Episode 92

#92 - Confronting the Paradox of Tolerance: Christianity in the age of Trump (w/ Jonathan Rauch)

00:00:00
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01:07:09

September 25th, 2025

1 hr 7 mins 9 secs

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About this Episode

We're joined by Jonathan Rauch to discuss what it means to be a radical incrementalist, how to foment revolution on geological timescales, and whether Christianity can be a force for good in politics. Can Jon convince angry-Hitchens-atheist Vaden that Christianity has some benefits? Will both Vaden and Ben be at Sunday prayer?

Follow Jonathan on his website, at Brookings, at The Atlantic or on Bluesky.

We discuss

  • The constitution of knowledge and whether it's holding
  • Norms vs laws, and whether we should introduce more laws to codify norms
  • Popper's paradox of tolerance
  • How should liberals respond to illiberalism? Which tactics, if any, should democrats adopt from MAGA to fight MAGA?
  • Sharp Christianity and Christian nationalism
  • Rauch's plea to Christians

References

Errata

Jonathan Rauch is the author of nine books, not eight!

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