Jordan Loewen-Colón traces a genealogy from Roman res nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery to today’s data economy, where platforms treat attention, behavior, and community knowledge as resources waiting to be claimed. The episode names this logic Data Nullius: a digital version of colonial erasure that converts relationships into metadata, consent into contracts, and lived experience into profit. Moving through statistics, surveillance, PageRank, GDPR, and Indigenous data sovereignty, the conversation asks what changes when data is understood not as ownerless property but as relational responsibility. OCAP principles, genomic privacy, and AI ethics point toward community control, refusal, and accountability. Rather than accepting terms of service as neutral or inevitable, the episode invites listeners to see extraction as a historical pattern and to imagine digital systems governed by consent, reciprocity, and care. It challenges scholars, technologists, and communities to replace possession with stewardship in the infrastructures shaping public life together today.

We trace how the Doctrine of Discovery moved from papal bulls to U.S. property law while centering Haudenosaunee sovereignty, Indigenous resurgence, and Charles H. Long’s call to reimagine the human. A womanist lens confronts lynching, signification, and the sacred myths that normalize domination.

In this episode Davíd Carrasco and Raymond Carr honor the legacy of Charles H. Long, a towering figure in religious studies. Carrasco recalls Long’s innovative method of starting with texts, myths, or stories to explore culture and meaning, and he highlights Long’s insistence on creation myths as the foundation for human creativity and reality. The conversation delves into Long’s critique of America’s racist history and his concept of ‘colonizer watchers’—those oppressed by colonialism who might forge a new world. Carrasco reflects on Long’s influence in Mexico and his standing as an improvisational thinker whose work resists neat categorization. Raymond Carr offers insight into managing Long’s papers, noting how the scholar refused to be confined by disciplinary boundaries. Together the guests paint a vivid picture of Long’s role as a teacher and the enduring relevance of his ideas. Listeners reflect on how Long’s vision might inform today’s struggle and scholarship.

Matthew Boedy, a professor at the University of North Georgia, discussed his book 'The Seven Mountains Mandate' on Turning Point USA (TPUSA) and its influence on Christian nationalism. TPUSA, founded by Charlie Kirk, has expanded from a college student group to a nationwide movement, with a budget of $100 million. The organization targets seven cultural institutions: education, government, religion, family, business, media, and entertainment, aiming to replace secular influences with Christian ones. Boedy highlighted TPUSA's impact on higher education, its use of rhetoric, and its significant financial backing. The conversation also touched on the historical context of Christian nationalism and its implications for democracy.