Rupublicans and Evangelicals | The Far Right's Plan to Takeover the GOP

Rupublicans and Evangelicals | The Far Right's Plan to Takeover the GOP

Author: Chris Staron August 18, 2026 Duration: 31:27
Give to help Chris make Truce Richard Vigueries. What can be written about him? His nickname was "the founding father of the Religious Right". He founded RAVCO, which was a fundraising organization that raised money for... well, who didn't it raise money for? In his book, Takeover, Viguerie laid out a detailed plan of how the far right could take over the Republican Party. It is a fascinating book, one that may not have had an overwhelming impact, but the idea within the book has. In this special epsiode, Chris walks listeners through the book and the impact of the ideas inside. Sources: Takeover by Richard Viguerie Reaganland and Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald God's Own Party by Daniel K Williams Revive Us Again by Joel Carpenter These Truths by Jill LePore A Choice Not An Echo by Phyllis Schlafly The Lord's Prayer Discussion Questions: Who was Richard Viguerie? What are some of his grievances? Why do you think he skipped the Republican presidents of the 1920s in his history? What did he think of FDR? Of Robert Taft? How do you see the conservative wound in this book? What were some of Viguerie's prescribed tactics for taking over the GOP? 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: 50

Truce - History of the Christian Church
Podcast Episodes
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…
Republicans and Evangelicals I Jerry Falwell (part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:08
Give to help Chris make Truce Jerry Falwell was a prominent American pastor, televangelist, and conservative political activist whose life and ministry had a significant impact on American evangelicalism and politics. Bo…
Republicans and Evangelicals: Abortion [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:29
Give to help Chris continue to make Truce A lot of evangelicals are now single-issue voters, and that issue is abortion. But that was not always the case. In fact, for a great deal of American history, abortion was large…
Republicans and Evangelicals: The Death Penalty [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:26
Give to help Chris continue making Truce In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States went years without using the death penalty. Not a single person was killed by injection, firing squad, hanging, or electric ch…
Republicans and Evangelicals | George Wallace [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:06
Give to help Chris continue to make Truce George Wallace was, as historian Dan Carter put it, "the most influential loser in American history". He was the governor of Alabama and lost multiple bids for president of the U…
Republicans and Evangelicals I Boston Against Busing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:30
Give to help Chris make Truce We talk about racism in the United States like it only happens in the South. But the nasty truth is that the North is also guilty of racist behavior. This is evident in the way that we behav…
Republicans and Evangelicals I Segregation Academies (part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:35
Give to help Chris make the Truce Podcast In 2 Samuel 24 David is told that he must buy a certain piece of land in an act of repentance for his sins. The man who owns the land says that he'd like to give David the land a…
Republicans and Evangelicals I Segregation Academies (part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:09
Give to help Chris continue Truce. Update: I would like to apologize for an error I made in the original version of this story. I stated that tuition payments to private schools are tax-exempt on the federal level. They…
Scopes Monkey Trial - 100 Year Anniversay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:04
Give to help Chris continue making Truce I made these episodes a few years ago, but since it is the 100th anniversary of the Scopes "Monkey" trial, I thought we should revisit them! Tennessee was the first state in the U…