On this our final episode, we talk to a few of the people that made this venture possible, and then we chat with each other about what the experience has meant to us. And in One Last Thing (a segment whose name has never been so apt), we reach

#69: Religio-Political Prophecy

May 4th, 2021 35m 26s

This month, we start the show with a special announcement. Then we talk with James Beverley, author of God's Man in the White House, about the world of religio-political prophecy. And in One Last Thing, Dan is taking advantage of his free trial

#68: The “Love Jihad”

Apr 6th, 2021 48m 52s

This month, we talk to Laura Dudley Jenkins, author of Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion in India, about the Indian conspiracy theory known as the "love jihad." And in One Last Thing, Dan splits theological hairs in discussing an animated S

#67: Rural Conservatism and Dan’s New Book!

Mar 2nd, 2021 40m 12s

This month we talk to Ross Benes, a native son of Brainerd, Nebraska who has written a book about his hometown and his journey away from it and its conservative values. And then Dan tells us all about his new book, The Oxford Handbook of the Bi

#66: Religious Clothing Norms and the Biden Inauguration

Feb 2nd, 2021 46m 19s

This month, we talk to a researcher at the Pew Research Center about her work on the harassment women face around the globe when their clothing is deemed either too secular or too religious. And then we have a chat about the Trump years just en

#65: What Is Religion, Anyway? What Is Politics?

Jan 5th, 2021 51m 19s

After five-plus years of talking about the intersection of religion and politics, this month we step back and actually try to define our terms, with the help of our old friend Courtney Bruntz. And in our year-ending One Last Thing, Dan reaches

#64 1/2: The Orange Wave, Episode 0

Dec 1st, 2020 41m 58s

We're taking a month off to lick our psychic wounds, so this month friend of the show Bradley Onishi has graciously agreed to allow us to share Episode 0 of his Orange Wave project, which we discussed on our last episode. If you like what you h

#64: The Orange Wave

Nov 3rd, 2020 41m 48s

This month we talk to friend-of-the-show Bradley Onishi from the podcast Straight White American Jesus about his extraordinary podcast miniseries The Orange Wave. And in One Last Thing, Dan goes highbrow and Tim does...not.Some of the things

#63: The Power Worshippers

Oct 6th, 2020 44m 40s

In this episode, we talk to Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers, about her deep dive into the world of Christian nationalism. And in One Last Thing, we're both seeking solace and a sense of normalcy in the midst of these weird an

IC Supplemental: RBG

Sep 21st, 2020 29m 34s

America lost an icon on Friday, so we called our friend Ann Duncan to help us process the news. We talked about why Ruth Bader Ginsburg meant so much to so many, about what her legacy might be, and about what's likely to happen now that she's g

#62: The Politics and Religion of QAnon

Sep 1st, 2020 46m 53s

This month we talk to Marc-André Argentino about where QAnon came from, where it might be going, and how it's starting to look more like a religion than a simple belief or set of beliefs. And in One Last Thing, Dan is relaxing with a cartoon, a

#61: Supreme Court Wrap-Up 2020

Aug 4th, 2020 49m 50s

This month we continue our annual tradition of trying to ask questions about the Supreme Court term gone by that are intelligent enough to be worthy of the answers we get from friend-of-the-show Ann Duncan. And in One Last Thing, Dan is watchin

#60: Nones in the US and Canada

Jul 7th, 2020 1h 8m

This month we talk to sociologists Joel Thiessen and Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme about their new book None of the Above: Nonreligious Identity in the US and Canada. And in One Last Thing, Dan has been contemplating the apocalypse while Tim just want

IC Supplemental: Trump Vs. Democracy

Jun 6th, 2020 16m 6s

On our first supplemental episode in almost three years, we talk about the president's decision to assault peaceful protesters in order to walk to a church and hold up a Bible. Here are the books and articles we referenced along the way:How D

#59: Christian Nationalism & COVID and AKA Jane Roe

Jun 2nd, 2020 44m 45s

On this episode of Impolite Conversation, we invited Andrew Whitehead, co-author of Taking America Back for God, back on the show to explain to us how Christian nationalism complicates life in a pandemic. Then we chatted about the new FX docume

#58: The American Church’s Complicity With Racism

May 5th, 2020 44m 55s

On this month's episode, we talk to Jemar Tisby, author of The Color of Compromise, about the shameful history of the American church's complicity with racism and racial oppression. And in One Last Thing, Dan and Tim switch personalities: Dan h

#57: Robb Ryerse Is Running For Our Lives

Apr 6th, 2020 33m 3s

This month on Impolite Conversation, Tim talks to Robb Ryerse of Brand New Congress and Vote Common Good about his work with those organizations, as well as his own run for Congress in 2018, which he chronicled in his memoir Running For Our Liv

#56: Nerd Podcasting Supergroup!

Mar 3rd, 2020 48m 57s

This month on Impolite Conversation, we join forces with the guys at Straight White American Jesus (you should really go subscribe) to form a nerd podcasting supergroup! Then...the four of us just sit around and talk about evangelicals in Ameri

#55: The Politics of Chosen-ness and Trump on Religious Liberty

Feb 4th, 2020 40m 52s

For February, we talk to Michael Coogan about his book God's Favorites: Judaism, Christianity, and the Myth of Divine Chosenness. Then Dan and Tim about the new rules announced by the Trump Administration last month regarding religious liberty.

#54: Uighur Erasure in China

Jan 7th, 2020 44m 57s

This month, we get our good friend Courtney back in front of the microphone to discuss the "cultural genocide" occurring in Xinjiang province in northwest China. And in our year-reviewing One Last Thing, we're both thinking about Netflix origin

#53: The Meaning of Dec. 25 and Anti-Semitic Violence

Dec 3rd, 2019 57m 50s

For the holidays, we're digging into why Christmas is celebrated on December 25--and no, it's not just because of Saturnalia. And then we chat about the sharp rise in anti-Semitic violence the past few years and whether or not there's any reaso

#52: Christian Right in the States and Faith in the 2020 Democratic Nomination Fight

Nov 5th, 2019 47m 25s

This month, we talk to Tim's longtime friend Kimberly Horn Conger about her work documenting the Christian Right at the state level. Then she sticks around to help us break down how the 2020 Democratic hopefuls are using faith, and whose rhetor

#51: Holy Disunity and Trump as Messiah

Oct 1st, 2019 52m 21s

This month we talk to Presbyterian minister Layton Williams about her new book Holy Disunity and her thesis that authenticity is more important than unity. Then the two of us settle in to chat about the "quasi-messianic" language that's come ou

#50: Teaching the Teachers and What We’ve Learned

Sep 3rd, 2019 36m 10s

It's our 50th episode! This month we talk to Christopher Murray, a DC-area high school teacher who started a program to teach his colleagues about the religious diversity they might find among their students. And then we spend a few minutes cha

#49: Supreme Court Wrap-Up 2019

Aug 6th, 2019 46m 41s

This month we return to our August tradition of discussing the 2018-19 Supreme Court term with friend-of-the-show Ann Duncan. And in One Last Thing, both Dan and Tim have been watching TV of a supernatural variety.***We burned through a lot