Podcast

Bob Dylan: About Man and God and Law

Many of our assumptions about spiritual intention, sensual pleasure, and the essence of work, community, country, race, and the divine have germinated in Bob Dylan’s need to know what’s blowing in the wind. In a moment when the world we thought we knew seems like uncharted territory, About Man and God and Law hears sixty years of popular music anew, offering both a map and a manifesto for empathy and purpose for anyone seeking a life of meaning inspired by the songs they love. Stephen Daniel Arnoff injects the quest with an equal dose of academic bona fides mixed with a rock and roll irreverence. How does it feel? Let's find out together. Look for the book About Man & God & Law: The Spiritual Wisdom of Bob Dylan coming in December from Morgan James Publishing. More at mangodlaw.com. Join the conversation at facebook.com/dylanmangodlaw. ... More...

26: Bob Dylan Goes Electric with Kathryn Lofton

August 7, 202201:13:25

We are going electric with Bob Dylan and Professor Kathryn Lofton.

Few pop culture moments have been analyzed more closely than Bob Dylan "going electric" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. We ask what is all means for American religion, race, and music with our special guest, Kathryn Lofton.

Kathryn is the Lex Hixon Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, Professor of History and Divinity, and FAS Dean of Humanities at Yale University. She has written extensively about capitalism, popular culture, and the secular, from her first book, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon (2011) to the book Consuming Religion (2017), parsing the relationship between religion and consumer capitalism from the Kardashian family to Goldman Sachs. Her article on Dylan going electric in the Journal of Popular Music Studies knocked us off our feet. Enjoy this wide-ranging conversation about some of our most favorite topics in rock music, the life of the spirit, and more.

Check out the book About Man and God and Law: The Spiritual Wisdom of Bob Dylan wherever fine books are sold, and learn about related projects at mangodlaw.com.

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