It's a special Thanksgiving crossover episode of American Angst and Church Potluck! Dr. Michael Bailey and Dale McConkey start off-topic with a quick overview of 10 dizzying days in American politics. From there, they pivot to something far older, quieter, and deeper: Thanksgiving! Michael makes a bold claim—that Thanksgiving is the most American of all holidays—and builds his case like a true political theorist, tracing four different “foundings” of America (Puritan, Revolutionary, Civil War, and New Deal) and showing how Thanksgiving brushes up against each one. Along the way, they talk football and Black Friday, parades and turkey pardons, Friendsgiving and “family plus,” Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, and why humility and gratitude might be our best hope in an anxious age.
The episode is equal parts engaging civics lesson and cozy kitchen-table conversation. Dale and Michael swap their favorite and least favorite Thanksgiving traditions (including Dale’s “House of Dreams” potlucks and Michael’s annual Birmingham adventure day), lament the commercialization creeping into the holiday, and still find reasons to be stubbornly hopeful about America also previews an upcoming Church Potluck plan: an audio Advent & Christmas "calendar," inviting listeners to share their favorite Advent traditions from around the world. It’s politics and prayer, football and philosophy, social critique and sincere gratitude—seasoned with humor, affection, and a genuine desire to live more thoughtfully in a messy country they still love.
The views expressed on Church Potluck are solely those of the participants and do not represent any organization.
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