PodcastsChristianityThe Convocation Unscripted

The Convocation Unscripted

Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby
The Convocation Unscripted
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73 episodes

  • The Convocation Unscripted

    Rededicate 250, Selma, and the Future of American Democracy

    2026-05-22 | 55 mins.
    In this episode of The Convocation Unscripted, we wrestle in real time with two competing visions of America unfolding side-by-side. On one hand, we discuss the “Rededicate 250” event and the growing effort to frame the United States as a distinctly Christian nation rooted in white Christian nationalist mythology. On the other hand, we reflect on “All Roads Lead to the South,” a contemporary voting rights pilgrimage through Montgomery and Selma that reminds us democracy has always required organized resistance, moral courage, and collective action.
    We connect the current political moment to deeper historical currents: the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, the myth of “Christian America,” the weaponization of religious liberty rhetoric, and the ways memory and public history shape our understanding of democracy itself. Along the way, we talk about political performance art in Washington, DC, the emotional and spiritual weight of visiting civil rights landmarks, and why this moment increasingly feels like the Civil Rights Movement of our generation.
    As always, this conversation is unscripted, historically grounded, and deeply engaged with the urgent questions shaping religion, culture, and politics in America today.
    In This Episode We Discuss:
    The Supreme Court’s continued dismantling of voting rights protections
    The significance of Selma, Montgomery, and “All Roads Lead to the South”
    The “Rededicate 250” event and the resurgence of Christian nationalist rhetoric
    The myth of “Christian America” and why it remains politically powerful
    How public memory and historical storytelling shape democracy
    Political performance art, protest, and creative resistance
    The difference between patriotism and nationalism
    Why this political moment echoes earlier struggles for civil rights and democratic participation
    Books Referenced
    The Search for Christian America by Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden
    Subscribe to The Convocation Unscripted on Substack for weekly conversations at the intersection of faith, politics, history, and culture. You can also follow the individual work of Robby Jones, Jemar Tisby, Kristin Du Mez, and Diana Butler Bass.
  • The Convocation Unscripted

    The Decline of America as a Good Neighbor

    2026-05-15 | 1h 2 mins.
    This week, we talk about the dismay our friends in Canada and other nations are expressing about the decline of America as a good neighbor. We also talk about two events that are taking place this weekend: 1) Jemar is attending the “All Roads Lead to the South” event, a day of action in Selma in response to the dismantling of the voting rights act; and 2) Robby is attending the Trump administration’s Christian nationalist event called “Rededicate 250” that is taking place this Sunday on the National mall in Washington, DC. Diana gives some hopeful examples of how Virginia, home to the former capitol of the Confederacy, is honestly facing the troubling parts of its past while illuminating a new path forward.

    Subscribe: Convocation.Substack.com

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    Follow on Substack:
    The Convocation- convocation.substack.com
    Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net
    Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com
    Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com
    Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
  • The Convocation Unscripted

    Gerrymandering Our Way Back to Jim Crow

    2026-05-08 | 55 mins.
    In this live episode, we talk about the hollowing out of the Voting Rights Act that the U.S. Supreme Court has accomplished with its recent LOUISIANA v. CALLAIS ET AL. ruling. The court’s conservative majority found that the Louisiana district represented by Democrat Cleo Fields relied too heavily on race. In its wake, a number of southern states with white Republican-dominated legislatures have raced to redraw their electoral maps to further dilute the power of African American voters. We talk about the perfect storm of the erasure of history, faulty logic, and gaslighting that is turning the clock back on voting rights for Black Americans and what we can do in response. And we took viewers questions on a wide range of topics in the last half of the show.

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    Follow on Substack:
    The Convocation- convocation.substack.com
    Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net
    Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com
    Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com
    Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
  • The Convocation Unscripted

    “Anti-Christian Bias” and the War on Voting Rights

    2026-05-01 | 1h 1 mins.
    The White House released a report on so-called “anti-Christian bias.” But who counts as Christian in these claims?
    Diana, Kristin, and Jemar discuss how this regime is narrowing the definition of Christianity to a particular ideological and political express, while positioning that version as under threat.
    This is not about defending religious freedom, it’s about reframing power as persecution.
    Then we turn to the Voting Rights Act and how the latest decision from the conservative majority on the Supreme Court renders it all but a dead letter law.
    The justices’ claim to colorblindness actually ignores the historical conditions that made an intervention like the VRA necessary in the first place. The ruling is part of a pattern on the far-right to view structures built to address racial inequality as unfair while leaving the inequalities themselves in place.
    Subscribe: Convocation.Substack.com  

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    Follow on Substack:
    The Convocation- convocation.substack.com
    Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net
    Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com
    Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com
    Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
  • The Convocation Unscripted

    Trump Reads the Bible, Doug Wilson Falls Flat, and Churches Step Up

    2026-04-24 | 53 mins.
    In this week's episode of TCU, we talk about Trump's participation in a public reading of the Bible, sponsored by a white evangelical group, where he read II Chronicles 7:14, a favorite of Christian nationalists. We also talk about the continued platforming of self-described Christian nationalist, "paleo-Confederate" pastor Doug Wilson not only by the likes of Pete Hegseth but by more mainstream outlets in the evangelical world. But we also review his recent dressing down by Wajahat Ali on the Piers Morgan show. Finally, we talk about the ways local churches are banding together to advocate for and serve immigrants who have been wrongfully detained by ICE.

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    Follow on Substack:
    The Convocation- convocation.substack.com
    Robert P. Jones- www.whitetoolong.net
    Diana Butler Bass- dianabutlerbass.substack.com
    Kristin Du Mez- kristindumez.substack.com
    Jemar Tisby- JemarTisby.Substack.com
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About The Convocation Unscripted
Welcome to "The Convocation Unscripted," a free-wheeling conversation between Diana Butler Bass, Kristin Du Mez, Robert P. Jones, and Jemar Tisby. We are each scholars (three historians and one sociologist) who write about religion and its intersection with culture, history, and politics in America. We also each take our own Christian faith seriously and are deeply concerned about the future of both democracy and Christianity in the U.S. Most importantly, over the years, we’ve found ourselves to be not just fellow travelers but friends. This is the video/podcast component of our unique Substack magazine "The Convocation," which you can subscribe to here: https://convocation.substack.com/
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