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Alec Benjamin insists that his single "Jesus in L.A." is not a religious song, but the Unreliable Narrators think otherwise. How is the song "Jesus in L.A." like a sequel to T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party"? Are Vienna and L.A. metaphors for Heaven and Hell? do you have to go through the inferno of L.A. to get to the paradise of Vienna? Can anything good come out of Nazareth? All this in more in our first episode of Season 5! Register for camp! https://form.jotform.com/241565531242047 Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

In their 2025 Christmas special, Raymond and Sophie discuss the Christmas classic with the least plot and most music: The Nutcracker. Along the way, we talk about the source of the odd story that inspired the ballet, the importance of imaginative play, and the nature of toys and love. Also, we somehow end up interpreting the ending of Jonah. Don't miss it! Our next episode will be the song Jesus in LA by Alec Benjamin. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

"What sort of god might he be who dares not show his face?" In our final episode of apocalypse season, Raymond and Sophie cover the second half of Till We Have Faces. In the second part of the book, Orual undergoes a radical transformation...but what exactly is transformed? And how does this transformation happen? Sophie and Raymond return to some of the deepest stories and practices in the Christian faith: the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac, the participation of Holy Communion, and the theology of salvation, shedding a unique perspective on these traditions in the light of what many consider to be Lewis's greatest masterpiece. Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse

In this episode, Raymond and Sophie jump on the Kpop Demon Hunters bandwagon and discuss the 2025 phenomenon that nobody saw coming. Do people become demons because of what they do or who they are? How does a trio of K-pop singers deal with the problem of sin? How many times has Sophie REALLY seen this movie? All this and more in our latest episode. Our next episode will be Part 2 of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

In this episode, Raymond and Sophie discuss the single most influential work of literature ever written (at least to the two of them): C.S. Lewis's final novel, Till We Have Faces. Listen to find out who the god of the mountain really is, how loving and devouring are secretly the same thing, and why Psyche has always longed for death. Or, you know, you could listen to find out why Raymond and Sophie are the way that they are. We won't judge. Our next episode will be Part 2 of C.S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

T.S. Eliot's famous post-war poem, "The Waste Land", revolutionized modern poetry and represented huge shifts in modern consciousness. And yet to this day, it is still one of the most difficult to understand. What is all this about "April is the cruelest month"? and "Fear death by water"? and "Who is the third who walks always beside you"? In this episode, Sophie and Raymond discuss the life of T.S. Eliot, modernism, Arthurian legend, images of baptism, and more. If you've been stumped by this poem in the past, never fear: your trusty Unreliable Narrators are here to help you out. Stay tuned for the grand finale to apocalypse season, a two-part series on Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

In this episode, Raymond and Sophie end Anime Month with a discussion of the hit anime Mob Psycho 100. We'd like to say that we covered all our bases by discussing the nature of adolescence, Mob's solution to the problem of suffering, and the theological implications of a world where evil spirits run rampant...but we pretty much only talked about Reigen Arataka, the most lovable conman of all time. We regret nothing. Our next episode will be T.S. Eliot's poem The Wasteland. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

In this episode, Raymond learns that Sophie really, really likes the death game genre—and both of them try to figure out why. What does it mean to win a game without losing your soul? Are there any Christological figures in a world of murder? And what does any of this have to do with The Brothers Karamazov? The unreliable podcasters are determined to find out! Our next episode will be the 2016-2022 anime Mob Psycho 100. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

Is the human heart connected to the weather? The star-crossed lovers Hodaka in Hina in Mokoto Shinkai's Weathering with You discover this to be true in more ways than one. In this episode of anime month, Raymond and Sophie discuss the difference between archaic and Christian sacrifice, problems of utilitarian ethics, flood legends from Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh, and even...the secret of the world itself. Stay tuned for our next episode, Mob Psycho 100. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

Almost twenty years after its glory days, Raymond and Sophie finally get with the times and discuss the cultural phenomenon Death Note. What is the nature of justice in this story? What makes L such a good detective? And what do you do in a world where it's kill or be killed? All this and more in our latest episode! Our next episode will be the 2019 anime Weathering With You. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

Sophie and Raymond kick off Anime Month with a discussion of Studio Ghibli's 2001 film Spirited Away. How is Chihiro's journey a retelling of the Genesis story? What does it mean to remember your own name? Is the spirit No Face a metaphor for the artist? In their search for the answers, rest assured that both of your favorite unreliable podcasters come armed with many, many G.K. Chesterton quotes. Our next episode will be the 2006-2007 anime Death Note. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

In this episode, Raymond reveals that we are in APOCALYPSE SEASON! In the art piece "Right?" artist Banu Cennetoğlu asks the question of how human rights can thrive in a world where the beliefs and narratives which once united us are breaking down. We discuss how René Girard and his theory of how human sacrifice evolves into ritual and ritual into the institution of law, and how this is illustrated in the Greek tragedy Oresteia. The art piece "Right?" gives the Unreliable Narrators an opportunity to discuss the entire history of the human race, the development of human rights, the breakdown of the institution of war, and...possibly nuclear apocalypse? Stay tuned for a special ANIME MONTH coming up next July! In our next episode, we'll be discussing Hayao Miyazaki's classic Spirited Away! Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

Elijah Wood (aka Trinity Klomparens) joins Sophie and Raymond to discuss the Cartoon Network TV series Over the Garden Wall. How do the characters (Wert and Greg) wind up in a mysterious wood that seems to resemble Hell? What sins did they commit that got them there? Sophie and Raymond think this show has lots of profound parallels to Pilgrim's Progress and Dante's Inferno. Trinity is convinced there are pumpkin people in her neighborhood. Our next episode will be the art piece "Right?" by Banu Cennetoğlu (apologies, Raymond announced the wrong episode last time--classic Raymond)**** Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

We are FINALLY back again (so sorry) after 4 months of nail-biting, painstaking silence (we know you missed us) to talk about William Golding's harrowing novel, Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies, a group of English schoolboys survive a plane crash on a desert island. As they struggle to establish political order and cooperate, they are forced to discover the dark side of their own nature. What's going on with pigs in Golding's novel? And what are these constant references to "The Beast"? And are Christians actually all anarchists? Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf

One Christmas night, in the little town of Bedford Falls, a man named George Bailey contemplates throwing away God's greatest gift...but through the prayers of those who love him dearest, George learns that he truly lived a wonderful life. In the meantime, the angel Clarence earns a pair of wings. This Christmas, Sophie and Raymond discuss one of the most beloved Christmas classics of all time, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. What makes George Bailey's life wonderful? How do we convince those who are despondent (including ourselves) that life is truly worth living? How is It's a Wonderful Life like the book of Job? Is the idea of angels "earning wings" in Heaven theologically accurate? The answers the Unreliable Narrators come up with may not be what you were expecting, but who said we were reliable? Stay tuned for our next episode, where we talk about William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/UnreliableNarratorsPodcast Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected], visit our website at unreliablenarratorspodcast.wordpress.com, or say hi on Instagram @unreliablenarratorspodcast. Theme music is "New Moon" by Caleb Klomparens. Check out his music athttps://soundcloud.com/kappamuse Access the 2024-2025 Stoa Mars Hill list here: https://stoausa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Mars-Hill-Topics-2024-2025.pdf