I am the founder of the podcast Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree which I cohost with Carl Cranney. On this biweekly show, we join with some guests to look at mainstream movies and shows through an LDS lens. Yes, we talk about our issues with inappropriate content, but the focus is more on how media can spark gospel conversations with our family and friends. (My initial alternate title was “Mormons Ruin Everything,” meaning we would take completely secular media and get our messy religion all over it. We set this title aside out of a desire to respect President Nelson’s call to avoid using the nickname. The current name is much funnier, if a bit insider baseball.)
We’re always looking for new guests and episode ideas so drop us a line if you would like to come on the show or have a suggestion for something we should review.
Episode List
Last updated: 28 Dec 2023
Check the podcast website for the most up-to-date list
Season 1
- Ep 1 – Encanto: We Don’t Talk About Expressive Individualism
- Ep 2 – The Wheel of Time: Taking Fantasy Religion Seriously
- Ep 3 – Noah: Interesting Interpretation or Stretching Scripture?
- Ep 4 – Turning Red: Crouching Tiger Mom, Twerking Panda
- Ep 5 – Silence: Struggling for Faith, Come Hell or High Water
- Ep 6 – Star Trek: Therapy (Discovery, Season 4)
- Ep 7 – Free Guy: Living in the Simulation
- Ep 8 – Films for a Faith Crisis: Using Movies to Talk About Doubt
- Ep 9 – Under the Banner of Heaven: Ex-Mormon Fan Fiction?
- Ep 10 – Hamilton: Church History Needs More Rap Battles
- Ep 11 – Stranger Things 4: Elevated Horror and Perfect Mormon Representation
- Ep 12 – The Adam Project: Time Travel Families Are Forever
- Ep 13 – Mirai: Travels Through a Literal Family Tree
- Ep 14 – Strange New Worlds: Star Trek is Back!
- Ep 15 – Top Gun Maverick: Fast Planes, Amazing Cameras, and Heroic Masculinity
- Ep 16 – Midnight Mass: Who Among Us Hasn’t Started a Supernatural Cult?
- Ep 17 – Howl’s Moving Castle: The Heroism of Domesticity in a Weird World at War
- Ep 18 – PCAT Live: Mormonism in the Mistborn Series
- Ep 19 – Why Does Everybody Love A Christmas Carol?
- Ep 20 – The Rings of Power: The World is Round and It’s Your Fault!
Season 2
- Ep 21 – Black Mirror: Hated in the Nation #deathtosocialmedia
- Ep 22 – (Re)Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: Mormon Perspectives on the Chosen
- Ep 23 – Dueling Pinocchios
- Ep 24 – Arrival: In Heaven We Will All Speak Heptapod
- Ep 25 – The Whale: To Live A Celestial Life, Sometimes You Have to Stare Into the Abyss
- Ep 26 – Where the Crawdads Sing: Wading Through the Marshes of #metoo
- Ep 27 – Keep Your (Covenant) Oath: Latter-day Saints on D&D Honor Among Thieves
- Ep 28 – Mothers in the Media
- Ep 29 – Bluey: Realistic Kids, Idealized Parents
- Ep 30 – The Mandalorian S3: Excommunication and Return
- Ep 31 – Les Misérables: The Triumph of Mercy Over Vocal Trauma
- Ep 32 – Oppenheimer: Seeking Between Black and White
- Ep 33 – Barbie: Neither Matriarchy or Patriarchy is Sufficient
- Ep 34 – Strange New Worlds s2: Moral Storytelling and Strange New Gimmicks
- Ep 35 – Mrs. Harris: A Love Your Neighbor Film
- Ep 36 – AI in the Movies
- Ep 37 – Nightmare Before Christmas: Holiday Ecumenism