About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of the Iran war being framed as a holy war by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pastor Doug Wilson.
The Secretary of Defense suggests the Iran war is blessed by God. The head of his church, Pastor Doug Wilson, agrees. Some call Wilson an extremist. He prefers Christian nationalist. Either way, he's no longer a fringe figure. This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images. Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: Noel King
Topics covered
- Iran war
- Christian nationalism
- holy war
- extremism
- religion in politics
Keywords
- Iran war
- holy war
- Christian nationalism
- Pete Hegseth
- Doug Wilson
Sponsors
Vox
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Vox, Pentagon
More episodes of Today, Explained
- YouTube at the movies · June 12, 2026 · 26 min
- Nike lost its cool · June 11, 2026 · 26 min
- Is Platner too “authentic”? · June 10, 2026 · 26 min
- America's birthday blues · June 9, 2026 · 26 min
- Putin's plan to live forever · June 8, 2026 · 27 min
- DIY or don’t? · June 7, 2026 · 30 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Today, Explained podcast page.