Telling Jefferson Lies: Debunking the Myth that America was Founded as a Christian Nation
Watch for information about Season Two coming in 2025! Season one of the series was active from January-April, 2024. Bonus episodes were periodically posted throughout the remainder of 2024. Please subscribe so you will be notified about Season Two in 2025.
Telling Jefferson Lies chronicles how history can be hijacked for ideological and political purposes, as well as a much broader story about the surge of Christian nationalism and the misuse of history which often goes along with it. The series begins with an in-depth consideration of the methods of Christian nationalist story teller David Barton. Then I tell the story of how his book on Jefferson was pulled from publication in 2012 and the response of evangelicals to that rare event. From there, I broaden the scope to examine the varieties of Christian nationalism and the negative consequences of this way of thinking about church and state. The last segment examines the reasons why the separation of church and state is good history, good civics, and good religion.
For more information, go to http://www.gettingjeffersonright.com.
Episodes
27 episodes
Telling Jefferson Lies Season Two Trailer - Charlie Kirk's History Lessons
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 ot...
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Season 2
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2:48
Telling Jefferson Lies Season Two Preview - January 6 Edition
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 ...
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Season 2
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3:51
The Spirit of Justice: A Bonus Episode with Jemar Tisby
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 ...
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Season 1
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26:15
Disarming Leviathan - Bonus Episode with Caleb Campbell
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 Jeffer...
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Season 1
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28:03
Ministers of Propaganda - Bonus Episode with Scott Coley
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 ...
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Season 1
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10:29
What's So Good About Separation of Church and State?
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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44:00
The O'Connor Question
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 o...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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56:54
Losing Our Religion
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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50:44
America is Not a Christian Nation - Bonus Episode with Randall Balmer
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. ...
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Season 1
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11:04
Consequences of Christian Nationalism
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, rel...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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54:32
Sally Hemings Bonus Episode, Whitewashing Jefferson, Part Three
As promised, here is the completion of my examination of David Barton's whitewashing of Thomas Jefferson. In our book
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Season 1
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23:14
The True Story of the False Origins of the Seven Mountains Message - Bonus Episode
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 ...
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Season 1
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31:18
Still Searching for Christian America, Part Two
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 nationa...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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49:58
Still Searching for Christian America, Part One
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 wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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44:41
Wolfe in Wolf's Clothing
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 le...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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49:47
The Capitol Tour Explained - Bonus Episode
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 h...
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Season 1
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28:09
Conspiracy of Silence
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 caugh...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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48:20
Whitewashing Jefferson, Part Two
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 li...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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47:38
Whitewashing Jefferson, Part One
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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45:09
God's Honest Truth - Bonus Episode
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 L...
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Season 1
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Episode 0
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25:25
Getting Jefferson Right
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, <...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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44:24
The Cataclysm
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...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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56:52
Where's Waldo the Anointed?
"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 o...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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43:27
America's Premier Historian: Origin Story
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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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51:09
Telling Jefferson Lies Preview: January 6 Edition
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 ser...
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Season 1
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3:37
