Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion Podcast · Profs. Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst and Megan Goodwin

Crossover Episode: KI101 on "Amplified," with Stacey Copeland

March 2, 2024·29 min·2 clips

How did two scholars accidentally create a podcast that reached thousands during quarantine?

This episode features hosts Megan Goodwin and Elise Morgenstein Fuerst, scholars of religion, in conversation with Stacey Copeland from the Amplify Podcast Network. They discuss their motivations for creating the feminist, anti-racist podcast "Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion." The conversation centers on their journey into podcasting as a form of public scholarship. Goodwin and Morgenstein Fuerst initially planned to produce only five episodes for classroom use. Their launch in January 2020 coincided with the pandemic, which unexpectedly expanded their audience to include educators, public health workers, and a global community. They describe the significant, unforeseen workload involved in producing the podcast, writing grants, and managing interns. A major theme is their use of podcasting to address urgent topics like white Christian nationalism and religious violence in an accessible, open-access format. They cite scholar Sara Ahmed's concept of the "killjoy" as a foundational framework for their work. The hosts express that their deep friendship and collaborative dynamic, humorously described as "chaos Muppet" and "order Muppet," sustains the project. They find joy and purpose in building a community of listeners and contributing to public discourse. The episode is conversational, reflective, and infused with personal anecdotes and humor. It balances discussions of academic labor with the rewards of public engagement. Listeners interested in the practicalities of academic podcasting, feminist pedagogy, or religion in public life would enjoy this episode. Those seeking a highly structured, topic-driven episode on a specific religious subject might find it less directly relevant.

As heard by us

A thoughtful crossover about podcasting, public scholarship, and the community that grows around both.

Keeping It 101 uses this crossover to make a quiet case for podcasting as public scholarship. Megan Goodwin talks about the show's impromptu sabbatical, the catch-up work still hanging over 2023, and the pull of joining Amplified, while the conversation keeps circling back to…

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Why you'd press play

You want a sharp crossover about podcasting, teaching, and public scholarship that still feels playful.

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