Please join us on May 15 at noon (AZT) as we welcome Laura Field PhD to discuss her new book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right.
Donald Trump is not a big thinker, but his 2016 presidential victory presented a grand opportunity for people who are, and it set off a radicalization and reconfiguration of the American conservative intellectual world. In Furious Minds, Laura Field chronicles the rise of the New Right—the network of academics, public intellectuals, and influencers who provide ideological fuel to Trumpism, and to Vice President JD Vance. Perhaps above all else, the MAGA New Right is engaged in a vast culture war against modern liberal pluralism. Field will discuss what inspired her to write the book and provide an overview of the ideological radicalization that is shaping contemporary politics in American and around the world.
Laura K. Field is an associate with the Illiberalism Studies Program at George Washington University, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, and visiting scholar in residence at American University. A political theorist by training, she holds a PhD in government from the University of Texas at Austin, and has held faculty positions at Rhodes College in Memphis, Georgetown University, and American University in Washington, DC. In addition to her academic work she has written for The New Republic, Politico, The Bulwark, Le Monde, The New York Times and The Atlantic. Her book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right is now out with Princeton University Press. She lives in Washington, DC.
Please join us on April 3 at noon (AZT) as we welcome Eoin Higgins to discuss his new book, Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left.
Eoin Higgins is a journalist based in New England. He is the author of “Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voice on the Left.”
Please join us on March 13 at noon (AZT) as we welcome back Tia Levings to discuss her new book, I Belong to Me: A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma.
Tia Levings is the New York Times Bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, her memoir of escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of religious trauma, evangelical patriarchy, and the Trad wife life, decoding the fundamentalist influences in our news and culture.
Her work and quotes have appeared in Teen Vogue, Salon, Newsweek, and the HuffingtonPost. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, I Belong to Me, releases May 5, 2026.
Secular AZ will be at Bisbee Pride on June 13, 14, and 15. Stop by to say hi!
We’re at the north entrance of Grassy Park in front of the museum.
Click here for more info about Bisbee Pride.
Secular AZ will be at the Rainbows Festival on April 5-6 at Heritage Square Park at 113 N 6th Street in Phoenix! Stop by and say hi!
Click here for more info.
Blake Chastain is the host of the podcast Exvangelical, writer of the newsletter The Post-Evangelical Post, and cofounder of Irreverent Media Group, a podcast collective and content network that highlights diverse voices doing work for post/ex-evangelical audiences. In 2016, he started the hashtag #exvangelical, coining what would become a common term for a person who has left evangelical Christianity. Chastain’s work and advocacy have been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Newsweek, VICE, and The New Republic. He lives in Illinois with his wife and daughter.
Andra Watkins is a survivor of Christian Nationalism; author of the bestselling Substack How Project 2025 Will Ruin YOUR Life; NYT bestselling author of the memoir Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace; seen in Newsweek, Salon, Resolute Square and others; and lives between Charleston, South Carolina and San Sebastián, Spain.
Tia Levings is the New York Times Bestselling author of the memoir A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy. She writes about the realities of Christian fundamentalism, evangelical patriarchy, and religious trauma, and is quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and Newsweek. She also appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, she is mom to four incredible adults and likes to travel, hike, paint, and daydream. Find her on social media @TiaLevingsWriter. Her second book, The Soul of Healing, releases with St. Martin’s Press in 2025.
See more about Tia and A Well-Trained Wife
Happy September, Secular Fam! We are one month into the school year here in Arizona, and the school board meetings for this 2023-2024 school year have thus far consisted of conspiracy theories, racism, bad boardsmanship, and bigotry.
Today, I’m offering up a recap of a study session in Deer Valley (DVUSD). For those who may not be up to snuff on all things School Board, a study session is a public meeting where school boards and staff can discuss issues happening in their district to learn more about them (hence the word “study”). Continue reading →
You know, I have friends who basically only focus on national and international politics, and sometimes when they share the latest headlines with me, they’re surprised at my ignorance of whatever said headline was.
But that’s because I’m HYPER focused on what happens in my own backyard.
I believe we all should be. Continue reading →
The state of women’s rights today is pretty grim. One woman in Nebraska has gone to jail for self-aborting. Nineteen Republican attorneys general are seeking women’s medical records to ascertain if they sneaked out of state to have an abortion.
But this isn’t exactly new: Treating women badly has a long legacy. Continue reading →
Please join us on March 13 at noon (AZT) as we welcome back Tia Levings to discuss her new book, I Belong to Me: A Survivor’s Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma.
Secular AZ will be at Bisbee Pride on June 13, 14, and 15. Stop by to say hi!
Join us on January 10 as we welcome special guest Blake Chastain, author of 
You know, I have friends who basically only focus on national and international politics, and sometimes when they share the latest headlines with me, they’re surprised at my ignorance of whatever said headline was.