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October 11, 2026: Brad Onishi's American Caesar Book Tour
October 11, 2026: Brad Onishi's American Caesar Book Tour
Pizza and Conversation 12:15-2, Brad Onishi's Presentation 2-3, Book Signing & Reception 3-4 @ TVUUC
Free child care services provided until 4pm
Sponsored by the Rationalists of East TN, Freedom From Religion Foundation of East TN, and the TVUUC ForUUm
Videos and materials are shared for the purpose of inviting participants into open discussion, and are not endorsed by or representative of TVUUC.
The Straight White American Jesus podcast is Brad's primary media platform and one of the best sources of news and information about the Christian Nationalist movement. Brad and his co-host Daniel Miller are both ex-evangelical ministers who became religious studies professors and sharp critics of the movement they were formerly involved in.
These videos have some interviews with Onishi about his new book so you can familiarize yourself with the topic and his style.
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
Some questions to help get the conversation going!
What does "Caesar" actually name?
The book frames this moment as a slide toward one-man rule rather than ordinary partisan conflict. Is that the right analogy? What does it capture that "authoritarian" or "populist" misses - and where might it overstate?What do theocrats and tech billionaires want from each other?
These are strange bedfellows: one movement rooted in religious traditionalism, the other in disruption and transhumanism. What does each get from the alliance? Is it durable, or a marriage of convenience that cracks under its own contradictions?Is "neo-feudalism" a useful description?
Feudalism meant fixed hierarchy, personal loyalty above law, and lords who governed what they owned. Where do you see that pattern in how platforms, company towns, or concentrated wealth operate now? Where does the analogy break down?When did you first sense something had changed?
Setting labels aside - what specific moment, story, or personal experience made you feel American democracy was under real strain? What, if anything, did you do about it?How much of this is religion, and how much is religion as a vehicle?
Is Christian Nationalism primarily a theological movement or a political one in theological clothing? Does your answer change how you would respond to it?What is owed to people inside these movements?
Many of us have family, neighbors, or old friends in that world. What do we owe them - argument, patience, distance, accountability? Should we treat leaders and followers differently?Can technology be democratized, or only redirected?
If a handful of people own the infrastructure of speech, commerce, and now intelligence itself, is reform through regulation realistic? What would meaningful public control actually look like?Why hasn't saying it out loud been disqualifying?
The figures described in this book are largely not hiding their intentions. Why has stating the goal openly proved effective rather than costly - and what does that say about the assumption that exposure is enough?What is one thing this group could actually do?
Beyond staying informed, what practice, partnership, or commitment could the ForUUm take on this year that would matter? Bring one concrete idea to the discussion.
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