David Conley Nelson has written an extensive account of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nazi Germany in his book "Moroni and the Swastika'.  Desperate to keep the church alive during World War II  the Mormons exploited congruences between the faith and the Nazi Party with shocking results.  

I catch up with Sam Brown for a very quick chat about this cultural moment that sees us grappling with the question of the Book of Mormon as a 'translation'.

Philip Barlow, Leonard J. Arrington Chair of Mormon History and Culture, and the 2017 fellow at the Maxwell Institute at BYU joins me to discuss the state of Mormon Studies.  We discuss the need for new conversations regarding the Book of Mormon and the place of Joseph Smith in the tradition.

Professor Richard Bushman's contribution to contemporary Mormon Studies cannot be overstated.  In this interview we discuss the need for a refreshed understanding of the idea of the 'translation' of the Book of Mormon; the imperative for a more supple Mormon conversation, and  the urgency for us to speak up with candor at church.  We also talk about the upcoming Mormon Art Center Festival at Riverside Church in New York City.

Carolina Allen, founder of Big Ocean Women, discusses the motivation behind her desire to find a space for women away from some of the more aggressive politics that progressive feminism is known for.  Rather than seeing a more gentle and inclusive feminism as weak, she sees a peaceful, non-combative posture as more powerful, inviting and intuitive.

Natasha Helfer Parker, Mindy Gledhill, Jana Spangler, Andrea Radke-Moss and Rachel Hunt Steenblik discuss their experiences at the Women's March in Washington DC and New York City.  Contrary to Sister Elaine Dalton's observation each of these women found the event to be sacred, peaceful and transformative.

How did The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints become an over-bloated corporate bureaucracy?  What are the implications for the way in which the church practices religion, and for the way it inspires faith? Ron and Josh Madson address these questions and share some reflections about how all of this squares up with the God's passion for justice and Jesus' call for the relief of the poor.

A conversation about the the Disney film 'Moana', its meaning and its significance and as 'Polynesian' Mormon women.  

Mormon women, particularly those from Utah, aren't necessarily known for their assertiveness. Socialized in a heavy patriarchy, too many women are socialized to accept that surrender to the authority of masculinity is necessary for their salvation.  Julie de Azevedo Hanks takes this cultural habit on in her recently published The Assertiveness Guide for Women.  Drawing from her extensive research and work in this area Julie joins Gina to discuss the religious and cultural influences that might complicate a woman's desire to be assertive along with good advice about what to do about that.

A candid chat with sex, marriage and family therapists Natasha Helfer-Parker and Julie de Azevedo Hanks about Wendy Nelson's controversial talk at the January 2017 Young Single Adult World Wide Broadcast - part two