{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmichigan-talks-japan.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Flevi-mclaughlin-ynddKyUi","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Levi McLaughlin","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/42f6f424-405b-4094-a249-e201f9c7295e/90742d31-6e98-46a0-9fbe-e395e858466c/logo7.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/47a1fe0d-b6d2-46ad-8c75-f22c1c2dbe0c\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Levi McLaughlin\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"In this episode, Allison Alexy talks with Prof. Levi McLaughlin, whose research focuses on religion in contemporary Japan. The conversation centers on his new book \"Soka Gakkai's Human Revolution: The Rise of a Mimetic Nation in Modern Japan,\" exploring Buddhist practices and beliefs among within the Soka Gakkai religious sect. Topics of discussion include: the history of Soka Gakkai, attitudes toward religion in Japan, social class and classism, stigma and prejudice, and doing ethnographic fieldwork. "}