Religion

Religion

episodes

Interviews with scholars of religion about their new books.

Brook Wilensky-Lanford, "A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2026)

June 15, 2026

A God-Shaped Nation

Brook Wilensky-Lanford
Hosted by Jacob Barrett

Ever since conquistadores claimed Taino land in the name of their Catholic God and New England Puritans formed their strictly Protestant “city on a hi…

Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande, "The Politics of Islamic Ethics: Hierarchy and Human Nature in the Philosophical Tradition (Cambridge UP, 2025)

June 14, 2026

The Politics of Islamic Ethics

Raissa von Doetinchem de Rande

Fundamental to Islamic thought is the idea that there is a way that human beings simply are, by nature or creation. This concept is called fiṭra. In T…

John Longhurst, "Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? A Journalist Reports on Faith" (CMU Press, 2024)

June 14, 2026

Can Robots Love God and Be Saved?

John Longhurst
Hosted by Amisah Bakuri

One of the things that stood out in my conversation with John Longhurst about his book Can Robots Love God and Be Saved? A Journalist Reports on Faith…

Marinus De Jong, "A Church for a Secular World: The Development of Klaas Schilder's Ecclesiology" (Brill, 2025)

June 14, 2026

A Church for a Secular World

Marinus De Jong
Hosted by Michael Shaw

The relationship between the Church and the world has been a subject of debate since the Church's earliest days. In ⁠A Church for a Secular World: The…

Stephen Spector, "God and the First Families: Parenting, Trauma, and Healing in the Book of Genesis" (Jewish Publication Society, 2026)

June 12, 2026

God and the First Families

Stephen Spector
Hosted by Marc Katz

What if the book of Genesis is not only the story of humanity’s first family, but also the story of God learning how to parent? In this episode, Rabbi…

Manasicha Akepiyapornchai, "Surrender to God Across Languages: Multilingual Intellectual History of Premodern India" (Oxford UP, 2026)

June 11, 2026

Surrender to God Across Languages

Manasicha Akepiyapornchai
Hosted by Raj Balkaran

Surrender to God Across Languages: Multilingual Intellectual History of Premodern India (Oxford UP, 2026) explores the role of languages in the intell…

Islam in English

June 10, 2026

Islam in English

In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Tazin Abdullah speaks with Dr. Oludamini Oguannaike, Associate Professor of African Religious Th…

The Diasporic Hindu Right with Savera

June 8, 2026

The Diasporic Hindu Right with Savera

Prachi Patankar and Ram Vishwanathan

This episode features a conversation with Prachi and Ram, organizers with Savera, a multiracial, interfaith, anti-caste coalition of Indian Americans …

Annie Selak, "The Wounded Church: Tending to the Harm within Catholicism" (Fordham UP, 2026)

June 7, 2026

The Wounded Church

Annie Selak
Hosted by Gregory Soden

Dr. Annie Selak (she/her/hers) is an expert in feminist ecclesiology. She studies wounds in the church, or moments where the church fails to live into…

Ashok Malhotra, "Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969" (UCL Press, 2026)

June 6, 2026

Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969

Ashok Malhotra
Hosted by Crawford Gribben

⁠Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969⁠ (UCL Press, 2026) is a global history project that examines the diffusi…

Jane Kanarek, "Beyond Brutality: Reclaiming Female Presence in Bavli Sotah" (Brandeis UP, 2025)

June 6, 2026

Beyond Brutality

Jane Kanarek
Hosted by Rachel Adelman

⁠Beyond Brutality: Reclaiming Female Presence in Bavli Sotah⁠ (Brandeis University Press, 2025) draws on feminist analysis and gender studies to exami…

Bruno Shirley, “Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri Lanka" (ARC Humanities Press, 2026

June 5, 2026

Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri L - the Reconstruction of Buddhist Kingship, Ca. 1000-1215

Bruno Shirley
Hosted by Jue Liang

Dr. Shirley's monograph, Religion, Gender, and Politics in Medieval Sri Lanka: The Reconstruction of Buddhist Kingship, ca. 1070-1215, is now availabl…

S5E9 A Divine Comedy: On Hollywood, Creativity, and Religion with Rob Long

June 3, 2026

S5E9 A Divine Comedy

Rob Long
Hosted by Ryan Shinkel

Here in Episode 9 of Season 5, I interview Mr. Rob Long. A longtime Hollywood professional, he was a writer and producer for the classic sitcom Cheers…

Steven Nadler, "Spinoza, Atheist" (Princeton UP, 2026)

June 2, 2026

Spinoza, Atheist

Steven Nadler
Hosted by Abe Silberstein

In 1656, a young Amsterdam merchant was excommunicated by his Portuguese-Jewish community in the harshest terms it had ever used. Baruch Spinoza was…

Kati Curts, "Assembling Religion: The Ford Motor Company and the Transformation of Religion in America" (NYU Press, 2025)

June 2, 2026

Assembling Religion

Kati Curts
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Henry Ford did not just mass produce cars. As a member of the Episcopal Church, reader of New Thought texts, believer in the "gospel of reincarnation,…

Joanna Dee Das, "Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

May 31, 2026

Faith, Family, and Flag

Joanna Dee Das

Faith, Family, and Flag: Branson Entertainment and the Idea of America (University of Chicago Press, 2025) examines the history of Branson, Missouri…

H. A. Drake, "The Wisdom of the Ancients: Four Ideas That Changed the World" (Oxford UP, 2025)

May 28, 2026

The Wisdom of the Ancients

H. A. Drake
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

The Wisdom of the Ancients: Four Ideas That Changed the World (Oxford UP, 2025) is about four cornerstones of modern thought that were put in place by…

Frances Kneupper, "Prophecy and the Battle for Spiritual Authority, 1360–1400" (Oxford UP, 2025)

May 28, 2026

Prophecy and the Battle for Spiritual Authority, 1360–1400

Frances Courtney Kneupper
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The end of the fourteenth century was a time of upheaval and contested authority among the traditional institutions of medieval Europe. In response to…

Matthieu Felt, "Meanings of Antiquity: Myth Interpretation in Premodern Japan" (Harvard UP, 2023)

May 25, 2026

Meanings of Antiquity

Matthieu Felt
Hosted by Jingyi Li

Meanings of Antiquity: Myth Interpretation in Premodern Japan (Harvard UP, 2023) is the first dedicated study of how the oldest Japanese myths, record…

Matthew R. Crawford and Aaron P. Johnson, "Cyril of Alexandria: Against Julian: Introduction and Translation" (Cambridge UP, 2025)

May 25, 2026

Cyril of Alexandria: Against Julian

Matthew R. Crawford and Aaron P. Johnson
Hosted by Michael Motia

In 362/363 the Roman emperor Julian composed a treatise titled Against the Galileans in which he set forth his reasons for abandoning Christianity and…