One of the things I've attempted in the past has been to read the Bible, or at least key bits of it. So much of the music, art, literature, and quiz answers I love relies on references and imagery from that famous best-seller that I think gaining a basic knowledge of at least some of it would improve my understanding and appreciation of culture. On the times I've tried, the furthest I've got is somewhere in Leviticus before giving up.

I recently heard about a podcast called Apocrypals that's been running since 2018. It describes itself as a podcast "where two non-believers read through the Bible but aren't, you know, jerks about it".

As the hosts work in the comic book industry, they approach it as comic book fans, and surprisingly this works. Whether or not you believe in Batman, there's mountains of canon, some contradictory, some absurd, and then there's an entire expanded universe that fills in the gaps and provides further adventures and back stories. So not only do are they covering the Old and New Testaments, but also as much apocrypha as they can find. It's not about mocking people's beliefs, but exploring and engaging with the text, just as we might argue about our favourite franchises.

I initially skipped the introductory episode about the hosts' backgrounds as I wanted to see if the format worked for me. I was hooked by the early stages of the first proper episode, on Acts, and the hosts' reaction to the surprise death of a major character that I'd never heard about before. I've sometimes been tempted to check out particular verses just to confirm that yes, in Mark we do indeed hear about Jesus's magic spit.

If you fancy something different, and which might if anything help you with quizzes and knowing who begat who, it's worth giving it a go.