The SkyePod

All signs point to a big mid-term election for Democrats, but much will depend on their ability to win over religious voters. David French and Skye Jethani discuss the political "God gap," and why religious Americans of all types have moved toward the Republican Party since the 1980s. French reports on his recent trip to Texas, the Senate race between Paxton and Talarico, and why the state's most famous pro-Trump pastor is giving his church permission not to vote Republican. They discuss why Democrats, until recently, have struggled to use moral rhetoric. And why have pro-ICE, anti-empathy Christians on social media suddenly changed their tune?

0:00 - Theme Song

0:32 - Midterms

15:47 - Voting on Doctrine?

26:12 - Did Robert Jeffress Change His Mind?

41:23 - Democrats Talking Like Republicans

51:16 - Samuel Sey and Ice

1:10:22 - End Credit

The Return of Moralistic Democrats:

https://www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/10/midterm-elections-and-return-of-good-and-evil/689145/

David French on the God Gap:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/opinion/talarico-paxton-texas-senate-evangelicals.html

David French on Empathy and Immigration:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/29/opinion/toxic-empathy-immigration-ice.html

Hannah Miller King on Pregnant Women in ICE Detention Centers:

https://holypost.substack.com/p/ice-vs-the-unborn

Why do we experience powerful moments with God—then go back to our normal lives, unchanged? Skye explains why we, like Moses, lose the effects of God's glory and how the New Covenant offers us a way out of the cycle of mountain-top highs and spiritually-empty lows.

0:00 - Intro

4:08 - Theme Song

4:24 - Sermon Starts

9:34 - Down from the Mountaintop

14:05 - Was Moses Hiding Behind the Veil?

18:30 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/becd0d4d-939c-44b8-bad1-fabe22fae3cf?postPreview=free&updated=2026-10-22T17%3A59%3A18.098Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

Drew, King of the North, brings his royal decrees and news from around the internet. He and Skye wonder why religious couples seem to be insulated from the sex recession. Does it all come back to smartphones? Then they talk about how AI is pushing people to find meaning and purpose outside of their vocations. And why does Skye seem less excited about Greta Gerwig's rock-infused Narnia than Drew is? All that, and Skye explains why he thinks Anthropic is a little like Uncle Buck.

0:01 - Theme Song

2:08 - Christians Resisted the Sex Recession?

8:14 - Why Religion Helps Sex

17:59 - Mathemeticians Look for God

26:44 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/6ec53a32-f8e6-46ae-a7dc-252b05bb6494?postPreview=free&updated=2026-10-15T18%3A41%3A00.353Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

Articles:

The Sex Recession: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/09/religion-sex-recession-marriage/688774/

AI Mathematician on The Meaning of Life: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/when-a-i-comes-for-your-purpose-in-life/id1200361736?i=1000796109623

New Narnia Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDJ-ini7fF0

Article on AI and the Church: https://holypost.substack.com/p/this-is-not-a-drill

Skye sifts through your questions, like panning for gold! Or, cleaning the gunk from your dishwasher, depending on your perspective. Mailman Mike's brought Skye questions about what repentance means, how we should respond to historically-questionable-sermon-illustrations, and if we take scripture-reading too seriously. Plus—what are women supposed to feel about all this talk about male circumcision in the Bible?

0:07 - Theme Song

2:13 - Repenting of Trump?

8:35 - Gehenna

17:17 - Sermon on the Mount: Serious and Literal?

30:44 - How Important is Scripture-reading?

31:44 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/5f17706f-3b89-4901-b1ed-a903f2638ffc?postPreview=free&updated=2026-10-08T20%3A21%3A26.549Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

Questions Answered:

• What did Skye mean when he said Christians should repent of supporting Trump?
• Was Gehenna actually a trash-pit outside Jerusalem?
• How do you take the Sermon on the Mount seriously?
• Do we overemphasize scripture reading?
• Do men know how alienating discussions of circumcision are to women?
• How bad are the bears gonna be this year?

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, it was his most public and spectacular miracle ever. But why were most of his miracles before this marked by secrecy and subtlety instead? In this message, Skye explores the role spectacles play in our faith, why we are so drawn to them, and why they usually fail to foster a transformative, sustainable love for God.

0:00 - Preamble

1:21 - Theme Song

1:52 - American Duels

6:46 - Lazarus and Duels

10:39 - How Jesus Creates Spectacle

16:04 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/f8df4b24-a965-417a-803a-56d559e03a56?postPreview=free&updated=2026-10-01T19%3A24%3A32.487Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

Republican candidate Bo French in Texas created a controversy when he reacted to a photo of college students at the University of Texas football game. Many in the photo were of South Asian descent. He called it a "problem." David French (no relation) talks with Skye Jethani about the unmasked racism that MAGA has unleashed and what has led to the emergence of "heritage Americans" as a way of demoting immigrants and racial minorities. They also discuss the vacuum created efforts to diminish or remove American history from schools, and why overwhelming dissatisfaction with the two major political parties has failed to create a reform movement in the U.S.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:34 - Sports Catch-Up

2:36 - Bo French's Open racism

15:25 - 17 Million vs. 77 Million

25:09 - "Heritage Americans"

40:20 - Progressive Smugness

48:50 - Why Do Third Parties Keep Failing?

1:01:40 - End Credits

David French on Bo French:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/opinion/bo-french-university-texas-longhorns.html

Drew Dyck is back with another roundup of stories from the web. Is a "tsunami" really coming for the American church? How many of your favorite sermon illustrations are completely made up? Are parents raising successful young men who are boring to talk to? Skye and Drew also discuss the Gen Z stare, why worship leaders are burning out, and why women may be more suspicious of AI than men. Plus, if the people building AI think there's a chance it could destroy humanity, should the rest of us be a little more worried?

0:03 - Theme Song

6:13 - Can We Predict Church Change?

18:10 - Bogus Sermon Illustrations

25:45 - How to Raise an Unattractive Son

28:41 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/e0a58469-27ba-49a7-9cd2-b88d13a18252?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-17T21%3A36%3A38.704Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

We are two months away from the midterm elections, and with multiple clergy running for office, faith is playing a larger role. Are evangelicals souring on MAGA? Will the Democrats close the "God gap?" Skye is joined by former chief political analyst for NBC News and moderator of Meet the Press, Chuck Todd, to discuss the intersection of faith and politics. Their conversation also turns to their diverse religious upbringings, the role of public education, backlash against big tech, and how to repair our broken, corrupt political system. Once named "The Most Powerful Journalist in Washington" by GQ magazine, Todd now hosts The Chuck ToddCast, featuring in-depth interviews with political figures, experts, and thought leaders.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:26 - Empty Nesters

2:16 - Clergy Running as Democrats

16:06 - Inflection Point in Evangelicalism

27:36 - Importance of Pluralism

36:48 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/93204b4f-df70-496e-ab96-8f9ce2a9cca8?postPreview=free&updated=2026-09-10T18%3A46%3A02.325Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

It's back to school and off to college season. Sociologists and master of "Graphs About Religion," Ryan Burge, is back with new data about which college majors are the most and least devoted to Christianity. He also has stats about declining birth rates even among religious groups, and why some kids raised with and without faith switch their beliefs as adults.

0:11 - Theme Song

2:17 - Religiosity Among Different College Majors

10:42 - Finance Bros are Major Church-Goers

20:14 - Deconstruction and College

27:32 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/so-you-want-your-child-to-keep-the

New data finds that almost half of Gen Z adults won't consider going to church because of Christians' support for Donald Trump. David French and Skye Jethani wonder what the research means for the majority of evangelical churches that avoid anything political, and why that may actually be part of the problem. They also discuss the rise of socialism on the political left and why JD Vance's recent memoir suggests socialism may be just as popular on the political right. Plus, what America can learn from the goodness of Dolly Parton.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:17 - Mourning Dolly Parton

9:23 - Is Polarization Keeping Gen Z Out of Church?

21:02 - Should the Church Be Political?

31:04 - The Rise of Socialists

50:21 - Can the Middle Hold Together?

1:04:32 - End Credits

Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, but Lazarus was not transformed. He was still mortal, subject to the curse, and destined to die again. In other words, Lazarus was resuscitated; he was not truly resurrected. This message contrasts the difference between being rescued by God and being reborn, and asks whether we have accepted a lesser gospel of mere resuscitation when the life we are called to is one of transformation possible through the power of Christ's resurrection.

0:05 - Theme Song

0:20 - Intro

4:42 - John Newton's Resuscitation

10:00 - Two Tombs

14:01 - Jesus Came Back Different

18:52 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/skyedive-resuscitation-vs-resurrection?r=35kf51&showWelcomeOnShare=true

In perhaps the most faith-centric Drew's News yet, Drew Dyck brings us the rise of A.I. sermons, the rise of exorcisms, and the delayed rise of an airplane where a woman decided to evangelize to the unenthusiastic captive audience. Skye and Drew also speculate if the brief period of lucidity dementia patients experience shortly before death points to the existence of the human soul. And why does the church favor people going through "spiritual puberty?" All this and more on the new Drew's news!

0:00 - Theme Song

2:52 - Is Deconstruction a meaningless word now?

15:03 - Florida Evangelist Kicked Off Alaska Flight

27:12 - Terminal Lucidity

29:31 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/drews-news-spiritual-puberty-ai-sermons?r=35kf51&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Skye wants to wrap his head around what's happening with A.I. There's the economic factor, the ethical factor, the societal factor… too much for most of us to keep up with. Skye sat down with Meghan Sullivan, a leading voice on ethics with A.I., to talk about how people in Silicon Valley are navigating this thorny topic.

0:00 - Intro

8:18 - Theme Song

8:38 - LLMs with Personalties

14:57 - Market Pressure

23:45 - Theory of Secularization

27:57 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/6bb8ed52-78c1-45d3-bb70-4851140b06b2?postPreview=free&updated=2026-08-06T22%3A10%3A37.356Z&audience=only_paid&free_preview=true&freemail=true

Read more about Meghan Sullivan's work at her website: https://meghansullivan.org/

Guess what time it is? Once every year, David French and Skye Jethani devote an episode to movies, TV shows, and pop culture nerdery. This year's Nerdfest focuses on Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," and David makes his case that the film is a Trojan horse filled with conservative values. They also react to the new "Avengers: Doomsday" trailer, why superhero movies aren't working anymore, and their shared hatred of multiverses. Finally, from the non-nerd world, they discuss new data showing Gen Z is turned off to Christianity by the evangelical support for Donald Trump. What's really behind the numbers?

0:00 - Theme Song

1:24 - The Conservatism of The Odyssey

16:04 - The Odyssey and Culture Wars

25:42 - Marvel, Star Wars, and Decay

43:24 - Is Trump Driving Gen Z from Church?

1:03:00 - End Credits

Christopher Nolan's take on Homer's epic "The Odyssey" is the biggest film in the world right now. Holy Post Pundit and New Testament scholar, Nijay Gupta, joins Skye to talk about what it tells us about pagan religion in the ancient world. He explains how the faith taught by the Apostles contradicted the kind of idolatry and superstition described in "The Odyssey," and what the ancient Greek understanding of hospitality toward strangers—a major theme in the movie—shares in common with both the Old and New Testaments.

0:07 - Theme Song

2:03 - The Odyssey and the Ancient World

8:28 - Demigods Among Us

22:02 - Hospitality as a Virtue

28:13 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/the-odyssey-and-the-bible-with-nijay?r=35kf51&triedRedirect=true

Link to Nijay's Substack series on Paganism: https://nijaykgupta.substack.com/p/the-odyssey-and-the-world-of-the

Engaging Scripture (Nijay Gupta's Substack): https://nijaykgupta.substack.com/

Link to Nijay's Substack series on Paganism: https://nijaykgupta.substack.com/p/the-odyssey-and-the-world-of-the

Engaging Scripture (Nijay Gupta's Substack): https://nijaykgupta.substack.com/

Drew Dyck is back with another roundup of stories from the web. Are physically unfit pastors spiritually unfit for ministry? Christian influencers are only eating foods found in the Bible. Why non-denominational churches are a myth. What's really behind the falling birthrates, and why aren't economic solutions working?

0:01 - Theme Song

0:19 - Drew's Newsletter

1:39 - Fat Pastors

5:25 - Are Pastors Aspirational?

22:58 - The Bible Diet

27:24 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to:

https://holypost.substack.com/p/drews-news-fat-pastors-non-denoms

Historian Daniel G. Hummel joins Skye Jethani to talk about the changing relationship between American evangelicals and Israel. Driven by a particular view of the end times, Hummel explains the origin of evangelical support for the modern state of Israel, and why current events are testing that commitment. They also examine influential media voices, like Tucker Carlson, who are aggressively pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories and half-truths about the origins of Christian Zionism.

0:07 - Theme Song

6:54 - Secularism and Zionism

12:03 - Dispensationalism

19:29 - Israel and Blessings

22:02 - Controlling God

27:56 - Carlson's Anti-semetic Anti-zionism

30:33 - End Credits

CT's article on Tucker Carlson and the Scofield Bible:

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/06/what-tucker-carlson-got-wrong-cyrus-scofield-christian-zionism/

In honor of Independence Day, Holy Post Media released a new explainer video titled "Should America Rededicate Itself to God?" The short 12-minute video featured clips of a conversation between Skye Jethani and Caleb Campbell, the pastor of Desert Springs Bible Church in Phoenix and author of "Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor." This episode features their full conversation, including Campbell's journey from neo-Nazi skinhead to senior pastor, what America's founders really thought about pluralism, and why so many pastors failed to speak up as their church members got sucked into Christian nationalism.

0:00 - Intro

1:29 - Theme Song

9:42 - The Founders RejectedNationalism

15:30 - Shouldn't Laws be Aligned to God's Will?

21:45 - How Caleb Changed

29:11 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to:

https://holypost.substack.com/p/caleb-campbell

It's a history lesson on today's French Friday. David French explains the parallels between the Vichy French government that cooperated with the Nazis in WWII and Christian nationalists in America today. Both were highly misogynistic, nativist, and blamed liberal democracy for all of the country's problems. Obviously, things did not end well for the Vichy government in France. David and Skye discuss why the authoritarianism pushed by Christian nationalists won't work in America either. They also discuss the 2026 midterm elections and what the Democrats are learning from the popularity of pugilistic candidates like Platner in Maine and the decency of candidates like Talarico in Texas.

0:00 - Theme Song

1:11 - Vichy France and Modern America

8:18 - Mistrust Toward Democracy

17:50 - Why Do We Return to Authoritarianism?

33:08 - Graham Platner

43:41 - What's a Good "Representative?"

1:02:09 - End Credits

David French's Vichy France article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/opinion/christian-nationalism-maga-france.html

Skye and Esau saw Disclosure Day by Steven Spielberg this weekend—did it make them believe in aliens? Maybe not, but it does show a cultural preoccupation with our place in the world. Would the existence of aliens change history? Would you believe aliens were telling the truth? Skye and Esau debate these issues and Esau pitches a sequel.

0:06 - Theme Song

1:15 - Disclosure Day

7:27 - Why Aliens Would Change Our View of God

13:51 - Religion Without God

25:40 - Are Aliens Demons?

29:05 - This episode is available only for Holy Post Plus subscribers. Not a subscriber? Head on over to: https://holypost.substack.com/p/disclosure-day-faith-aliens-and-spielberg