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Women's History June 30, 2022

Subversive Habits

Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle

Shannen Dee Williams

Hosted by Deidre Tyler
In Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle (Duke UP, 2022), Shannen Dee Williams provides the first full history of Black Catholic nuns in the …

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Interviews with scholars of religion about their new books.

National Security June 30, 2022

Home, Land, Security

Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism

Carla Power

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
In the Pulitzer Prize finalist book Home, Land, Security: Deradicalisation and the Journey Back from Extremism (One World, 2021), Carla Power explores: what are the roots of radicalism? Journalist Carla …
General History June 30, 2022

Open Hearts, Closed Doors

Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism

Nicholas T. Pruitt

Hosted by Lane Davis
Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism (NYU Press, 2021) uncovers the largely overlooked role that liberal Protestants played in fostering cultural diversity in America …
Religion June 29, 2022

Taking ‘Religion’ Seriously

Essays on the Discursive Study of Religion

Teemu Taira

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
Teemu Taira's book Taking ‘Religion’ Seriously: Essays on the Discursive Study of Religion (Brill, 2022) demonstrates through methodological reflections and carefully chosen case studies a new way to conduct the study …
Indian Religions June 29, 2022

Krishnamacharya on Kundalini

The Origins and Coherence of His Position

Simon Atkinson

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Krishnamacharya on Kundalini: The Origins and Coherence of His Position (Equinox Publishing, 2022) explores a distinctive teaching of 'the father of modern yoga', T. Krishnamacharya. Whereas most yoga traditions teach …
On Religion June 24, 2022

On Taoism, Martial Arts, and Mad Monk Manifesto

A Discussion with Monk Yun Rou

Monk Yun Rou

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Monk Yun Rou was ordained in China as a Taoist monk in 2012. His writings and teachings propagate Taoist ideas and focus on environmental conservation, and political and social justice …
Middle Eastern Studies June 23, 2022

The Fate of Abraham

Why the West is Wrong about Islam

Peter Oborne

Hosted by James M. Dorsey
Peter Oborne’s The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is Wrong about Islam (Simon and Schuster 2022) is as much a history of US, British, and French attitudes towards Islam …
Indian Religions June 23, 2022

The Transformation of Tamil Religion

Ramalinga Swamigal and Modern Dravidian Sainthood

Srilata Raman

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Srilata Raman's book The Transformation of Tamil Religion: Ramalinga Swamigal and Modern Dravidian Sainthood (Routledge, 2022) analyses the religious ideology of a Tamil reformer and saint, Ramalinga Swamigal of the 19th …
On Religion June 23, 2022

On Plural Marriage

A Discussion with Philippa J. Meek

Philippa J. Meek

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Philippa J. Meek is a doctoral fellow at the University of Exeter. Meek researches public perceptions versus the realities of plural marriage within Fundamentalist Mormon communities. This episode gives a …
South Asian Studies June 22, 2022

Agency and Knowledge in Northeast India

The Life and Landscapes of Dreams

Michael Heneise

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
The Nagas of Northeast India gives great importance to dreams as sources of divine knowledge, especially knowledge about the future. Although British colonialism, Christian missions, and political conflict have resulted …
On Religion June 22, 2022

On the Lives of Spiritually Fluid People

A Discussion with Duane Bidwell

Duane Bidwell

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Dr. Duane Bidwell works to reduce suffering and promote abundant life in all of his teaching, writing, and research. Experiences as chaplain, pastor, spiritual director, pastoral counselor, HIV/AIDS professional, and …
Irish Studies June 21, 2022

Representing Magic in Modern Ireland

Belief, History, Culture

Andrew Sneddon

Hosted by Aidan Beatty
Andrew Sneddon is a Lecturer in International History at Ulster University. His research explores Irish witchcraft, magic and the supernatural in a comparative framework from the medieval to the modern …
On Religion June 21, 2022

On the New Age and Gnosticism

A Discussion with Mitch Horowitz

Mitch Horowitz

Hosted by Gregory Soden
Mitch Horowitz is a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library, a lecturer-in-residence at the University of Philosophical Research in Los Angeles, and the PEN Award-winning author of books including …
On Religion June 21, 2022

The Other Side of Nothing

The Zen Ethics of Time, Space, and Being

Brad Warner

Hosted by Gregory Soden
In the West, Zen Buddhism has a reputation for paradoxes that defy logic. In particular, the Buddhist concept of nonduality -- the realization that everything in the universe forms a …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel June 20, 2022

Professor of Apocalypse

The Many Lives of Jacob Taubes

Jerry Z. Muller

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
Genius or Charlatan? This is the story of Jacob Taubes, the controversial Jewish thinker whose tortured path led him into the heart of twentieth-century intellectual life Scion of a distinguished …
Nordic Asia Podcast June 20, 2022

Spirit Possession in Buddhist Southeast Asia

Worlds Ever More Enchanted

Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière and Peter A Jackson

Hosted by Terese Gagnon
What is the relationship between Spirit Possession Rituals and Buddhism in mainland Southeast Asia? How has modernity transformed Spirit Possession cults in the 21st century and what has led to …
World Christianity June 20, 2022

Telugu Christians

A History

James Elisha Taneti

Hosted by Byung Ho Choi
Telugu Christians: A History (Fortress Press, 2022) narrates the history of Telugu Christians, a faith community located in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Pondicherry in southern India. A …
Performing Arts June 20, 2022

The Secret Life of Theater

On the Nature and Function of Theatrical Representation

Brian Kulick

Hosted by Andy Boyd
Unlike many books that examine the how of making theater, Brian Kulick's The Secret Life of Theater: On the Nature and Function of Theatrical Representation (Routledge, 2019) examines the why. Using Jorge …
Critical Theory June 16, 2022

Science and Religion

A Very Short Introduction. Second Edition

Thomas Dixon and Adam Shapiro

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh
Debates about science and religion are rarely out of the news. Whether it concerns what's being taught in schools, clashes between religious values and medical recommendations, or questions about how …
Indian Religions June 16, 2022

Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism

Meditation, Metaphors and Materiality

Karen O'Brien-Kop

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism (Bloomsbury, 2021) revisits the early systemic formation of meditation practices called 'yoga' in South Asia by employing metaphor theory. Karen O'Brien-Kop also develops an alternative …