The Overthinkers

If there's one thing everyone in America seems to agree on its that they don't like Evangelicals. But why? And is that dislike valid. Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson interview journalist and author Bonnie Kristian about her new book "In Defense of Evangelicalism"
References and Resources
David Bebbington’s four-part definition of evangelicalism — conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism:“Can Evangelicalism Be Defined?” — Crossway
Pew Research Center’s explanation of how it classifies Americans into the evangelical, mainline, and historically Black Protestant traditions:“Religious Identity in the United States” — Pew Research Center
Pew’s 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study — evangelicals declined from 26.3% of Americans in 2007 to 23.1% in 2023–24; mainline Protestants from 18.1% to 11.5%; historically Black Protestants from 6.9% to 5.4%. Evangelicals simultaneously increased from 51% to 58% of all Protestants:2023–24 Religious Landscape Study — Pew Research Center
Catholics declined from 24% of U.S. adults in 2007 to 19% in the 2023–24 Religious Landscape Study:“Religious Identity in the United States” — Pew Research Center
Ryan Burge’s General Social Survey analysis of long-term changes in American religious affiliation—the analysis referenced in Joseph Holmes’s Sarah’s Oil review:“Have We Reached Peak None?” — Ryan Burge, Graphs About Religion
Joseph Holmes’s earlier discussion of evangelical, mainline, Catholic, and Black Protestant traditions and their changing cultural influence:“‘Sarah’s Oil’ Serves Up A Christian Message Aimed At Tackling Racism” — Religion Unplugged
Michael Luo on Christianity, race, and white supremacy:“American Christianity’s White-Supremacy Problem” — The New Yorker
Jennifer Rubin’s argument that declining white evangelical cultural power has contributed to anti-democratic politics:“Why Are White Evangelicals Embracing an Anti-Democratic Movement? Because They’re Panicking.” — The Washington Post
Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind:The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind — Eerdmans
Aaron Renn on the absence of evangelicals from culture-shaping elite institutions:“The Problem with the Evangelical Elite” — First Things
Pew on belief in the God described in the Bible — 91% of evangelicals, 86% of historically Black Protestants, and roughly two-thirds of Catholics and mainline Protestants:“Americans’ Spiritual Beliefs” — Pew Research CenterWebsitesThe Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmesBonnie Kristian:bonniekristian.substack.com

Why do people fall for online conspiracy theories? Why does everyone speak with authority today as if they're an expert? Why do they dismiss real experts? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to media psychology expert Dr. Dannagal Young.References and resources
America and experts concerned about conspiracy theories and blame the internet: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9299316/
Social media makes us less informed; traditional news media makes us more informed: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19331681.2021.1969611
TikTok conspiracy theories in the Lindsy Clancey trial: https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/tiktokers-shown-patrick-clancys-60-174255826.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAI_8FGXdItco2yodQtPf4YpBGAV_UHql3N1HCBleD90A1Rn4hO18ttc6zpkJ6b5fMOHN6ZpxacT2n7goU8Oeng7IF56MDsdQrlLcsEs5K6Q-jbhchn8xJ5u5pvJ336u-rWR9c5p9E3AybnMVcjLbKImKIuByG5lcf3oKGPBE8JHf
  Belief in conspiracy theories have not increased over time: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9299316/
Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmesDr. Dannagal Young: udel.edu/faculty-staff/experts/dannagal-young/

Experts say family estrangement is on the rise, even as abuse is not. But why? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with author Noelle Mering the findings of her book "No Contact: How a Seductive Ideology Broke Families and Friendships and How We Can Repair Them"
References and resources
Family estrangement on the rise: 
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/24/family-estrangement-children-parents-beckhams
Rates of abuse dropping: https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20251120/incidence-of-child-maltreatment-declined-overall-in-us-from-2012-to-2023
Why do families get estranged? https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/01/why-parents-and-kids-get-estranged/617612/
Do we need more boundaries? https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human/set-boundaries-and-find-peace-w-nedra-glover-tawwab-transcript
Is calling family estrangement a trend offensive? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/phil-lane-msw-lcsw
Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee/josephholmesNoelle Mering: noellemering.com

From Grimms fairy tales to 1984 to the Bible itself, humanity has always told dark stories. But why? What purpose do they serve? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson discuss with film critic, author, and co-host of the "Filmspotting" podcast Josh Larsen.
Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmesJosh Larsen: larsenonfilm.com

Why do we love art so much? What purpose does art serve for humans? Or is art useless and maybe that's a good thing? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to author Dr. Merideth Hite Estevez about her new book "Art is How God Loves Us" on The Overthinkers. 
References and resources
Does art have health benefits? https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/e1cc8536-773d-446f-9822-8ae376f41415/content
Can art express things words can’t? https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/langer/
Is art useless? https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/526851-we-can-forgive-a-man-for-making-a-useful-thing
Is art for therapy? https://www.alaindebotton.com/art/
Website
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

Why is there so much anti-elite sentiment in the world today? Is it the fault of the elites themselves, or cultural trends they can't control? Joseph Holems and Nathan Clarkson talk to culture critic and author Aaron Renn on their latest episode. 
Defining elites: 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elite
https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145542?
American trust in institutions at all-time low. https://news.gallup.com/poll/712436/confidence-institutions-remains-near-time-low.aspx
Global trust decreasing from fear to grievance: https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer
Anti-elite sentiment worldwide: https://www.ipsos.com/en/populism-remains-strong
Christopher Nolan on democracies and greatness: https://singjupost.com/transcript-christopher-nolan-interview-with-podcaster-zhong-shu/
Low trust makes problems harder to solve: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/how-americans-see-problems-of-trust/
Tyranny of merit hypothesis: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-tyranny-of-merit-with-michael-sandel/
Democratization of information hypothesis: https://www.discoursemagazine.com/p/revolt-of-the-public-10-years-on
Elite overproduction hypothesis: https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/the-elite-overproduction-hypothesis-994
Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

Are we addicted to outrage? Why does everyone seem so angry? Is social media making us angrier or making us overperceive our anger? And if we are angrier, is that a good thing because we have so much to be angry about? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss the theories and science behind outrage culture on the latest episode of The Overthinkers.
References and resources
Do most Americans think politics is worse today? https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-feelings-about-politics-polarization-and-the-tone-of-political-discourse/
Does negativity drive news consumption? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4
Does high emotion drive news consumption? https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmr.10.0353
Does tribal signalling drive engagement? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8256037
Does moral grandstanding increase status? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/papa.12075
Does status seeking predict outrage? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6795490/
Do we overestimate how much outrage there is? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01582-0?
Does social media amplify outrage? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8363141/
Is outrage good?: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37000374/Websites
The Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

There's a movement to make America's towns and cities more walkable and less car-dependent. But is that actually what's best for the people who live there? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss.
Walkable cities definition and case:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wai4ub90stQ&t=832s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPbfdcvv0to&t=676s
https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/2/14/why-so-difficult-build-walkable-places
 
Critiques of the walkable cities movement
https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/debunking-portland-city-doesnt-work
https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/transit-urban-parasiteWebsitesThe Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes

There often feels like there's a conflict between creative people and religious people, and even between creativity and religion itself. But does there have to be? Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson talk to Anne Miranda and Scott Magie, filmmakers behind the documentary series "Creative Icons".WebsitesThe Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmesCreative Icons: https://www.creativeicons.tv/?pgid=kve8eguz-308c5bdf-f231-4a9f-9ec1-5980ab1ade3e

American culture is experiencing a decline in deep, lasting friendships. Why is this happening, and what can we do about it? Nathan Clarkson and Joseph Holmes discuss based on their own experiences and what the data says.
Friendship definition: https://www.apa.org/topics/friendship
 
Friendship decline: https://nypost.com/2025/02/24/opinion/friendship-in-america-is-in-freefall-and-its-killing-us/Loneliness in America: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2025/01/16/men-women-and-social-connections/?utm_source=chatgpt.comWebsitesThe Overthinkers: theoverthinkersjournal.worldNathan Clarkson: nathanclarkson.meJoseph Holmes: linktr.ee.com/josephholmes