The Avatar Faculty: Ecstatic Transformations in Religion and Video Games (University of California Press, 2023) creatively examines the parallels between spiritual and digital activities to explore the roles that symbolic second selves—avatars—can play in our lives. The use of avatars can allow for what anthropologists call ecstasy, from the Greek ekstasis, ... Show More
Sep 15
Tom Hulme, "Belfastmen: An Intimate History of Life Before Gay Liberation" (Cornell UP, 2026)
Professor Tom Hulme's second book reconstructs the erotic and romantic lives of queer men in Belfast across roughly seventy years, from the recriminalisation of sex between men in the 1880s to the emergence of a mainstream public debate about homosexuality in the 1950s. It follow ... Show More
48m 1s
Sep 12
John Charles Simon and Jennalee Donian, "Understanding Laughter and Humor: Why We Laugh, Why We Don’t, and Why It Matters" (Palgrave MacMillan, 2026)
In John Charles Simon and Jennalee Donian’s Understanding Laughter and Humor: Why We Laugh, Why We Don’t, and Why It Matters (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), the authors put forward a comprehensive new theoretical approach to understanding laughter and the humour we use to inspire it. ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2023
Eternal Light, Eternal Life...Bridging the Gap between Science and Spirituality
Join Angie and Mark as the delve into Mark's newest book, The Afterlife Frequency, which provides scientific proof of spiritual contact and how that awareness has the ability to change your life. Angie and Mark discuss the topics that have been taboo, until now. Religion - There' ... Show More
52m 27s
Oct 2025
Digital Expressions of the Self(ie): The Social Life of Selfies in India
Selfies are more than fleeting images—across India, they shape how people imagine themselves, connect with others, and inhabit spaces. In this episode of the Nordic Asia Podcast, Prof. Xenia Zeiler from the University of Helsinki talks to Prof. Avishek Ray about his co-authored b ... Show More
23m 45s
Apr 2024
2191: Soul-Share with Innovator, Jeff Karp
<p>Jeff is a Professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT and author of the new book LIT. In this episode, he discusses how we can spark ideas, ignite action, and learn from nature.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Care to play a game with the youniverse? Ask the universe the episode you ... Show More
1h 4m
Nov 2024
Vivian Asimos, "Cosplay and the Dressing of Identity" (Reaktion, 2024)
Cosplay, born from the fusion of ‘costume’ and ‘play’, transcends mere dress-up by transforming enthusiasts of TV shows, movies, books or video games into living embodiments of their cherished characters. Cosplay and the Dressing of Identity (Reaktion, 2024) by Dr. Vivian Asimos ... Show More
50m 54s
Aug 2023
Jamila Rodrigues, "Sufi Women, Embodiment and the 'Self': Gender in Islamic Ritual" (Routledge, 2023)
Jamila Rodrigues's new book Sufi Women, Embodiment and the “Self”: Gender in Islamic Ritual (Routledge 2023) uses her dance and performance studies background to study women’s hadra or zikr experiences of a Naqshbandi Sufi community in Cape Town, South Africa. This ritual include ... Show More
55m 50s