This Is My Story is a special season of Impolite Company focused on telling the stories of women who have made voting an act of faith. In this first episode, we talk with Megan Westra, a Milwaukee-based pastor and author of the new book Born Again and Again: Jesus' Call to Radical Transformation.

Coming Soon: This Is My Story, a special season of Impolite Company, focused on telling the stories of women who have made voting an act of faith. TRAILER TRANSCRIPT: I’m Amy Sullivan, and you’re listening to This Is My Story, a special season of Impolite Company.   In the conservative Baptist church in the Midwest where I grew up, women weren’t allowed to have roles in Sunday worship, outside of the music ministry. They didn’t even pass out bulletins as ushers. Although, to be honest, I’m not sure what biblical authority would have been violated there.   Instead, once a year, we’d hold Women’s Sunday, letting women pretend they were in charge for the day. There was obviously no question of having a woman preach. So instead of a sermon, every year one woman would share her testimony. Because apparently the men of the church decided that was safe. After all, it was just her own story.   They didn’t understand the power of stories.   You see, personal stories are how we relate to one another. More than that, research tells us that the most effective social change happens through storytelling, that people are most persuaded by their peers who have stood where they are. People need to feel understood, and they need to hear that change is possible.   That’s why I’ve left two decades in journalism to launch This Is My Story, a new initiative to help women tell their stories of making voting an act of faith. In each of the twelve weeks between now and Election Day, this special podcast season of the same name will tell the story of a different woman’s shift in her faith and politics, about what convicted her to see loving her neighbor as a commandment to shape not only how she lives her life, but also how she votes.   We’ll talk to women who were once firmly in the conservative Christian world. They include former street-corner evangelists, crisis pregnancy clinic workers, and a surprising number of former missionaries. You’ll hear how each of them ventured outside the bubbles in which they’d been raised, and what it was that caused them to embrace a kind of politics that’s more focused on loving our neighbors than protecting an in-group.   We would love to have you join us for this special season. Subscribe to Impolite Company wherever you listen to podcasts. And follow us on ThisIsMyStoryProject.com for more conversation, free downloads, and live events. It’s long past time to use the power of our stories to bring about justice and change. 

Your eyes and ears do not deceive you! We are back with a special Campaign 2020 episode. This episode was recorded before the South Carolina primary and Super Tuesday (in other words, when many more candidates were still in the race), but we take a look at the Democratic presidential campaign in its entirety.  That means finding possible silver linings for future female candidates, looking at how this cohort of candidates talked about their faith, and whether the Democratic Party needs to put out a welcome mat for voters who may disagree with the party platform on some key issues. (Spoiler alert: the answer is YES.)

This week Amy is joined by journalist and author Steven Waldman, whose new book SACRED LIBERTY: AMERICA'S LONG, BLOODY, AND ONGOING STRUGGLE OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM was published this week.  Their conversation covers the long and evolving history of religious liberty in America, the fact that anti-Catholicism has been the most common feature of religious liberty violations, and the role that evangelicals could--emphasis on could--play in easing current tensions over clashing rights. Discussed This Week: Sacred Liberty: America's Long, Bloody, and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Freedom (Steven Waldman, 2019)

We are back! (Sort of.) With everyone but your condo board president jumping into the Democratic presidential race, and an astonishing number of them comfortable talking about issues of faith and morality, we couldn't just sit by and watch. This week Amy is joined by Guest Co-Host Extraordinaire Jack Jenkins, a national correspondent for Religion News Service. Jack has interviewed a number of the Democratic candidates about their faith and has some insights into why Democrats may be recognizing the value of religious progressives.  This episode is the first in a series: "Leveling the Praying Field: Democrats, Religion & 2020." If you have questions you'd like answered or related topics you want to see us tackle, reach out via Twitter at @ImpolitePod. Discussed This Week: • Evangelicals helped get Trump into the White House. Pete Buttigieg believes the religious left will get him out. (Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Washington Post) • Julián Castro: Catholicism 'has never been far from my life'(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service) • Pete Buttigieg on faith, his marriage, and Mike Pence (Father Edward Beck, CNN) • Pollster says progressive 2020 candidate with faith ties would be valuable asset (The Hill) • Cory Booker: 'I'm calling for a revival of grace in this country' (Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service) • Mayor Pete Buttigieg's countercultural approach to Christianity is what America needs now (Kirsten Powers, USA Today) • Clip of Pete Buttigieg on Real Time with Bill Maher • Booker and Warren fuse faith and politics in appeal to mainline preachers (Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service) • The real meaning of Barack Obama's speech on religion and politics (Amy Sullivan, Slate)

Nish is off this week, so Amy is joined by award-winning journalist Jack Jenkins of Religion News Service for a discussion about the civil religion rituals of American state funerals, allegations of election fraud in a North Carolina congressional race involving a Republican candidate who is also a Southern Baptist pastor, and the potential resurgence of the religious left as a political force. And because it's December, the Impolite Company Holiday Playlist is back! To listen along with us, go to Spotify and look for "An Impolite Company Holiday" An earlier version of this episode contained audio difficulties. This version should be problem-free!

This week, we dive right into the midterm elections. What does it mean to be in a country that makes great strides in one midterm election - placing a record number of women & religious minorities in office, electing the first openly gay man as a governor, and giving the voting rights back to 1.4 million people - yet, still elects individuals who openly propagate white supremacist ideals? We wrestle with the tension, as well as the data that shows us nothing is really changing, particularly with religious voters.  We spend the second half of the episode talking about the drama around the Conference of US Bishops this week. US Bishops want to make significant, overdue changes in how the Catholic church handles instances of abuse, but the Vatican pulled the e-brake. What's the deal?  If you want to support the show financially--for as little as $1 per month--please visit our Patreon Page to become a monthly patron. We're putting together plans for an audio documentary about campaigns and religion, and your help could free us up to concentrate on it and other show projects. Discussed on the show this week: Records broken during the 2018 midterms (BBC) Record number of women elected to Congress (Vox) Blue wave, or not? (WaPo) Voting rights restored to individuals who served time for non-violent felonies in Florida (NPR) Duncan Hunter wins with islamophobic campaign. (Vox) Vatican stops US Bishops from voting on sexual abuse responses.(WaPo) Rome orders US Bishops to wait on their plan to curb sex abuse. (NY Times) Game of Thrones returns in April for it's final season (Variety)

In this episode, we talk about the massacre of eleven Jews during Shabbat services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. We discuss the right-wing rhetoric--starting with the president--that currently encourages intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism. We talk about how to discuss anti-Semitism with children without also scaring them unnecessarily. And we talk about why the argument that "this was about anti-religiosity" isn't just foolish but also immoral in that it seeks to erase Jews from the narrative. If you want to support the show financially--for as little as $1 per month--please visit our Patreon Page to become a monthly patron. We're putting together plans for an audio documentary about campaigns and religion, and your help could free us up to concentrate on it and other show projects. Discussed This Week (including resources for discussing the Tree of Life massacre and anti-semitism generally with children): How to Talk to Children About Anti-Semitism (PJ Library) 4 Steps for Talking to Kids About the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting (Sivan Zakai, Kveller) Empowering Young People in the Aftermath of Hate (Anti-Defamation League) What Jewish Schools are Telling Students About the Pittsburgh Shooting (Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic) How Trump and Republicans wield the politics of victimhood (Paul Waldman, Washington Post) The Bodyguard (Netflix) Hocus Pocus (Nish's house) Bang (Acorn TV)

This week, Nish talks with Rachel Esplin Odell and Jennifer Walker Thomas, two leaders of the organization Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG). The group recently made news when it called upon the four Mormon Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to take seriously allegations against Brett Kavanaugh. Rachel and Jennifer talk about how MWEG developed organically after 2016--and particularly out of concern over the Muslim ban and other executive actions that impact refugees and other immigrant communities. In addition, Nish and Amy discuss a trio of stories related to religious freedom, including a case in which a Catholic pharmacist in Michigan refused to fill the prescription of a woman who was actively miscarrying. And we bring you some new pop culture recommendations, as well as a reminder to eat all the donuts and drink all the cider while you still can. Discussed This Week: Trump administration set to expand religious exemptions to birth control coverage (Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post) Michigan pharmacist refuses medicine to woman having miscarriage(Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press) Deep in the desert, case pits immigration crackdown against religious freedom (Ryan Lucas, NPR) Slow Burn Season 2: The Impeachment of Bill Clinton (Leon Neyfakh, Slate) W. Kamau Bell: Private School Negro (Netflix)

In this episode, we are done. Done done done. The Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process is over but we are just getting started. We talk about why calls for civility in the wake of injustice are often calls to silence underrepresented voices. We discuss the fact that so many white women were galvanized to support the Kavanaugh nomination, and why that points to the need for more women leaders in religious spaces. And we feed our rage with some family-size bags of Peanut M&Ms. If you want to support the show financially--for as little as $1 per month,please visit our Patreon Pageto become a monthly patron. We're putting together plans for an audio documentary about campaigns and religion, and your help could free us up to concentrate on it and other show projects. Discussed This Week: The Waves podcast, "The Rage at Brett Edition" Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger (Rebecca Traister, Simon & Schuster) Flight of the Conchords: Live in London The Witch Elm, (Tana French, Viking Press)