UNREASONABLE
Church, State and the
American Divide
WELCOME TO UNREASONABLE
preserving the rights of all Americans
Unreasonable was more than a podcast. It shined a light on the inexorable rise of religious fanaticism taking over our government and our lives, on issues from public education, to women’s reproductive health, to the mainstreaming of loud-and-proud racism. With the 2024 election came the realization of many of our worst fears. And day after day, we draw closer to full-on authoritarianism.
We, along with many others — from organizations like Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Humanist Association; journalists like Nina Burleigh and Dr. Matthew Taylor; politicians Jamie Raskin, Jared Huffman and newly-elected U.S. Congressman Chris Rabb, and so many more — tried to warn you.
We still believe that knowledge is power, and if enough Americans understand the underlying threat to our democracy, perhaps they’ll take action.
As far as how we got here and what we need to do, there’s still much to learn. Nothing we learned during our two seasons is wasted.
Pick an episode. Listen. Share.
Good luck to us all.
S2E41 “THE END (IS ONLY THE BEGINNING)”
WITH ANDREW SEIDEL
As Unreasonable's production comes to a close, and American democratic norms shift towards theocracy, we sought perspective, a calmer voice that might, while acknowledging the darkness, also offer a glimmer of hope.
Andrew Seidel is no stranger to Unreasonable listeners. He is Vice President of Strategic Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and a constitutional attorney who’s defended the First Amendment for more than a decade. He is the author of two books: The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American (2019) and American Crusade: How the Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom (2022).
In December 2023 he closed out our first season. This episode bookends that one.
This time David and Christina talk to Andrew about the cases AU is gearing up for in a second Trump administration, the practical implementation of Project 2025, the future complexion of the Supreme Court, AU's recent legal victories and what clues they might hold for future success as we enter America's darkest period.
miss an episode? catch up here!
Andrew Seidel: S2E41: Podcast Finale
Sasha Sagan S2E40 "Secularism Without Cynicism"
Bernard Avishai S2E39 BERNARD "Is Israel a Theocracy?"
Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer S2E38 "How Religious Organizations Game the IRS"
Gareth Gore S2E37 "Opus Dei"
Jesse Duquette S2E36 "The Risk of Left-Wing Political Cartooning"
Pierce Watkins S2E35 "Conversations With THOSE People"
Andy Kroll S2E34: "Ziklag"
Sarah Levin and Hemant Mehta S2E33 "Faith, Interfaith and Non-Belief at the DNC"
Mandisa Thomas S2E32 "Black Nonbelievers"
Live From TNR's Stop Trump Summit S2E31 "There Are More Of Us"
Live From SSA S2E30 "Kids Today"
Alison Gill S2E29 "What in God's Name is Going On?"
Kadida Kenner S2E28 "Engaging the Politically Unengaged"
Guest Host Olivia Goudeau: S2E27 "We Of Little Faith"
Kate Cohen S2E27 "We Of Little Faith"
Liz and Gabe Rutan Ram S2E26 "Disruptions"
Todd Stiefel S2E25: "Bad Faith and Good Intentions"
Live From SRF: Rachel Laser
Live From SRF: Rep. Jamie Raskin
Live From SRF: Erin Reed
Live From SRF: Brandon Wolf
Live From SRF: Dr. Anthea Butler
LIVE FROM SRF: ERICA CORAY & ZACK PEKELIS
LIVE FROM SRF: ANI ZONNEVELD
LIVE FROM SRF: REP. JARED HUFFMAN
Jason Berlin S2E24: "Field Team 6"
Devon Graham S2E3 "Secular Ground Game: Part 1 (Florida)"
Wil Jeudy S2E3 "Secular Ground Game: Part 1 (Texas)"
Jahnavi Rao S2E2: "This Is Our Youth"
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky S2E1: "The Religion Clauses"
Andrew Seidel S1E20: "Courting Disaster"
Rep. Chris Rabb S1E19 "Secular Public Service"
Jonathan Larsen S1E18: "Inside The Family"
Simon Rosenberg S1E17: "Hopium Addiction"
Team Unreasonable S1E16: "Some Scary S**t"
Gwen Leaffe Carr S1E15: "Carlisle Indian Boarding School"
Liz Cavell S1E14: "The Assault on Public Education"
Dan Mach S1E14: "The Assault on Public Education"
Chris Ullery S1E14: "The Assault on Public Education"
Paul Golin S1E13: "The Conversion of the Jews"
Pete Dominick S1E12: "No Joke"
Lucien Greaves S1E11 "The Satanic Temple"
Dr. Matthew Taylor S1E10: "Charismatic Revival Fury"
Ron Millar S1E9: "Money For Humanists"
Bradley Onishi S1E8: "What Are They Thinking?"
Dave Warnock S1E7: "Dying While Atheist"
Margaret Downey S1E6: "Who Is Thomas Paine?"
Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart S1E5P1: "The Gospel According to Naomi"
Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart S1E5P2: "The Gospel According To Naomi"
BONUS: Kevin Bolling, Secular Student Alliance
Sarah Levin S1E4: "So What's Our Strategy?"
Rob Boston S1E3: "Tenacity"
Mikey Weinstein S1E2: "A Constant Battle"
Nina Burleigh S1E1: "Follow the Money"
IT’s time to save
our democracy.
it’s time to get unreasonable.
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“There's no doubt that the Christian right has gone to bed with the more conservative elements of the Republican Party. And there's been a melding in their goals when it comes to the separation of church and state. I've always believed in the separation of church and state.”
Jimmy Carter
39th President of the United States
Evangelical Christian