A Whole Other Country

In the season 2 premiere of Extremely American, we meet Pastor Doug Wilson who leads Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. His vision for the small college town? He wants to claim it for Jesus. And that's just the start. He and his allies want to make the whole country an explicitly Christian nation.From our friends at Boise State Public Radio: In Season 2 of Extremely American: Onward Christian Soldiers, hosts Heath Druzin and James Dawson take an inside look at Christian nationalism. The movement aims to end American democracy as we know it and install theocracy, taking rights away from the vast majority of Americans in the process. The season follows the movement through the story of an influential far-right church, its attempt to take over a small town and a dark underbelly of abuse.

Politics is the human story behind the headlines: our hopes, disagreements, choices and visions for what comes next. This fall, the American Storytelling Collection brings together six podcasts from the NPR Network that take a closer look at the people, power, conflicts and turning points behind American politics from every angle. Find the collection by searching 'American Storytelling' in Apple Podcasts or the NPR app.

It’s been nearly 30 years since the Republic of Texas standoff. The lean-to embassy has been scattered in the wind. What happened in Rick’s wake? What did he leave behind? What is the DMR like now– how did Rick McLaren change this place?Flavors of this episode: burning embassies, T.V. specials, oxygen tanks, TEXIT, Hollywood,  Matthew McConaughey, old cowboy songs, why we all live here.Reported and produced by Zoe Kurland. Edited by Liza Yeager. 

During the days after Rick McLaren declared war, what would come to be known as the Republic of Texas Standoff, an unprecedented number of people descended on the Davis Mountains, waiting to see what would happen. And people across the world were all tuned in – watching their TVs, listening on the radio – to the real life Wild West drama, playing out in the reaches of the Texas.Flavors of this episode: Cameras, kidnappers, car tires, impromptu laundromats, novelty tee shirts, baby aoudads, the horse brigade, satellites, shiny belt buckles, and ham radio.

Rick McLaren breaks ground in the DMR, and on the world wide web. It doesn’t take long for his followers to come running up the mountain. With guns. The authorities start paying attention, and local media takes note. Rick’s neighborhood grudges intensify to their breaking point. Flavors of this episode: fax machines, tin sheds, Thelma and Louise, rolling chairs, guns, toothless cronies, and blood on the floor. Reported and produced by Zoe Kurland. Edited by Liza Yeager.