Sunday School Dropouts

An ex-Christian (Lauren O’Neal) and a nonbelieving sort-of Jew (Niko Bakulich) read the entire Bible, cover to cover, so you don’t have to. If you’ve ever been curious about what’s actually in the bestselling book in history but never found the time to read it, we’ve got you covered. Sunday School Dropouts is kind of like Mystery Science Theater 3000 for the Bible, or like listening to a recap of your favorite show, if your favorite show was about polygamous shepherds on very strict diets. The weird, the wacky, the wonderful—we’ll clue you in on everything they didn’t teach you in Sunday school.

Arts
Religion & Spirituality
Society & Culture
1
Heaven and Hell
It’s the season 3 finale! Niko and Lauren discuss a variety of underworlds, Dante’s Inferno, The Good Place, and why everything you thought you knew about heaven and hell is wrong.
81 min
2
Hanukkah
Lauren, Niko, and special guest Sarah Michael (Niko's mom) discuss the Maccabees, dreidel disasters, all nine candles including the shamash, and everything else in the story of Hanukkah.
63 min
3
Masada
Niko and Lauren discuss the Zealots, the Sicarii, Flavius Josephus and the destruction of the second temple, and everything else in the story of the siege of Masada.
62 min
4
The Life of Flavius Josephus
Lauren and Niko discuss the siege of Jotapata, the destruction of the second temple at Jerusalem, Essene internships, and everything else in The Life of Flavius Josephus.
67 min
5
The Dead Sea Scrolls
Niko and Lauren discuss Bedouin goatherds, John the Baptist, a mysterious sect of Judaism called the Essenes, and everything else about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
62 min
6
3 Baruch
Lauren and Niko discuss the Phoenix, the angel Phamael, a heavenly ascent, and everything else in the apocryphal book of 3 Baruch.
47 min
7
Beasts of the Bible
Lauren and Niko discuss the leviathan, behemoth, ziz, and other mythological beasts of the Bible.
55 min
8
Noah
Niko and Lauren discuss gopher wood, Mesopotamian flood myths, the curse of Ham, and everything else about Noah and his ark.
68 min
9
Apocalypse of Abraham
Niko and Lauren discuss Terah's idols, Jahoel, Abraham's revelation, a possible Jesus sighting, and everything else in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Abraham.
54 min
10
Philippians: Anthology Edition
Lauren coedited an anthology called Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church! You can read an excerpt and get a preorder discount at bit.ly/EmptyThePews. To celebrate we’re rerunning our episode with her coeditor, Dr. Chris Stroop.
68 min
11
Archangels
Niko and Lauren discuss the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and more.
52 min
12
Angels
Lauren and Niko discuss cherubim, seraphim, grotesque eye monsters, and everything else about angels.
68 min
13
Shekhinah
Comedian/playwright Rebecca Bulnes (@almondmilkhotel) joins Lauren and Niko to discuss Kabbalah, the sacred feminine, the bride of God, and everything else about the Shekhinah.
73 min
14
Acts of Andrew
Niko and Lauren discuss miracle inflation, marriage between cousins, X-shaped crosses, and everything else in the apocryphal Acts of Andrew.
49 min
15
Nimrod
Writer Nate Waggoner (@nathanielwagg) joins Lauren and Niko to talk about Gilgamesh, the White Stag, the Huns vs. the Magyars, and everything else tangentially related to the story of Nimrod.
59 min
16
Lilith
Comedian and writer Ryan Houlihan (@ryanhoulihan) joins Lauren and Niko to talk about killing babies, magic amulets, seducing rabbis, and everything else about Adam's first wife Lilith
59 min
17
The Fall of Satan
In the inaugural episode of season 3, Niko and Lauren discuss the serpent, Adam and Eve, John Milton's Paradise Lost, and everything else about the fall of Satan.
52 min
18
Testament Part 4
Join Lauren and Niko for the thrilling conclusion of our playthrough of the Bible-based roleplaying game Testament.
62 min
19
Testament Part 3
Lauren and Niko continue playing the Bible-based role-playing game Testament along with their guests Greg (@leducviolet) and Maggie Tokuda-Hall (@emteehall).
86 min
20
Testament Part 2
Join Lauren, Niko, Greg (@leducviolet), and Maggie (@emteehall) as miniseason 2.5 continues with another session of the Bible-based RPG Testament.
81 min
21
Testament Part 1
Join Niko, Lauren, and our guests Greg (@leducviolet) and Maggie Tokuda-Hall (@emteehall) as we begin a game of Testament, the Biblically-based tabletop roleplaying game.
80 min
22
Revelation
In a fat, juicy, 90-minute season finale, Niko and Lauren discuss Patmos, Armageddon, the true meaning of the word “apocalypse,” the number of the beast, seven lampstands/seals/trumpets/bowls of wrath, and everything else in the Book of Revelation.
90 min
23
Jude
Lauren and Niko discuss plagiarism in the Bible, Balaam's error, the Book of Enoch, the Assumption of Moses, and everything else in the Epistle of Jude.
39 min
24
Apocalypse of Paul
Lauren and Niko discuss Dante’s Inferno, milk lakes, celeb cameos, and everything else in the apocryphal Apocalypse of Paul.
56 min
25
Gospel of Judas
Niko and Lauren discuss Long Island strip malls, the realm of Barbelo, a new and exciting Demiurge, and everything else in the apocryphal Gospel of Judas.
57 min