After Party with Emily Jashinsky

Episode: Christianity Comeback, Old Media Folds to Bari, and Trump's Message to Cartels
Date: September 4, 2025
Guests: Ali Beth Stuckey (host of Relatable), Tom Rogan (Washington Examiner)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

Emily Jashinsky hosts a wide-ranging conversation exploring:

• The apparent resurgence of Christianity and religious curiosity in American culture—especially among Millennials and Gen Z.
• Ongoing skepticism and backlash against technological acceleration, processed culture, and the fallout of progressive ideology.
• The rise of alternative spirituality, especially among women.
• Deep dives into the US military strike on a cartel-operated drug-smuggling vessel off Venezuela, and what it signals about the Trump administration’s foreign and domestic priorities.
• The UK’s escalation of police action against speech, with free speech cases making international headlines.
• Breaking news: CBS’s pending acquisition of Bari Weiss’s The Free Press, marking a key inflection in media’s ongoing transformation.

SECTION 1: The Faith Comeback & Cultural Contradictions

[02:06–26:39]

Main Topics

• Pew data suggests the long-running decline in US Christianity has slowed ([02:06]).
• Media fascination: Jen Hatmaker’s public break with church-going, contrasted with Forest Frank’s Christian Billboard charting ([02:06–03:44]).
• Catholicism's surprising resurgence—especially among young people drawn to its ritual and aesthetic.

Data & Reality Check

• Ali Beth Stuckey on the numbers’ nuance:

  “For every one person that joins the Catholic Church right now, eight people leave ... That is actually up from where it was in 2014, that for every one person that was joining, six people leave. It's not as bad in the evangelical world, but it's also not great.” ([04:17])

• Enthusiasm about rising interest is real, but “we still have so much work to do when it comes to evangelism, when it comes to equipping, when it comes to apologetics.” ([04:17])

Nihilism, Secularism and Their Fruits

• Emily raises the “post-Christian Right”: a growing reactionary community losing any transcendent orientation.
• Ali Beth connects recent “ideologically incoherent” acts of violence and mass shooters to a deep nihilism accelerated by technology and progressive disintegration of identity ([05:53–06:37]).

  “I wonder if we are already starting to see this very rotten fruit of secularism and progressivism. ... We are now seeing the damage that has been caused by that sexual revolution to where the adolescents who fell prey to it ... are saying, ‘I don't even want to live anymore.’” ([06:37])

Tech Acceleration = Faster Backlashes?

• Emily channels Brett Weinstein’s idea of “hypernovelty”: Tech-driven change outpaces society’s ability to cope ([08:07]).
• Ali Beth sees an accelerating swing—not just to progressivism but also to reaction/conservatism:

  “As that happens, people are looking for simplicity. They're looking for clarity. They're looking for things that they can hold onto and know are real.” ([08:38–10:04])

• Catholicism’s concrete rituals and “aesthetic” appeal are understandable in this search for stability.
• Emily: “There's an incredible market right now for evangelical church plants to build something beautiful.” ([10:04])

Young Christians & The Maha / Health Skeptic Trend

• 2020 was a watershed year, spurring reconsideration of faith values:

  “The biggest surge that I saw, not just in my following, but people reaching out ... was 2020... The evangelical church... really adopting these secular, worldly definitions of justice... It was a very strange time... I think that made a lot of people at least conservative and maybe just at first conservative. And then... well, what is this conservatism all about? ... They keep talking about God.” ([10:58])

• Trend: Many young (especially evangelical) women became intensely skeptical of medical authorities, vaccines, and broader institutional credibility post-2020 ([12:59–15:55]):

  “None of my friends, no one that I know, no one in my family questioned vaccines before 2020.… but now I feel bullied by my doctor... I'm starting to question everything. I'm starting to question the credibility of my doctor.” ([12:59])

The Desire for Tangibility

• Pushback against “ultra processing”—in food, tech, even identity ([17:53–18:14]).
• AI: initial fear, followed by rapid integration; but a new longing for “made by humans” prevails ([16:21]).

  “I want the human fingerprint on it… I think like the next stamp on a product or a company will be made by humans instead of made in the USA or whatever. Made by humans.” ([16:21])

How Parenting is Shifting

• Ali Beth discusses rejecting screens for her children, seeking low-tech schooling, and the revival of homeschooling ([19:17]).

  “Most schools today, private Christian schools included, use iPads in the classroom... We had to search and look very hard for an education program for our kindergartener that did not use any technology.” ([19:17–21:01])

SECTION 2: Alternative Spiritualities and Self-Help Mysticism

[21:01–25:26]

Growing Popularity of DIY Religion

• Explosion of astrology, psychics, and mystical "DIY spiritualities"—alongside some returning to orthodox faith ([21:01]).
• Women's self-help books and the Enneagram as a kind of “Christian astrology” ([22:29–22:43]):

  “A new program, a new thought, a new thing, a new incantation that's finally going to help me liberate my inner goddess. ... It goes on and on, goes all the way back to the garden. When Satan asked Eve, did God really say, you can be like God?... That lie has been tempting women ever since.” ([24:05])

Why Is This Drawn to Women?

• Emily notes that women historically have been central to spiritualist movements (e.g., 19th-century spiritualism).
• Ali Beth references biblical warnings about “weak-minded women ... always learning but never arriving at a knowledge of truth.” She links this to trends in self-help/new age culture for women ([24:05]).

SECTION 3: Economics, Wellbeing & Generational Disillusionment

[25:26–28:54]

• Recent WSJ poll: Fewer Americans believe hard work can yield upward mobility—a sharp generational decline ([25:26]).
• Ali Beth:

  “It is very, very hard for a young couple to find a house… demand is so high, supply is really low... Couple that with inflation. There's so much....I could see how... a demoralizing attitude could lead people ... Toward the nihilism that we talked about or toward the hope... in Christ.” ([26:39])

SECTION 4: Foreign Policy Spotlight—US Strikes on Venezuelan Cartel

[33:16–49:19]

What Happened?

• The US launched a publicized military strike, destroying a cartel drug vessel near Venezuela’s coast ([33:17]).
• Footage showed the destruction of a small boat, sending a clear signal to cartels and foreign states.

Analysis by Tom Rogan

• This was both tactical (removing drugs/supplies) and psychological warfare (public warning) ([34:39], [37:55]).

  “They are sending a message now to the cartels that we are going to kill you if you ... attempt to smuggle drugs onto American soil. And that raises a whole range of political ramifications in terms of how do the cartels respond...?” ([35:21], [36:15])

• Comparisons drawn to US counterterrorism campaigns in the Middle East; cautions about possible cartel retaliation, including attacks on Americans in Mexico or US soil ([38:37–40:24]).
• This act marks an escalation in US willingness to apply military power directly to the cartel problem.

  “This is... a new chapter... a very blatant example of physical warfare manifesting into psychological warfare.” ([42:01])

Political Layer

• Trump administration possibly using this as leverage against both Venezuela and Mexico ([49:19]).
• Maduro's response attempts to play Trump against Rubio, exploiting US political divides ([49:19–51:02]).

SECTION 5: UK Free Speech Crackdown

[54:31–63:55]

The Issue

• Prominent figures like comedian Graham Linehan detained by UK police for “offensive” tweets ([54:31]).
• Free Press editorial, and Emily’s coverage, recounts a growing pattern: arrest for prayer, protest, tweets, and “de facto blasphemy laws.”

Tom Rogan's Analysis

• The UK's lack of First Amendment protections results in chilling censorship ([57:07]):

  “This could not happen in the United States. ... it never ends with just the stuff you don't like...” “There's a rot in... the UK democratic system... political establishments, judiciaries, have decided that it is better to corral potentially offensive opinion rather than let it vent against itself...” ([57:07])

• Predicts political reckoning—either via change from within Labour, or populists like Nigel Farage.
• Social media rapidly shifts public sentiment and pressures traditional media to cover censorship stories:

  “...the source of the perceived criminality—the offending posts on X—are the individuals who are being persecuted...finding their liberation in the outcry on social media.” ([63:30])

SECTION 6: Media Nightcap—CBS Acquires The Free Press

[67:11+]

Breaking News

• CBS “on the verge of acquiring” Bari Weiss’s The Free Press—potentially making it the flagship of CBS News ([67:11]).
• Emily links this to a wider legitimacy crisis for legacy media, and a reward for truth-seeking outlets.

  “The Free Press was a huge part of this movement away from corporate media...what they did was build up a parallel institution to the New York Times.” ([67:11])

• If CBS imposes its old ethos, it will erase The Free Press’s market value; survival will depend on genuinely integrating the maverick, heterodox instincts of Weiss's brand ([67:11]).

MEMORABLE QUOTES & TIMESTAMPS

• Ali Beth Stuckey:

  “For every one person that joins the Catholic Church right now, eight people leave. That is actually up from where it was in 2014, that for every one person that was joining, six people leave.” ([04:17])

• Emily:

  “My theory has been ... there’s an incredible market right now for evangelical church plants to build something beautiful. Someone build a beautiful, beautiful home for your church.” ([10:04])

• Ali Beth:

  “None of my friends, no one in my family questioned vaccines before 2020… but now I feel bullied by my doctor ... I’m starting to question everything.” ([12:59])

• Tom Rogan:

  “They are sending a message now to the cartels that we are going to kill you if you come to deliver or attempt to smuggle drugs onto American soil.” ([36:15])

• Tom Rogan:

  “This could not happen in the United States... It never ends with just the stuff you don’t like…” ([57:07])

• Emily:

  “The Free Press was a huge, huge... part of this movement away from corporate media… what they did was build up a parallel institution to the New York Times.” ([67:11])

TIMESTAMPS FOR MAJOR SEGMENTS

• Christianity’s Resurgence & Confusion | [02:06–12:41]
• Maha Skepticism & Tangibility Craze | [12:41–21:01]
• Alternative Religions & Women’s Self-Help | [21:01–25:26]
• Economic Dissatisfaction & Generational Disenchantment | [25:26–28:54]
• Venezuela Cartel Strike Analysis | [33:16–51:02]
• UK Free Speech Police Crackdown | [54:31–63:55]
• Old Media Buys New: The Free Press Story | [67:11+]

FINAL THOUGHTS

This After Party episode powerfully unites the threads of generational anxiety, religious searching, distrust of institutions, and a yearning for authenticity—spanning faith, policy, and media. Grounded in candid, personal stories and astute analysis, Emily, Ali Beth, and Tom provide a nuanced, conversational "big picture" look at why old institutions are faltering, what’s driving spiritual hunger, and how the culture war is rapidly shifting the landscape in politics, religion, tech, and the press.

Listen live Mondays and Wednesdays at 10pm ET, or catch the After Party podcast on your favorite app.