Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchPigs and Pride: Defending Batak Culture at Lake Toba
Season 1 Episode 325
At the shores of Lake Toba, a cultural festival has become something more than a celebration—it is an act of defiance. As Indonesia promotes halal-fr…
4 months ago
Indonesia's Export of Inclusive Islam
Season 1 Episode 324
Indonesia is quietly redefining what political Islam can look like in the modern world. In the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, influential m…
4 months ago
The Fragile Succession of the Singaporean Social Contract
Season 1 Episode 323
For decades, Singapore’s stability has rested on a simple bargain: limited political freedom in exchange for competent, predictable rule by the Peopl…
4 months ago
Jordan Peterson and the Theology of the Bro Hero
Season 1 Episode 322
Jordan Peterson’s latest book promises a wrestling match with God—but leaves many readers struggling to follow along. Dense with biblical exegesis, p…
4 months ago
The Radical History and Politics of English Pronouns
Season 1 Episode 321
Tiny words are carrying an outsized political weight. Pronouns—once barely noticed—have become flashpoints in cultural debates, prompting claims that…
4 months ago
Defying Modernity: The Global Rise of Fundamentalism
Season 1 Episode 320
Religious fundamentalism is often framed as a relic of the past, but it is better understood as a modern response to rapid change. From its origins i…
4 months ago
Fat of the Land: The Grease Clogging Mexico City
Episode 319
When Mexico City floods, the problem is not just rain from the sky but grease in the ground. As the sinking megacity struggles with aging sewers and …
4 months ago
The Middle Way to a Slimmer Sangha
Season 1 Episode 318
In Thailand, even the monks are struggling with a modern excess. Bound by rules that limit when and what they can eat, many monks have become overwei…
4 months ago
The Chemical Clergy: Psilocybin and the Divine Experience
Season 1 Episode 317
What happens when faith meets chemistry? A recent study at Johns Hopkins invited religious leaders with no prior experience of psychedelics to underg…
4 months ago
Shores of the Middle Kingdom: China’s New Beach Culture
Season 1 Episode 316
China’s beaches are filling up—but not in the way Western visitors might expect. Once reserved for elites, coastal leisure has become a mass phenomen…
4 months ago