Hard to Believe

Rinzler is the bestselling author of The Star Wars, the Dark Horse Comics adaptation of George Lucas’s original draft for Star Wars.

He joined us to talk science fiction, science fact, and the possibilities of life beyond Earth.

Juhi Khemani takes guest co-hosting duties. You can follow her on Twitter @juhikhemani.

• J.W. Rinzler on Twitter
• Juhi on Twitter
• www.jwrinzler.com

#3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) – Hard to Believe – A Podcast About Belief

Rolling Stone senior writer Alex Morris returns to the show to talk to John about the impending decision to overturn Roe (which may well have been handed down by the time this episode releases). Morris has written extensively about the American evangelical movement and the conservative movement, and her work as also looked at they way those two forces have combined to stage an assault on reproductive rights. To her, the end of Roe comes as no surprise, but how and why, exactly, American evangelicals were able to play a successful long game to overturn Roe and begin chipping away at abortion, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ rights may not be as clear. She and John discussed some of the misconceptions about the religious angle, the key players, the success of propaganda campaigns, and why in taking on a new fight it is essential to know what the real obstacles are. Links to Alex's work can be found at her website: alexmorris.net You can find her on Twitter at @AlexMorrisNY

1. #3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) 47:40
2. #3.4 – The Myth of the Second Amendment with Joe Patrice 01:04:53
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999:The Podcast) 01:20:00
4. #3.3 – Leaving God with John Follis 53:03
5. #3.2 – The Internet and the Cult of Free Speech – with Fredrick Brennan 56:37

Tomorrow, Juhi Khemani takes her first turn in the co-host chair as we’re joined by author J.W. Rinzler, who discusses his life as Lucasfilm’s resident historian, his The Making of Alien, his new novel All Up, and why he loves sci-fi and the movies.

We also talk about whether or not he thinks we should believe in aliens (real ones).

All Up, a wonderful novel about the dawn of the Space Age, is available now.

The critically-acclaimed The Making of Alien, which came out last year and has since become regarded as one of the best “making of” books ever written, was recently made available at a discount on Amazon.

His follow-up, The Making of Aliens, is due for release on August 25th and can be pre-ordered now.

Rinzler also wrote the bestselling comic book adaptation of George Lucas’s original draft of Star Wars, The Star Wars, which is available as a bound graphic novel.

Egyptians really loved cats! Like, they would literally kill you over them!

Medieval Europeans, uh…often felt differently.

In an effort to bring some levity after a string of more “serious” episodes, John decided to investigate the history of the role cats have played in religion. Surely that would be an adorable story! Things got dark quick. Jess Collins (who really likes the movie “Kedi“) makes her second appearance to hear all the delightful cat stories.

SOURCE LINKS:

Tao Tao Holmes – “Ritualistic Cat Torture Was Once a Form of Town Fun” 

Joshua L. Mark – “Cats in the Middle Ages”

Irina Metzler – “Why Cats were hated in Medieval Europe”

#3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) – Hard to Believe – A Podcast About Belief

Rolling Stone senior writer Alex Morris returns to the show to talk to John about the impending decision to overturn Roe (which may well have been handed down by the time this episode releases). Morris has written extensively about the American evangelical movement and the conservative movement, and her work as also looked at they way those two forces have combined to stage an assault on reproductive rights. To her, the end of Roe comes as no surprise, but how and why, exactly, American evangelicals were able to play a successful long game to overturn Roe and begin chipping away at abortion, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ rights may not be as clear. She and John discussed some of the misconceptions about the religious angle, the key players, the success of propaganda campaigns, and why in taking on a new fight it is essential to know what the real obstacles are. Links to Alex's work can be found at her website: alexmorris.net You can find her on Twitter at @AlexMorrisNY

1. #3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) 47:40
2. #3.4 – The Myth of the Second Amendment with Joe Patrice 01:04:53
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999:The Podcast) 01:20:00
4. #3.3 – Leaving God with John Follis 53:03
5. #3.2 – The Internet and the Cult of Free Speech – with Fredrick Brennan 56:37

Be sure to check out our new episode tomorrow. In an effort to bring some levity after a string of more “serious” episodes, John decided to investigate the history of the role cats have played in religion. Surely that would be an adorable story!

Things got dark quick.

Jess Collins makes her second appearance to hear all the delightful cat stories.

In the meantime, be sure to check out this collection of cat pictures from the Middle Ages!

Join me and guest co-host Mike Manzi as we welcome journalist and author Tony Ortega to discuss the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige, Tom Cruise, and more!

Listen here. Also available at the CageClub website, or wherever you get podcasts.

#3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) – Hard to Believe – A Podcast About Belief

Rolling Stone senior writer Alex Morris returns to the show to talk to John about the impending decision to overturn Roe (which may well have been handed down by the time this episode releases). Morris has written extensively about the American evangelical movement and the conservative movement, and her work as also looked at they way those two forces have combined to stage an assault on reproductive rights. To her, the end of Roe comes as no surprise, but how and why, exactly, American evangelicals were able to play a successful long game to overturn Roe and begin chipping away at abortion, reproductive, and LGBTQ+ rights may not be as clear. She and John discussed some of the misconceptions about the religious angle, the key players, the success of propaganda campaigns, and why in taking on a new fight it is essential to know what the real obstacles are. Links to Alex's work can be found at her website: alexmorris.net You can find her on Twitter at @AlexMorrisNY

1. #3.5 – Rolling Stone's Alex Morris: On how we go to the end of Roe (and what happens next) 47:40
2. #3.4 – The Myth of the Second Amendment with Joe Patrice 01:04:53
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999:The Podcast) 01:20:00
4. #3.3 – Leaving God with John Follis 53:03
5. #3.2 – The Internet and the Cult of Free Speech – with Fredrick Brennan 56:37

Journalist Tony Ortega has been covering Scientology since 1995. He joins us to talk about the past and future of the Church of Scientology and why 2020 may be a pivotal year in determining its fate.

In 2017, Ortega was the first to report that the LAPD was investigating rape allegations against actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson. He also appeared in Alex Gibney’s breakthrough 2015 HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief.

He is the creator of the website The Underground Bunker, where he continues to cover the Church.

Check back tomorrow to listen to my conversation with him here, the CageClub website, or wherever you get podcasts.

Welcome to our blog! We’ll be posting further information about episodes of Hard to Believe here, along with other asides and musings.