Another radio podcast for y’all, in case you missed me yesterday on NPR affiliate KUER’s RadioWest with Doug Fabrizio. The RadioWest folks invited me and Mother Jones reporter Stephanie Mencimer to talk about our reporting on the direct sales industry. As you might have heard by now, I wrote this thing about Mary Kay for Harper’s; Stephanie wrote several excellent pieces earlier this year tracing how multilevel marketing companies are funding Mitt Romney’s campaign.

It’s a super interesting conversation, and Stephanie’s research is especially fascinating. Since KUER is a Utah station, we talked a lot about why MLMs are so popular with Mormons. This was news to me, but it makes a great deal of sense. (Mary Kay isn’t a Mormon company, but Christianity plays a huge role — God first, family second, career third, you know.) So give it a listen and share your thoughts (on their comment page or right here!).

I’d love to know: Why do you think religion plays such a big role in many MLM companies?