Back in Nov 2019, I sat down over Zoom with Richie T Steadman of The Cultural Hall Podcast. He asked about my background.
Richie: Rick Bennett is one of those names that I’m like, I feel like I know 10 Rick Bennetts. Right? Like it’s a common name or like, you know, like, you could say out loud. Hey, you know, Rick Bennett? And I could affirmatively say yes, knowing that somewhere in the combination of people that I know, there has been a Rick Bennett, but this particular Rick Bennett, he is the host of the Gospel Tangents podcast, so I’m sure we’ll talk a little bit about that. He’s a church history nerd. So we’ll try and avoid getting really deep into that stuff. He and I but I also want to get a chance to get to know him. Welcome to the Cultural Hall. Rick,
GT: I’m glad to be on the show. This is great. By the way, I’m the second Rick Bennett in my family. I am not unique.
Richie: Are you a junior? Is that how that works?
GT: I am a junior. Yep, that’s right.
Richie: So, is there a third?
GT: By the way, there’s a BYU professor named Richard E. Bennett. So, I call him my much shorter twin. He’s a lot shorter than I am. He’s from Canada, though. My dad’s from New Jersey.
Richie: Born in the USA, that’s what you are. Now let me ask you this. Is the Richard E. Bennett at BYU, is he a history or religion professor? Does it get crowded or complicated as far as that goes?
GT: Oh, yes, he’s actually–I’ve interviewed him on my podcast, believe it or not. He’s a big time church history nerd, like me. Even more of a history nerd than me, probably.
Richie: I hope that that episode was called Richard E. Bennett squared. If it wasn’t, you missed a great opportunity on that.
GT: I need to have you helped me title my stuff.
Richie: You can call me anytime, people know that. Now, let’s get to you. You said Jersey-born. So, how do we get from New Jersey to here?
GT: Well, you’re talking about my dad. So my dad grew up in New Jersey, non-Mormon, really rough life. He joined the Air Force at 17, forged his dad’s signature to get in. He met a Hawaiian girl in South Dakota, believe it or not.
Richie: Oh, that’s how you do it.
GT: She introduced him to the Church. Then, after he got on the Air Force, they said, “Well, where do you want to live?” He said, “Well, now that I’m a Mormon, I’ll live in Utah.” So, that’s where he met my mom, and that’s how we got to Utah. I grew up in mostly in Utah. I lived about four years in New Hampshire. My dad took a job back East. So, I got to see the east coast a little bit, and then South Carolina on my mission. So, I’ve been kind of on both coasts, but mostly Utah.
Check out our conversation….
