June 8, 1809, Greenwich Village. A 72-year-old Thomas Paine is buried without honors despite being the voice of the Revolution who wrote Common Sense and The American Crisis. He helped winter soldiers at Valley Forge and shaped the idea of a secular republic.

After speaking against organized religion in The Age of Reason and refusing to bow to the political and religious establishment, Paine was vilified, abandoned by former allies, and erased from public memory. His body and reputation were scattered, but his ideas about law, reason, and popular sovereignty still underpin the republic.

This episode examines the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the rapid, misleading political rhetoric that followed, exploring how preemptive messaging and media ecosystems shaped public perception.

It explains "cognitive warfare" and the "cognitive firewall"—how conservative Christian nationalism and integrated right-wing media weaponize trusted values to mobilize voters and protect elite interests.

Drawing on Thomas Paine's example, the host urges reclaiming reason, exposing the donors who benefit, and defending a secular republic without demonizing the manipulated foot soldiers.

Jim breaks down a startling statistic: 41% of American Christians say God mandates them to lead seven key sectors of society, and explains how the Seven Mountains Mandate repackages dominionist theology into a strategy for institutional capture.

He traces the movement’s roots, shows how it seeks influence in education, business, and government, and explains how framing politics as spiritual warfare radicalizes followers and undermines constitutional norms.

The episode urges compassionate engagement with believers and a defense of democratic, pluralistic principles against top-down religious power grabs.