Jonathan Rauch and Pete Wehner both return to the TP&R pod. Only this time we get them together! For a little background, Jon and Pete have a number of fundamental differences (eg. Jon is an atheist and Pete is a devout Christian); yet, they also happen to be good friends. So the conversation was flowing before we even hit record. We were discussing Pete's recent essay in THE ATLANTIC "Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind." We discussed pervasive cognitive dissonance, specifically on the part of people of faith and their continued embrace of Donald Trump. We also talked about our own need to have epistemological humility. Then we explored a construct that Jon is fleshing out for an upcoming book. That is, the 4 existential questions of 1) Morality, 2) Mortality, 3) Malevolence, and 4) Miracles.
Pete Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. His books include The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, which he co-wrote with Michael Gerson, and Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism. He was formerly a speechwriter for George W. Bush and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Peter is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and his work also appears in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Affairs.
JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and many other publications including The New Republic, The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and interestingly Religion News Service among many others. His latest book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, which we discussed last time Jon joined us on TP&R. One of his earlier works, Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (published originally in 1993 and then expanded in 2013) defends free speech and robust criticism and remains a highly influential work. And of course, it must be mentioned that Jon is arguably most famous for not liking shrimp!
Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion
twitter.com/coreysnathan
www.theatlantic.com/author/peter-wehner/
jonathanrauch.typepad.com/
https://braverangels.org/
The Dark Knight clip - www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIYkhb2NjfE
The article on the "Need for Chaos" - royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0147
Anthony Scaramucci: "Relax. None of us are getting outta here alive."
Mashup Episode with WHAT'S NEXT? Hosts Emily Matthews and Daniel Hare
Tim Alexander: Civil Rights Attorney, Candidate for U.S. Congress (NJ-02)
Christy Smith, Candidate for U.S. Congress in California's 25th District
"Is Politics the New Religion?" with Linda Feldmann, Washington Bureau Chief at the Christian Science Monitor
Joe Trippi, the man who "reinvented campaigning," and Christine Trippi, the next generation of campaigners
When Heroes Fall - A Candid Talk with Dr. Amy Laura Hall and Dr. Tommy Givens, Christian Ethicists
Charlie Sykes, editor-in-chief of The Bulwark, disavows rampant dumbforkery
Elizabeth Neumann, frmr. senior official in the Trump Admin's DHS, now leading the Republican Accountability Project
Daniel Lippman of Politico shares secrets of the Politico Playbook & other Washington insider details
Ronnie gets grilled by special co-host Jessica "The Reporter" Stone
What Do Politics and Religion Sound Like at Their Best? JAZZ!
Mayor Bill Miranda - The Folks of Our Town, the Mayor of the City of Santa Clarita
Ryan Meeks: "Life is a gift. Love is the point."
The Folks of Our Town - Aron Bender, Host of the Signal News and the Aron Bender Podcast
Julie Mason Shares Shocking Truths of the MSM
Reed Galen, Co-Founder of The Lincoln Project speaks candidly about addressing mistakes and getting back to work!
Special Tribute to Frontline and Essential Workers
Danielle Pletka, Sr. Fellow at AEI, co-host of WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON
CROSSING THE DIVIDE with Jessica Stone: Seasoned Journalist, Global Adventurer, Fearless Mom
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