Rebel with a cause: Remembering Sinead O’Connor

+ Deaf hip-hop scene US Edition - Today's top story: Sinead O'Connor was once seen as a sacrilegious rebel, but her music and life were deeply infused with spiritual seeking [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 July 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Sinead O’Connor wasn’t easy to put in a box. Rock, reggae, psalms: She sang it all. And her spirituality was no less complex. For years, the Irish singer’s public image was tied to her controversial appearance on the “Saturday Night Live” TV show in 1992, when she tore up a photo of the pope as a protest against sex abuse in the Catholic Church. By the time she died this week, though – 31 years later – many admirers saw her as something of a prophet, raising awareness of a crisis that was little talked about at the time. Throughout her career, O’Connor remained fiercely critical of the church. Yet she openly loved other aspects of faith, always searching toward something transcendent in her music. It was a kind of “rescuing God from religion,” as she once told an interviewer. Catholicism scholar [Brenna Moore traces the myriad spiritual themes]( in O’Connor’s work, from an album based on the Hebrew Bible to Rastafarianism and the singer’s later conversion to Islam. “Yet O'Connor’s vision was not fragmented, as if she were constantly chasing after bits and pieces,” Moore writes. “The miracle of Sinead O’Connor is that it all coheres.” This week we also like articles about the [growing commercialization of Paganism](, [Soviet nuclear espionage]( and the people who [officiate at the weddings of their friends and relatives](. Molly Jackson Religion and Ethics Editor Irish singer Sinead O'Connor performs at Paradiso in Amsterdam in March 1988. Paul Bergen/Redferns via Getty Images [Sinead O'Connor was once seen as a sacrilegious rebel, but her music and life were deeply infused with spiritual seeking]( Brenna Moore, Fordham University A professor of modern Catholicism looks back at the ways the iconic Irish singer steeped herself in religion, even as she criticized its institutions. Cillian Murphy as physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in ‘Oppenheimer.’ Universal Pictures [How the Soviets stole nuclear secrets and targeted Oppenheimer, the ‘father of the atomic bomb’]( Calder Walton, Harvard Kennedy School Spying was a concern from the dawn of the nuclear age, but charges that J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the first nuclear weapons, was a Soviet spy have been proved wrong. Rapper Beautiful The Artist performs in the music video for the dip hop song ‘DEAFinitely Lit.’ Beautiful The Artist/YouTube [Deaf rappers who lay down rhymes in sign languages are changing what it means for music to be heard]( Katelyn Best, West Virginia University Dip hop artists move across the stage, hands flying through the air, as audiences pulse to the rhythm of a blasting bass beat. - [As witchcraft becomes a multibillion-dollar business, practitioners’ connection to the natural world is changing]( Helen A. Berger, Brandeis University Practitioners of Pagan religions no longer need to go into a forest to find an object for their altars. Commercialization has meant that sacred objects are available online. - [Why Dunkin’ and Lego rebrands succeeded – but X missed the mark]( Matthew Pittman, University of Tennessee A scholar of design who researches brand campaigns critiques the social media platform’s new look. - [Just about anybody in America can officiate a wedding, thanks to the internet – and one determined preacher]( Dusty Hoesly, University of California, Santa Barbara A professor who has researched the Universal Life Church unpacks why many couples now prefer to hand-pick loved ones to perform their ceremonies. - [Trump faces additional charges – 4 essential reads to understand the case against him for hoarding classified documents]( - [Horse health research will help humans stay healthy, too, with insights on reining in diabetes and obesity]( - [Progressives’ embrace of Disney in battle with DeSantis over LGBTQ rights comes with risks]( - [Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions]( - [Will I ever need math? A mathematician explains how math is everywhere – from soap bubbles to Pixar movies]( - [Whistleblower calls for government transparency as Congress digs for the truth about UFOs]( - [In search of the world’s largest freshwater fish – the wonderfully weird giants lurking in Earth’s rivers]( - [Urban planning is often overlooked as a career – here are some ways to change that]( The Conversation Quiz 🧠- Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( Crooner Tony Bennett died at age 96 after a career that lasted nearly 80 years. Who shared the stage with him at his final concerts at Radio City Music Hall in 2021? - A. Lady Gaga - B. Billy Joel - C. Kid Rock - D. Alicia Keys [Test your knowledge]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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