Libsyn Directory

Ep 172 — All About Cults feat. Chris Shelton | Don’t Look Up

Release Date: 03/19/2025

Glass Box Podcast

Spring of 1842 was a world-shaping event, the introduction of the endowment ceremony by Joseph Smith to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We’ve talked about it and a few of the more recent changes to the endowment a few times, but this is the overview. What it was when it was introduced, how it changed under Brigham Young, and many of the changes that have happened since his death, all under one (long) segment. Then we talk about Heretic, a movie about two missionaries in a cat-and-mouse game with a well-educated anti-Mormon playing by his own rules. Then we wrap with happy...

Ep 188 — The Picture of Dorian Gray | History of the Devil’s Music

Glass Box Podcast

At long last Shannon gets to talk about the book she’s been planning on since the last Halloween episode — The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. We first discuss the Aesthetic Movement of the 19th century and a tiny bit of the life of Oscar Wilde before we jump into the book itself. Then Bryce gifts you with an abbreviated history of metal music. Get a notepad ready to take notes because he gives you a LOT of information! Happy Halloween! Show Notes: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde: Oscar Wilde Official Website: Oscar...

Ep 187.4 — Sun Afternoon Oct 2025 General Conference

Glass Box Podcast

It’s that time of year! 195th Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We see what slipped through the cracks! David Bednar Q12 – Moral Agency means doing what you were coerced to agree to do B. Corey Cuvleier Q70 – The correct name Matthew S. Holland Q70 – Jonah, Adam and Eve, and Biblical literalism Carlos A Godoy Q70 – He’s helping impoverished Africans who pay their tithing Dale G Renlund Q12 – Surgeon-scholarship-recipient really like Rusty Nailz John D Amos Q70 – Put more...

Ep 187.3 — Sun Morning Oct 2025 General Conference

Glass Box Podcast

It’s that time of year! 195th Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We see what slipped through the cracks! Jeffrey R. Holland – Book of Mormon is miraculous and stop being so mean to me about it James E Evanson Q70 – Go on your mission, even if you have to settle for a service mission Ulisses Soares Q12 – Temperance and quoting MLK Jr. Peter M. Johnson Q70 – Priesthood ban blindsided him D. Todd Christofferson – FSY and Family Proc; masturbation is evil Andrea M. Spannaus SC YM GP...

Ep 187.2 — Sat Afternoon Oct 2025 General Conference

Glass Box Podcast

It’s that time of year! 195th Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We see what slipped through the cracks! Ronald Rasband Q12 – Family: A Proclamation to the World is ‘doctrine’ Chad Webb FC SS GP – Gospel not a ‘list of demands’ Jeremy Jaggi Q70 – Chaplain’s altar is Mormon symbol Kevin Brown Q70 – Moral agency; we are agents Gerrit Gong Q12 – Fortune cookies are American? Michael Cziesla Q70 – Funeral potatos and green jello are weird Quentin Cook Q12 –...

Ep 187.1 — Sat Morning Oct 2025 General Conference

Glass Box Podcast

It’s that time of year! 195th Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We see what slipped through the cracks! Saturday Morning talks: Gary A. Stevenson Q12 – Be peacemakers no matter what Tracy Y. Browning SC PGP – Primary songs are the key to cult mind-control Ronald Barcellos Q70 – Morals of David v. Eliab Brik V. Eyre Q70 – Comfort then Convert Kelly R. Johnson Q70 – Forensic accounting Dieter Uchtdorf Q12 – Up a down escalator Other appearances: Chris Shelton...

Ep 186 — REM Model of Human Behavior w/ Chris Shelton | The Christ Who Heals pt. finale

Glass Box Podcast

We invite back Chris Shelton MSc from his YouTube channel by the same name to talk all about cults. He’s here to share his model of human behavior, the REM (Reason/Rationalization, Emotion, Morality) and we get lost deep into the weeds discussing it and related cult topics. After that, we wrap up the Givens with the final installment of The Christ Who Heals. We go through the entire part 2 of the book and tell what book/author we’re reviewing next year. After that we talk about windows being turned into solar panels! Links: Happy News: Other appearances:...

Ep 185 — 3 New Gospel Topics Essays | Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Glass Box Podcast

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released 3 new Gospel Topics Essays in July. We go through each of them, discuss the information that’s missing, chat about the propaganda woven into every line, and speculate as to the impetus behind the new essays. For ease of listening, the Book of Mormon Translation starts at 13:31, the Plural Marriage starts at 1:01:24, and Joseph Smith’s Character starts at 1:53:15. After that we chat Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, a post-apocalyptic wasteland movie about two warring cult leaders. Then we wrap with happy news about metalheads fighting...

Ep 184 — Are Mormons Christian | The Christ Who Heals pt. 1

Glass Box Podcast

Are Mormons Christian? According to most Christians, no. According to them, Jesus Christ is literally in the name of the church! We dig into the bedrock on this issue to see what does or does not qualify as “Christian”. After that, we dive into the final of the Givens trilogy, The Christ Who Heals. It’s more or less a 130-page missionary discussion with a few dribbles of ancient theologian writings. After that we talk about a statue being built to Robert Smalls in South Carolina. Show Notes: Jesus in Islam: Jewish views on Jesus: Buddhism and...

Ep 183 — Hatch & Jones, Victims of Mormon Violence w/ Belle Holsinger | The Godfather

Glass Box Podcast

You asked for it and you got it! We interviewed Belle Holsinger who we talked about last episode in our Sunstone recap. She gave us the absolutely riveting information from her presentation at Sunstone titled “Bearing witness: The castration and murder of Henry Jones and his mother, Hannah Jones Gailey Hatch.” Following our time with Belle, we watched The Godfather because what OTHER movie is as fitting? We then closed with some incredible new breakthroughs in cancer research. Enjoy! Show Notes: Belle’s Contact information: MOGP: The Godfather ...

More Episodes

We have a guest for our main segment this time. Chris Shelton is a cult expert content creator who eats, breathes, and sleeps high-demand, coercive groups. We discuss everything from what makes a group a cult, how to identify them, is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a cult, and proper ways to approach conversations about high-demand groups. Be sure to check out our series collaborating on Chris’s YouTube channel linked below. After that we discuss Don’t Look Up, a 2021 movie about the cult of politics and a major natural disaster that affects everybody across the globe. To wrap up we have a brief chat about a gene-related study on mice and speech patterns before closing out with a review of all our listener mail from the Death Penalty series.

Next Live Show: Mon, March 31, 2025 6:00 PM (MT)

Bryce’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@bryceblankenagel7707

Show Notes:

Chris Shelton:

Chris’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisSheltonMsc

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Shelton_(author)

MOGP: Don’t Look Up

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/?ref_=hm_rvi_i_1

Where it’s streaming: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dont-look-up-2021

Happy News:

https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-put-a-human-language-gene-into-mice-and-curious-things-unfolded-78418

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56579-2

Listener Mail link: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-some-european-prisons-are-based-dignity-instead-dehumanization

Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism: Speaking of Cults … Mormonism is a Compliance Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCeW3jvP-RE&t=2973s

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