Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
All content for Truce - History of the Christian Church is the property of Chris Staron and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
Give to help Chris continue making Truce
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States went years without using the death penalty. Not a single person was killed by injection, firing squad, hanging, or electric chair. But by the late 90s, we were killing around 100 convicted criminals per year. What happened?
In 1972, the Supreme Court handed down its decision Furman v. Georgia, which negated state capital punishment laws across the country. This meant that some of the worst criminals in the country were suddenly given new sentences. And Americans... lost their minds. Within just a few years, new laws were written, and the Court decided to approve many of them.
The death penalty long had a prejudiced bent, disproportionately killing people of color. The NAACP worked hard to end the practice, but those efforts were soon undone as American opinions toward the death penalty abruptly changed.
My special guest for this episode is Maurice Chammah, author of Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty
Sources:
Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty by Maurice Chammah
The Death Penalty: An American History by Stuart Banner (an excellent source!)
Reaganland by Rick Perlstein
The Hijacking of American Flight 119: How D.B. Cooper Inspired a Hijacking Craze and the FBI's Battle to Stop It. by John Wigger
Listen, America! by Jerry Falwell
Romans 13 (and 1 for a fact check)
The US Constitution
September
26, 1973 (page 94 of 98). (1973, Sep 26). The Ottawa Citizen
(1954-1973) Retrieved from
https://wsl.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/september-26-1973-page-94-98/docview/2338669544/se-2
Oyez.org coverage of Furman v. Georgia
Oyez.org coverage of Gregg v. Georgia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4G_O_Z55fQ
Pew Research data on crime
Discussion Questions:
What are your thoughts on the death penalty?
Why was the Furman case so important? What did it decide?
Should juries have guidelines when considering a death penalty case?
Why is the death penalty so popular among evangelicals?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Truce - History of the Christian Church
Truce explores the history of the evangelical church in America, from fundamentalism to pyramid schemes to political campaigns. Host Chris Staron uses journalistic tools to investigate how the church got here and how it can do better.
The current season follows the rise of the Religious Right, examining the link between evangelicals and the Republican Party. Featuring special guests like Rick Perlstein, Frances Fitzgerald, Jesse Eisinger, Daniel K. Williams, and more.
