Flipping Tables

Prepare to get angry. I unfortunately fell back into the bad habit of doom scrolling. And it was so discouraging to watch what happens online. The increased amount of abuse towards women, calling for them to not be able to vote, taking away resources for single parents (because sure, lets punish the parent who stayed), and the double standard of women's sexuality has been gut wrenching for me. Christmas Eve I read a book called "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" by Grady Hendrix. I read it in one day. Now while its fiction, its factually based on what happened in homes for unwed mothers in the US- a grandchild of the Magdalene Laundries of Ireland. This double standard is so ingrained, so enmeshed in our culture and society and since the Dobbs decision, those homes - where so much abuse, fraud (gasp), coercion and trafficking happened, are now increasing in number. Women will never be free and equal if we acquiesce, if we cave, if we allow it, if we carry shame that was never ours to begin with. We shatter those standards by first learning about them and what they have done to the women before us. 1803 Offences Against the Person Act (Lord Ellenborough’s Act)1828 Offences Against the Person Act1837 Offences Against the Person Act1861 Offences Against the Person Act, Sections 58–59Infant Life Preservation Act 1929Abortion Act 1967 (UK)Lane Committee Report, Report of the Committee on the Working of the Abortion Act (1974)Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) historical ethics reportsBrookes, Barbara. Abortion in England, 1900–1967. Croom Helm.Fisher, Kate. Birth Control, Sex, and Marriage in Britain 1918–1960. Oxford University Press.McLaren, Angus. A History of Contraception: From Antiquity to the Present Day. Blackwell.Williams, Glanville. The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law.Irish Department of Justice. The Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries (McAleese Report), 2013.O’Sullivan, M. The Irish Magdalene Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment. Manchester University Press.Smith, James M. Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and the Nation’s Architecture of Containment. University of Notre Dame Press.Finnegan, Frances. Do Penance or Perish: A Study of Magdalen Asylums in Ireland. Oxford University Press.Luddy, Maria. Prostitution and Irish Society, 1800–1940. Cambridge University Press.Raftery, Mary & O’Sullivan, Eoin. Suffer the Little Children: The Inside Story of Ireland’s Industrial Schools.BBC Panorama investigative reporting on the LaundriesIrish Times archives (historical reporting on Magdalene institutions)UN Committee on the Rights of the Child briefs on Irish institutional abusesJoint Oireachtas Committee hearings on institutional abuseSolinger, Rickie. Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe v. Wade. Routledge.Fessler, Ann. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade. Penguin.Kunzel, Regina. Fallen Women, Problem Girls: Unmarried Mothers and the Professionalization of Social Work, 1890–1945. Yale University Press.National Florence Crittenton Mission ArchivesWomen’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, early 20th-century records on “unmarried mothers”Maza, Sarah. Work on U.S. adoption coercion practicesOriginal court records from state maternity homes (various—primarily Minnesota, Tennessee, New York)Liberty Godparent Home archives, Liberty University (reporting, survivor testimony, investigative journalism)Liberty Lost podcast and transcripts (primary oral history from survivors)Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute reportsNew York Times investigative reports (1950s–1990s) on maternity homes and adoption coercionSenate Subcommittee hearings on adoption abuses (1970s–1980s)Social Security Bulletin archives on “Aid to Dependent Children” (ADC) and out-of-wedlock births

Patreon users get episodes always ad free at patreon.com/montemaderWhat does real, REAL resistance look like?Tad Stoermer is a public historian, teacher, and author of the forthcoming book A Resistance History of the United States releasing June of 2026.His work dismantles the mythologies that pass for American history. He removes the curated nostalgia, moral evasions, and institutional silences that have long protected abusive power. That continue to protect that abusive power.From his website: "A Resistance History of the United States is a record of repeated fights against abusive authority, carried out by people who refused the lies used to justify it. Those battles have taken different forms: the women and men in Salem who would not confess to witchcraft, the Black Loyalists who seized their own freedom during the Revolution, and the Anti-Federalists who forced a Bill of Rights to limit nationalist power. It’s a tradition carried forward by people like Ona Judge and Henry David Thoreau, by the clandestine networks of the Underground Railroad, and by the violent resolve of John Brown and the Secret Six—resistance so disruptive it helped push the nation into civil war, and so ambitious it took the focus and will of the Radical Republicans to begin building a new republic from the ruins. A Resistance History of the United States uncovers these moments not as steps toward inevitable progress, but as a set of hard-earned lessons—a usable playbook for confronting the abuse of power in our own time.ad is one of the most widely followed public historians in the world here today to help us face what is to come. He is a currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Southern Denmark’s Center for American Studies and a Lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He previously taught public history at Harvard, served as a public historian at Colonial Williamsburg, and was advisor for history content at C-SPAN.

Happy almost New Years Eve!!! Here on Flipping Tables we are going to end each year with an inspirational story. So here's one of my heroes.Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident whose life continues to challenge how faith responds to power, violence, and injustice. Raised in an intellectually rigorous, non-religious household, Bonhoeffer came to believe that Christianity was not merely a system of beliefs, but a call to costly, lived obedience—especially when moral clarity comes at personal risk.As Adolf Hitler rose to power, Bonhoeffer warned early that the church faced a defining test. When Christianity was fused with nationalism and racial ideology, he argued, the church had ceased to be the church. He became a key figure in the Confessing Church, opposing the Nazification of German Christianity and rejecting loyalty oaths to the Führer. His theological writings during this period—including reflections on “cheap grace” versus “costly grace”—confronted complacent faith that avoids sacrifice.Eventually drawn into resistance circles connected to the German military intelligence service, Bonhoeffer wrestled deeply with ethical responsibility in a world where evil left no clean choices. Arrested in 1943, he continued writing from prison, leaving behind letters and reflections that would later shape modern Christian ethics and political theology. Executed by the Nazis in April 1945, just weeks before the war’s end, Bonhoeffer’s life stands as a haunting reminder: faith that refuses to act in the face of injustice is no faith at all.Sources:Bethge, Eberhard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography. Fortress Press.Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Act and Being. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 2. Fortress Press.Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Letters and Papers from Prison. Fortress Press.Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Sanctorum Communio. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol. 1. Fortress Press.Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives).Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) – Bonhoeffer family records.Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education), Germany.Cambridge University Press. The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. John W. de Gruchy, ed.Chickering, Roger. Imperial Germany and the Great War. Cambridge University Press.Christian History Institute. “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Timeline & Biography.”Clark, Christopher. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Harper.Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (DBWE), English Edition, Vols. 1–3. Fortress Press.Evans, Richard J. The Coming of the Third Reich. Penguin.Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War. Penguin.Fischer, Fritz. Germany’s Aims in the First World War. W. W. Norton.Fulbrook, Mary. A History of Germany 1918–2014. Wiley-Blackwell.German Reichstag Records, 1918–1923.Green, Clifford J. Bonhoeffer: A Theology of Sociality. Eerdmans.Herwig, Holger H. The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary. Arnold.Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Empire: 1875–1914. Vintage.Judt, Tony. Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945. Penguin.Keegan, John. The First World War. Vintage.Keynes, John Maynard. The Economic Consequences of the Peace. Harcourt.MacMillan, Margaret. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World. Random House.Marks, Sally. The Illusion of Peace: International Relations in Europe 1918–1933. Palgrave.Marsh, Charles. Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Knopf.Metaxas, Eric. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Thomas Nelson.National Archives (UK). World War I diplomatic records.Overy, Richard. The Dictators. W. W. Norton.PBS. Bonhoeffer Timeline.Peukert, Detlev. The Weimar Republic. Hill and Wang.Stevenson, David. Cataclysm: The First World War as Political Tragedy. Basic Books.Strachan, Hew. The First World War. Oxford University Press.Treaty of Versailles (1919), full text.Union Theological Seminary Archives – Bonhoeffer Papers.

2025 has been a year of difficult conversations. It's been a year of angst, anger, and frustrating conversations. How do we continue to talk about the hard things, especially when we don't know how to get through to the other person?You've seen Anna Connelly online with her cheeky conversations with her "conservative cousin" talking about history, immigration, politics, government. She uses these disarming conversations to help prep people to hear an opposing perspective and to arm people to have these conversations themselves. (If you're home now and trying to figure out how to talk to family, maybe open your phone and watch a few). Anna shows us how to continue to show up with humanity, humor and humility. And she's brilliant at it. These conversations are needed now more than ever and all of us have the power to have them.

This episode is brought to you by ground news. Subscribe for 40% off their vantage plan at groundnews.com/monteFather Nathan Monk is a social justice advocate, author, and former Orthodox priest. He is the author of multiple non fiction books and novels including Russian Sleeper Cell and his 2015 hit Chasing the Mouse: A Memoir about Childhood Homelessness. ​Having experienced homelessness with his family during his teenage years, Nathan went on to become a priest in the orthodox church with a heart to serve the poor, the hungry and the outcast. Today we discuss his childhood, his call to ministry, why he eventually left and how he works and serves now. He's now a comedian, a member of the LGBTQ community and an activist still advocating for "the least of these".

This episode is brought to you by Ground News. Subscribe at groundnews.com/tables for 40% off their vantage plan.In this episode, we trace the extraordinary life of Malcolm X (1925–1965), born Malcolm Little in Omaha and shaped by racial terror, systemic oppression, and personal trauma. We explore his early years marked by the activism of his parents, the violent death of his father, and the institutional pressures that drove his mother into a mental hospital—forces that propelled him into a youth of hustling, street crime, and eventual imprisonment.From there, we follow Malcolm’s dramatic transformation behind bars through his encounter with the teachings of the Nation of Islam, his rise as its most electrifying minister, and his break from the movement after disillusionment with its leadership. The episode covers his pilgrimage to Mecca, where he embraced Sunni Islam and broadened his philosophy on race and solidarity. We conclude with his increasing global activism, his deepening threat to U.S. authorities and the NOI, and the circumstances leading to his assassination in 1965.This biographical journey highlights Malcolm X’s evolving worldview, his impact on the civil rights movement, and his enduring influence on Black liberation, human rights, and political thought in America.“I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”― Malcolm XSourcesMalcolm X & Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)FBI Files on Malcolm X, declassified documents (FBI Records: The Vault)Papers of Elijah Muhammad, speeches and writings (Nation of Islam archival materials)Malcolm X Speeches: “Message to the Grassroots,” “The Ballot or the Bullet,” “Prospects for Freedom,” “Oxford Union Debate” (1964–1965)Manning Marable, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention (2011)Louis A. DeCaro Jr., On the Side of My People: A Religious Life of Malcolm X (1997)Michael Eric Dyson, Making Malcolm: The Myth and Meaning of Malcolm X (1995)James Cone, Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare (1991)Peter Goldman, The Death and Life of Malcolm X (2nd ed., 1979/2011)Bruce Perry, Malcolm: The Life of a Man Who Changed Black America (1991)George Breitman, The Last Year of Malcolm X: The Evolution of a Revolutionary (1967)Herbert Berg, Elijah Muhammad and Islam (2009)Zachary K. Williams, Racial Realism and Malcolm X (Journal of Black Studies)The Journal of African American History – articles on NOI, civil rights, and Malcolm’s political developmentThe Muslim World – studies on Malcolm X’s Islamic theology and Hajj transformationThe Journal of Social History – analyses of Black nationalism and mid-century urban conditionsBlack Scholar – essays on Malcolm X’s ideological evolutionSouls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society – research on Black radicalism and Malcolm’s global politicsTaylor Branch, Parting the Waters (1988) — for civil rights movement contextPeniel Joseph, Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour (2006)Karl Evanzz, The Judas Factor: The Plot to Kill Malcolm X (1992)Karl Evanzz, The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad (1999)Clayborne Carson, Malcolm X: The FBI File (1991)C. Eric Lincoln, The Black Muslims in America (1961; updated editions)Claude Andrew Clegg III, An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad (1997)Sohail Daulatzai, Black Star, Crescent Moon: The Muslim International and Black Freedom Beyond America (2012)Gadiel R. Del Orbe, “Malcolm X’s Global Human Rights Activism”Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, podcast and archival work featured in Who Killed Malcolm X? (2019)Les Payne & Tamara Payne, The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X (2020)NYC District Attorney’s Office, 2021 exoneration documents of Aziz and IslamCOINTELPRO Records, U.S. Government declassified materials

When I was at the protests in DC a sweet girl came up to me and asked how to start talking when you're afraid and I worry I was too harsh. I said something along the lines of "you just have to start". We are past the point of being complicit in silence- and that doesn't mean that these conversations especially with family aren't hard. Starting can look like "If you continue to use racist and dehumanizing language I'm going to leave" and walking out of the room when they continue. There's so much power in a walk out. Starting can look like "I believe in loving and supporting people of all faiths, genders, sexuality and races and I'm not going to compromise on this."Starting can look like "Didn't Jesus say that loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself were the most important commands? Since when has love been demonizing, name calling and belittling people?"In this episode, which is by no means comprehensive, I talk about some of the big "trigger" issues we see with Christian nationalism and right wing movements. This will be one to save and re-listen to. It's a lot of information but on the first listen, just try to take one thing. This month will be a lot of calls, cards, family events. Take one thing at a time, one resistance at a time and one courageous push back at a time. You won't always get it right and thats ok. When you know deep down what you truly believe it gets easier and as you practice, it will become safe and you will become a safe space.

This episode is brought to you by Ground News. Subscribe at groundnews.com/tables for 40% off their Vantage PlanIf you've seen the amazing ads on instagram from a soap company that is very openly ANTI fascist, yes the same ads I play the resistance fairy godmother, today you meet the owners. Trevor Silva and his wife Jennifer are the founders of My Cluck Hut, a no waste, inclusive, sustainable, "pay a freaking living wage" company. This is the story of how My Cluck Hut was born out of a desire to be the one who does better instead of waiting for everyone else to do it. And the protest we mention here is the on that happened in DC last weekend - thank you so much to everyone who attended!

This episode is brought to you by ground news. Subscribe at groundnews.com/monteThis episode uncovers the hidden history and modern influence of The Family. A secretive religious–political network that has shaped American power since the 1930s. Founded by Abraham Vereide and built on the belief that God works through “key men,” The Family cultivated presidents, senators, foreign leaders, and global elites through private prayer circles, back-channel diplomacy, and the National Prayer Breakfast. We trace their role in anti-labor politics, Cold War foreign policy, international human-rights abuses, scandal cover-ups, and their deep connections to the Trump era, where “Jesus plus nothing” theology helped justify Christian nationalism and the erosion of church–state separation. Drawing from documented scholarship and investigative reporting, this episode reveals a movement that has remained influential precisely because it operates in the shadows.As always ad free and thank you for your support. SourcesSharlet, Jeff. The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. HarperCollins, 2008.Sharlet, Jeff. C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy. Little, Brown and Company, 2010.Kruse, Kevin M. One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America. Basic Books, 2015.Williams, Daniel K. God’s Own Party: The Making of the Christian Right. Oxford University Press, 2010.Dochuk, Darren. From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism. W.W. Norton, 2011.Gage, Beverly. The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror. Oxford University Press, 2009.Martin, William. With God on Our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America. Broadway Books, 1996.Callahan, Richard J. Jr. “The Invention of Corporate America’s Invention of Christian America.” The Marginalia Review of Books, 2020.Balmer, Randall. “The Religious Right and the Family Values Crusade.” Journal of Church and State, vol. 52, no. 3, 2010, pp. 370–394.Butler, Anthea. “Race, Religion, and the American Presidency: The Faith Factor.” Journal of American History, vol. 99, no. 1, 2012.Clark, Elizabeth A. “Invisible Hands and Divine Order: Theology and the Political Economy of American Fundamentalism.” Religion and American Culture, vol. 18, no. 2, 2008.The Washington Post archives on the National Prayer Breakfast (1953-present).The New York Times coverage of Doug Coe and Fellowship Foundation operations.Religion Dispatches (University of Southern California Annenberg) – multiple investigations into The Family’s political network.Guernica Magazine: “Christ Über Alles” interview with Jeff Sharlet.The Humanist: “The Family: More Gilead than Godly.”Encyclopaedia Britannica: “The Family (international religious movement).”Library of Congress Congressional Records on the National Prayer Breakfast (1953-1970s).Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College – correspondence and records on Vereide and early ICL initiatives.

William Randolph Hearst was one of the most powerful and controversial figures in American media history — a man whose newspapers didn’t just report the news, but created it. Rising from the son of a wealthy mining family to the head of a sprawling media empire, Hearst revolutionized journalism through bold headlines, emotional storytelling, and sensationalism that came to define “yellow journalism.” His rivalry with Joseph Pulitzer ignited a circulation war that prioritized scandal over substance, blurring the line between truth and spectacle and forever changing how the public consumed information.But Hearst’s influence extended far beyond print. His newspapers helped fan the flames of the Spanish-American War, demonstrated the political might of mass media, and paved the way for today’s era of opinion-driven journalism. Though his empire eventually declined — and his life inspired Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane — Hearst’s legacy endures in every media outlet that trades outrage for engagement. His story is both a warning and a blueprint for the modern information age.Sourceshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1OrdIlOeSdw3i7lKSJNaBM-YcGUMS9qIUzfIMJloGKTA/edit?usp=sharing

Last summer here in Nashville, there were 8 neo-Nazi marches. What is social media’s role in fueling — or even enabling — political violence? How do algorithmic echo chambers, disinformation loops, encrypted organizing platforms, and the erosion of trust in institutions converge to create real-world harm? And what can be done to hold systems and actors accountable before the spiral becomes irreversible?To guide that conversation, we’re honored to have Timothy J. Heaphy with us. His vantage is rare: He’s been on the front lines of investigating two of the most consequential episodes of recent American unrest — Charlottesville in 2017 and the January 6, 2021 Capitol siege — and in his new book Harbingers: What January 6 and Charlottesville Reveal About Rising Threats to American Democracy, he tells both the story of how these events unfolded and the deeper dynamics behind them. Timothy Heaphy’s career spans decades of legal, prosecutorial, and public service work, giving him deep institutional insight and investigative experience. A graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A. and J.D., 1991), he spent over a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., and later in the Western District of Virginia, handling a range of federal prosecutions. After moving into private practice, he was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009 to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, where he oversaw major investigations into corruption, fraud, civil rights, and national security.Following his tenure, Heaphy returned to private practice and later became University Counsel at UVA. In 2017, he authored Charlottesville’s independent report on the “Unite the Right” rally, and in 2021, he was appointed chief investigative counsel for the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, directing its investigative and legal teams. He also founded The Fountain Fund, a nonprofit supporting reentry for formerly incarcerated individuals. Throughout his career, Heaphy has combined legal expertise, public service, and investigative leadership in some of the most consequential inquiries of recent years.In his book, Harbingers, Heaphy brings that rich background to bear on two momentous acts of political violence: the 2017 Charlottesville rally and the January 6 Capitol attack. He doesn’t just rehash the facts — he shows how he built investigative teams, how he sifted through communications, how he probed decision-making failures in law enforcement and government, and how social media and digital networks played roles in planning, mobilization, and escalation. In today’s episode, we’ll use Harbingers not just as narrative backbone, but as a portal into deeper inquiry:How did social media architectures and incentives — content moderation policies, recommendation systems, coordinated groups — intersect with extremist organization and violence?Where did institutions (local government, law enforcement, federal agencies) fail to anticipate or respond — and why?What are the paths forward for accountability, reform, civic resilience, and prevention?So let’s dive in, first by asking: when does online grievance cross the line toward violence — and what makes that line blur in 21st-century politics?

This episode is brought to you by Ground News. Susbscribe at groundnews.com/tables for 40% off their vantage plant. Please support this show by subscribing to patreon.com/montemader. Please leave a rating and review! Happy Halloween!!! In this episode, I am going to take you deep into one of the most bizarre and destructive moral panics in modern history — the Satanic Panic.From daycare witch hunts to heavy metal hysteria, the 1980s saw ordinary Americans convinced that the Devil had moved into their suburbs. Police were trained to spot pentagrams and candles as signs of ritual murder, therapists “recovered” memories of occult abuse, and media outlets like Geraldo Rivera and Oprah fueled the flames. Innocent people were imprisoned, reputations destroyed, and entire communities torn apart — all in the name of protecting children from imaginary cults.Lets explore how this hysteria culminated in the West Memphis Three case — three teenagers convicted largely for wearing black and listening to Metallica. Nearly two decades later, DNA evidence revealed what fear had obscured all along: there was no cult, no ritual, and no Satanic conspiracy — just a community so terrified of darkness that it created its own.But the story doesn’t end there. The same architecture of fear — hidden elites, child-trafficking conspiracies, and divine warfare — has found new life online through Pizzagate and QAnon. Monte connects the dots between the witch hunts of the 1980s and the algorithmic hysteria of the digital age, revealing how the Satanic Panic never really died — it just went viral.Through history, psychology, and media analysis, this episode asks a haunting question:Why do we keep needing a devil to blame?Sources & References:Pazder, Lawrence & Michelle Smith. Michelle Remembers (1980)Loftus, Elizabeth. “Creating False Memories.” Scientific American (1997)Victor, Jeffrey. Satanic Panic: The Creation of a Contemporary Legend (1993)Lanning, Kenneth. “Investigator’s Guide to Allegations of ‘Ritual’ Child Abuse.” FBI Behavioral Science Unit (1992)Nathan, Debbie & Snedeker, Michael. Satan’s Silence: Ritual Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt (1995)Richardson, James T., Joel Best, & David Bromley. The Satanism Scare (1991)Barkun, Michael. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (2003)Argentino, Marc-André. “The QAnon Conspiracy Theory: A Security Threat in the Making.” The Conversation (2020)Zuckerman, Phil. “From Satanic Panic to QAnon.” Skeptical Inquirer (2021)Swami, V., Malpass, F., Havard, D., et al. “Metalheads: The Influence of Personality and Individual Differences on Preference for Heavy Metal.”“Extreme Metal Music and Anger Processing.” PubMed Central (PMC)“The Psychology of Scapegoating.” Psychology Today“The Cult Psychology of the Satanic Panic.” Get Therapy Birmingham“Moral Panics…” Southern Connecticut LibGuide“Lame Blame: Forgive the Scapegoat to Forgive Yourself.” Ernest Becker Institute“The Oldest Trick in the Book: Panic-Driven Scapegoating in History and Recurring Patterns of Persecution*

Danny Collins once had everything lined up — talent, ambition, and a fast track toward the major leagues. Danny signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2002 but his life began to unravel. Addiction took hold, leading to 14 felony convictions and years behind bars. In prison, desperate for protection and belonging, Danny joined a white supremacist group — a decision that would define his beliefs, his future MAGA support, but also become a key insight into leaving MAGA and becoming an advocate for prison reform.But inside those walls, something began to change. He started confronting his own pain, his past, and the hate he had inherited and embraced. Through education, introspection, and the influence of other inmates who faced the racial discrimination of the justice system, Danny began dismantling the ideology that had shaped him.Today, he stands as an outspoken advocate for racial justice, prison reform, and personal transformation, using his story to expose how fear and indoctrination breed hate — and how courage and empathy can break the cycle.In this powerful and deeply honest episode, Monte sits down with Danny Collins to talk about addiction, ideology, accountability, and the hard work of redemption.

This week on Flipping Tables, Monte sits down with Amy Duggar—the outspoken cousin who dared to step outside the Duggar machine and call it what it is. Known to millions from 19 Kids and Counting, Amy has spent years reclaiming her voice and redefining her faith after growing up in the shadow of one of America’s most controlling religious families.In this raw and unapologetic conversation, Amy opens up about her upcoming book, Holy Disruptor, and the cost of breaking the silence. From toxic purity culture to spiritual manipulation, family loyalty, and the aftermath of scandal, she exposes the systems that weaponized religion—and shares how she found redemption in honesty, not obedience.This isn’t just a story about the Duggars. It’s about the courage to burn down false altars and build something truer from the ashes.Check out her book "Holy Disruptor" out now

I've been guilty in the past of talking about historical figures doing really awful things and making comments like "they were a reflection of their time" meanwhile, other men and women of their time- knew it was wrong and fought against it. A great example of this is John Brown. John was a devout Christian, and a staunch abolitionist. In fact, he was an abolitionist who so firmly believed that slavery was a violent sin against humanity that he was willing to use any means necessary to end it. Even now, we live in an era where white washers of history want to act, and teach kids that slavery "wasn't that bad". That human trafficking, rape, kidnapping, beating, torture, forced labor, medical experimentation on an entire community because of their skin tone "wasn't that bad".He famously said, "The crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with Blood". And he was right. How much do we believe in the things we say we do? Are we willing to let it cost us? Are we brave enough to stand for human rights no matter what? I hope I am. John's story inspires me and calls me to account. How dare I be afraid or tempted to cower when others have sacrificed so much. Excited to share this story with you !

I know things over the last two weeks have been extremely heavy. I found myself more fatigued than I ever remember being. After the assassination of Charlie Kirk, getting doxxed and looking at the world burn it really brings up the question "Is there hope left?" Is there room to bridge the ever widening gap happening across America? Caroline Stout, like me, was part of that faction once, including working at Turning Point USA. Today we discuss our journey's about how we left, because here's the thing- if two people that were as entrenched as we were can leave- anyone can leave. As we watch Christian Nationalism spin into a frenzy and we watch the America we thought we had fall into rubble...People will wake up People can wake upPeople will leaveI hope this conversation gives you hope. Hope for change, hope for the future, hope for a better tomorrow. Because we can change. And at the end of the day we are being pushed into a rhetoric of right vs. left, christian vs. heathen, good vs. evil when that is NOT the battle. The battle is and always will be top vs. bottom. The people pitting us against each other are picking our pockets, lining their mansions with money they don't need and could never spend. My neighbor is not my enemy

This episode is brought to you buy Ground News. Get 40% off their Vantage Plan at groundnews.com/tablesOne of my favorite people alive, and my favorite public scholar. I've been considering graduate school and this conversation has me deeply considering going back to school. There's so much to know.Dr. Dan McClellan is a public scholar of the Bible and religion. He has a PhD in theology and religilon from the University of Exeter where he wrote his dissertation on the the conceptualization of deity and divine images in the Hebrew Bible through methodological lenses of cognitive linguistics and cognitive science of religion. Translation: REAL SMART and knows his shit.Since 2021, he has been making scholarship more accessible and confronting misinformation on social media related to the study of the Bible and Religion. He also has an incredible podcast with Dan Beecher called Data over Dogma. He now even offers online classes like Biblical Hebrew.In this conversation we really approach cultural issues and arguments being made about the Bible, especially about biblical history, and the ways in recent years its been used to ostracize and demonize groups of people and the burning question- is that what the Bible really teaches?? Check out his bestselling book "The Bible Says So!"This was a dream conversation for me- hope you enjoy!

I am SO SORRY. In the wake of traveling and working in DC I completely forgot to post last weeks episode. I'm a human and I apologize sincerely. It means a lot to me to stay on top of this work and education the best I can. That said, YOU GET TWO EPISODES THIS WEEKThe first is the most comprehensive conversation I've had to date. Dr. Randall Balmer is a prize winning historian and Emmy Award nominee and holds the John Phillips Chair in religion at Dartmouth which is the oldest endowed professorship at the school. He is an expert in Religion in North America and Evangelicalism in America and his recent book "America's Best Idea: The Separation of Church & Hate" is the best top to bottom explanation on why 1. Separation is so important and 2. NO we are not a "Christian Nation" but one founded on religious liberty. For early and ad free releases please subscribe at patreon.com/montemader

September 11th was the day where I learned as a girl that America was not impervious. I'll never forget the people standing in the windows and the smoke. Little did I know I would grow up to live in New York City and it wasn't until then I understood the scale of the disaster. It's not until you realize just how big those buildings are, how close everything is, the people trapped in the subways, people walking home to NEW JERSEY because they didn't have cash for a cab and the ATMs were down. Meeting friends and clients who survived it...It's incomprehensible As a girl I remember fear, I remember everyone wanting to go to war, and to war we went. A war that wouldn't end until after I had graduated high school. The claims I remember were to defend democracy and to end Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program. Weapons that were never there Weapons that were searched for for months And in our wake we started an onslaught on a country we had no business being in, and our recklessness paved the way for the domination of ISIS and the re-insurgence of the Taliban.The first amendment is the single most important amendment we have. We HAVE to be able to question and condemn our government, we HAVE to be able to demand answers, we HAVE to be able to protest. 9/11 and the Iraqi War are a great example of real tragedy, real heroes, real courage, and the very real and all too common instance of the powerful using it to their advantage. I hope that we can use this conversation to honor the innocent and the brave and remember to ask questions to the powers behind the machine and demand accountability when they lie or cover things up. The story and article of NYC resident Christina Stanton shared at her request and with her full permission** See her article here: https://thedispatch.com/article/september-11-victims-memorial-health-trump-cuts/Sources: Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006) – Pulitzer Prize winner, deeply researched account of al-Qaeda’s rise and the events leading to 9/11.The 9/11 Commission Report (2004) – Official bipartisan investigationAnthony Summers, The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden (2011) – Investigative account with interviews and newly declassified documents.Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (2004).Mitchell Zuckoff, Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 (2019) Garrett M. Graff, The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 (2019) – Oral history drawn from transcripts, survivors, responders.Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack (2004) Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2006) – Military-focused critique of the war planning and execution.Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone (2006) – On occupation mismanagement.Charles Duelfer, Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq’s WMD (Duelfer Report) (2004) – Definitive assessment that Iraq did not have stockpiles of WMDs.Michael R. Gordon & Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (2006).Andrew J. Bacevich, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005) – Broader critique of U.S. war culture, with Iraq as case study.Anthony H. Cordesman, The Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics, and Military Lessons (2003).Francis Fukuyama, America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy (2006) – Explains ideological currents behind Iraq War push.Foreign Affairs and International Security articles on U.S. grand strategy post-9/11.Middle East Journal and Journal of Military History articles on insurgency and U.S. occupation.U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports on 9/11 and Iraq (2001–2010).RAND Corporation studies: e.g., Operation IRAQI FREEDOM: Decisive War, Elusive Peace (2004).

TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABUSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCEOn August 21, 2025, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family died. A behemoth and kingmaker in the evangelical world who supported vicious corporal punishment of children, the subjugation of women and the demonization of the LGBTQ community. Today we discuss the life and career of James Dobson. We will open up about his teachings, books, and his evangelical power machine: Focus on the Family. We will discuss how his teachings overlapped with Bill Gothard. The same teachings that allowed Bill Gothard to groom and abuse of teen girls and young women.Focus on the Family purported to be a wholesome counseling service but was the power arm of an evangelical force affecting policy around marriage, equality, and torture like conversion therapy. They even falsely claimed to be a church to evade taxes because... of course.We break down destructive teaching by pulling it out of the darkness and into the light. So as we shine a light on these harmful organizations and doctrines, lets destroy them for good.