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Holy Watermelon

95 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings

Welcome to the Holy Watermelon podcast, where a Christian and an atheist talk about the weird and wonderful things that people do because of what they believe. It's a show about religious studies.
Join us, Katie and Preston, as we dive into the world of comparative religion. We use humor and research to have real, challenging, and uproarious conversations about the world's religious traditions and behaviors.
If you're interested in religious studies, learning about other people and cultures, or fun facts for your dinner conversation, tune in to our bi-weekly episodes.

Religion Religion & Spirituality catholicism atheist history belief atheism catholic agnostic holy holidays christian
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Episodes

How YOU Could Become a God

February 26, 2024 09:00 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MB

Apotheosis is the process of becoming a god, and that gift isn't always limited to the dead. Some classic examples include Asclepius, Ariadne, and Glaucus. Apotheosis also appears in the Abrahamic tradition, in a varity of manifestations, including the Alawite tradition, which elevates Ali ibn Abi Talib to godhood. We examine the diference between Apotheosis and Theosis in the Christian tradition. Preston expounds on the exaltation promised in the Latter-day Saint tradition.  We look at t...

How They Became Gods

February 12, 2024 09:00 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MB

Euhemerism is essentially the hypothesis that many of the gods who have been celebrated throughout history may not have been simple fabrications but real people around whom great myths developed and grew to legendary proportions.  Euhemerus was a fellow who entertained and educated with tales of how the old gods of Hellenic (Greek) tradition were originally humans, mortals who lived mundane or occasionally exciting lives, and died, forever to decay into nothingness, who would have been forg...

Sounds Suspicious

January 29, 2024 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MB

Ever wonder why we bother with the groundhog, or horseshoes, or four-leaf clovers? Have you noticed city employees relying on divining rods to find your water leak? Where do all these superstitions come from, and how do they manage to linger in our science-powered information age? All these questions have answers, and we've tracked them down for you. Crossing your fingers isn't just a simple thing to do to have luck on your side or negate the evil of a lie, it's a prayer of invocation in it...

The Legend of (Persian) Zoro

January 15, 2024 09:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB

Zarathustra is the mythical hero at the foundation of Mazdaism, and thus it is better known as Zoroastrianism. Because ancient sources disagree on when this camel herder lived, it's nearly impossible to prove that he ever did, though there must have been an original founder of this ancient Persian religious tradition, the man's true name is certainly lost to time. Some Christians (especially the Jesuits) like to claim that Zoro was a biblical character, though there are different opinions o...

Priesthood to Parenthood - an Interview with Frank McMahon

January 01, 2024 09:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MB

Frank McMahon served in the VATICAN. Now, he's joining us to talk about his experience with Playboy, puberty, alcohol abuse, Buddhism, and the things he loved about his service with the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, as well as why he left, and the things he hopes to see change in the church.  We talk about Frank's favorite and least favorite saints, and about some of the mechanisms that drive the Roman Catholic Church, as well as practices he and many other Christians are adopting ...

Some Santas that You Used to Know

December 18, 2023 09:00 - 53 minutes - 48.5 MB

St. Nicholas' Day has passed, but we're not done with Christmas visitors yet. Santa has taken a few different forms over the centuries, and he's got an army of companions and alternates, too.  Santa Claus takes inspiration from a variety of European folk  traditions,  and many of these old traditions have survived with modifications in the Christian era. In this episode we talk about a lot of our historically celebrated holiday gift bearers:  - the Krampus of Central Europe;  - the Ded Mo...

Questionable Saints

December 04, 2023 09:00 - 51 minutes - 47 MB

There's no shortage of saints with questionable careers, even during their "faithful years." For others, we might be looking at people who never existed. Let's explore more saints who might not deserve such exalted status. We can say with almost rock solid certainty that Saint Vernoica never existed. She is famed for the veil that bears the imprinted face of Christ--in fact, that's how the name Veronica was derived: the TRUE ICON [of Christ]. Nothing about her can be verified, but the veil ...

Pretty Fly for a Mennonite - an Interview with Andrew Penner

November 20, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MB

Andrew Penner grew up in the Mennonite tradition of the Anabaptist movement. The Anabaptists have a colorful history of subversion from the Catholic Church, despite their commitment to pacifism.  There's an awful lot to learn on these subjects, including the connection with the Amish and Hutterite branches, as well as the variation within the Mennonite conferences. (Jakob Amman and Jakob Hutter were a little more extreme than Menno Simons.) Early Anabaptist beliefs are outlined in the 1527...

Spellbound Puritans

November 06, 2023 09:00 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MB

As we close out the spooky season, it's time to talk about Puritanism and the extremism that led to witch hunts and barbaric murders of innocents. The Puritan movement was born from the Church of England, with the idea that King Henry VIII and the new English national episcopalian congregation hadn't reformed nearly enough after breaking away from the Imperial Church of Rome. Like the Pharisees before them, they sought to purify their faith from every element of external influence. They pre...

This is Halloween

October 23, 2023 08:00 - 50 minutes - 46 MB

Halloween is--despite what you might hear from your local evangelical group--a Christian holiday... kinda. There's a lot to it, and there are layers of syncretism to dig through, but just under the secular (not-technically-pagan) veneer of sugar and chocolate, is a thick layer of juicy Christian religious expression. All Saints' Day on the old calendar begins at sunset, giving us the EVE of so many great holidays. Halloween was never meant to become it's own distinct holiday until we made ...

San Lanatus Fellowship Anniversary

October 09, 2023 08:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MB

We've really enjoyed doing this show together, and we've learned a lot. It's time to reflect on the foundation we've built. The natures of knowledge and belief are tricky philosophical concepts, and the motives any person might have for believing anything or claiming knowledge are as varied as anything else in human behaviour.  We answer audience questions, and we have questions for each other, too; but if you want to hear the religiously-themed FMK suggested by one of our listeners, you'l...

Story and Ceremony - an Interview with Cheryl Whiskeyjack

September 25, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 58.7 MB

Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is right around the corner, and we've decided to interrupt our regular programming in favour of an interview with Cheryl Whiskeyjack from Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, and some important First Nations Stories. Canada's name is derived from an old word for village, making us the nation of villages. We discuss the role of storytelling, and the place for newcomers and women within indigenous tradition, as well as the power of ceremo...

Tomorrow is a Later Latter Day

September 11, 2023 08:00 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MB

If you think you know Mormonism, this one's for you. We examined the origins of the Latter Day Saints last month, and now we're taking a look at the men that led the Mormons in various divisions.  There was a nonet of splinter groups that left the early Mormon Church before the assassination of Joseph Smith, but some of them shouldn't really count, since they disavowed everything Joseph taught, and they had no interest in the Book of Mormon, but there were a couple who broke away because th...

Tomorrow is a Latter Day

August 28, 2023 08:00 - 56 minutes - 51.5 MB

Brigham Young gets a lot of credit as the "American Moses," but it's nothing compared to the work Joseph Smith did to earn that title. Moses led the people for many years, from place to place, but he never entered the Promised Land--like Joseph Smith. Joshua was the one who led the final trek into their new home--THAT'S Brigham's parallel.  The Latter Day Saint movement (Utah Mormonism, et al) lives within the broader category of millennial restorationism. Not your typical Protestants, thes...

Lost and Found: Sacred Texts

August 14, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 62.4 MB

Lost books include apocryphal literature from heretics, grifters, and entrapment-dodging translators, but there's also genuine works that were abridged or edited later, allowing the originals to disappear in the fog of disuse. Some books are lost because their religious traditions and communities have died out or were pushed underground, and other books are the stuff of legend, and may never have really existed.... After our discussion of how the various canons were established, we MUST dis...

Staring Down the Canon

July 31, 2023 08:00 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MB

Staring Down the Canon might be intimidating for some, but now that we've explored several holy texts, we're ready to talk about the nature of scriptural authority and how texts are measured against one another within religious traditions.  Books are a great way to preserve knowledge, testimony, and prophecy, but its imperative that readers remember that authors perform their work as imperfect people full of biases and ignorance, just like the readers themselves.  Canon is the criterion ag...

Check Out These Noods

July 17, 2023 08:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MB

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is one of the best books of religious satire released this century, and maybe it will hold that status for a while--only time will tell. After a serious look at the most revered books on the planet, it's time to lighten things up with the Pastafarians and their book that contains approximately as many contradictions as the Christian Bible, but with a rock-solid explanation built into the preface. Even Richard Dawkins, the famous atheist-biologist, ...

Plates of Palmyra

July 03, 2023 08:00 - 45 minutes - 42 MB

The Book of Mormon has a better story than you might think, though not quite what you might have heard in Stone & Parker's musical of the same name.   Rather than a tome of collected works, each the subject of contentious discussion in council, The Book of Mormon is an abridgement of a continuous historical record, with a couple appendices of original content and other summarized histories.   Of course, this book is incomplete, and we look into the story of how the first portion went missi...

The Next Guy is a Book

June 19, 2023 08:00 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MB

What is the Granth Sahib? What is the Adi Granth? The Guru Granth Sahib is the last and eternal Guru, an authoritative collection of sacred verses from not only the greatest Sikh leaders, but also from faithful Muslims and Hindus. Like other sacred texts, this collection has an interesting history, including a contested editorial process. Who are them men who recorded their revelations in sacred song? How does this collection bridge the gaps between conflicting traditions in India? How has ...

Repeat After Me

June 05, 2023 08:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MB

What is the Quran?  It is among the most published texts in the world, and among the most vilified in the global west. Who was really responsible for the book as we know it today, and how did imperial power play into its history? Why is it that so many interpretations of the text are considered authoritative, and what efforts were made to ensure the acceptance of such ambiguity? The recitations of the prophet Mohammad are controversial, not only in our globalized community, but within early...

Imperial Influence on Scripture

May 22, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 62.7 MB

The Christian New Testament is a tiny collection of letters, and a small handful of modestly interdependent testimonies of a personal Jesus from a small town in the unnamed northern province (now known as Galilee). The outliers are almost as valuable as the more orthodox materials. The Bible consists of four biographies, some of which show more interest in symbolic teaching than in historical accuracy. Two of these rely heavily on another for their production, while a much later fourth come...

The Law of Displaced People

May 08, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 56.7 MB

The Hebrew Bible is not the same thing as the Imperial Christian Old Testament (though it's very similar to the protestant version), but there are many different ways people draw value from these books. The Torah is not the same thing as the Old Testament: it is the 5 books classically attributed to Moses. For some who adhere to an Abrahamic faith, the Torah is the only scripture; for others, the testimonies of prophets and historians are also invaluable. The Hebrew Bible is often called t...

The Battlefield of Samsara

April 24, 2023 08:00 - 42 minutes - 39.4 MB

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most religiously important pieces of Indian literature, a segment of the longest poem ever written: the Mahabharata has 1.8 million words. The origin of The Song of God is obscured a little by time, but it certainly predates the Christian scriptures, though its form was finalized after the Biblical Canon.  Vishnu is said to have incarnated partially into the personage known as Krishna Dvaipayana or Vyasa -- the same guy who split the Vedas into their four pa...

Eostre & the Bunny

April 10, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 55.2 MB

Every spring, we celebrate the return of greenery and migratory birds, and the blooming of flowers; most animals celebrate by having lots of sex. Some of us get really religious about it. Easter is the celebration of fertility and renewed life, and every part of the secular observance reflects this.  Several gods through a wide variety of traditions enjoy individual worship in this time, many of them have a name that sounds vaguely like "Easter," including Eostre, Ostara, and Ishtar. They h...

Breaking (Down) the Law - an Interview with Dr. Wes Thiessen

March 27, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 58 MB

Dr. Wes Thiessen isn't just a great storyteller, he's a conflict resolution expert, and he's here to tell us about Sharia Law, its history, its real world function in Muslim communities, and why it shouldn't make anybody nervous. Islam is not monolithic, and neither is the study of law. The Golden Rule is extremely important in most legal cases, and the way it's applied in most cases deserves credit, as we'll hear Wes explain. Living and working throughout the "Muslim World," Dr. Wes has a...

Is He Caliphied?

March 13, 2023 08:00 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MB

What qualifies a man to lead the Ummah? Islam, like any religious tradition, is not monolithic. Let's explore the history of schisms and the personalities behind them in the early Islamic period.  After Muhammad's death in 632 CE, there was a succession crisis; for some, it was a bigger crisis than for others.  The first to be elected to take over leadership was Abu Bakr, the prophet's father-in-law. For decades, the followers of Muhammad were fairly united, until one of his sons-in-law, Al...

THOTs & Prayers

February 27, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MB

Sex and sexuality among believers isn't as monolithic as you might think, and of course there's the outlying "bad actors" to keep this spectrum broad. The Torah has some strict rules about who Jewish men should avoid, but isn't too quick to prescribe punishment for premarital sex. The Christian New Testament has some rules about minding your own business. Islamic tradition has some strong words about oral sex. And so much more.... The word 'abomination' gets a brief exploration, the sort o...

Sainted Love

February 13, 2023 09:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MB

It's the season of love, but the man we know as St. Valentine is a bit of a mystery, lost to time, and almost certainly an amalgamation of two or more men. Valentinus was a big fan of romantic love, as the story goes, but there's more to be unraveled.  Valentine's relics are scattered all over the planet, many of them in wax-sealed paper bags, which isn't much of a thrill for the average tourist. There's naturally some doubt on their authenticity, but that doesn't  seem to stop anybody anym...

Medical/Miracle

January 30, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 57.4 MB

Sometimes it's hard to know who to believe, sometimes it isn't: Do you believe the person who has studied the finest details of physical health and wellness for upwards of a decade, or do you trust your pastor who thinks that God couldn't possibly reveal those secrets to anybody willing to test such principles? Unfortunately, that's the dichotomy we find in the world today. Christian Nationalists have actively led the crusade against medicine for most of the last two centuries, but there's s...

Cash Blessings

January 16, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 60.1 MB

There might be nothing more American than the emergence of Capitalist Jesus and the Prosperity Gospel. This episode explores the men behind the phenomenon, and the scriptural passages that are abused to defend it.  Not all Pentecostal Christians fall into this trap, but these pastors have millions of followers around the world. Many of them are fundamentalists in some ways, though radically anti-scriptural in other (more important) ways. Mesmerism and the New Thought Movement are significa...

Literally Jesus - an Interview with Jack Hopewell

January 02, 2023 09:00 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MB

In this episode, we interview Jack Hopewell, who stars as Jesus Christ in the 50th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar.  When Jesus Christ Superstar came out 50 years ago, it was controversial: the musical doesn’t depict the resurrection, it's sympathetic to Judas, it takes the position of predestination (Judas was required to betray Jesus). While the controversy has died down in the last 50 years, some audience members still get their feathers ruffled.  Jack Hopewell speaks with us...

Rebranding the Holidays

December 19, 2022 14:31 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MB

You don't get many holidays that are more Christian than Christmas, right? The celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25th is second only to Easter as far as Christian holidays go. But what if we told you that a lot of what we do is borrowed? Did you know that many of the Christmas traditions we know and love have roots in other cultures and "pagan" traditions? In this episode, Katie and Preston chat about some of the most beloved Christmas customs like Christmas trees, caroling, mis...

Absentee Heavenly Father

December 05, 2022 09:00 - 50 minutes - 45.8 MB

Deism may sound a lot like theism, and while they’re etymologically the same, the belief systems are more nuanced.  In this episode, we deep dive into Deist belief and its rise to popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries. We explain the core belief of the initial creator, but he’s not around anymore—kind of like the dad that left for a pack of smokes.  The Enlightenment made deism a popular belief system as people looked to logic, reason, science, and observation to explain the world arou...

Jonesing for Utopia

November 21, 2022 13:15 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MB

The cult of Jim Jones, known as the Peoples Temple, is only one of many dangerous groups to deliberately shuffle off their mortal coils in large concerted efforts, but theirs was the most impactful. They are famous for "Drinking the Kool-Aid," an unfortunate and insensitive misnomer... After leading his church to Guyana, in 1978 they became the victims of the single greatest loss of American life in a non-military action until the 9/11 WTC attacks. Jones got a lot of his ideas from Father D...

Theocracy of Zion

November 07, 2022 12:59 - 1 hour - 69.6 MB

Is there any truth to the anti-semitic conspiracy theories that Kanye and your weird uncle have been muttering for years? Probably not, but let's take a look at the seed that grew into such an ugly tree. Israel hasn't enjoyed its current form for very long, but there was a not-so-secret plan in place long before the Allied Forces established the nation of Israel after the Holocaust. Join us as we examine the accusation of fascism within one of the groups that suffered the most under its heel...

Trick or Treat: God Edition

October 24, 2022 12:00 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MB

Trickster gods are often depicted as malevolent, or as plucky antihero sidekicks (looking at you, Loki). Some are more benevolent, seeking to teach through the medium of struggle. Tricksters can lead even the pious off their course, sometimes to test their wills, or to teach them a better way to live. Join us as we explore the great tricksters of the old traditions. Lewis Hyde calls them "Boundary-Crossers," and for good reason; these guys won't be controlled, if they have their way. These ...

Leviathan to Lovecraft

October 10, 2022 11:30 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MB

Monsters play a huge role in most of the old religions. From Jormungandr to Leviathan, monsters can embody chaos, or they can protect sacred ground. Generally, they are used to instill obedience in people, but sometimes they simply help to explain why the world is a mess. Join us as we dive into the realm of religious traditions surrounding chaos monsters. Monsters serve to *demonstrate* or reveal the evil within the hearts of a people--or, that's the theory, anyway. They delineate the real...

Who Loves Lucy?

September 26, 2022 12:00 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MB

We've explored the fallacy of pagans and atheists bowing to Satan, and outlined some of the "Satanist" groups that don't believe he's a real personality. Now let's look at the real deal: the folks who genuinely worship a living Satan. Even with these groups, it's probably not what you would expect. Most of these groups grow out of a resentment for the Christian establishment. Some of these groups are terribly anti-semitic, and in wonderfully odd ways; others have a troubling history of dome...

University and Obscurity - an Interview with Dr. Glen Fairen

September 12, 2022 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MB

This week, we're talking with Dr. Glen Fairen, PhD, a religious studies professor at Oklahoma State University. The Viking shares with us the work he's been doing, and some of his research might surprise you. His work includes scholarship on the Qumran and Nag Hammadi groups, as well as the realm of witchcraft. Join us for a great discussion. This interview continues on Patreon Dr. Fairen is the author of As Below, So Above: Apocalypticism, Gnosticism, and the Scribes of Qumran and Nag Ham...

University and Obscurity - an interview with Dr. Glen Fairen, PhD

September 12, 2022 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MB

This week, we're talking with Dr. Glen Fairen, PhD, a religious studies professor at Oklahoma State University. The Viking shares with us the work he's been doing, and some of his research might surprise you. His work includes scholarship on the Qumran and Nag Hammadi groups, as well as the realm of witchcraft. Join us for a great discussion. For part 2 of this interview, check us out on Patreon, linked below. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holywatermelon Store: https://holy-watermelon-...

University and Obscurity - an Interview with Dr. Glen Fairen, PhD

September 12, 2022 12:00 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MB

This week, we're talking with Dr. Glen Fairen, PhD, a religious studies professor at Oklahoma State University. The Viking shares with us the work he's been doing, and some of his research might surprise you. His work includes scholarship on the Qumran and Nag Hammadi groups, as well as the realm of witchcraft. Join us for a great discussion. For part 2 of this interview, check us out on Patreon, linked below. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holywatermelon Store: https://holy-watermelon-...

Masonic Religion

August 29, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 67.8 MB

Freemasonry, the oldest fraternal organization in the world, has some deeply rooted religious traits, and an odd don't-ask-don't-tell relationship with the Church of Rome. The national mythology of the whole democratic world celebrates men who have been initiated into its sacred rites, and countless exposés have been published, yet there's still an awful lot of secrecy and misinformation. Is Freemasonry a cult? Does it even qualify as a religion? The Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Al...

Apes Together Strong

August 15, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 61.2 MB

Fascism has earned an ugly name over the last century, no question about it. Some religions lean into it, some look forward to a day when it can be openly celebrated, especially in monotheistic traditions. This week, we're exploring what it really means to be inside, to see fascism differently than what history has shown us. Straight out of the mouths of Benito Mussolini and Francisco Franco, we examine the difficulty in defining fascism, and why some Christians are taking advantage of that ...

The Man in Red

August 01, 2022 12:55 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MB

Religious communism isn't just for the weird new cult that bought up a farm down the road. People often forget, especially in the west, that Christianity was strictly communist in the first century, and that the Jewish nation from which they were born enjoyed a tightly regulated, moderately socialist dictatorship. Join us for an exploration of these and other groups who decided not to put arbitrary economic qualifications on "Love your neighbour." Socialism isn't the bogeyman vaguely rememb...

Discernment House Dropout - an Interview with Vernon Boldick

July 18, 2022 12:00 - 49 minutes - 45.1 MB

This week we have the pleasure of interviewing another friend. Vernon Boldick shares with us the details of his journey preparing to enter the seminary and the priesthood of the Catholic church, only to find his faith shaken. Spoiler alert: Today he's an atheist. The journey is what we're here for. This interview continues on Patreon You can also watch this interview on YouTube.   You can find our merch in our Spreadshirt store Join the Community on Discord Learn more great religion fa...

High & Mighty

July 04, 2022 13:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MB

The puritanical roots of western colonialism may have obscured this for some, but several religious traditions are tightly tied to the use of hallucinogenic substances. Some may find that their origins are reliant on them. In this week's episode, we explore the phenomenon, as well as a quick survey of those who might protest too much... and this time, Katie's had a bit to drink. Entheogens are a trippy way into religion--or at least cosmic faith. Religious intoxicants aren't exactly common,...

Hermetic Appeal

June 20, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 58.8 MB

After a brief look at the occult last fall, we're taking a closer look at the Hermetic tradition, including some of the most popular literature on hermeticism and a survey of some of the sources behind the mythical figure of Hermes Trismegistus. We explore some of the pseudepigraphical writings like the Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Perfect Sermon, and the wild figure of William Walker Atkinson (AKA Magus Incognito, Yogi Ramacharaka, and many other names), who had some prof...

Celibacy & Scandal

June 06, 2022 11:00 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MB

There's some misunderstanding surrounding celibacy, so we're going to explore why it's such a prominent part of the Imperial Christian Priesthood, and we'll take a look at some of the damage that the policy has caused. We've made a point of keeping the trauma-triggers to the later portion of the show, so everybody can enjoy the more interesting bits of history before we get to the more sensitive content. We explore some of the history of the celibacy policy, as well as other rules that have...

The Troubles of Two Irelands

May 23, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MB

Looking again to Katie's Irish roots, the Troubles of Northern Ireland are a fascinating example of how religion gets tied to conflict. But is it really a religious conflict? What are the prerequisites for such a label. How much is religion really a part of the problem. Join us for an exploration of the history behind the Troubles, and the people who motivate them. It's easy to take sides, but solving the problem is a lot more complicated than agreeing to a cease-fire. Centuries of nationali...

Audits & Aliens

May 09, 2022 14:00 - 1 hour - 61.1 MB

Scientology gets a lot of bad press (and most of it is hard to refute), but we're going to shed a little light on the sci-fi religion of L Ron Hubbard, and explore the aspects of this authoritarian cultus that make it so enticing to initiates and so terrifying to survivors. What happened to Shelly Miscavige? Why is Tom Cruise reported to be leaving the church when he's up to his neck in it with David Miscavige? There's a lot more to this space-age religion than Dianetics, pseudo-science, an...