We’re sad to be here, but today is the finale of season three! Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos respond to your thoughts and comments on the subjects we’ve covered this season. We chat about social blinders, the Flobots, and how wonderful boardgam

A Short Christmas Break

Dec 22nd, 2022

Just Vivian this week, dropping in to just do a quick thank you for listening and contributing and talking, and to encourage you to take breaks during this period, whether your celebrating Christmas or not! Aled unfortunately has Covid, and is

The Slow Downfall of Twitter

Dec 8th, 2022

This week, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas talk about the slow downfall of twitter as it happens before our very eyes. We chat about what it means to have freedom of speech, the reality of echo chambers, and how the movement of people online mimi

Homelander from The Boys

Nov 24th, 2022

In today’s episode, Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos battle through plumber interruptions to talk about the role of Homelander in Amazon’s The Boys. We talk about the origins of the term ‘cliffhanger ending’, Christian nationalism in the United St

Klaus's Cult in Umbrella Academy

Nov 10th, 2022

This week, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas talk about Klaus’s cult in season two of the Umbrella Academy on Netflix. We use it as a fun basis to then jump around sociological analyses of new religious movements, including Max Weber’s typology of

Over the Garden Wall

Oct 27th, 2022

In this episode, Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos round out Spooky Season with Vivian’s favourite autumnal movie/show: Over the Garden Wall. There are spoilers, so if you want to watch it fresh, please do! In this episode, we talk about the nature

Buffy's Once More With Feeling

Oct 13th, 2022

This week, Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos chat about the famous musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Once More With Feeling”. We chat about the Christian influence on the ideas of Heaven and Hell in the Buffy verse, and how Spike is one

Fandom and Cosplay (feat. Holly Swinyard)

Sep 29th, 2022

This week, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas are joined by pop culture writer and cosplay expert Holly Swinyard. We chat about all things interesting about cosplay, including aspects of costuming vs buying, the connection between fiction and cospla

Board Games (feat. Paul-Francois Tremlett)

Sep 15th, 2022

This week, in an episode recorded live from the British Association for the Study of Religion Conference, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas are joined by Paul-Francois Tremlett who has a passion for board games. We chat about board game nostalgia,

How to Build a Durkheimian Sex Room

Sep 1st, 2022

Netflix’s new show How to Build a Sex Room attempts to de-stigmatise sex in United States culture through the interior design services being offered to a sex room. In this episode, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas talk about How to Build a Sex Roo

American Idiot and the Jesus of Suburbia

Aug 18th, 2022

This week, Aled and Vivian talk about Green Day’s album American Idiot, and in particular the figure of the Jesus of Suburbia. We talk about protest music, American nationalist myths, the connections between religion and politics, and how graff

The Mythology of Orville Peck

Aug 4th, 2022

This week, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas delve into country singer Orville Peck. We talk about the different types of country music, and how hiding your identity can also be a way of being authentic about your identity. We talk about the perfor

Star Trek: Who Mourns for Adonis

Jul 21st, 2022

This week, Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos return to Star Trek for an episode breakdown. This time, it’s the Original Series, season 2, episode 2 called “Who Mourns for Adonis?” And ooo boy is there loads to unpack in this one. We talk about E.B

Pilgrimage and the Fan Convention

Jul 6th, 2022

Vivian and Aled return to the world of pilgrimage once again, following Vivian’s attendance at MCM Comic Con in London. After a bit of a roundabout start, we dig into the notion of the fan convention as pilgrimage, following many conversations

Dune and Islam

Jun 22nd, 2022

With the release of the 2021 film Dune, a conversation about Dune’s depiction of religion and it’s connection to Islam has been re-ignited. For this episode, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas want to dig into the depictions of Islam in Dune, especi

Worldbuilding Religion

Jun 9th, 2022

Apologies for Vivian’s audio in this episode. Microphone problems, which hopefully won’t happen again!This episode, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas discuss the pitfalls, trials and tribulations of crafting religion in fictional worlds - whatever

Turning Red: the Pilgrim or Tourist?

May 30th, 2022

In this episode, Vivian Asimos and Aled Thomas talk about Pixar’s Turning Red, and the complicated conception of pilgrimage. Using Mei’s family temple as a jumping off point, Vivian and Aled talk about religious tourism, religion and capitalism

Love is Blind: Kyle and Shaina

May 12th, 2022

The Religion and Popular Culture Podcast is back with Season 3! Anthropologist Vivian Asimos joins once again with Sociologist Aled Thomas to discuss Netflix’s Love is Blind season 2, specifically the relationship between Kyle and Shaina. This

Season 3 Preview

Apr 28th, 2022

We’re coming back to your ears on May 12, and Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos were just too excited to keep it from you. The Religion and Popular Culture Podcast, where we talk about religion, popular culture and everything in between, is back ag

A Reflection on Season 2

Jan 6th, 2022

Today, we reflect on the episodes we’ve gone over in season two. We not only talk about the huge variety of episode topics we’ve covered, but also trace the different analytic threads running through them all. Despite such wide-ranging topics,

Christmas - Religious or Secular?

Dec 23rd, 2021

Today, Aled and Vivian talk about Christmas, but particularly the tension in the holiday between Christmas as a religious holiday or Christmas as a secular holiday. We reflect on how this tension is presented in popular culture, including Netfl

Pop Culture Tattoos

Dec 9th, 2021

In this episode of the Religion and Popular Culture Podcast, Aled and Vivian talk about pop culture tattoos. We talk about our own pop culture tattoos and a little about why we got them. We also talk about how we communicate socially with our b

Food, Religion and Pop Culture

Nov 25th, 2021

In honor of PSL season, we talk about how and where religion and pop culture intersects with food. We talk about food media, particularly Nigella Lawson, but also about how food can define cultural moments, such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte.Send

The Religious Dimensions of Cinema

Nov 11th, 2021

Aled Thomas and Vivian Asimos talk about how cinema can function as religion. We talk about communal experiences, how films can be ideological, and the importance of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.Send us an email: [email protected]

Good Omens

Oct 28th, 2021

Aled is caught up in the hype of the start of filming for Good Omens season 2, and Vivian can be convinced that the themes of angels and demons tied to the apocalypse is enough to get it in for Halloween. That's right! This week, we're chatting