Episodios

  • The Art of Neighboring: Pastor Amy Schenkel on Building Community, One Picnic Table at a Time (A WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project Story)

    The Art of Neighboring: Pastor Amy Schenkel on Building Community, One Picnic Table at a Time (A WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project Story)
    Feb 24 2026
    How do we rebuild the social fabric of our neighborhoods and congregations in an age of disconnection and division? In this episode, Pastor Amy Schenkel joins Corey to talk about what it means to be a "weaver" in your own community. From a front-yard picnic table that became a neighborhood gathering place to decades of church planting in downtown Grand Rapids, Amy brings a grounded, practical theology of neighboring that cuts across political and religious lines. Along the way, she and Corey explore the difference between curiosity and contentiousness, how congregations survive painful splits, and why "mission" might be the one thing that unites people who agree on very little else. Amy is a pastor and ministries coordinator at Neland Avenue Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and a regional mission leader who has also served as North American and U.S. Director of Resonate Global Mission. She's a trained missiologist, a church planting veteran, and a certified speaker with the Weave Speakers Bureau. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey’s Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion Key Takeaways Neighboring as a Practice: Neighboring doesn't happen by accident. It takes intentionality, imagination, and a willingness to show up consistently for the people around you.The Front-Yard Principle: A picnic table in the front yard rather than the backyard signals openness. Shared space that's accessible but not invasive invites connection without pressure.Missional Imagination: There's no curriculum for how your church or community should engage its neighborhood. It requires listening, creativity, and the willingness to try things and sometimes fail.Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD): Instead of cataloguing what's broken in a neighborhood, start by identifying what's already there: the gifts, talents, and resources people bring. Let the community lead its own renewal.Mission as Common Ground: Churches and communities can disagree deeply about politics and theology while still uniting around a shared calling to love their neighbors. Mission can hold together what ideology pulls apart.Curiosity Over Contentiousness: Everyone is an expert in something you know nothing about. Approaching others with genuine curiosity rather than a prepared rebuttal changes the entire nature of a conversation.The Non-Anxious Presence: When a community faces painful decisions, the most valuable thing a leader can bring is a calm, non-anxious presence. It lowers the temperature and makes honest dialogue possible.Broken Open: Weave identifies people who have been "broken open" by loss or hardship as some of the most effective community weavers. Suffering, when it doesn't harden us, can deepen our compassion for those on the margins.Dispositional Preparation: The preparation that matters most before a hard conversation isn't rehearsing your rebuttals. It's working on your own disposition, arriving curious, open, and genuinely willing to hear.The Image of God Principle: Even when a relationship feels impossibly strained, there's a way through. Lisa Sharon Harper's prayer, "The image of God in me loves the image of God in you," offers a floor to stand on when everything else feels unstable. About Our Guest Pastor Amy Schenkel is a pastor and ministries coordinator at Neland Avenue Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she works to help one congregation connect more deeply with its neighborhood. A graduate of Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary, Amy was among the first women ordained in her classis within her denomination. Amy served for years with Resonate Global Mission, including as U.S. and North American Director, overseeing church planting and local mission engagement across the continent. Her work has always centered on a question at the heart of reformed missiology: how do ordinary people, in ordinary vocations, become agents of renewal in their communities? She and her husband Henry church-planted together in downtown Grand Rapids starting around 2000, learning early that a faith community rooted in a neighborhood has to think beyond Sunday mornings. Today she brings that same missional imagination to her work with individual congregations and with Weave: The Social Fabric Project, where she is a certified speaker available to address both secular and faith-based audiences. Links and Resources Weave: The Social Fabric Project weavers.org The Colossian Forum (recommended by Amy for congregations navigating conflict) colossianforum.org Lisa Sharon Harper (referenced in conversation) ...
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    52 m
  • Baseball Is Back (and So Is the Debate) | East Meets West Sports Crossover

    Baseball Is Back (and So Is the Debate) | East Meets West Sports Crossover
    Feb 20 2026
    A Note for TP&R Listeners From time to time, it helps to talk about something other than politics in order to understand politics. Sports is one of the last shared civic spaces where identity, loyalty, disagreement, trash talk, and even tribalism can play out without destroying relationships. In other words, many of the same human instincts we explore on Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other show up in a baseball season just as clearly as they do in an election season. So today’s episode comes from another show in the SCAN Media family, East Meets West Sports, co-hosted with veteran broadcaster Rick Garcia. Same curiosity about why people care so deeply about what they care about. Just with box scores instead of polling numbers. If it’s your thing, great. If not, regular TP&R programming resumes next episode. Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other is proud to be part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts examining what is broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. And thank you to Pew Research Center (pewresearch.org) for helping make conversations like this possible. East Meets West Sports with Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan Rick Garcia and Corey Nathan kick off baseball season with a deep dive into the offseason moves that have everyone talking and at least one list that has Corey fuming about West Coast bias. They break down the Dodgers' superteam additions of Edwin Diaz and Kyle Tucker, the Mets' stacked roster and farm system, and why teams like Pittsburgh can scout great talent but can't hold onto it. They also get into the salary cap debate, Steve Cohen's "no captain" declaration, and whether meddling owners ever really help their teams. And in Pop That Culture, they tackle the biggest controversy heading into the Winter Olympics: Norway's ski jumping suits, a crotch-area aerodynamics scandal that has to be heard to be believed. Find Us On Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube Follow Rick Garcia: @RickGarciaNews on X (Twitter) Follow Corey Nathan: @coreysnathan on Substack, Threads, Instagram, X & more Key Takeaways 1. The Dodgers Just Keep Getting Better Yahoo Sports graded the Dodgers' offseason an A+, and it's hard to argue. Adding Edwin Diaz from the Mets and Kyle Tucker as a free agent gives them arguably the deepest roster in the game (even if Tucker now ranks as maybe the seventh-best player on his own team). 2. Corey Is Very Excited About the Mets (No Surprise There) Two surefire Hall of Famers in Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, a legit ace in Freddie Peralta, a deep rotation, improved defense up the middle, and a top-five farm system, even after trading prospects. Rookie of the Year candidate Nolan McLean headlines a wave of young talent coming up. Corey believes. Rick is... skeptical. 3. The "Most Improved" List Has a West Coast Bias Problem A MLB.com ranking of teams that improved most this offseason had the Giants and Rockies ahead of the Mets. The Rockies! Corey had thoughts. Many thoughts. The list is based on "projected WAR," which only raises more questions. 4. Small-Market Teams Are Wasting Their Advantages Pittsburgh has one of the best farm systems in baseball, including the top overall prospect, but keeps developing players for wealthier teams to sign away. Rick and Corey agree the game needs a salary floor, not just a luxury tax, to force lower-payroll owners to actually invest in their teams. 5. Steve Cohen Says No Captains, Ever The Mets owner drew headlines by declaring there will never be a team captain while he owns the club. Rick's take: that's exactly the kind of call owners shouldn't be making. Corey's take: Cohen is actually a good owner who trusts his front office. And Lindor leads whether he has a C on his jersey or not. 6. CrotchGate Comes to the Winter Olympics Norway's ski jumping team has been caught altering the crotch area of its suits to gain an aerodynamic edge. The physics actually make sense. A roomier suit creates lift during the V-position jump. Some athletes allegedly went further than just tailoring. Rick and Corey debate whether this is innovative gamesmanship or just cheating. There is only one correct answer. Or maybe two. The season starts. The arguments never do.
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    32 m
  • The Election Whisperer: Katie Harbath on Ten Years Inside Facebook and Panicking Responsibly

    The Election Whisperer: Katie Harbath on Ten Years Inside Facebook and Panicking Responsibly
    Feb 17 2026
    How do we balance free speech, platform accountability, and democratic integrity when technology moves faster than policy? In this episode, Katie Harbath, the "election whisperer to the tech industry," joins Corey Nathan to discuss the impossible trade-offs facing social media platforms, the evolving landscape of AI and misinformation, and what it means to "panic responsibly" in an era of rapid technological change. Katie spent a decade at Facebook as a policy director managing elections globally, navigating crises from Cambridge Analytica to the 2020 election. Now as CEO of Anchor Change and Chief Global Affairs Officer at Duco, she helps organizations understand how the internet shapes democracy. The conversation explores how to use AI ethically in creative work, the challenges of content moderation at scale, why community notes might be better than fact-checking, and how individuals can reclaim agency over their information diets. Katie also shares her personal evolution on free speech, the difference between distribution and moderation, and why the next four years will require all of us to find new ways to ground ourselves. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey’s Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion Key Takeaways Panic Responsibly: Don't be paralyzed by fear of AI or technological change. Take agency over how you use these tools while considering ethical guardrailsImpossible Trade-offs: Platform decisions involve choices between imperfect options with unknowable long-term consequences (see: Cambridge Analytica stemming from 2010's Open Graph)AI Ethics in Practice: Katie uses AI to organize thoughts, identify themes, spot repetitive phrases, and show line edits; but keeps human input and output central to the creative processFree Speech Evolution: Even tech policy experts are evolving their views. Katie has moved toward greater support for free speech while recognizing the importance of context and consequencesDistribution vs. Moderation: The key question isn't just what stays on platforms, but what gets amplified by algorithms. Distribution decisions matter as much as content decisionsCommunity Notes > Fact-Checking: Collaborative, crowdsourced context may be more effective and less politically fraught than centralized fact-checking operationsYou Have Agency: Individuals control which platforms they use, what content they engage with, and what news sources they consume. These choices train algorithms and shape experiencesElection Infrastructure Improved: Despite continued challenges, election officials have made significant strides since 2020 in security, preparedness, and collaboration with tech platformsSocial Media: Mixed Bag: Platforms have given voice to candidates and causes that would otherwise struggle for attention, but have also created new challenges for democracyInformation Audit: Katie recommends doing an annual "news audit" to ensure your media consumption aligns with your values and includes diverse perspectives across the political spectrum About Our Guest Katie Harbath is an award-winning global leader at the intersection of technology, policy, and elections. She spent a decade at Facebook as a Public Policy Director, where she built and led the teams that managed elections globally, navigating some of the platform's most challenging moments. Today, Katie is the CEO of Anchor Change, a technology consulting firm, and Chief Global Affairs Officer at Duco. Described as the "election whisperer to the tech industry," she helps organizations navigate the complex intersections of technology, democracy, and policy. Katie is writing a book about her experiences in tech policy and is a sought-after voice on issues of platform governance, content moderation, AI ethics, and the future of democracy in the digital age. She is known for her pragmatic approach to impossible trade-offs and her catchphrase "panic responsibly" when it comes to emerging technologies. Links and Resources Katie Harbath's Work: Substack: anchorchange.substack.comAnchor Change: anchorchange.comDuco Experts: ducoexperts.comKatie's AI Ethics and Disclosure Statement: anchorchange.substack.com/p/ethics-and-transparency-statement Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... SubstackLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterThreadsBlueskyTikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today’s conversation possible. Gratitude as well to Village Square for coming alongside us in this work and helping foster better civic dialogue. ...
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    1 h y 6 m
  • The End of a Pleasant Fiction: Power, Patrimonialism, and the Collapse of Moral Language

    The End of a Pleasant Fiction: Power, Patrimonialism, and the Collapse of Moral Language
    Feb 13 2026
    In Davos last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney lamented what he called “the end of a pleasant fiction.” That notion has is hard to fathom yet impossible to ignore. For decades, the United States did not merely wield power. It framed power in moral terms. Legitimacy. Integrity. Rules. Whether we always lived up to those words is one question. Whether we still speak them with credibility is another. In this solo reflection, Corey Nathan explores what it means when America is no longer the country that lends moral language to the world order, but the country other nations feel compelled to hedge against. From Tocqueville’s warning about democratic withdrawal to Jonathan Rauch’s analysis of patrimonialism, from Lincoln’s humility to the theological posture of the National Prayer Breakfast, this episode wrestles with a turning point. If the pleasant fiction is over, what replaces it? Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey’s Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion What This Episode Explores The End of a Moral Vocabulary For generations, American power was framed in moral language. Integrity and legitimacy were not just strategic tools but aspirations. Today, that language lands differently, not as calling card but as indictment. From Moral Order to Patrimonialism Drawing on the work of Jonathan Rauch, this episode examines what happens when public power begins to resemble personal property. Loyalty replaces rules. Access depends on fealty. Markets and institutions begin to read the room rather than uphold neutral principles. The National Prayer Breakfast and Theological Posture A prayer breakfast is meant to orient upward in humility. When reverence bends inward, the shift is not merely stylistic. It is theological. Tocqueville’s Warning Democracy’s danger may not arrive as sudden tyranny but as gradual withdrawal. Citizens retreat into private grievance. Moral discipline erodes. Individualism curdles into narcissism. The Comforting Assumption About Ourselves Nearly every white pastor today believes they would have stood with Martin Luther King Jr. The question is not whether that belief is sincere. The question is whether it would have been true. The Choice Before Citizens The world is already adjusting. Allies hedge. Middle powers collaborate. The question now belongs to citizens, not prime ministers. Withdrawal is understandable. It is not inevitable. Why This Matters Now The loss at stake is not only status but trust. If the pleasant fiction required tending, then its collapse requires responsibility. Renewal, if it comes, will not arrive through taunts or spectacle. It will be decided by habits, by courage, by whether citizens retreat or step forward. Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... SubstackLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterThreadsBlueskyTikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today’s conversation possible. Gratitude as well to Village Square for coming alongside us in this work and helping foster better civic dialogue. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org The Village Square: villagesquare.us Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Final Thought The question is not who we would like to identify with in the story. The question is where our words, positions, and actions actually place us. Go talk some politics and religion. Step forward. With gentleness and respect.
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    14 m
  • Weaving the Social Fabric: John Noltner on Storytelling, Presence, and Seeing One Another

    Weaving the Social Fabric: John Noltner on Storytelling, Presence, and Seeing One Another
    Feb 10 2026
    How do we learn to see one another as human again in a moment shaped by fear, fragmentation, and outrage? In this episode, photographer, author, and storyteller John Noltner joins Corey Nathan as part of TP&R’s ongoing Weavers series in partnership with Weave: The Social Fabric Project. John’s work spans five continents and centers on a simple but demanding conviction: storytelling and art can help restore trust, dignity, and connection in a divided world. From Minneapolis in the midst of national attention to the U.S. southern border, Northern Ireland, and beyond, John reflects on what it means to bear witness without exploiting pain, to listen without trying to win, and to practice proximity rather than abstraction. The conversation explores how curiosity can disarm contempt, why relationship must precede disagreement, and what it takes to stay open to human connection without becoming numb to suffering. Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey’s Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion Key Takeaways • Storytelling and art can open space for understanding when facts and arguments fail • It is possible to encounter deep disagreement without abandoning moral clarity • Curiosity is a practice, not a personality trait, and it can be cultivated • Human connection requires patience before tackling the most contentious issues • Being seen is different from being observed, and the difference matters • Proximity to people is often more illuminating than distance from ideas • The social fabric is frayed in partisan politics but surprisingly strong in local acts of care • Vulnerability deepens connection but carries real emotional cost About the Guest John Noltner is an award winning author, photographer, and founder of A Peace of My Mind. His work focuses on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and human dignity through storytelling. John has produced projects for national publications, Fortune 500 companies, and nonprofit organizations, and his books and exhibitions have been used by communities across the world to foster dialogue and civic trust. Links and Resources WEAVE: The Social Fabric Project: weavers.orgA Peace of My Mind: apeaceofmymind.orgAudio Reflection Course: 40 Days Toward Deeper ListeningPodcast: A Peace of My MindInstagram: @apommstories Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... SubstackLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterThreadsBlueskyTikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today’s conversation possible. Gratitude as well to Village Square for coming alongside this work and helping foster better civic dialogue. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org The Village Square: villagesquare.us Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Clarity, charity, and conviction can live in the same room.
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    1 h y 9 m
  • Who We Stop Seeing: Anonymity and the Collapse of the Thou

    Who We Stop Seeing: Anonymity and the Collapse of the Thou
    Feb 6 2026
    Most people imagine themselves as the ones who would have resisted. The ones who would have spoken up. The ones who would have refused to go along. History tends to tell a different story. In this episode, Corey Nathan explores how anonymity subtly yet significantly reshapes moral responsibility. Not all at once, and not dramatically, but steadily. What begins as distance or abstraction often ends as permission. Permission to flatten, dismiss, or dehumanize without fully reckoning with the human cost. This episode serves as a spoken companion to the essay Anonymity and the Collapse of the Thou, tracing how moral imagination thins when people stop encountering one another as full human beings. Calls to Action ✅ If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder that disagreement doesn’t have to mean dehumanization. ✅ Check out our Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion What This Episode Explores Anonymity as a continuum Anonymity is not simply named versus nameless. At one end lies healthy privacy and necessary protection. Move far enough along that continuum, however, and something shifts. Neighbors become avatars. Persons become categories. Moral responsibility begins to erode. From I-Thou to I-It Drawing on the work of Martin Buber, the episode contrasts I-Thou relationships, which recognize the other as a person, with I-It relationships, which reduce the other to a function, role, or obstacle. Anonymity subtly nudges human interaction away from encounter and toward objectification. How dehumanization actually happens Rarely does anyone set out to be cruel. Language flattens. Tone sharpens. Context disappears. Once people become abstractions, harm starts to feel like enforcement, righteousness, or necessity rather than cruelty. The story we tell ourselves about history History is rarely judged by who people imagined themselves to be. It is judged by who benefited from their choices, who was cast as the threat, and who paid the price. The episode challenges the comforting assumption that moral clarity would have come easily. Moral distance and accountability Anonymity creates moral distance, and moral distance makes unbearable actions easier to justify. This insight reaches beyond platforms and politics into Scripture, civic life, and the foundations of constitutional self government, all of which presume identifiable responsibility. Why this matters now Cultures trained to dehumanize do not become lethal overnight. Words loosen first. Norms erode next. By the time violence appears, it often feels inevitable to those involved. Democracy survives not on procedures alone, but on people repeatedly choosing to see one another as human. Episode Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today’s conversation possible. Gratitude as well to Village Square for coming alongside this work and helping foster better civic dialogue. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org The Village Square: villagesquare.us Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... SubstackLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterThreadsBlueskyTikTok Final Thought The question is not who we would like to identify with in the story. The question is where our words, positions, and actions actually place us. Go talk some politics and religion with gentleness and respect.
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    9 m
  • Freedom Over Fascism: Dr. Stephanie Wilson on Naming the Threat

    Freedom Over Fascism: Dr. Stephanie Wilson on Naming the Threat
    Feb 3 2026

    How do societies decide which stories to tell about themselves and which truths to soften or ignore?

    In this episode, historian, communications strategist, and Freedom Over Fascism host Dr. Stephanie Wilson joins Corey Nathan to discuss collective memory, historical narrative, and the language shaping American civic life right now.

    Drawing on her academic work on Jerusalem, her experience in political communications, and her current focus on democracy and messaging, Stephanie explores how myths take hold, why people instinctively place themselves on the “right side” of history, and what happens when cruelty and dehumanization become normalized tools of power. Along the way, the conversation wrestles with Israel and Palestine, fascism and language, media failure, activism, and what it actually takes to engage across deep disagreement without abandoning moral clarity.

    Calls to Action

    ✅ If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder that disagreement doesn’t have to mean dehumanization.

    ✅ Check out our Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com

    ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics

    ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform.

    ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion

    Key Takeaways

    • Collective memory often says more about who is telling the story than about the past itself • People naturally imagine themselves as heroes or resisters rather than beneficiaries or bystanders • Museums, monuments, and national myths are political acts, whether acknowledged or not • Fascism is better understood through concrete behaviors than abstract labels • Language shapes what people are willing to see, justify, or ignore • Values based framing opens more space for dialogue than policy arguments alone • Curiosity and empathy are necessary skills for sustaining democracy, even when lines must be drawn • Engagement across difference does not require moral surrender or tolerance of cruelty

    About the Guest

    Dr. Stephanie Wilson is a historian, activist, and communications expert. She is the creator and host of Freedom Over Fascism, where she examines democracy, messaging, media ecosystems, and civic engagement through conversations with journalists, scholars, and organizers. Her academic work focuses on historical memory, museums, and narrative power, with particular attention to Jerusalem and contested histories.

    Links and Resources

    • Freedom Over Fascism on Substack: www.freedomoverfascism.us • Freedom Over Fascism on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@FreedomOverFascismPod

    Connect on Social Media

    Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials...

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    Thanks to Our Sponsors

    • Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org

    • The Village Square: villagesquare.us

    • Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com

    Proud members of The Democracy Group

    Clarity, charity, and conviction can live in the same room.
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    1 h y 10 m
  • Where Do We Place Ourselves in Our Stories?

    Where Do We Place Ourselves in Our Stories?
    Jan 30 2026

    Where do we actually place ourselves in the stories we tell about courage, faith, and power?

    In this solo episode, Corey reflects on how individuals and communities locate themselves within history, scripture, and national memory. The temptation, especially among those shaped by religious or moral traditions, is to imagine oneself as prophetic rather than complicit, as a resister rather than an enabler. History, however, is rarely judged by intention or self identification. It is judged by outcomes, by who benefited, who was harmed, and who paid the price.

    Drawing on personal encounters, Christian history, and contemporary political examples, the episode examines how moral cosplay replaces moral courage, how grievance masquerades as righteousness, and how constitutional principles become conditional when filtered through tribal identity. The reflection closes with a sober question. Not who we admire in the story, but who we actually resemble when power, fear, and consequence converge.

    Calls to Action:

    ✅ If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder that disagreement doesn’t have to mean dehumanization.

    ✅ Check out our Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com

    ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics

    ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform.

    ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion

    Key Takeaways:

    • History judges alignment, not intention • Moral identity is often shaped by selective memory • Grievance can become a substitute for courage • Constitutional rights lose meaning when applied selectively • Every generation inherits responsibility, not just stories

    Connect on Social Media:

    Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials...

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    Thanks to Our Sponsors:

    • Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org

    • The Village Square: villagesquare.us

    • Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com

    Proud members of The Democracy Group

    History does not ask who we admired. It asks who we resembled.
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    15 m