Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps17 Sep

“So… Does God Hate F*gs?” with Megan Phelps-Roper

What do our modern-day culture wars have to teach us about cult-like thinking, moral puritanism, judgment and compassion? And if you lose religious faith, how are you left thinking about agnosticism, atheism, the purpose of the cosmos, and the meaning of life? What, if anything, is worth keeping from the Bible? Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, the fundamentalist cult that picketed soldiers’ funerals with placards saying “God Hates Fags”. She appeared in Louis Theroux’s documentary about the church, as its spokesperson and the granddaughter of its founder. Megan left the church, lost her family and her faith. Her TED Talk about polarization was viewed tens of millions of times. She hosted a smash-hit audio documentary series, The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, about the moral righteousness on both sides of the transgender debate. Her latest production is Book Keeper, a podcast about returning to the Bible, as an atheist, to figure out what stories are worth keeping. You can listen to Megan’s first appearance on this show here (https://uncomfortableconversations.substack.com/p/the-witch-trials-of-jk-rowling-with). She returns now to discuss atheism, the internal logic of religion, tribal thinking, social media and the way out of our self-certain culture-war bubbles.

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Avsnitt(498)

Who's hacking you right now? with ethical hacker Assadi Youssef

When you read news about a data breach which might have exposed your information, do you even care? Who’s behind all this hacking: China, Russia, or a nerd in his parents’ basement? Are our water and ...

24 Sep 1h 22min

William Shatner Doesn’t Want to Die, from The Moynihan Report

Today we’re sharing a bonus episode from The Moynihan Report. William Shatner sits down with Michael Moynihan in Los Angeles for a conversation about life, time, and knowledge. They talk about death...

22 Sep 54min

Social media broke our ability to agree with Jonathan Haidt

Jonathan Haidt is considered one of the world's most influential living psychologists. He joins Josh on this new instalment of Permission To Think - a collaboration with The University of Technology S...

21 Sep 58min

Is there any Room left for moderates? With Jeff Maurer

Is there any room left for the political centre, or has it been swallowed by two competing extremes with nothing but contempt for the middle? Josh chats with comedy writer and author of I Might Be Wr...

14 Sep 1h 16min

JUST JOSH: The Unlearned Lesson of 9/11

It's a quarter-century since 9/11. What do we need to understand about its legacy, so as to handle the next quarter-century better? Josh was a college student visiting the World Trade Towers the summe...

10 Sep 2h 39min

Jewish Comedy at the Bondi Attack

Has a secret in your ancestry ever changed who you are? Imagine being a non-Jewish comedian who suddenly finds out he's Jewish. What do you do? You put on a comedy show on the site of the worst antise...

7 Sep 1h 20min

Are Men Toxic?

A sex scandal involving star players for the Sydney Swans has rocked Australia. Coinciding with a spate of violence against women, the country is revisiting its all-too-familiar conversation about how...

3 Sep 26min