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Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome Maya Henson, Senior Research Analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, for a deep dive into the impact of Christian supremacy and anti-student inclusion movements on public education. They discuss the many strategies used by Christian nationalists to influence our public schools—from curriculum control and book bans to release-time religious programs and the weaponization of "parental rights."    Show Notes Southern Poverty Law Center Resources Support Our Schools (public education defense group) Read Freely Alabama Stop Moms for Liberty Cases Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) Engel v. Vitale (1962) Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign County (1948) "American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins" Parents Defending Education v. Wellesley Public Schools (2022) AP - "District settles lawsuit over groups for students of color" Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) NWLC - "Breaking Down the Supreme Court's Decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor: Why It is More Important Than Ever to Advocate for Inclusive Schools" Democracy Forward - "Back to School, and Back in Court: The Weaponization of Mahmoud v. Taylor" Episode 42 – High Unholy Season Continues: Mahmoud v. Taylor Maya's Bio Maya Henson is a senior research analyst with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, where she focuses on the antigovernment movement, which includes the anti-student inclusion movement.  Before joining the SPLC, Maya spent over 10 years in higher education, which along with her academic background provides a unique perspective to monitoring and exposing extremism in public education.  Since joining SPLC, she has provided expert analysis on topics such as the dangers of the newly revived Florida State Guard, the parallels in the current anti-student inclusion movement to anti-integration fights 70 years ago, students mobilizing to fight censorship, and the contradictions and potential threats of curriculum and book bans. In addition to SPLC outlets, Maya's analysis has been featured in the National Urban League's State of Black America, as well as in international, national, and local media.  Maya has a B.S. in business administration from Stillman College, an M.A. in psychology, an M.Ed. in higher education administration, and an MLS is Indigenous Peoples law. She also holds an Ed.D. with a concentration in diversity and equity education from the University of Illinois, where her primary research focus was the experiences of minority students in higher education. Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca recap the recent Supreme Court term and its implications for religious liberty. They break down the Court's rulings on conversion therapy bans, religious rights for prisoners, and transgender sports bans in public schools. They also discuss the ever-expanding "shadow docket" and the Court's alarming preference for deciding cases with no public hearing, briefing, or transparency.  Cases Chiles v. Salazar SCOTUSblog Opinion Previous episode: "Conversion Therapy" at the Supreme Court Conversion "Therapy" Laws - Movement Advancement Project  Landor v. Louisiana SCOTUSblog Opinion Previous episode: Religion Behind Bars Reprise: Landor v. Louisiana Tanzin v. Tanvir (2020)  American Atheists Amicus City of Boerne v. Flores (1997) West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox SCOTUSblog Opinion Previous episode: The Supreme Court Tackles Trans Sports Bans with Shiwali Patel Mirabelli v. Bonta SCOTUSblog Opinion Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025) Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana Application SCOTUSblog Grant of stay St. Mary Catholic v. Roy 10th Circuit Opinion   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

America turns 250 and the Trump Administration is celebrating by rewriting the past and the present. Alison, Liz, and Rebecca discuss how the administration hijacked the nation's planned bipartisan 250th anniversary celebration and turned it into a tax-payer funded Christian nationalist prayer revival. Then they dig into the report issued by the "Taskforce to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias," one of several task forces created by the administration to manufacture a "Christian persecution" narrative in order to privilege conservative Christianity under the law.    Show Notes The report on "Biden Admin Weaponization of the FACE Act" (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Just Security - "Separating Fact from Fiction in FACE Act Enforcement" National Women's Law Center: "The President's Slush Fund: A Gift to the Anti-Abortion Movement and a Blow to Our Democracy" Federal Register: Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission    "Anti-Christian bias taskforce report" April 30, 2026  Executive Order 14291- Establishing the Religious Liberty Commission   Cases Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. U.S. Dept. of State Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Interfaith Alliance v. Trump   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

We Dissent co-host Rebecca Markert was recently featured on "In Progress," a part of the Progress Texas podcast network. Please enjoy this episode of In Progress while you wait for our next episode!  From Dan Patrick's declaration that the separation of church and state is dead, to Texas Republicans kicking Muslims out of their state convention in Houston, to the Ten Commandments and bible stories permeating our public schools, the takeover by Christian Nationalism of Republican politics is no longer a theory - it's real, and it's here, right now. How to resist is now one of the primary questions for progressive people - and we've brought on Rebecca Markert to discuss that question. She's the Vice President and Legal Director of Americans United For Separation of Church and State, a national organization dedicated solely to the protection of the foundational American principles of freedom of religion - and freedom from religion. Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support their ongoing work at progresstexas.org   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca, Liz, and Alison speak with Rachel Levinson-Waldman from the Brennan Center for Justice about the Trump administration and current Congress weaponizing the government to attack nonprofits and punish speech and viewpoints they don't like. They explore how executive orders and anti-terrorism statutes are being abused to investigate, defund, and intimidate civil society, and how this strategy is essential to the broader project to transform America from a democracy to an autocracy.   Show Notes Rachel Levinson-Waldman's Bio Brennan Center for Justice  Trump Administration Documents Presidential Memo - "Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence" Bondi Memo - "Implementing National Security Presidential Memorandum-7: Countering Domestic Terrorism" "2026 Counterterrorism Strategy" 2027 FBI Budget Request to Congress Executive Order Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization Department of Justice - "The Biden Administration's Weaponization of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act" Executive Order - "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans"   Articles and Reactions NPR - "'We're not afraid': George Soros' foundation on being Trump's next target" (Open Society Foundation) Lawfare - "The Politically Motivated Indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center"  Civil Society Rights & Resiliency Resources - Charity & Security Network  "What NIJ Research Tells Us About Domestic Terrorism" Cato at Liberty Blog - "Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States" (right-wing extremists account for 11% of politically motivated killings, while left-wing extremists account for 2%) Brennan Center for Justice - "Trump's Orders Targeting Anti-Fascism Aim to Criminalize Opposition"  ACLU - "How NSPM-7 Seeks to Use "Domestic Terrorism" to Target Nonprofits and Activists" Just Security - "How Designating Antifa as a Foreign Terrorist Organization Could Threaten Civil Liberties" Lawfare - "The Bondi Memo's Quiet Rewriting of Domestic Terrorism Rules" Lawfare - "You Can't Designate 'Antifa.' Banks and Platforms Will Act Like You Did Anyway"   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca welcome AU Public Policy Counsel Rachael Stryer to review what came out of the state legislative sessions this year. They survey the laws state legislatures passed to force religion into public schools, use religion to discriminate against LGBTQ people, and divert public money to private religious schools.    Show Notes Rachael Stryer's AU Bio  Organized Power in Numbers  American Atheists - State of the Secular States  Legislative trackers AU ACLU Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures  Congressional Scorecards See your state ACLU for regional legislative tracking Action Alerts FFRF AF AU National Women's Law Center ACLU Bills and Cases Discussed Ten Commandments Displays in Schools Alabama (SB 99) Tennessee (HB 47) Ongoing Lawsuits FFRF AU Prayer in Schools Alabama (HB 511): Requiring public schools to allow student-led prayer and requiring the pledge of allegiance Idaho (HB 623): Requiring a 60 second moment of silence for prayer or meditation at the beginning of the school day Chaplains Alabama (HB 8): Permitting school boards to adopt policies allowing volunteer school chaplains into schools Release Time Info on LifeWise  AU: "Release time is a problem for church-state separation"  FFRF Action Fund: "State Issue: LifeWise Academy/Release Time"  Classroom Instruction and Curriculum Policies Tennessee (SB 1828): Requires public school history curriculums to teach about the positive impact of religion on American history and the influence of Judeo-Christian values Idaho (S 1336) and Utah (HB 312 and SB 268): Requiring curricula to teach the influence of Christianity in American history Vouchers Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020) Carson v. Makin (2022) Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio Wisconsin PTA et al vs. Wisconsin State Assembly et al Healthcare Refusal Utah (SB 174) and Iowa (HF 571): Gives healthcare providers and religious healthcare institutions the right to refuse to provide services that violate religious beliefs.  Foster Care and Adoption  Indiana (HB 1389): Allows government-funded child placement agencies to use religion as a justification for refusing to work with families, youth in care, and prospective parents. And to allow adoptive or foster parents the right to "raise a child in a manner consistent with [their] sincerely held religious beliefs." Elizabeth Rutan-Ram et al. v. Tennessee Department of Children's Services et al (AU) Anti-Sharia law Tennessee (HB 2279), Florida (HB 1471), Iowa (HF 2695), and Idaho (H 602) Arkansas (SR 21)   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Alison, Liz, and Rebecca take on the far-right pronatalism movement with guest Emily Martin, NWLC's Chief Program Officer. They explain the movement's history of racism, sexism, and eugenics, the alarming support it has in the Trump administration, and what truly pro-family policy would look like.  Background Emily Martin's Bio National Women's Law Center Sign up for alerts here National Women's Law Center - "Baby Bonuses and Motherhood Medals: Why We Shouldn't Trust the Pronatalist Movement" Heritage Foundation - Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years  New York Times - "The Heritage Foundation Wants to Send American Women Back Half a Century" Ms. Magazine - "Trump's Pronatalist Agenda Weaponizes Motherhood to Push Women Out of Public Life"   CNN Politics - "Hegseth invited pastor who calls for Christian theocracy to lead Pentagon prayer service"  Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

We Dissent welcomes guest Shiwali Patel, Senior Director of Education Justice at National Women's Law Center, who walks us through the anti-trans sports ban cases currently before the Supreme Court, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. We discuss the history of Title IX and why the attack on trans sports participation is really an attack on the basis of this critical nondiscrimination law.    Background Shiwali Patel's bio National Women's Law Center Previous trans rights episodes Episode 16 – Sex on the Brain: the Assault on Trans People with Sasha Buchert Episode 38 – Skrmetti v. U.S. NWLC Amicus SCOTUSblog - "The justices and gender pronouns" SCOTUSblog - "Supreme Court appears likely to uphold transgender athlete bans" Cases Little v. Hecox SCOTUSblog Oral argument transcript West Virginia v. B.P.J. SCOTUSblog Oral argument transcript   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

We Dissent welcomes back Alison Gill as co-host! Alison shares what she's been up to since leaving the pod, and then walks Rebecca and Liz through the state of our federal bench. We discuss federal judicial nominations from the recent presidential administrations and what it has meant or means for religious liberty and other civil rights. Show Notes National Women's Law Center Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy: Per Curiam - "Not Enough Respect For The Judiciary—or Too Much? Arrogance And The Myth Of Judicial Supremacy" New York Times - "Trump's 'Superstar' Appellate Judges Have Voted 133 to 12 in His Favor"   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

There's no new episode this month, instead we have a special message for our listeners. We're excited to announce that Alison Gill is returning to the podcast starting in February! Additionally, the National Women's Law Center is going to be a co-sponsor of We Dissent moving forward. We have a lot of great episodes planned for 2026 and can't wait to share them with you.   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca and Liz explain Landor v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court case that will decide whether a Rastafarian inmate who'd grown his dreadlocks for 20 years can sue the Louisiana prison officials who handcuffed him to a chair, held him down, and forcibly shaved him in violation of the law. They dive deep on the statute at issue in the case, the legal history leading up to this litigation, and what the oral arguments signaled. They also highlight some Supreme Court docket news!    Submit Listener Questions Here!   Case updates Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Athletic Association Davis v. Ermold   Background SCOTUSblog case page Previous episodes about RLUIPA Episode 4 – Religious Liberty and the Death Penalty Episode 11 – Religion Behind Bars SCOTUSblog - "Court appears skeptical of prison inmate's religious liberty claim" A Guide To Federal Religious Land Use Protections AU's amicus brief Cert petition  Transcript of oral arguments   Cases Discussed Tanzin v. Tanvir Employment Division v. Smith City of Boerne v. Flores Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Liz and Rebecca cover Chiles v. Salazar, the case before the Supreme Court seeking to strike down a Colorado law banning mental health professionals from practicing "conversion therapy" on children. They explain the details of the case and discuss the hypocrisy of a ruling striking down the ban. They also recount the October 7th oral arguments, where the majority of justices signaled support for a ruling that will nullify state laws in half the country protecting LGBTQ youth from these discredited harmful practices.   Background Oral argument transcript Tenth Circuit Opinion  SCOTUSblog page Amicus briefs Americans United FFRF SCOTUSblog - "Does Colorado's "conversion therapy" ban violate free speech?" The Trevor Project - "Chiles v. Salazar: What you need to know about the U.S. Supreme Court case on conversion therapy" The American Psychiatric Association's position on conversion therapy  The American Psychological Association's position on conversion therapy The American Medical Association's position on conversion therapy  "LGBTQ Policy Spotlight: From Conversion "Therapy" Laws Protecting LGBTQ Youth" Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca and Liz break down the strong history of courts rejecting government attempts to display Ten Commandments in public schools. They explain the seminal 1980 case Stone v. Graham, the SCOTUS cases since then reinforcing that precedent, and the growing number of states passing blatantly unconstitutional laws that force public schools to display Ten Commandments.    Background "Louisiana May Require the Ten Commandments Be Posted in Classrooms"   Cases Stone v. Graham (1980) Van Orden v. Perry (2005) McCreary County v. ACLU (2005) Louisiana: Roake v. Brumley (2024) Complaint District Court Opinion Joint Statement 5th Circuit Opinion FFRF Case Page AU Case Page Arkansas: Stinson v. Fayetteville School District No. 1 (2025) Complaint District Court Opinion Joint Letter FFRF Case Page AU Case Page Texas: Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District (2025) Complaint Preliminary Injunction Joint Letter FFRF Case Page AU Case Page Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca and Liz commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Scopes Trial. They discuss the infamous "monkey" trial, and the history of teaching evolution in public schools. An "everything old is new again" episode, showing the impact of the Scopes trial throughout the last century and digging into the latest attempts by Christian Nationalists to inject religious teachings into science curriculum.  Background Original text of the Butler Act 2025 Scope Trial Centennial speakers' presentations - FFRF  The Legacy of the Scopes Monkey Trial 100 years later - Americans United The Scopes "Monkey" Trial with Brenda Wineapple - Freethought Matters Cases State of Tennessee v. John T. Scopes (1925) Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) Kitzmil­ler v. Dover Area School District (2004) Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.

Rebecca and Liz explore health care sharing ministries (HCSMs) with guest, Sarah Levin. Sarah guides us through this religious billion dollar industry. We discuss what HCSMs are and what they are not, and why we need to push for them to have transparency. Background and Resources Bio for Sarah Levin  Sarah's email: [email protected] Secular Strategies Secular Coalition for America Center for Freethought Equality, HCSMs toolkit Secular Strategies HCMS Slides Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - "Health Care Sharing Ministries" The Actuary Magazine - "Health Care Sharing Ministries" Southern Poverty Law Center - "ADF supports donor, trade group for controversial health care sharing industry" Samaritan Ministries - "Guidelines for Health Care Sharing"   Check us out on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and X. Our website, we-dissent.org, has more information as well as episode transcripts.