After an assassination attempt, Ngo Dinh Diem saw proof that he was God’s agent. In some ways he did try to do well for his people, but in others he and his family were ruthless against the majority Buddhist population

The right wing is heavily invested in the meat industry. After all, it has the essential components: dominance, violence, destruction of the planet. In his new provocative book: The Omnivore’s Deception: What We Get Wrong About Meat, Animals, and Ourselves,

Storytelling is a venerable and often the most accurate way to teach history. Our guest co-author of the new A Line In the Sand, Miles Spencer, traveled with his partner along the 1100 mile trail of clues left by TE

In light of the Israeli state’s massive assault on Gaza, and now Lebanon, the question comes up: What does it mean to be a Jew? Our guest veteran New York Times sportswriter Robert Lipsyte says being a Jew entails certain

Some might call it “cruel and unusual punishment,” arresting, sweeping the parks, bulldozing homeless encampments. Others believe if people are poor it’s their own fault. On this show, the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis of The Kairos Center discusses an essay

He got 81% of the evangelical vote in key swing states in 2016. Our guest today the Reverend Doug Pagitt is exceptionally familiar with what goes on with evangelical Christians, and he says he expects Trump to get less than

As Trump heads into the 2024 campaign, you might wonder who is behind it, who benefits from destroying our republic. Here is the story. The religious nationalists see him as a fierce leader. They believe God sends such kings to

In 21st Century Western Culture, there’s a variety of impressions average white people get when you say the word Muslim. Most of them wrong. On this edition of Keeping Democracy Alive, Toronto author Saqib Qureshi brings some needed clarity to

In light of the Israeli state’s massive assault on Gaza, the question comes up: what does it mean to be a  Jew? Our guest veteran New York Times sportswriter Robert Lipsyte says being a Jew entails certain responsibilities and obligations;

India enjoys a greatly romanticized image; you may think of Gandhi or the Beatles visit there. The reality  is open repression and violence against the large Muslim minority.   Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon visit America and his Hindu

Bradley Onishi is himself a “deconverted” Christian nationalist. His new book is titled Preparing for War; The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism–And What Comes Next. On this show, he answers the puzzling question of why so many who consider

Though the angry white supremacist right grabs today’s news, the truth is the Christian Left has much deeper roots in American history. According to the Reverend Quadricos Bernard Driskell, the religious left has always been part of the fabric of

Since Plato’s allegory of the cave, tyrants have successfully manipulated the projected images the public sees. On January 6th, Trump told the insurrectionists they were being patriots. And they believe him. On this show, philosophy professor Andrew Fiala talks about

It’s been normalized. Americans who are neither Christian nor white may not necessarily feel open discrimination, but privilege underlies everyday life. The starting point is not neutral, as we’d prefer to believe. On this show Dr. Kyati Y Joshi talks

With violence so deeply embedded into America’s foreign policy, it’s become invisible. But who does it harm more; us of them? On this show global religion teacher and author Kelly Denton-Borhaug says it is time to grow up and face

Anything but monolithic, the newly victorious Taliban have internal divisions and are desperately seeking stability. Many confuse the Taliban with Al Qaeda and even ISIS, but the truth is ISIS was the Taliban’s enemy, and the country of Afghanistan is

Great stone monuments to the glory of war serve to silence the pain. Currently four times as many troops and veterans die by suicide as in combat. Our guest on today’s show is  Moravian University professor of religion Kelly Denton-Borhaug.

It’s the ideal fear generator; there’s nothing more awful than child abuse. Intentionally whipping up  such fear is a tried and true tool for crushing democracy. Cosmopolitan globalism, the prospect of losing white male hetero dominance has been effectively played

There are signs of serious splits emerging in the very conservative Southern Baptist Convention, which  is the largest Protestant denomination in America. Fifteen thousand of them just completed their annual gathering to elect a new president. The least hard liner

Fossil fueled fascism is not limited to the west. The roots of India’s ruling party go back to Mussolini and Nazis. Repressing minorities as they increase wealth and power of the autocratic rulers. The US is tight with Prime Minister

The assault on science and reason:we’ve seen it before. In the plagues of the 1300s and in 1918, as well as Covid-19, fear and uncertainty combine to draw out extremism. On this show professor of history at Messiah University (an

The threat of deeply dedicated religious nationalists is not about to go away when Trump leaves office. An electoral defeat energizes them. The author of the important book “The Power Worshipers,” Katherine Stewart expounds on her recent NYTimes op-ed, titled

The standard picture we northerners have of The South may no longer be accurate. Average working people are starting to see that the anti-union governments there are really just serving the rich. The long-thought-dormant left populist tradition of people like

The nuclear family, white hetero male dominance and control is not the only way it can be. Why can we can have firearms freedom but not sexual freedom? On this show, Janet Jakobsen professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

As Trump kicks off his fall campaign, and we wonder who is behind it, who benefits from destroying our republic, here is the story. The religious nationalists see him as a fierce leader. They believe God sends such kings to

By intentionally eroding the traditional wall of separation between church and state, the current Supreme Court is essentially overturning anti-discrimination laws. Under new rulings in the name of “religious liberty,” the right wing dominated court allows institutions receiving public money

It goes back to the 1300s actually and not just non-Christian people are affected; we all are. Often in subtle but meaningful ways. The understanding of the meaning of “patriotism” is involved. When one has this privilege, less exertion is

How is it that so many Americans who consider themselves religious can be so deeply devoted to a president who consistently lies and displays immoral behavior? Because Reagan and the two Bush presidencies failed; Trump is the first president to

A new executive order by President Trump stamps a radical new definition on the meaning of anti-semitism. Its purpose is to clamp down on freedom of speech. A Chicago area rabbi says her congregants have said “this feels like the

It didn’t start with W’s 2003 war on Iraq. The British have plundered what is now Iraq since the 19th century. After the incredible economic and physical devastation and perhaps a million deaths, though little noticed in the news, the