{"podcast":{"title":"Premium Ad-Free: Straight White American Jesus","slug":"premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","podcast_index_feed_id":4273207,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/BCEP7155105923","website_url":"Straightwhiteamericanjesus.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/82736edc-81d2-11eb-98ab-a78d50f5f8f3/image/Screen_Shot_2023-09-07_at_2.54.00_PM.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Axis Mundi Media: Bradley Onishi + Daniel Miller","episode_count":1072,"summary":"An in-depth examination of the culture and politics of Christian Nationalism and Evangelicalism by two ex-evangelical ministers-turned-religion professors. If you have ever wondered what social and historical forces led white evangelicals to usher Donald Trump into the White House this is the show for you. As former insiders and critical scholars of religion, Dan Miller and Bradley Onishi have a unique perspective on the Religious Right. Guests have included Chrissy Stroop, R. Marie Griffith, Janelle Wong, Randall Balmer, Katherine Stewart, and many others.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T20:21:19.696469+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207"},"episode":{"title":"The Sunday Interview: The Rise of the Hype Priest: Judah Smith, Celebrity Faith, and Modern Evangelicalism","slug":"the-sunday-interview-the-rise-of-the-hype-priest-judah-smith-celebrity-faith-and-modern-evangelicalism","published_at":"2026-04-19T15:05:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-the-rise-of-the-hype-priest-judah-smith-celebrity-faith-and-modern-evangelicalism","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207","url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ8726000330.mp3?updated=1776611709","audio_url":"https://clrtpod.com/m/traffic.megaphone.fm/SWAJ8726000330.mp3?updated=1776611709","summary":"In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with journalist Sam Kestenbaum about his reporting on celebrity pastor culture and the rise of the “hype priest.” The conversation centers on Kestenbaum’s widely discussed profile of Judah Smith, a “pastor-to-the-stars” connected to figures like Justin Bieber, and expands into a broader analysis of how millennial pastors have fused evangelical preaching with aesthetics, branding, and media performance. Sam Kestenbaum is a journalist who covers religion in America, known for his deeply reported and stylistically distinctive profiles of contemporary spiritual figures. Based in Los Angeles, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, Rolling Stone, and beyond, where he examines the intersections of faith, politics, and culture. Together, Payne and Kestenbaum explore the Churchome experience in Los Angeles, pop-up worship in rented theaters, a creative-class audience, and a ministry shaped as much by production value and performance as by theology. They discuss how presentation - from clothing to sermon delivery - functions as a form of religious communication, as well as how figures like Judah Smith navigate political polarization by shifting toward a more therapeutic, individualized message. The conversation also maps a wider ecosystem of charismatic influencers, including those who lean more explicitly into conservative politics, and situates today’s media-savvy pastors within a longer lineage of charismatic power brokers shaping American public life. In This Episode Sam Kestenbaum’s profile of Judah Smith and the rise of the “hype priest” The Churchome model: pop-up churches, celebrity culture, and Los Angeles creatives Aesthetics, authenticity, and perform…","meta_description":"In this episode of the Straight White American Jesus Sunday Interview, host Leah Payne speaks with journalist Sam Kestenbaum about his reporting on celebr…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2493,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/episodes/the-sunday-interview-the-rise-of-the-hype-priest-judah-smith-celebrity-faith-and-modern-evangelicalism/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/premium-ad-free-straight-white-american-jesus-4273207/the-sunday-interview-the-rise-of-the-hype-priest-judah-smith-celebrity-faith-and-modern-evangelicalism.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}