International Podcast Day 2016

It was in the autumn of 2004 that I first discovered podcasting. My first iPod has since been replaced, but I still don't go anywhere without whatever device I can play podcasts on. Whether I'm cooking, going for a long walk, shopping or commuting, it's more than likely I'll be catching up on my favourite ones. On the occasion of September 30, International Podcast Day, I'm sharing my list of top 5 podcasts I've enjoyed the most during the past year.

On Point with Tom Ashbrook
Coming from WBUR/NPR, On Point is done in the best tradition of public radio. It has been one of those shows that initially got me into listening to podcasts. It covers a range of issues, from current affairs to science and history to medicine. Each show consists of an interview conduced by Tom Ashbrook and listeners calling in, asking questions and commenting. You can count on it always being informative, concise, and up-to-date.

Beyond Belief
Beyond Belief is BBC Radio 4's flagship series on religion. Each thirty-minute episode is a panel with several experts discussing a particular subject from different angles. Topics greatly vary, and among the recent ones were Rumi, debt, pacifism, mercy, trauma, and ghosts. The show is presented by Bernie Rea, a Northern Irish theologian who's been with the BBC since the 1970s.

Inspirational Living
The full title of this podcast is Inspirational Living: Motivation, Self-help, Spirituality & Positive Thinking. Weekly episodes last up to 20 minutes and consist of a reading from an inspirational piece of writing. What I particularly like about this podcast, is that a lot of the readings are from the early 1900s, a period that I love. It just gives the whole show an air of old-time radio.

The Black Tapes
This year has been the first in which I gave radio drama a shot - it's been a format I've never particularly enjoyed. Well, until now. The Black Tapes is produced by Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale (both worth checking out for other projects). So far, the show has had two seasons with another one coming up. It's a docudrama about the supernatural and the paranormal, revolving around the enigmatic figure of Dr Strand and the journalist Alex Reagan. The podcast has quite a dedicated fan base, as can be seen on the podcast's Twitter account.

The Big Seance
Speaking of the supernatural, my single biggest discovery of 2016 has been The Big Seance podcast hosted by Patrick Keller. It's the podcast for "paranerds" - a word I first heard on this show and have since adopted with gusto. Episodes consist of interviews with people who are into different aspects of the paranormal / supernatural: book authors, photographers, psychics etc. Another regular feature is Spectral Edition with Tim Prasil - a brief segment reporting on ghost sightings mentioned in the 19th and early 20th century newspapers. It's all great fun!

All of the podcasts listed here are available on iTunes (et sim.) or on the individual websites. Please share your favourite podcasts in the comment section below. And happy Podcast Day!

Bridge over Karišnica
August 2016

Autumn afternoon by the river
Taken in November 2015

The brilliance of Socality Barbie

Socality is one of the recent movements within Christianity, heavily leaning on online presence. To be more precise, on a carefully crafted, aestheticised image of urban, hipster millennials in search of authentic Christian spirituality. It first took off on Instagram, where it continues to exist as a stream of landscape photographs, adventure snapshots and upbeat selfies. What initially constituted it as a movement (on the official website it's also described as a platform and a concept) was a large number of people posting selfies with the caption "I am @Socality", thus identifying with the idea behind the project.

The campaign remains about mobilizing Christians active on social media, encouraging them to form networks with the aim of "connecting churches, organizations and businesses to work together for community development." The website doesn't reveal much about the theology behind it: article 6 under Who We Are simply states that "Socality, at its foundation, is about loving God, loving people and committing to the process." It all has an emerging church feel to it. At least the rhetoric is very similar in that there's an attempt to provide space for people who would otherwise not go to church and who don't feel comfortable about the idea of organized religion, while still identifying as Christian.

However, FAQ briefly mentions that Socality leadership team is "in or under leadership in Bible-believing churches." I've found that much more telling, although it's left me wondering why this piece of information has been relegated to the proverbial small print, with no further details available. Technically, a Bible-believing church could be anything from a traditional Quaker community to the LDS Church. The only group of people who wouldn't find this reference vague at all are the evangelicals. I might be wrong, but I've come to the conclusion that Socality is basically a conservative evangelical attempt to woo the otherwise rather liberal millennials. If so, it's a clever ploy, but also very naive.

With only 178.000 followers on Instagram, Socality has been far surpassed by Socality Barbie who, at present, has 1,3 million followers, plus a steady fan base on Twitter. Who on Earth is Socality Barbie? The Guardian recently published an article about this "newest social media sensation", within its Fashion section, describing it as a parody of an impossible lifestyle - the sort of lifestyle reflected by the constant stream of images on Instagram, Tumblr and elsewhere, showing happy, healthy young people (most of them conspicuously white, but that's another subject), living the life of adventure and authenticity. Socality Barbie has been subverting the whole concept by posting the exact same kind of images, only substituting actual people with a Barbie doll and adding witty comments, exposing the largely superficial nature of (self)representation in the social media.

The Guardian article doesn't even mention the original Socality and its evangelical agenda, focusing instead entirely on Instagram as "a world of commodified hipsterdom." It does sound like a fair description of much of the social media landscape, but what does it say of religious efforts to profit from that or conform to it?

P.S. Only several days ago, Darby Cisneros, the person behind the Socality Barbie persona, announced she will be ending her Instagram presence, at the height of its popularity. The Instagram account will stay open for a while.

An old door
August 2015

Book Reviews #9

FICTION

East of the Mountains by David Guterson

A story of one man's dealing with mortality in the face of a terminal illness. Planning suicide in order to preempt a more ignominious death, the main character goes on a journey through the verdant landscapes of Pacific Northwest. The epic-sounding title, however, positions his suicide mission within the bigger and delicately suggested narrative of (religious?) hope in the midst of the perceived lack of personal agency. As in his other novels, Guterson's prose is evocative and gentle, conveying both the sense of frailty of the human condition and the indomitable power of the spirit.

NON-FICTION
Wilderness Seasons: Life and Adventure in Canada's North by Ian and Sally Wilson

First published in the '80s, still brimming with freshness and optimism of two city slickers embarking on a journey into the wild. After reading it I had an overpowering wish to erect my own log cabin, make bannock and adopt several different kinds of rodents, among other things. Thoroughly enjoyable, although the Wilsons' reports make seem living in the harsh conditions of Canada's north perhaps a bit too fun.

FICTION
Quaker Indictment by Irene Allen

Another in Allen's series of Quaker-themed crime novels. Elizabeth Elliot, an elderly Quaker with a propensity for encountering gruesome acts of crime in the most unlikely places, solves another mystery thanks to her power of deduction and devout allegiance to Quaker ethics. Sweet.

NON-FICTION
Antigone's Claim by Judith Butler

One of the leading contemporary theorists revisits Sophocles' Antigone and presents her analysis of the complex intersection of gender, kinship, custom and ethics. Not so much a treatise on Antigone per se, the book is a continuation of gender theories introduced in her earlier works. In a nutshell: power structures and norms function only as long as individual human beings consent to them, there is nothing foreordained and cut-in-stone about them. Plus: universal is actually pseudo and the "genuine" is never really genuine.

FICTION

Fisherman's Son by Michael Koepf

Flashbacks from a difficult childhood merge with the present struggle for life. Numerous elements were employed in the skillful weaving of this story: portrayal of economic hardships, racial tensions, coming-of-age process, paternal absenteeism... There's a touch of certain gender stereotyping in presenting male characters (fathers, more specifically) as grand, stoic figures who withstand it all. Still, a good read.

On why I love Leviticus

I recently had an email exchange with a friend over the Book of Leviticus. He suggested I should post some extracts from my email here. Thanks for your comments, Ken.
You wondered why I consider Leviticus one my favorite books of the Bible. Couple of reasons. I am still a historian at heart and I find Leviticus extremely rich in historical data on the Jewish society of the period, their fears, frustrations, attitudes to physical and mental purity, understanding of expiation, attitude towards different classes within the society, etc. Much of what we know about the Greek society has also been extracted from its laws preserved on stone monuments. It can be quite tedious to read legal documents, ancient or modern for that matter, but I have come to appreciate them for the abundance of details they provide on the inner workings of a system. I don't come from a fundamentalist background, so I have personally never experienced cultural conditioning that would attempt to implement OT legal strictures today. I feel free to read Leviticus as it is. And when actually placed in its proper context of mid-1st millennium BCE Mediterranean, it is quite progressive in comparison with the legislation found elsewhere in the region.

[Leviticus] is a collection of ancient documents that cannot (and, really, does not need to) compete with modern science or withstand its scrutiny. Fundamentalist religion does need to do these things, but that's a self-imposed race against both time and common sense. I see the Bible standing as a silent witness to their folly. The Bible actually does make sense when read contextually, and the more seemingly tedious or backward a text is, the more sensible and meaningful it becomes when put in its historical and social context. In that sense, Leviticus is firmly grounded in a particular time period and gives a vivid portrayal of the people, whereas some other books or narratives within them do not. The creation narratives, a lot of the Psalms, Job and some other are timeless and universal. Leviticus, being a legal code, is very specific and grounded in time. While it may not have the poetic beauty of some of the other texts, it is still invaluable.