I mostly write history titles with an interdisciplinary bent; my 29th and newest book, World History 101, will be published in October by Adams Media/Simon & Schuster. My past work includes The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to the Bible, Conversations with Carl Sagan, and Civil Liberties: A Beginner’s Guide. I served as About.com guide to civil liberties for 9 years, and received a second-place AAN AltWeekly Award in 2012 for my analysis of the Mississippi State Legislature.

I’ve also written scripts for Wisecrack. My video on the philosophy of the Joker was the third-ranked philosophy-related video on YouTube for 2016; other subjects I’ve covered include the theology of South Park, the implications of serial killer fandom, and how the Star Wars universe in general (and Darth Vader in particular) deals with death.

I hold a Ph.D. in religion and society from Edith Cowan University and an M.A. in humanities from California State University, Dominguez Hills. My doctoral dissertation, Normal Mysticism, is the first single-author volume-length study of Rabbi Max Kadushin’s work from a secular perspective.