Racist Memes, Vance at the Olympics, Epstein Files, and the Vanishing Church

The Bulletin

Christianity Today

News, News Commentary, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.4 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 10 February 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On Thursday, President Trump posted a meme to his Truth Social account that depicted former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as apes. On Friday, JD Vance was booed at the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. And the Department of Justice released millions of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files, leading to revelations about those with connections to Epstein. Mike Cosper and Clarissa Moll discuss these headlines, and then Mike talks with political scientist and statistician Ryan Burge about what the data say about revival in the US, the shifts in young men’s participation at church, and how political polarization has changed the makeup of churches. REFERENCED IN THE SHOW: The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us - Ryan Burge Graphs about Religion - Ryan Burge’s Substack GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Ryan Burge is professor of practice at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. He has written for the New York Times, POLITICO, and The Wall Street Journal. He has authored over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters alongside six books about religion and politics in the United States. His most recent book is The Vanishing Church. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today’s editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	As hosts of The Bulletin, we are passionate about featuring voices you know and love as we share breaking news and discuss issues that are shaping our world.
0:08.7	If you'd like to contribute to the production of The Bulletin, consider subscribing to Christianity today using our special link, ordercc.com slash the Bulletin.
0:18.9	Bulletin listeners like you get 25% off your subscription and unlimited access to the platform that elevates the stories and the ideas in the kingdom of God. That's order ct.com forward slash the bulletin, all one word. We look forward to having you join us.
0:46.7	From Christianity today, you're listening to The Bulletin, a podcast about the people,
0:49.0	events, and issues that are shaping our world.
0:54.0	I'm Clarissa Moll, here with senior contributor Mike Cosper to let you know what's catching our eye as the week begins.
0:56.3	Today we talk about President Trump's racist social media posts, J.D. Vance's appearance at the Olympics
1:02.2	and the Clinton's response to Epstein subpoenas. Welcome to the show.
1:10.6	Late Thursday night, President Trump posted a meme to his truth social account that depicted
1:16.1	former President Barack Obama and his wife as apes.
1:19.7	In the 12 hours that the post remained live before it was taken down, Hanakiros, assistant editor
1:25.3	at the Atlantic, said that a racist beam coin had been created
1:28.7	and more than $4 million worth of it traded back and forth.
1:32.7	President Trump had this to say about the Post.
1:35.0	No, I didn't make a mistake.
1:36.8	I mean, I look at a lot of thousands of things.
1:41.3	And I looked at the beginning of it was fine.
1:45.2	Mike, on Friday, the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt called the response to this post,
1:50.6	quote, fake rage.
1:52.4	What do you make of this post by the president and the White House's response to it?
1:56.4	What was fascinating about the response on Friday was to watch the way that it evolved, because it started
2:04.0	with, there's nothing wrong with the post. It shifted to, prior to the meme itself, is a
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Christianity Today, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Christianity Today and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.