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Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion Podcast
Keeping it 101 is the podcast that helps our nerdy listeners make sense of religion. Why religion? Well, if you read the news, have a body, exist in public, or think about race, gender, class, ability, or sexuality, you likely also think about religion — even if you don’t know it yet. Let us show you why religion is both a lot more important and a little easier to understand than you might think. Put us in your earholes and let us show you why religion isn’t done with you — even if you’re done with religion.
Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion Podcast
Review Session: Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What have we learned this semester? Why did so many smart folks agree to talk to us about so many interesting topics? What happens next? You’ll have to tune in to find out, nerds!
Homework: Go walk some children in nature. Don't forget your sunscreen!
As always, be sure to visit keepingit101.com for full show notes, homework, transcripts, & more!
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Keeping It 101: A Killjoy's Introduction to Religion is proud to be part of the Amplify Podcast Network.
This is Keeping it 101: a killjoy's introduction to religion podcast. This season our work is made possible in part through a generous grant from the New England Humanities Consortium and with additional support from the University of Vermont's Humanities Center. We're grateful to live, teach, and record on the current, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Abenaki, Wabenaki, and Aucocisco peoples.
Megan Goodwin:What's up, nerds? Hi, hello, I'm Megan Goodwin, a scholar of American religions, race and gender.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Hi, hello, I'm Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, a historian of religion, Islam, race and racialization, and South Asia. Goodwin, we made it.
Megan Goodwin:Looks like we made it!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:We fucking made it. It's the final episode of our third, well- fourth if we count#SmartGrrlSummer Season, and this one was experimental, but we hope successful. You know what, though?
Megan Goodwin:Mmm what?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:You know what I want to do on the last day of season/semester right?
Megan Goodwin:Have class outside?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:No, never class outside.
Megan Goodwin:I don't know man, I might be doing class outside if we're back on campus next semester. It'd be nonstop class outside for as long as it doesn't snow. But I suspect what you want to do, nerd, is an assessment review and revision. Because even though we know assessments and course evaluations systematically disadvantage BIPOC women, queers- BIPOC here stands for black, indigenous, Latinx, Muslim, Asian, etc. women and femmes and trans folks, disabled folks, all of the folks again, already minoritized in the academy, get double screwed by evaluations. But even though we know all of that you, bless your heart, still find value in reflection, taking stock and finding places to improve.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I didn't say we needed to give it to the man, but I do think we can have a look in the mirror. And do some thinking, and yes, I- yes, that is what I want to do!
Megan Goodwin:Okay, alright! Okay!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Not outside! Never outside! But I definitely want to do it.
Megan Goodwin:It's like camp! It's good. Anyway, I need you by me, beside me, to guide me, because it's the last chance for the LESSON PLAN.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Well, let's jump in.
Megan Goodwin:Okay. Today's thesis is: we did some stuff, and we want to talk about it. We're offering some revisions, some reflections, and some review to cap off this third/fourth season of the podcast. Can we just pause and reflect that we've been doing this for a year and we have four seasons? What is wrong with us?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:A lot. There's a lot wrong with us, don't worry, nerds, we're gonna get there in a minute.
Megan Goodwin:Cool cool cool, cool cool cool. We do this because this is what accountability to you, our listeners can look like. It's what our last day of class looks like if we were in person or on a wretched Zoom class. I don't do that. But good forbid she does. And it is certainly what scholarship looks like. We need to restate what our goals were, name, and maybe even reframe the bits we think we could have done better, and reflect on what comes next as we killjoy about religion into the future.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:THE 101: ON TODAY, the section where we do Professor-work.
Megan Goodwin:So let's recap, shall we? After two seasons that were more or less theme-driven; Season One was concepts in studying religion, Season Two was race and gender in religion. This season, we played around with the new format. As you well know by now we paired episodes off. So first being two of us setting up a problem or an issue in religion that you've probably heard us mention before, but we hadn't gone into depth about. So we did overviews of these issues, and then paired those overviews with the second episode, which was us chatting with a leading expert on that very issue.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, yeah. And to be clear, I think we wanted to do this, this season, because well, we like interview podcasts, but we aren't one. With loads of shoutouts and love to our friends at Classical Ideas Podcasts and the crew of folks we know doing New Books Network-
Megan Goodwin:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:That style, a scholar comes on to highlight a new bit of research and the interviewer helps them walk through it, it's just not us.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:We thought that paired episodes would mimic a classroom, or, I guess, our classrooms when we had visitors, in the before times. And what that used to look like was that often students will read something by the guest speaker, or their visit will coincide with the end of a unit. So basically, no one comes in cold, the author knows that the audience is prepped, the audience feels 'with it' enough to hear more than just the #basic-bits.
Megan Goodwin:Yes, yes, that that was the goal. And we will talk in a hot second about whether we think it was successful. Short answer is yes and also no. But we are- organized this season in this way, primarily because like we said, all the way back in the first episode of Season Three, because 'it's only together that we're a genius,' as Mary Hunt tells us. No two people can know everything, even if we are exceptionally on it. Ilyse we can't know everything. It includes us.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:WHAT.
Megan Goodwin:I know. I know. I'm offended by it, too. And yet, here we are. It's been important to both of us to think about the ways to incorporate not just us on the podcast, even though it is ultimately, you know, our podcast, for all the obvious reasons, but primarily among them only together, are we a genius. We learn everyday from our colleagues. So why not let our colleagues take the mic here and teach our listeners along with us?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Absolutely. And that was the goal. So let's organize ourselves a bit. I think I want to start with review, then revision, then reflection. And since I write most of our scripts, I'm just going to declare that we are doing just that.
Megan Goodwin:Aye aye Captain!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Part the First: Review. And I've called for dramatic music if you please, so do not disappoint.
Megan Goodwin:I won't let you down, or give you up.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Oh, thanks. Okay, Megan. Here's the rundown. We covered four topics this season, and there was overlap between them all. First, we talked about public scholarship, its risks and rewards. And then we had our dear friend, and all around rockstar Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, on to talk about his often unconventional scholarship like his illustrated children's book"Fauja Singh Keeps Going." Then we talked about white Christian supremacy and racism ahead of welcoming Dr. Anthea Butler to talk about her latest work,"White Evangelical Racism." Those two don't seem like they go together. But given both Simran and Anthea's outrageous public scholarship production, and their focus on racism in the US, there is far more in common than first meets the eye.
Megan Goodwin:True story. Then we talked about early Christianity because a lot of you nerds have been asking for Christianity a lot. And, you know, we like to give the people what they want (sometimes). Thankfully, Dr. Shaily Patel, who is an actual expert, unlike either of us, came on and helped us figure out not only if Jesus was a wizard, but how questions about authenticity, labeling, and magic, influence how we read Christianity today. Finally, we did a bit on Islam. I know I know after what 35 episodes you finally got one exactly up your alley, Ilyse, congratulations! How many- How many times did I make you let me talk about the US?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:So many.
Megan Goodwin:So many! Like every other episode... Like, you can talk about Hajj one time. Anyway. Let's keep trucking. So, yes, hooray, finally an episode about Islam! You did some overview stuff, of course. But ultimately, you basically told us that we know so little about Islam that we don't even know what to ask. We don't even know what we're missing, which is where our final guest Dr. Ali Olomi came in. He talked about astrology, jinn, and the occult in Medieval Islam as a way to think about Islamic diversity and plurality plus, jinn. Now, these two might seem like they also don't fit. But au contraire, skeptical listener, didn't you notice the theme of magic, occult, and paying attention to how traditions have been reduced to a few politicized messages when all this richness, and weirdness, and messiness abound?!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:And I'll say too, that overall, each of these guests done a ton of work around race, religion, religio-racial identities, and gender, but in really different ways. Each of them is making super specific, super expert scholarship accessible and legible to their own audiences of nerds. In terms of why any of this messiness matters, I guess my takeaway here would be, I know a lot, like an expert should, but there's always more to learn, more messiness to explore. And all of us, whether we focus on ancient manuscripts or contemporary politics has something to tell us about the past, present, and future of thinking about religion. That's my take-home from this season. Megan, what's yours?
Megan Goodwin:Our friends are wicked smart. Like, I just, I am really excited about any opportunity to be in conversation with smart, kind, folks who are enthusiastic about their subjects. And that's what we got to do all season long. That's amazing. It's also just- it's cool to be able to see folks translate their work for a broader public. And I know I'm, like, on my public scholarship horse, because this is what I do. But it was really neat to see folks respond to those episodes and say, like, look, I told you what I do is interesting, I told you, this still matters. And it does. So yeah. Good job, everybody! Go team!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:That brings us to Part the Second: Revisions.
Megan Goodwin:"More dramatic music"
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Megan, I know, I have a couple of revisions I'd like to make. But do you have any? Would you- Why don't you go first?
Megan Goodwin:Okay. I think I have not so many revisions as exhaustions.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I shouldn't laugh at you, I know
Megan Goodwin:I'm tired. I mean, like, I like- I like what how tired you are- e did. And I'm also really curio s about what would have be n different if we were not o freaking tired. I think we mig t have moved slower through so e of this material if we had mo e time, and space, and spoons to work through it. But we didn t. And I like what we did. That s- that's all I have to say ab ut that.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Okay, well, that's really good. I think that's really important that we name where we were in this, a year into the podcast, and a year into the pandemic.
Megan Goodwin:And where we were, was tired.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:So I do have some revisions. So I'm gonna jump right in. And I think my revision is basically about Christianity, and specifically, our "White American Evangelicalism + Racism = BFF" Episode. So I've re-listened. And I've heard a bunch of critique from some of our stalwart listeners, which I'm really grateful for. And I have to admit, I agree with a lot of that critique. So I want to address it here. In that episode, if you remember, dear nerds, we were trying to do a lot, frankly. I think some of the quickness of that episode was because we were trying to do a lot, and we don't have the spoons. But, the thing we were trying to do was to set up Dr. Anthea Butler's super smart book, without making it about the book. We were trying to respond to the literal and deadly strains of white American Christianity that had literally, days prior, stormed the Capitol, and manage all of that in a way that was jokey, as is our jam. Which is where a lot of the critique came in, so jokey in our universe is punching up. And boy, howdy, white Christianity in the US is a thing at the tippity tippity top, so we can, and frankly, should, punch at it because I think punching at it when it is so otherwise enshrined in every corner of our culture is a way to ask for justice, attention, and parody. So what I mean to say is that there's not so much in the episode that I'd actually retract. I'm not scrubbing the internet- the episode from the internet. I'm not asking us not to put it on our website. But I do think that in punching up and sounding jokey and being in a fairly crap place emotionally, like, have I mentioned, the tenfold increase in white Christian na- nationalists targeting me in and out of class? I think we did miss the mark a little. So with your permission, Megan, I'm gonna jump into how we missed it and try to correct it.
Megan Goodwin:Okay.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Cool. This is my revision. So I think when we jumped in that episode, from textual support for Christian exceptionalism, straight into Christian imperialism, we did a disservice to the material. So Christian exceptionalism is the idea that is textually and biblically supported that Christians are'special and different.' And Christian imperialism is that plus the idea that Christians*should* be different and special, and *should* be over and above other people in the world, and *should* make it their jam to go about enforcing that exceptionality on everybody else. I don't think we did a particularly rad job in that episode of naming textual traditions of exceptionalism as such, nor did we really do any of the work around tracing the textual tradition as it showed up in history. You and I know that history.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:We didn't do the best job of communicating it.
Megan Goodwin:That's fair.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:And I think that it sounds a little like, in that episode, we were saying that for everyone else, texts are in practice, but for Christians, the Bible predicts practice. So let me be clear, that's not what we meant, or at least, that's what we meant to broadcast. I do mean, that there is textual support that has been used by Christians for literally, nearly every year Christianity has existed to conquer, oppress, and in many cases kill, nonChristians. That is a thing that Christians have done. They have used their text to conquer, oppress and kill. Is that the only thing that Christians have done? Nope. Does it sound a little like that on our episode? If I'm honest, it does. Yeah, a little. I think that where we were really good at saying Islam is what Muslims do. We were less good at saying Christianity is what Christians do. So I'd revise that section to add nuance, go a little slower, and say the historical bits out loud that we kind of joked and skipped in the service of other things.
Megan Goodwin:I think all of that is fair. I want to underline again, yes, all religions are what the people doing those religions, do. So Christianity is what Christians do. I think I also want to name out loud that Christianity is textually-based in a way that many if not most religions are not. So and you're absolutely right, Ilyse, that this is a thing that we should say out loud, because I think transparency about our methods is important, as well as being good pedagogy. But one of the reasons that we push so hard on practice, throughout the pod, throughout three to four seasons of the pod, is because historically, when folks went looking for religion, what they went looking for is a sacred text. And they went looking for that sacred text, specifically, because the concept of religion as a modern construct gets started where "real religion" equals Christianity. So, in falling back on "the Bible says this, so here's what Christianity is." Yeah, we shorthanded. I also don't think we were 100% wrong, but I do think we could have been slower and more deliberate about the work that we were doing in that space.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Absolutely. I think that's my point too. And I think, again, as we've said to others, in private and in public, especially those of you who were kind enough to offer us the feedback and critique. That's one episode, we are literally talking about Christianity and its imperialist legacy in every episode. And so I think for us, writing these 34-35 scripts, the shorthand feels shorter and quicker. And that's not an excuse. That's just a truth, right?
Megan Goodwin:I'm also- I also want to say like, that's not all we made Christianity out to be, even in that episode, even if that was the only episode that you had ever listened to, I think we presented more complexity than focusing on that one moment maybe allows folks to see, but at the same time, their critique is valid. No. Christian Bible says so- so Christians do, that is overly simplistic. At the same time, history is borne out that Christianity + imperialism = BFF. So I'm not apologizing for the thesis. But I would love for us to be more deliberate and transparent about how we go about proving that thesis moving forward. But yes, also, we talk about Christianity all the time, we talk about Christian complexity all the time. And also, frankly, Christian complexity is on view in American public spaces in a way that that's not available for any other religion. So sorry, and also not sorry, man. I'm tired in the end.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:It's just a revision. I don't think it means we have to throw everything else out.
Megan Goodwin:It's good. We did a lot of work.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Part the Third: Reflections. Alright, so Goodwin, I'm going to do with you, what we do with the kids. It's called-
Megan Goodwin:By the kids, you mean your actual children?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, no, like, I mean, my children.
Megan Goodwin:Okay.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:This is what we do with Sela and Simon at dinner to make them talk about their day. And so we ask, "What is your rose, bud, and thorn?" and what that means about Season Three for you, not like, "how was preschool today?" But like, where the rose is the beautiful bit, like something that really brought you joy or like brought some fragrance into your life, the bud is something that you're looking forward to, like, get it? It's about to bloom, but it's not there yet. And the thorn obviously, is the bit that sucked, maybe pricked you up a lil bit.
Megan Goodwin:Okay, okay, um, is this the fucking Bachelor?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:It's cute!
Megan Goodwin:It is cute. It's cute. It's super cute. I kid, I love you. Honestly, this is like a surprisingly soft moment from coach Morgenstein Fuerst. I am touched, and also, like, reflects your spouse's deep love of gardening, which the kids are also into. So like, it's- it's very tender and that's lovely. Okay, so my rose is, yeah, we have really smart friends who were also generous enough to work with us on this wacky project in a truly impossible time and, like, impossible professionally, impossible personally. It just- this year was un-freaking-believable and that anyone would make time and space to come share their work with us. It's just, I'm so grateful for it. And I'm grateful for them, and go team. Yeah, we together, and only together are we a genius.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I love that.
Megan Goodwin: My bud:I am looking forward to naps. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I love working with you. I love it so much. I love being in conversation with all of our beautiful nerd listeners. And I am so glad that we decided to give ourselves the summer off because we need it.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, we sure as fuck do.
Megan Goodwin:Real bad, real bad. And because Every rose has its thorn. You might be sensing a theme, here, but yeah, the friggin fatigue, man. I am- so I am so fucking tired. I don't ever think I've been this tired for this long in my whole damn life. And I just like, transparency moment, cuz you and I talked about this. I have MS. I- which is a disease that, or- MS is a condition that sometimes manifests as chronic fatigue. And so I spent this entire year wondering if I'm tired because the world is ending, or I'm tired because my immune system is attacking itself, or some combination thereof. So like that- that space of medical uncertainty on top of all of the other uncertainties. It's just fucking exhausting.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Really hard.
Megan Goodwin:And so, yeah, I just- I wish the season had gotten to feel more playful. And less: "This is important. And we like it. But also really, truly, what if I got to take a nap." So I'm really proud of us for sticking with it. And I truly love the show. And you know- you know how I love you. But also the next time we launch a project, let's like not do it two months before the worst year of most of our lives?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, yeah. I'm just gonna say sames. Like, my rose is doing this work with you and all the folks who graciously joined us, and tweet with us, and critique us, and teach us.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:My thorn is just the exhaustion, too. Its hard work doing a podcast. And I'd like to remind our listeners that the majority of Season One, #SmartGrrlSummer, and all of Season Two, were done with my children without care. So like, I am shocked by how much work I have been able to accomplish. And also, we're at the end. But also my bud is space away. My creative juices are dunzo. And it seems like it's easy for us to write these scripts, but also, like, having that many jokes and having an organizational theme and keeping it on track while we're also teaching our own courses is hard. And so I'm really looking forward to what comes next after we've had a little space to both recuperate and, like, come back with fresh eyes.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yes, please. So looking ahead, we are taking some time off, we have made 34 episodes in a little more than 15 months, while also running our normal lives- "normal" LOL. In a pandemic. We keep forgetting nearly all of this happened during COVID, but it did. In any case, we need a little break to regroup and recharge before heading into Seasons Four and Five, which are, dear nerds, coming back, but not till fall.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:In fact, we have those mapped out for you already. You know how we hate the world religions model- So fucking much. And like, remember Megan that we did two episodes about it in Season One-
Megan Goodwin:Because we hate it so much?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Well, the thing is, is that it turns out that many of us, you included,
Megan Goodwin:Yep, doing it in the fall!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Are still stuck teaching a 'world' or 'global religions' course.
Megan Goodwin:Yup, yup yup.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:So Season Four is for us, the folks who do not want to teach this course but are stuck doing it, or the folks who actually like teaching this course, but want a savvier, smarter, theoretically sound way to do it. Which is to say in Season Four, Keeping It 101 is going to tackle world religions in our own unique way. What we mean by that is that we're going to talk about global iterations of the same religious tradition, focus on regional variety and diversity and bring in those theoretical tools like race, like gender, like class, like sexuality, like ableism. And question what makes a tradition, a tradition in the first place, all with our patented eight gajillion resources.
Megan Goodwin:So many assignments! And we're hoping one of those resources will be you all, if we're being honest. We are hoping to hire or crowdsource depending, you know, on- on grants, keep your fingers crossed. But we would love to bring in some different voices to help us do this 'world religions,' 'global religions,' global approaches to the study of religion, thing. So we're thinking, say, an episode on Buddhism could include a bunch of scholars with different niches within Buddhism; historical, regional linguistic, ritual, practice, all that stuff. We do that by asking you to pre-record, I'm thinking like, four to five minutes max and shorter is fine, but a short bit that we help you with, and then we'll edit our episodes to feature us, plus these other scholars, plural. Again, if we have to teach world religions, we want to be able to do it while we complicate and problematize the concept of'world religion.'
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, absolutely. So that's the fourth season and we'll time it to the fall semester of 2021. So we're taking the full summer off like it's a real- like a real semester schedule, and we'll be back in August of 2021. The fifth season, which would be timed to Spring of 2022, we're honestly thinking of a few options, but one of those options is thematic episodes about the specific stuff we wish people knew and therefore would quit asking us about, like hijab, or witches, or eating bacon.
Megan Goodwin:I don't want to talk about this anymore. So let's just- just- one more time.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Like one more time, get it in the can and the next time someone asked me that question, you just hit play? Like that feels like a fantasy season. Kind of like an
'Ask me anything:religion.' You know, like, I think that's what the fifth season will be. But nerds, we haven't worked out that far in advance. You can tell, we need a goddamn break.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah, we really do. So anyway, stay tuned. Anything could happen.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:You've heard from us, now hear about us. It's PRIMARY SOURCES.
Megan Goodwin:[singing] Primary Sources!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Goodwin, since we just announced we're taking a summer break, and despite both of us knowing that'll mean that we work on this pod anyway, a little bit...
Megan Goodwin:Shhh, don't tell our secrets!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Way earlier than it'll air in the fall... Let's make some primary sources promises. Let's talk about breaks today.
Megan Goodwin:Okay.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:What are you looking forward to, in this wee 'lil respite from me- I mean- Keeping It 101?
Megan Goodwin:Yeah lies, like, I'm not going to talk to you 18 million times every day, please, I would die. I am looking forward to painting all of the spaces in my house that I thought I was going to paint last summer. But last summer, ha ha, wound up being a little bit more hectic than I had anticipated. So I'm going to do some painting, I'm going to do some gardening. I am still doing the Sacred Writes public scholarship training over the summer. So, and because I can never leave well enough alone, we have accepted almost three times the number of folks that we usually train so that's- that's happening too. Going to take- You know, why- why not triple the work? I'm
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Sure. Well, I start my first ever going to take my dogs to the beach, and also my husband, he's also invited. I am thinking about starting my next book. I've already started sketching this out, but I'm trying to challenge myself not to rush into that work. To give the idea some time to breathe instead of feeling like I just need to sabbatical. crank it out. Because honestly, if there is any moment of grace and not being on the tenure track hamster wheel, it's not
Megan Goodwin:Yeeees. needing to publish on a break neck 'do it or die' schedule. o like, I would rather take y time with this book, then ju t push it out because I feel li e I can. So you know, we'll se. How about you, what are you go na do or
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yes.
Megan Goodwin:Two years late, but better late than never.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Two years late, but it's better late than never. And, baruch HaShem, Alhamdulillah, I still have access to it. So I don't care. I'm looking forward to a literal break. I don't know what that means, Megan, and I'm pretty sure that you promised to bust my knees if I work at all. And I know that Foody, our other BFFAE, says I have to actually learn what counts as work since I don't adequately count many things that are work towards my workload.
Megan Goodwin:That's correct.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:So, I guess what I'm looking forward to is learning about taking breaks and setting limits, and then being on sabbatical in theory to write my second book. And, you know, maybe this podcast book that we've got planned.
Megan Goodwin:Oh ho!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:But first, before any of that, I am going to take about a month off, especially from email and do bike rides and long walks and Vermont summer and as much sleep as my insomniac body will allow, which might not be much, but it'll be something!
Megan Goodwin:That sounds amazing. Yes.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, well, anyway, I'm going to need an accountabilibuddy. So you might have to-
Megan Goodwin:Oh, yeah I'm on it.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I might need some enforcement.
Megan Goodwin:If by enforcement, you mean mocking, I am here for you.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Kevin likes to say that on day two. So like day one, I'll sit and watch TV, day two, I'll start a book and finish it in a few hours because I always forget how fast I read fiction when it's not like heavy Rel theory. And then on day two and a half, I will do what the kids do, which is like"Well, I'm bored. I guess I should start working now."
Megan Goodwin:That is true. And I think we're just going to have to find you some work that's not work.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, like I think like- well, we'll talk about it but I'm looking forward to learning about what it means to take a break because I think that is very important. Nap ministry approved labor.
Megan Goodwin:Love that. Love that so much. I'm curious about what it looks like when you take a break because I've never seen it.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Me neither, girlfriend.
Megan Goodwin:But, don't pick up your stuff yet, nerds. You've got HOMEWORK!
Simpsons:Homework, what homework?
Megan Goodwin:Psych, no, you don't. Go have fun.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Remember, you can find everything we're assigning here, which is nothing!
Megan Goodwin:Nothing.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Nothing we're assigning here, but we are going to say major thanks to Katherine Brennan, our research assistant and transcription queen. The work she did this whole academic year, which is Season Two and Three, might actually be invisible to you all but to us, it has been hours of added time back in our lives and total relief in how competent she is. I literally cannot say enough about this woman, she is headed to law school.
Megan Goodwin:YES!
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:And in three years, watch out world because she's taking it by storm. Thank you, Katherine.
Megan Goodwin:Thank you Katherine
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:And thanks again to the NEHC for funding this vital position which made accessibility possible.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah. Yeah, summer break. I am assigning nothing except sunscreen and masks for outings, being gentle with ourselves, and maybe a tub wine if that's your thing. I want to specify that tub wine, which is a thing I have pioneered during this break, is wine that you drink in the tub, not wine that you make in the tub. I also like to pour my tub wine, which is usually a Prosecco or some other bubbly white. That's like me, I'm a bubbly white! Anyway, it's true. I like to put the Prosecco in a Yeti so that it stays cold while
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I need your pro tips.
Megan Goodwin:You're drinking it.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Listen, listener, these are pro tips you can't get these tips anywhere else.
Megan Goodwin:I mean for religious studies theory AND what if you put the bubbles in the Yeti so that you can drink it out of a straw? While LeVar Burton reads stories to you-
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Yeah, in a hot tubby.
Megan Goodwin:Yeah, it's it's friggin' great. It's my favorite so, think about it.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Well, I guess in that vein, then instead of assigning nothing I will assign long walks outside, ample time to veg out, and actually I'm assigning all of you! All of you need to yell at me when you see me on Twitter, or in public using my break as synonymous for time for more work.
Megan Goodwin:What if we didn't yell at you, if it's encourage you to get curious about not work?
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:I mean fair but you know I like a coach-level yelling so
Megan Goodwin:Yeah, that's fair. Alright. Alright, fine, we'll yell you. We will miss you dear listeners, dearest nerds, over our short break. But we super hope to hear from you on the interwebs.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:And, Megan, there might be some bonus material coming over the summer.
Megan Goodwin:Oh there IS bonus material. I forgot about that.
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:We're just gonna tease that. We're just gonna tease that out. There might be some bonus.
Megan Goodwin:Stay tuned. We're so bad at taking breaks. Anyway, you can find Megan, that's me, on the Twitters @mpgPhD, and Ilyse @profirmf or the show@keepingit_101 . We're also on Instagram, I mean, it's mostly Ilyse but 'we' (technically) are on Instagram. You can find the website at keepingit101.com and please and thank you drop us a rating or review in your pod catcher of choice. And with that till August,
Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst:Peace out, nerds!
Megan Goodwin:Do your homework. It is on the syllabus but not till August.
Nic Cage:Religion comes baked into our society, it's on our money, in our sports, and on our cars.
