Today, hell can mean a bad day, other people, or a threat to sinners, but it wasn’t always so. On today’s show: how hell has evolved, from a place of flaming torture, to tangible horrors here in the real world. Then, when Comedy Central announced Trevor Noah as the new host of The Daily Show earlier this week, there was an immediate outpouring of support. But the love-fest quickly soured when screen grabs of a few of his past, offensive, tweets were circulated online. Jon Ronson, author of the new book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed weighs in on the scandal.
Listen to the full show or click read more for individual segments.
What's the Purpose of Hell?
- Candida Moss is professor of theology at Notre Dame University. She pondered the nature of hell for The Daily Beast. "What the Hell is the Purpose of Hell?"
Patent Trolls
- The concept of hell has changed through the centuries, from molten pit of unfortunate souls to something more abstract –today there are at least a few people out there who might argue that hell is a patent troll. You might be surprised to know that patent trolls have actually been around a long time – and in this next story, Roman Mars from the podcast 99% Invisible discovers, they were just as unpopular in the 19th century as they are today.
- You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.
Comedian Eugene Mirman
- Eugene Mirman is a writer, stand-up comedian, the voice of Gene on Fox’s animated series Bob’s Burgers, Neil Degrasse Tyson’s partner in crime on the show Star Talk Radio, creator of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival and proprietor of the post-structural online store Flotsam.
- You can catch him this Friday at 3S Artspace in Portsmouth. He’s also bringing the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival to Boston from April 17th – 19th.
- We've got some of our favorite Eugene Mirman moments at this link.
John Ronson on the Shaming of Trevor Noah
- Author Jon Ronson writes about the phenomenon of online shaming in his new book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed. We caught up with him to find out what he makes of the Trevor Noah scandal.
The Color of Science
- STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. And discussions about expanding educational and career opportunities in STEM fields often go hand in hand with encouraging women and people of color to find and fill those roles. But doing so can be harder and more emotionally fraught than you might expect. Reporter Ari Daniel has a profile of one man working hard to make it happen.
- You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.
