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There’s the Mormon history you do know … and the Mormon history you don’t. Join Lindsay Hansen Park (Year of Polygamy) and historian Bryan Buchanan as they gossip about their ancestors and dig into all aspects of Mormonism’s astonishing 200-year past—uncovering the little-known stories that chronicle how a six-person church grew into a multi-billion-dollar religion. Episodes for this podcast are released every other week.

This podcast is heavily researched. For information on sources, and for additional reading for each episode's topic, click here.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or stream episodes right here on Sunstone.org.

E57: TFYFI Sense

January 13, 2022

Listen. Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Oh you’re going to love this episode on Joseph Smith’s secret Council of Fifty. It’s full …

E56: Make Nauvoo Great Again

January 7, 2022

Remember when Joseph Smith ran for president of the United States? We sure do. Join Bryan and Lindsay as they discuss the period of 1844 where Mormon prophet Joseph Smith …

E55: Merry Smithmas! BONUS EPISODE

December 23, 2021

Merry Smithmas everyone! As part of a special bonus episode for the holidays (and Joseph Smith’s birthday), Bryan and Lindsay sat down with graphic artist Mark Elwood to discuss his …

E54: Nauvoo Expositor, Part 2

December 17, 2021

Part two of the history of the Mormon Expositor destruction is finally here! Join Lindsay and Bryan as they dig into the murky history of the newspaper that changed Mormonism …

E53: Nauvoo Expositor, Part 1

December 3, 2021

One of the most fiery controversies during the Nauvoo period for Joseph Smith involved the newspaper, The Nauvoo Expositor. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan explore the people behind the …

E52: Bogus Brigham & Brothers

November 19, 2021

Counterfeiting in Nauvoo is a controversial topic, not without its scandals. Bryan and Lindsay discuss the bogus counterfeiting scheme among the Saints and interview Mary Ann Clements, an expert on …

E51: Joseph Smith, Outlaw Prophet

November 5, 2021

There were a lot of shenanigans afoot when it came to the law in Nauvoo. In this episode, Lindsay and Bryan talk with Nauvoo legal historian John Dinger about the …

E50: Magical Mystery UK Tour

October 22, 2021

While the Mormons were building a Kingdom of God in the United States, they began to branch out across the pond. Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the early …

E49: BONUS TRACK: Deep Cuts from the Sunstone Mormon History Podcast

October 8, 2021

As promised, join Bryan and Lindsay for their special session at the 2021 Sunstone Summer Symposium. They discuss some of their adventures digging up the history for the podcast and …

E48: The Mack/Daddy Smiths

September 24, 2021

How did Joseph Smith Jr.’s parents and their upbringings influence Mormonism? Join Lindsay and Bryan as they discuss the early cultures and ideas in New England that made an impact …

About Our Hosts

Lindsay Hansen Park is host of the Year of Polygamy podcast and executive director of the Sunstone Education Foundation. A single-mom of three kids by day, and nerd researcher by night, Lindsay lives in Salt Lake City, Utah where she interacts with hundreds of different restoration branches, Latter-day Saints and Mormon fundamentalists. Her adventures have led her to some of the most isolated fundamentalist compounds in the America West where she interacts with modern day outlaws, inlaws and everything in between. Her goal is to widen the conversation about common and shared heritages within the larger Mormon diaspora.

Lindsay
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Bryan Buchanan works at Benchmark Books, surrounded by Mormon history. At night, he herds small children and works on umpteen book projects, some of which might even be published.