This week, I talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women
and the World They Made. Listen to hear all about:

• How Live Laugh Love grew out of Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne, shifting the focus from evangelical masculinity to the history and culture surrounding white Christian women.
• The surprising roots of “biblical womanhood” and hyper-femininity—and how ideas presented as timeless Christian gender roles have actually changed dramatically over time.
• How Christian romance novels, music, bookstores, mommy blogs, influencers, Hallmark movies, and other seemingly harmless pop culture helped create an entire ecosystem of Christian values and messaging.
• The fascinating overlap between evangelicalism, MLMs, capitalism, and positive-thinking culture—including why Kristin sees striking similarities between MLM structures and high-control religious systems.
• Why “I’m not political” can itself mask deeply political beliefs—and how ideas about faith and family quietly shape views on everything from education and immigration to welfare and economic policy.

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor