Hosted by Dr. Kelly J. Baker and John Brooks. Kelly and John invite other people from the wide and wild world of religious studies to talk to them about why and how they do what they do and why their work matters to us all. They also talk to each other about the ideas, stories, and histories that fascinate them and that they think you should know about, too.
Publisher
Kelly J. Baker and John Brooks
Category
history · religion & spirituality · society & culture
#067 - Lily Dale and American Spiritualism with Sarah Handley-Cousins
Sarah Handley-Cousins is a historian of disability and the military during the Civil War era. She has a PhD in History from the University at Buffalo where she currently teaches. She co-produces Dig: A History Podcast and her newest book, Spiritualism's Place: Reformers, Seekers, and Séances in Lily Dale, was cowritten with her fellow Dig producers Averill Earls, Marissa C. Rhodes, and Elizabeth Garner Masarik.
The book is an exploration of Lily Dale, an intentional community in upstate New York that is now the spiritual (and physical) center of Spiritualism, the 19th Century faith movement that sought to eradicate the line between the land of the living and the dead.
Sarah joins us to talk about the inspiration for the book, her own experiences with Spiritualism, and the thin line between self-delusion and authentic belief.
28 Sept 2026
#066 - The Resurrection of Ned Ludd
The word Luddite has a lot of unfair negative connotations. It's also almost always misused.
In this episode, we look at the recent trend of reevaluating the Luddites - the radical labor rights movement of the early 19th century - in the age of AI and data centers.
Who was Ned Ludd? How did he begin a movement? And what does it say about the religious nature of that movement that (spoiler) he never existed?
In this episode, we reference Matthew James Seidel's review of Gavin Mueller's Breaking Things At Work in Current Affairs
8 Sept 2026
#065 - "Contact" (1997) with Lauren Turek
(SORRY ABOUT YESTERDAY! Naturally, our production staff have all been fired and fed to the wolves.* We BELIEVE the episode should now be glitch free!)
1997's "Contact", directed by Robert Zemeckis, remains one of the best "What if aliens made contact?" movies ever made.
Conceived by astronomer Carl Sagan, the film thoughtfully wrestles with ideas of humanity, religion, and international relations in a way most science fiction merely glance at.
This week, we revisit the film with Trinity University professor Dr. Lauren Turek.
You can find Lauren on Bluesky @laurenfturek
*just kidding, John is the entire production staff
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
20 ratings
Spotify
3.7 / 5
6 ratings
Contact Pod Only Knows
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
