680: Cancelling Colbert, Starving Gaza, & American Charisma with Molly Worthen

The Holy Post

Phil Vischer

Skyejethani, Society & Culture, Philvischer, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, 226012, Christiantaylor, Atheism, Veggietales

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 30 July 2025

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

CBS has cancelled the top-rated late-night talk show. Was it really a financial decision, or was it done to get the Trump administration to approve a corporate merger? And will Stephen Colbert now come on the Holy Post? Horrific images of starvation are coming out of Gaza as pressure builds on the Israeli government to end the war, but when does pro-Palestinian activism cross the line into antisemitism? Historian Molly Worthen’s new book, “Spellbound,” explains how charismatic political and religious movements have shaped America, and why they depend more on a compelling story than a persuasive leader. Also this week— Phil is back from his European vacation with stories of schnitzel and chicken dancing.

Holy Post Plus:

Bonus Interview with Molly Worthen:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/135231773/

Ad-Free Version of this Episode:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/135245929/

0:00 - Show Starts

2:30 - Theme Song

2:50 - Sponsor - Rocket Money - Find and cancel your old subscriptions with Rocket Money at https://www.rocketmoney.com/holypost

3:55 - Sponsor - Brooklyn Bedding - Brooklyn Bedding is offering up to 25% off sitewide for our listeners! Go to https://www.brooklynbedding.com/holypost

5:04 - Phil’s Chicken Dance Adventure

15:05 - Colbert Cancelled?

24:21 - Antisemitism and Protesting Israel

42:43 - Sponsor - Poncho - If you’ve been looking for the perfect shirt—something breathable, fits great, feels even better, and stands out in a good way—give Poncho a try. Get $10 off your first order by using this link: https://www.ponchooutdoors.com/holypost

44:23 - Interview

47:50 - Building vs Destroying Institutions

58:56 - What Charismatic Movements Succeed?

1:09:45 - Charismatic Leader vs Charismatic Story

1:16:00 - Secular yet Spiritual

1:23:19 - End Credits

Links from News Segment:

Holding Israel accountable isn’t antisemtic—harming Jews is:

https://religionnews.com/2025/07/16/holding-israel-accountable-isnt-antisemitic-harming-jews-is/

Other Resources:

Spellboard: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump: https://a.co/d/4IWVyNX

Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/

Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus

Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost

Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Holy Post. CBS has canceled the top-rated late-night talk show. Was it really a
0:06.5	financial decision or was it done to get the Trump administration to approve a corporate merger?
0:11.8	And when will Stephen Colbert actually come on the Holy Post? Then horrific images of starvation
0:17.3	are coming out of Gaza as pressure builds on the Israeli government to end the war.
0:22.3	But when does pro-Palestinian activism cross the line into anti-Semitism?
0:27.7	Then historian Molly Worthen's new book, Spellbound, explains how charismatic political and religious
0:33.4	movements have shaped America and why they depend more on a compelling story than just a
0:39.2	persuasive leader. Also this week, Phil is back from his European adventure with stories of
0:45.0	schnitzel and chicken dancing. Hey, we've got a ton of great stuff on Holy Post Plus this week,
0:50.2	including a bonus interview with Molly Worthen. Caitlin and I discuss a new research study that finds cynical people are perceived to be smarter,
0:58.0	but are actually dumber, and there's a new episode of Know Your Heresies.
1:02.8	And next week, we're releasing Chapter 3 of my new book, The World Born in You.
1:08.0	As always, the very best content and engagement with the Holy Post media community
1:12.6	is only happening over at Holy Post Plus. So to sign up, head over to holypost.com. Here is episode
1:21.1	680.
1:22.1	Hey there. Welcome back to the Holy Post podcast. I'm Phil Fisher. I'm back. I'm here with Sky Jatani.
1:26.9	Hi, Sky. Hi, Phil. Welcome back. Thank you. I'm here with Caitlin's chess. Hi, Caitlin.
1:24.5	Hi, Phil. Caitlin's bookshelves are half empty. Half empty? Half empty. This is the only one that's left. Oh, so two thirds, three-fifths. How many Shelves do you have that are empty?
1:28.6	One, two, three, four, five, six.
1:45.5	Oh, my goodness. Okay. So... How many shelves do you have that are empty? One, two, three, four, five, six.
1:46.0	Six. Oh, my goodness.
1:47.1	Okay.
	...

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