episodes
transcripts, notes, sources, and more!
S6:E36 Jerry Falwell part 1
Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority defined evangelicalism in the 1980s Jerry Falwell was a prominent American pastor, televangelist, and conservative political activist whose life and ministry had a significant impact on American evangelicalism and politics. Born on...
S6:E35 Abortion
Have evangelicals always been against abortion? A lot of evangelicals are now single-issue voters, and that issue is abortion. But that was not always the case. In fact, for a great deal of American history, abortion was largely seen as a Catholic issue. There are, of...
S6:E34 The Death Penalty
Why do evangelicals support the death penalty? In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States went years without using the death penalty. Not a single person was killed by injection, firing squad, hanging, or electric chair. But by the late 90s, we were killing...
S6:E33 Bob Jones University v. The United States
How Bob Jones University fought against integration Bob Jones University v. United States (1983) was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that addressed whether the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could deny tax-exempt status to private religious schools that practiced...
A Personal Message and Exciting News!
Truce is almost 8 years old!!! Chris needs your help to keep making this important show. Please consider giving $10-$20 per month. No other podcast is covering these important topics in a clear, entertaining, accessible way. The best way to help is via a recurring...
S6:E32 George Wallace
George Wallace was, as historian Dan Carter put it, "the most influential loser in American history". He was the governor of Alabama and lost multiple bids for president of the United States. In the process, he spread his racist views throughout the country. Wallace...
S6:E31 Boston Against Busing
How the North struggled with racism as it integrated schools We talk about racism in the United States like it only happens in the South. But the nasty truth is that the North is also guilty of racist behavior. This is evident in the way that we behaved when schools...
S6:E30 Segregation Academies (part 2)
Following God requires sacrifice In 2 Samuel 24 David is told that he must buy a certain piece of land in an act of repentance for his sins. The man who owns the land says that he'd like to give David the land and the animals to sacrifice. But David turns him down,...
S6:E29 Segregation Academies (part 1)
Update: I would like to apologize for an error I made in the original version of this story. I stated that tuition payments to private schools are tax-exempt on the federal level. They are not. They sometimes are on the state level. The episode has been edited to...