Inhuman Swill | Blog | William Shunn

Inhuman Swill : Page 5

Why is my blog called Inhuman Swill? Because you can unscramble the pieces to make William Shunn.

Finalist for the 2015 Association for Mormon Letters Awards

I was very pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning and discover that The Accidental Terrorist is a finalist for the 2015 Association for Mormon Letters Award in Creative Non-Fiction. Okay, it would have been more accurate to say that... read

LISTEN NOW: My interview with the Friendly Atheist Podcast

Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke of the Friendly Atheist Podcast recently got me on the phone to talk about my memoir, The Accidental Terrorist. It was a delight to talk with them, especially as their incredulity kept growing as we... read

Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do

This morning we wake up to a world without David Bowie. It seems impossible that he's gone. If anyone on Earth seemed otherworldly enough to transform himself into something eternal and transcendent, it was Bowie. But even he tried to... read

LISTEN NOW: My interview on The Stuph File Program

It was my pleasure to be the guest of Canadian broadcaster Peter Anthony Holder this week on his odd-news-and-talk show, The Stuph File Program. We talked, of course, about my memoir The Accidental Terrorist, about how humor and religion mix,... read

Ella un-a-cyst-ed

I've been so focused on my book for the past year or more that I can't even remember the last time I posted an Ella update here to the blog. I find that unconscionable, so I'm here to remedy that.... read

My interview on WIRED.com's "Geek's Guide to the Galaxy" podcast

Though it doesn't officially come out until tomorrow, my interview with the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast is now live and available through iTunes and elsewhere. I really enjoyed doing this interview. Host David Barr Kirtley asked great questions,... read

I'm celebrating today's memoir release by resigning from the Mormon church

After years of work, The Accidental Terrorist, my memoir of Mormon missionary life, is out today! And what better way to celebrate than to mail a letter that, honestly, is years if not decades overdue... 10 November 2015 Member Records... read

17 years in the making, THE ACCIDENTAL TERRORIST is available today

I lived it almost thirty years ago. I started writing it almost seventeen years ago. Today, at long last, The Accidental Terrorist is here. (Quick, lock your doors!) What more can I say to you about it? I hope you'll... read

The Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith's first novel

This essay is excerpted from The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary, available everywhere November 10, 2015. WARNING: This essay contains graphic descriptions of primitive surgery that some readers may find disturbing. In January 1994, when I was 26... read

The Mormon Bishop Challenge: Marry a same-sex couple

Is there a religious equivalent to the term "civil disobedience"? As in, a term for defying one's church leaders when you find their edicts unjust or immoral? Something more warm-sounding than "heresy"? Oh, well. For lack of a better term,... read