You Guys! Check Out This Podcast!

So, if you’ve spoken to me recently, you may have gotten an earful about this podcast I’m just loving. The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship Podcast. I know what you’re thinking – What the heck is that? 

Well, it’s the podcast arm of the Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, out of BYU. The host, Blair Hodges, interviews religious scholars about their work—scholars who research and write academically about religion from all kinds of angles and from various faiths.

Since it comes out of BYU, it might be tempting to think that the podcast episodes could be glorified Sunday School lessons or something. But, oh, they’re so much not. They feel like really good university class discussions, and they often hit that sweet spot between being intellectually stimulating and faith-building at the same time. The subtitle of the podcast sums it up nicely: Where top-tier scholars help increase religious literacy and understanding.

Some of Blair Hodge’s guests on the podcast are LDS scholars, though many are not. I have especially loved exploring the crucifixion with a Jesuit priest, getting a new take on some parables from a Jewish New Testament scholar, dipping a toe into the Quran with the editors of a new translation, among others. There are also interviews with LDS scholars about Mormonism in culture, politics, science, church history, and on and on. Ultimately, experiencing such varied topics from researchers with such different backgrounds—all of which inform and strengthen my own faith—puts me in mind of Maya Angelou’s words: We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. 

I know that academic scholarship isn't everyone’s cup of tea, but it is mine. I love it. I miss classes and lectures and interesting ideas and theoretical discussions. And even writing papers, sometimes. I’m weird. I’ll own that. That said, if this seems like something you’d like to listen to, below are links to a handful of my favorites to get you started. Though I fully expect you’ll find your own (and different) favorites.

You know, I’m a pretty low key person most of the time. There’s not a lot of stuff that I feel like I get really passionate or worked up about. Apparently, exploring the ideas and implications of faith and religion through thought-provoking academic discussion is one of those things for me. If it’s one of those things for you, too—check out the Maxwell Institute Podcast. You’ll be glad you did. And if you do, and if you love it, give me a call and we can geek out about fascinating religious scholarship together! 

• The Sin of Certainty
• The Seven Last Words of Jesus
• Grace Is Not God’s Backup Plan
• Reconceiving Infertility in the Bible
• Terryl & Fiona Givens on Faith, Doubt and The God Who Weeps
• The End of Apologetics
• The Parables of Jesus
• The Printer's Maunscript of the Book of Mormon
• Job Through the Ages