Face in Hat

About Face in Hat

LDS Miscellany through a Berkeley Lens

Publisher

Aaron Brewster & Eric Jepson

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Nov 2018

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

77 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Episode 7.14 Dr. Ben Park

   We got to welcome Dr. Benjamin Park, author of American Zion, onto our show!  We greatly enjoyed having him on, and got to talk about being an historian, what it’s like to get access to the oldest of church records, what makes American Zion different from other histories and his perspective on researching the early and modern LDS church.  Thanks Ben!  You can find Dr. Park on YouTube, Instagram, FaceBook, and Tik Tok as @benjaminparkhistorian. Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 Mormon History Association https://mormonhistoryassociation.org/ Berkeley Ward Centennial https://berkeleyward.org/100/ Judge Me, Dear Reader, by Erwin E. Wirkus https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2815468-judge-me-dear-reader Going Forward with Religious Freedom and NondiscriminationBy President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency, 2021 talk at the University of Virginia https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-dallin-h-oaks-speech-university-of-virginia Dictates of Conscience: From Mormon High Priest to My New Life as a Woman, by Laurie Lee Hall https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/dictates-of-conscience What Carol Lynn Pearson's Diaries Reveal About the LDS Church, by Benjamin Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEK_1C9X8MU The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson―Mormon Author, Feminist, and Activist: Volume 1: 1956–1990 https://amzn.to/3QW6Kmg The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson—Mormon Author, Feminist, and Activist: Volume 2: 1990–2002 https://amzn.to/4fish0q

2. 

   20 Jun 2026

   7.13 Matt, the Berkeley Ward, and ‘08

   We are so pleased to have Matt, Berkeley Ward Bishop from 2008-2013 on our show today!  Today’s chapter of American Zion, Showtime, 1995-2012, covers an important part of our Ward’s history, when Prop 8 was voted on in California to ban gay marriage.  Matt talks about his experiences being a church leader at the time and provides some excellent inside info.  Join us! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 The rise of the liberal Latter-day Saints and the battle for the future of Mormonism, by Emily Kaplan https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/09/27/rise-liberal-latter-day-saints/ 4.3 Liberal hair lengths (where we covered that article before) https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/43-liberal-hair-lengths/ 2008 California Proposition 8 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_California_Proposition_8 George Hugh Niederauer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hugh_Niederauer The bit from Matt about $5k donations from stake presidents: this is inside info :) Props to Obama, Did he help push California’s gay-marriage ban over the top? By Farhad Manjoo https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2008/11/did-barack-obama-help-push-california-s-proposition-8-over-the-top.html?pay=1781372928803&support_journalism=please The Root: The Misjudged Black Vote On Gay Marriage, by David Kaufman https://www.npr.org/2011/03/04/134257733/the-root-the-misjudged-black-vote-on-gay-marriage Prop 8 Protesting Turns Ugly, by Will Frampton https://web.archive.org/web/20110608063501/http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=50266 November 2015 policy change https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_the_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#November_2015_policy_change Prop 8: The Musical https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_hyT7_Bx9o "8": A Play about the Fight for Marriage Equality https://www.youtube.com/live/qlUG8F9uVgM 3.14 Paul, the Oakland Temple, and Pride https://faceinhat.podbean.com/e/314-paul-the-oakland-temple-and-pride/

3. 

   16 May 2026

   7.12 The Proc of ‘95

   We felt “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” deserved its own minisode, so join us as we take a modern look at this document, nearly wrapping up our tour of American Zion by Benjamin Park.  Two more to go! Link to our Face in Hat discord server! https://discord.gg/MnSMvKHvwh YouTube channel!  Thanks Eric! https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat https://www.youtube.com/@FaceinHat/playlists Dialogue Podcast Network https://www.dialoguejournal.com/podcasts/ American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, by Benjamin E. Park https://www.amazon.com/American-Zion-New-History-Mormonism/dp/1631498657 The Family: A Proclamation to the World https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world Raising Kids and Running a Household: How Working Parents Share the Load https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/ Almost 1 in 5 stay-at-home parents in the U.S. are dads https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/03/almost-1-in-5-stay-at-home-parents-in-the-us-are-dads/ The Proclamation on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family:_A_Proclamation_to_the_World More from Melissa Inouye https://substack.com/profile/180982606-melissa-inouye The Plan and the Proclamation, by Elder (now President) Dallin H. Oaks https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/the-plan-and-the-proclamation The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ, by President Dallin H. Oaks. This is a more recent talk that also mentions the proclamation. It also includes talk of President Oaks’ own family, including his father. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2025/10/58oaks “There Is Always a Struggle”: An Interview with Chieko N. Okazaki, by Gregory A. Prince https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/there-is-always-a-struggle-an-interview-with-chieko-n-okazaki/ Source of Eric’s quote about W. H. Pugmire https://lordbassingtonbassington.blogspot.com/2009/12/queen-of-eldritch-horror.html My AMV interview with the Queen of Eldritch Horror, by Eric Jepson https://thmazing.blogspot.com/2010/02/my-amv-interview-with-queen-of-eldritch.html New York Doll (2005) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436629/

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,337

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.5 / 5

18 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 51 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

41

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

85

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.