Just Plain Wrong

This week, the Mennobrarians are back with a snake draft! In this snake draft, we choose our favorite Christian media we watched, read, or listened to as kids.  Stop reading here if you want our draft picks to be a surprise!  Final draft board:  Round 1  Abby - I Can Make Peace: Stories and Songs for Children Erin - VeggieTales Tillie - The New Picture Book of Saints by Rev. Lawrence Lovasik https...

This week, the MennoBrarians chat with JB Miller about Pinecraft, growing up gay in the Conservative Mennnonite Church, orange Jello, the perfect tourist day in Sarasota, and much much more. JB is a life long Mennonite, who grew up in a variety of Conservative Mennonite denominations, and experienced life in the Pinecraft area as both a child and as an adult.  We always love hearing from listeners...

This week, the MennoBrarians discuss Rosanna of the Amish, a semi-biographical book in which the author Joseph W. Yoder tells the story of his mother’s life. We chat corn husking parties, Amish propaganda, and how this book compares to other early Amish fiction we've covered on the podcast.  We always love hearing from listeners! You can reach us at plainwrongpod at gmail.com, or on Twitter,...

This week, the MennoBrarians return to discuss the 1989 movie, The Radicals. The Radicals tells the story of Michael and Margaretha Sattler, starting with their departure from the Catholic church and ending with each of them dying as martyrs for their Anabaptist beliefs.  We chat about our experiences with this film growing up, characters we found interesting, and much more.  You can watch The Rad...

We are back! In our season 7 opener we chat about our favorite snacks (snake draft style) and share some recent reads / media that we've enjoyed.  Content we chat about (that isn't snacks), in the order discussed: Zelda, Breath of the Wild (yes, this came up a 2nd time!) for Nintendo Switch Steve! The Steve Martin documentary, available on Apple TV Dimension 20 Fantasy High, TV Show on t...

This week we are back with our second of two Christmas episodes, chatting about some of our favorite media from 2024. We talk about the podcasts, video games, TV shows and books that got us through the year. We will next be back in Feburary with the official launch of Season 7!  Some of our faves of 2024:  John Green tells sports stories - https://youtu.be/DTqgth5aZOM?si=AsR7RZSPTvTiuXKC Great Bri...

This week, the MennoBrarians are back to discuss the latest movie in the Amish Hallmark(esque) Cinematic Universe: Christmas at the Amish Bakery. You can find the movie on Prime, with a free trial of the Up, Faith and Family add-on. The movie centers on Sarah, a young Chicagoan working in cookbook publishing, who is sent home to her Amish family as her boss thinks an Amish cookbook sounds like a u...

This week, Tillie returns! We chat with Tillie about Season 6, her experience leading SST (Study Service Term) in Ecuador, and what the best things are to take to a potluck. We also do our usual season wrap up reflections and stats, and share our preliminary thoughts on Season 7.  We plan to be back for one or two holiday-themed episodes during December, with Season 7 officially launching sometime...

This week, Abby and Erin chat with Addie Liechty Kogan (they/them), a therapist, writer, and musician, about activism, social justice, burn out and much more.  Content warning: Nothing is discussed graphically or in detail, but we do touch on topics that listeners may find difficult such as Gaza/Palestine, anti-semitism, and intergenerational trauma. Follow Addie: instragram: adzlk84 Addie's...

This week, Erin and Abby chat with Marlene Epp, about her new book,  Eating Like A Mennonite: Food and Community across Borders. Epp's book dives into how Mennonites cook and eat around the world, gendered expectations (and opportunities) around food, the impact of food trauma on Mennonites, and much more - we highly recommend you add it to your to-read list. We chat with Marlene about haysta...

This week we chat with the Naomi Clark and Rebecca Coblentz, co-hosts of the podcast Uncovered: Life Beyond. The goal of the Uncovered podcast is to provide a roadmap for people leaving high-demand religion, particularly focused on applying for and navigating college. Naomi and Rebecca share with us their journeys away from the Beachy Amish communities they grew up in, and their own experiences na...

This week, Abby and Erin chat with Marshall King, food writer and author of the book, Disarmed. We chat food memories and what it's like to write about food in a local context. We also chat about Marshall's writing of Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael "MJ" Sharp - the writing process, writing an honest story, and more.  Content Warning: During the portions of our...

This week, Abby and Erin chat with Elizabeth Miller, director of the Mennonite Historical Library and the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, about both her current work, and her years spent with Mennonite Central Committee in Bogota, Colombia. We chat casseroles, parenting internationally, and learn a lot about Mennonites in Colombia. Learn more about Elizabeth's work: Institute fo...

This week, Abby and Erin are joined by Kaleb Wyse from the Wyse Guide. Kaleb creates content focused on life in rural Iowa - canning, gardening, recipes, home decor, etc. We chat about his experience creating and running a successful internet brand, sour kraut salad and graham cracker fluff, and debate the appropriate time to begin listening to Christmas music. Follow Kaleb and Wyse Guide: Wyse gu...

This week, we veer a bit away from our typical subject matter to chat about a topic that Erin and Abby find interesting:  the Enneagram.  We are joined by guest, Marathana Prothro, an Assistant Professor of Communication at Bluffton University who is also certified through the Enneagram Institute of Ohio. In our conversation with Marathana, we chat about how the Enneagram differs from other person...

This week, Abby and Erin meet with historian Steve Nolt, author of many books and articles about the Amish and director of the Elizabethtown College Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist studies .  We chat about Steve's work and research, current projects, interesting questions he's been asked about the Amish, and what the word "haystack" means to him.  Steve has authored, co...

This week, two of the three MennoBrarians are back to introduce season 6! We chat recent moves and house projects, provide an overview of what we will be covering this season, and chat at length about several of our favorite recent reads.  Books we discuss and recommend in this episode (in the order discussed):  Song of Achilles , Madeline Miller World War Z, Max Brooks (Abby specifically recommen...

This week we wrap up season 5! As a reminder, season 5 was shorter to accommodate Tillie's opportunity to lead a study abroad semester in Ecuador.  We chat about season 5, issue a few corrections, play a few bloopers, and provide updated stats.  We will be back soon with season 6! Plans are still underway, but after a bit of hiatus for planning and recording, Abby and Erin will be launching a...

This week, the MennoBrarians discuss the book White Mosque with author Sofia Samatar. The White Mosque weaves together personal reflections on Samatar's experiences as a Mennonite, with the story of Samatar's trip to Uzbekistan to learn more about the sect of Mennonites who pilgrimaged to Ak Metchet in the 1880s. It's a fascinating read, and we recommend you all add it your reading...

We are re-posting this episode because we recently discovered we posted the wrong file! Apologies, and thank you to those who alerted us to the issue. We are actually a little shocked this is the first time this has happened, but we apologize for the error. This week, the MennoBrarians discuss the 2008 movie Sex Drive , which can currently be found on Netflix. Sex Drive is a coming of age comedy a...

This week, the Mennobrarians chat with historian John D. Roth, Project Director for MennoMedia’s project “ Anabaptism at 500 ” and former Professor of History at Goshen College, about his most recent book, A Mennonite College for Everyone(?): Goshen College and the Quest for Identity and Inclusion, 1960-2020. We chat writing history, the myth of Mennonite exceptionalism, and what we can learn from...

In this episode, the MennoBrairians chat about the "Amish episodes" of two tv shows, Law & Order SVU and X-Files.  Law & Order SVU season 10, ep 19, "Selfish," aired in 2009, and features approximately 5 minutes of Amish content as Stabler and Benson make a trip to an upstate New York Amish community during an investigation into a measles outbreak.  X-files season 1, ep...

This week, the Mennobrarians discuss the book An Amish Thanksgiving Blessing by Naomi Troyer. This short story tells the story of two rival Amish pumpkin farmers, Naomi and Joseph, competing to take home the grand prize in the annual fall festival for the largest pumpkin. And while those pumpkins do grow large, so do their feelings for each other.  We chat pumpkin recipes, fall festivals, Amish Th...

This week the MennoBrarians discuss the graphic novel, By Water: The Felix Manz Story, the first in the Heroes of the Radical Reformation series. We chat martyrs, historical interpretations, message carrying sparrows, literal sausage parties, and all things Felix Manz.  Content warning: while not discussed in detail, this episode does reference the violent deaths of various martyrs throughout.  We...

This week, the MennoBrarians discuss the latest movie from the "Hallmarky" Cinematic Universe, Plus One At An Amish Wedding. We chat favorite wedding moments, Amish bad girls, recycled actors, and attempt to answer the question: When is the appropriate time to tell your significant other you were raised Amish?  You can find Plus One at An Amish Wedding available to stream on YouTube and...