Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and the Shia school of thought may be its fastest-growing segment. Tonight we talk to two white American converts to Shia Islam—one ethnically Italian, one ethnically Jewish—plus an Italian-American dairy goat farmer who hasn’t converted to Shiism…yet. (Disclaimer: I haven’t either. I’m just a plain ole Muslim.)

First half hour: Charles Messina is an Italian-American Shia Muslim. He wrote me: “Salaam Dr. Kevin, I have been very busy on the [NYC] subway talking about Islam, Iran, & the great General Soleimani, and I want to let the American people know how dumbed down they really are-! You won’t believe some of the drama I have been through, and also how most believe Iran is Great for standing up to the Dictator in Chief Trump-!”

Second half hour: Tom Luongo runs the Gold Goats ‘n’ Guns blog—one of the best things on the internet. Material discussed in his terrific article Does Gangster-nomics Meet its End in the Iraqi Desert? is extensively cited in Whitney Webb’s recent exposé of what was really behind Trump’s murder of Gen. Soleimani.

(Part 2 will feature Andrew Israel, who reverted to Shia Islam from Judaism last Ramadan.)