Mormons on Mushrooms

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Mike and Doug sit down with the legendary Brady and Meg Parks from The National Parks to talk about writing and recording a new album on their own—late nights in a backyard studio, kids asleep inside, and songs coming together in a chaotic mess until something clicks. They get into co-writing as a couple, dropping ego, and letting the music be less polished and more real—crickets, mistakes, and all.

The conversation also moves through faith transitions, band changes, and the feeling of everything you thought was set in stone starting to erode. From the dark night of the soul to becoming goo before transforming into something new, this one is about creating through hard times and remembering that even when everything changes, "still the river flows." 

About The National Parks:

The National Parks is an American indie folk-pop band based in Provo, Utah, formed in 2013, known for their nature-inspired "adventure pop" sound. Founded by Brady Parks, the group often features themes of the outdoors, love, and growth in their five albums, including Young and Wild Spirit.

Their next album releases on August 28, 2025!

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Mike and Doug bounce from Neil Diamond, the Oscars and current events into a wider, more personal conversation about privilege—where it shows up, how it gets talked about, and how it can mess with your sense of self. Along the way, they circle questions of shame, responsibility, identity, and the pressure to either defend yourself or shrink. It’s not a linear conversation and it doesn’t try to land on a clean answer. Instead, it moves the way these topics actually do—through tangents, stories, and honest reflection—asking what it looks like to acknowledge your advantages without losing yourself in the process.

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Mike and Doug talk about grief. After the sudden loss of a close friend, the conversation turns to the strange waves that follow death—the contractions of sadness, memory, anger, and love that move through the body if you let them. They reflect on childhood encounters with death, the different ways people grieve, and how tools like therapy, psychedelics, meditation, and music have changed their relationship to loss. Rather than something to avoid or numb, grief becomes something to ride—painful, yes, but also strangely beautiful. A conversation about loss, the people we carry with us, and the quiet trust that life keeps moving, even after death. 

Ex-Mormons on Psychedelics Panel Discussion - Wed, March 18 @ 12pm MT

A free online event discussing the rise of psychedelics in Utah, especially among ex-Mormons, and the benefits and risks of this phenomenon

This is a Psychedelic Safety Seminar organized by the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project

This 90-minute seminar will explore the topic of psychedelic usage among Mormons, ex-Mormons and others in Utah. We'll look at how some Mormons are taking psychedelics and leaving the church, some are taking psychedelics and staying in the church, the rise of psychedelic churches in Utah, the healing benefits some ex-Mormons are finding in psychedelics, and also the risk of psychedelic predators in Utah's wellness scene. Plus whatever else the participants and audience want to discuss.

Link to Register

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Mike and Doug explore what it actually means to be yourself in a world constantly offering scripts. What begins as a conversation about shrinking, privilege, and cultural pressure turns into something more personal: what makes you the most you? The episode wrestles with the tension between self-awareness and self-erasure, humility and hiding, growth and authenticity. Instead of performing strength or apologizing for existing, the invitation becomes simpler and harder: lean into what is uniquely yours. Your voice. Your body. Your weirdness. Your fire. Honest, reflective, and at times provocative, this conversation circles one idea—be fully yourself. Everyone else is already taken.

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Mike and Doug reflect on the Super Bowl halftime backlash, Bad Bunny, and the manufactured outrage of the 24-hour news cycle, using it as a doorway into something deeper. The conversation moves through Mormonism, colonialism, whiteness, sexuality, and repression, circling the tension between reverence and embodiment. From Hawaii baptisms and altar mishaps to crotch-grabbing moral panics and religious seriousness, the episode keeps returning to the same theme: embracing both the sacred and the profane of human culture. Funny, honest, and occasionally unhinged, this is a conversation about loosening up, staying curious, and learning how to enjoy being alive without splitting ourselves in two.

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Mike and Doug recount a cathartic, slightly unhinged weekend in Utah full of music, laughter, rituals, and deep connection. From a racist Uber ride and wandering the Joseph Smith Memorial building to writing a new song about living again, the episode moves through politics, spirituality, grief, and creativity without losing its joy. At the center is something simple and necessary: being alive together, making art, and remembering how good it feels to actually live.

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Mike and Doug are joined by Adam as they wrap up the year with a loose, live Best of 2025 episode. They trade Top 10 lists covering standout movies and TV (Knives Out, Severance, Sinners), music and concerts, sports highs, travel moments, and the creative thrill of recording original songs together.

The conversation drifts into art vs. commerce, why TV feels dumber, travel in Europe, pride in Amsterdam, the awe of the Sistine Chapel, grief, friendship, dogs, beards, and accidental celebrity run-ins.

A relaxed, end-of-year reflection on what stood out, what mattered, and what they’re carrying into the next year.

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Mike and Doug sip eggnog and red wine, trade stories, and play a handful of original Christmas songs—some joyful, some aching, all deeply felt. Along the way they talk Santa, Jesus, solstice, grief, family, belief, and what it means to reclaim Christmas after faith falls apart. Cozy, chaotic, sincere, and full of heart.

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Mike and Doug revisit the Mormon mythos and the Book of Mormon, from headless Shiz gasping for breath to Utah’s mission-call pageantry and the culty performance of modern Mormonism. Doug reads from the book of Ether while Mike keeps interrupting with memories and myth, and somehow it all circles back to Jesus, ayahuasca, and The NeverEnding Story. A mix of laughter, rage, reverence, and the strange beauty of waking up.

This week's intro music brought to you by The Space Druid!

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*Fixed an audio issue in the previous version where the guitar playing was silenced / trimmed

A hilarious, stoned wander through smoke alarms, old drafts, and Mormon boyhood that somehow morphs into Mike and Doug opening up about how music saved their asses. From first songs to personal meltdowns to the magic moments when melodies just “arrive,” this one’s a messy, heartfelt love note to friendship and making art together.

Want more? Our full archive of 200+ Mormons on Mushrooms episodes — past conversations, stories, and musical adventures — now lives in on Supercast.

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