How Is This Better? How Mormons Captured Pop Culture
Mormonism is having a pop culture glow-up. But did it happen by accident?
In this episode, Akilah Hughes digs into the rise of Mormon influencers, the explosion of “MomTok,” and the broader cultural moment putting LDS aesthetics front and center. With reporting from New York Magazine’s Bridget Read, we explore how Mormon women helped shape modern influencer culture, and why that’s now paying off in a massive way.
Ex-Mormon podcaster Shelise Ann Sola joins to unpack what life inside a high-control religion can actually look like, and what gets lost when that experience is repackaged as aspirational content.
From the church’s controversial history to its quiet influence on tech and media, this episode asks a bigger question:
What happens when a belief system becomes a brand and we all start buying in?
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- Follow How Is This Better? wherever you get your podcasts.
- Check out Bridget's work including her story about this second "Mormon moment"
- Check Shelise's Cults to Consciousness show.
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