The Details

The devil is in them—and in plenty of other pies too. A poem composed for Tuesday night’s “100 Days of Protest” reading.

May 1 • 

William Shunn

8

5

March 2025

Stand Up

When you mine comedy for an elusive and dangerous truth, you take the risk of bombing. Hard. Science fiction for a Friday.

Mar 28 • 

William Shunn

5

3

Dragged into Canada, Kicking and Screaming

Thirty-eight years have passed since I’ve been allowed to set foot in America’s neighbor to the north. I'd love to go back again, but only with a proper…

Mar 19 • 

William Shunn

12

7

Money Changers in the Temple of Democracy

A godless atheist wonders what it would mean to live in a truly Christian nation, and proposes the modest first step that would imply.

Mar 4 • 

William Shunn

15

8

January 2025

How the Shadow Army Mobilizes to Protect the Powerful

An early incident involving Neil Gaiman illustrates the almost unconscious way a group will come together to protect an icon from his own actions.

Jan 21 • 

William Shunn

30

20

December 2024

Jolly Saint Nick Is Dead, Alas

A clatter on the rooftop may not bring glad tidings to the ones on Santa’s naughty list. This yuletide potboiler puts the sour in sugar plum candy and…

Dec 24, 2024 • 

William Shunn

2

2

November 2024

A Disciple of the Prophet Joseph Smith

In this excerpt from my memoir, a young LDS missionary under police interrogation begins to realize just how much trouble he’s facing.

Nov 15, 2024 • 

William Shunn

6

A Former Mormon Missionary Watches “Heretic”

The new horror thriller offers a heady clash between opposing ideas about faith and belief. But how realistic is its depiction of LDS doctrine and…

Nov 11, 2024 • 

William Shunn

17

7

Life on Earth

This poem is not about the election, but it does accurately represent the way I feel about it.

Nov 6, 2024 • 

William Shunn

5

1

October 2024

Seat 42E: Last

When a documentary filmmaker finds herself propelled twenty years into the future, will she discover a world better or worse than the one she left…

Oct 30, 2024 • 

William Shunn

2

9

A Comeback with the Ring of Truth

Confronted by a party guest with an axe to grind, I must flap my gums faster than they’ve flapped in my whole flippin’ life.

Oct 14, 2024 • 

William Shunn

10

5

Words for a Room Full of Strangers

Are we the same people we were forty years ago? Some thoughts on what Mötley Crüe can teach us about navigating a high school class reunion.

Oct 7, 2024 • 

William Shunn

12

6