Profanely Sacred

Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw and Rabbi Jason Rosenberg

There are a lot of podcasts about spirituality and religious belief, and some of them are wonderful. But, just about all of them take themselves really seriously. Well, when we get together with our clergy friends, we might talk about God and souls and shit, but we're also going to crack jokes and drop some f-bombs along the way. Because, that's how people talk, and that's what this podcast is—people talking about serious religious thoughts, but in the least serious, most casual, honest way that we can. So, pour yourself a drink, forget about breathy sighs of agreement, and get ready for a different way to talk about the spiritual, on Profanely Sacred!

Episodes

  1. Jun 8

    Episode 6 - Logan Petersiel

    About 20 years ago, not long before I left my first congregation, I did a baby naming for the new child of some dear friends. When I did that naming, there were a couple of things I didn't know – the first was that the parents had just learned that their newborn had cancer, and faced an uncertain future. Thank God, the cancer was caught early, and they're still with us. But, the other thing I didn't know was that this person would, as a teenager, come out as non-binary, which meant that we gave them the wrong name. Thankfully, they were able to fix that, and we now all get to live in a world with the amazing Logan Petersiel. Logan actually asked to be on Profanely Sacred, which made my heart do all sorts of fluttery things, because they loom so large in my memory, and in my imagination. I was incredibly excited to reconnect with this person who I haven't seen in person since they were just a baby. Logan has become an advocate for non-binary and transgender rights, and also an inspiration for other people who are battling cancer. And, as we'll hear, both of those aspects of them play a significant role in who they've grown up to be. We'll also hear a young person who is thoughtful and kind, but someone who somehow thinks a bird makes a better pet than a cat or a dog. Whatever. No one is perfect.

  2. 11/04/2025

    Episode 5 - Adam Sol

    I grew up in the pretty small town of New Fairfield, CT, and one of the other kids in that town was a guy named Adam Sol. Even back then, he was obviously smart and thoughtful, but also funny and casual. I never told him this, but he was definitely someone I looked up to, and probably aspired to be like, at least a bit. In a bit of, I dunno, I guess I'd say radical coincidence, he married a woman from Framingham, Massachussets, and so did I. Even more oddly, she and I both became rabbis, and even more oddly, we both wound up working together at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, ON. So, yeah, Adam and I were both part of a New Fairfield/Framingham rabbinic couple at that congregation in Toronto. Life is weird, sometimes. Anyway, in addition to be the spouse of the woman who is now the head rabbi of that wonderful synagogue, Adam got himself a PhD in American Literature and became a university professor, and a published poet – he's got 5 separate collections of poetry, one of which won Ontario's prestigious Trillium award for poetry. He's a pretty remarkably talented guy, and I haven't even talked about his amazing instrumental talent which is, well, amazing. So, I thought he'd be perfect for this podcast, because he's smart, thoughtful, deeply connected to religion, but not in the most common ways, and has, for as long as I've known him, been willing to joke and swear. Along with that, we'll talk about how being a rabbinic spouse makes an impact on his spiritual life, how he's a bit like Aria Stark, and I completely forget to ask him about how music plays into his spirituality. Cool. You can find more about Adam, including his publications, at AdamSol.com

  3. 08/12/2025

    Episode 4 - Tim Quirk

    I cannot begin to explain to you all how excited I am about our guest today. When I was in college, working on our school's radio station, I was introduced to the band Too Much Joy, and I quickly became obsessed with them. Now we'd call them pop-punk, but they didn't really have a genre back then. High energy music, insanely catchy melodies, and amazing lyrics. Some of those lyrics were snarky and kinda gleefully stupid, but some of them were as thoughtful and provocative as anything I had heard. And, even the dumb lyrics were usually pointing at something more than just silliness. Well, the lead singer and lyricist of that bad, which is back in action after a couple of decades of hiatus (one of the few enduring blessings of the Covid epidemic), is a man named Tim Quirk, and he's agreed to be on our podcast. For me, this is a "get" on par with Bruce Springsteen for most normal people. We talk a lot about atheism, and about why he thinks that it's important to be a loud and proud about his atheism. But, we also talk about what it's like for him to attend church, and I was surprised by his answer, and how he relates going to church to going to some concerts. We talk about other ways, outside of religion, to find transcendence and uplift, and I mostly avoid sniveling fan-boying, and only bring up one Too much Joy song, but it's completely on topic, so that's cool. And, of course, we always end with the Profanely Sacred speed round!   Here are some links you should check out: Tim's Personal webpage: http://tbquirk.com The Too Much Joy FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TooMuchJoyHQ The Wonderlick (another of Tim's bands) page: https://www.facebook.com/Wonderlick A playlist I made up of some of my favorite TMJ songs: https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/jasons-too-much-joy-sampler/pl.u-BNb7jI1mkxLb

  4. 07/29/2025

    Episode 3 - Rev Daniel

    Our guest this episode is Revered Daniel Brereton, known on various Social Media platforms as Rev Daniel. Reverend Daniel is a priest in the Canadian Anglican church, and a large part of his Social Media presence grows from the fact that he's a gay man. As we'll talk about, he gets into a many a fracas online about LGBTQIA+ issues, and he has some definite thoughts as to why it's worth it to go after the haters. We also talk about the importance of inclusive language, especially around God, of finding time and space away from the hate, and we also get to kind of meet his adorable dog, Chester. Oh, and we take a moment to wonder if my not always realizing that Jakob is trans makes me a better or a worse ally! And, of course, we always end with the Profanely Sacred speed round!

  5. 07/14/2025

    Episode 2 - Miriam Anzovin

    Our guest this week is probably the most famous social media Talmud hypewoman out there, Miriam Anzovin. Miriam has earned herself an amazing Social Media following by studying the Talmud (an ancient book of Jewish law and learning) and then giving irreverent, but thoughtful, recaps of what she's learned. She is beloved by her followers, but as we'll talk about, has also been on the receiving end of a sadly unsurprising amount of hate and misogyny. We talk about her history of finding and then losing religious faith, and then what still grounds her today. And, we also discuss why being snarky might sometimes be the most appropriate way to approach at least certain sections of the Talmud. And, Jakob will try to teach us how bears are actually dogs, or something like that. And, of course, we always end with the Profanely Sacred speed round! If you are on Social Media and you aren't following Miriam, then you are definiitely missing out. Find her on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky, Mastodon, Threads, and Youtube. You can also check out her website, www.miriamanzovin.com. And, if you want a sample of her brilliance, this might be the greatest thing ever recorded for the Internet. Certainly, the greatest thing ever recorded about rabbinic opinions of men who accidentally insert their penises into women? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDaOIKCPW_8

  6. 07/01/2025

    Episode 1 - Rabbi Laurie Rice

    Welcome to Profanely Sacred, the podcast where we try to talk about really serious things, but not always in serious ways. We talk about God and religion and faith and humanity, but we also swear and tell jokes, so if that isn't your thing, this is probably a good time to find another podcast! But, if you do like talking about God, and also sometimes saying "f**k," then…welcome! Rabbi Laurie Rice was a classmate and friend of mine when we were attending our rabbinical school – the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and she is now co-rabbi of congregation Micah (https://www.congregationmicah.org), just outside of Nashville, along with her husband, Rabbi Flip Rice. I've always known Laurie to be smart, thoughtful, friendly, and as likely to drop an f-bomb as any of us, so I figured that she's perfect for our little podcast. We talk about the spirituality of being outdoors, of being uncertain about a great many things, and, in more depth than I would have predicted, of pooping. We chat a bit about some inside-baseball stuff for clergy, but hopefully you normal people will still find that interesting, and, of course, we end, as always, with the Profanely Sacred speed round. This was recorded a while ago, so a couple of references are a bit dated. And, as in our other early episodes here, my and Jakob's sound quality isn't so great, but it's clear enough, and Rabbi Laurie is the best of the bunch, so that's good! Let's get going!

  • 6 Episodes

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

There are a lot of podcasts about spirituality and religious belief, and some of them are wonderful. But, just about all of them take themselves really seriously. Well, when we get together with our clergy friends, we might talk about God and souls and shit, but we're also going to crack jokes and drop some f-bombs along the way. Because, that's how people talk, and that's what this podcast is—people talking about serious religious thoughts, but in the least serious, most casual, honest way that we can. So, pour yourself a drink, forget about breathy sighs of agreement, and get ready for a different way to talk about the spiritual, on Profanely Sacred!

Information

  • Creator
    Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw and Rabbi Jason Rosenberg
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Profanely Sacred