{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Religion","slug":"new-books-in-religion-42803","podcast_index_feed_id":42803,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT9789987066","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/cfd5d93c-dddb-11e8-b346-7779d85ce4c2/image/b4c82d0e99e73663f8e58e455f382564.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":2719,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T18:21:23.231818+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-religion-42803"},"episode":{"title":"A Divine Comedy: On Hollywood, Creativity, and Religion with Rob Long","slug":"a-divine-comedy-on-hollywood-creativity-and-religion-with-rob-long","published_at":"2026-06-03T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-religion-42803/a-divine-comedy-on-hollywood-creativity-and-religion-with-rob-long","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-religion-42803","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9570778053.mp3","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK9570778053.mp3","summary":"Here in Episode 9 of Season 5, I interview Mr. Rob Long. A longtime Hollywood professional, he was a writer and producer for the classic sitcom Cheers as well as for over a dozen other shows. A National Review contributor and columnist for both Commentary and Washington Examiner magazine, he has authored two books, Conversations With My Agent (1998) and Set-Up, Joke, Set-Up, Joke (2005), and edited one, Bigly: Donald Trump in Verse (2017). As the co-founder of Ricochet, a media network, he hosts “Martini Shot,” a long-running, bite-size showbiz podcast, as well as cohosts “GLoP Culture.” Drawing on his two comic memoirs—alongside his religious studies as a Master of Divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary—we discuss his life in Hollywood, religious journey, and current training to become an Episcopal priest. Along the way we dig into the nature of humor, the rise and fall of the TV sitcom, the lost formation of the writer’s room, what it is like to be a Hollywood conservative, how technology like streaming and AI has changed show business, the strategy for the perfect sermon, and the spiritual calling of the creative arts. Among the shows that are discussed include the Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Andy Griffith Show, plus films like Twentieth Century, A Night at the Opera, The In-Laws, and Midnight Run; along with guest appearances by Michaelangelo’s Pieta, Aristotle’s Poetics, Moliere, P.G. Wodehouse, P.J. O’Rourke, plus the wit of Jesus of Nazareth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion","meta_description":"Here in Episode 9 of Season 5, I interview Mr. Rob Long. A longtime Hollywood professional, he was a writer and producer for the classic sitcom Cheers as…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3825,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-religion-42803/episodes/a-divine-comedy-on-hollywood-creativity-and-religion-with-rob-long/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-religion-42803/a-divine-comedy-on-hollywood-creativity-and-religion-with-rob-long.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}