Republicans and Evangelicals | Ronald Reagan's Double Cross

Republicans and Evangelicals | Ronald Reagan's Double Cross

Author: Chris Staron April 7, 2026 Duration: 36:27
Give to help Chris make Truce Before he became president, Reagan was the head of the Screen Actors' Guild. When it came down to backing his followers or helping big business, he chose business. The same was true when he fought air traffic controllers. In this way, you can see the influence of Ayn Rand. Reagan grew up as a poor kid, but he later became a famous radio star and movie icon. When his star faded, he became a political guest speaker and found a new path forward. In this episode, we're going to better understand the groundwork for the Reagan presidency. Our special guest is historian and author Rick Perlstein. Sources: Reagan: An American Journey by Bob Spitz US v. Paramount Pictures from Justia article from the Reagan library Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot The Invisible Bridge and Reaganland by Rick Perlstein CNN article on Paul Manafort Reagan's speech at the Neshoba County Fair NPR article on the infamous "welfare queen" Discussion Questions: Why is it valuable to understand Reagan's role in messing with his union? How did his treatment of his union parallel that of his actions against air traffic controllers? What do you think of Reagan and his legacy? Why have some Republicans lifted him up as the ultimate conservative? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Chris Staron, Truce-History of the Christian Church is a deep, journalistic look into the forces that have shaped American evangelicalism. This isn't a simple timeline of events; it's an investigation into the surprising intersections of faith, culture, and power. Staron digs into movements from fundamentalism's roots to modern political campaigns, and even examines connections to phenomena like pyramid schemes, revealing a complex history many listeners may never have encountered. Each episode is built on thorough research and thoughtful interviews, aiming to understand not just how the church arrived at its current moment, but how that story might inform a better path forward. The current season focuses specifically on the rise of the Religious Right, meticulously tracing the evolving alliance between evangelicals and the Republican Party. To tell this story, the podcast features conversations with notable guests like historians Rick Perlstein and Frances Fitzgerald, or journalist Jesse Eisinger, who bring their expertise to this nuanced narrative. Listening to this podcast feels like joining a rigorous yet accessible conversation, one that respects the subject's gravity while pursuing clarity and truth. For anyone curious about the real stories behind today's headlines concerning faith and society, this series offers essential context.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Truce - History of the Christian Church
Podcast Episodes
Republicans and Evangelicals I Reagan's Shibboleths [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:05
Give to help Chris make the show! Ronald Reagan was an odd choice for evangelicals. For one, he and his wife regularly consulted a medium. He was a Hollywood actor, which should have put him at odds with fundamentalists.…
Republicans and Evangelicals | Why Christians Didn't Vote for Carter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:51
Give to help Chris make Truce Boy, the Religious Right did not like Carter, at least by 1980. Some of them, like Pat Robertson, had high hopes for him at the start. But they quickly grew to distrust the man from Georgia.…
Republicans and Evangelicals | The Many Plagues of Jimmy Carter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:48
Give to help Chris make Truce President Jimmy Carter's presidency (1977–1981) faced several major challenges, both domestically and internationally. One of the biggest domestic issues was the struggling U.S. economy. Car…
Republicans and Evangelicals | The Battle for the Mind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:02
Give to help Chris make Truce Tim LaHaye wrote different kinds of books. Books on marriage, sexuality, the end times, and those involved in social and political movements. In his young years, Tim LaHaye taught for the Jo…
Republicans and Evangelicals | What Scared Tim LaHaye [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:54
Give to help Chris make Truce Tim and Beverly LaHaye were a prominent American evangelical Christian couple known for their influential work in ministry, literature, and conservative activism. Tim LaHaye, born in 1926 in…
An American Coup in Guatemala [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:35
Give to help Chris make Truce Given the recent events in Venezuela, I have decided to run a classic episode from season 3. The question of our era is not "why did we do this?" but "why do we keep doing this?" Why does th…
Republicans and Evangelicals: Bill Bright, Campus Crusade, and Cru [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:52
Give to help Chris continue to make Truce William R. “Bill” Bright was born in 1921 in Coweta, Oklahoma. Though raised in a religious environment, he initially pursued business success and personal ambition. While attend…
Republicans and Evangelicals I Jerry Falwell (part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:15
Give to help Chris make more Truce The New Right had a plan--to bring evangelical Christians together as a voting bloc. But how to do that? They chose a few targets, people with big followings, and courted them. Jerry Fa…