This episode examines the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the rapid, misleading political rhetoric that followed, exploring how preemptive messaging and media ecosystems shaped public perception.

It explains "cognitive warfare" and the "cognitive firewall"—how conservative Christian nationalism and integrated right-wing media weaponize trusted values to mobilize voters and protect elite interests.

Drawing on Thomas Paine's example, the host urges reclaiming reason, exposing the donors who benefit, and defending a secular republic without demonizing the manipulated foot soldiers.

Jim breaks down a startling statistic: 41% of American Christians say God mandates them to lead seven key sectors of society, and explains how the Seven Mountains Mandate repackages dominionist theology into a strategy for institutional capture.

He traces the movement’s roots, shows how it seeks influence in education, business, and government, and explains how framing politics as spiritual warfare radicalizes followers and undermines constitutional norms.

The episode urges compassionate engagement with believers and a defense of democratic, pluralistic principles against top-down religious power grabs.

This episode examines how Freemasonry functioned as the communication, trust, and organizational network that helped forge the United States. It traces the shift from operative stonecutters to speculative lodges, explains Masonic rituals and symbols, and shows how founders like Washington and Franklin used the lodge’s practices—elected leadership, bylaws, and military lodges—to design and run a republic.

It also addresses modern misconceptions by distinguishing Masonic networks from conspiracy myths, highlighting the lodges’ role in promoting pluralism and civic order rather than a church-based nation, and explaining the symbolism behind the dollar bill and the Great Architect of the Universe.