Rachel Wagner
@drrachelwagner.bsky.social
Author, Cowboy Apocalypse (2025) and Godwired (2012). Prof of Religious Studies @ Ithaca College, mom & caregiver, disgruntled idealist, loud introvert. Religion, gaming, politics, media, film. #cowboyapocalypse
https://tinyurl.com/CowboyApocalypse
https://tinyurl.com/CowboyApocalypse
Pinned
Here's a code for 30% off my book, releasing in February. Want to understand more about the relationship between guns, media, and apocalypticism in America? I spent 10 years thinking about it. Review for a journal or a podcast or a news outlet? Let me know and I can probably get you a free copy.
Out now! I’m up for writing short pieces for outlets, interviews, whatever helps people get the info. There’s a whole chapter on guns (13 ways of looking at a gun).
“Almost everything serious is difficult, and everything is serious.” ~Rilke
November 28, 2025 at 1:21 AM
“Almost everything serious is difficult, and everything is serious.” ~Rilke
When it’s gorgeous out but all you can think about is the grading you haven’t yet done
November 28, 2025 at 12:41 AM
When it’s gorgeous out but all you can think about is the grading you haven’t yet done
What would it mean to have a new beginning now? If we, worn thin and hungering, could drop it all and start afresh? I mean: Could we remember how to love?
November 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
What would it mean to have a new beginning now? If we, worn thin and hungering, could drop it all and start afresh? I mean: Could we remember how to love?
Beautiful.
They did it again! NYC subway Thanksgiving 2025, via @scootercaster.com!
November 27, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Beautiful.
Reposted by Rachel Wagner
Happy Thanksgiving
November 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Happy Thanksgiving
It’s only a “lone wolf” when it’s a single raving white man. Otherwise it’s part of a concerted effort to invade America.
Read my book?
Read my book?
November 27, 2025 at 5:08 PM
It’s only a “lone wolf” when it’s a single raving white man. Otherwise it’s part of a concerted effort to invade America.
Read my book?
Read my book?
There’s a political pun waiting to be made for those who play along with Trump’s rude shenanigans. Piggybacking.
November 27, 2025 at 3:39 PM
There’s a political pun waiting to be made for those who play along with Trump’s rude shenanigans. Piggybacking.
I’m late to awareness about this GOP attack on higher ed and especially the humanities. If your program’s grads don’t quickly make more than people who don’t go to college your program/field loses capacity to offer student loans. Shortsighted and problematic.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
How Senate Republicans Want to Hold Colleges Accountable
The proposed plan would cut some programs off from federal loans if their students don't earn more than an adult with a high school diploma. It's higher ed lobbyists' preferred option.
www.insidehighered.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I’m late to awareness about this GOP attack on higher ed and especially the humanities. If your program’s grads don’t quickly make more than people who don’t go to college your program/field loses capacity to offer student loans. Shortsighted and problematic.
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Reposted by Rachel Wagner
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
“Brazil just succeeded where America failed. Bringing a former president who assaulted democracy to justice.”
‘Apocalypse In The Tropics’ Director Petra Costa On Bolsonaro Arrest, Investigation Into Christian Nationalist Pastor In Her Oscar-Contending Film
The arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s capital is making headlines worldwide, and thrusting an Oscar-contending film into the spotlight. Federal police took Bolsonaro into custody o...
uk.news.yahoo.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:14 PM
“Brazil just succeeded where America failed. Bringing a former president who assaulted democracy to justice.”
I’m in Boston at the American Academy of Religion! If you want a copy of my paper—“From Noise to Signal: The Devilish Controversies of Angel Studios”—send me your email.
November 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I’m in Boston at the American Academy of Religion! If you want a copy of my paper—“From Noise to Signal: The Devilish Controversies of Angel Studios”—send me your email.
A.I. ain’t ever going to tell me who I am or what I want. That’s up to me. So I better be real careful in my education, so I have the information I need to figure out who I am.
November 20, 2025 at 11:04 PM
A.I. ain’t ever going to tell me who I am or what I want. That’s up to me. So I better be real careful in my education, so I have the information I need to figure out who I am.
The more you write, the more what you write aligns with what you say. The more you write, the more you know what you want to say. The more you write, the more you can say exactly what you want to say.
November 20, 2025 at 10:57 PM
The more you write, the more what you write aligns with what you say. The more you write, the more you know what you want to say. The more you write, the more you can say exactly what you want to say.
You’ll be thrilled to hear that I managed to use the phrase “poopy butts” in my AAR conference paper on American media and evangelicalism.
November 19, 2025 at 1:58 PM
You’ll be thrilled to hear that I managed to use the phrase “poopy butts” in my AAR conference paper on American media and evangelicalism.
My job is so weird. “I’m on a tight schedule to get my paper about evangelical streaming services, MAGA child trafficking stings, and anti-woke media titans done and out the door.”
November 18, 2025 at 11:09 PM
My job is so weird. “I’m on a tight schedule to get my paper about evangelical streaming services, MAGA child trafficking stings, and anti-woke media titans done and out the door.”
If I manage things right, I may get to use the phrase “poopy butts” in my conference presentation at AAR (American Academy of Religion).
November 15, 2025 at 9:43 PM
If I manage things right, I may get to use the phrase “poopy butts” in my conference presentation at AAR (American Academy of Religion).
Reposted by Rachel Wagner
I’m heartbroken to hear our warrior Alice Wong @sfdirewolf.bsky.social has passed. She was so important to me & welcoming of me. This is the great loss of a true fighter. May she rise to power as an ancestor, may we never forget her lessons & continue her work for disability justice.
November 15, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I’m heartbroken to hear our warrior Alice Wong @sfdirewolf.bsky.social has passed. She was so important to me & welcoming of me. This is the great loss of a true fighter. May she rise to power as an ancestor, may we never forget her lessons & continue her work for disability justice.
Don’t you want “Crutch Jesus Blue?” Jesus Squishmallow. I kind of *do* want him, despite his anemic complexion.
November 14, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Don’t you want “Crutch Jesus Blue?” Jesus Squishmallow. I kind of *do* want him, despite his anemic complexion.
Rated X, extremely abhorrent.
We live in a sick country that would elect a misogynist monster like this just to maintain the last gasps of white supremacy.
We live in a sick country that would elect a misogynist monster like this just to maintain the last gasps of white supremacy.
Complaint - (Discovery) – #1 in Katie Johnson v. Donald J. Trump (C.D. Cal., 5:16-cv-00797) – CourtListener.com
COMPLAINT against defendants Jeffrey E. Epstein, Donald J. Trump. Case assigned to Judge Dolly M. Gee for all further proceedings. Discovery referred to Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson, filed by P...
www.courtlistener.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Rated X, extremely abhorrent.
We live in a sick country that would elect a misogynist monster like this just to maintain the last gasps of white supremacy.
We live in a sick country that would elect a misogynist monster like this just to maintain the last gasps of white supremacy.
"Justice is what love looks like in public." This video made me cry.
What Happens When a Queer Muslim Meets a Lesbian Reverend?
YouTube video by PBS Voices
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:13 PM
"Justice is what love looks like in public." This video made me cry.
I hadn't read this muck before. 1. The executive order for "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling" and 2. an ICE recruiting webpage. 3. Duties of an ICE officer.
November 13, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I hadn't read this muck before. 1. The executive order for "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling" and 2. an ICE recruiting webpage. 3. Duties of an ICE officer.
Have you seen how the government is recruiting for ICE? "America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out." I write in Cowboy Apocalypse about how the story of "hordes" of invaders is a very old one in American mythology.
November 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Have you seen how the government is recruiting for ICE? "America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out." I write in Cowboy Apocalypse about how the story of "hordes" of invaders is a very old one in American mythology.
So disappointed.
November 12, 2025 at 5:46 PM
So disappointed.
Almost 20 million dollars has poured in for Erika Kirk via the Christian fundraiser site GiveSendGo. How did I find out? Tracing funding for Eric Metaxas' "Letter to the American Church," based on his Bonhoeffer book, where he remakes Bonhoeffer in his own image.
www.givesendgo.com/blog/Charlie...
www.givesendgo.com/blog/Charlie...
GiveSendGo - When a Nation Unites to Share Hope
A little over a week ago, our nation was shaken by the sudden and tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk. The grief has been heavy and overwhelming. Yet from this
www.givesendgo.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Almost 20 million dollars has poured in for Erika Kirk via the Christian fundraiser site GiveSendGo. How did I find out? Tracing funding for Eric Metaxas' "Letter to the American Church," based on his Bonhoeffer book, where he remakes Bonhoeffer in his own image.
www.givesendgo.com/blog/Charlie...
www.givesendgo.com/blog/Charlie...