42 episodes

Conversations with creative people about belief, unbelief, and everything in between. Hosted by Ryan J. Downey (MTV News, MSNBC, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter).

No Prize From God PopCurse

    • Religion & Spirituality
    • 5.0 • 57 Ratings

Conversations with creative people about belief, unbelief, and everything in between. Hosted by Ryan J. Downey (MTV News, MSNBC, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter).

    Mark Heylmun (Suicide Silence)

    Mark Heylmun (Suicide Silence)

    Suicide Silence guitarist Mark Heylmun on psychedelics, Catholicism, the occult, creative hiatuses, the making of the band’s self-titled album with Ross Robinson, losing a close friend in high school, the death of frontman Mitch Lucker, the band's subsequent rebirth, the ego, and much more. Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 1 hr 55 min
    Karl Sanders (Nile)

    Karl Sanders (Nile)

    NILE frontman Karl Sanders talks ancient Egypt, his meditative and transcendental solo work, several of the books and ideas that shaped him, and more. "A lot of the [religious] options available to us are restrictive by nature," he explains. "I gravitated to the [ancient] Egyptians because you know what? When those guys did religion, they imagined big." Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 55 min
    Bill Fisher (Church Of The Cosmic Skull)

    Bill Fisher (Church Of The Cosmic Skull)

    Church Of The Cosmic Skull founder Bill Fisher's seven-piece, vocal-harmony-and-Hammond-organ heavy, English prog/psych/rock outfit fashions itself as a spiritual organization dedicated to “The Seven Objects,” which includes instructions to “recognize the hallucinatory nature of reality,” “celebrate and uphold the freedom of art, science and thought,” “meet mistakes with forgiveness and determination,” and “maintain focus on the unity of all living beings.” Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 1 hr 21 min
    Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix (Liturgy)

    Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix (Liturgy)

    Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix's band, Liturgy, is a platform for both fine art and theology, delivered in waves of transcendental black metal possessed by the spirit of classical music and the energetic urgency of punk and indie rock. An unapologetic Christian with a love of the Orthodox Church and a spiritual practice many believers would deem decidedly unorthodox, Hunt-Hendrix is a boundlessly talented, thoughtful, and moving artist and performer. As she says in this episode: "The band is called Liturgy. The point of the performances is to be a mass. Liturgy is a structured form of collective worship and that's the intention. When we play the music, I'm reading it as a holy experience." Discover Liturgy's music here. Delve further into her work and theology on Substack and YouTube.

    Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 1 hr 6 min
    Hasan Oswald (Higher Love)

    Hasan Oswald (Higher Love)

    Hasan Oswald started his professional career as a cameraman for National Geographic’s film Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS. His verité style caught the eye of award-winning filmmakers Nick Quested & Sebastian Junger (Restrepo). His directorial debut, Higher Love, about the opioid crisis in New Jersey, arrived in 2020. He's also covered the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, drug trafficking, homelessness in Philadelphia, and the Yazidi Genocide in Iraq. Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 52 min
    Dara Molloy (Celtic Monk)

    Dara Molloy (Celtic Monk)

    Dara Molloy is a Celtic Monk, Priest, and Druid who lives on Inis Mor, the largest of the three islands that make up the Aran Islands in Ireland. He talks about his journey from Catholicism to the Celtic spiritual tradition. Follow No-Prize From God, Ryan J. Downey, and check out Downey's other podcasts: PopCurse (Musicians Talking Movies) and Speak N' Destroy (Interviews About Metallica). Listen to No-Prize From God: Playlist For the Podcast.

    • 1 hr 8 min

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
57 Ratings

57 Ratings

atwarwithin ,

Smart and relatable

Thanks for allowing people to talk about the way they experience their religious/faith background and that journey. Sounds like a better way to teach it.

Metalworker14 ,

An Enlightening Adventure

I truly love hearing these conversations with people coming from all these different backgrounds and learning their stories of faith or lack thereof. Amazing podcast! Give it a listen!

Stinneeto ,

Always Interesting

Great Podcast! Very engaging whether listener is a person of belief or not. Love hearing all sides and interpretations.

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