Stay ConnectedIf life is a mystery, whodunnit? Award winning Hollywood TV producer and playwright Scott Carter (HBO, PBS) discusses personal faith and ethics with a diverse roster of interfaith and non-faith celebrity guests to uncover what we believe and what we don’t. New episodes on Fridays for believers and doubters to follow religiously!
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Known for his iconic roles on “The Office” and “Six Feet Under,” actor and author Rainn Wilson joins Scott to discuss his new book Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. In part one of this two-part interview, Rainn explores his upbringing in the Baha’i faith, his frustration with modern spirituality, and why he believes we need spiritual community now more than ever. Join us next week to hear about Rainn’s new show “Rainn Wilson and The Geography of Bliss, now streaming on Peacock.
Guest: Rainn Wilson is an Emmy nominated and SAG award-winning actor, writer and producer who has found himself in a variety of comedic and theatrical roles throughout his career. His first breakthrough role came when he played assistant mortician “Arthur Martin” on HBO’s “Six Feet Under,” winning him and the cast a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Wilson is best known for playing the inimitable ‘Dwight Schrute’ for nine seasons on NBC’s Emmy award winning comedy, “The Office,” a role which garnered him three Emmy Award nominations. Wilson’s book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution released on April 25th. In this book, he explores the benefits spirituality gives us in creating solutions for an increasingly challenging world. Wilson can be seen in “Rainn Wilson and The Geography of Bliss” a six-part travel docuseries in which he travels around the world to discover the happiest places on Earth. The series debuted on Peacock on May 18th.
In My Homily Opinion will return next week.
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Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.
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Scott Carter is joined by nationally syndicated conservative radio host Erick Erickson to set their political differences aside and talk about tests of faith, the usefulness of rituals in the passages and celebrations of life, plus the “welfare of your community” and service to its members.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): For this Memorial Day weekend, Scott remembers those who serve in our military forces and veterans living or dead, including his father Captain John Henry Carter, who spent four and a half years in the US Navy in the Pacific during World War II.
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Guest: Erick Erickson is host of the nationally syndicated Erick Erickson Show from Atlanta. In 2015, The Atlantic named Erick Erickson the most influential conservative in the United States. He writes a daily email read by numerous members of Congress, governors, and policy makers across the nation. Erickson practiced law for six years; served as a campaign consultant for federal, state, and local races; ran RedState.com for a decade turning it into the most widely read center-right blog on Capitol Hill; ran for office and served as a city councilman; and served as a political contributor for both CNN and Fox. Erickson makes regular appearances on various CNN and Fox News programs, NBC’s Meet the Press, and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. He is also a nationally syndicated columnist. Erick Erickson is a native of Louisiana, grew up in the United Arab Emirates, and currently lives in Macon, GA with his wife and children. He is a graduate of Mercer University and its Walter F. George School of Law. He is presently attending Reformed Theological Seminary working on a masters in theology.
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.
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Julia Sweeney is a multi-hyphenate performer known for her hilarious characters on SNL and her comedy specials God Said Ha, Letting Go of God, and most recently Older and Wider. This week on Ye Gods!, Julia joins Scott to discuss her devout atheism as well as her feelings on religion, God, the saints and more! Julia explains cultural Catholicism sans a belief in God and how community is central to who we are as human beings.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s love of the Catholic ceremony, this week's IMHO Scott asks listeners to send in stories of how religious ritual has affected their lives and if experiencing them can reveal spiritual mysteries.
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Guest: Julia Sweeney is an actress, comedian, writer and film director. She was born in the U.S. in Spokane, Washington in 1959. She’s appeared on numerous film and television shows and is well known for her years on SNL in the first half of the 1990s. She has created several comedic one-person shows. In 2014, she released her book “If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother”, a collection of essays on the complex blessings of motherhood. The latest TV series Julia has appeared in is Shrill and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.
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Two-time Emmy winner, and two-time Ye Gods guest Patricia Heaton of Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle shares laughs and tears with Scott in a sort of movie review and personal revelation sparked by the HBO Academy Award nominated documentary God is the Bigger Elvis, a film that tells the true story of a rising Hollywood starlet who traded fame, fortune and fiance for God, and became a nun.
Watch the full movie God is the Bigger Elvis on HBO.
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Guest: Patricia Heaton is an actress, author and producer perhaps best known for her role on the beloved and critically acclaimed CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond” for 9 seasons. She followed that up with another 9 season run, starring on the ABC cornerstone, single camera comedy “The Middle.” She is co-founder of FourBoys Films which recently released Unexpected.
In addition to her acting and producing credits, Heaton is a bestselling author whose debut book, the autobiographical Motherhood and Hollywood -- How to Get A Job Like Mine appeared on The New York Times best-sellers list.
A committed philanthropist, Heaton is the founding member of World Vision’s Celebrity Ambassador Network. She has traveled to Rwanda, Zambia and Syria with the humanitarian organization which focuses on conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries.
Heaton is a mother to four sons and lives in Nashville with her husband actor-producer David Hunt.
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.
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Author and Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles, Steve Leder joins Scott to discuss his book For You When I Am Gone; Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story. Scott asks Rabbi Leder about his path to becoming a Rabbi, his personal struggles with mental health, and how he points people to the light when they are in the valley of shadows.
Listener advisory: this episode touches on topics that may be sensitive to some including attempted suicide. We can all help prevent suicide. Free and confidential emotional support is available from the National Suicide & Crisis website (988LifeLine.org), or simply dial 988 in the U.S.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO):
Have you got regrets? Scott has a few. On this week’s IMHO Scott asks if we can bridge the gap between aspiration and action.
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Guest:
Steve Leder currently serves as the Senior Rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, a prestigious synagogue in Los Angeles with three campuses and 2,700 families. He is a regular contributor and guest on The Today Show, writes regularly for TIME, Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, Woman’s Day Magazine, contributed a chapter to Charles Barkley’s book Who’s Afraid of a Large Black Man?,and has published essays in Town and Country, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Jewish Journal where his Torah commentaries were read weekly by over 50,000 people. His sermon on capital punishment was included in an award winning episode of The West Wing. He regularly appears on the Today Show, CNN, NPR and weekly on Spectrum 1 News. Rabbi Leder received the Louis Rappaport Award for Excellence in Commentary from the American Jewish Press Association and the Kovler Award from the Religious Action Center in Washington D.C. for his work in African American/Jewish dialogue and in 2012 presented twice at the Aspen Ideas Festival. He is the author of four books including More Beautiful Than Before; How Suffering Transforms Us and the recently published For You When I Am Gone; Twelve Essential Questions to Tell a Life Story. Newsweek Magazine twice named him one of the ten most influential rabbis in America but most important to Steve is being Betsy’s husband and Aaron and Hannah’s dad. He is also a Jew who likes to fish. Go figure.
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed via Epidemic Sound.
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Journalist, co-author with Bob Woodward of “Peril”, and Chief Election & Campaign Correspondent for CBS News, Robert Costa joins Scott to discuss his Catholic upbringing and how faith brings him a respite from dark times. He muses on his reluctance to talk about himself in his reporting and his dedication to facts and objectivity in every story. Scott and Robert also get into his reporting on former President Donald Trump, the religious right and his understanding of the politics of the conservative Christians in the GOP.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): Judge not, lest ye be judged. But sometimes we can’t help it. Scott discusses the final season of HBO’s Succession and how Logan Roy’s “suspicions” about the afterlife sparked comparisons to real life media moguls Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone.
Guest: Robert Costa is the Chief Election & Campaign correspondent for CBS News, where he covers national politics and American democracy. Based in Washington D.C., he is a regular contributor to the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell," "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," "CBS Mornings," and "Sunday Morning," as well as to CBS News Streaming programs such as "Red & Blue." Before joining CBS News in 2022, Costa and reporting legend Bob Woodward co-wrote "Peril," which was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2021. The book documented the tumultuous transition between the Trump presidency and the Biden presidency and was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. It was also cited in congressional subpoenas issued by the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. From 2014 to 2021, Costa was a national political reporter at The Washington Post. Costa served as the moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" on PBS from 2017 to 2020.
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Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
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Comedian-writer-producer Larry Wilmore has one of the most impressive resumes in TV from In Living Color, to The Bernie Mac Show, The Daily Show to Blackish and HBO’s Insecure. He now hosts the Larry Wilmore: Black on Air Podcast with The Ringer. He stops by to talk about his epiphany as a door-to-door salesman, his Catholic upbringing and his comedic love of The Marx Brothers and their 1930 classic vaudeville film Animal Crackers.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): Do we all have a reason why we are here? Scott Carter honors his friend the late and great comedic genius Garry Shandling. Scott tells the story of how writer/director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin), while researching for the documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandlingdiscovered a note from Garry that only Scott could decipher about Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Garry’s legacy as a mentor to Sarah Silverman and many others.
Guest: Emmy Award winner Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian, and writer for more than 25 years. He can currently be heard as host of Larry Wilmore: Black on the Air on The Ringer Podcast Network. The show, which premiered in 2017, features Wilmore’s unique mix of humor and wit as he weighs in on the issues of the week and interviews guests in the worlds of politics, entertainment, culture, sports, and beyond. He can also be seen in the Paramount+ film Jerry and Margo Go Large, alongside Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening. He also serves as executive producer alongside Kerry Washington, in the Hulu legal drama Reasonable Doubt for Hulu’s Onyx Collective. Larry is currently in development on the comedy series Lately for ABC, a behind-the-scenes look at the upstairs-downstairs dynamics of the people who work at a late-night talk show. Wilmore released his first book, “I'd Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts”, in January 2009. He lives in Los Angeles.
Send your thoughts (and prayers) to YeGodsPodcast@gmail.com
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
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Is there a there-there? A place within the mind separate from our thoughts? This week Scott talks to neuroscientist and founder of the Waking Up meditation app, Sam Harris. They discuss how meditation helps us to be happy in the most ordinary of moments and make the most of each moment, vs. the need to extract the greatest pleasure from our greatest moments.
And that there are things to discover about the nature of the mind that are liberating, with the potential to reduce suffering of emotional anguish and ultimately lead to improvements in wellbeing.
Regarding atheism, Sam remarks that, “it’s not so much a claim that the universe isn't much stranger than we realize, (but) in fact, maybe it’s stranger than we can possibly imagine.” And that there are propensities of the human mind that are universally available regardless of culture or geography, and one can find truths across beliefs in Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Judaism,Islam and others, yet we need to have 21st century non-sectarian conversations.
Sam shares this quote from Tibetan Lama Kalu Rinpoche: 'What we live in is an illusion. There is a reality, you are that reality. When you understand this, you'll realize that you're nothing and being nothing, you are everything.' And a recommendation of literature from Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): Scott reads from Oscar Wilde’s “De Profundis” and discusses his belief that there is a need for ritual even in the lives of the irreligious. He asks the listeners if God hides himself from us or do we just not know where to look for him?
Guest: Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher, and author of five New York Times best sellers. His work covers a wide range of topics—neuroscience, moral philosophy, religion, meditation practice, political polarization, rationality—but generally focuses on how a growing understanding of ourselves and the world is changing our sense of how we should live. His books include The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, and Waking Up. Sam hosts the popular Making Sense podcast and is the creator of the Waking Up app, which offers a modern approach to living a more examined life, through both in-depth mindfulness training and secular wisdom. Sam has practiced meditation for over 30 years and has studied with many Tibetan, Indian, Burmese, and Western meditation teachers, both in the United States and abroad. He holds a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.
Photo credit: Christopher Patey
Send your thoughts (and prayers) to YeGodsPodcast@gmail.com
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
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Actress and comic Susie Essman from HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm joins Scott to discuss praying to the humor gods, the connections between comedy and Judaism, why Larry David the creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm and co-creator of Seinfeld is a sort of Rabbi, plus remembrances of their mutual friend, the late comic genius Gilbert Gottfried.
In honor of Gilbert Gottfried, this episode is being released near the first anniversary of his passing. In the Jewish tradition, the first anniversary of a death is called Yahrzeit. Sacred readings, candle lighting, charitable giving, and fasting are done in memoriam.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): Scott replies to listener Kathleen Valley Stein's email on the Rubicon moment her family faced, and the subsequent book she wrote Loving Choices, Peaceful Passing Why My Family Chose Hospice
Guest: Susie Essman has played the sassy Susie Greene for all eleven seasons of the critically-acclaimed HBO comedy series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. Her hilarious bouts of withering sarcasm and uninhibited insults have become her character’s trademark.
The Los Angeles Times calls Susie, “The most lyrical purveyor of profanity on television. She makes the entire cast of “The Sopranos” look like rank amateurs. It really is a gift.”
Susie’s streetwise vernacular is perfectly suited for her life in Manhattan where she has been a veteran of the world of stand up comedy for thirty-nine years. She has appeared in her own half-hour HBO comedy special, made numerous appearances on Broad City, The View, Hacks and The Tonight Show, to name just a few of her many television credits. She has also acted in numerous films.
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
Send your thoughts (and prayers) to YeGodsPodcast@gmail.com
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Today's conversation touches on topics that may be sensitive to some including attempted suicide. Life can be hard, but suicide is preventable and free and confidential support is available by dialing 988 or go to 988lifeline.org
Guest: Ana Marie Cox is a political columnist and culture critic whose writing has appeared in The New Republic, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, and NBC.com. Through 2022, she wrote a “Sober Questioning” column at The Cut. She’s also a prolific podcast host including Space the Nation with Dan Drezner and With Friends Like These from Crooked Media. She’s a regular on the Stephen King podcast The Losers Club (a favorite episode is this one on recovery themes in King’s work). Her memoir, “Just Like Your Mother” — a reported account of addiction, recovery, and intergenerational trauma — will be published by Random House in 2024.
In My Homily Opinion (IMHO): It’s the week of Passover and Easter. So in the spirit of renewal and rebirth, Scott Carter is keeping the door ajar with a one-step-at-a-time willingness to consider new things and challenge old beliefs that do not work.
Send your thoughts (and prayers) to YeGodsPodcast@gmail.com
Ye Gods is produced by Efficiency Studios in association with Dossie Media. Special thanks to Associate Producer Robyn Rose Valentine. Hosting services and other fun stuff provided by Podbean. Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound.
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