Jun 21I Was a Symbol of Racism. Now I Want Change.By Susie Meister I was 17 years old, and thrilled to be chosen as the school mascot. I donned the tunic and feathered headpiece, painted red and white stripes on my cheeks, and prepared for my debut as the North Hills High School Fightin’ Indian for the first football game…Racism3 min read
Feb 17Reality Bites: What Happened When We Stopped Being PoliteBy Susie Meister They said they wanted to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. They hinged reality television on the premise that politeness and realness are fundamentally incompatible. They convinced audiences that the only way interactions could be “real” was if they were…Reality TV4 min read
Published in Human Parts·Apr 14, 2020What Starring on 7 Seasons of MTV’s ‘The Challenge’ Taught Me About Losing ControlHow to maintain strength, stamina, and a sense of humor in lockdown — In the days since we started sheltering at home, you have likely experienced moments of boredom. Maybe you reached the end of the internet, watched everything on Netflix, or had your third dinner. You’re cooped inside at the mercy of an invisible villain. Quarantine can be unpleasant, frustrating, and frightening…Culture5 min read
Nov 19, 2018The Legacy of Jim Jones and the Cult of Donald Trump“In his prime, Dad dripped charisma…he engaged and charmed and enthralled.” — Stephan Jones, son of Jim Jones This is not how most of us think of Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple. Rather, we consider him at his worst: the megalomaniacal leader of a doomed cult. Yet this…Donald Trump4 min read
Apr 12, 2018Are Reboots Replacing Religion?: The Curious Spirituality of NostalgiaWe all know people who claim to be “spiritual, but not religious,” and their proclamation is often met with eye rolls from people who think they’re playing a get-out-of-church-free card. But maybe they really are spiritual. …Religion5 min read
Apr 5, 2018How I Almost Became Tomi LahrenIf my conscience hadn’t stopped me, I could’ve become another bitchy blonde right-wing pundit. The first time I realized I was a brand was in 1998. It was after I filmed the MTV reality show, Road Rules (or as I like to call it, The Wheel World). MTV had partnered…Politics5 min read
Mar 28, 2018Cast Aside: Life After Reality TVThis is the true story… It’s been 25 years since The Real World debuted on MTV and unwittingly launched an entire TV genre. Hundreds of young people have participated in the televised social experiment that claims to “find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real.”…Television9 min read
Jan 8, 2018This Is Religio-Us: The Spirituality of “This Is Us”Soothing music, emotional rhetoric, redemptive narratives. These are the elements many seek in places of worship — separate from everyday life, where people gather with their community, transform their souls, and renew their minds. Recently, however, fewer Americans are participating in traditional religion, and many are using alternative means to…Religion6 min read
Feb 16, 2016Why I Left the Right: How Studying Religion Made Me a LiberalIt was January 20, 2001, and I was at George W. Bush’s inaugural ball. I had spent months campaigning for him, and it had not been easy. After the Florida electoral debacle complete with “hanging chads,” Katherine Harris (and her fifteen minutes of shame), and ultimately the Supreme Court’s Bush…Politics5 min read
