Alle afleveringen
32 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
-
031 Katabasis with Dr. Beth Felker Jones
4 september 2026 · 40 min
Today we’ve got Dr. Beth Felker Jones joining us to dig into R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis, a dark academia descent into literal hell that doubles as a devastating portrait of PhD formation, academic abuse, and what it costs to believe you’re only a mind. Lees meer
Topics Covered:
* The academic nightmare that’s apparently happened in real life to one of us (and no, we’re not okay)
* How to survive an institution that wants to eat you alive—without becoming someone you don’t recognize
* Alice is proud she forgets to eat, and we need to talk about what that says about all of us
* Why the people who most want to escape their bodies are the ones whose bodies the world refuses to love
* Christianity is supposed to be the most body-affirming religion on earth, so what happened?
* John Piper will read your book but won’t let you teach him, and we finally figured out why
* What happens when shame curdles into revenge and ruins the good thing right in front of you
* You can be queen of hell and still be in hell—plus the ways we do this to ourselves every single day
* The line about context that made us all scream about preachers who skip the homework
* The most romantic thing Peter does isn’t romantic at all, and it wrecked us
📚🔥💀
Timestamps:02:00 Academic Abuse and the Nightmare of Recommendation Letters07:00 Impossible Standards and the Myth That Grinding Equals Worth09:00 Alice’s Gnostic Pride in Transcending Bodily Need12:00 Gnosticism in Evangelical Theology and Fear of Embodiment18:00 Harassment, Shame, and How It Twists Into Revenge25:00 Why Katabasis Lands Differently Than Dante’s Inferno27:00 Context Matters: Close Reading vs Making It Mean Whatever34:00 Peter Witnesses Instead of Fixing36:00 Takeaways: Loving Jesus More After Reading About Hell
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
030 The Escapism Episode: Why Reading Romance Isn't the Real Issue
8 mei 2026 · 58 min
Today your matron saints of spice are tackling the topic of escapism—because apparently reading our silly little books is unhealthy coping, but planning to literally escape all worldly suffering via the Rapture is fine and normal theology. We’re unpacking how escapism is actually a natural human response to systemic oppression (not just a character flaw) and why the most prevalent form of escapism is doomscrolling social media (not romance novels). Lees meer
Topics Covered:
* Escapism as a natural survival strategy and self-regulation tool—not just an individual coping mechanism
* When escapism is restorative versus harmful
* The most prevalent form of escapism in our culture
* How we’re encouraged to escape into culturally appropriate things that get a check mark even though they’re equally or more harmful than books
* The wild irony of people upset at us escaping for an hour a day into books while they’re theologically planning to escape all horrors forever via dispensationalist Rapture theology
* Why 30-second rage-bait and Christian aesthetic scrolling are both escapism
* How the “in it not of it” mentality taken to extremes creates homeschool cult bubbles that escape the world by refusing to engage neighbors or integrate with the broader church
* Jeremiah 29 as the balance of hopeful future vision paired with embodied presence now
* Why institutions don’t want to give up spiritual authority and teach discernment
* The goal is creating church spaces safe enough that people don’t need to escape from them instead of creating harmful hierarchies that generate the escape loop then demonize the escaping
If escapism doesn’t lead to embodiment, it’s not doing you favors. 📚🌱
Timestamps:
02:00 Escapism as Natural Survival Strategy vs Character Flaw
05:00 Culturally Appropriate Escapism: Work, Family, Church Service
08:00 Social Media Scrolling Is the Most Prevalent Escapism
11:00 Passive Consumption and the Death of Engagement Online
14:00 How Platforms Keep Us …
-
029 Quicksilver by Callie Hart
24 april 2026 · 35 min
Today we’re diving into Callie Hart’s Quicksilver. Lees meer
Topics Covered:
* Why Zilvaren’s city structure is secretly showing us exactly how power keeps us fighting each other instead of the real problem
* That Artemis astronaut said WHAT about Earth right before going dark for 40 minutes—and how it connects to fantasy城 cities
* The theological move fantasy authors can pull that nonfiction writers can’t touch (and why it matters for how we see power)
* Madra’s quicksilver addiction and why protecting yourself at everyone else’s expense always ends in catastrophic instability
* The billionaire problem isn’t what you think—and why your individual experience is lying to you about the actual issue
* Our FMC is just trying to get water and that’s exactly why we should be paying attention to her
* How to build power structures that don’t turn you into the villain (spoiler: “we’ve always done it this way” is a trap)
* Kingfisher’s quicksilver is destroying him from the inside and it’s the perfect metaphor for the hidden cost of power nobody talks about
* Why an alchemist FMC hits different than another battle warrior—plus the moment the quicksilver asked for a song and we all cried
Timestamps:
02:00 Zilvaren’s Wheel Structure: Separate Wards, Same Suffering
04:00 Astronaut’s Message: We’re All on One Planet
06:00 Fantasy World-Building as Theological Exercise
08:00 Othering and Physical Barriers Highlighting Emotional Ones
10:00 Madra’s Hoarded Quicksilver and Systemic Power Exploitation
12:00 Individualism vs Collectivism: Looking Beyond Our Experience
15:00 Paying Attention to the Margins: Who’s Struggling for Water?
16:00 The Desire to Live Forever and Power That Won’t Let Go
18:00 Building Structures That Pass Down vs Clinging to Control
20:00 Economic Instability When Power Gets Too Consolidated
22:00 What Happens in People’s Brains When They Get That Much Power
25:00 Kingfisher’s Quicksilver: The Physical Cost of Unwanted Power
27:00 Why the Hero Be…
-
028 FMCs of the Bible: Mary Magdalene
3 april 2026 · 41 min
Today we’re diving into Mary Magdalene—the biblical FMC who got completely wrecked by centuries of patriarchal mythmaking that turned her from “apostle to the apostles” into either a prostitute or Jesus’s secret lover. Lees meer
Topics Covered:
* How we got the myth that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or sexually sinful woman
* How conflating all the Marys (Mary of Bethany, Mary mother of Jesus, the sinner woman) into one person significantly reduces Jesus’s interactions with women in Scripture
* The discovery that might make Mary Magadalene a parallel to Peter the Rock
* Why Mary wasn’t Plan B when the boys were hiding scared—Jesus chose her specifically to be the first witness and first apostle, which matters theologically
* The problem with readily accepting Paul’s apostleship while dismissing Mary’s
* Why pastors skip over Mary entirely on Easter Sunday to get to the punchline about John being the fastest disciple
* Jesus and Mary’s sibling relationship as a model for devotion without sexualization, and how purity culture destroyed our ability to have close platonic friendships
* Why spiritual siblinghood (brothers and sisters) is the New Testament’s favorite term for disciples
Timestamps:
02:00 The Prostitute Myth: How Pope Gregory Wrecked Mary’s Story
05:00 Conflating All the Marys Reduces Jesus’s Interactions with Women
08:00 Jesus Christ Superstar and Pop Culture Mary Mythmaking
10:00 What We Should Actually Remember About Mary Magdalene
12:00 Mary Wasn’t Plan B—Jesus Chose Her Specifically
14:00 Mary Identifies Jesus as Gardener: Eden Parallels and Reversal
17:00 Mary the Tower, Not Mary from Magdala
19:00 What If the Church Had Embraced Both Tower and Rock?
21:00 Why We Accept Men’s Certainty but Question Women’s Authority
23:00 Pastors Skip Mary to Get to “John Is the Fastest” Punchline
26:00 Looking With Mary, Not At Mary—She Points to Jesus
27:00 The Women Stayed at the Cross When the Men Ran Away
29:00 Jesus and Mary’s Sibling Relationsh…
-
027 The Legacy Series by Melissa K. Roehrich (Book 4)
21 maart 2026 · 42 min
Today we’re wrapping up Melissa K. Roehrich’s Legacy series with Dawn of Chaos and Fury. Lees meer
We’re unpacking how churches structure everything around nuclear families to everyone’s detriment, why Jesus had a cool aunt at the cross and you should aspire to be one too, and how Eviana’s arc is the most complex character development in the whole series even though we wanted to hate her. Oh AND we get to watch powerful people voluntarily give up their power for the greater good instead of hoarding it like real-world billionaires. The true fantasy!
Topics Covered:
* Why Tessa choosing childlessness to end the curse is a big deal in purity culture, and how evangelical spaces have no idea what to do with married couples who don’t have kids
* How expectations around motherhood hurt ALL women—not just the childless ones, but also mothers who are conditioned not to ask for help and end up isolated with their kids
* Eviana’s redemption arc as the best character development in the series—she didn’t get to raise her daughter but still did superior mothering by ensuring Priya would be free from abuse
* Why “she’s too much for one person” isn’t the feminist win it pretends to be when she never learns autonomy or how to harmonize her own chaos without men reigning her in
* The revolutionary moment when all the leaders voluntarily pool their power and give it away (because watching people share power for the greater good is the actual fantasy here)
* How quiet activism was happening all along in these kingdoms from the bottom up before they had the ability to go top-down, and why performing goodness isn’t the same as doing the work
Timestamps:
02:00 Tessa’s Childlessness Choice and Breaking Generational Curses
04:00 Being Child-Free by Choice in Evangelical Spaces
08:00 How Nuclear Family Structure Hurts All Women
11:00 Jesus Had a Cool Aunt and So Should You
13:00 There Are No Levels in Womanhood (The Lie We Fight)
16:00 Chosen Family and Mary’s New Support System
18:00…
-
026 Why is Christian Art So Bad?
6 februari 2026 · 53 min
Today your Matron Saints of Spice are tackling the ever-controversial question of why so much Christian art feels thin, didactic, and aesthetically weak—and just plain BAD. Lees meer
We’re getting real about how flattening the Bible into surface-level application points has destroyed our capacity to engage layers in any medium, why making Ruth and Boaz into a love story completely misses the point about welcoming the stranger, and how capitalism turned humans into resources to be used up—which means our entire identity got wrapped up in usefulness instead of Imago Dei.
Topics Covered:
* The definition of good art as opening perception and making room for the reader versus bad art that reduces experience to propaganda with predetermined conclusions
* Why Christian art often fails the hospitality test—inviting someone over just to lecture them about what to believe instead of offering actual coffee and conversation
* Post-Reformation history of shifting from visual imagery (icons, stained glass) to language-only emphasis, and how the printing press made accessibility a priority that accidentally flattened everything
* The Enlightenment’s need for certainty, empirical knowledge, and being on the same page—which bled into making messages crystal clear at the expense of mystery and layers
* How “Facing the Giants” versus “Remember the Titans” shows the difference between heavy-handed Christian messaging and wrestling with justice/humanity through storytelling
* Why Ruth and Boaz isn’t a romance about finding your person—it’s about Boaz depicting how Jesus welcomes strangers and provides for the vulnerable (Ruth said “where you go I will go” to NAOMI, people)
* The collapse of context and layers in Bible reading, and how treating Scripture as flat application points instead of artistic literature kills our ability to engage depth anywhere else
* How usefulness became our framework for existence instead of beauty, and why that’s devastating when your productivity disappea…
-
025 The Legacy Series (Books 1-3) by Melissa K. Roehrich
23 januari 2026 · 50 min
Power Corrupts, Patriarchy Polices, and Why We’re All Rooting for the Dragons Lees meer
Today Kate, Liz, and Sarah are diving into their first dark romantasy series on the pod—Melissa K. Roehrich’s Legacy Series, books 1-3.
We’re talking about source bonds as weaponized intimacy, how power systems crush imagination for anything better, and why literally every character is morally gray (so we’re all just rooting for the dogs and dragons instead). We’re unpacking Kate Mann’s framework for how patriarchy polices “good women” versus “bad women,” why Theon thinking he’s better than his dad while still locking Tessa in cellars is peak missing-the-point energy, and how the perversion of sacred bonds mirrors the way Christianity gets co-opted for power.
Plus, we’re getting real about female rage, the cost of surviving versus thriving in broken systems, and why even the characters with the best intentions can’t dream past vengeance when the whole structure is designed to destroy agency.
Topics Covered:
* Why dark romantasy is different from romantasy—morally complex characters, darker themes, trigger warnings, and stories that wrestle with power and agency rather than giving you escapist happy endings
* Kate Mann’s patriarchy framework: how misogyny polices women as “givers” (who support men) versus “takers” (who claim masculine perks), and how this entire dynamic plays out in the source bond system
* Why you shouldn’t take something meant to be mutual intimate connection and weaponize it into forced servitude, proximity requirements, and power extraction without consent
* Why benevolent hierarchy is still just hierarchy—you don’t get cookies for being less terrible
* The grooming and policing that happens peer-to-peer because patriarchy’s biggest prop is women policing other women
* Why we need people with perspective to interrupt normalized harm
* How the system crushes imagination: even the “good guys” can only envision vengeance or incremental power shifts rather than …
-
024 Wicked
5 december 2025 · 52 min
Welcome back! Lees meer
Today we have a special guest—Brooklyn Stephens from We Choose Welcome—to talk about Wicked and why the people who refuse to watch it because “witches = evil” are exactly the ones who need its lessons on propaganda, authoritarianism, and othering the most.
We’re unpacking how Elphaba’s intimate knowing of the marginalized gave her empathy while Glinda’s proximity to power kept her climbing ladders, why social capital maximization is antithetical to the gospel, and how we’re all simultaneously Glinda in some rooms and Elphaba in others depending on who’s watching.
About We Choose Welcome
We Choose Welcome is a grassroots community seeking to mobilize and equip women of faith to build and cultivate a welcome movement from their tables at home to the halls of Congress. We hope to empower our community to take action for the vulnerable in both our personal lives and through advocating for just immigration policies.
We are here to provide educational resources, action tools, and a supportive community for those seeking to take the next step in their advocacy for immigrants and refugees.
Follow them on Instagram and Facebook to stay connected, or reach out to our team to learn more.
Topics Covered:
* Why people who reject Wicked for having magic are missing crucial lessons about propaganda and authoritarianism that feel startlingly relevant to current immigration enforcement tactics
* How Elphaba’s position on the margins gave her intimate knowing and empathy for the othered, while Glinda’s proximity to power kept her focused on climbing toward Madame Morrible
* The tension between optimism bias that blinds us to realistic steps versus compassion fatigue that burns us out—and how to sustain advocacy work for the long haul without stealing from yourself twice
* Why we’re all both Glinda and Elphaba depending on which room we’re in, and how recognizing this complexity helps us hold compassion for ourselves and others on the journey
* The cost of s…
-
023 A Queen This Fierce and Deadly by Stacia Stark
14 november 2025 · 51 min
Today your Matron Saints of Spice are wrapping up Stacia Stark’s Kingdom of Lies series with book four, where Prisca finally gets her crown and we’re learning that pre-disappointment is just stealing from yourself twice—a phrase that will now live rent-free in our heads forever. Lees meer
We’re unpacking how defiant joy is fuel for sustainable resistance (not escapist toxic positivity), why social media has become a machine of pre-disappointment, and how building actual alliances for mutual flourishing is way harder than fantasy books make it look.
Plus, we’re getting real about complex family dynamics when your relatives choose racism over relationship, and why understanding someone’s trauma doesn’t mean you have to excuse their harm or sacrifice your safety.
Topics Covered:
* How pre-disappointment means you’re just disappointed twice when the bad thing happens anyway
* The difference between defiant joy as sustainable fuel versus weaponized joy as disconnection and distraction—because hospital chaplains need bread-baking Mondays to keep showing up for dying patients
* How evangelical teenagers were taught that if you weren’t miserable enough you weren’t taking faith seriously, and why permission to feel joy is actually radical healing
* Social media as a pre-disappointment machine where everyone races to ruin movies and break bad news first instead of spurring each other toward goodness
* Stoking the fires of courage daily instead of waiting until you need bravery, because you can’t protect reserves forever—sometimes you have to exercise the muscles
* The problem with political alliances that sacrificed nuance for oversimplified platforms
* How sharing a vision for mutual flourishing matters more than agreeing on tactics, and why we’re bad at painting specific positive pictures because individualism makes fear easier to weaponize
* Complex family dynamics when relatives choose harm over healing, and how understanding generational trauma doesn’t mean excusing cu…
-
022 A Crown This Cold and Heavy by Stacia Stark
31 oktober 2025 · 49 min
Today your matron saints of spice are diving into book three of Stacia Stark’s Kingdom of Lies series, where Prisca is processing trauma while everyone tells her she needs to grieve right now, and we’re realizing the pendulum on grief has swung from “suffer in silence” to “perform your sadness publicly or you’re doing it wrong.” Lees meer
We’re unpacking how Regner’s sleeper cell spiders mirror church manipulation tactics, why spiritual gift assessments are basically just helping churches find free labor, and how the terror of “missing God’s will” kept us from making literally any decision in high school.
Plus, we’re getting real about how trying to resurrect your dead boyfriend is the same kind of control as exploiting people through intimacy—even when your intentions are really good.
Topics Covered:
* Why delayed grief is valid and sometimes you literally cannot stop to process because you know it’ll take two weeks of couch-rotting and you don’t have two weeks right now
* How Regner weaponizing intimacy through his spider network is exactly what happens in church spaces with “sweet girl coffee dates” and psychological warfare disguised as community
* The uncomfortable parallel between exploiting people for evil ends versus trying to resurrect your mate for love—because control is control even when we think we’re justified
* The wild difference between shoulder-tapping manipulation (”I need you to do this”) versus developmental invitation (”I see this gift in you, would you like to grow it?”)
* How the hourglass amplifies Prisca’s gifts for good or bad, just like our own gifts can build up or tear down depending on how we wield them—and why fundamentalism demonizes tools instead of cultivating discernment
* The pressure to choose your “one calling” and how God’s will actually has more to do with daily choices and character formation than finding the single perfect college/job/spouse
* God as a God of restoration means you get to start over—resurrection life isn’t …
-
021 The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift
17 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
Today your matron saints of spice are breaking down Taylor Swift’s latest album The Life of a Showgirl. We’re unpacking the false binary of “literary Taylor” versus “fun Taylor,” defending intellectualism in giddy romance, and explaining why performative activism on social media isn’t the same as actually loving your neighbors. Lees meer
Plus, we’re getting real about how knowing too much about Taylor’s life actually ruins some songs because we can’t separate her lore from our own experiences.
Topics Covered:
* First impressions of the album and how the stark tonal shift from TTPD to Showgirl hit different depending on which era of Taylor you entered the fandom through
* The problem with binary thinking in both theology and art criticism—moving past “I liked it/I didn’t like it” to actually engage critically with what the work is doing
* How people vilify women (and specifically female theologians) for processing pain through Taylor Swift’s music, which is really just policing grief in weird patriarchal ways
* The false binary of career woman versus domestic goddess, and how women (including Taylor) contain multitudes without having to choose one identity forever
* How the emphasis on performance over practice keeps us from doing actual neighborhood-level activism, because posting black squares isn’t the same as loving Black people
The cringe is intentional, the depth is real, and Happy Taylor deserves the same literary analysis as Sad Taylor. Also, dick jokes can be spiritual practices after hard hospital shifts—chaplains said so. 🎭✨💕
Timestamps:
02:00 First Impressions: Opposite Listening Trajectories
05:00 Community Theater Experience Making Art Hit Different
10:00 Moving Past Binary Thinking in Art and Theology
13:00 Policing Women’s Grief Through Celebrity Criticism
18:00 Defending Intellectual Depth in Surface-Level Work
23:00 The Cringe Factor and Permission to Be Fully Human
27:00 Folklore Fans and Projecting Pandemic Sadness
31:00 Taylor the Poet vs…
-
020 FMCs of the Bible: Deborah and Jael
3 oktober 2025 · 38 min
Today your matron saints of spice are putting our literary lens on some biblical badasses who deserve way more airtime than they get—Jael and Deborah from the book of Judges. Lees meer
We’re talking about a prophetess judge who sat under a palm tree settling disputes and leading military strategy, plus a married woman who lured an enemy general into her tent and drove a tent peg through his skull with #biblicalwomanhood.
If you’ve ever wondered why complementarian spaces conveniently skip these ladies in Sunday school, buckle up—because this story has sexual imagery, violence reversals, and women exercising authority without a single caveat about “lack of qualified men.”
Topics Covered:
* Historical context of the Judges period and why Deborah stands as the only legitimately good judge in a book full of increasingly terrible men doing what’s right in their own eyes
* How Deborah operates as prophetess, judge, military strategist, and worship leader simultaneously—with zero biblical explanation needed about why a woman has this authority (spoiler: she just does)
* The subversive power of Jael using domestic hospitality as her battlefield, complete with intentional sexual imagery in the Hebrew poetry that flips wartime rape culture on its head
* Why Barak asking Deborah to come with him instead of the woman needing male protection is a complete trope reversal, and how their friendship models men and women working together without Billy Graham rule nonsense
* The uncomfortable moment when the enemy general’s mother casually expects him to be dividing “a womb or two” as war plunder—and how women in complementarian spaces still rationalize male violence today
* How both these women are outsiders (Deborah leading when she “shouldn’t,” Jael as a non-Israelite) showing God consistently working through unexpected people to accomplish divine justice
* The grounded confidence both women display in just doing what needs doing without fanfare, wrestling, or asking “are you sure…
-
019 A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark
19 september 2025 · 49 min
Today we're diving into book two of Stacia Stark's Kingdom of Lies series, where Prisca's relationship with time becomes a metaphor for everything we've been taught wrong about God's will, productivity culture, and why evangelical Christianity turned us into anxious overachievers who think every micro-decision could ruin our entire lives. Lees meer
We're unpacking how chaotic theology around time keeps us fragmented, why God wants to be with us more than use us, and how Lorian teaching Prisca to kill her own demons is actually the healthiest relationship dynamic we've ever seen in fiction.
Topics Covered:
* How ancient philosophers viewed time as chaotic versus Gregory of Nyssa making eternity actually good, and why evangelical end-times theology creates urgency instead of rest—because apparently we were never trained to be future ancestors
* The theology of "gentle discipleship" that says God wants to be with us more than use us, which is absolutely earth-shattering for women raised to believe our worth comes from being useful helpers
* Why the "God's will as single straight line" theology creates decision fatigue and OCD spirals, versus understanding God's will as a symphony we participate in rather than a choose-your-own-adventure book where wrong choices end everything
* How medical caregivers make 300-700 extra decisions daily while being told other "big life choices" matter more, and why this reveals the absurdity of evangelical decision anxiety
* The difference between obedience-based faith (behavior modification) and becoming-based faith (virtue formation), plus why the Bible should be authoritative but not authoritarian
* How external validation systems in Christianity keep us from developing self-trust, and why Lorian deliberately separates Prisca from Telean so she learns to make her own decisions
* The revolutionary concept that women get to be complex characters who contain multitudes, and why the female gaze writes emotionally healthy men instead of ju…
-
018 Author Interview with Stacia Stark
15 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
Today we're absolutely thrilled to have Stacia Stark, author of the Kingdom of Lies series we've been obsessing over. Lees meer
Join your Matrons Saints of Spice, Jenai Auman, Kate Boyd, Liz Daye, and Sarah Lewan as we're diving deep into how fiction builds empathy while nonfiction can't, why religious hypocrisy hits different when you have ADHD and justice sensitivity, and how writing becomes free therapy for both authors and readers.
Plus, we're talking about the beautiful complexity of female characters who get to be angry, brave, and morally gray all at once—because apparently women containing multitudes is still revolutionary.
Topics Covered:
* How the romance and fantasy author community became the most supportive hype squad in publishing, and why authors spanning different genres create the best creative conversations
* The fascinating process of world-building from a single scene (Prisca getting pushed off a cliff by her mom) versus building from historical inspiration like female gladiators who were erased from history
* Why fiction reaches people that nonfiction never could—because nobody's reading your article titled "The Damage of Religion" if they're not already convinced, but they'll pick up a fantasy romance
* How religious hypocrisy and justice sensitivity fuel storytelling, plus the beautiful irony of people trying to co-opt your authorial intent to serve their own propaganda machine
* The psychology of why highly intelligent people get sucked into cults and conspiracy theories (spoiler: they think they're too smart to be fooled), and how cognitive dissonance makes people cling harder when presented with contradictory evidence
* Why writing complex female characters who choose bravery despite consequences feels revolutionary after centuries of women being portrayed as either pure victims or wicked temptresses
* How fiction gives permission for anger, complexity, and self-assuredness that many women never received elsewhere, plus the healing power o…
-
017 A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark
1 augustus 2025 · 58 min
Welcome back, matron saints of spice! Today we're diving into Stacia Stark's Kingdom of Lies series, starting with A Court This Cruel and Lovely. Lees meer
We're unpacking how King Sabium weaponizes religion to hoard magical power while executing anyone who threatens his control, and honestly? It hits a little too close to home when you've navigated systems that uphold power while dehumanizing people.
Plus, we're swooning over Lorian's belief in Prisca and having all the feelings about grief, revolution, and why women need to stop keeping secrets from each other.
Topics Covered:
* How King Sabium's fake religious system mirrors real-world power structures that use faith as a smokescreen for oppression and control—because apparently tyrants have been using the "it's God's will" playbook for centuries
* The difference between contextual theology that liberates versus heretical theology that serves hierarchy, plus why one leads to liberation theology and the other leads to eternal subordination nonsense
* Breaking down the "greater good" mentality that justifies harm versus pursuing the common good that actually considers everyone's flourishing—spoiler: they're not the same thing
* How proximity changes everything, from Madinia's dad suddenly caring about magical persecution when it affects his daughter to why white evangelical Christianity loses its way when it stays in wealthy bubbles
* The capitalism-Christianity pipeline that turns pastors into marketers and church members into dollar signs, because apparently Robert Schuller pioneered the megachurch MLM model in Orange County
* Why Prisca's willingness to literally put her body between harm and vulnerable people is aspirational activism we can actually practice in grocery stores and neighborhoods
* The beautiful grief of mourning dreams you thought you wanted while stepping into who you're becoming—because growth isn't just empowering, it's also loss
* How secrecy isolates women from the support they desperately…
-
016 Angels, Demons, Fear, and Fantasy Books
18 juli 2025 · 1 uur 11 min
Today your Matron Saints of Spice are tackling the supernatural drama that has evangelicals clutching their pearls over fictional wizards while pouring grape juice around their property lines. Lees meer
We're exposing how much of our "biblical" understanding of angels and demons actually comes from medieval poetry, why some magic gets a holy pass while other magic gets the pitchfork treatment, and what spiritual warfare looks like when you're not trying to weaponize God for your personal agenda.
Topics Covered:
* How Dante's Divine Comedy (not the Bible) gave us most of our angel and demon aesthetics, plus why tracing these ideas back to ancient Roman philosophy might make you side-eye some Sunday school lessons
* Deconstructing the wild inconsistency of calling Wicked "demonic" while giving Narnia a free pass — and why cultural bias determines what gets labeled as witchcraft versus "acceptable" spirituality
* Why your hedge-of-protection prayers might be closer to spell-casting than you think, and how proximity to real suffering completely transforms what prayer actually means
* The truth about spiritual warfare: it's less about binding demons and more about surrendering control, plus why God isn't a cosmic vending machine that dispenses blessings for the right prayer formula
* How hyper-spiritualizing every inconvenience as "spiritual warfare" conveniently lets us avoid addressing actual systemic evil like gun violence, oppression, and injustice
* Why your favorite morally gray fantasy characters might teach you more about authentic faith than sanitized Christian fiction ever could — and how missing the deeper themes because "magic bad" is its own form of spiritual poverty
* Breaking down why God isn't scary, doesn't want you paralyzed by phantom fears, and is actually safe for people navigating a legitimately frightening world
Spoiler alert: The devils in your spicy fantasy novels might just be the good guys, your imagination is not the enemy of your faith, and …
-
015 A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
13 juni 2025 · 43 min
Kate, Sarah, and Liz are back with A Court of Silver Flames, where we discover that Nesta Archeron isn't just the "unlikable" sister—she's actually a mirror for anyone who's ever been told their anger, their darkness, or their refusal to fit in the "good Christian girl" box makes them fundamentally unlovable. Lees meer
Turns out Sarah J. Maas is serving up more truth about healing from shame and self-hatred than most church small groups ever will. The audacity! 💁♀️📚✨
Topics Covered:
* The Self-Loathing Olympics: Why Nesta's brutal inner monologue ("I am worthless, I'm nothing, I hate everything that I am") sounds suspiciously like evangelical prayer language, and how "worm theology" taught us that hating ourselves was somehow godly. Plot twist: God actually made you on purpose! 🪱➡️👑
* The "Good Girl" Box is a Trap: How Nesta's journey from people-pleasing future trophy wife to unapologetic Lady Death shows us that healing doesn't mean becoming palatable—it means learning to aim your fire at the right targets instead of yourself 🔥
* Libraries as Sacred Spaces: Why these quiet sanctuaries for story and learning might be doing more for community healing than some churches, and how access to books (yes, even the spicy ones!) has always been essential for women's liberation and spiritual formation 📚
* Power Corrupts, Even the "Good Guys": How Rhysand's controlling behavior toward Feyre in this book exposes the uncomfortable truth that patriarchy is patriarchy, even when it comes wrapped in "I'm protecting you" language. The bar was in hell and somehow he still tripped over it! 🚩
* Female Friendship as Revolutionary Act: Why Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie supporting each other's strength challenges every toxic stereotype about women being each other's competition, and how community healing happens when we stop trying to fix each other and start empowering instead 💪
* The Healing Isn't Linear: How Nesta's messy, non-linear recovery journey mirrors real trauma healing—complete wit…
-
014 Reading Fiction for Formation
23 mei 2025 · 56 min
Join Kate, Sarah, Liz, and special guest Dr. Sandra Glahn (author of Nobody's Mother) as they explore the vital connection between fiction, biblical literacy, and women's representation in scripture. This thought-provoking conversation challenges common misconceptions about narrative, storytelling, and the often-overlooked women of the Bible. Lees meer
Turns out understanding how to read fiction might be essential to understanding Scriptural narratives—who knew?
Topics Covered:
* How our Protestant tendency to avoid narratives and prioritize non-fiction has given us a truncated view of scripture
* Jesus was a storyteller, not a PowerPoint presenter—and how we should take notes on His narrative approach instead of making another three-point sermon
* "The culture is not inspired. It's just the setting." (This mic drop moment might send you spiraling in the best way)
* How the presence of some nameless biblical women is an indictment against patriarchy, not God's endorsement of it
* Dr. Glahn's surprising children's TV past and what it taught her about storytelling (spoiler: kids are smarter than we think!)
Whether you're struggling to reconcile your love of spicy fiction with your faith or wondering why women's stories seem absent from the pulpit, this episode offers fresh perspectives that might just transform how you read both novels and scripture.
P.S. For anyone who's been made to feel childish for enjoying fiction or questioning traditional interpretations of women in the Bible—you're not alone, and there's theological depth in your questions that deserves exploration.
Timestamps:
03:19 The Importance of Fiction in Spiritual Formation
04:34 Narrative and Biblical Literacy
10:00 Storytelling and Ethical Dilemmas
23:47 Exploring Women's Representation in Fiction
27:29 The Reformation and Its Extremes
28:05 Challenging Traditional Gender Roles
28:47 The Role of Women in Christian History
29:21 Personal Stories of Faith and Choices
32:35 The Importance of D…
-
013 A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
9 mei 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
Kate, Sarah, and Liz are back, diving into "A Court of Wings and Ruin" where we discover that Sarah J. Maas isn't just giving us sexy faeries with wings—she's exposing the toxic patterns we've been taught are "godly leadership" in evangelical spaces. Lees meer
Who knew fantasy novels could be more spiritually formative than those "Biblical Womanhood" conferences you've been guilted into attending? 💁♀️📚✨
Topics Covered:
* Boundaries Are Not Blasphemy: Watch Feyre FINALLY stop absorbing Tamlin's rage-spirals and let him face the consequences of his actions! Turns out maintaining boundaries isn't "selfish"—it's how systems get healthy. Sorry not sorry to every pastor who told you to "absorb" your husband's "passion" (read: emotional volatility) for the good of your marriage! 🚩
* The Martyrdom Olympics: Why is everyone in this book (and evangelical culture) so determined to win gold in the Self-Sacrifice Games? The hosts unpack how that post-Columbine "would you die for Jesus?" trauma-bonding turned suffering into a weird status symbol. Pro tip: suffering will find you naturally—you don't need to go looking for it or make it your entire personality! 🏆
* When the Quiet Ones Speak Up: Azriel defending Feyre at the High Lord meeting has us asking—where are all the men stepping up when women are being verbally eviscerated in seminary classes, boardrooms, and church meetings? The bar is literally on the ground, fellas, and yet... 🦗🦗🦗
* The Tamlin Test™: How "Tamlin" became shorthand for toxic masculinity featuring traits eerily similar to what those "Future Husband" lists encouraged us to seek: powerful, possessive, volatile but passionate, and emotionally stunted but a leader. We were literally trained to romanticize red flags! Make it make sense! 🚩🚩🚩
* The Bare Minimum Redemption Arc: Why we're not giving Tamlin a cookie for doing ONE decent thing after books of emotional abuse. This mirrors the "weaponized forgiveness" that keeps putting harmful leaders back in pulpits fas…
-
012 Sex, Shame & Spicy Books
25 april 2025 · 1 uur 19 min
Join Kate, Sarah, Liz, and special guest Rebecca Lindenbach (co-author of The Great Sex Rescue and She Deserves Better) as we dive into the wildly contradictory messages about sex in evangelical spaces and why fantasy romance novels might just be providing women with the vocabulary they've been denied their whole lives. Lees meer
And it might just be one of the most important episodes we ever make for you.
Turns out women having standards is revolutionary—who knew?
Topics Covered:
* How research on 20,000 women revealed evangelical wives are having terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sex—and why the church's solution of "just do it more often" is spectacularly missing the point
* How women are taught sex is the worst thing you can do...until it's the worst thing you could NOT do—and how this whiplash-inducing messaging creates both physical and emotional disconnection in marriage
* Why romance novels like ACOTAR contain troubling consent dynamics we often overlook—and how this mirrors the ways women miss red flags in their own relationships (spoiler: Rhysand isn't always the consent king he's made out to be)
* Why people freak out when women read romance—it's not that they expect their husbands to grow wings, it's that they might start expecting mutual pleasure and emotional connection (the audacity!)
* How evangelical men's resources use pornographic language to "help" with temptation while simultaneously teaching women their bodies are dangerous weapons (make it make sense, please)
* Practical advice for women who've been taught to dissociate during physical intimacy—and why it takes an average of 20 minutes for women to reach orgasm (not the 3 minutes evangelical sex books suggest)
Watch out! This episode might leave you questioning everything you've been taught about sex, wondering if your romance novels are actually therapeutic, and ready to burn Every Man's Battle in a cleansing fire. Consider this your permission slip to have standards! 💁♀️🔥✨
P.S. For wo…
-
011 Biblical Poetry for Spiritual Liberation with Poet Grace Kelley
18 april 2025 · 53 min
A bonus episode for Holy Week! Lees meer
Join Kate, Sarah, Liz, and special guest Grace Kelley (actual poet, not the princess) as we dive into the world of biblical poetry and why it might be the most revolutionary part of Scripture that your church Bible study conveniently skips over.
Turns out when you start paying attention to the poetry that makes up a whopping THIRD of the Bible, all those neat theological boxes start looking pretty flimsy.
Topics Covered:
* Why poetry makes up 33% of the Bible yet gets treated like the awkward cousin at family gatherings—and how recognizing poetic genres changes EVERYTHING about biblical interpretation (sorry, literal-only folks)
* How many of Scripture's most powerful female contributions come through poetry (Miriam, Hannah, Mary's Magnificat)—and why that matters for understanding whose voices patriarchy has systematically silenced
* Why Proverbs 31, the acrostic masterpiece about WISDOM, has been weaponized into a spiritually abusive checklist that would require a small army of household staff to accomplish (spoiler: it's an embodiment of wisdom, not a prescription for women)
* Reimagining Psalm 22 as Jesus singing a song of comfort passed down from childhood—and why seeing this as abandonment rather than divine connection misses the entire point (Just in time for Holy Week)
* How patriarchal readings of scripture have conveniently overlooked the abundance of feminine, maternal, and non-gendered imagery for God tucked away in those poetic passages most churches skim through
Careful, friends! This episode might just leave you feeling liberated to bring your emotions and imagination to Scripture, questioning why we've been afraid of "poetic language" leading us astray, and noticing how tiny they make women's pockets compared to men's.
The patriarchy is EVERYWHERE. 💁♀️📚✨
P.S. Huge thanks to Grace Kelley for sharing her poetic wisdom and reading from her new book Daughter of Breath, which pushes back against church-sponsored…
-
010 A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOMAF) by Sarah J. Maas
11 april 2025 · 1 uur 10 min
Join Kate, Sarah, and Liz as we dive into A Court of Mist and Fury, where we're discovering that this isn't just about sexy faeries with wings (though we're here for that too) — it's actually a master class in recognizing red flags, valuing your own agency, and finding healing after trauma. Lees meer
Turns out Sarah J. Maas might be doing more for women's emotional intelligence than all those "Biblical Womanhood" conferences combined. Who knew?
Topics Covered:
* How Feyre's journey from decorative Spring Court trophy to High Lady of the Night Court is basically a guidebook for recognizing when you're being treated like property instead of a person (and why the "he's just protective" excuse is garbage)
* Why it takes Rhysand's "wait, you get to make your own choices" approach for us to collectively realize how messed up Tamlin's control issues actually were — and why these patterns are so sneaky in real life patriarchal spaces
* How having actual power and choice in your relationships dramatically affects your mental AND physical health (nursing school confirms: feeling powerless literally makes you sick!)
* Why the Night Court's approach to community might be the church model we actually need — where people are valued, differences are celebrated, and everyone gets a voice (even when disagreeing with the High Lord)
* The uncomfortable truth about why THOSE chapters hit different — they show what happens when emotional intimacy precedes physical intimacy in relationships built on mutual respect (something purity culture conveniently forgot to mention)
Careful, friends! This episode might just have you reconsidering power dynamics in your relationship, seeking out a real "inner circle" of safe people, and realizing that your endless inner monologue isn't annoying — it's just part of processing trauma. The audacity of a fantasy novel teaching us this stuff! 💁♀️📚✨
P.S. Remember our famous quote: "If reading these books makes you realize things about your relationship, t…
-
009 Imagination as a Revolutionary Act
28 maart 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
Today your Matron Saints of Spice are diving into why imagination gets treated like the awkward cousin of faith — even when it's the secret ingredient that makes our spiritual lives actually interesting and effective. We're breaking down why your fantasy novel might just be more revelatory than that dusty theology textbook, and no, we're not apologizing. Lees meer
Topics Covered:
* How creative thinking is basically spiritual resistance training, transforming biblical narratives from flat text to living, breathing revolution
* Exposing how "escapist" stories are actually sophisticated tools for questioning power, developing critical spiritual thinking, and reimagining what's possible beyond rigid religious frameworks
* Unpacking why that playful, curious imagination you were told to "grow out of" is actually your direct line to understanding God's wildly creative heart
* Why asking dangerous questions and refusing to accept the first spiritual answer you're given is basically a holy intervention in your own faith journey
* How creative storytelling can be a more powerful form of theology than a thousand dry sermons — and why some religious gatekeepers might be low-key terrified of that truth
Watch out! This episode might just lead you to spend more time daydreaming and more energy asking questions that challenge comfort, tradition, and authority. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. 💁♀️📚✨
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to the iRead Something Bad Podcast
01:06 Exploring the Role of Imagination
16:53 Imagination in the Bible
26:28 The Importance of Story and Myth
32:50 Embracing Childlike Wonder in Adulthood
37:30 Imagination and Personal Healing
41:19 The Stabilizing Effect of Dogma
46:15 Fantasy and Virtue Ethics
56:11 God Welcomes Your Weird
58:30 Imagination as a Revolutionary Act
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
008 A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas
14 maart 2025 · 55 min
Your Matron Saints of Spice are back, and this time we're diving headfirst into the thorny world of Sarah J. Maas! 💫 Lees meer
Join Kate, Sarah, and Liz as we unpack A Court of Thorns and Roses - that spicy fantasy novel your church friends might raise eyebrows at that is often the gateway to the world of romantasy … but we're here to tell you contains more theological insight than meets the eye!
We're blending fae courts with faith questions because who says you can't find spiritual wisdom between steamy scenes? 📚✨
Topics Covered:
* One-sided covenants and the toxic aftermath - How Feyre's impossible promise to her mother mirrors the unhealthy expectations we see in families, relationships, and yes, even your favorite megachurch 👀
* Creating healing spaces (and why your "self-care isn't selfish" coffee mug is actually theological) - The revolutionary importance of environments that allow for rest and creative expression when recovering from trauma
* Racism dressed as tradition - How the human/fae prejudice in ACOTAR makes us question which "traditions" we might be clinging to that are actually just prejudice in fancy clothing
* Reading fiction as spiritual rebellion - Why losing yourself in a fantasy world might actually be teaching you to read scripture with fresh eyes (and why that makes some people nervous!)
Warning: This episode might leave you questioning power structures, reaching for more "inappropriate" books, and possibly reexamining your entire approach to faith formation. We're not sorry! 💁♀️🔥
Timestamps:
01:00 Purpose and Vision of the Podcast
03:00 Diving into A Court of Thorns and Roses
04:02 Themes of Covenant and Promises
05:24 Healthy Choices and Relationships
08:07 Spiritual and Systemic Reflections
24:59 Safe Spaces for Growth and Healing
44:08 Racism and Classism in ACOTAR
54:35 Conclusion and Call to Action
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpod…
-
007 Silly Little Books
28 februari 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
Your Matron Saints of Spice are back, and we're unpacking the side-eye your TBR pile gets from society! Lees meer
Join Kate, Liz, Sarah, Jenai, and special guest Morgan Strehlow (who blessed us with our podcast name) as we dive into why men's violence-packed entertainment gets called "epic" while our books get dismissed as "fairy smut" — even when they contain less spice than your average Oscar-nominated film.
Topics Covered:
* Sarah's revealing poll proving there's a serious double standard when it comes to how we talk about men's vs. women's entertainment choices
* Why reading for pleasure is a radical act in a world that expects women to be productive, selfless, and contributing to capitalism at all times
* How fantasy fiction isn't just "escapism" — it's giving us language to question power structures, develop critical thinking, and yes, reimagine what's possible in our spiritual lives
* The political nature of "silly little books" that help us ask big questions (and why certain people might be threatened by women who learn to wonder)
* Why the "man cave" is in the house but the "she shed" gets banished to the backyard, and other perfectly normal ways society values men's hobbies over women's 🤔
Careful, friends! This episode might just leave you unapologetically enjoying things because you want to, questioning your Bible study approach, and ready to smash some hierarchies. The horror! 💁♀️📚✨
Timestamps:
02:39 Men's vs. Women's Entertainment
05:34 Sex and Violence in Media
11:19 Purity Culture and Female Sexuality
20:29 The Double Standard in Entertainment
26:34 Empowerment Through Fiction
32:28 Curiosity in Reading and Faith
32:56 The Importance of Asking Questions
35:59 The Role of Fiction in Developing Empathy
39:58 Fiction's Impact on Biblical Interpretation
46:22 Smut vs. Spice
51:12 Gendered Perceptions of Hobbies
54:19 The Value of Enjoying Fiction
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access…
-
006 Part 2 | Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
14 februari 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Grab your favorite “heretical” romantasy novel and settle in, because we're back for round two of theological dragon-riding shenanigans! Lees meer
In this episode, we're diving deeper than Violet's trust issues into everything from weaponized forgiveness to MLM boss babe venin ("Hey girl!").
Join us as we explore how Ridoc's humor is actually emotional intelligence in disguise, why Dane still needs to work on his redemption arc (sorry not sorry), and how ancient texts might be trying to tell us something about power that makes certain religious leaders nervous.
Careful. You may just walk away questioning your seminary reading list, developing strong opinions about Jonathan Edwards, and an overwhelming urge to start coding secret messages into your journal for future generations. 🐉✨
Timestamps:
03:39 Ridoc’s Humor and Who’s the “Glue” in the Iron Squad?
11:14 Sawyer, Resilience, and Internal Shame
22:08 Dane’s Redemption?
31:36 Weaponized Forgiveness and Relational Repair
34:45 The Power of Memory and Who Shapes the Story
41:26 Slaveholder Theology
56:30 Theophanie and the Effect of Meeting God
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
005 Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
31 januari 2025 · 53 min
Through the lens of Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm, we explore questions about faith, scripture, and community. Starting with reflections on finding surprise and delight in sacred texts (without decoding hidden messages or building conspiracy boards), we examine how fantasy literature helps us approach Scripture with fresh eyes. Through rich metaphors about divine presence and the complex ways we relate to the sacred, we tackle the critical distinction between peacekeeping and true peacemaking, examining how isolation and moral superiority often masquerade as peace while perpetuating broken systems. Lees meer
Warning: Side effects may include questioning your approach to community, developing strong opinions about religious isolation, and an overwhelming urge to adopt a sassy baby dragon who's always hungry. 🐉✨
00:48 Initial Reactions
03:55 Finding Surprise and Delight in Scripture
12:04 Metaphors for God and Atonement Theories
26:30 Peacekeeping vs Peacemaking
40:50 Enmeshment and Differentiation
49:33 Community and Found Family
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
004 Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
17 januari 2025 · 59 min
In this episode, we're diving deeper than Violet's bond with Tairn (and that's saying something) into the deliciously complex world of War College politics, ancient texts that might be lying to us, and propaganda that hits a little too close to home. Lees meer
Join us as we connect the dots between dragon rider drama and real-world faith challenges, from purity culture to Christian nationalism (because apparently, fantasy books are getting a little TOO real these days). We're tackling everything from theological manipulation to female pleasure, with just enough dragon-riding action to keep your prayer group suspicious.
Timestamps:
02:35 Secrecy and Trust
14:13 Dehumanization at Basgiath
21:06 Power Dynamics and Trust
22:54 Translation and Interpretation
28:48 Propaganda and Media Literacy
33:20 Theological Self-Protection and Exploitation
34:05 Wesley's Quadrilateral and Propaganda
34:45 Historical Context: Hitler's Propaganda
36:10 Rapture Anxiety and Theological Propaganda
39:00 Christian Nationalism and Current Politics
44:30 Purity Culture and Female Pleasure
51:00 Anticipating the Next Book: Onyx Storm
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
003 What Women Want
17 januari 2025 · 54 min
Today, your Matron Saints of Spice are diving into the steamy world of women's desires (don't worry - we warned the prayer chain). From purity culture to pleasure reading, we're unpacking why some fantasies are "acceptable" (looking at you, Hallmark) while others get shunned. Lees meer
Join us as we explore how fantasy books give women language for desire, tools for healing, (rightfully) high expectations, and permission to imagine a world where we don't have to hide any part of our selves.
Timestamps:
01:02 Exploring Women's Desires in Fantasy Literature
03:01 The Role of Fantasy in Empowering Women
04:19 Purity Culture and Fantasy Books
05:38 Acceptable vs. Unacceptable Fantasy
09:49 Imagination and Biblical Stories
23:56 Healing Through Stories
29:51 Coping Mechanisms in Literature
30:33 Challenging Purity Culture
32:10 Sexual Agency and Language
33:56 Navigating Sexual Education
38:52 Empowerment Through Fiction
47:34 Fantasy as a Safe Space
50:44 Reimagining Gender Roles
53:00 Conclusion
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
002 Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
27 december 2024 · 53 min
IIn anticipation of the third installment of the Empyrean Series, we’re diving deep into the book that spawned a thousand spicy romantasy book obsessed readers (and dragon riders in their hearts) … Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Lees meer
Join us as we go beyond the spice to explore how Rebecca Yarros’ books are secretly packed with spiritual wisdom (no, really!).
From the Fourth Wing plotlines that took us on an emotional rollercoaster to surprisingly deep conversations about power, community, and disability representation, sometimes the holiest discussions start with a little dragon-induced swooning.
Come for the spice, stay for the surprisingly profound theological insights ... and maybe a few mentions of Xaden, because honestly, who could blame us?
01:04 The Book That Started It All: Fourth Wing
03:03 Diving into Character Dynamics
05:10 Exploring Themes of Empowerment and Control
14:23 Disability Representation in Fourth Wing
19:32 Culture Wars and Loyalty Tests
36:52 Reframing the Holy Spirit’s Voice
43:37 The Doctrine of the Trinity and Mutual Indwelling
52:05 Final Thoughts and Farewell
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
001 Introducing I Read Something Bad
27 december 2024 · 1 uur 7 min
👉 Find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Lees meer
💬 Leave your rating or review to help more people join our “silly little book” chat
What happens when a Bible nerd, a chaplain-in-training, and a youth pastor stumble into the spicy fantasy section of the bookstore?
They launch a little rebellious podcast where spicy romantasy books meet Sunday school … sort of. It turns out that the best romantasy series can do more than make you blush - they might just help you see your life of faith more clearly too.
Join Kate Boyd, Liz Daye, and Sarah Lewan as we spill the tea on our backgrounds, defend your right to read romantasy books without hiding them under your Bible study materials, and make a surprisingly solid case for why these stories deserve a spot in your spiritual formation journey.
Through thoughtful discussion of popular spicy romantasy books, we hope to prove that faith and fantasy can not only coexist but thrive together. Whether you're secretly devouring romantasy under the covers or proudly displaying your shelf of faerie smut, this episode kicks off a whole new kind of book club.
00:00 Welcome to I Read Something Bad
00:56 Meet Your Hosts
01:31 Why We're Here
01:52 Introducing Liz Daye
02:43 Introducing Sarah Lewan
03:27 Introducing Kate Boyd
05:17 Who Should Listen?
08:03 The Power of Fiction
10:58 Engaging Culture Theologically
21:32 The Importance of Imagination
26:12 Discovering Romantasy
30:15 Rediscovering the Joy of Reading
31:27 Cultivating Self-Trust Through Books
34:49 Escapism and Its Critics
40:32 Healthy Discontent and Relationships
45:45 The Role of Spicy Content
47:55 Theological Reflections on Spicy Books
01:02:20 Looking Forward: Podcast Expectations
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com
-
Trailer
18 december 2024 · 1 min
I Read Something Bad is where spicy fantasy novels meet spiritual formation. Lees meer
We're the podcast for everyone who's ever felt like they needed to hide their steamy book covers from their small group or found themselves daydreaming about dragons in the middle of a women’s conference.
We think it’s time to take the shame out of your TBR pile, empower you to love what you love unapologetically, and talk about the issues that matter most to you by thoughtfully engaging with your favorite literature.
This is a book club for the folks who wonder what parts of the Bible are morally grey, and what our favorite fiction books can teach us about our faith.
Whether you’re here for the spicy faeries or the spiritual formation (or both — we don’t judge), this is a safe space so grab a seat.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irsbpodcast.substack.com