Rainn Wilson from ‘The Office’ on Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution

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KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You’d be forgiven for associating Rainn Wilson primarily with Dwight Schrute, the overbearing, mansplaining geek on “The Office.” And in his bestselling book “Soul Boom” the three-time Emmy Award-nominated actor acknowledges the connection: “Why is the beet-farming, paper-selling, tangentially Amish man-baby with the giant forehead and short-sleeved mustard shirts writing about the meaning of life?” But then again, why wouldn’t he be curious? Wilson joins us to talk about his own journey with faith, why big philosophical questions make life worth living and why we need what he calls a “spiritual revolution.” And we’ll also hear why he thinks “The Office” is such a cultural mainstay, informing TV mockumentary trends, cringe humor and Gen Z artists like Billie Eilish. Guests: Rainn Wilson, actor who played Dwight Schrute on the TV show, "The Office." His most recent book is "Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:45.3	You know, From KQBD in San Francisco, I'm Mina Kim.
1:04.1	Coming up on forum, actor Rain Wilson is best known for his role as the annoying, overbearing paper salesman Dwight Shrewt on the NBC sitcom The Office.
1:13.1	But his best-selling book, Soul Boom, is spiritual and soulful. And in its opening pages, Wilson
1:18.9	acknowledges the disconnect. He writes, Why is the beet farming, paper-selling, tangentially Amish
1:24.4	man-baby with the giant forehead and short-sleeved mustard shirts
1:27.5	writing about the meaning of life. This hour will find out the answer and how it's connected
1:32.8	to being part of one of TV's biggest sitcoms. Did The Office or another sitcom teach you something
1:38.4	about life's big truths? Join us.
2:05.8	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim. The NBC series The Office aired for nine seasons until 2013, and now more than a decade later, it's drawn new fans among members of Gen Z. YouTube clips of the show get millions of views, fans rewatch it wearing Dunder Mifflin paper company t-shirts.
2:15.8	And one of the show's most memorable characters is Dwight Shrut, the overbearing, mansplaining nerd paper salesman, obsessed with Bears, Beats, and Battlestar Galactica.
	...

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