RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Theologian and Social Ethicist Gary Dorrien

From left: Theologian Gary Dorrien, Rag Radio host Thorne Dreyer, and Robert Jensen, UT-Austin journalism professor and Rag Blog contributor, in the KOOP studios, Friday, April 27, 2012 . Photo by Tracey Schulz / Rag Radio.
Rag Radio:
Theologian and social ethicist Gary Dorrien on
the social gospel and contemporary politics

By Rag Radio / The Rag Blog / May 2, 2012

Theologian and Social Ethicist Gary Dorrien, an Episcopal priest and professor at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, was Thorne Dreyer's guest on Rag Radio, Friday, April 27, 2012, on Austin community radio station KOOP 91.7-FM, and streamed live on the Internet.

Gary Dorrien has been described by Cornel West as “the preeminent social ethicist in North America today.” On Rag Radio Dorrien discussed liberal Christian theology and the social gospel in relation to contemporary politics and progressive political movements and issues of social and economic justice.

You can listen to the show here.


Dorrien, a frequent speaker and commentator on programs such as Bill Moyers’ Journal, is the author of 16 books, including Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice; Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana; Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition; and The Making of American Liberal Theology. His latest books are The Obama Question: A Progressive Perspective, and Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit: The Idealistic Logic of Modern Theology.

Dorrien was in Austin to speak on "Breaking the Oligarchy," at University United Methodist Church in Austin, keynoting a weekend gathering on economic justice and faith, April 27-29, 2012.


Rag Radio, which has aired since September 2009 on KOOP 91.7-FM, a cooperatively-run all-volunteer community radio station in Austin, Texas, features hour-long in-depth interviews and discussion about issues of progressive politics, culture, and history.

Hosted and produced by Rag Blog editor and long-time alternative journalist Thorne Dreyer, a pioneer of the Sixties underground press movement, Rag Radio is broadcast every Friday from 2-3 p.m. (CST) on KOOP and streamed live on the web. Rag Radio is also rebroadcast on Sundays at 10 a.m. (EST) on WFTE, 90.3-FM in Mt. Cobb, PA, and 105.7-FM in Scranton, PA.

Rag Radio is produced in the KOOP studios, in association with The Rag Blog, a progressive internet newsmagazine, and the New Journalism Project, a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Tracey Schulz is the show's engineer and co-producer.

After broadcast, all episodes are posted as podcasts and can be downloaded at the Internet Archive.

THIS FRIDAY, May 4, 2012 on Rag Radio: Chris Mooney, author of The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science, and Reality.

WE'RE TAKING A BREAK: Rag Radio will be on hiatus May 11 and May 18.

The Rag Blog