Straight White American Jesus
Religion & Spirituality
About
An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.
Episodes
- The Sunday Interview: “We Are Not a Monolith”: Latino Evangelicals, Immigration Politics, and the Battle Over Representation
In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview , host Leah Payne speaks with Jonathan Calvillo, sociologist of religion at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and author of The Saints of Santa Ana, about g…
- Weekly Roundup: Under-Babied and Overruled: Trump’s Golden Calf Politics
Hosts Brad and Dan analyze the convergence of political power, religious symbolism, and personality cults in Trump
- It's in the Code ep 190: “The Atheists Are Coming!”
This episode examines Josh Hawley
- The Myth of Religious Freedom w/ Reza Aslan and Peter Manseau
Reza Aslan and Peter Manseau examine the history of religious freedom in the United States, discussing how pluralism was forged through conflict and negotiation, challenging the myth of a uniformly Christian founding.
- The Sunday Interview: Paul Pressler, the SBC Takeover, and a Culture of Power and Abuse
Robert Downen joins host Brad Onishi to discuss his investigation into Paul Pressler, a key figure in the Southern Baptist Convention's conservative resurgence. The conversation covers how the takeover, driven by specific theological and p…
- Weekly Roundup: The Grownups in Charge? SCOTUS, Gerrymandering & White Christian Power
Brad Onishi and Dan Miller discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision affecting the Voting Rights Act, leading to redistricting in several states. They analyze Christian nationalist rhetoric and critique the framing of "adults in the room…
- The Manosphere and the Fundamentalism Pipeline
In this special crossover episode, Dan Miller joins Dr. Laura Anderson on Sunday School Dropouts for an in-depth examination of the ideological forces shaping modern Christian masculinity. The conversation centers on the specific theologic…
- The Sunday Interview: Governing Without Accountability: Silicon Valley’s Ideology with Adrian Daub
In this episode, Annika Brockschmidt sits down with Adrian Daub, Professor at Stanford University and author of the upcoming book What Tech Calls Governing . Daub provides a searing intellectual history of the vibe shift in Silicon Valley,…
- Weekly Roundup: The Death of Voting Rights: SCOTUS, Alito, and the Colorblind Myth
In this week’s solo roundup, Dan Miller deconstructs a series of aggressive maneuvers by the 47th administration designed to codify Christian nationalism into federal policy. The centerpiece is the newly released report from the Anti-Chris…
- It's in the Code ep 189: “Jesus Isn’t An Alpha”
Despite his promises, Josh Hawley’s vision of masculinity and masculine virtue is not “Christian” in any definable way. But while this may be surprising, given his Christian nationalist credentials, it actually serves the interests of his…
- Hegseth Repeals Vax Mandate: The Anti-Vax Playbook Comes to the Pentagon
The repeal of the military’s flu vaccine mandate by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might seem like a minor policy shift, but it opens a window into a much larger movement reshaping American politics, religion, and public health. In this ep…
- The Sunday Interview: Weathering the Backlash: Navigating The Anti-DEI Wave with Dr. Tiffany Townsend
In this compelling installment of the Sunday Interview , host Brad Onishi engages in a deep-dive conversation with Dr. Tiffany Townsend, a distinguished psychologist and former Chief Diversity Officer, to discuss her timely new book, Weath…
- Weekly Roundup: Project 2025 in Action: The Indictment of the SPLC
Brad Onishi and Dan Miller discuss the Trump DOJ’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging it defrauded donors by paying informants for access to extremist groups, with charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy,…
- It's in the Code ep 188: “Where’s Jesus?”
Josh Hawley tells us he’s giving us a vision of Christian “manhood.” But as we near the end of his book on the subject, is he? In this episode, Dan argues that there’s actually nothing specifically Christian about Hawley’s account of manho…
- Trump's Bible Reading is More Than Spectacle - It's Spiritual Terrorism
Trump’s 2 Chronicles Reading and the Politics of Christian Nationalism Brad Onishi discusses an 84-hour marathon Bible reading at the Museum of the Bible tied to U.S. 250th anniversary celebrations, noting that Donald Trump read from the W…
- The Sunday Interview: The Rise of the Hype Priest: Judah Smith, Celebrity Faith, and Modern Evangelicalism
In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with journalist Sam Kestenbaum about his reporting on celebrity pastor culture and the rise of the “hype priest.” The conversation centers on Kes…
- Weekly Roundup: Trump, Vance, and Just War Theory + Pete's Pulp Fiction
Religion scholars Brad Onishi and Dan Miller recap a week of conflict in which Pope Leo criticized war and bombing in a statement widely read as aimed at the U.S. approach to Iran, prompting a lengthy Trump Truth Social attack and backlash…
- SWAJ Rewind: Culture of Life
What does it mean when cultural and religious conservatives proclaim that they affirm a “culture of life?” We know it means that they oppose abortion and abortion access. But what else does it mean? In this episode, Dan dives in to decode…
- Trump, the Pope, and the Myth of Western Civilization
In this episode, Brad Onishi unpacks the escalating clash between Donald Trump and Pope Leo—from Trump’s public criticism of the Pope to the now-viral AI image depicting himself as Jesus. What might seem like another headline-grabbing cont…
- The Sunday Interview: Did Jesus Invent Western Morality with Dr. Bart Ehrman
In this episode, Brad Onishi is joined by world-renowned New Testament scholar Dr. Bart Ehrman to explore the origins of the Western moral conscience through his latest book, Love Thy Stranger . The conversation challenges the common assum…
- Weekly Roundup: Did Donald Trump Threaten the Pope? + MAGA Turns on Trump
In this week's episode, Brad Onishi navigates a high-stakes intersection of nuclear brinkmanship and theological crisis. The discussion centers on the fallout of Operation Epic against Iran, specifically Pete Hegseth’s assertion that God d…
- It's in the Code ep 187: “It’s Important Work—As Long As Someone Else Does It”
Josh Hawley tells us that blue-collar and manual labor are the domains of true masculinity. He tells us that they are the path to freedom, and meaning, and purpose. He tells us that men have no social value if they do not undertake this ki…
- Predators, Algorithms, and Profit: How New Mexico Took Down Meta
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus , we sit down with New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez for a wide-ranging conversation about his office’s landmark case against Meta and what it reveals about the dangers embedded in tod…
- The Sunday Interview: The Myth of Liberal Media Bias: A History of the Conservative Media Machine
Annika Brockschmidt sits down with historian AJ Bauer to dismantle the long-standing myth that the "liberal media" narrative was a natural reaction to biased reporting. Bauer, drawing from his book Making the Liberal Media , traces a centu…
- Weekly Roundup: No Catholics at the Pentagon, Trump as Jesus + the Conversion Therapy Court Case
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus , hosts Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack a chaotic and revealing week at the intersection of politics, religion, and power. As Donald Trump once again compares himself to Jesus during the l…
- One Million Neighbors Ep 2: War
Episode two of One Million Neighbors brings us to the chaotic final days of Saigon in April 1975, as ten-year-old Simon Hoa-Phan watches his world unravel. From the terror of nighttime bombings to the desperate crush of families fleeing to…
- It's in the Code ep 186: “Blue Collar or Bust”
Josh Hawley says that men are called by God to work. In fact, he says that working is the source of God’s image within men. But what counts as “work” for Hawley? And what dogmas about work and the value of men drive his account? And how do…
- Immigration, Christianity, and Refugees: The Story of One Million Neighbors
Brad Onishi introduces One Million Neighbors , a new limited series hosted by Melissa Borja. The episode opens in the Twin Cities—Minneapolis and St. Paul—where a sweeping federal immigration crackdown has transformed daily life. In early…
- The Sunday Interview: Desire, Shame & Masculinity with Jay Stringer
Brad Onishi sits down with therapist and author Jay Stringer to explore his new book Desire , a deep dive into how we form identity, intimacy, and meaning in a world shaped by shame and disconnection. Jay reflects on his upbringing as a pa…
- Weekly Roundup: Pete Hegseth’s Military Vision, Violent Prayer & GOP Tax Dogma
Brad Onishi and Dan Miller unpack a series of troubling developments surrounding Pete Hegseth’s vision for the military chaplaincy, where chaplains may soon wear only religious insignia instead of rank and operate within a drastically redu…
- It's in the Code ep 185: “Who Are the Elites?”
Josh Hawley says that the crisis of masculinity in America is due to the fact that men won’t work. And the reason they won’t work, he assures us, is because liberal elites have convinced them not to. But what does Hawley overlook to tell t…
- No Kings: The Dangerous Lie That America’s President Was Meant to Be a Monarch
This episode of Straight White American Jesus features Brad Onishi unpacking a central claim gaining traction on the political and religious right: that the American presidency was always meant to function like a monarchy. In light of the…
- The Sunday Interview: Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State with Caleb Gayle
In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview , host Leah Payne speaks with award-winning journalist and historian Caleb Gayle about his acclaimed book Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State…
- Weekly Roundup: “Kill the Enemy”: Iran War Lies, "Killing" Talarico, + Calls For Political Violence
Welcome back to Straight White American Jesus. In this episode, Brad Onishi and co-host Dan Miller dig into the resignation of Joe Kent and the unraveling narrative around Iran. Kent’s claim—that Iran posed no imminent nuclear threat—direc…
- It's in the Code ep 184: “A Crappy Sermon?”
In the end of his chapter on men as “warriors,” we finally get to his full vision of what a “warrior” is. What does Hawley have to tell us? Is there anything specifically “war-like” about his warriors? Or anything specifically Christian? O…
- Is James Talarico a "Liberal" Christian Nationalist?
In this episode, Brad Onishi takes on a provocative question: is James Talarico really a “liberal Christian nationalist,” as critics on both the right and left have claimed following his primary victory over Jasmine Crockett? Drawing on th…
- The Sunday Interview: How Christianity Shaped America: Matthew Avery Sutton on Power, Evangelicals, and the “Chosen Land”
In this Sunday Interview, Bradley Onishi sits down with historian Matthew Avery Sutton to discuss his sweeping new book Chosen Land. Sutton argues that from the colonial era onward, Americans have pursued a centuries-long project to transf…
- Weekly Roundup: MAGA Masculinity, the Iran War, and the DOGE Files: What Happens When Power Rejects Expertise
On this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller dive headfirst into the Trump administration’s approach to Iran—and the deeper worldview shaping it. They examine the escalating conflict, the strategic importanc…
- It's in the Code ep 183: “Genocide Joshua”
The third role Josh Hawley tells us that men are called to play is that of “warrior”? But what does that mean? Where might we look for an exemplar? One of Josh Hawley’s answers is another Joshua, the figure from the Hebrew Bible, tasks wit…
- The Sunday Interview: The New MAGA History: How Trump, JD Vance, and the Right Are Redefining What It Means to Be American
Host Annika Brockschmidt sits down with historian Thomas Zimmer for a wide-ranging conversation about the politics of history in the age of Trumpism—and why Zimmer ultimately decided to leave the United States after years teaching at Georg…
- Weekly Roundup: Trump’s Iran War? MAGA Divisions, Epstein Distraction & End Times Politics
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus , Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the Trump administration’s military action against Iran and the political and religious rhetoric surrounding the conflict. They examine the contradict…
- Reign of Error 007: Birth Control, Bathrooms & Biblical Patriarchy: The War on Gender and Reproduction
Sarah Posne r sits down with New York Magazine senior writer Sarah Jones to unpack the accelerating assault on transgender rights in Kansas and beyond. They trace how a new Kansas law retroactively invalidating updated gender markers on dr…
- It's in the Code ep 182: “So, That’s a Warrior?”
Josh Hawley informs us that one of the distinctive roles men are called to play is that of “warrior.” But what, exactly, makes a warrior? What are the distinctively masculine “warrior virtues” men are called to live out? It turns out that…
- MAGA Christians Are Split Over Iran
MAGA Christians are splitting over Donald Trump’s strike on Iran, with high-profile voices like Megyn Kelly, Tucker Carlson, and Marjorie Taylor Greene arguing the move betrays “America First” principles. For them, foreign intervention—esp…
- The Sunday Interview: Survivors Speak: Christian Nationalism, Patriarchy & Doug Wilson (Pamela Brown of CNN)
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus: The Sunday Interview, Brad Onishi speaks with CNN Chief Investigative Correspondent Pamela Brown about her new documentary examining Christian nationalism, the rise of the Communion of Refo…
- Weekly Roundup: State of the Union Fallout: ICE Expansion, Christian Nationalism & Retribution Politics
In this episode of Straight White American Jesus, Brad Onishi and Dan Miller break down the spectacle and subtext of the recent State of the Union. While the speech itself felt predictable—long on grievance, short on substance—the real sto…
- It's in the Code ep 181: “It’s Not About Sacrifice”
Josh Hawley argues that men are called to be fathers, and that fatherhood is defined by sacrificing oneself. But is it? Should it be? Why does high-control religion demand “sacrifice,” and how does Hawley’s account of masculinity reinforce…
- Tucker Carlson vs. Mike Huckabee: The MAGA Rift Over Israel, Antisemitism, and Christian Zionism
In this brief episode of Straight White American Jesus , Brad Onishi dissects a revealing interview between Tucker Carlson and Mike Huckabee, using it as a window into the growing rift inside the MAGA coalition. At the center of the clash…
- The Sunday Interview: Leah Payne with Dr. Melissa Deckman (PRRI) on Measuring Christian Nationalism (PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas)
Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and political scientist specializing in gender, religion, and public opinion, joins host Leah Payne, author of God Gave Rock and Roll to You: A History of Contempora…
- Weekly Roundup: Pentagon Pulpit, Silenced Christians: Doug Wilson, James Talarico & the Battle for the American Soul
Doug Wilson’s appearance at a Pentagon prayer service hosted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is more than a symbolic moment—it’s a window into the kind of Christianity being elevated at the highest levels of American power. Wilson, a sel…