Karen Armstrong and the Power of the Golden Rule
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Date: 24 February 2010
A Call for Compassion
Karen Armstong really, truly believes in the golden rule. Two years ago, when the best-selling author won the coveted TED prize, she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her $100,000 prize money: urge people around the world to treat each other as they’d like to be treated. With the help of global religious leaders, she created the Charter For Compassion, a 330-word document that calls on everyone to embrace empathy and shun violence. She joins us to answer tough questions about how it will actually work in the real world.
Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God and founder of the Charter for Compassion
Mormon Beliefs and Misconceptions
Begins at 22 min 30 sec
From the journey of Joseph Smith to the translation of the Book of Mormon, Terryl Givens gives us a vivid snapshot of the Mormon church, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Pictured: A Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah
Terryl Givens, Professor of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond
Watching, and Liking, Mormons on TV
Begins at 32 min 40 sec
HBO’s series Big Love revolves around a modern Utah family that practices polygamy: one husband, three wives.
They’re not Mormon—they follow an invented faith modeled on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But for better or worse, the show, which just began its 4th season, is raising the Mormon profile as never before. Mark Pinksy weighs in on whether the show is good for Mormons, and explains why a presence on TV is the gateway into mainstream America.
Mark Pinsky, expert on religion in popular culture
How Mormonism Built Glenn Beck
Begins at 41 min
Glenn Beck is one of the highest rated talk show hosts on cable TV. He is also one of the most emotional. The Fox host is known for crying, sniffling and gasping his way through segments, a quirk Joanna Brooks cites as having a certain rhetorical power. She says this and other traits may be rooted in his Mormonism, the faith he converted to in 1999. She joins us to explain why Beck’s religion is doing more than you might realize to shape his on-air persona -- and possibly even the future of American conservatism.
Joanna Brooks, author of "How Mormonism Built Glenn Beck" in Religion Dispatches and the blog, Ask Mormon Girl
