Mormon Stories # 112 & 113: Joanna Brooks Parts 1 and 2

January 22, 2010
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I recorded my first Mormon Stories podcast in some time w/ professor, author and mother Joanna Brooks, and thought it might be nice to discuss these episodes here on Mormon Matters.

For some background, Joanna was a very important figure in the uber-controversial BYU Academic Freedom days of 1990-1993…and is now a writer on Mormon topics for Religion Dispatches (along w/ being the Dept. Chair of English at SDSU).  She was also recently featured on RadioWest to discuss the phenomenon of Glenn Beck.  As you may remember from her post earlier this week, Joanna has recently started an advice-column blog entitled “AskMormonGirl.com“, and cross-blogs here on Mormon Matters.

You can listen to these episodes directly from this page (below), or you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes and listen on your iPod (click “Continue Reading” below for instructions).

Part 1: Part 1

Part 2: Part 2

Please give a hearty Mormon Matters welcome to Dr./Sister/Mommy Joanna Brooks!  And please let us know what you think via comments below!

To subscribe to the podcast: Once iTunes is installed, click here and then follow the instructions until you see a “subscribe” button, and click it.  This will allow you to download all the past and present episodes (to your preference), and will automatically provide you with new episodes as they are released.

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  • http://uumormon.wordpress.com philomytha

    I SO enjoyed these episodes! She’s both interesting and entertaining, and well, frankly, made me wonder what the heck I spent all my college years doing. I’m just a bit older — I was at BYU 88-93, and I don’t remember any of the people or events she talked about. I was too busy just trying to make friends and pass Transformational Grammar… no extra brain power to spend on writing for a newspaper or worrying about academic freedom! And my awareness of social issues emerged, oh, a year or so ago (prop 8 was kinda hard to ignore). Now I feel like I missed out on a lot in college because I just wasn’t paying attention.

  • Elwood Johnson

    Great post, when I converted to the church there was a lot of things I needed to put behind me. But as I have grown older I have realized that some of these things are what made me unique. For several years I kept my political views to myself because other members would comment that you cannot be a good church member and be a Democrat. Also you should not listen to any music but the MTC or the Osmonds; well I never could get into the Osmonds or the MTC other than Conference or Christmas.

    I made up my mind that from now on that I will be me, which I call a Gonzo Mormon, do my best to live the gospel, keep my Temple Recommend current, and listen to loud music, keep my politics a little left of center and not to take myself to seriously. I figure that I will be shoveling horse poop for at least a 100 years before I am let into the Celestial Kingdom anyway. To hell with Glen Beck and Mitt Romney

    GMU (Gonzo Mormons Unite)

    Elwood

  • http://ethesis.blogspot.com/ Stephen M (Ethesis)

    Don Norton, back in the day, had positive things to say about her. For whatever that is worth.

  • Martin

    I listened. Hopefully I’ll run into Joanna at some point, since I live in the same neck of the woods. I especially liked her discussion of her prop 8 dilemma.

    Funny thing I’m a similar age, attended BYU at the same time, and was completely oblivious. I had my head down in engineering school.