Exponent II: The Podcast

Spring 2026 Magazine Launch Party: Open Theme

Welcome to the spring issue of Exponent II! I am writing to you from a warm, early spring day, with sun and birdsong and squirrels in my trees. I am surrounded by evidence that my very short-lived winter (a result of global warming and living in the south) is turning over, that long daylight and green trees are returning to my yard. I am thinking again about renewal. Exponent II is renewing work for me. I marvel at the beautiful connections that form across these pages, between word and art, between one voice and another. I love watching how individual experiences, feelings, and thoughts weave together to form each issue, reflecting some of the beautiful, collective work of Mormon feminism. This open-themed issue of the magazine is full of organic connections and recurring themes. “Whose Body is This?” and “Undoing the Ideal: Stitched, Scarred, and Sacred” center women’s bodies, examining autonomy, agency, and the impact of harsh beauty standards. In Ocean Blue Taber’s work, My Body is a Temple, painted body parts are fragmented onto Deseret Industry-thrifted lampshades “as a way to take ownership of the vessel that gives me life.” Our featured artist, Anna Ream, discusses gendered expectations in her photograph series, Mormon BSAds. Here the BS stands for “benevolent sexism, the subtle, often well-intentioned ways patriarchal systems constrain women under the guise of protection and reverence.” Ream creates her own versions of the Mormonads that began in the 1970s. She explains, “Co-opting this visual language feels like standing up, naming it openly, and stripping it of its power.” In “Rumpspringa,” “Dear Mormon Parents,” and “Jane Mormons,” three writers unpick some of the complexities of carving out a life off the “straight and narrow;” they find peace, pain, and honesty, living in the “messy middle” and the margins of orthodox Mormonism. Creating and claiming space is also a key theme in the “Women’s Work” feature, where Natasha Rogers interviews Tamu Smith, co-founder of Sistas in Zion, a social media platform amplifying the lives and faith of Black Latter-day Saints. Tamue Smith describes the origins of Sistas in Zion: “So we created this space where we could be ourselves. . . . We gave ourselves permission to be who we are . . . ” In this interview, she also discusses her current and recent projects, passions, joy, and faith. Sorrow and depression also appear across many of these pieces. “Moving through Sorrow” by Tesia Tsai turns an honest eye to the ways depression can impact spirituality. In “Crossing the Finish Line: Why Our Sisters Need a Different Race,” Meg Rittmanic shares the brutal impact serving a mission had on her body and calls for a mission that honors menstruating bodies and mental health. “Come Jesus,” a poem by Elaine Turner, also wrestles with sorrow — the sorrow of observing “submission before a government that has become a god,” as the speaker examines photographs of the victims of mass deportation. As you move through the essays, poems, interviews, talks, paintings, collages, textile arts, and photographs that make up this issue, I hope you will find something new, maybe something you need this spring. May these pages surprise, comfort, teach, and expand us. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Spring 2026 Women's Work: Interview with Tamu Smith

Tamu Smith is a writer, activist, and co-founder of @sistasinzion, a social media platform amplifying the voices and lived experiences of Black Latter-day Saint women. Her work creates space for honest conversations about faith, history, race, and autonomy within the Church. In this Women's Work interview, the power of her voice  — shaped by friendship, faith, and gospel hip hop — calls us toward a more honest and unapologetic way of being. Read the interview in the Exponent II Spring 2026 issue! ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Winter 2026 Magazine Launch Party: Aging

Hear GayLynn talk about her striking coverart, Lovebirds, portions of the Letter from the Editor, and many writers, poets, and artists talk about their pieces published in the Winter 2026 "aging" issue. Witness the Exponent II community connect and make the Winter 2026 issue come alive. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Unpacking Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Feminism, Influence, and LDS Culture

This episode features a conversation led by Caroline Kline and Daniel Foster Smith, Dialogue Unbound hosts, with guests Katie Ludlow Rich and Liz Johnson from Exponent II. The title is: Unpacking Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Feminism, Influence, and LDS Culture ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Fall 2025 Magazine Launch Party: Listen

Dear reader, I am thrilled to picture you holding this issue of Exponent II in your hands. As the new editor in chief, this issue has taught me so much — about listening and about community. I am grateful to the community that built this magazine over 50 years ago, the community of writers that contributed their voices to this issue, and the community of volunteers and editors who continually put it all together. My managing editor, Natasha Rogers, and I are especially grateful to Rachel Rueckert and Carol Ann Litster Young, the former editor in chief and managing editor. We are grateful for the love and labor they poured into Exponent II over these past four years. We are grateful for their kind support throughout this editorial transition. Carol Ann and Rachel are generous listeners, leaders, and friends. We’re honored to continue the work. In this fall issue, we asked our writers and community to tell us about listening. As I write this letter in September of 2025, I am struck by how crucial listening is, how desperately we need generous listeners and bold truth-tellers, right now, in all of our communities. There is so much work to do, and this issue is one step towards deeper listening. In this issue, you will find many perspectives, stories, and accounts of listening — from moments of meaningful connection to advice on growing as a listener to examples of the damage poor listening can do. These voices take on many forms — poems, essays, clay, paint, a sacrament meeting talk, stained glass, portraits, interviews, and letters. In Sarah King’s “Open Letter,” a young feminist addresses Prophet Russell M. Nelson directly and requests that he hear her. Many writers find a deeper spirituality and connection through listening — to classical music, to the divine, to our bodies, to our intuition, to ourselves. Several pieces take on listening as a skill; a skill that we can nurture and grow, and a skill that we must use to connect across difficulties and differences. Nicole Sbitani advocates for listening that is radical and reciprocal. Leticia Storrs shows how Mormonism’s roots teach us to celebrate difference. Becca Kearl, a professional in creating connection through conversation, offers practical advice on forming our ability to listen deeply, especially when we disagree. Inability to communicate about the powerful dangers in our culture — racism, abuse, and misogyny — is closely examined in these pages. Ragan Fry’s short story centers on a toxic marriage and the lingering effects of hearing loss. Elaine Turner describes the experience of recognizing her own racial privilege as the white mother of Black sons. Lori LeVar Pierce’s “The Ward Librarian” and Ruth Ann Snow’s “Women Hearken, Men Listen — Sometimes” reveal the painful limitations for mutual understanding between all genders in a deeply patriarchal Church. Brooke Palmer’s poem, “The Silencing of Ophelia,” hauntingly concludes: “Being silenced hurts more // Than drowning.” As with every issue of Exponent II, this collection of voices are doing the work of feminism in and out of Mormon communities, homes, gardens, and church buildings. The magazine you hold in your hands is a testimony to the power that is generated when we exercise our voices to bridge understanding, to reach others, and see ourselves. Grateful, and listening, Millie ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.