Explore every episode of the podcast Extremely American

Extremely American host Heath Druzin returns to Moscow, Idaho to give a talk about Christian nationalism and how American theocrats are now closer than ever to getting positions of power at the highest echelons of government.

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A panel discussion with Christian leaders from across the political spectrum who are concerned about the rise of Christian nationalism. They talk about why they see the movement as antithetical to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the undertones of bigotry they see in Christian nationalism.

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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.

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The Christian nationalist movement wants to make America a theocracy — a government under Biblical rule. Christ Church, embedded in a small, rural Idaho college town, is quickly gaining influence and political interest — but how did we get here? In the second season of Extremely American, host Heath Druzin spent a year inside the movement to understand their stark vision for America's future.

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This was originally a Twitter Spaces hosted by NPR and Boise State Public Radio. It's a wide-ranging discussion about where the movements are headed, their outlook with Donald Trump out of office, how online recruitment is changing the face of these groups, and the sometimes unintended effects of anti-extremism strategies.

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The Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial captured militias' attention like no other criminal case in recent memory. For them, Rittenhouse embodied the way they see themselves: protectors, keeping their communities from anarchy at the end of a rifle. His acquittal was seen as vindication for them and a green light to continue self-styled armed security.

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Former federal prosecutor Mary McCord is trying to put militias out of business and she's got their attention. She's working on a national strategy to get prosecutors and law enforcement to enforce anti-militia laws she says are on the books in every state. And it's already starting to work.

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Jennifer Ellis has received threats in her fight to get the Idaho GOP out of the grips of an increasingly far-right ideology. But she's no liberal – she's a conservative rancher who knows her way around firearms and has been a player in GOP politics for years. Now she's trying to pull her party back from its increasing coziness with militias, anti-vaxxers and other far-right groups.

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Way up in the Northern Rockies there's a sort of mythical 51st state. It's called the American Redoubt and it's a kind of theocratic limited government utopia, one with lots of guns. They recruit people to move there, live off the grid and run for office. And it's working – Redoubters are reshaping their communities and as far as they're concerned, those who disagree can leave.

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.R. Majewski was in Washington D.C. the day of the Capitol insurrection, hoping to see the presidential election of Joe Biden overturned. Now he wants your vote, at least if you live in parts of Ohio. And the partisan redrawing of election maps also means people who would have been fringe candidates in the past now have a chance to gain power at the polls.

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When Idaho's governor leaves the state, the lieutenant governor goes rogue and swears in the militia. This was just the latest move for the far-right, militia-adjacent politician. Janice McGeachin is leading a kind of anti-government government and now she and her allies are making a play to take over.

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People's Rights started as a poorly-attended meeting in a drafty Idaho warehouse. But anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has grown his network to more than 30,000 people nationwide, ready to mobilize and fight the government on a moment's notice — a kind of militia on-demand.

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Heath and Jimmy travel to the Creation Museum, a kind of theme park dedicated to the idea that the Bible's creation story is literally true and that the earth is 6,000 years old. So-called young earth creationism is a fundamental idea in Christian nationalism and one that could threaten the very foundations of scientific research if it ever becomes government policy.

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The modern militia movement started, in part, in Lee Miracle's living room. In 1994, a bunch of guys incensed about the deadly government sieges at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas gathered there. They talked about what they would do if the government came knocking on their door and agreed, they'd want backup.

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The hubbub began on once-sleepy South Whidbey Island, Washington in 2020 in the unlikeliest of places: a local grange hall. A militia group, the Washington III Percent, quietly took over the small, agriculture-centered community center and started shutting everyone else out. Then they took aim at local schools, where students were demanding more inclusion for LGBTQ+ students and students of color.

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Eric Parker went to a ranch in Nevada, pointed his rifle at federal agents, then beat the feds in court. It made him a folk hero in the militia movement. And he's worked hard to soften the image of his militia. Instead of fighting the government, he's become an increasingly powerful political force pulling the state GOP even farther right. Now he's after a new title: state Senator in Idaho.

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In episode one, Heath camps out at a militia training with camouflage-clad recruits shooting guns and practicing first-aid deep in the woods. The leader of the group explains why he shows up armed with his guys to tense protests like the deadly showdown in Charlottesville, Va. We shine a light on what's motivating people in the militia movement and their chilling outlook for the future.

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Extremely American Season 1 takes you inside militias and other far-right groups trying to remake America in their absolutist image. These groups are quietly growing larger, influencing elections across the country from school boards to U.S. Congress. For more than a year, creator and host Heath Druzin criss-crossed the country to meet with these groups — and the people pushing back against them.

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Heath and Jimmy travel to Kentucky to attend a kind of Christian nationalist festival in the shadow of a six-story replica of Noah's Ark. The gathering brings together leading Christian nationalist thinkers from around the country to compare notes on how to turn America into a theocracy.

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Christian nationalists are trying to take over the country one church and one school at a time. They have a blueprint for how to gain influence community by community and they are playing the long game.

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Critics of Christ Church and Christian nationalism say the emphasis on women submitting to men fuels an underbelly of abuse. Emilie Paige Dye is an abuse survivor and she details what happened to her at a fundamentalist school and why she thinks her case was swept under the rug.

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Helen Shores Peters starts to break with the patriarchy, but the patriarchy isn't done with her. And her change of heart leads her into a fight for her kids.

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Helen Shores Peters was a true believer in patriarchal Christianity. She learned to be submissive to men in a fundamentalist school, got married at 20 and lived the life of an obedient wife for years. But eventually things started going terribly wrong.

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Doug Wilson has gone from small town preacher to a leader in America's Christian nationalist movement. Along the way he's been equally good at attracting congregants and controversy. He's never been shy about weighing in on divisive issues, but his take on slavery nearly got him chased out of town.

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Christ Church is taking a novel approach to increasing their influence in Moscow. So far, they don't have the numbers to win elections, but they do have one resource: money. So the church and its members are buying up large swaths of the town. That's putting a lot of locals on edge.

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What does it mean to be an American? There’s no one way. At NPR, we think of the American identity as a story - one that's always being rewritten by the people who live it. The American Storytelling collection gathers stories from local stations across the NPR Network - from small town struggles, to natural phenomena, to the intricate histories that build the constantly-evolving tale of our nation. These are our biggest little-known shows. Find them in the American Storytelling channel on Apple Podcasts or on the NPR App.

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