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“Sister, yesss!” What’s Behind the Viral Nun Podcast?

These Catholic sisters found viral fame. We chart the rise of their media influence and dive into some of the criticism.
Morgan SungCayla MihalovichMaya CuevaChris EgusaChris HambrickLauren Yoon
Image of the inside of what seems to be a church. The right half of the image, in the foreground and slightly blurry, is a nun with glasses, sitting at a black piano and laughing. Her hands lay on the keys and there is sheet music in front of her. Behind her, on the left of the image, is a man in religious dress, sitting behind a black drum set, also laughing. To the right, two Catholic sisters are standing, also laughing. The one closest to the man is behind a black music stand and the furthest from him is carrying a saxophone around her neck. The text "Close All Tabs" appears in white text in the lower right corner.
Sister Miriam Holzman, host of the viral podcast Dominican Sisters Open Mic, produced by Openlight Media, practices with her band for a performance in Washington D.C. (Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

View the full episode transcript.

This year’s internet breakout star was an order of Catholic sisters with a podcast. Within weeks of launching, Dominican Sisters Open Mic went mega viral. Clips and fan edits of host Sister Miriam saying “Sister, yesss!” spread across social media. Secular women’s magazines and Catholic media alike dubbed this year a “nun girl summer.” At the same time, some have criticized the order behind the podcast for the conservative ideology baked into its educational content. In this episode, we explore how the Dominican Sisters of Mary rose to viral fame, the beliefs behind their easy charm and infectious laughter, and what it all says about the cultural moment we’re in.

Guests:

  • Paul Dailey, director of marketing at Openlight Media
  • Sister Thu T. Do, Sister of the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Hanoi and Research Associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University
  • Dr. Tricia Bruce, Sociology of Religion and Director of Social Science Research, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies
  • Matthew Remski, religion and politics journalist, co-host of Conspirituality and author of Antifascist Dad: Urgent Conversations with Young People in Chaotic Times

Further Reading/Listening:

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Episode Transcript

A full transcript will be available 1-2 workdays after the episode’s publication.

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