Gospel Tangents Podcast

Dallin Oaks BYU: Why Mark Skousen Was Called into His Office Dallin Oaks BYU was a formidable figure, and economist Mark Skousen remembers what happened when a controversial student newspaper editorial brought him face-to-face with the university president. In the final installment of our four-part Gospel Tangents interview, Mark shares some remarkable stories from his years at Brigham Young University, including a confrontation with Dallin H. Oaks, his experiences in student journalism, and h

Was Joseph Smith a socialist? Economist Mark Skousen was surprised—and more than a little irritated—when he discovered that a BYU economics professor had classified the founder of Mormonism as a utopian socialist. But when I challenged Mark about Joseph Smith’s economic teachings, his answer was more complicated than a simple yes or no. https://youtu.be/J9AVMBliFvo Don’t miss our other conversations with Mark Skousen: https://gospeltangents.com/people/mark-skousen Copyright © 2026 Gospel Tang

Was Eisenhower Soviet agent? That extraordinary accusation came from John Birch Society founder Robert Welch, who believed President Dwight D. Eisenhower was secretly serving Communist interests. But economist Mark Skousen, nephew of the famous conservative author W. Cleon Skousen, thinks the accusation was outrageous. https://youtu.be/5Hol7hUZExc Don’t miss our other conversations with Mark Skousen: https://gospeltangents.com/people/mark-skousen Copyright © 2026 Gospel Tangents All Rights R

“Are you the famous Skousen?” Do they mean Cleon Skousen or Mark Skousen? Economist Mark Skousen has heard that question in nearly every ward he’s ever moved into. Usually the person means his uncle, W. Cleon Skousen, the FBI veteran, Salt Lake City police chief and best-selling author of The Naked Communist. When I first saw Mark at the John Whitmer Historical Association meetings, I had the same thought. Put a pair of glasses on him and the resemblance is striking. In Part 1 of my conversation

Were Joseph and Hyrum’s skulls switched (misidentified) in 1928? Patrick Bishop answers this mystery! https://youtu.be/ZVoXwDdNbVk Don’t miss our other conversations with Patrick: https://gospeltangents.com/people/patrick-bishop/ Copyright © 2026 Gospel Tangents All Rights Reserved Most of us assume the death mask is the closest thing we have to Joseph Smith’s real face. Just open the eyes, the thinking goes, and there he is. Patrick Bishop thought so too, until 25 years of research changed

Is this tiny locket the only known Joseph Smith photo? Patrick Bishop, producer of Brother Joseph Again, explains the forensic science behind it.