Wayback Wednesday! The Family with Jeff Sharlet (2009) - A View From The Bunker

About this episode

Jeff Sharlet discusses the secretive religious group known as The Family and its influence on American politics.

A SECRETIVE religious group that wields power in Washington, D.C. and other world capitals — sounds like the basis for Dan Brown’s next novel, but it’s real. Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power , has been following this group for years, even living at The Family’s headquarters for a time. What he found is a group that justifies its pursuit of political power by claiming that it’s for the kingdom of God. Read Jeff’s original expose of The Family, “Jesus Plus Nothing,” at Harper’s Magazine online. Christians are taking heat for The Family from the likes of The Huffington Post and MSNBC. The irony is that The Family isn’t promoting a Christian agenda, but a New Age agenda. See Constance Cumbey’s five-part series The Family and its Hijacking of Evangelicalism . As Jeff Sharlet asked, where is the outrage from influential evangelicals? Derek’s book Destination: Earth, co-authored with Donna Howell and Allie Anderson, is available in paperback , Kindle , and as an audiobook at Audible ! Our latest book The Gates of Hell is now available in paperback , Kindle , and as an audiobook at Audible ! Get our free app! It features all of…

People in this episode

Guest: Jeff Sharlet

Topics covered

• secretive religious groups
• political power
• Christianity
• New Age agenda
• evangelicalism
• media criticism

Keywords

• The Family
• Jeff Sharlet
• political power
• Christianity
• New Age
• evangelicalism
• religious groups

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harper’s Magazine, The Huffington Post, MSNBC

Books & works: The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, Jesus Plus Nothing, Destination: Earth, The Gates of Hell

More episodes of Fringe Radio Network

• New Space Capitalism Will Change Everything with Dr. Rainer Zitelmann - The Bruce Collins Show · June 12, 2026 · 55 min
• What the Shroud of Turin Reveals About Resurrection and Rapture (Part 1) with L.A. Marzulli - The Sharpening Report · June 12, 2026 · 42 min
• The North American Union: Conspiracy, Fact or Both? - NWCZ Radio's Down The Rabbit Hole · June 12, 2026 · 1h 2m
• The Horrifying Reality of Human Sacrifice Under Famous Landmarks - The Cross Files Podcast · June 11, 2026 · 1h 26m
• Grizzly Hunters in Alaska Run into a Sasquatch - Bigfoot Terror In The Woods · June 11, 2026 · 51 min
• Peptide Panic: The Truth They Aren't Telling You with Dr. Diane Kazer - Sarah Westall · June 11, 2026 · 1h 3m