Do you love reality TV, or do you love to hate it? This week, Rachel is joined by two friends, Grace and Fiona, to gossip about the relationship between reality TV, ritual and religion. Using examples from The Bachelor, Love Island, and Drag Race, the trio discusses the various rituals and ceremonies that are so intrinsic to reality shows, the devoted followings they acquire, and the parables they tell.   Follow Nearly Numinous on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also find transcripts and past episodes on our website – nearlynuminous.ca ..read more

This week we dive head-first into different types of religious experience when it comes to consciousness. We chat ASCs, Trance, and Mysticism, while trying to understand the difference between the three types of experience. We also talk a lot about how religious experience is often branded as “crazy”, and is therefore used as an excuse to de-platform those that are religious ..read more

We’re back with another monthly installment of our “In The News” episode. This week, we chat about a wide range of topics including; the psychology of religion and how religion is studied in the brain, the ethics of AI, and Islamophobia in Canada.   Want to read the articles we talk about? “Religion on the Brain” from The Scientist “Can Silicon Valley Find God” from The New York Times “Trudeau calls out federal agencies during national summit on Islamophobia” from CBC News   Follow Nearly Numinous on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can also find transcripts and past episodes on ..read more

Join Rachel and Jacqueline for a special interview with Faezeh Izadi about Muslims in Canada. Faezeh is an International Ph.D. student of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary, originally from Iran. She got her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, but after two years of engineering works, Faezeh changed her path to humanities and joined the Comparative Religions and Mysticism MA program at the University of Kashan, Iran. After seven years of teaching and leadership experience in educational institutions in Iran, Faezeh decided to pursue her study abroad. She received her secon ..read more

Welcome to the 2nd episode in our series on CW’s hit show, The 100! If you haven’t listened to the first episode yet, check it out here! And if you haven’t seen Season 1 of The 100, then we recommend watching it before you dive into this episode (otherwise you’ll get a lot of spoilers). In this episode, we focus more on group identity and cohesion using all our fancy background and language about religion and group identity. Get ready for some 1st year University-level definitions, and also some rants about who would make the best charismatic leader. As always, you’ll be able to find a transcr ..read more

Join your hosts, Steph and Rachel, for an interview with yoga teacher and practitioner Laura Chaignon. We get deep into gender binary language in yoga (and elsewhere) and chat about the effect of the western lens on yoga, gendered language, and the importance of making yoga a safe and comfortable space for everyone.   Resources Laura mentions: @yogaisdeadpodcast (Hosted by Tejal Patel and Jesal Parikh) Artist Sarah Cargill from the Tarot for the End of the World podcast, Yoga instructor and educator @susannabarkataki ..read more

Welcome to the first of a special 2-part episode on the hit CW show “The 100”.  The show originally premiered in 2014 and ran for seven seasons – but today, we’re only getting into the first season. Of course, there are some spoilers, so feel free to go watch the entire first season and come back to this episode. In the first part of our series on “The 100,” we introduce the premise of the show, some of our favourite plotholes and burning questions, and most importantly, how it relates to religion—through its apocalyptic themes. Join us next episode for the rest of our discussion on Seaso ..read more

This week, jump in with Rachel and Steph while they talk about different religious symbols being taken from their original meaning and used in either dangerous ways or just taken out of context. We also get pretty deep into the COEXIST bumper sticker’s history. As always, don’t forget to check out nearlynuminous.ca for previous episodes, to subscribe to our newsletter, or get in touch with us! You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – just search Nearly Numinous ..read more

After weeks of recording snags (long distance podcasting is hard!) we’re back! This week it’s the June edition of “In The News”. Join ALL THREE of your hosts (for the first time in months) while we try to stay on topic about the blood flower super moon and pride but end up in side chats about if reading the bible from front to back is a good idea. Check out Church Clarity at: https://www.churchclarity.org/ Don’t forget to follow us on social media and head to our website nearlynuminous.ca for transcripts and more episodes ..read more

Where do women fit in the world of modern spiritualities and religions? What exactly does it mean for a religion to be matriarchal? In honour of Mother’s Day, Steph and Rachel chat about matriarchal religions, the Goddess movement, and a whole lot of feminism!   For more previous episodes, information, and transcripts go to nearlynuminous.ca. And don’t forget to subscribe on your favourite podcasting platform ..read more