We at Juvenile Instructor wish our readers a happy winter break and a happy New Year! If you’re in need of a few podcasts that touch on Mormonism during your holiday travels, here are two for your mind and ears.

Kathleen Flake on Backstory: With The American History Guys

If you don’t listen to Backstory, you should begin NOW with this episode on the separation of Church and State in America. In the interview, Brian Balogh interviews Professor Flake about the Reed Smoot Hearings and the “politics of religious identity” in the early twentieth century. After the interview, you might want to re-read her marvelous book on the same subject.

Neil Young, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, and Nicole Hemmer on PastPresent

The three hosts offer a comparison of Mormonism and Kwanzaa (seriously, it’s great!). They discuss the “newness” of Mormonism and Kwanzaa, and how that their relatively recent inceptions lead to accusations that each is either fake or made up. Neil Young has written extensively on Mormonism. You can read Matt B.’s review of his book here.