I am joined by journalist, author, and gay marriage activist Jonathan Rauch to discuss his recent article in The Atlantic, which is an investigation into America’s long assault on the humanity of gay people. For the majority of the 20th century, the United States waged a war of psychic terror against its gay population. This history is largely forgotten, even by LGBT people.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, my sister Elizabeth Schultz returns for a spirited debate about free will, the existence of God, and the foundations of morality. I am skeptical of the concept of free will, miracles, and God, while my sister defends them.
I love hearing back from my audience. Did you agree with us in this conversation? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. If your comment is excellent, I might feature it in an upcoming post.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, author and journalist Jonathan Rauch takes the helm to interview me about my political transformation from progressive leftist to liberal centrist. We talk about cancel culture as a form of thought control, why I have turned against identitarianism, how the left’s response to the Hamas invasion of Israel galvanized me, and much more.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by philosophers Subrena Smith and David Livingstone Smith to discuss the challenge and necessity of abolishing race. Subrena tells her story of moving from Jamaica to the deeply racialized culture of the USA and explains why she is Race Queer instead of Black. We discuss the many ways the ideology of race obscures actual human diversity, the difference between race and ethnicity, the similarities between race and witchcraft, and much more.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by ethicist and Christian dissident David Gushee to discuss his new book Defending Democracy From Its Christian Enemies. We discuss why some Christians are turning on liberal democracy and why we should all defend democracy despite its flaws. We also discuss “thin democracy” and why it is not sufficient for a cohesive society.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Yascha Mounk to discuss his new book The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. We discuss why the progressive fixation on identity categories undermines the goals of progressive movements, my own experience as a gay man, the dangers of binary political thinking, and much more.
Yascha Mounk is an expert on the crisis of liberal democracy and the rise of populism. The author of five books that have been translated into over ten languages, he is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Moynihan Public Scholar at City College. He is the Founder of Persuasion, the host of “The Good Fight” podcast and serves as a publisher (Herausgeber) of Die Zeit.
I love hearing back from my audience. Did you agree with us in this conversation? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. If your comment is excellent, I might feature it in an upcoming post.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Buddhist and Shakespeare scholar Lauren Shufran to discuss their book The Buddha and the Bard. We discuss the similarities between Buddhist and Shakespearian wisdom, how reading Shakespeare is a mindfulness practice, how to explore beginner’s mind, and much more.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by my sister Elizabeth Schultz. Elizabeth is a conservative Christian, classical educator, and homesteader. She asks me probing questions about my agnostic atheist worldview, and we compare and contrast our perspectives. We get into a lively discussion about God, why we do and don’t believe in him, whether it is possible to have a moral foundation without him, how we might find common ground across our worldview divides, and much more.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by philosopher David Livingston Smith to discuss his work on the history of dehumanization. We explore why “monstering” language is dangerous, how dehumanization leads to violence, and how trans people are currently being dehumanized.
In the second half of our conversation, we discuss racism and David’s commitment to race abolitionism. We discuss “racecraft”, and why reifying race as a category reinforces racism.
In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by The Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves to discuss the recent controversy in our religious community. He was recently photographed with an alleged sexual harasser and transphobe, and we reflect on the kind of culture we want to see in The Satanic Temple and why Lucien has responded the way he has to this controversy.
Stephen Bradford Long 