In this special episode, I’m sharing the prologue to my forthcoming book, American Caesar: How Theocrats and Tech Lords Are Turning America into a Monarchy, which will be published on September 15, 2026. The story begins with my own experience as a teenager in evangelical Christianity—and with the way my understanding of Jesus, America, and the role of Christians in public life has changed over the past three decades. From the “missional” church movement of the 1990s to the rise of Christian nationalism, civilizational supremacy, and the growing embrace of authoritarian power, this prologue explores how “Jesus is King” has become not only a statement of faith, but a political demand. This is a sneak peek at American Caesar, a book about the religious and ideological movements reshaping American democracy—and the future of the country I call home.

American Caesar: ⁠https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/⁠

From Silicon Valley boardrooms to rural pulpits, from Catholic monasteries to Beltway think tanks and Project 2025, a convergence is underway. Reactionary Catholics dream of a new Christendom. Protestant pastors invoke divine right over democratic rule. Tech billionaires, led by the likes of Peter Thiel, argue that freedom and democracy are incompatible. Their solution? A singular ruler to bring “order” out of what they see as liberal chaos.
With a theologian’s sensibility, a journalist’s touch, and a historian’s eye for how movements evolve and adapt, Dr. Bradley B. Onishi traces the strange alliance between spiritual warfare and Silicon Valley libertarianism. At the center of it all is the desire for an unbound executive—one man, beyond checks, beyond balance, beyond democracy. This isn’t nostalgia for the 1950s. It’s an organized attempt to abandon the American experiment altogether. A former insider turned academic expert, Onishi brings unmatched depth to this investigation—tracing his own path from evangelical pastor to co-host of Straight White American Jesus, the nation’s leading religion and politics podcast.
As the 2024 election fades into history and a new political order takes shape, American Caesar is not just a warning. It’s a map of how we got here—and a call to act before the Republic as we know it becomes just another chapter in a forgotten history book.

American Caesar: https://static.macmillan.com/static/essentials/american-caesar-9781250427922/

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