Iran (thread 10), Episode 9: Goldwater’s Grit: How He’d Handle Modern Iran

Mormons (thread 11), Episode 3: When the Spanish Inquisition Met Mormonism: A 17th-Century Smackdown

Imagine sitting in a tense 17th-century tribunal as Joseph Smith drops bombshell after bombshell — angels, buried plates, a new scripture, and the idea that the whole church had gone off the rails. The inquisitors are learned, deliberate, and utterly flummoxed; they don’t hate religion, they just hate being told their whole system is obsolete. This episode walks through that slow, increasingly panicked deliberation with a mix of wry humor and close reading of theological stakes. It’s a fun, curious thought experiment that asks: what happens when Christianity 2.0 shows up at the Inquisition’s door?

Mormons (thread 11), Episode 2: If Joseph Smith Faced the Salem Courts: Angels, Evidence, and Endless Questions

Picture this: Joseph Smith in a 1692 Salem courtroom — everyone already believes in angels, but that just means they’ll pick apart his story with a thousand tiny, relentless questions. It’d be equal parts curiosity, suspicion, and paperwork, and honestly, they’d drive him crazier than a room of Harvard professors ever could. It’s wild to think the toughest crowd for a miracle claim might be people who already believe in miracles; they’ve just heard too many false prophets. The real question won’t be whether angels exist, but how anyone can prove they do.

Mormons (thread 11), Episode 1: When Cotton Mather Met Joseph Smith: Puritan Skeptic vs. New Revelation

Imagine sitting down for coffee with Cotton Mather and Joseph Smith; sounds wild, right? This episode plays out like that: Mather believes in angels and miracles, but he’s obsessive about testing claims — so Smith’s new scripture would get a ruthless, page‑by‑page interrogation. It’s a strange mix of grudging respect and fierce skepticism — Mather would admire the Mormons’ seriousness but still insist that extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence. Think of it as a 17th‑century mic drop on 19th‑century revivalism.

WWKMD, Episode 19: Marx vs. the Self-Checkout: Who’s Really Doing the Work?

Ready for episode two? Picture Karl Marx standing at the self-checkout — baffled, amused, and secretly nodding. These machines promise freedom and speed, but somehow leave you doing the cashier’s job while also being treated like a suspect. We take a quick, friendly look at how automation shifts work, ramps up surveillance, and dresses cost-cutting as convenience. It’s irritating, a little hilarious, and exactly the kind of contradiction Marx would have loved to point out.

WWKMD, Episode 18: Karl Marx at Walmart — Part 1: The Shopping Cart Showdown

Want to hear a wild take on why people fight over shopping carts? This episode uses Marx to show how unpaid labor gets hidden as “common decency,” and why we end up policing each other instead of questioning the system. It’s short, sharp, and a little cheeky — perfect if you want to see how a tiny everyday thing reveals something much bigger about work, profit, and who really pays the bill.