smart grrl summer
season 1
season 2
season 4
season 3
season 6
season 5
season 7
Last season was rough, nerds — we won’t lie to you. But we’re delighted to be back and returning you to your regularly scheduled programming! This season we’re doing a miniseries on religion and adoption and offering y’all a sneak peek into our writing process for Religion Is Not Done With You. We’ve got even more on deck for spring 2025, so stay tuned!
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4 September 2024
E701 shownotesDid you miss us? We missed you!
Life, as y'all know, uh... finds a way. But we have beaten life back long enough to bring you this update on the pod and what we have scheduled for this, our SEVENTH season!!
Look out for our first-ever book club (Jane Steele, by Lyndsay Faye), two miniseries (one on religion and adoption, one on how we wrote our forthcoming book, Religion Is Not Done With You), plus some one-off So Glad You Asked-style responses to listener questions about things like religion & tattoos AND a sneak peek into Megan's research on #CultsInc and the MOVE bombing.
It's all happening, nerds. Welcome back!
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18 September 2024
E702 ShownotesWelcome to our first ever book club episode, nerds! This one has it all: misandry, murder, and...martial religions?
Join us for a very wide-ranging chat about Lyndsay Faye's Jane Steele (and also our own research, because you know academics just can't help themselves). -
2 October 2024
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16 October 2024
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30 October 2024
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5 November 2024
In which we use our voices to say thank you to all the folks who made this book possible
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13 November 2024
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27 November 2024
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11 December 2025
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25 December 2024
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Tune in this spring to hear episodes on topics like religion & tattoos, a sneak peak at Megan's ongoing research for #CultsInc, an interview with Dr. Kaya Oakes, maybe a movie night?
Who knows, nerds. Anything can happen on this here pod.
season 6
We kicked off our first season on the Sustain stream of the Amplify Podcast Network! Plus we revisited some of our greatest hits and a few episodes we think deserve another listen. BONUS: our first in-person live episode, courtesy of the religion nerds at Miami University of Ohio.
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Back back back back back again, nerds! And giving you a quick rundown on what you can expect in this, the SIXTH season of the pod.
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20 September 2023
E202 ShownotesIn which we revisit one of our favorite episodes tackling a crucial concept — the overlapping experiences of oppression and privilege that make up our systems and ourselves.
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4 October 2023
SGS #2 ShownotesIn which we wish this topic would stop being so dingdang pertinent.
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In which Megan’s script got us (mostly Ilyse) into a whole mess of bother, and which we still said what we said: imperialism is baked into Christianity’s earliest sacred texts.
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In which Dr. Andrew Aghapour helps us learn about how religion is on display in museums.
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It is November, RELI nerds! And too many of you know what that means.
That's right: the American Academy of Religion's annual national meeting is once again upon us, just in time for price-gouging airfare and pre-Thanksgiving travel mayhem.
But it also means Megan and Ilyse are going to be at AAR together for the first time since 2019!!! And we're celebrating this momentous occasion by convening our first ever Keeping It 101 OFFICE HOURS.
Last season's awesome interns made us awesome stickers and other awesome swag, and all of it is yours for the showing up and asking. Let's all gaze upon one another's weary, beautiful faces and be glad we're still here.
We'll be on the patio of the Marriott San Antonio Rivercenter from 3-4pm CST on Saturday, 18 November.
Come through! -
15 November 2023
E410 ShownotesThat's right -- there's STILL more to know about the world's second largest religion! Dr. Debra Majeed lends us her insight into Islam, gender, and agency.
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WHAT A PREDICAMENT this year has been, nerds! 2023 was in many ways, uh, not our fave.
But we thought it would be good to end this chronological rollercoaster on a high note, so:
You are cordially invited to join us for a cozy winter Gothic misandrist queer murder book club moment! We're reading Lyndsay Faye's delightfully dark Jane Steele, and we think you should, too.
We'll be back at the end of January to chat about the novel. In the meantime, hit us up on social media with comments or questions so we can feature y'all on the pod! Pick up a copy at your local library or independent bookstore, as Levar Burton intended.(Ron Howard voice: we did NOT come back to talk about this book in January 2024. Episode drops 18 September 2024.
Whoopsiedoodle!)
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In which we chat with our new bestie at the Amplify Podcast Network, Stacey Copeland, about podcasting, public scholarship, and why killing joy is the best way to have joy come back bigger, stronger, and more vibrant than ever.
Be sure to check out all the other cool conversations Stacey is having with our fellow nerds for the audio blog series Amplified! -
In which we are delighted to talk to the wonderful humans of Miami University Ohio about the ways calendars smuggle white christian supremacy into our everyday lives.
Recorded 2 April 2024
season 5
Season 5 was all about answering your questions, nerds! We tackled religion and food, monsters, disability, the Easter bunny, calendars, and more! We also tried to gently but firmly shift hearts & minds on misconceptions about reproductive justice, “drinking the Kool-aid,” jihad, fandoms, sports, and yoga. Plus we gave you a chat with pod bestie Hannah McGregor about their latest book, sneak peeks into what Ilyse and Megan were reading/watching/thinking, and an intern takeover.
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We’re back, dear nerds. New season, new funding, new formats. And we’ve got some explaining—and kicking off—to do.
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14 September 2022
E702 ShownotesThis is our first INCORRECT episode, where we kindly but firmly insist that religion does more and different work than you might think that it does. In this one, we challenge some basic assumptions about religion and reproductive justice.
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In which pod inspiration, icon, and aspirational bestie Dr. Hannah McGregor (that's Associate Professor Dr. Hannah McGregor to you, nerds) chats with us about her just published meditations on care, community, and learning: A Sentimental Education
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28 September 2024
E503 ShownotesThis is the first SO GLAD YOU ASKED episode. We got a LOT of requests for this one! So today we can’t cite just one nerd, but we’re here to answer the question: “Religion and food: what’s THAT all about?”
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Nerds, nerd, nerds. This is a doozy of an episode, in which we (mostly Megan) tell us why saying “drinking the kool-aid” is so totally not a funny pop culture joke about being brainwashed but is instead utterly about race, religion, gender, and anti-Blackness. Saying it after you know more? Deeply INCORRECT.
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It’s spooky season, nerds, and we’re so glad you asked us about supposedly secular monsters, scary stories, ghouls and goblins. Shocking no one, we tell you that monsters are rarely just secular specters, and things that go bump in the night are often tied to religious imperialism.
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In which we (mostly Ilyse) yell about how it is possible lo these many years after 9/11/01 to still be so darn INCORRECT about jihad.
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23 November 2022
E507 ShownotesMegan & Ilyse have talked about chronic illness and disability in passing and in the gone-but-always-in-our-hearts Primary Sources segment, and we’re here to answer a question about how disability works with religion (and how disability studies fits within religious studies).
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Is this an episode that will live in infamy? Perhaps, because in it Ilyse rails against the notion that fandoms can’t possibly be religious by talking Star Wars. May the force be with you, nerds, because the anger in this INCORRECT is so very real.
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21 December 2022
E509 ShownotesWe’re SO GLAD YOU ASKED us why we study religion, why we do this podcast, why we care so much, and why we have alienated a good deal of our family, friends, and pets because we just can’t stop won’t stop talking religion.
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In which we (mostly Ilyse) yell about how it is possible to be so very INCORRECT about women choosing to get dressed in the morning.
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So many nerds wanted to know if religion was inherently bad, or inherently good, or the cause of wars, or the cause of abuse, or the cause of violence, or the cure to violence, or the reason for any number of problems, atrocities, and hardships. We decided to blend those into one question-smoothie and talk about whether or not religion is dangerous.
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Lots of people do not care about sports, including Megan. But Ilyse is here to tell Megan that not-caring about sports is INCORRECT, since sports gives us a window into thinking about religion.
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22 February 2023
E513 ShownotesNerds, you’ve asked what we are consuming and what we are teaching, and we’ve got answers.
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We’ve talked yoga before but since it keeps coming up—on the news, in our classrooms, with our friends—we’re talking about it again. Folks are still INCORRECT when we talk about yoga, when we talk about appropriation, and when we talk about how yoga is and is not appropriated.
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Strictly speaking, none of you asked about the Easter Bunny. A lot of you did, however, ask how Pagan rituals got appropriated into Christian mainstream holidays and, in turn, became global secular phenomenon. We unpack all of that (and Ilyse loses her composure epically) in this very special episode.
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This season, KI101 has had help from three—3!—incredible interns, Juliana Finch (sound design), Evie Wolfe (accessibility) and Rachel Zieff (social media). They’re on the mics this episode, talking public humanities, religion, and teamwork.
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More nerds than we can count asked why Ilyse is obsessed with calendars, so we distilled that into: are calendars neutral? They aren’t. End of episode?
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After another year-long season, we wrap it up, talk about what’s next, & offer some highlights and reflections. Probably swears, too.
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100k downloads? what is HAPPENING?!?!!!?
You are, nerds, and we appreciate you so much. Thanks for listening. -
In which we chat with the hosts of EnGender Conversations about podcasting, public scholarship, and why academic friendship is magic
Season 5 was jam-packed full of goodies, in large part because support from a UVM REACH grant and AAR/Luce Advancing Public Scholarship grant allowed us to pay three amazing junior scholars to lend us their talents. Evie Wolfe (left) was our 2022-2023 transcription, website, and digital research assistant.
Rachel Zieff (center) was our 2022-2023 social media research assistant. And Juliana Finch (right) was our 2022-2023 audio designer and intern. We couldn’t have done this without them!
season 4
This season was a DOOZY, nerds. We went the whole wide world just to find you experts on many, many religious traditions — and hopefully taught you a thing or two about why “world religions” and “major and minor religions” are a big old problem. This season was also an AWARD WINNER, Y’ALL! The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) honored us with an Award of Merit for our work on this series. It’s good to be the hosts!
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Back back back back back again, nerds! And giving you a quick rundown on what you can expect in this, the FOURTH season of the pod.
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29 September 2022
E402 ShownotesWell, you don’t. But luckily Drs. Fadeke Castor and Akissi Britton do, and they’re here to help us learn more.
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In which we wish this topic would stop being so dingdang pertinent.
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Learning more about Native religion(s) in what’s now the United States, with the assistance of Dr. Abel Gomez.
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10 November 2021
E405 ShownotesWe are, too! But Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is going to share his wisdom with us.
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24 November 2021
E406 ShownotesA lot, is what. So very much. Dr. Arun Brahmbhatt helps us on a quick tour through the history of Hinduism(s).
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How are contemporary Hindus making sense of their history? Drs. Shreena Niketa Gandhi and Dheepa Sundaram walk us through the complicated and multiple ways lived Hinduism manifests.
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22 December 2021
E408 ShownotesThinking about religion and law in the People’s Republic of China helps us see how the World Religion’s Paradigm shapes our world — even in an officially secular state.
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Being a live recording of our conversation with Dr. Jenny Wiley Legath for the Center for Culture, Society, and Religion at Princeton University. Thanks to Jenny, CCSR Director Jonathan Gold, and all the amazing folks at Princeton for having us!
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And honestly, there's so much to know! Luckily Drs. Hussein Rashid and Kristian Petersen are here to share their expertise with us.
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16 February 2022
E410 ShownotesThis time we’re learning about the ways the World Religions Paradigm (boo hiss) perpetuates anti-Black racism and obscures Black Muslims — and hearing from Dr. Debra Majeed about African American Muslim women in polygynous marriages.
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There is so, so much more to Christianity beyond the white U.S. mainstream you can’t help but hear about — and Dr. Jorge J. Rodríguez is here to teach us about it.
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What else can we say, nerds?
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All IRMF has ever wanted was to live up to the example set by the inimitable Mr. Melvin James Kaminsky. Now’s her chance. Plus Dr. Shari Rabin shares her expertise on American Judaism and its complicated relationship with whiteness.
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Let’s talk about the history and reach of one of the world’s largest religions (and why we think about it as a religion at all), featuring the expertise of Dr. Dixuan Yujing Chen.
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We’re still working on letting go of desire — and we’ll never stop wanting to learn about Buddhism in Thailand with Dr. Tom Borchert.
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Freddie is our forever champions, but there’s so much more to know about the world’s oldest monotheism. Fulbright scholar and photographer Kainaz Amaria shares her experiences documenting the Parsi community of Mumbai.
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Field trip! Let’s see what the World Religions Paradigm looks like when we talk curating religion with Dr. Andrew Aghapour.
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We’ve been around the world and boy are our arms tired. What did we learn this year, nerds?
Season 4 was made possible in part through a UVM Humanities Center Public Humanities Fellowship, which us allowed us to bring Alex Castellano on as Keeping It 101’s Digital Intern and Transcriber for 2021-2022.
season 3
In Season 3 we talked to our smart friends about subjects beyond our areas of expertise. Tune in to learn more about public scholarship and representation, white evangelical racism, and early Christianity and imperialism. Also jinn.
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In which Ilyse and Megan provide a quick refresher on what we covered in seasons 1& 2 and set up the new format for season 3: intros to public scholarship, white evangelical racism in what's now the US, why early Christianity is way more complicated (and interesting!) than you might know, and why the study of Islam can, should, and does include djinns, magic, and astrology.
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In which we talk about why it's important for minoritized scholars to share what they know with the public, why it can be daunting and exhausting and dangerous to do so, and why we're so excited for writer/teacher/scholar/activist Dr. Simran Jeet Singh to join us next time.
Storytime: Sucharov, Public Influence -
10 February 2021
E303 ShownotesGuest lecture chat with Prof. Simran Jeet Singh, author of oh so many things, but most recently Fauja Singh Keeps Going, which both NPR and the New York Public Library listed as a top 2020 title.
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24 February 2021
E304 ShownotesIn which we (mostly Megan) quickly survey the long and sordid history of white supremacy, American politics, and evangelicalism in what’s now the US.
Keywords: racism, white supremacy, evangelicalism
Storytime: Baldwin, from "Letter from a Region in My Mind" -
Guest lecture chat with Prof. Anthea Butler, possibly the public face of why you need to care about religion in the US? Most recently the author of White Evangelical Racism(UNC 2021).
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In which we (mostly Megan) walk you through three things you maybe don't know about early Christianity:
Christianity was kind of a mistake
The New Testament is a messy bitch
Christianity = imperialism
Keywords: BCE/CE, gospels, apocrypha, canon, epistles
Storytime: Becket, Waiting for Godot -
Can you believe it's been a full freaking year of this mess? Ilyse and Megan do a quick round-up of how religious communities are responding to global crisis AND are re-joined by a very special guest.
Homework: still no, because still having a freaking pandemic. But maybe check out Love Island UK if you need a trashy distraction. -
Neither of us are professionally or confessionally equipped to answer this question, so we’re bringing in Prof. Shaily Patel, Assistant Professor of Early Christianity at Virginia Tech and baller scholar of magic & religion.
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We (mostly Ilyse) show you why there’s way more to know about Islam and Muslims than the life of the Prophet or the latest travel ban.
Keywords: Qur'an, exegesis, hadith, sunnah, shariah
Storytime: from Shahab Ahmed's What is Islam? -
Guest lecture chat with Prof. Ali Olomi, reigning king of Wednesdays, the smart+fun twitter thread, and host of the Head On History Podcast.
Keyword: jinn (duh)
Homework: Routledge Companion to the Qur'an, eds. George Archer, Maria M. Dakake, and Daniel A. Madigan (2022) -
What have we learned this semester? Why did so many smart folks agree to talk to us about so many interesting topics? What happens next? You’ll have to tune in to find out, nerds!
Homework: Go walk some children in nature. Don't forget your sunscreen! -
“Public Humanities, Public Jokes: An Interview with the Killjoys Behind Hit Religion Podcast 'Keeping it 101'” (11 March 2021)
Being a live recording of our conversation with Dr. J. Barton Scott for the Department of the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. Thanks to Bart and all the amazing folks at UT for having us! Watch the video recording of the event here.
Season 3 was made possible in part through a 2020 NEHC Seed Grant, which allowed us to bring Katherine Brennan on as our Digital Intern and Transcriber for 2020-21.
season 2
The season in which we tried to cover race, gender/sexuality, and religion in one fell swoop! Plus we gave you an extra credit interview with pod (and life, tbh) goals scholar Dr. Judith Weisenfeld.
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2 September 2020
E201 ShownotesIn which we are BACK, our Chili Babies! And bringing you a whole new season looking at the intersection(s) of religion, race, gender, and sexuality.
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In which we urge you to join us in using what we have to strike at racism: strike it down, strike at it, strike against it.
Join us in a #ScholarStrike on September 8th and 9th, 2020
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16 September 2020
E202 ShownotesIn which we build upon the work of Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw to think about how race-, gender-, and sexuality-based oppressions overlap and inform how our understandings of religion
Keywords: intersectionality, womanism, discrimination, oppression
Storytime: Audre Lorde, "An Open Letter to Mary Daly" -
30 September 2020
E203 ShownotesIn which we shock and/or awe you with the ways Americans built race out of religion (also violence -- you know how we do)
Keyword: orientalism
Storytime: Abdul Khabeer, Muslim Cool -
In which Ilyse helps us think about the racialization of Muslims and why racialization of religions in not-the-US is both similar to and different from the American kind
Storytime: Aydin, The Idea of the Muslim World -
In which we offer you a collage of historical examples about non-men doing religion and insist that all the people who do religion have gender
Keywords: patriarchy, exegesis
Storytime: Bynum, from Gender and Religion -
11 November 2020
E206 ShownotesAll aboard the Global Religion+Gender+Sexuality Are Complicated and Historically, Geographically, and Culturally Contingent Express! (We leaned hard into the train jokes for this episode.)
Storytime: Mahmood, from Politics of Piety -
25 November 2020
E207 ShownotesIn which Megan and Ilyse fangirl out at Prof. Weisenfeld, who generously shares her 101 on race, religion, and why historians ARE theorists (even when they think "theory" is some nonsense talk).
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In which we review this season's big take-away lessons, reflect on what's working and how we can improve, and get our collective Grinch on.
Homework: have fun!
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Friend of the pod and OG Religion Nerd podcaster Prof. Kristian Petersen made us this incredibly thoughtful compilation of "course evaluations" of the pod!
OUR EMOTIONS, Y'ALL
OUR EMOTIONS
Thanks to Prof. Petersen for pulling together and producing this episode, and to Profs. Alyssa Maldonado-Estrada, Tara Baldrick-Morrone, Richard Newton, Candace Mixon, Shobhana Xavier, Greg Soden, Molly Bassett, Diana Murtaugh Coleman, Simran Jeet Singh, and Shreena Niketa Gandhi for their generous contributions.
Keywords: course evaluations; intersectionality
Homework: if you're not already following KP on the tweeters, he's at @babakristian; get on it. And check out New Books in Religion and New Books in Islamic Studies, for real.
smart grrl summer
Because our idea of fun and relaxation includes learning about cool new stuff. We are who we are, okay?
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In which Megan yells about how the word "cult" gets used to discourage and police radical religious innovation while Ilyse tries to get a word in edgewise.
Storytime: JZ Smith, from Imagining Religion
Homework: Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. But go read them outside -- it's summer!! -
In which Ilyse yells about nationalism and religion and why religion and politics are never really separate, whilst Megan agrees emphatically and consumes a bubbly beverage.
Keywords: nationalism (especially religious nationalism); election
Storytime: we skipped it! it's summer
Homework: Ramaswamy's The Goddess and the Nation; Baker's The Gospel According to the Klan; and a bunch of other stuff -- come on, you know how we are. -
In which Dr. Vicki Brennan blows our tiny little minds by teaching us what we miss when we don't listen hard to religion.
Keywords: soundscape; acoustemology
Homework: Brennan, Singing Yoruba Christianity -
In which Megan yells about Not Without My Daughter and why we should care about how American pop culture shapes our understanding of religion, whilst Ilyse tries to keep her from citing All The Things.
season 1
The season that started it all! (And boy, does it ever sound gutter punk.) Giving you why you need to care about religion even if you aren’t religious yourself since January 2020 — plus an extra credit interview with pod bestie Dr. omid safi.
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Our very first episode! In which we talk about what the heck religion is, why you should know more about it, and why it's probably more complicated than you think.
Keywords: prescriptive; descriptive; creedal; votive
Storytime: Bellah, from Habits of the Heart
Homework: Nye, Religion: The Basics; Martel, Life of Pi; Walker, The Color Purple -
n this episode, we talked about the limits of religion—who gets left out, what counts, and what law has to do with it. Cases include Satanic Temple, Sikh traditions, and calendars.
Keywords: disestablishment; free exercise
Show & tell: the Satanic Temple's statue of Baphomet
Homework: Sullivan's Impossibility of Religious Freedom; Barringer Gordon's Mormon Question; Cusack's Invented Religions PLUS the documentary Hail Satan? AND Ilyse has some resources for more inclusive school calendars -- check out our show notes for more info! -
12 February 2020
E103 ShownotesIn which we discuss the imperialist history of "religion," and ask why it's so major that some religions get minoritized.
Keywords: imperialism; minoritization; structural/epistemic violence
Storytime: JZ Smith, "Religion Is Not a Native Category"
Homework: Tomoko Masuzawa's Invention of World Religions, plus Ilyse and Megan have both written shorter pieces on this topic. -
26 February 2020
E104 ShownotesIn which we talk about WHY we're still talking about "major," "minor," or "world" religions -- because despite those models being racist and imperialist and white supremacist, "religion" can also help minoritized religion access rights and legal protections.
Keywords: Native/Indigenous religions; social construct; agency
Storytime: Wenger, "We Are Guaranteed Freedom"
Homework: Dunbar-Ortiz, Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States; Denison, Ute Land Religion in the American West; Wenger, We Have a Religion; Lewis, Sovereign Entrepreneurs; King, The Truth about Stories; research #NoDAPL, Mauna Kea, and the Wet’suwet’en; read Debbie Reese on land acknowledgements; and find out who's land you're on -
In which we think about how personal religious commitments and practices get mediated by the state, why and how millions of Muslims make pilgrimage to Mecca every year, why the Archdiocese of Philadelphia thinks Megan is still Catholic, and why tiny Ilyse tortured her siblings with rice during Pesach.
Keywords: religious; hajj; hagiography
Storytime: Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice
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In which we give you a quick (okay, it's not that quick) rundown on where we're at in this challenging time, what religious communities are doing to respond to the crisis, and how COVID-19 helps us think about our own religiosity.
This episode was featured on BBC Radio 4’s “Easter Celebration in Isolation,” with Amanda Litherland and Sophia Smith Galer!
PLUS very special guest host joins us in the studio to talk about how she's responding to the Coronavirus in her community.
Homework: NOPE. It's a pandemic. Read or watch something fun and distracting! We have lots of recommendations in the shownotes. -
In which we discuss who gets to choose their religious belonging, why "spiritual but not religious" gives us the agita, and how—even if you're not religious—religion is lurking under your floorboards.
Keywords: voluntarism, racialization, secular/ism, perennialism
Storytime: Jakobsen and Pellegrini, Love the Sin
Homework: LOTS, so check out the shownotes. But be sure to look for Patti Miller's Good Catholics even if you skip everything else. -
In which we chat with our dear friend and scholar-goals icon Prof. Omid Safi, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University.
Homework: Radical Love, "Sufi Heart," and MLK's Riverside Church speech
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In which we spill the T on "Drag Race," the prosperity gospel of RuPaul Andre Charles, and why queerness and religion aren't mutually exclusive.
Not a Race Chaser? Definitely check out the show notes for this episode - we have a bunch of images and videos to help you follow along. And after all, if you're not gagging over the lewks these queens are serving, you're only getting half the story, squirrelfriend.DinoZaddy Jeff Goldblum brought Islamophobia to the runway lit’rally two days after we released this episode. Don’t worry: we read him to filth.
Keywords: queer/ness, ball culture
Homework: it's our longest episode this season! So you know we assigned way too much. Start with Drew Konow's "Contouring for Christ" and Melissa Wilcox's Queer Nuns.
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In which we review what we've learned and what we hope you've learned, dear listeners, in this, our very first season/semester of Keeping It 101.
Storytime: Sylvester Johnson, African American Religions 1500-2000
Homework: NAH, it's summer break! But we did make some recommendations for religion-related funtime readings.