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
Denver Riggleman: Former U.S. Congressman, NY Times Bestselling Author of THE BREACH, Sr. Staffer to House Jan. 6th Committee, Co-owner Silverback Distillery
Special Presentation: LOVE & HATE IN THE TIME OF COVID by Kim Yaged
Steve Hayes, CEO and Editor of THE DISPATCH: Fact-based reporting and commentary on politics, policy and culture – informed by conservative principles
Bonus Episode: TOP OF MIND WITH JULIE ROSE - How Can We Reduce Gun Violence in America
Reaching Across Our Differences - How Two People with Different Views Can Talk About Their Differences and Still Be Friends
2 Nashville-based activists on all that’s happening in Tennessee: Gun legislation, LGBTQ rights, #TN3, democracy
Stand Up Comic, Host and Journo-Activist Pete Dominick and Corey got in a big disagreement. But did they wanna kill each other?
Robert Jensen, a ”Plain Radical” Author, Organizer and Emeritus Professor: ”An Attachment to Truth”
Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of PRRI on Growing Polarization on LGBTQ Rights; Abortion Attitudes in a Post-Roe World; Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism; and much more!
DARYL DAVIS: HATE, UNDONE - How 1 Black Man Befriended Members of the KKK and Nurtured Reconciliation
Barbara McQuade: #SistersInLaw Co-Host, Law Prof. at Univ. of Michigan, Legal Analyst for NBC News, Former U.S. Attorney
The Democracy Group’s Jenna Spinelle and Brandon Stover: Helping listeners understand what’s broken in our democracy and how to work together to fix it
Steven Newcomb, Shawnee-Lenape Scholar and Author: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Unmasking the Domination Code
Lanae Erickson, SVP of Social Policy, Education and Politics at Third Way: Making pragmatic progress on important issues that’s sustainable
Dr. Roberto Che Espinoza: Transqueer Activist | Latinx Scholar | Politicized Theologian | Public Ethicist
Kevin Singer, President of Neighborly Faith: What does it mean to have a neighborly faith in an increasingly diverse world?
Rabbi Mike Harvey - Bestselling Author of LET’S TALK: A RABBI SPEAKS TO CHRISTIANS
Former U.S. Congressman Joe Walsh - From Tea Party Firebrand to Woke Never-Trumper
Philip Bump - THE LAST DAYS OF THE BABY BOOM AND THE FUTURE OF POWER IN AMERICA
Lucy Caldwell - Tech Founder, Political Strategist and CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, and NPR Contributor, at the intersection of tech, politics and advocacy
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