public scholarship

I am the program director for Sacred Writes: Public Scholarship on Religion,
a Henry Luce Foundation-funded project hosted by Northeastern University.

For more on my own public scholarship, keep scrolling.

“Training Public Scholars from a Social Distance,” National Teaching and Learning Forum (forthcoming 2021), with Liz Bucar

“Public Scholarship as a Feminist Project,” Women in Higher Education (4 October 2021), with Liz Bucar

“Bombing American Religion to Save It,” The Revealer (9 September 2021)

“UVM Might Be Done with Religion, but Religion Is Not Done with Us,” Religion Dispatches (7 December 2020)

“QAnon Didn’t Just Spring Forth from a Void,” Religion Dispatches, interviewed by Adam Willems (10 September 2020)

“Abuse Happens Because We Let It,” Sojourners (7 July 2020)

”This Is Not an Antiracist Reading List, OR, the Treachery of Allyship,” Feminist Studies in Religion (11 June 2020), with Yohana Agra Junker

“How a Stars and Stripes Hijab on ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ Reveals America’s Troubling Relationship to Gender, Ethnicity, and ‘That Religion,’” Religion Dispatches (27 April 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Michelle Remembers and the Satanic Panic,” The Revealer (4 February 2020)

“Abusing Religion: Race, Islam, and Not Without My Daughter,” The Revealer (29 May 2019)

“Abusing Religion: Polygyny, Mormonisms, and Under the Banner of Heaven” (20 February 2019)

“Absent an Imam, Domineque Ray's Execution by Alabama Disenfranchises Muslims,” Religion News Service (13 February 2019)

“This Field Which Is Not One, OR, the Body Is Smart,” North American Association for the Study of Religion (16 November 2018)

“Trump Pardons the Hammonds, Arsonists Who Inspired Bundy Standoff,” Religion Dispatches (11 July 2018)

“Sarsour’s Struggle for Justice: It Is Our Duty to Think Harder or Sit Down,” The Maydan (7 August 2018)

“Planned Parenthood? Forsaking American Women for the Mother of All Bombs,” Religion Bulletin (16 May 2017)

“When the Vampire Looks: Gender and Surveillance in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” Mizan POP (18 April 2016)

“#VanillaISIS, White Tears, and the Adventures of Captain Moroni,” Religion Dispatches (7 January 2016)

“#YesAllWomen: Online Feminism, Religion, and Risk,” Feminist Studies in Religion (15 September 2015)

“Defending Minority Religions,” Religion Dispatches (9 July 2015), with Andrew Aghapour

“Tooken: Women, Brainwashing, and the Gospel of ‘Kimmy Schmidt,’” Religion Dispatches (3 April 2015)

“Everything New Is Old Again: New Religious Movements as American Minority Religions,” Spotlight on Teaching (26 January 2015)

“Don’t Stand So Close to Me: On Not Hearing Elizabeth Smart,” Juvenile Instructor (15 May 2013)

Interviews & Conversations

“Satanic Panic, Then and Now,” Straight White American Jesus (13 September 2021)

“Public Humanities, Public Jokes,” University of Toronto (6 September 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“White Feminine Innocence, the Body Politic, and Contraceptive Nationalism,” Straight White American Jesus (19 July 2021)

“Abusing Religion,” Classical Ideas (17 January 2021), interviewed by Greg Soden

“Cults and New Religious Movements,” Australian Broadcasting Company: Rear Vision (13 December 2020), interviewed by Keri Philips

“The Roots of QAnon,” Religious Studies Project: Discourse! (31 August 2020), with Savannah Finver, S. Jonathon O’Donnell, and David G. Robertson

“QAnon, Satanic Panic, and New Religious Movements,” Sacred Tension (14 July 2020), interviewed by Stephen Bradford Long

“Challenges and Responsibilities for the Public Scholar of Religion,” Religious Studies Project (25 March 2019), interviewed by Andrew Henry

“The Big 80s,” The Witch Hunt Podcast (3 September 2017), interviewed by Nancy Mades-Byrd

“Cults on CNN’s ‘Believer,’” Study Religion (August 2017), interviewed by Michael J. Altman

“Media and Minority Religions,” Rational Faiths (5 December 2015), interviewed by Brian Dillman and Benjamin Knoll

“Directions in the Study of Religion,” Marginalia (28 April 2015), interviewed by Kristian Petersen

Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion Podcast

“What Are Indigenous Religions, Part 2,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (13 January 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“What Are Indigenous Religions, Part 1,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (13 October 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“You Don’t Know African Diasporic Religions,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (29 September 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“World Religions, but Better,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (15 September 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (19 May 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Twitter, Jinn, and the Great Conjunction, with Dr. Ali Olomi,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (5 May 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Islam Is More than You Think It Is,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (21 April 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Was Jesus a Wizard, with Dr. Shaily Patel,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (7 April 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“‘Rona Revisited,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (31 March 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Early Christianity Is Actually Kind of Interesting,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (24 March 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“White Evangelical Racism with Dr. Anthea Butler,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (10 March 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“White American Evangelicalism + Racism = BFF,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (24 February 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Simran Jeet Singh Keeps Going,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (10 February 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Public Scholarship and Representation,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (27 January 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Welcome Back, Nerds,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (13 January 2021), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Review Session! What Did We Learn? Where Do We Go from Here?” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (25 November 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“EXTRA CREDIT with Dr. Judith Weisenfeld,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (25 November 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in What’s NOT the US,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (11 November 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in What’s Now the US,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (28 October 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Religion and Race in South Asia and NOT the US,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (14 October 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Religion and Race in What’s Now the US,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (30 September 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Intersectionality,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (16 September 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“#ScholarStrike,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (3 September 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Race, Gender, and Sexuality: What's Religion Got to Do with 'Em?” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (2 September 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Smart Grrl Summer: Religion & Pop Culture,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (22 July 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Smart Grrl Summer: Religion & Sound with Prof. Vicki Brennan,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (8 July 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Smart Grrl Summer: Religious Nationalism,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (24 June 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Smart Grrl Summer: Cults,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (10 June 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Review Session: What Have We Learned and What Happens Next?’” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (6 May 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Extra Curriculars: Ru-ligion Ru-vealed! The T on ‘Rupaul’s Drag Race,’” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (22 April 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Extra Credit with Prof. Omid Safi,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (8 April 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“You Might Be Done with Religion, but Religion Is Not Done with You,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (24 March 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Very Special Episode: Religion in the Time of ‘Rona,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (17 March 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“What Does It Mean to Be ‘Religious?’” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (11 March 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“World Religions: Shall We Not,” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (26 February 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Major Religions? Minor Religions? Must We?” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (12 February 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“Who Gets Left out of ‘Religion?’” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (29 January 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“What the Heck Is Religion, and What the Heck Is This Podcast?” Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion (13 January 2020), with Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst

“How to Keep It 101: Public Scholarship, Digital Media, and Religious Studies,” Princeton University (7 October 2021)

“Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Approach to Studying Religion,” Princeton University (6 October 2021)

So You Want to Start a Podcast
New England Humanities Consortium
30 September 2021

Public Scholarship IS Scholarship
New England Humanities Consortium
30 September 2021

Is Religion Still Relevant Today?
Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies
23 September 2021

“Fall River,” Blumhouse Productions (interview, May 2021)

QAnon, the Capitol Insurrection, and the Biden Inauguration (with Elizabeth Dias)
Hofstra University — Critical Spiritualities
26 February 2021

The QAnon Phenomenon: Satanic Panic, Cannibal Fantasies, and Pizzagate (with Jeff Sharlet)
Wesleyan University — E2020 Initiative
(2 November 2020)

“Becoming Less Racist: Lighting the Path to Anti-Racism with Simran Jeet Singh,” Religion News Service (24 July 2020)

“Religious Studies, Sexuality, and Religious Freedom: Tips for Sharing Scholarship with the Public,” Religious Freedom Center: Freedom Forum Institute (12 December 2018)