Professor of Political Science at Furman University
Professor of Political Science
at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, he has studied, read
and taught about religion and politics for 20 years; co-author of The Bully Pulpit: The Politics of Protestant Clergy
Religion and Politics in America Kevin Phillips worked in the White House during the Nixon years and discovered what he called "the Emerging Republican Majority." Sure enough, the party gained strength until it took a fall in last month's elections. The man who predicted the "emerging Republican majority" now says the party has been "transformed," and that the rising power of radical Christians endangers the separation of church and state. We talk with Phillips and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, a group Phillips says he's alarmed about. How many Republicans think America should be a Christian state? Does religion threaten democracy in a diverse country?
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.