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The final 4 episodes of God in the Frontier are about reflecting on what we learned over the first 8 episodes in the Burned-Over District. How does the Christian prism look to those who see it through the Calvinist wavelength compared to those who see it through an Evangelical one? And how does Evangelicalism impact the relationship between the United States and Israel today? Finally, what can 19th century Millerism teach us about blind faith even with the purest intentions? Religious exceptionalism, a core aspect of nearly all religions, comes under trial in this provocative episode. (9/12)

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Who was Joseph Smith? How did he end up becoming the founder of an entire religion? And how does learning about Mormon history inform us about the relationship between faith and violence in all religions? In this episode we follow Joseph Smith from his origins on the outskirts of Rochester, NY and his push westward where he and his followers demonstrated a willingness to commit increasing acts of violence in the name of self-defense. Ultimately this leads to a mob murder of Smith and one of the most deadly massacres in American history - The Mountain Meadow Massacre. (Cool side note: The fictional nemesis in the Netflix series Godless, Frank Griffin, played by Jeff Dunham describes his origin as being a child survivor of the Mountain Meadow Massacre) (8/12)

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In this episode learn about the birth of the most powerful religion of the Americas - Mormonism. How do Mormons worship differently than other forms of Christianity? What was the role of Brigham Young in its development? Why is there such a strong pushback against the faith by both Christians and non-Christians alike? And how can understanding Mormonism help us understand ourselves? (7/12)

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A magician faces off against a group of fortune tellers in front of the US Congress - who wins? Harry Houdini takes on Congress to warn of the very real dangers of Spiritualism in one of the most dramatic demonstrations in American history only to be accused of being a secret Spiritualist himself. Also, the largest Spiritualist community in the world still exists in Western New York - Lily Dale - a few dozen miles from its birthplace, what is it like today? Finally, a short chapter on a very different place, one that is near polar opposite of Lily Dale - the Chautauqua Institution - where faith is used to build understanding of truth regardless of background. (6/12)

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The birth and rise of Spiritualism - first in Rochester, then in New York City, then the world - giving rise to "spirit photography" and permeating the highest echelons of society, including the Lincoln White House. But what happens when scientific investigation tries to get a closer look at the phenomenon and what is the truth when one of the founders admits its all a fraud? Who is lying and what is the truth? In the first of this two part special of God in the Frontier we explore how three girls from the countryside of Rochester, NY changed the world. (5/12)

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How do you know when you've reached peak Christian Perfectionism? When one man was confident he had found it he started a commune that led to one of the most successful businesses in American flatware. Or what do you do when you read the Bible only to discover a message of when the world was going to end hidden within its text? Would you tell the world or just keep it to yourself?... And what if you were wrong but afterwards people continued to believe it anyway? Welcome to the eccentric world of the Oneida Community and the origin of Adventism. (4/12)

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What happened when Evangelicalism met Calvinism on the New York frontier in Rochester, NY? The little known history of the underpinnings of how the United States shaped its Christian foundation with one man seemingly behind it all - Charles Grandison Finney. Learn about Col. Nathaniel Rochester, his nemeses the Brown family, and how the influx of rootless young men from downstate made them ban together to maintain control of the burgeoning young city. And out of the murder of Capt. William Morgan grew the first true third party of the United States - the Anti-Mason Party. (3/12)

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How did one of the most powerful Native American confederations of the Americas give way to European and US encroachment? And how did Christians feel about this shift of power? In this episode we are introduced to the New York frontier and how a little remembered campaign of total destruction - the Sullivan Expedition - led to the fall of Haudenosaunee land. Using local history books we discover how the land companies of the early New York frontier cheated local tribes for their land, what role Christianity played, and native feelings on the encroaching religion. And we are also introduced to one of the earliest upstate religious leaders of New York - the eccentric Public Universal Friend. (2/12)

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What is religion? How are there so many faithful and yet at the same time so much disagreement over how to worship? In the first episode of my book God in the Frontier: The Impact of the 19th Century Burned-Over District and The Psychology of Faith I dive into a very brief history of Christianity from its inception to early 18th century America, setting the background for the rest of the book focused on the 19th century New York frontier. Why did Protestants break from Catholics? What makes a Calvinist different from an Evangelical? What Christian foundations are rooted in the foundation of the United States? And what is it that makes it so hard for two people to agree on the proper way to worship God? (1/12)

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Ever wonder why animals can live outside 24/7 in the middle of winter while we huddle indoors and turn up the heat? So have I! And so has Harvard Biological Anthropologist Professor Richard Wrangham whose book Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human is the main source of information for this episode. Did we outsmart the rest of the animal kingdom and conquer fire or did we make a Faustian pact with an elemental devil and become its slave? How did the human relationship with fire begin and how did it evolve? Deep down, we may just find that all of us are a bit of a pyromaniac at heart. (Solo episode)

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