. Cait: Yeah. And I was so, I was so angry at my younger self for not leaving, like years later in my thirties. Now I've found myself just feeling really pissed at her. Like, why don't you just like give yourself a chance? Cause I lost so much of my, well, I lost my entire adolescence and my most of my twenties to this.And so [00:23:00] I felt a lot of anger. But then, you know, processing that, feeling all my feelings, you know, what we're supposed to do, and then realizing, all the feelings. I feel all the feelings. And trying to learn to have compassion for her. And I, I do feel differently now. I've shifted to feeling more compassion because she didn't have a lot of options.It was very unsafe to do anything outside of the rules. katherine: And Cait: she didn't know, she didn't have any practice doing that. So katherine: you Cait: know, it's, when people are going through this, it's, there's a lot of shame, I think, that we can feel when we don't leave right away or we, you know, we go through stuff and we don't stand up for ourselves.We can feel a lot of shame afterwards, but I think it's, it's important to not blame ourselves for abuse. That's just, you know, it's not our fault. katherine: It's not. Yeah. I think one of the thoughts that I had a lot was like, why did I let him do that to me? Like, why did I, what? And it was, [00:24:00] it's just like, I mean, I know I'm just like looking at it, you know, from a distance, like I didn't let him, like, I didn't know that there were, you know, like, like you're, you don't really have any agency and any choice and it's not safe to like fight back or talk back.And, you know, it's just. It's that reality and it's such a survival mechanism, such a common trauma response to feel that way, because we're, we're trying to create a narrative where we had some control. So then we don't have that same situation happened to us again, and we can avoid it. And, and, and it's, it's difficult to grasp.That someone, especially in a dynamic like ours, where it was family and it was our father, you know, like to grasp that someone would just mistreat us and to just let all of that be on [00:25:00] them and recognize we did nothing to deserve this treatment and That's so much easier said than done. It is, it's a part of the process of getting to that place where we can let all of that responsibility lay at the foot of the abusers and not carry that and recognize ways that we did fight back.And that's my next question for you. What are ways that you see now that you did fight back while you were in it? Cait: I was very good rule follower for most of my childhood. I have older, I had two older siblings. And so watching them get punished, I was like, I'm not going to do that. And so I learned really early on how to get on my dad's good side which sounds manipulative, but really it was just safety coping mechanism.katherine: Absolutely. Cait: So, I felt like for most of my childhood, I didn't fight back at all. I [00:26:00] just felt really passive. But the one outlet for me was reading. And for some reason, books seemed non threatening to my, my father, like movies were. So books for some reason seemed mostly neutral to him. So I could go to the library and read almost anything.I was very good at self policing. I would throw books in the trash if I thought they didn't follow the rules. And I hate that I did that. I hate that I did that. But I still read them. I just felt guilty afterwards. But I remember in my 20s reading a few young adult novels. And like, it just felt like this anthropology, like, class and like the young adult, like, what is a teenager like?Let me investigate this. What, katherine: what Cait: is this katherine: specimen? Cait: Yeah. Yeah. And it was, I couldn't relate to what they were doing in the stories, but I could relate to how they felt. And I think I didn't throw those ones [00:27:00] away. I hid them. And I mean, I was in my 20s. I shouldn't have had to hide any books. I know. katherine: Yeah.Cait: Things like that, where I was like, I'm going to find this information for myself and not tell anybody. That, that was resistance in a way. It wasn't standing up to my father. I didn't stand up to my father until I realized he was sabotaging every chance at A marriage that I had, and I talk about a few of them in the book, but there was like at least four potential relationships that he shut down.And the last one is the person I, I married, I'm still married to, and I knew from the previous relationships that I didn't want him to ruin my, the rest of my life, and I was falling in love with this person and didn't want to give up. So that was my big, big deal. My big leap of resistance was saying, I get to love who I love and I'm going to fight for that relationship.And so that was the big [00:28:00] catalyst for me to leave. katherine: Yeah. How do you make sense of the fact that like you're being raised to get married and I have the same experience, like in my family of just like we're being raised conditioned incubated to be wives. Yet, it just seems like my father didn't actually want us to get married, like you made it so hard and like any guys that.You know, tried to do the things they could never get it right. And it was just awful, awful, awful explosions every time. And it was like, do you actually want us to get married? How do you make sense of that? Like watching that happen? Cait: Yeah. I mean, I just, I can speculate. I don't know. Like I, I've, I can speculate that my father really loves to control.And it's interesting [00:29:00] because he let my sister get married. Well, she, he found somebody who's just like him for my sister to get married to. And so that went off, you know, she was able to get married and she's divorced now. So she's been through a whole journey of, of coming out that direction. But for me, I don't know if he like, I always, my family always said I was his favorite, which bothers me now.And I think I was just really good at conforming. And so I don't know if he wanted to let go of his control over me. Like it was really difficult to do anything. And I'm not sure if he would have felt like such a strong person. Like I was for a time, I was the only kid living in the house because my brother had gone to live with the pastor.It's a whole nother story. With trying to get men to be like leaders, you know, when they go live with your pastor. So I was the only, I was the only kid left, right? So maybe he just didn't want to let go of me. [00:30:00] And who would his, what would his identity be without children to rule over? I don't know. So that's, that's the speculation I have.But nobody, nobody could was perfect enough. And also I wasn't attracted to people like him. I think katherine: I Cait: didn't want to marry somebody who was narcissistic. katherine: That was part of it. Yeah. If I remember correctly, was your older sister kind of, In quotes, rebellious and like the marriage kind of tamed was like meant to tame her.Is that kind of like the dynamic that happened there? Cait: Yeah, she almost eloped with somebody and decided at the last minute not to do that and came home and was like repentant. And then like a year or so later, my dad helped find a husband for her and You know, I, I don't know if she really had a true choice in that relationship.So it was really, it's really tragic to me to remember those times. [00:31:00] Yeah. Being confused, thinking that she was choosing it. But knowing now that we didn't have many choices at all. katherine: Right. And, Cait: yeah, but now seeing her come through that and being a single mom and working and, you know, she owns land now, it's, it's beautiful to see her come into herself now.katherine: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. The whole control thing around marriage when like, you're being like conditioned for that, but then they sabotage it every turn or, and I, I remember thinking that logically about like, my father like wants me to marry someone like him and similar to you.That's not gonna work for me. But at the same time, being aware that anyone that was like him, they just massively butted heads. And so it's like, it's not gonna work because someone like him will fight back, you know, like, won't, won't. Won't be the pleasing, compliant, [00:32:00] sit at his feet, learn from him, you know, like, it's like, pick, pick, pick a team, like, which one do you want?And that, I mean, I think that's a characteristic of both of our upbringings and any cult like setting, high control fundamentalist setting is. Illogic and confusion are everywhere and as like certain as they want it to be and, you know, right and orthodox as they claim that it is. There's so much confusion and just different like speaking out of different sides of the mouth and all really boils down to is that key leader gets to decide.Cait: Yeah, like the purity culture. The purity culture, like, leads it to everything. So, you know, everything has to be perfect. I grew up, like, really Calvinist. So, like, all your actions have to be perfect. And so, I think that's part of it. Like, you can never find a [00:33:00] suitable husband that was absolutely perfect for me.Because there's always a flaw that he would find. And I, we live very isolated. So, I imagine if I lived back where I had grown up in Colorado, it would have been a little easier for him to find a husband for me. That would have fit his description, but we lived pretty isolated after at that point. So I don't think anybody measured up to his perfect standard.katherine: Yeah, he couldn't go on a nation tour to find the perfect husbands. Oh my gosh, it's just like so weird. Cait: Or writing the letters. He didn't do that. I refused to let him write letters. katherine: Oh, to, like, seek a husband for you. Yeah, Cait: because in the book I talk about that one woman who lived with us because she wanted to get married.katherine: And your father, like, found someone. Cait: Yeah, he wrote letters to every church in our district, you know, our presbytery, and found somebody. And I was like, that's [00:34:00] not, I do not want you to do that for me. I would be mortified. katherine: Male order husband. No, not okay. Not okay. Not okay. Were you like expressing like desperation and like wanting to get married?No. No. Cait: Yeah. I, I've all my friends got married so young and I was like, I want to fall in love. I want to like travel the world. I didn't really, you know, I had those desires for romance, but not like must become wife and mother that, that really. katherine: Yeah. I'm glad though. I think it probably saved you. Intrinsic, intrinsic desires, your desires, like what you really wanted actually helped save you.Cait: Yeah. katherine: Talk to me about writing and how that played a role has played a role in your journey. Cait: I think writing has always been like, it's tied with reading books. I've always been away from me to escape. And so I always wanted to write a book. [00:35:00] And I think telling stories was always difficult for me because I didn't have a whole lot of data to write stories from.But I was just, I just would want it to be a writer. And so when I finally left. I thought, I'm going to go to college and study how to write, you know, and actually learn how to do this. That became a way for me to express myself. You know, I had been, I'm a really quiet person, or at least I used to be.And so writing is a way for me to use my voice without feeling panicked about being too loud. I don't feel that way anymore, but that's, you know, that's how I felt. And writing, I wanted to write fiction and My own story kept bleeding through everything and no matter what I was writing at school It ended up being about the way I was raised or what I had gone through and I was like dang it I don't want to write about that.Like this is not important anymore and [00:36:00] That was incorrect and it needed to get written out Like I needed to get it out of my body and onto some paper and that's why I started writing my particular story And it was really freeing. when I started sharing some of it online, that's when I realized I'm not the only person who's gone through this.That kind of set me off to this whole journey of writing my story publicly and connecting with people who grew up in this movement. And it's been really liberating. Really like, it feels like a lot, a lot of the time because telling our stories is really vulnerable, but I don't, I wouldn't change a thing.Like, I feel stronger because I'm able to be authentic, you know, instead of trying to hide who I am. katherine: Yeah, absolutely. Do you feel like this has kind of like gotten it out and that you are ready for [00:37:00] something new or do you feel like there's still more to come? story to tell. Cait: I feel, I'm really great, really excited to write some fiction now.I've been like playing around with some stories and I feel like I have some actual outside in the world experience to draw from and maybe something more interesting to say. And so, yeah, I feel liberated now that my story is done. It's out there. It can go do its work and I can write something else now.So I'm excited to see what that's like. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get away from What I'm interested in like, which is psychology and like personal trauma and resilience and those kinds of themes. I don't know if I'll ever get away from that because that's just who I am, but I don't think I need to write my memoir again.katherine: Yeah, it's done. I did it. Yeah, we good. What are your hopes and dreams for people reading your book? Cait: My first, you know, when you're when you're trying to sell a book to a publisher, [00:38:00] they always ask you what your audience is. is and you have like different layers of audience. My number one audience has always been people who grew up like me or who are in domestic abuse situations or who have left those.I want them to feel seen the way certain books have helped me feel seen because I'm a trans woman. To my knowledge, there's not a memoir out there about being a stay at home daughter or besides maybe the Duggar Girls books. So I think, I'm really hoping that people who grew up this way feel like they can see their own experience on the page and, and help them process, you know, because for me, writing it is a, is the way I process it.And I'm hoping that people who love to read will, that will help them. And then. I hope that people who didn't grow up this way will have a little bit more understanding of how complex it is. You know, I've, I think some people might say, Oh, this isn't, isn't as extreme as like the book educated [00:39:00] where there's, you know, more physical violence.But I want people to understand that that doesn't necessarily matter to how people can be harmed. I think katherine: it's still Cait: important and we shouldn't shut people down because they don't have physical injuries. I think this kind of abuse is damaging too. I hope it's, it opens that conversation up a little bit more because I think this is a pretty common experience. katherine: Oh yeah, I think it's so common and I think I would say that's one thing I do appreciate your book is that the normal things that end up making a story sensational like violence or sexual abuse the, the, the level of it isn't there yet you are still able to show the damage. That it did to you and I think that's going to be so validating for so many people and just kind of flipping the narrative, you know, like people just [00:40:00] chase after those types of stories for the sensationalism, but there's a lot of damage that happens in.The shadows and looks like Christianity looks like love, and you are able to express that really well in your book. So I hope folks, folks read it and tell, tell people where they can find it and tell people where they can find you. Cait: Yeah. My website is Kate west. com. So I do have links for the book there as well as events I'm doing.So Come find me where you live. Hopefully I come close to you and you can buy the book anywhere online. It's going to be. In bookstores as well. I know Barnes and Noble is stocking them in, in quite a few of their stores and then you can order them from your independent bookstore. You can ask for them at your library.So you don't even have to spend money. You could just ask for a copy at your library. Do that katherine: people! Support [00:41:00] the libraries and support Facebook. Cait: Yeah, you don't have to support writers just by buying their books. You can get them at your libraries and that really does help because the libraries buy them and then other people can read them too.And I'm also, there's a hardcover, an ebook and an audio book. So I got to read the audio. If you'd rather listen to me reading the story, you can do that too. So there's all the different formats as well. katherine: Fantastic. Any other thoughts or any other things that you want to say? Cait: I'd love to hear what you think about the book when you read it.I hope there's a contact form on my page, on my website, and I'm on social media, so I'd love to hear what you think. Yeah. Just hit me up. katherine: Fantastic. I will link to your website in the show notes. Thanks for coming on uncertain and for everybody who is listening and is part of tears of eating community.Kate is also on the editorial board for tears of Eden. And so a lot of the content that shows up on our blog Kate [00:42:00] has. Generated and some foreign men has been been behind that. So we're super, super grateful for her. And I also realized just this morning that she shouted out to tears of Eden in her book.And I was so excited. I sent her like a picture and heart eyes and a text because I was like, very excited that she shouted out to to tears of Eden. We're going to be famous now. It's a great resource. Well, thanks again, Kate, thanks for being here. Thank you. Uncertain is produced, recorded, edited, and hosted by me, Katherine Spearing. Intro music is 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.

Today's episode is the story of a woman who survived and escaped the Christian Patriarchy movement and created a new life of agency, advocacy, and unconditional love. Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and co-hosts the Survivors Discuss podcast.In this episode, you'll hear Cait and I discuss: Detangling the perfectionism that patriarchy rewards Repairing the line between us and our anger Growing up within the Christian Patriarchy Movement — and un-forming its work in us Reconnecting ourselves with our agency—and building support systems that can help that thrive and more! Cait's story and perspective are compelling and compassionately told!Rift is out today and available wherever books are sold! Follow Cait on social media @ caitwestwrites. You can read more of her work on her website, caitwest.com, and on her substack, caitwest.substack.com. Support the Show.

Cait West joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about growing up in and leaving Christian patriarchy, indoctrination, identifying and writing about the rifts she felt in herself and her family, gender oppression, using geology as a metaphor, moving from memoir in essays to a more linear form, ethical and legal concerns when writing about others, coming to grips with abuse, purity culture, and her memoir Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy. Also in this episode: -protecting anonymity in those we write about -trauma therapy -protecting ourselves by taking breaks when writing    Books mentioned in this episode:  -Mothers of Sparta by Dawn Davies -Flesh and Blood by N. West Moss -Wiving by Caityln Myer   Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Her debut memoir, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, releases on April 30, 2024.   Connect with Cait: Website: https://www.caitwest.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitwestwrites TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@caitwestwrites Substack: https://caitwest.substack.com/ Get Cait's Book: https://www.caitwest.com/book — Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories. She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and lives in Seattle with her family where she teaches memoir workshops and is working on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com   Sign up for monthly podcast and writing updates: https://bit.ly/33nyTKd   Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://twitter.com/RonitPlank https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Julie and Nabil talk about the challenge and honor of being part of a Jewish-Israeli-Arab-Palestinian faculty discussion group. Nabil describes his childhood in Morocco, the beautiful handwriting of a beloved father who died too young, the weight and detritus of colonization, and the power of multilingualism. In what ways might writing and conversation be sacred? What do we learn from Edouard Glissant's Poetics of Relation? How might nomadism function in opposition to the violence of borders? Nabil also discusses the tension between “movement and belonging,” and the desire for opacity in the face of Islamophobia's demand for revelation. Texts discussed:Edouard Glissant, Poetics of RelationNabil's essays at Al-JazeeraNabil Echchaibi is Associate Professor of Media Studies and Director of the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado Boulder. His research and teaching focus on media, religion, and the politics and poetics of Muslim visibility. His work on Muslim media cultures, diasporic media, and decoloniality has appeared in various journals and in many book publications. He is the author of Voicing Diasporas: Ethnic Radio in Paris and Berlin Between Culture and Renewal and co-editor of International Blogging: Identity, Politics and Networked Publics; Media and Religion: The Global View; and The Thirdspaces of Digital Religion. He's currently writing his book: Unmosquing Islam: Media and Muslim Fugitivity. Drawing on a vast literature in Black and Africana studies, Islamic studies, decolonial theory, cultural studies, and media studies, this book develops a theory of Muslim fugitivity as a practice of imagining a world of possibility that has not been visibilized and documented yet but has existed all along. Is there more to Muslimness, he asks, beyond the tussle of geopolitics, terror talk, and religious orthodoxy? Dr. Echchaibi writes opinion columns in the popular press, including the Guardian, Al Jazeera, Forbes Magazine, Salon, the Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, and Open Democracy. He is also co-editor of the journal Cultural Studies and Associate Dean of Research and Creative Work in the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado Boulder. A native of Morocco, he earned his BA from Mohammed V University in Rabat and his MA in Journalism and PhD in Media Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington.

The Speakeasy is a gathering for unfiltered conversations on faith and justice. At each gathering, we invite a special guest to share their personal experiences and stories in conversation around a particular topic or issue related to faith and justice. We hope these events inspire empathy, foster common ground, and cultivate deeper connections in our community and beyond.This month, we welcomed The Rev. Katey Zeh (she/her) to help us navigate the intersection of faith and reproductive justice. The Rev. Brent Levy and Katey explored this complex intersection, discussing the historical and current challenges faced by those advocating for reproductive freedom within religious contexts.The Rev. Katey Zeh is an ordained Baptist minister and the Chief Executive Officer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC). The Center for American Progress named her one of their top justice-seeking faith leaders to watch for her work on reproductive freedom. Rev. Katey has written for many outlets, including the Washington Post, Sojourners, Religion News Services, and Religion Dispatches, and she regularly appears in the media, including The Atlantic, CNN, The Nation, BBC, NBC News, Newsweek, and The Christian Century. She is the co-creator of the Kindreds podcast and the author of two books, A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement and Women Rise Up: Sacred Stories of Resistance for Today's Revolution.

This week the pod welcomes back Thomas Lecaque and John Wyatt Greenlee along with #HATM newcomer Anna Waymack to talk about maybe the best medieval movie ever made: A Knight's Tale. We talk Chaucer, romance, Heath Ledger, the Black Prince, and that fucking soundtrack. Let's go.About our guests:Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @tlecaque.John Wyatt Greenlee is  a medievalist and a cartographic historian.His academic research is primarily driven by questions of how people perceive and reproduce their spaces:  how movement through the world — both experiential and imagined — becomes codified in visual and written maps. You can find him on twitter at @greenleejw Anna Waymack, is a Ph.D. candidate in Cornell's Medieval Studies Program, and was selected as a fellow in Olin Library's Summer Graduate Fellowship for Digital Humanities in 2016. As part of that fellowship, Anna developed digital humanities expertise and produced a public website focused on an aspect of her research, Geoffrey Chaucer and the charge of raptus brought forth by Cecily Chaumpaigne.

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the author of Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy (Eerdmans). Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre and Hawai'i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and co-hosts the Survivors Discuss podcast. Connect with Cait: Website: https://www.caitwest.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitwestwrites Tears of Eden: https://www.tearsofeden.org/  Connect with Maggie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hello_deconstructionists/ | Email: hello.decons@gmail.com Learn more about Amy's music: Amy's Website: ⁠⁠https://www.amyazzara.com/⁠ ⁠⁠ | Foray Music: ⁠⁠https://www.foraymusic.com/⁠⁠ | Amy's Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/amyazzara/⁠

Cait West is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in The Revealer, Religion Dispatches, Fourth Genre, and Hawai`i Pacific Review, among others. As an advocate and a survivor of the Christian patriarchy movement, she serves on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohosts the podcast Survivors Discuss. Her debut memoir, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy is available now for preorder. In this poignant and vulnerable conversation, Cait reflects on growing up under Christian patriarchy, offering insights into her forthcoming memoir. Before You Go: Rachel examines the inherent constrictions of the stay-at-home daughter movement, outlining how its practitioners keep women restrained. You can find out more about Cait and her work at www.caitwest.com You can pre-order Cait's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Rift-Memoir-Breaking-Christian-Patriarchy/dp/0802883583 IndoctriNation Podcast Discussion Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2359873534281759/ All of Rachel's free informational PDF documents are available here: www.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/pdf.html All of Rachel's video lectures are available for purchase here: www.rachelbernsteintherapy.com/videos.html To help support the show monthly and get bonus episodes, shirts, and tote bags, please visit: www.patreon.com/indoctrination Prefer to support the IndoctriNation show with a one-time donation? Use this link: www.paypal.me/indoctrination Connect with us on Social Media: Twitter: twitter.com/_indoctrination Facebook: www.facebook.com/indoctrinationpodcast Tik Tok: www.tiktok.com/@indoctrinationpodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/indoctrinationpodcast/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/rachelbernsteinlmft You can always help the show for free by leaving a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple/ iTunes

Cait was such a lovely guest! We have so much in common and I had to edit our talk down a ton because we chatted for such a long time. If you were a part of my cult/group, you will see lots of similarities in Cait's story. From Cait:When I left home at the age of twenty-five, I had no idea what my path would look like. I had no story to tell. I had spent my entire life in the Christian Patriarchy and Stay-at-Home-Daughter Movements, only to realize that I didn't belong. My story had always been written for me, and now I was taking over the pen for the first time.In the words of Maya Angelou, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”I used to think I could rewrite my whole life, come clean somehow, and pretend I never had a past of oppression and abuse. I didn't want to be the victim, the pitied, the weak. But the years have taught me that there is no easy way to delete bitter memories or old scars. I can't separate the good from the bad. So, I'm moving forward, not chained to the past, but liberated from it, carrying with me the old stories, if only as a preface to the new.After I got out, I studied creative writing and publishing at Michigan State University and served on the editorial team for Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. My work has been featured in 3288 Review, Dunes Review, Fourth Genre, Hawai`i Pacific Review, The Revealer, and Religion Dispatches.I work full time as a book editor, and I also serve on the editorial board for Tears of Eden, a nonprofit providing resources for survivors of spiritual abuse, and cohost the podcast Survivors Discuss.My debut memoir, Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy, will be available on April 30, 2024.www.caitwest.com〰️〰️Shanny

Wendy Montgomery returns the podcast as Mike and Doug chat with her all about the Ennegram, a dynamic personality system that identifies nine unique types, each with distinct motivations and behaviors. We discuss how it can be used to:Offer deep insights into personal patterns, childhood woundings and growth opportunitiesGain self-awareness, improve relationships, and enhance emotional intelligenceFoster empathy and effective communicationAnd much more!Previous episodes featuring Wendy:#42: Your Inner Momma Dragon#43: Breaking JesusAbout Wendy:Wendy Montgomery is a Professional Certified Life Coach with the highly-esteemed Life Coach School as well as a trained & accredited iEQ9 Enneagram Educator and Coach. She has been studying the Enneagram for over a decade and is endlessly fascinated with its depth, accuracy and what it tells us about who we are and why we do what we do. It has been a game-changer for her in relationships, parenting, professional settings & self-development. Wendy can tell you just about everything there is to know about the Enneagram and how to implement it into your life for deep and lasting change. She has found no greater tool in understanding herself and others.Wendy is the mother of five children, four of which identify as LGBTQIA+. She and her husband, Tom, have been married for 29 years. She was a lifelong Mormon (LDS) with deep pioneer roots, but left the church in 2018 after a lengthy and tumultuous effort to make the LDS Church more loving and accepting for queer Saints and their families. The story of the Montgomerys and how they navigated this minefield is documented in the Family Acceptance Project's 2012 award-winning short film, "Families are Forever."Wendy has been a vocal national advocate for inclusion and equality for the LGBTQIA+ community for over ten years. Her family was the recipient of several awards for their life-saving work, including the “Voice Ally” award from the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, the “Let Love Define Family” award from Raise A Child, and the “Tree of Life” award from Affirmation. Interviews and news stories about Wendy, her advocacy, and their family can be found in The Associated Press, Huffington Post, NPR, The Advocate, O Magazine, NY Times, ABCnews.com, Religion Dispatches, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News & many more.Wendy is the co-founder of Mama Dragons and has sat on the Board of Directors for both Mama Dragons and Affirmation (the largest international Mormon LGBTQIA+ organization).  She is trained and certified in suicide prevention & awareness through both QPR and the Trevor Project; she facilitates workshops on this important issue around the country. In her work as a national LGBTQIA+ activist, she has worked closely with organizations such as the Family Acceptance Project, The Trevor Project, Affirmation, Mama Dragons, HRC's Equality in Religion, ACLU Arizona, ONE Community, GMCLA, PFLAG National, LoveLoud 2017, Equality Utah, Peculiar, etc.Wendy loves to read, learn new things, practice yoga, meditation and breathwork, and spend time with family & friends. Her favorite place is Sedona, AZ and she visits as often as she can. She lives in Chandler, Arizona with her awesome husband and amazing kids. Links:www.wendymontgomery.comInstagram: WendyMontCoachFacebook: Wendy Montgomery CoachingThreads: WendyMontCoachTikTok: WendyMontCoachYouTube: WendyMontgomeryCoaching

This is a segment of episode 353 of Last Born In The Wilderness, “A Nation For A Nation: Full-Scale Revenge; Antisemitic Zionism w/ Shane Burley.” Listen to the two-part episode: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/shane-burley-5 Read Shane's article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches: https://bit.ly/3QAw8JQ Author and journalist Shane Burley examines about the contexts that underlie the dramatic escalation of violence by the State of Israel in the Palestinian territories since Hamas's October 7th attack. We focus on the validity of claims made by pro-Israel Zionists of antisemitism on the part of Palestinian liberation activists in demanding not only a ceasefire, but the ending of apartheid and continual expansion of Israeli Jewish settlements into Palestinian territories, as well as the Christian Right's Zionist antisemitism Shane Burley is known for his work on the far-right and left-wing social movements. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), and editor of the anthology ¡No pasarán!: Readings on Antifascism (AK Press, 2022). His work has been featured in places like NBC News, Al Jazeera, The Baffler, Jacobin, The Daily Beast, Truthout, In These Times, Roar Magazine, Jewish Currents, and others. He provides expert analysis and commentary on these issues for places like PBS, The Guardian, and The Oregonian, and has published extensive academic work, particularly on antisemitism. WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

In the second part of my two-part interview with author and journalist Shane Burley, we continue our discussion about the contexts that underlie the dramatic escalation of violence by the State of Israel in the Palestinian territories since Hamas's October 7th attack. We focus on the validity of claims made by pro-Israel Zionists of antisemitism on the part of Palestinian liberation activists in demanding not only a ceasefire, but the ending of apartheid and continual expansion of Israeli Jewish settlements into Palestinian territories. Shane examines the Christian Right's Zionist antisemitism, Israeli Leftism, the internal political tensions in Israel before and since the events on October 7th, and how "Jewish safety has always been in the hands of solidarity with other marginalized people." Shane Burley is known for his work on the far-right and left-wing social movements. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), and editor of the anthology ¡No pasarán!: Readings on Antifascism (AK Press, 2022). His work has been featured in places like NBC News, Al Jazeera, The Baffler, Jacobin, The Daily Beast, Truthout, In These Times, Roar Magazine, Jewish Currents, and others. He provides expert analysis and commentary on these issues for places like PBS, The Guardian, and The Oregonian, and has published extensive academic work, particularly on antisemitism. Episode Notes: - Read Shane's article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches: https://bit.ly/3QAw8JQ - Learn more about Shane's work: https://linktr.ee/shaneburley - Sounds by Midnight Sounds: https://www.latenightsknowmystory.com WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

Journalist and author Shane Burley returns to the podcast to discuss his article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches. He addresses historical traumas and contexts that underlie, in part, the dramatic escalation of violence by the State of Israel in the Palestinian territories since Hamas's October 7th attack. This is part one of a two-part interview. Shane Burley is known for his work on the far-right and left-wing social movements. He is the author of Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It (AK Press, 2017) and Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse (AK Press, 2021), and editor of the anthology ¡No pasarán!: Readings on Antifascism (AK Press, 2022). His work has been featured in places like NBC News, Al Jazeera, The Baffler, Jacobin, The Daily Beast, Truthout, In These Times, Roar Magazine, Jewish Currents, and others. He provides expert analysis and commentary on these issues for places like PBS, The Guardian, and The Oregonian, and has published extensive academic work, particularly on antisemitism. Episode Notes: - Read Shane's article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches: https://bit.ly/3QAw8JQ - Learn more about Shane's work: https://linktr.ee/shaneburley - Sounds by Midnight Sounds: https://www.latenightsknowmystory.com WEBSITE: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness DONATE: https://www.paypal.me/lastbornpodcast SUBSTACK: https://lastborninthewilderness.substack.com BOOK LIST: https://bookshop.org/shop/lastbornpodcast DROP ME A LINE: Call (208) 918-2837 or http://bit.ly/LBWfiledrop EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/patterns.of.behavior

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls Check out StandUpwithPete.com to learn more Andrew is the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (forthcoming in September). He's also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 2022) 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school. While writing the epilogue for The Founding Myth, Andrew conceived of and organized the groundbreaking “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection” report which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF. He contributed two section, briefed members of Congress on the report, which led to a fiery speech on the House floor, and was asked to submit testimony to the January 6th Committee, which he did in March 2022. A Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, Andrew's written many opeds and several scholarly articles, and has debated the existence of God, the tax-exempt worthiness of politicking churches, and whether America was founded as a Christian nation. Andrew graduated cum laude from Tulane University ('04) with a B.S. in neuroscience and environmental science and magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School ('09, part of the first post-Katrina class), where he was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Award for excellence in environmental law. He studied human rights and international law at the University of Amsterdam and traveled the world on Semester at Sea. Andrew completed his Master of Laws at Denver University Sturm College of Law ('11) with a perfect GPA and was awarded the Outstanding L.L.M. Award for his work as the Erik Bluemel International Environmental Law Fellow.  Pete on YouTube Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

Journalist and author Shane Burley returns to the podcast to discuss his article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches. He addresses historical traumas and contexts that underlie, in part, the dramatic escalation of violence by the State of Israel in the Palestinian territories since Hamas's October 7th attack. This is a two-part interview. Support the podcast and listen to this interview before the public release: https://www.patreon.com/lastborninthewilderness

This week Thomas Lecaque and John Wyatt Greenlee drop in to talk about the most historically accurate film of all-time: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Ok, it's nowhere near accurate but that doesn't mean we can't love it all the same. We talk about when and where the myth of Robin Hood emerges, our favorite portrayals of the character, the score and the soundtrack, and yes, the accent. This one is fun. Jump in.About our guests:Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @tlecaque.John Wyatt Greenlee is  a medievalist and a cartographic historian.His academic research is primarily driven by questions of how people perceive and reproduce their spaces:  how movement through the world — both experiential and imagined — becomes codified in visual and written maps. You can find him on twitter at @greenleejw 

In this episode, Will Wright, the Political Host of Faithful Politics, assumes the role of sole moderator in the absence of his co-host, Josh Burtram. Mr. Wright is joined by an eminent guest, Andrew L. Seidel, who serves as the Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The episode offers an in-depth examination of the First Amendment, elucidating its paramount importance in safeguarding the division between religious institutions and governmental bodies. Mr. Seidel, an accomplished attorney and published author, provides an extensive account of his decade-long experience in defending these critical constitutional principles.The dialogue extends beyond mere legalistic interpretation to explore the broader societal implications of the First Amendment. It raises pertinent questions concerning the influence of religious institutions in a democratic framework and scrutinizes the role of constitutional law in shaping the nation's political landscape. Mr. Seidel contributes nuanced perspectives that are both insightful and academically rigorous. Whether one is a legal scholar, a political analyst, or an individual intrigued by the complex relationship between faith and governance, this episode promises a comprehensive and thought-provoking discourse that merits attentive listening.Guest Bio:Andrew is the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (forthcoming in September). He's also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 2022) 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school.While writing the epilogue for The Founding Myth, Andrew conceived of and organized the groundbreaking “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection” report which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF. He contributed two section, briefed members of Congress on the report, which led to a fiery speech on the House floor, and was asked to submit testimony to the January 6th Committee, which he did in March 2022.A Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, Andrew's written many opeds and several scholarly articles, and has debated the existence of God, the tax-exempt worthiness of politicking churches, and whether America was founded as a Christian nation.Support the showTo learn more about the show, contact our hosts, or recommend future guests, click on the links below: Website: https://www.faithfulpoliticspodcast.com/ Faithful Host: Josh@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Political Host: Will@faithfulpoliticspodcast.com Twitter: @FaithfulPolitik Instagram: faithful_politics Facebook: FaithfulPoliticsPodcast LinkedIn: faithfulpolitics

Our Contemplative Practices Editor Samir Knego leads us in a creative meditation on Psalm 148, published in our Summer 2023 issue. Text for the psalm can be found here (various translations available). Contemplative Practices Editor Samir Knego spends his days photographing archival materials and thinking about the past. His essays, poems, and visual art have appeared all over the place, including in Religion Dispatches, Anti-Racism Daily, and Wordgathering: A Journal of Disability Poetry and Literature, and he has had solo shows at the Hillsborough Arts Council Gallery, Art Therapy Institute of NC, and Eno Arts Mill Gallery. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vita-poetica/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/vita-poetica/support

Sara Moslener is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Anthropology, and Religion at Central Michigan University, where she teaches courses on the history of religious and racial discrimination in the United States. She has been studying evangelical purity culture for over 15 years and has numerous publications, including the book Virgin Nation: Sexual Purity and American Adolescence (Oxford University Press: 2015).  Sara's work has been featured in The Revealer, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Sojourners Magazine, Jezebel, Religion Dispatches, Religion & Politics, Religion News Service, and The Baffler. She has appeared on numerous podcasts and is a regular contributor to the podcast Straight White American Jesus.

Andrew is the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (forthcoming in September). He's also co-editor of an academic text, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 2022) 5th Edition, with Prof. Leslie Griffin of UNLV law school. While writing the epilogue for The Founding Myth, Andrew conceived of and organized the groundbreaking “Christian Nationalism at the January 6, 2021, Insurrection” report which was published by the Baptist Joint Committee and FFRF. He contributed two section, briefed members of Congress on the report, which led to a fiery speech on the House floor, and was asked to submit testimony to the January 6th Committee, which he did in March 2022. A Senior Correspondent at Religion Dispatches, Andrew's written many opeds and several scholarly articles, and has debated the existence of God, the tax-exempt worthiness of politicking churches, and whether America was founded as a Christian nation. Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Andrew graduated cum laude from Tulane University ('04) with a B.S. in neuroscience and environmental science and magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School ('09, part of the first post-Katrina class), where he was awarded the Haber J. McCarthy Award for excellence in environmental law. He studied human rights and international law at the University of Amsterdam and traveled the world on Semester at Sea. Andrew completed his Master of Laws at Denver University Sturm College of Law ('11) with a perfect GPA and was awarded the Outstanding L.L.M. Award for his work as the Erik Bluemel International Environmental Law Fellow.     Pete on Tik Tok Pete on YouTube  Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page All things Jon Carroll  Follow and Support Pete Coe

Until fairly recently, Orthodox people in Israel could not imagine embracing their LGBT sexual or gender identity and staying within the Orthodox fold. But within the span of about a decade and a half, Orthodox LGBT people have forged social circles and communities and become much more visible. This has been a remarkable shift in a relatively short time span. Queer Judaism offers the compelling story of how Jewish LGBT persons in Israel created an effective social movement. Drawing on more than 120 interviews, Orit Avishai illustrates how LGBT Jews accomplished this radical change. She makes the case that it has taken multiple approaches to achieve recognition within the community, ranging from political activism to more personal interactions with religious leaders and community members, to simply creating spaces to go about their everyday lives. Orthodox LGBT Jews have drawn from their lived experiences as well as Jewish traditions, symbols, and mythologies to build this movement, motivated to embrace their sexual identity not in spite of, but rather because of, their commitment to Jewish scripture, tradition, and way of life. Unique and timely, Queer Judaism: LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel (NYU Press, 2023) challenges popular conceptions of how LGBT people interact and identify with conservative communities of faith. Orit Avishai is an ethnographer at Fordham University, where she teaches in the Sociology Department and in the Program on Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her work considers how ideology and culture, broadly defined, shape social institutions, identities, political dialogue, and cultural practices. Her recent public-facing writing has appeared in The Conversation, The Katz Center Blog, and Religion Dispatches. Dr. Avishai has degrees from The University of California at Berkeley, the Yale Law School, and Tel Aviv University Law School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Orit Avishai is an ethnographer at Fordham University, where she teaches in the Sociology Department and in the Program on Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her work considers how ideology and culture, broadly defined, shape social institutions, identities, political dialogue, and cultural practices. Her recent work has focused on Jewish Orthodoxy, and her book, Queer Judaism, LGBT Activism and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel is forthcoming from NYU Press. Her other work has been published in a variety of venues, including Gender & Society, The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and AJS Review. Her recent public-facing writing has appeared in The Conversation, The Katz Center Blog, and Religion Dispatches. Dr. Avishai has degrees from The University of California at Berkeley, the Yale Law School, and Tel Aviv University Law School. Buy "Queer Judaism, LGBT Activism, and the Remaking of Jewish Orthodoxy in Israel https://nyupress.org/9781479810031/queer-judaism/ Visit Sacred Writes: https://www.sacred-writes.org/

For our 25th episode, we have only one question: IS THERE A CAVE?This week we are joined by two scholars ready to get medieval on us all: Thomas Lecaque and John Wyatt Greenlee.  We're celebrating the great epic that wasn't: The 13th Warrior. This movie is so good and so bad at the same time that it's hard to quantify. But we're gonna do it anyway. We're talking Vikings, the Abassid Empire, man-bears, and maybe the greatest language scene in film history. Grab some mead, because it's made from honey, just like this podcast.About our guests:Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. He specializes in the nexus of apocalyptic religion and political violence. He has written for the Washington Post, Religion Dispatches, Foreign Policy and The Bulwark, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @tlecaque.John Wyatt Greenlee is  a medievalist and a cartographic historian.His academic research is primarily driven by questions of how people perceive and reproduce their spaces:  how movement through the world — both experiential and imagined — becomes codified in visual and written maps. You can find him on twitter at @greenleejw 

In this episode, we talk with Chrissy Stroop, an ex-evangelical writer, speaker, and advocate. We talk about Chrissy's journey out of evangelicalism, her creation of the hashtag #EmptyThePews, and her thoughts on Christian nationalism today. We also talk about Christian privilege and how it can be unwittingly maintained even by atheists. In the lightning round, we learn whether a “true atheist” can be a Christian nationalist.In the bonus section, available exclusively to supporters on Patreon, we talk with Chrissy about her time studying and teaching in Russia, and how her experience foreshadowed the state of Russia today.Chrissy's website: https://cstroop.com/ Chrissy's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cstroop Chrissy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/C_Stroop Find Chrissy's article on Religion Dispatches: https://religiondispatches.org/author/chrissy_stroop/And on openDemocracy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/author/chrissy-stroop/ Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NathGAlexander Nathan's website: https://www.nathangalexander.com/ If you find the podcast valuable and want to support it, check out our Patreon page, where you will also find bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/beyond_atheism We are grateful for every contribution.Beyond Atheism is produced and distributed by Atheists United Studios: https://www.atheistsunited.org/au-studios

Frank Schaeffer In Conversation with Author Rev. Katey Zeh, an ordained Baptist minister and Chief Executive Officer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, exploring her book, A Complicated Choice._____LINKShttps://kateyzeh.comhttps://rcrc.org_____BOOKA Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement_____Rev. Katey Zeh is an ordained Baptist minister and the Chief Executive Officer of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. The Center for American Progress named her one of their top justice-seeking faith leaders to watch, and she is a member of the Clergy Advocacy Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.  She has written for many outlets including the Washington Post, Sojourners, Religion News Services, Rewire and Religion Dispatches, and she has been featured in numerous outlets including The Atlantic, CNN, The Nation, BBC, NBC News, Newsweek, and VICE News. Rev. Katey is the co-host of the Kindreds podcast and the author of two books, A Complicated Choice: Making Space for Grief and Healing in the Pro-Choice Movement and Women Rise Up: Sacred Stories of Resistance for Today's RevoDavid C Barnett Small Business and Deal Making M&A SMBI discuss buying, selling, financing and managing small and medium sized businesses...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyAn ex-evangelical boomer, a middle-aged gay artist, and a frazzled stay-at-home mom walk into a bar, share a table, and go deep about some of life's big questions.Join Frank, Ernie, and Erin as they share stories of love, sex, grief, religion and so much more. This is “Love in Common.”Visit LoveInCommon.org to Subscribe on your favorite Podcast platform. Support the show_____In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer is a production of the George Bailey Morality in Public Life Fellowship. It is hosted by Frank Schaeffer, author of Fall In Love, Have Children, Stay Put, Save the Planet, Be Happy. Learn more at https://www.lovechildrenplanet.comFollow Frank on Substack, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. https://frankschaeffer.substack.comhttps://www.facebook.com/frank.schaeffer.16https://twitter.com/Frank_Schaefferhttps://www.youtube.com/c/FrankSchaefferYouTube In Conversation… with Frank Schaeffer PodcastApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-conversation-with-frank-schaeffer/id1570357787NEW: Love In Common Podcast with Frank Schaeffer, Ernie Gregg, and Erin BagwellApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/love-in-common/id1665307674

Derrick is joined by Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana to discuss cooking, gardening, and her new book "Hope: A User's Manual".    The Rev. MaryAnn McKibben Dana is a writer, pastor, speaker, and ministry coach living in the Virginia suburbs of DC. She is author of three books, Hope: A User's Manual, God, Improv, and the Art of Living, and Sabbath in the Suburbs. In addition to her books, her writing has appeared in TIME.com, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches, Journal for Preachers, Coaching World, and the Christian Century, and in a monthly column for Presbyterians Today for three years. She was featured on PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly for her work on Sabbath and was recognized by the Presbyterian Writers Guild with the 2015-2016 David Steele Distinguished Writer Award.    She is a sought-after speaker, preacher, conference leader and writer around issues of leadership, faith formation, and congregational transformation. She served as co-chair for two years of NEXT Church, a movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA) that seeks to call forth vital ministry for our changing cultural context. She currently serves as associate pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Herndon, VA. MaryAnn is a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas and received her M.Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She is a mother of three, an imperfect knitter, and an occasional ultramarathoner. Connect with her at her website. 

In this episode, Niki, Neil, and Natalia discuss the “nepo baby” phenomenon. Support Past Present on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pastpresentpodcast Here are some links and references mentioned during this week's show: Everyone seems to be talking about “nepo babies.” Niki referred to Adam Bellow's Atlantic article about the promise of an updated nepotism. Natalia cited this New York Times essay about political nepotism, and Neil drew on this National Constitution Center article about the founders.     In our regular closing feature, What's Making History: Natalia recommended the Bloomberg podcast, “The School Board Queen.” Neil shared Suzanna Krivulskaya's Religion Dispatches article, “Bad Preachers' Wives.” Niki discussed Erin Byers Murray's Nashville Lifestyles piece, “Nashville Public Library Introduces New Exhibit: Votes for Women.”

Brad and Dan begin by breaking down how the attempted coup in Brazil is a Christian nationalist copycat of J6, and what this means for how the world views the USA. Annika Brockschmidt at Religion Dispatches: https://religiondispatches.org/coups-of-a-feather-the-striking-similarities-between-brazils-insurrection-and-jan-6-may-be-due-to-authoritarian-learning/ Brian Klass on Substack: https://brianklaas.substack.com/p/bolsonaro-trump-and-authoritarian Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood at Word and Way: https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/christian-nationalism-invades-brazil They then discuss the revelations about classified docs found in President Biden's garage and other locations. What does it mean for him going forward? How does it compare to the Trump case? What is the reaction from Republicans and Democrats? They finish by going over the new committee formed in the House by the GOP majority - a committee to investigate the weaponization of the government to be headed by Jim Jordan. Brad breaks down the significance of the committee and what it portends going forward, while Dan brings in the case of Rep. George Santos and what it means for the short-term. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC Join Brad in Costa Mesa, CA - January 13: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/473515687167 Join Brad in Los Angeles - January 14: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/466693531917 Pre-Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960 To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://swaj.supportingcast.fm

Brad is joined by return guest and co-author Annika Brockschmidt to discuss three things: Her recent piece at Religion Dispatches on the fascist elements of the Right's taste for violence and cruelty The 2022 midterms, including J.D. Vance, Blake Masters, and the looming DeSantis/Trump showdown What the f*ck is happening with Twitter? We have thoughts. THE MONSTER IN THE MIRROR pod has its own feed. Go subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! SWAJ in DENVER: We have in-person tickets at 50% off - use SWAJ50 (limited number available) We have virtual tickets at 50% off - use SWAJ50 (limited number available) Pre-Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163 For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960 To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://swaj.supportingcast.fm

In his recent article at Religion Dispatches, historian Thomas Lecaque writes: In the wake of every mass shooting in this country, we have a brief moment where we talk about the guns used and the need for gun control. And then rapidly, the gun lobby, conservative politicians, Second Amendment absolutists, and the rest find every conceivable other possible thing to focus on, starting with “thoughts and prayers” and moving on to hardening school buildings. The mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where the shooter used an AR-15-style weapon he'd purchased from the gun company Daniel Defense, has followed the same pattern—but with a recognition that the love of the AR-15 style weapon isn't just about “freedom” or Second Amendment absolutism. It's also about Christian Nationalism. https://religiondispatches.org/christian-nationalists-and-the-holy-gun-crusade/ He speaks with Brad about this moment in our nation's history and what it means. Thomas Lecaque is an associate professor of history at Grand View University. Twitter: @tlecaque. SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron For access to the full Orange Wave series, click here: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/products/the-orange-wave-a-history-of-the-religious-right-since-1960 To Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi For an ad-free experience and to support SWAJ: https://irreverent.supportingcast.fm/straight-white-american-jesus-premium To become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/straightwhiteamericanjesus Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://swaj.supportingcast.fm