Doug Stuart interviews Caleb Franz, author of The Conductor: The Story of Reverend John Rankin, Abolitionism's Essential Founding Father. Franz shares the fascinating story of how he discovered and researched this largely forgotten figure from his hometown of Ironton, Ohio. The conversation explores Rankin's pivotal role in the abolition movement, particularly in the Ohio River Valley—a region often overlooked in abolitionist history that typically centers on New England.

Franz discusses Rankin's theological arguments against slavery, his work on the Underground Railroad helping thousands of enslaved people escape to freedom, and his profound influence on key historical figures including Harriet Beecher Stowe (whose "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was inspired by Rankin's letters) and Ulysses S. Grant (who studied under Rankin before attending West Point). The episode delves into the research process behind writing historical biography, the intersection of faith and liberty in the abolition movement, and how Rankin's Christian convictions drove his radical opposition to slavery from the 1820s through the Civil War era.

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In this episode, Cody Cook interviews Joel Miller, author of The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future.

A former publishing executive, Miller reveals how books—far more than mere containers of text—have profoundly shaped civilization. He explores the "magic" of their physical form (which enabled Augustine’s transformative encounter with Romans) the timeless dialogues they allow with dead thinkers like Paul and Athanasius, and the preservation of classical knowledge by monks and Muslim scholars.

The conversation highlights pivotal moments: Charlemagne’s reforms that spread readable texts, the printing press’s role in supercharging the Reformation and scientific progress, and literacy’s liberating power—even as slaveholders banned it to maintain control.

Miller also reflects on modern trade-offs: digital Bibles, AI tools, and the enduring value of books in freeing us from the tyranny of the present while building on centuries of accumulated wisdom.Perfect for anyone who loves history, ideas, and the quiet revolution of reading.

Links:

The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future

Bad Trip: How the War Against Drugs is Destroying America

Size Matters: How Big Government Puts the Squeeze on America's Families, Finances, and Freedom

Miller's Book Review (Joel's Substack)

The Full Focus Planner

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Doug welcomes back returning guest Jim Babka for a libertarian Christian deep dive into Donald Trump’s “second first year” in office. They walk through key events from 2025–26 and ask what they reveal about power, symbolism, and the state.

Topics include:

• Why Trump’s second term feels so different from his first, and how anger and “getting even” seem to shape his decisions
• The Iran bunker‑busting strike and what it says about the myth of Trump as a “peace president”
• The push to buy Greenland, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, and how Trump uses symbolism and deal‑making theatrics
• ICE’s shocking tactics as “terror theater” to drive self‑deportation and deter migration
• Why Jim argues the Epstein files are thedefining story of 2025:
  • How Congress slow‑walked and then quietly passed the disclosure law
  • How the administration has violated it with redactions and delays
  • What the limited releases already reveal about Epstein’s roles in intelligence, arms, and under‑the‑table influence
  • How the Epstein issue is uniquely damaging Trump in the polls

Along the way, Doug and Jim connect these developments to memetic theory, the deep state, Zionist influence, and the fragility of American faith in both church and state.

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Cody Cook sits down with Javan Lapp—a manufacturing executive, amateur historian, and Lancaster County keeper of goats—to explore the insights of 16th-century Anabaptist thinker Pilgram Marpeck into what it means for the church to be embodied without succumbing to state Christianity.

Drawing from Javan’s contribution to Anabaptist Political Theology After Marpeck, the conversation examines Marpeck’s theology of the incarnation and how Christ’s literal body informs the identity of the church as the body of Christ. They discuss Marpeck’s debates with spiritualists, his emphasis on voluntary faith and embodied practice, his critique of both legalism and disembodied spirituality, and why his “middle way” remains relevant today.

The episode also touches on the church as voluntary society, suffering, cruciform spirituality, and the balance between creedal conviction and lived ethics—offering fresh insights for libertarian Christians interested in both ecclesiology and political theology.

Buy Anabaptist Political Theology After Marpeck: https://amzn.to/4qebIXV

Javan's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javanlapp/

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Gregory Baus of the Reformed Libertarians Podcast joins Cody Cook to discuss how he grounds his libertarian views as a Reformed Christian. As an Anabaptist Christian, Cody was a little skeptical at the start of the conversation; but tune in to hear Gregory make his case! While he comes at it from a different direction, Cody concludes that he makes a good argument.

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In this episode of the Libertarian Christian Podcast, host Cody Cook and guest Jacob Winograd (host of Biblical Anarchy) dissect the provocative Dispatch article “Is MAGA Christianity True Christianity?” by Michael Renaud and Paul D. Miller.

The article's authors frame “old-guard” conservatism as the heir to the magisterial Protestant Reformation (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli) — elite, intellectual, and state-aligned — while casting MAGA Christianity as a modern echo of the populist, emotional, and disempowered Radical Reformation (Anabaptists). Cook (Anabaptist) and Winograd (reformed Baptist) find the parallel historically flawed and politically irritating, yet valuable for discussion. They critique the article’s oversimplifications and discuss whether true Radical Reformation principles align more closely with libertarianism’s emphasis on voluntary society and rejection of state violence.

The conversation explores whether political positions can ever disqualify Christian faithfulness, the dangers of conflating anti-elitism with anti-statism, and why both establishment conservatism and MAGA ultimately fail to challenge coercive power meaningfully.

A thoughtful, nuanced critique of Christian political engagement that challenges listeners across the spectrum to examine the gospel’s true implications for power, authority, and liberty.

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Doug Stuart welcomes the outspoken and innovative "lunatic farmer" Joel Salatin for a lively conversation on faith, food freedom, and regenerative agriculture. Joel Salatin shares his family's dramatic journey from Venezuela to Virginia and explains how his Christian and libertarian convictions shape his approach to farming and environmental stewardship.

Together, they tackle topics like government barriers to small farming, the spiritual parallels found in creation, and the pitfalls of centralized power—both in food systems and politics. Joel Salatin also discusses how true freedom enables both creative entrepreneurship and individual responsibility.

This episode is packed with practical insights, honest takes on modern agriculture, and a vision for a more decentralized, flourishing future. Tune in for inspiration and a fresh look at what it means to honor God’s creation while defending liberty.

Check out Polyface Farms!

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Bryan Caplan is a professor of economics at George Mason University and a New York Times bestselling author of thoughtful, persuasive, and contrarian books that challenge conventional wisdom on topics like immigration, education, government regulation, and feminism.

This interview is a grab bag that covers some of his more controversial arguments and will be a delight to libertarians who are interested in "challenging the statist quo."

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