St. Nicholas' Day has passed, but we're not done with Christmas visitors yet. Santa has taken a few different forms over the centuries, and he's got an army of companions and alternates, too. In addition to the Christian figures, there are Communist replacements, too.

There's no shortage of saints with questionable careers, even during their "faithful years." For others, we might be looking at people who never existed. Let's explore more saints who might not deserve such exalted status.

We're pleased to welcome Andrew Penner as our guest this week. Having grown up in the Mennonite tradition, he's here to teach us about the Anabaptist movement.

The witch hunts of Salem, Massachusetts, are the most well known point of puritan extremism in American history, and as we sit between Halloween and Remebrance Day, it's a great time to learn about how things got so bad for people who deviated from the religious extreme.

What is Halloween, really? You've almost certainly met somebody who has no real grasp of the idea, and there's a good chance there's something new here for you, too.

After three years of running this show together, it's time for us to review som of the things we've learned.

Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is right around the corner, and we've decided to interrupt our regular programming in favour of this great interview with Cheryl Whiskeyjack from Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society. Cheryl teaches us a little bit about her religious background, some of the great mythology of Turtle Island, and how she learned the traditions of her current faith. She also discusses things like cultural misappropriation, the legacy of residential schools,...

If you think you know Mormonism, this one's for you. We examined the origins of the Latter Day Saints last month, and now we're taking a look at the men that led the Mormons in various divisions. After the Great Mormon Schism, Brigham came out on top as the leader of the largest faction, and he took his party to the Salt Lake Valley, but several groups splintered off to avoid Brigham, while others splintered off after he died to keep his vision alive forever. We also get deeper into the...

Brigham Young gets a lot of credit as the "American Moses," but it's nothing compared to the work Joseph Smith did to earn that title. After July's episode on the Book of Mormon as a text, we're exploring the origins of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement within the broader category of millennial restorationists. What did the early Mormons believe? What's the deal with polygamy? This week's episode is the first half of a two-part exploration of the Mormon tradition.

This week we're examining the failures of scriptural canon, and some of the literature that might have changed the religions we see today. Lost books include apocryphal literature from heretics, grifters, and entrapment-dodging translators, but there's also genuine works that were abridged or edited later, allowing the originals to disappear in the fog of disuse. Some books are lost because their religious traditions and communities have died out or were pushed underground, and other books...

What makes a book sacred, really? As we explore the nature of scriptural canon across various traditions, we've found that the only power that can make anything sacred is the human mind--the choice to esteem something differently than other things.

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is one of the best books of religious satire released this century, and maybe it will hold that status for a while--only time will tell.

The Book of Mormon has a better story than you might think, though not quite what you might have heard in Stone & Parker's musical of the same name. In this exploration of yet another holy book, we examine the witnesses who get quoted in the finished publication, and why each of them left Joseph Smith but forever maintained their testimony of this sacred work.

The Guru Granth Sahib is the last and eternal Guru, an authoritative collection of sacred verses from not only the greatest Sikh leaders, but also from faithful Muslims and Hindus. Like other sacred texts, this collection has an interesting history, including a contested editorial process. Who are them men who recorded their revelations in sacred song? How does this collection bridge the gaps between conflicting traditions in India? How has the Sikhi made its mark in the subcontinent and...

The Quran is among the most published texts in the world, and among the most vilified in the global west. Who was really responsible for the book as we know it today, and how did imperial power play into its history? Why is it that so many interpretations of the text are considered authoritative, and what efforts were made to ensure the acceptance of such ambiguity? The recitations of the prophet Mohammad are controversial, not only in our globalized community, but within early Islam.

The Christian New Testament is a tiny collection of letters, and a small handful of mutually interdependent testimonies of Jesus. The outliers are almost as valuable as the more orthodox materials....

The Hebrew Bible is not the same thing as the Imperial Christian Old Testament, nor is it seen in the same way by those who value it....

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most religiously important pieces of Indian literature, a segment of the longest poem ever written...

Easter is one of the few "Christian" holidays celebrated in English secular culture without any aspect of recognizable Christianity. As much as anything can be correctly called "pagan," Easter fits into that category despite centuries of syncretic efforts. Let's explore....

Dr. Wes Thiessen isn't just a great storyteller, he's a conflict resolution expert, and he's here to tell us about Sharia Law, its history, its real world function in Muslim communities, and why it shouldn't make anybody nervous.

Islam, like many religious traditions, is not monolithic. Let's explore the history of schisms and the personalities behind them in the early Islamic period. We also explore the traditions that fuel the authoritarian fundamental extremists that so many are worried about.

Sex and sexuality among believers isn't as monolithic as you might think, and of course there's the outlying "bad actors" to keep this spectrum broad. The Torah has some strict rules about who Jewish men should avoid, but isn't too quick to prescribe punishment for premarital sex. The Christian New Testament has some rules about minding your own business. Islamic tradition has some strong words about oral sex. And so much more....

It's the season of love, but the man we know as St. Valentine is a bit of a mystery, lost to time, and almost certainly an amalgamation of two or more men. Valentinus was a big fan of romantic love, as the story goes, but there's more to be unraveled, including purification rituals, lovers' lotteries, and even a Norman celebration.

Do you trust your healers? What are their credentials? Is it a medical doctorate or a congregation of ardent but clueless believers? What are the reasons behind voluntary medical exemptions? Let's explore.

There might be nothing more American than the emergence of Capitalist Jesus and the Prosperity Gospel. This episode explores the men behind the phenomenon, and the scriptural passages that are abused to defend it.