Sunstone Podcast

Polygamists, Danites, and guns! The Italian cowboy hero Tex has met with them all over the course of more than 75 years of comic book stories. But the portrayal of Mormons in the series has changed significantly, as presented by Michael Homer in this episode. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SLP-209.mp3

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat thinks that believing in the divine and joining a religion is not only a rational thing to do, it’s the best way to interact with reality. But what happens when you come out the other side of belief? Stephen Carter analyzes Douthat’s book “Believe: Why Everyone Should be Religious,” in this episode of the Sunstone Podcast. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SLP-208.mp3

As a non-Mormon scholar, John G. Turner spent years researching Joseph Smith’s life as he wrote a biography of Smith. He found out that nothing about Joseph Smith’s life was boring; for better or for worse. In this episode, Turner compares the young Joseph Smith as he produced the golden plates with the older Joseph Smith as he practiced polygamy.   https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SLP-207.mp3

Is it blasphemous to publish a cartoon about Angel Moroni? How about Jesus? How about God? Sunstone has been exploring the limits of what LDS culture is willing to laugh at for decades. Using many hilarious (and possibly blasphemous) examples, Stephen Carter talks about the times when Sunstone ran afoul of sacred sensibilities, and also how its cartoonists subtly changed the Church—right up to the Church Office Building. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/SLP-206.mp3

Is your life a sermon? Do you imagine your every action being narrated by a general authority? In this episode, Stephen Carter dives into perfectionism, showing how it manifests in people’s lives, and proposing a few odd ways to escape it. (Hint: Not through fasting and prayer.) https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/SLP-205.mp3

An introduction to Sunstone’s new Mormon History podcast. deep dive into the weirdest parts of Mormonism. There’s the Mormon history you do know … and the Mormon history you don’t. Join Lindsay Hansen Park (Year of Polygamy) and historian Bryan Buchanan as they dig into all aspects of Mormonism’s astonishing 200-year past—uncovering the little-known stories that chronicle how a six-person church grew into a multi-billion-dollar religion. Listen to this episode here.

Join John Larsen, Lindsay Hansen Park, Tim Coray, and Cristina Rosetti as they discuss the Mormon news updates from February 2019. Listen to this episode here. 

In this special episode from Sunstone Phoenix, John Larsen debunks the myth that “you can leave the church but can’t leave it alone,” and suggests ways of rewriting this old script. Listen to this episode here.

It’s not just the LDS Church that needs transparency. John Larsen interviews Ryan McKnight and Ethan Dodge of the Truth and Transparency Foundation about their work leaking corporate and organizational documents from various churches—and especially about their most recent LDS leak involving a high-profile Mormon filmmaker. Listen to this episode here.

Join John Larsen as he interviews one of the most preeminent litigators in Utah Mark Pugsley about ponzi schemes and their frequency in Mormon communities. About this guest: Mark Pugsley’s practice is focused on investment disputes and financial fraud. He has handled securities cases for twenty five years, including civil lawsuits, FINRA arbitrations, IRS, CFTC and SEC whistleblower cases, Ponzi schemes, and receivership litigation including clawback cases. Mr. Pugsley also frequently handles civil enforcement actions and regulatory investigations brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Utah Division of Securities, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He has handled shareholder disputes, class actions and shareholder derivative actions involving private and publicly-traded companies. Mr. Pugsley was elected to a three year term as a Commissioner of the Utah State Bar (Third District) in 2018 and is the chair of the Securities Litigation Group at Ray Quinney & Nebeker. He holds active licenses to practice law in Utah and California.   Listen to this episode here.

Join John as he introduces the Sunstone Firesides podcast with Lindsay Hansen Park and Cristina Rosetti. Listen to this episode by clicking here.

Join Sunstone podcast host John Larsen for a lighthearted discussion with Lindsay Hansen Park and Cristina Rosetti, reviewing this month’s news in Mormonism.   Listen to this episode here.

This is your brain on God. John Larsen interviews Neuroradiologist Jeff Anderson about his study of the religious brain. Jeffrey S. Anderson, MD, PhD directs the fMRI Neurosurgical Mapping Service and is Principal Investigator for the Utah Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory. Dr. Anderson’s lab studies brain networks using functional imaging techniques such as fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging, and magnetoencephalography. Dr. Anderson also has particular interest in autism, multiple sclerosis, vision research, and dementia. Listen to this episode here. This Is Your Brain on God

Who is the man behind the Protect LDS Children movement that has garnered international attention, placing the spotlight on the risk of sexually explicitly interviews for Mormon youth? Join Sunstone podcast host John Larsen as he interviews Sam Young, the former LDS bishop seeking to put an end to these interviews. Listen to this episode here.

In January of 2019, Sunstone is launching a new family of podcasts, giving you a resource for unbiased information and thoughtful, accepting community. Donate to Sunstone now to help us launch, and subscribe here in January 2019. Listen to this episode here.

Jesus, Mormon, and David Lynch walk into Stephen Carter’s head. Together, they manage to revise everything Stephen thought he knew about the Book of Mormon, the Atonement, and Eraserhead. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/SLP-204.mp3

A faith crisis is one of the most destabilizing things that can happen to an LDS marriage. Both partners feel betrayed. Feelings either erupt or are suppressed. In this episode, therapists Adam Fisher and Mary Fisher talk about the three most important things a couple can do to help each other. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/SLP-202.mp3

He was the Church’s most unlikely general authority. A coffee habit, an oft-shot-off mouth, and–according to this great-grandnephew–a deep spirituality. This episode includes some of J. Golden Kimball’s funniest stories and reflections by James N. Kimball on the man behind the myth. https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SLP-200.mp3

In September 1993, six scholars—called the September Six—were disciplined by the LDS Church. Lynne Kanavel Whitesides was the first. For the next ten years, she went on an extraordinary spiritual journey. Sadly, she passed away July 7, 2025. In her memory, this episode features a recording of the speech she gave about her spiritual journey at the 2003 Salt Lake Sunstone Symposium.

Being a single, 25-year-old Mormon female is a tough life. But Dorothy Black makes it into a stand-up comedy routine in this episode of the Sunstone Podcast.   https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/SLP-199.mp3