On the Enchanted Politics of Marianne Williamson and Jonathan Cahn

Sam Kestenbaum is an independent religion journalist. He writes for The New York Times and is a contributing editor and former staff writer for The Forward. He spent several years working in Asia and the Middle East, where he edited a newspaper in Sana, a website in Ramallah, and a magazine in Beijing.

In recent pieces, Sam explores enchanted politics in his profiles of of Jonathan Cahn, a doomsday prophet-pastor who says the Bible predicted the presidency of Donald Trump, and Marianne Williamson’s run for the presidency in the 2020 Democratic Primary race. Sam’s two most recent long pieces, titled "#MAGA Church: The Doomsday Prophet Who says the Bible Predicted Trump,” and “The Curious Mystical Text Behind Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Bid,” are both out now in The New York Times.