Islam
18 episodes
#5978: God Bless, Inshallah, Be'ezrat Hashem: Three Ways to Say Maybe
Same God, same syntax, three completely different social lives — how "God bless," "Inshallah," and "be'ezrat Hashem" do totally different jobs.
#5891: Four Ways Humanity Kept Records for 1,200 Years
The Shōsōin never burned. The Vatican lost a third of its archive. The Geniza kept 400,000 fragments by accident. Four preservation strategies.
#5738: Exorcism: 7 Religions, 67 Rites, Zero Records
From the dybbuk to the Rituale Romanum — how seven traditions built rites for possession, and why nobody can count the exorcisms.
#5640: When Going to the Gym Meant Saving Your Soul
The word "asceticism" started as Greek for athletic training. How did it end up on top of a pillar — and why does Judaism push back?
#5627: Knock, Medjugorje, and the Church's Apparition Playbook
295 Marian apparitions studied, only 12 approved. How the Church vets visions—and what happens when it says no.
#5588: Anchorites: Dead to the World, at the Center of It
Sealed into a church wall, declared dead to the world — and then consulted by kings. The strange, true story of the anchorite.
#5357: Pan-Arabism, the Umma, and Why the Arab League Can't Enforce Anything
What pan-Arabism actually claims, why it isn't the umma, and why 22 members can't stop sanctioning each other.
#5350: Messiah, Eschaton, and the AI Singularity
Four traditions, four different job descriptions for "Messiah" — and what the AI singularity borrowed from all of them.
#4862: Who Polices the Temple Mount Checkpoint?
How Muslim Israeli police officers enforce a ban on Jewish prayer at Judaism's holiest site.
#4777: The Circassians: Israel's 5,000-Person Muslim Minority
Who are the Circassians? A 5,000-person Muslim community in Israel that isn't Arab, serves in the IDF, and speaks a language with 60 consonants.
#4120: Can Shared Faith Bridge Jerusalem’s Deepest Divides?
Do pilgrims to Jerusalem find more common ground in shared religiosity than division in theology?
#3857: Reincarnation Across World Religions: What Actually Comes Back?
Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — who actually believes in coming back?
#3493: Murmuring Scriptures and Wandering Wilds: Ancient Meditation
How "hagah" (murmuring scripture) and "hitbodedut" (wilderness solitude) reveal meditation hidden in the Bible.
#3185: The 35 Acres That Could Start a War
How unwritten rules, a gold menorah, and lip movements keep a powder keg from exploding.
#3161: Three Hatreds: Christian, Islamic, Anti-Zionist
Christian, Islamic, and progressive anti-Zionist anti-Semitism — three distinct hatreds with different roots and dangers.
#2957: The Fourth Ring of Jerusalem
How a 1,700-year-old community in Jerusalem is fighting for survival — and what the Cow Garden land dispute reveals.
#2879: Are Most Chinese People Actually Atheist?
Only 14% of Chinese adults identify as atheists. The reality of belief in China is far more complex.
#1319: The Dhimmi System: Life Under the Pact of Umar
Explore the complex legal reality of dhimmitude and how the Pact of Umar shaped Jewish life in the Islamic world for over a millennium.