Best Paul Matzko Podcasts (2025)

1
Does Christian Nationalism Work? An Interview with Paul Matzko, Part Two 24:41

Play Pause

20d ago24:41

24:41

Send us a text Today's segment is the second part of my interview with Paul Matzko, historian and senior program manager at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. Paul is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. Our topic today is Paul's answer to the question: has Christian nationalism ever worked? Listen in to find out…

1
Inequality: American Buy, Borrow, and Die vs. Scandinavian Wage Compression 35:25

6d ago35:25

35:25

Wealthy Americans are able to avoid taxes through an accounting strategy known as “buy, borrow, and die.” It’s why Donald Trump is able to pay as little as $0 in federal income taxes some years. But, as Peter and Paul discuss, it turns out that the strategy might work differently than researchers used to think. Then, in the second half of the show,…

1
The Value of Religious Freedom: An Interview with Roger Finke 41:17

13d ago41:17

41:17

Send us a text Roger Finke is distinguished professor emeritus of sociology and international affairs at Penn State University. Roger is also the founder of the Association of Religion Data Archives, which is an online archive of the best religion data available, a standard research tool for social scientists. He is the author of several books incl…

1
What is Christian Nationalism? An Interview with Paul Matzko, Part One 38:28

25d ago38:28

38:28

Send us a text Paul Matzko is a historian and senior program manager for AI and emerging technology at the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute and host of the Unintended Consequences podcast. Today, he joins me to discuss how Christian nationalism differs from citizen engageme…

1
The Crisis of Christian Nationalism: An Interview with Jemar Tisby 29:43

1M ago29:43

29:43

Send us a text This segment includes a significant amount of a recent interview with historican and author Jemar Tisby. Although I interviewed Jemar in the spring, the content is incredibly timely and relevant now. In this discussion, we cover the Trump administration's war on due process, diversity programs, and foreign aid. A recurring theme is t…

1
Is Public Funding Actually Bad for Public Media? 31:57

1M ago31:57

31:57

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which subsidizes National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, received half a billion dollars from the federal government each year. While budget battles over the amount of funding are routine, there are more fundamental questions at stake. Join Peter Van Doren and Paul Matzko as they dig into …

1
Money, Lies, and God: An Interview with Katherine Stewart 49:10

2M ago49:10

49:10

Send us a text Today I feature an interview with Katherine Stewart, the author of the New York Time bestseller Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy. The segment is timely in that we discuss income disparities accentuated by the passage of the recent Trump budget. The dominance of Christian nationalism in the curre…

1
The Fears of Christian Nationalism: Interview with Andrew Whitehead 39:39

2M ago39:39

39:39

Send us a text Why are Christian nationalists angry about the New York City Democratic mayoral primary victory of Zohran Mamdani? They surely are. Many are blaming "unchecked" immigration for his win. White Christians nationalist fear they are being replaced by too many non-Christians and too many black and brown people. In light of this event and …

1
Bonus Episode: America's Founding - Secular Government, Religious Freedom 11:54

2M ago11:54

11:54

Send us a text Be it resolved: America's founders established a secular government with provision for a religious people. When the delegates met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they deliberately prevented the government from favoring any religion. Then when the Bill of Rights were added, freedom of religious expression was guaranteed. Those …

1
Is YouTube Good or Bad? The Perils and Promise of ‘Free’ Information 31:14

2M ago31:14

31:14

Every minute, over 500 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube. Some of those videos likely infringe on existing intellectual property rights. In his Regulation cover article, law professor Jonathan Barnett argues that protections for intellectual property, including on platforms like YouTube, have become too weakened. That has resulted in a massi…

1
That's Not Fair and That's Not American 34:47

3M ago34:47

34:47

Send us a text Recently, David Barton and Matt Krause testified in front of the Texas House of Representatives Public Education committee. Barton and Krause both said some historically questionable things to support the placement of the Ten Commandments in every Texas classroom. A premise of this podcast is that it takes faulty history to pursue Ch…

1
PM2.5 and Decentralizing Pollution Standards 27:21

4M ago27:21

27:21

One of the hottest debated topics in environmental pollution policy is PM2.5, particulate matter that is so small it can bypass your respiratory system’s filters and enter your bloodstream. Everyone agrees that it’s a potential problem, but Paul and Peter discuss why a single national standard for PM2.5 might be an expensive mistake that actually h…

1
Charlie Kirk's Christian America, Part Two 39:20

4M ago39:20

39:20

Send us a text In this segment, I examine the notion that there was something remarkably Christian about America's founding era. Last week, I fact-checked Charlie Kirk's viral video defense of the belief that America was founded as a Christian nation in the legal sense. Most of what Kirk had to say was irrelevant or incorrect. Today, I consider an …

1
Charlie Kirk's Christian America 48:03

4M ago48:03

48:03

Send us a text In 2024, Charlie Kirk distributed a five-minute video defense of the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation. It has been played at least 20 million times on various social media platforms and is full of faulty history. This segment serves to correct the false claims and defend the proposition that America's founders set …

1
Trade Policy as an Act of Self-Immolation 27:33

4M ago27:33

27:33

On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced the largest tariffs in more than a century, sparking a stockmarket crash and heightening fears of a potential recession. It shouldn’t be a surprise for our listeners; one of our episodes last year covered the sweeping tariffs then being proposed by candidate Trump. But now that the tariffs are actually he…

1
Mike Johnson's False Jefferson Prayer: The Rest of the Story 42:11

4M ago42:11

42:11

Send us a text On January 3, 2025, Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson was re-elected to be Speaker of the House. In his acceptance speech, he quoted a prayer that he said Thomas Jefferson said every day during his presidency and every day of his life thereafter. There is a problem with this story. The prayer was written 56 years after Jefferson …

1
Congestion Pricing and VMT Taxes 27:14

5M ago27:14

27:14

New York City’s congestion pricing policy is meant to reduce traffic in Manhattan and to raise money for public transit. But it’s attracted the ire of many, including President Donald Trump. Join Paul Matzko and Peter Van Doren as they discuss what congestion pricing is, why it’s so controversial, and why it’s generally a good idea to more accurate…

1
Telling Jefferson Lies Season Two Trailer - Charlie Kirk's History Lessons 2:48

5M ago2:48

2:48

Send us a text In 2024, a video featuring Charlie Kirk defending America as a Christian nation was viewed over 10 millions times on social media. Many of the claims were false or misleading. This season of Telling Jefferson Lies will examine this video and other Christian nation claims by Christian nationalists in addition to Kirk. The first full e…

1
Who Builds the Building Code? 26:38

6M ago26:38

26:38

Should your home have a sprinkler system installed? Well, the organization likely responsible for your local building code thinks so. But mandating sprinklers in every single family home would be expensive, and this wouldn’t be the first time that regulators failed to sufficiently account for costs and tradeoffs. Join Paul Matzko and Peter Van Dore…

1
Jimmy Carter, the Great Deregulator 26:26

7M ago26:26

26:26

Obituaries for the late President Jimmy Carter have been filled with profuse praise for his post-presidential philanthropic work. But Carter wasn't just good once he left office; he was one of the most underrated presidents in US history. As Paul and Peter discuss, his administration enacted policies that deregulated a swath of industries from truc…

1
Telling Jefferson Lies Season Two Preview - January 6 Edition 3:51

8M ago3:51

3:51

Send us a text Although the dates have not been set, new episodes of Telling Jefferson Lies are coming this Spring. I want to go deeper into the faulty history of Christian nationalism but also examine the psychology behind it as well. Christian nationalism as an ideology is much more complex than fake quotes and false stories. The way history has …

1
A Politics of Nostalgia: Economic Policy Under Biden and Trump 57:07

10M ago57:07

57:07

There is substantial overlap between the Biden and Trump administrations on economic policy. Both presidents have favored protectionist industrial policy and higher import tariffs. Yet these policies would not only fail to return America to the economy of the early 20th century; they would harm most ordinary American workers and consumers in the at…

1
The Spirit of Justice: A Bonus Episode with Jemar Tisby 26:15

12M ago26:15

26:15

Send us a text On September 3, 2024, author and historian Jemar Tisby's new book The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance officially drops everywhere. Today, I am posting most of the interview I conducted with Jemar for use in my podcast series Telling Jefferson Lies. In this episode, I recreate my questions because of a r…

1
Regulatory Expectations Get a Reality Check: Boeing, Chevron, and Antitrust 1:01:40

1y ago1:01:40

1:01:40

Theory is elegant, but even the most well-designed and well-intentioned theory of regulation may not survive the acid test of reality. First, Paul and Peter discuss the dilemma faced by federal regulators trying to address Boeing’s safety record and the risk that (in)action might push more passengers to drive instead. Then Peter offers a counterint…

1
Disarming Leviathan - Bonus Episode with Caleb Campbell 28:03

1y ago28:03

28:03

Send us a text On July 2, 2024, Caleb Campbell's new book Disarming Leviathan: Loving Your Christian Nationalist Neighbor officially drops everywhere. Today, I am posting most of the interview I conducted with Caleb for use in my podcast series Telling Jefferson Lies. In this episode, I do say I want to smash Christian nationalists, but I hope it i…

1
Ministers of Propaganda - Bonus Episode with Scott Coley 10:29

1y ago10:29

10:29

Send us a text Excerpts from my interview with Scott Coley, lecturer in philosophy at Mount St. Mary's University. His new book Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right is out this week. In this bonus episode of the podcast series Telling Jefferson Lies, Scott discusses Christo-authoritarianism and the role of …

1
What's So Good About Separation of Church and State? 44:00

1+ y ago44:00

44:00

Send us a text Often debates focus on Christian nationalism and the problems which come from blurring the line between church and state. In this episode, I end the Telling Jefferson Lies series with some thoughts and testimony from experts about what is good about separation. Helping me close out the series are: Randall Balmer, John Phillips Chair …

1
The O'Connor Question 56:54

1+ y ago56:54

56:54

Send us a text In 2005, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor asked an important question for those who would erode separation of church and state: "Why would we trade a system that has served us so well for one that has served others so poorly? " I spend much of this episode affirming that we should not trade. Much of this series has been raising alarm abou…

1
Losing Our Religion 50:44

1+ y ago50:44

50:44

Send us a text In this segment, I argue that Christian nationalism is bad for religion in general and bad for Christianity in the specific case. This segment sets up the finale which argues that separation of church and state is a benefit to the United States and should be strengthened. If you like experts and multiple voices, this is the segment f…

1
America is Not a Christian Nation - Bonus Episode with Randall Balmer 11:04

1+ y ago11:04

11:04

Send us a text In this short bonus episode, Dartmouth College professor Randall Balmer provides an introduction to reasons why he doesn't see the U.S. as a Christian nation. Dr. Balmer is the John Phillips Chair in Religion at Dartmouth College. He has spoken at numerous colleges and universities, including where I met him, Grove City College. Balm…

1
Should You Have the Right To Repair Your John Deere Tractor? 1:03:08

1+ y ago1:03:08

1:03:08

It’s tractor week at Unintended Consequences with special guest Ike Brannon, who is a Senior Fellow at the Jack Kemp Foundation, about the right to repair movement and the struggle of farmers over whether John Deere can restrict their right to tinker with their own tractors. But first, Peter and Paul talk about government restrictions on manufactur…

1
Consequences of Christian Nationalism 54:32

1+ y ago54:32

54:32

Send us a text In general terms, I believe Christian nationalism is bad history, bad politics, and bad religion. In prior episodes, I have concentrated on the bad history. In this segment and the next, I focus mainly on the bad politics. Around the world, religious nationalism is associated with state sponsored violence against citizens, use of for…

1
Sally Hemings Bonus Episode, Whitewashing Jefferson, Part Three 23:14

1+ y ago23:14

23:14

Send us a text As promised, here is the completion of my examination of David Barton's whitewashing of Thomas Jefferson. In our book Getting Jefferson Right: Fact-Checking Claims About Thomas Jefferson, Michael Coulter and I assume the position held by most scholars and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation when it comes to the paternity of Sally Hemings…

1
The True Story of the False Origins of the Seven Mountains Message - Bonus Episode 31:18

1+ y ago31:18

31:18

Send us a text This supplements episode 10, Still Searching for Christian America, Part Two. You can listen to this first, but I definitely encourage you to go back and catch up if you do. Everybody in Christian nationalism is talking about the seven mountains message. The message is at the root of much violent rhetoric coming from Christian nation…

1
Still Searching for Christian America, Part Two 49:58

1+ y ago49:58

49:58

Send us a text Note: Earlier versions of this segment had a low quality version of a speech by Jerry Falwell. The audio problem has been corrected. In this episode, I describe the National Prayer Breakfast movement, right-wing Christian nationalists, Reconstructionists, and non-denominational charismatic Christian nationalists. My guests for this e…

1
Still Searching for Christian America, Part One 44:41

1+ y ago44:41

44:41

Send us a text In 1983, Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden published a book titled The Search for Christian America. They concluded that there was nothing uniquely Christian in the founding of the United States and there is no Christian America to which to return. In this episode, both Drs. Noll and Marsden join me to say they believe toda…

1
Wolfe in Wolf's Clothing 49:47

1+ y ago49:47

49:47

Send us a text Stephen Wolfe's book The Case for Christian Nationalism ignited a firestorm of controversy when it was released in 2022. In the book, Wolfe calls for revolt against tyranny and for Christians to mobilize at the state and local level to enact self-conscious Christian governments. In principle, according to Wolfe, Christian state's cou…

1
The Capitol Tour Explained - Bonus Episode 28:09

1+ y ago28:09

28:09

Send us a text SHOW NOTES: This bonus episode is a supplement to Conspiracy of Silence (Episode Seven of Telling Jefferson Lies). It provides the audio of the Family Research Council Capitol Tour led by David Barton followed by the the response of 35 historians and social scientists who, in 2013, asked FRC to remove the video from social media. You…

1
Conspiracy of Silence 48:20

1+ y ago48:20

48:20

Send us a text After David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from publication in August, 2012, some Christian organizations wrote critical articles and publicly distanced themselves from Barton and Wallbuilders. Other groups some were caught off guard. The leaders of these groups knew they had false and misleading material being offered t…

1
Whitewashing Jefferson, Part Two 47:38

1+ y ago47:38

47:38

Send us a text This is a continuation of last week's episode on whitewashing Jefferson. Today, we specifically take on Barton's contention that Jefferson was a civil rights hero for African Americans and was a strong anti-slavery advocate during his entire life. In fact, after 1784, Jefferson's promising beginning as an opponent of slavery faded aw…

1
Whitewashing Jefferson, Part One 45:09

1+ y ago45:09

45:09

Send us a text Why did Thomas Nelson pull David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies from publication in 2012? Last week, we started to answer that question. This week we continue to provide specific illustrations of the historical errors which triggered that unprecedented move by Thomas Nelson. In this episode, we focus on the errors regarding race an…

1
Starter Homes, Electric Vehicles, and Poverty 1:06:33

1+ y ago1:06:33

1:06:33

Incentives matter, but they don’t care about your intentions. In this episode Paul and Peter start by talking with special guest and Truist Distinguished Professor of Economics at Winston-Salem State University Craig Richardson. He discusses how the federal government tried to prevent greedy banks from taking advantage of homebuyers but just ended …

1
God's Honest Truth - Bonus Episode 25:25

1+ y ago25:25

25:25

Send us a text Since the founding era, Christian nationalists have told and believed myths about the founders and their religious views. Paul Matzko, historian and researcher with the Cato Institute and Anna Berkes, librarian at Monticello's Jefferson Library talk to me about the persistence of these stories throughout the history of the U.S. Then,…

1
Getting Jefferson Right 44:24

1+ y ago44:24

44:24

Send us a text What was so wrong with The Jefferson Lies that Thomas Nelson decided to pull the book from publication? In this episode, Michael Coulter and Warren Throckmorton start answering that question by pulling material from their book, Getting Jefferson Right. In this episode, we take long looks into Barton’s handling of the Danbury Baptist …

1
The Cataclysm 56:52

1+ y ago56:52

56:52

Send us a text In 2012, only four months after release, publisher Thomas Nelson removed David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies from publication. Many people blamed or credited a book by Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter titled Getting Jefferson Right for moving the publisher in that direction. What happened? Building on the foundation of the …

1
Where's Waldo the Anointed? 43:27

1+ y ago43:27

43:27

Send us a text "You know, he is the where's Waldo of the movement. He's a little bit everywhere." Katherine Stewart, author of Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Christian Nationalism. "He's managed to create a kind of brand in a way for himself through Wallbuilders of being a trusted authority on the American past." Randall Stephens, …

1
America's Premier Historian: Origin Story 51:09

1+ y ago51:09

51:09

Send us a text In April 2012, Thomas Nelson published The Jefferson Lies, a book about Thomas Jefferson written by David Barton. By August of the same year, the publisher had removed the book from publication. What happened? This series tells that story and so much more. Just over a decade later, the Speaker of the House of Representatives declared…

1
Telling Jefferson Lies Preview: January 6 Edition 3:37

1+ y ago3:37

3:37

Send us a text Telling Jefferson Lies not only documents the role of revisionist history in the maintenance of Christian nationalism, it addresses what Christian nationalism is about. This weekend seems like a good time to preview that aspect of the series. The series starts in two weeks with a look at the origin story of America's Premier Historia…

1
Preview of Telling Jefferson Lies 4:17

1+ y ago4:17

4:17

Send us a text A brief preview of the upcoming series Telling Jefferson Lies. Telling Jefferson Lies chronicles how history can be hijacked for ideological and political purposes. We begin with the extraordinary story of how David Barton’s best-selling book about Thomas Jefferson was pulled from publication due to historical errors. After telling t…

1
Introduction to Telling Jefferson Lies 2:31

1+ y ago2:31

2:31

Send us a text This is the first teaser/trailer for the podcast series which begins in January, 2024. Show Notes: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill by Christianity Today, hosted by Mike Cosper, from Episode 11, The Tempest. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/tempest-mars-hill-driscoll.html. Music by Warren Throckm…