Hard to Believe #018 – Greg Garrett - Cultural Theologian

Cultural theologian Greg Garrett is the author of more than 20 books, including 2009's We Get to Carry Each Other, the Gospel According to U2, 2017’s Living with Living Dead, an exploration of the theological and human insights of the zombie apocalypse trope, and A Long, Long Way: Hollywood's Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation, which was published in May of this year.

Greg teaches English at Baylor University in Texas. He joined John to discuss U2, zombies, race and racism in Hollywood, and the people who continue to teach and inspire him.

He can be found on Twitter at @Greg1Garrett

Mandisa Thomas is the founder of Black Nonbelievers – a nonprofit that connects Black Americans and their allies who are living free of religion and might otherwise be shunned by family and friends in a caring, friendly, and informative environment. The group now has chapters in 14 major cities across the country. 

Mandisa serves on the board of directors for the American Humanist Association, and has been recognized as the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association’s 2018 Person of the Year, the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s Freethought Heroine for 2019, and the Secular Student Alliance’s 2019 Backbone Award winner.

She talked to John about why she believes Christianity can't be unlinked from white supremacy, why she took on the role of helping other Black atheists come out of the closet, and the importance of putting people first and keeping the momentum of this moment alive. 

Kevin S. Decker is a professor of philosophy at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, WA. In his classes, he works from science fiction, comic books, and other popular culture reference points to explore and explain concepts of philosophy to his students. He has also contributed to and edited a number of books from the "...and Philosophy" series, including Alien and Philosophy, Star Wars and Philosophy, Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant, and Terminator and Philosophy: I'll Be Back, Therefore I Am. He is also a devoted Doctor Who fan, and the author of Who is Who, an exploration of philosophy in Doctor Who.

For this episode, John is joined by Nico Vasilo, from CageClub podcasts .html and X is for Podcast. 

Hard to Believe #015– Lovecraft biographer S.T. Joshi

S.T. Joshi is an author, researcher, and scholar based in Seattle, Washington. Since the age of 13, he has immersed himself in studying and chronicling the life and works of the enigmatic and highly influential American author H.P. Lovecraft. Since this month sees the release of HBO's adaptation of Matt Ruff's novel Lovecraft Country, John asked Joshi to speak to him about the author's complex legacy on literature, philosophy, and atheism and how we should think about his problematic views on race.

Joshi, who proudly describes himself as "technologically inept", can be found here: http://stjoshi.org/

He is the author of the superb biography I Am Providence

JW Rinzler is the prolific author of numerous "making of" books, including his acclaimed The Making of Alien. He spent 15 years working as Lucasfilm's resident historian, and in July he released his first novel, All Up, which chronicles the rise of the Space Age with a mixture of fact, humor, and fantasy. Juhi Khemani joins John to talk to Rinzler about his work, Star Wars, Alien, why we should take the idea of (actual) aliens seriously, and how great science fiction can define a generation, reveal our humanity, and inspire us to get to space. 

Rinzler on Twitter: @JWRinzler

Juhi on Twitter: @juhikhemani

Rinzler's Website: www.jwrinzler.com

In an effort to bring some levity after a string of more “serious” episodes, John decided to investigate the history of the role cats have played in religion. Surely that would be an adorable story! Things got dark quick. Jess Collins makes her second appearance to hear all the delightful cat stories.

Since 1995, journalist Tony Ortega has spilled more ink than perhaps any living person on the topic of the Church of Scientology. He joins us this week to discuss Scientology's past, present, and - now mired in even more scandals than usual - uncertain future. He also explains the whole "Lord Xenu" thing. As a bonus, Mike Manzi, fresh off the conclusion of #CruiseClub, takes a seat in the HtB co-host chair for the first time!

76 years ago, an audacious and high-risk plot nearly killed Hitler and took down the Third Reich from within. Historian Roger Moorhouse joins me to discuss Operation Valkyrie and other conspiracies to take down Hitler that he covers in his outstanding book Killing Hitler. Moorhouse has an MA in history and politics from the University of London and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

76 years ago, an audacious and high-risk plot nearly killed Hitler and took down the Third Reich from within. This is a brief account of what did - and what didn't - motivate Claus von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators to attempt a daring coup. Part one of a two-part special.

Author and researcher Andrew Phillip Smith joins the show to discuss the story of the Cathars and the crusade waged against them in the 13th Century. Andrew is the author of The Secret History of the Gnostics, and The Lost Teachings of the Cathars, in addition to other works. He lives in Wales.