Bishop William Barber’s New Podcast Takes on the 2026 Midterms
Bishop William J. Barber is taking his message of liberation and justice to the podcast world in the run up to the midterm elections.
Barber, a renowned civil rights leader, Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, and the founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy, will launch his new podcast series Monday.
“The Repairer’s Brief: Facts and Focus to Empower the Fight for a Third Reconstruction,” the first episode in the series, titled “More Than An Affordability Crisis,” will air live at 7:00 PM ET on Substack and YouTube.
On “More Than An Affordability Crisis,” Barber will break down the staggering costs of the war in Iran while urging listeners to connect rising prices and military budgets to systemic poverty. As congressional policy continues to push families off healthcare coverage, Elaina Hurley, a West Virginia organizer, will be the featured guest on the show to share how she is mobilizing her community to fight back.
Barber said the podcast is designed for religious, moral, and grassroots organizers committed to countering religious nationalism in America. The series will address critical systemic issues, including economic inequality, racism, environmental destruction, healthcare disparities, and military spending.
“The rich and powerful have sold us a bill of goods,” Barber said in a statement. “They keep telling us that we can afford to give billionaires bigger tax cuts and spend obscene piles of money on an immoral war in Iran, but we can’t afford to make sure American families have healthcare, an honest wage, a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. More importantly, they tell us that we have to swallow it.”
In partnership with the Institute for Policy Studies and The Save America Movement, Barber also said that he hopes listeners will “take direct action to register and vote in a system that was designed to silence their voice.”
“But it’s not enough to just call out that lie. We have to give people the tools we need to stand up to this policy violence and make moral change a reality,” Barber added. “That’s what The Repairer’s Brief is all about. It’s not just a podcast. It’s a call to action.”
Along with the new podcast, Barber has been leading “Moral Mondays” protests to Washington, D.C. since June. Each Monday, clergy gather outside the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Capitol, as a “visible public witness.” At the demonstration last Monday, Barber, along with several other faith leaders were arrested in the Hart Senate Office Building.
Speaking with The Root, Barber said the demonstrations are more vital than ever in the current political landscape.
“Every piece of policy violence has a death measure. War has a death measurement. For every 500,000 people that are denied health care, 2500 people die,” said Barber. “Denial of voting rights, denial of health care, denial of climate change, it has a death measurement.”
