
About this episode
The episode discusses Pete Hegseth's views on American dominance and its ties to Christian nationalism with scholar Matthew Taylor.
It’s no secret that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has embraced the idea of crusading for American dominance — he published a book titled American Crusade and has several tattoos of crusader iconography. And that language has become a part of how Hegseth talks about the U.S. war with Iran. B.A. Parker talks to the religion scholar Matthew Taylor about Hegseth’s corner of Christianity and its connection with Christian nationalism. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
People in this episode
Host: B.A. Parker
Guest: Matthew Taylor
Topics covered
- Christian nationalism
- American dominance
- U.S. war with Iran
- religion
- crusader iconography
Keywords
- Pete Hegseth
- Christian nationalism
- American Crusade
- Matthew Taylor
- U.S. war with Iran
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NPR
Books & works: American Crusade
More episodes of Code Switch
- Why being Black and outdoorsy is a whole thing · June 12, 2026 · 27 min
- Trump's 'weaponization' fund steals reparations blueprint · June 9, 2026 · 32 min
- DACA recipients are trapped in Trump's limbo · June 2, 2026 · 34 min
- The trans athlete debate is about a lot more than sports · May 30, 2026 · 32 min
- It's giving incel: The evolution of internet slang · May 27, 2026 · 24 min
- Why so many Americans never learned to swim · May 23, 2026 · 36 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Code Switch podcast page.