Sex has become one of the most controversial topics in the history of the Church. But the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch shows in his book, Lower Than the Angels, that in the last 2,500 years Christianity has encompassed a much greater diversity of beliefs, including on homosexuality and the role of women. He argues that far from there being a single Christian theology of sex, there have always been a wide range of readings and attitudes.
In one of the foundational stories of the Bible, in Genesis, Eve is created as an afterthought, from one of Adam’s ribs, to be his companion. The classicist Helen King puts the female body at the centre of her book, Immaculate Forms, and examines the ways in which religion, and medicine, have played a gatekeeping role over women’s bodies.
The prize-winning poet, Ruth Padel, re-imagines the Christian story of the Virgin Mary – a girl in a Primark t-shirt facing a life shaped by divine will. Her new collection, Girl, unravels the myths and icons surrounding girlhood, and also paints a portrait of the Cretan ‘snake goddess’ as she’s unearthed and reshaped at the hands of a male archaeologist.
Presenter: Amanda Vickery is Professor in Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London
Paper, bottles, metal scrap, kitchen garbage, rubber, hair, fat, rags, and bones--the Nazi empire demanded its population obsessively collect anything that could be reused or recycled. Entrepreneurs, policy makers, and ordinary citizens conjured up countless schemes to squeeze value from waste or invent new purposes for defunct or spent material, no matter the cost to people or the environment. As World War II dragged on, rescued loot--much of it waste--clogged transport routes and piled up in warehouses across Europe.
Historicizing the much-championed ideal of zero waste, Anne Berg shows that the management of waste was central to the politics of war and to the genesis of genocide in the Nazi Germany. Destruction and recycling were part of an overarching strategy to redress raw material shortages, procure lebensraum, and cleanse the continent of Jews and others considered undesirable. Fostering cooperation between the administration, the party, the German Army, the SS, and industry, resource extending schemes obscured the crucial political role played by virtually all German citizens to whom salvaging, scrapping, and recycling were promoted as inherently virtuous and orderly behaviors. Throughout Nazi occupied-Europe, Jews, POWs, concentration camp inmates, and enemy civilians were forced to recycle the loot, discards, and debris of the Nazi race war. In the end, the materials that were fully exploited and the people who had been bled dry were cast aside, buried, burned, or left to rot. Nonetheless, waste reclamation did not have the power to win the war.
Illuminating how the Nazis inverted the economy of value, rescuing discards and murdering people, Empire of Rags and Bones: Waste and War in Nazi Germany (Oxford UP, 2024) offers an original perspective on genocide, racial ideology, and World War II.
In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster released what would become one of the most well-known fictional characters of the 20th century.
Their creation was a hit and soon spread to its own line of comic books, TV shows, movies, cartoons, and merchandise.
Yet, as popular as the character was, it has been constantly reinvented and even resurrected over the years.
Learn more about Superman, his origin, and his evolution on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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After processing the election and thinking through what it means for the future of the Supreme Court, Kate and Leah dig into a Voting Rights Act case newly added to SCOTUS’s docket. They also tackle this week’s cases on the False Claims Act, compensation for hospitals that treat low-income people, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and federal securities law.
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!
We’re starting to get a fuller picture of what the incoming Congress is going to look like under President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans have clinched a majority in the Senate and seem poised to take the House, too. But on the whole, it’s a less rosy picture for the party than Trump’s win suggests. Republican Senate candidates drastically underperformed the incoming president. Over in the House, the GOP isn’t expected to make any significant gains on its existing narrow majority. Burgess Everett, Congressional bureau chief for Semafor, explains why Trump’s big win didn’t translate to more down-ballot success.
And in headlines: California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a special legislative session to “Trump-proof” state law, Trump’s White House starts to take shape, and Target stores removed ‘Wicked’ dolls from shelves amid a packaging error that included the address of a porn website.
What to know about President-elect Trump’s call with Russian President Putin, as the war in Ukraine seems to be escalating.
And, why a FEMA employee — fired for telling her team to avoid Trump supporters — has her own take on what happened.
Also, wildfires on both coasts are impacting residents in the country’s two biggest metro areas.
Plus, how veterans are getting an extra ‘thanks’ this Veterans Day, what major mistake Mattel made on the packaging of its new ‘Wicked’ dolls — that’s forced them off store shelves, and how Beyoncé just set a new record for the Grammys.
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups!
YETI Coolers’ stock just jumped 10%... and Yeti shows how companies will handle tariffs.
The Federal Reserve’s independence is under threat right now… so we whipped up its epic history.
Chicken tenders are beloved today, but they’re just 50 years old… in that meat is a business lesson that applies to all.
Plus, 70% of us have a “Work Wife” or “Work Husband”... and that’s a good thing.
$YETI $QSR $SPY
Want more business storytelling from us? Check out our new deep-dive show…
“The Best Idea Yet”: The untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — From the McDonald’s Happy Meal to Birkenstock’s sandal to Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers.
In this episode, you're invited to the fermentation party! Join us as we learn about the funk-filled process behind making sauerkraut, sourdough and sour beer. Plus, no fermentation episode is complete without a lil history of our boy, yeast.
