Best-selling author Julianna Baggott returns to the show as we explore her trippy new short story collection, I'D REALLY PREFER NOT TO BE HERE WITH YOU. Why did she return to short fiction? What has she learned from screenwriting about how ideas are forged into stories? Plus, a tour of some of our favorite stories from the collection!
Dr. Emily Friedman returns to the show. Last time (which was admittedly way too many years ago), she was an expert on the way history smells. Now she's become the premier public scholar on the burgeoning world of table top role playing games. What are her favorite hidden gems - simple enough even kids can play? And what's going on with D&D these days? Speaking of D&D, Kathy and JR. do a quick review of the new film.
Screenwriter Henry Gayden returns to the podcast to discuss his new film, SHAZAM!: Fury of the Gods. He takes us into the process of writing a superhero movie in a shared universe. How did that skittles gag happen? What about THAT cameo? And how does he balance humor, action and so much heart?
This installment of the Fascinating Book Club welcomes science-fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky to discuss his new classic space opera series CHILDREN OF TIME. Adrian talks about his writing process, where the ideas for these creatures come from and what real empathy looks like in a world where we're not actually all the same.
It's March Madness and that means it's time for our super-sized Bracketology episode! What will win in this year's annual bracket? And, for that matter, who even are the contenders?! Listen up and brace yourself for surprise match-ups and even a surprise guest! PLUS: Don't forget that YOU get to vote on the final winner!
Author S. B. Divya returns to the show to unveil her latest novel MERU. While most of her work has been near-future, MERU is a far-futuristic space opera with giant humanoid mermaid space-fairies. How does she go about crafting the far future? How does she imagine the ways humanity might evolve (or evolve ourselves)? And what does this sort of science fiction tell us about how to navigate our world today?
Your hosts review the Best Picture Nominees for the 2023 Oscars, then make predictions. Hey... you already know who won, so it's pure schadenfreude for you!
The new film COCAINE BEAR plays fast and loose with historical events for the sake of entertainment. In honor of the film, we turn to the Bible - what stories from scripture would make good (and loose) adaptations? Then, we explore how a playful attitude toward Scripture can be fruitful. So what stories did we miss?
A freak scheduling conflict has thrust our cohosts into the Quantum Realm. You know what that means - a Feral Hog update! Well... not JUST a hog update. Since time moves differently in the Quantum Realm, we spend some extra time on what's been fascinating us lately and then we end up exploring Marvel's latest film, Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania!
What's the difference between deconstruction and decolonization? Author and activist Tamice Spencer-Helms joins us to share insights from her new book FAITH UNLEAVENED. How did Tamice meet White Jesus? Why was he so detrimental to her faith? And how has she learned to walk away from him and back to the brown Palestinian liberator?
The Bachelor turns 21 this year, so we take a deep dive into the world of reality dating. Our guide is reality TV show expert Nguhi Ross, who leads us through the highs and lows of Bachelor Nation. Why does this franchise have such staying power? What is the best reality dating show to follow in its wake? And what has this done to our culture as a whole?
Heather Radke joins us to talk about, well, butts. What is a butt, exactly? Why don't we have a proper term for it? And how did she come to write a whole book about them? We do a deep dive into the Booty revolution of the 90s, including that ultimate booty song, Baby Got Back. Don't worry... this is a very serious conversation (with surprisingly few puns!).
Social Media platforms aren't agnostic; they have a particular purpose - one that's often invisible to casual users. Author Jason Pargin joins us to explore the implications of this reality. How do we trace what social media wants from us? How can we tell if we should use carefully or abandon it all together? Oh yeah, and what about Jason's latest book?
Wakanda Forever is out and the response has been... mixed. This major Marvel release tries to tackle grief head-on. How does it do? Join us as we dive deep into this film and discuss what we loved and what didn't work.
What is America's fascination with the macab? Author and professor Scott Poole returns to the show to take us into the Dark Carnivals of American Empire. And since we just had an election, we consider how our devices are haunted houses - and whether we're scared of the right things.
The US is running out of water. From Tuscon to Flint to Jacksonville, we don't have enough to drink. What does it mean that other countries are buying up our water rights? What is the role of faith in addressing this crisis? And what good does gluing ourselves to paintings do?
It's Halloween, so your Fascinating pals ruminate on what scares us, some of the best spooky movies and books for the season and more! You might want to grab a blanket and a mug of cider... thought they won't stop the chill from running down your spine!
After three kids, Carolyn Hays and her husband figured their fourth would be a piece of cake. But almost immediately, their daughter proved to be transgender. A GIRLHOOD is Carolyn's memoir of raising a transgender kid while navigating a world hostile to her very existence. We dive deep with Carolyn on everything from the insidious varieties of discrimination she and her daughter face to how she navigates her Catholic faith to her hope for her daughter's future.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Alex Shvartsman returns to the show to share his unique perspective on the conflict. Alex is Ukranian-American, and fluent in Russian, Ukranian and English. What does this war look like from the Russian side? The Ukranian? And what further surprises might be in store? PLUS: it's been 60 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis - the closest we've come to all-out nuclear war. Have we learned anything since then?
A recent deluge of new media - from A League of Their Own to She-Hulk to Little Mermaid have some folks angry that media is getting too woke. What does that even mean? And how should we be thinking about these media as we consume them?
Women have been playing basketball since the week after it was invented (literally). So why did it take a century for women to play professionally? Historian and author Andrew Maraniss takes us to the 1976 Olympics, where the US women's team created whole new possibilities for women's sports.
This month marks 65 years since the famous Little Rock Nine became the first black students to attend an all-white high school. It took the National Guard to ensure the students' safety. Did the Little Rock Nine mark the end of segregation? Unfortunately, schools are nearly as segregated today as they were in the 60s. Why? And what can we do?
Voices of Lament is a powerful collection of essays by women of color, all inspired by Psalm 37. What if there's more to life that the pursuit of happiness? What if it's good to admit we're not okay? Since Kathy has an essay in this collection, she ditches the guys and brings on editor Natasha Sistrunk Robinson and fellow contributor QuaWanna Bannarbie.
Your Fascinating Pals are back, with a new format, bigger interviews and more! We gotta start with a little catch up - what did we miss over the summer?
Your Fascinating pals are all together to wrap up a tumultuous season of podcasting! We reflect on current events and offer a few of our favorite movies, books and tv shows to get us through the summer. See you soon!
What does it mean to be 'woke'? How do we know if we're 'woke'? And why do white men keep using the term as an insult? Rohadi Nagassar joins us to explore what church looks like when it comes from the margins, not the centers.
Churches across the country chase bipartisanship, the elusive 'purple' church. But is that the Church Jesus leads? Pastor Jonny Rashid says no. He insists that Jesus takes a side, that bipartisanship isn't revolutionary at all - it maintains the status quo. Join us for this potent, provocative conversation.
Dan Merchant returns to the show to tell us about his new TV show GOING HOME. How do you make a show about death and dying... hopeful? What's the good news about death? Oh, and did we mention that our own MATT MIKALATOS is one of the writers? Listen in for this exclusive interview!
The episode you've been waiting for: we invite LGBTQ+ Christians to speak for themselves. First, Bridget Eileen Rivera - aka @thetravelingnun - joins us to explore HEAVY BURDENS: her book on how the Church harms queer people (and how we must do better). Next, Marcus Mason-Vivit joins us to talk about growing up black and queer, and what his faith looks like today.
What does a space created by black women, for black women look like? Ekemini Uwan and Dr. Christina Edmondson, 2/3 of the force behind the Truth's Table podcast and book, join us to explore how they're working to resist whiteness and misogyny by creating a space for them to flourish!
