Straight White American Jesus

A podcast on religion and politics hosted by Daniel Miller and Bradley Onishi, ex-ministers who are now scholars of religion.

Weekly Roundup: I’m Pro Secret Abortion But Anti-Flute, OK?

Brad and Dan begin by discussing the revelations about Herschel Walker, GOP candidate for US Senate in Georgia, paying for an abortion for an ex-girlfriend. What interests them is how this event (like others) reveals the power-at-all-costs worldview of the GOP and the Christian nationalists at the heart of the party. Such events also show how any criticism of GOP Christians is perceived as persecution – as if they are targets of spiritual warfare, rather than public figures being asked about incoherencies between their actions and policy positions.

In the next segment Brad zeroes in on the reactions the American Right had to Lizzo playing James Madison’s flute. His analysis focuses on the theme of racial retribution and a reduction of the world to an us-vs-them mentality.

In the final segment the hosts discuss the similarities among Brazil’s Bolsonaro, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and the newly elected Giorgia Meloni in Italy. While they may not be political allies formally, they use similar strategies to foment fear and anxiety in their supporters.

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