Weird Religion
Brian Doak and Leah Payne
Weird Religion is a podcast for people who think religion is weird but love it anyway. Your hosts, Leah Payne and Brian Doak, are both professors, authors, and pop culture aficionados, whose interests range from archaeology and history and linguistics to LARPing and The Walking Dead. Episodes tackle some piece of media highlighting the wonderful weirdness of religious experience—a documentary, a television show, a Twitter scandal—and use that as a "thread" on which to hang reflections on a wide variety of topics. Cults. The perils of fame within the evangelical world. Church attendance. Atheism. Gamer communities. Millennials and avocado toast. It's all here.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 15, 2020 • 24min
052 THE RETREAT (the Kitsch Corner is back, with two personal accounts of a men's retreat)
What happens behind the scenes at a “men’s retreat”? Sexualized sermons and high-stakes confrontations. Two stories, here at the return of the Kitsch Corner segment. With guest Simon Trautmann. And here is the story about the drug cartel using the men's retreat classic book.
Oct 8, 2020 • 27min
051 THE GRANDPA (Grandpa Kitchen, food memories, death ritual, Orientalism)
You should totally watch the YouTube cooking show Grandpa Kitchen. Why? A sweet Indian grandpa cooks huge dishes of food for orphans. And when he dies, they make an episode of his funeral. What about this Western gaze upon the food rituals of others, though?
Sep 30, 2020 • 33min
050 THE FIANCÉ (90 Day Fiance, Biblical marriage patterns, "hot ladies" and "dumpy dudes")
In this episode we begin by discussing the hit TLC series 90 Day Fiancé and meander into topics such as Biblical marriage patterns in the book of Genesis, sexist stereotypes about the attractive lady + the less attractive guy, and how women get exoticized on the show and in real life.
Sep 24, 2020 • 34min
049 THE MILITIAS (Rick Joyner's call for new militia-based wars based on a dream)
Charismatic pastor Rick Joyner sees militias sprouting up like mushrooms in a dream and tells us we now need to go to war based on that dream
May 4, 2020 • 7min
048 THE DICTATOR (BRIAN AND LEAH DISCUSS HOT NEW CAREER FIELDS IN THE 2020S)
In which Brian suggests a rising career field for his daughters to enter, and Leah comments on how Pentecostal and charismatic churches are handling the pandemic
May 2, 2020 • 6min
047 THE COUNTERPART (LEAH SHARES A NEW FAV SHOW)
In which we discuss the Amazon TV show Counterpart, parallel universes, and so forth
May 2, 2020 • 6min
046 THE CARPET (A DREAM INVOLVING HERACLITUS)
In which Leah takes on the mantle of dream interpretation and Brian recounts a mysterious saying from Heraclitus.
May 2, 2020 • 8min
045 THE CHARACTERS (BRIAN REVEALS THAT HE HATES MOST BATTLESTAR CHARACTERS SO FAR)
In which Brian checks in on his first viewing of the TV series Battlestar Galactica and reveals views that leave Leah in total horror
Mar 17, 2020 • 5min
044 THE EXCITEMENT (THINGS ARE HAPPENING FILL YOUR LAMP WITH OIL)
In which we try to talk ourselves into feeling guilty about feeling excited about the apocalypse
Mar 17, 2020 • 5min
043 THE GROCERIES (RUSH THE STORE SCRATCH YOUR EYE)
In which we discuss a fateful encounter at the local grocery store
