Straight White American Jesus

Latest Episodes:

The Far-Right Microtargeting Platform Radicalizing Churches + QAnon Yoga Moms Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Brad speaks to filmmaker Kat Gellein Viken who is the co-creator of two recent documentaries on churches, conspiracy, and the war on democracy. In 2020's People You May Know, Gellein and her co-creator Charles Kriel connect the dots among the Council for National policy, American oligarchs, and nefarious data mining firms. The film follows a trail that eventually reveals how churches are collecting their parishioners' most sensitive data and how that data is being sent to political operatives in order to use it as a weapon to wage war on democracy. In 2022's Dis/informed the duo pull back the curtain on the 12 sources of disinformation that account for over 60% of the pandemics spread of disinformation. This time, the trail leads to online wellness spaces full of yoga moms into alternative medicine and natural remedies. The filmmakers reveal how yoga moms became allied with conspiracy theorists and far-right agitators as part of the anti-vax and QAnon movements.

People You May Know: https://www.amazon.com/People-You-Know-Charles-Kriel/dp/B08LHH7QJZ

Dis/informed (coming soon from PBS America): https://metrotonemedia.com/

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Produced by Brad Onishi

Edited by Shannon Sassone

Music by Matt Puckett - "846"

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Weekly Roundup: Legitimate Fascist Discourse Feb 12, 2022

Show notes

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the RNC calling J6 "legitimate political discourse." While it may seem like a blip in a busy news cycle, Dan relates it to the pearl clutching Republicans did about civility and bi-partisanship early in the Biden presidency, while Brad argues that the history books will reveal it as evidence leading to the GOP's development into full-blown fascism. This segment ends with a comparison of this language with the once-upon-a-time concern about Hillary Clinton's emails.

In the second segment Brad takes a semi-deep dive into Putin's assault on Ukraine and how it traces all the way back to the Cold War. There are clues in Putin's worldview as to why so many American Christian nationalists are enamored with him--the binary thinking, the strongman masculinity, and the nostalgia for a lost world.

The final segment is a brief exploration of the trucker convoy protests in Canada and their wider implications for the political moment.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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"You’re Not Welcome Here", Ep. 6- "You’re Not Who You Think You Are” Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

This episode revisits the idea that identity is about recognition and explores the significance of this. Because identity is not only about how I recognize myself, but also about how others recognize me, identity is never merely a matter of individual preference. Rather, identity is always shared and collective in nature. This is particularly true of identities with the “critical mass” to effect social or political change. This is one of the reasons why criticisms of identity politics on the grounds that it is merely individualistic and socially divisive are misguided.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller

Edited by Shannon Sassone

Music by Matt Puckett-Yellow Leaves

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J6 ONE YEAR LATER, Ep. 6: This Was a Dress Rehearsal - with Anne Nelson Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

What if J6 and the Anti-CRT movements trace back to the same secretive organization? What if J6 was the result of years of planning and organizing? And what if there's a plan in place to make sure that a secretive network has the chance to pick our next president?

Anne Nelson is the author of Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right. She explains how J6 was the result of a year-long strategy implemented by the Council for National Policy. Once the CNP realized that Trump would most likely not win the popular vote or the electoral college, they set in motion a plan to skew doubt on the integrity of the election. They helped organize various events and rallies calling for the election to be overturned and supported the events on the ground on J6. Afterwards, they set in motion another set of plans to win back moderate voters by convincing them that their kids's schools were teaching CRT.

Anne Nelson's Washington Spectator article: https://washingtonspectator.org/school-boards-nelson/

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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Produced by: Brad Onishi

Edited by: Shannon Sassone

Music by: Matt Puckett-Here We Go Again

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Weekly Roundup: Patriarchal Safe Spaces Aren't Safe Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

Brad and Dan begin with a discussion about the new bill in Florida that would outlaw referencing gender and sexual identity. This new "Don't Say Gay Bill" is an attempt to create a patriarchal safe space in which all those who are not straight are considered outside threats to children. It shows how, despite all their ire toward the idea of safe spaces, Christian nationalists and conservatives attempt to create safe spaces as same spaces--a place where everyone is made to be, or assumed, to be the same so that no one is uncomfortable.

The next segment looks at militia movements in California taking over rural counties and what this says about the state of trust in democratic institutions and the radicalization of the right.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/03/california-county-controlled-by-militia-group

Finally, Brad and Dan look at Lauren Boebert's tweet wherein she suggests that the Constitution doesn't evolve. What does this say about her worldview and how does it relate to biblical inerrancy and constitutional originalism?

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

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You’re Not Welcome Here Ep. 5: “It’s Not Like Social Media” Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

Contemporary critics on both the right and the left essentially accuse those who politically mobilize around social identities of being fundamentally selfish in nature. The charge is that their politics reflects only personal interest, that they seek special treatment or privilege on the basis of an identity that isn’t shared with others, and that they fragment any shared political vision. But none of these criticisms hold up if we consider the actual social groups that figure prominently in current discussion of identity politics. Rather, we find that these groups originate in the experience of marginalization and social and political exclusion, radically changing the light in which we should view identity and identity politics.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BradleyOnishi
Venmo: @straightwhitejc

Produced by Brad Onishi and Dan Miller

Edited by Shannon Sassone

Music by Matt Puckett

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J6 ONE YEAR LATER, Ep. 5: The Violence of Playing Indian Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Dr. Dana Lloyd is an expert on Native American religious traditions and faculty at Villanova University. She speaks to Brad about how the QAnon Shaman's appropriation of Native American symbols extends a long lineage of White people "playing Indian." According to Dr. Lloyd, "playing Indian" is a means of eliminating indigenous peoples by using their symbols, rituals, and traditions while leaving them behind--often through violence and attempted genocide. She draws on her own upbringing in Israel-Palestine to explain how the J6 rioters as a whole saw themselves taking what has always been given to them by God.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

SWAJ Apparel is here! https://straight-white-american-jesus.creator-spring.com/listing/not-today-uncle-ron

To Donate:

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Venmo: @straightwhitejc

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Weekly Roundup: Falwell's Fall and America's Backlash Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Brad and Dan begin this episode with a discussion of the new profile of Jerry Falwell Jr. at Vanity Fair. In their view, Falwell is a type for contemporary Christian nationalism. He describes himself as not particularly religious while subscribing to a vision of the United States wherein White Christian men hold power. He was formed politically by Rush Limbaugh. He lavished praise on Donald Trump. For Dan, it's a perfect example of how Christian nationalism is a religious-political-cultural identity that often time has little to do with persona religious practice.

They then segue into analysis of a new piece by sociologist Ruth Braunstein that investigates the backlash against the Religious Right and White Evangelicals. Braunstein examines the rise of the Nones--those unaffiliated with religion--but also looks at how the Religious Left and the "spiritual but not religious" also represent a backlash to conservative American Protestants.

In the final segment Brad goes through the history of SCOTUS picks based on identity. Dan argues that identity politics are always at play and that there are no objectively best candidates for SCOTUS.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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To Donate:

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You're Not Welcome Here, Ep. 4: “Why Now?” Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

If all of politics involves “identity,” and if we all possess identities, why do so many feel like contemporary “identity politics” is something new and experience it as threatening? If identity has always been a fundamental part of shared social and political life, why does identity figure so prominently in that shared life now? In this episode, we explore this question, looking at three significant social and political events over the latter half of the 20th century that help us to understand how identity has come to hold such a prominent place in our social and political life.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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To Donate:

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J6 ONE YEAR LATER, Ep. 4: Shofars, Flags, and a Declaration of War Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Dr. Leah Payne is a historian of Pentecostalism and other Christian traditions in the United States. She speaks with Brad about the overwhelming presence of charismatic Christians at the Insurrection. Drawing on her insider-scholar perspective, Dr. Payne helps decode some of the religious elements at at J6: the shofars (the horns used as instruments to declare war), the flags, and other symbols. She also explains why charismatic Christianity became such a prominent part of Trump's presidency and MAGA Nation as a whole.

Subscribe for $5.99 a month to get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, access to the entire 500-episode archive, Discord access, and more: https://axismundi.supercast.com/

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/StraightWhiteJC

Order Brad's new book: https://www.amazon.com/Preparing-War-Extremist-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1506482163

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