Pod Only Knows
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.
1
Sarah Posner - On her new podcast, Epstein, and...
49 min
2
RERELEASE (from 12/23): Ghosts of Christmas Pas...
In a rerelease from last Christmas season, Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman join Kelly and John to talk about the ghosts that haunted the Victorian Christmas.0
55 min
3
RERELEASE (from 12/24): Did Dickens "Invent" Ch...
60 min
4
#060 - Selling Out Santa - with Vaughn Joy
Researcher Vaughn Joy discusses the Cold War era evolution of Christmas movies with her book "Selling Out Santa"
71 min
5
RERELEASE: Unraveling the Thanksgiving Myth - w...
73 min
6
#059 – The Passion of the Marjorie Taylor Greene
Kelly and John talk Marjorie Taylor Greene, Peter Thiel, and the Pope's newfound love of raves
56 min
7
#058 – THE EXORCIST EFFECT with Joseph Laycock
Scholar and author Joseph Laycock joins us to talk about his book "The Exorcist Effect" and how movies influence what and how we believe.
66 min
8
#057 – THE EXORCIST with Matthew J. Cressler
Our friend and Catholic horror expert joins us for Halloween to talk about his favorite movie, 1973's The Exorcist!
76 min
9
#056 – Paranormal America with Darryl Caterine
Darryl Caterine joins Kelly and John to talk about the religious dimensions of America's obsession with the paranormal
63 min
10
RERELEASE: What really happened at Salem - with...
58 min
11
#055 – Taylor Swift: Christian TradWife Extraor...
Kelly and John talk about the right's obsession with the idea that Taylor Swift is secretly, deep down one of them!
53 min
12
RERELEASE (from 2/25 ): The Gospel of J. Edgar ...
61 min
13
#054 - James Dobson (1936-2025) with Hilde Lovd...
Kelly and John talk to Hilde Løvdal Stephens, author of "Family Matters: James Dobson and Focus on the Family’s Crusade for the Christian Home"
64 min
14
#053 – Heretic (2024) - with Shaily Patel
Shaily Patel, one of our earliest guests, rejoins us to talk about 2024's "Heretic"
82 min
15
#052 – At Last, A Woke Superman!
We're back from break with Woke Superman, the DHS, Ryan Walters, poison ivy, and surgery!
64 min
16
#051 – Acute Religious Experiences - with Richa...
Richard Saville-Smith joins Kelly and John to discuss his book "Acute Religious Experiences – Madness, Psychosis, and Religious Studies"
59 min
17
#050 - Severance - The Church of Keir
Kelly and John are joined by Niki Dolfi to discuss identity, capitalism, and cultish devotion (and goats) in "Severance"
74 min
18
#049 – Our Pope Watch Has Ended
Kelly and John talk all the Pope news, including the MAGA freakout over Leo XIV, and what this all means for the future of the Catholic Church
66 min
19
#048 – Annika Brockschmidt
John talks about the perception of the American Christian Right in Europe and Pete Hegseth's tattoos with historian Annika Brockschmidt
61 min
20
#047 – Rethinking "Lord of the Flies" in the ag...
Kelly and John discuss why people maybe get "Lord of the Flies" all wrong, and why what it's REALLY about matters a great deal right now.
61 min
21
#046 – The MAGA Attack on Higher Education
Kelly and John discuss the attack on higher education, the cynical manipulation of antisemitism, and the complicated role religion is playing
57 min
22
#045 – Roko's Basilisk, Pope Watch 2025, and Pa...
Kelly and John Roko’s Basilisk, the techbro thought experiment underlying Elon Musk’s zealous insanity, plus Pope news and Paula White
56 min
23
(Edited Reissue) #024 - Simulation Theory, or Y...
47 min
24
Chris Kluwe - (Republished from "Hard to Believ...
Christ Kluwe talks being banned from the NFL on account of being a decent person, his love of books. his writing process, and his sci-fi novel "Otaku"
61 min
25
#044 – The Lord of the Right: Tolkien, Fascism,...
Scholar Marika Rose joins Kelly and John to talk about why the far-right and religious zealots love Tolkien, and whether that's justified.
70 min