This week's podcast guest is Dr. Hector Garcia. He is a clinical, and evolutionary psychologist. He spent his early career as a frontline PTSD-treatment specialty provider working primarily with combat veterans, and has worked treating patients with anxiety disorders and depression. His prior research has focused on masculine psychology and treatment utilization, the evolutionary psychology of warfare and reintegration, and occupational burnout among mental health providers.

His research program is focused on evolutionary psychology. One of his current projects is investigating the evolutionary roots of occupational burnout. In particular, his lab is examining how our ancient social instincts misalign with the modern-day workplace to produce burnout.

Dr. Garcia is also the author of two books in the field of evolutionary psychology--Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression. His second book, which we will discuss today is titled Sex, Power, and Partisanship: How Evolutionary Science Makes Sense of Our Political Divide. His work has been featured on CPAN, PBS and he has an excellent Ted Talk dealing with Veterans & PTSD. His Ted Talk promotes the idea that we train our soldiers for war. Let's train them to come home.

Michael Collins is an author and assistant professor of English at Texas A&M University. His latest book is titled "The Anti-Civil Rights Movement: Affirmative Action as wedge & weapon." His book pulls back the curtain on the networks of power and influence that are pulling the strings to undo progress toward a more just and equitable society. The efforts of this anti-civil rights movement, as Collins calls it, most recently came to a head on June 23, 2023, when the US Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action in higher education and opened the door to even more regressive policies, laws, and bans. The ruling was the fulfillment of a decades-long battle by right-wing activists and their networks to divide the country.
Key Words: Affirmative Actions, The Heritage Foundation, Edward Blum, Supreme Court, Christopher Rufo, Shelby County v. Holder, & Students for Fair Admissions

This week, we welcome Kim Palermo to the podcast. Kim is an anti-racism educator. She also works in the DEI space. Kim takes us on her journey to educate herself and others on the history of racism in America.

Paul LaDipo is the CEO/Founder at Critical Conversations Consulting. He facilitates training to address and eliminate barriers in the workplace, faith communities, and schools. His curriculum is focused on conversations about racism, colorblindness, and systemic racism. Along with promoting diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments. Paul is a self described Status Quo Disruptor.

"Trump's America" welcomes author and theologian David Congdon. David is a senior editor at the University Press of Kansas and instructor at the University of Kansas and McCormick Theological Seminary. He is the author of "Who Is a True Christian? Contesting Religious Identity in American Culture", published in 2024 by Cambridge University Press.

Dan Barker is an American atheist activist and musician who served as an evangelical Christian preacher and composer for 19 years but left Christianity in 1984. He and his wife Annie Laurie Gaylor are the current co-presidents of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and he is cofounder of The Clergy Project. He's also the author of several books. His latest is "Contraduction." The new word "Contraduction" will help better explain how the world is viewed. Key Words: MAGA, Agnostic, Atheist, Evangelicals, Contraduction, Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Knox College professor Frank McAndrew joins the podcast. Frank has been honored twice with the Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching. McAndrew's book on Environmental Psychology has been translated into several languages and is recognized as a classic text in the history of that discipline, and he is currently editing the Handbook of Evolutionary Social Psychology for De Gruyter Publishing.

This episode's key words: Trump, Evangelicals, White Supremacy, White Christian Nationalism,Evolutionary Psychology, Intellectual Humility,

University of Illinois State History Professor Andrew Hartman joins the podcast. Andrew is the author of "A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars". This episode's key words: Trump, Evangelicals, White Supremacy, White Christian Nationalism, Civil War, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Southern Strategy, Jan. 6th Insurrection, Disinformation, Education, & History.