The Interpreter Radio Show
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2018 11:28 pm
Friends and Colleagues:
Have you heard any episodes of the Interpreter Radio Show? While most Mormons spend their Sundays in worship, reading the scriptures, spending time with family, and thinking about their covenants with God, the Mopologists--namely, Allen "The Slug" Wyatt, Dan Peterson, and John Gee--are busy hosting The Interpreter Radio Show. What kind of program is this, you might wonder? Well, I urge you to listen for yourself. As for me, my attention was drawn to the show thanks to an anonymous "informant," some of whose observations and notes I shall rely upon here.
In any event, were you to have tuned in last Sunday evening, you would have been welcomed by a trumpet fanfare, and a woman saying, "Now, the Interpreter Show!" A male voice says, "We welcome you to the Interpreter Show" and "I think that, uh, I'm on the air here." He adds, "In the studio tonight, we have Dr. John Gee and Dr. Dan Peterson," who responds, "Hi!" The original voice says, "We're trying to figure out if the microphones work here," which elicits a chuckle from Peterson. A moment later, DCP interrupts: "Who are you??" and the voice replies, "Oh! And I'm Allen Wyatt!" The evening's program, then, it would seem, will be hosted by none other than "The Slug" himself.
A few minutes into the show, they begin to discuss the publication record of the blog known as Mormon Interpreter. DCP notes that "as of [last] Friday, it's been 316 weeks in a row" that they have published an article. Peterson adds that he "worries sometimes that we've created a monster." He goes on: "Some of the critics--oh, and we have them--uh, who watch us like hawks, uh, if we ever miss a week, they'll say, "Ha! We knew! We knew they'd fail!" Well, it is bound to happen at some point, right? For whatever reason, DCP's point reminds Wyatt of a personal story: "About 22 years ago, I uh, if it's possible to do, I overdosed on chocolate." Wyatt says that his brother gave him eleven (11) pounds (!) of M&Ms for Christmas--"Greatest Christmas present ever," Wyatt adds, as DCP chuckles in the background--and Wyatt reveals that he "ate it in two days." He says that doing this made him "sick as a dog" and he vowed to never let anything "control" him that way again, and, indeed, he notes that he hasn't eaten any chocolate since--well done, Brother Wyatt. Congratulations aside, though, this is quite an odd metaphor, don't you think? In what way is Mormon Interpreter's publication record similar to binge-eating M&Ms? It may be that we will never know.
At around the 4:00 minute mark, DCP says that he has "a critic who's been stalking me for about a decade and a half" who "insists on, y'know, I can do nothing right, nothing I've ever connected with is anything right or good or decent or worthwhile, and he loves to denounce Interpreter as 'just a blog.'" Fundamentally, Mormon Interpreter *is* a blog! But Peterson continues: "Well, it's a blog that publishes books [not *on* the blog however...], does movies, has a radio program. That's an odd blog." Maybe so, but it's still a "blog." No need to deny the truth!
Later, Allen Wyatt states that *he* is the "editor" of the Interpreter journal.... So what is DCP's role, then? Quite an interesting revelation!
What ensues from this point is a rather extended discussion on the nature of article publishing, with Gee (whose voice sounds disembodied and who seems like he's in some kind of a stupor) noting that Interpreter has "the same peer review as an academic journal." (Yeah, right.) They note how long it usually takes articles to be published in typical journals, and cite Mormon Interpreter as a model that's superior in terms of turnover.
At around 8:40, DCP says that he sometimes calls Wyatt to "check in" on how the Editor is doing. Bizarrely, Peterson does what appears to be a mocking, high-pitched imitation of Wyatt's speaking voice: "I'm fine! I'm fine!"
At around 9:40, Peterson says that "This fellow I mentioned earlier has claimed that he has sources that indicate that I get a 7-figure for apologetics." Wow! That's certainly news to me! I don't doubt that the top Mopologists have profited from their work in the field, but I sincerely doubt that any of them have raked in that kind of money. Later, DCP says, "If we are in this to get rich, we are really, really not very clever."
At roughly the 20-minute mark, they begin to discussion the so-called "Ghost committee" work of Skousen and Carmack. At 25:20, DCP says, "It's easy to mock." Yes, indeed.
Well, the show goes on for another hour or so, if you can bear to sit through it. I wonder if--one day--we will have 300+ weeks in a row of this program? Tough to predict. Perhaps they should begin bragging about future episodes along the lines of the so-called "M&M Metaphor."
Quite an intriguing entry into the annals of Mopologetic lore, in any case.
Have you heard any episodes of the Interpreter Radio Show? While most Mormons spend their Sundays in worship, reading the scriptures, spending time with family, and thinking about their covenants with God, the Mopologists--namely, Allen "The Slug" Wyatt, Dan Peterson, and John Gee--are busy hosting The Interpreter Radio Show. What kind of program is this, you might wonder? Well, I urge you to listen for yourself. As for me, my attention was drawn to the show thanks to an anonymous "informant," some of whose observations and notes I shall rely upon here.
In any event, were you to have tuned in last Sunday evening, you would have been welcomed by a trumpet fanfare, and a woman saying, "Now, the Interpreter Show!" A male voice says, "We welcome you to the Interpreter Show" and "I think that, uh, I'm on the air here." He adds, "In the studio tonight, we have Dr. John Gee and Dr. Dan Peterson," who responds, "Hi!" The original voice says, "We're trying to figure out if the microphones work here," which elicits a chuckle from Peterson. A moment later, DCP interrupts: "Who are you??" and the voice replies, "Oh! And I'm Allen Wyatt!" The evening's program, then, it would seem, will be hosted by none other than "The Slug" himself.
A few minutes into the show, they begin to discuss the publication record of the blog known as Mormon Interpreter. DCP notes that "as of [last] Friday, it's been 316 weeks in a row" that they have published an article. Peterson adds that he "worries sometimes that we've created a monster." He goes on: "Some of the critics--oh, and we have them--uh, who watch us like hawks, uh, if we ever miss a week, they'll say, "Ha! We knew! We knew they'd fail!" Well, it is bound to happen at some point, right? For whatever reason, DCP's point reminds Wyatt of a personal story: "About 22 years ago, I uh, if it's possible to do, I overdosed on chocolate." Wyatt says that his brother gave him eleven (11) pounds (!) of M&Ms for Christmas--"Greatest Christmas present ever," Wyatt adds, as DCP chuckles in the background--and Wyatt reveals that he "ate it in two days." He says that doing this made him "sick as a dog" and he vowed to never let anything "control" him that way again, and, indeed, he notes that he hasn't eaten any chocolate since--well done, Brother Wyatt. Congratulations aside, though, this is quite an odd metaphor, don't you think? In what way is Mormon Interpreter's publication record similar to binge-eating M&Ms? It may be that we will never know.
At around the 4:00 minute mark, DCP says that he has "a critic who's been stalking me for about a decade and a half" who "insists on, y'know, I can do nothing right, nothing I've ever connected with is anything right or good or decent or worthwhile, and he loves to denounce Interpreter as 'just a blog.'" Fundamentally, Mormon Interpreter *is* a blog! But Peterson continues: "Well, it's a blog that publishes books [not *on* the blog however...], does movies, has a radio program. That's an odd blog." Maybe so, but it's still a "blog." No need to deny the truth!
Later, Allen Wyatt states that *he* is the "editor" of the Interpreter journal.... So what is DCP's role, then? Quite an interesting revelation!
What ensues from this point is a rather extended discussion on the nature of article publishing, with Gee (whose voice sounds disembodied and who seems like he's in some kind of a stupor) noting that Interpreter has "the same peer review as an academic journal." (Yeah, right.) They note how long it usually takes articles to be published in typical journals, and cite Mormon Interpreter as a model that's superior in terms of turnover.
At around 8:40, DCP says that he sometimes calls Wyatt to "check in" on how the Editor is doing. Bizarrely, Peterson does what appears to be a mocking, high-pitched imitation of Wyatt's speaking voice: "I'm fine! I'm fine!"
At around 9:40, Peterson says that "This fellow I mentioned earlier has claimed that he has sources that indicate that I get a 7-figure for apologetics." Wow! That's certainly news to me! I don't doubt that the top Mopologists have profited from their work in the field, but I sincerely doubt that any of them have raked in that kind of money. Later, DCP says, "If we are in this to get rich, we are really, really not very clever."
At roughly the 20-minute mark, they begin to discussion the so-called "Ghost committee" work of Skousen and Carmack. At 25:20, DCP says, "It's easy to mock." Yes, indeed.
Well, the show goes on for another hour or so, if you can bear to sit through it. I wonder if--one day--we will have 300+ weeks in a row of this program? Tough to predict. Perhaps they should begin bragging about future episodes along the lines of the so-called "M&M Metaphor."
Quite an intriguing entry into the annals of Mopologetic lore, in any case.