What Can We Learn About Being Human from Life Online

 For much of history, humans have grappled with questions of meaning and belonging within institutions like churches and civic groups. Today, more and more people are leaving religious and other communal institutions and moving their search for connection and significance to digital space. Especially after years of social distancing and online learning, the work of being human—exploring life’s big questions, finding a sense of identity and context, and connecting with others—increasingly happens on the internet. How is this changing our understanding of who we are, and can we find real community online? Join author, podcaster, and professor Chris Stedman for a conversation with Joan Shiels about his book IRL, what it means to be “real” in the age of Instagram of TikTok, and what we can learn from the novel ways of being and belonging that are emerging online.

This program is presented in collaboration with Door County Library.

Joan Shiels has been a popular speaker, teacher and group leader in Door County for the last 25 years. Her topics vary from internet to inter-religious dialogue, but she is first and foremost a scholar of religions. ALL religions. 

Chris Stedman is a writer, podcaster, and professor who teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of the books IRL, Faitheist, and the forthcoming Nothing in Particular, as well as the writer and host of Unread, named one of the best podcasts of 2021 by the Guardian, Vulture, HuffPost and others. Chris is the founder of Good Judy Productions, a podcast studio based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The studio’s first series, which has received funding support from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, is currently in production and will be distributed by iHeartPodcasts. In addition to his books and podcasts, Chris has written for outlets including the Atlantic, Pitchfork, BuzzFeed, VICE, the Washington Post, and others. In 2025, he served as Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University, Scholar-in-Residence at Susquehanna University, and Research Fellow at Augsburg University.