Conversing with Mark Labberton

"I'm one of the thousands and thousands of people in Altadena who have lost our homes to the fire and are trying to pick up the pieces and find out what to do next." (Megan Katerjian, from the episode) What is it like to lose your house in a fire? The Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County started on January 7, 2025, and within twenty-four hours had burned over fourteen thousand acres of Altadena, Calif...

A special episode for the inauguration of Donald Trump's second term, as the forty-seventh president of the United States. Whether you're filled with hope and joy, or anxiety and fearfulness, how can we pursue a common citizenship that is grounded in faith and moral sensitivity, focused on justice and love, and rightfully patriotic? Today, Mark welcomes friends Pete Wehner (columnist, The Atlantic...

"The Good News is still good news." "I'm very pro-democracy, and yet democracy has never been the necessary prerequisite for the good news of Jesus Christ to flourish. …  The good news of Jesus Christ doesn't win and doesn't lose based on a political party winning or losing." (Walter Kim, from this episode) How does evangelicalism relate to the dominant political powers of our world? In this episo...

"An attentive, earnest ear." "We begin as listeners, that we begin as learners, that we begin as, as genuine, interested, empathetic people who are called to know and see and hear one another." "Entering the room listening gave me an  opportunity to realize that I could just behold someone. Behold them visually, behold them audially, to sit in the wonder, the awe, the mystery, the difference of th...

"And then finally, word comes over the telegraph that the Emancipation Proclamation is in effect. Jubilation!" (Jemar Tisby, from the episode) The African-American Christian tradition often celebrates an all-night Watch Night service on New Year's Eve. But where does this beautiful liturgical practice come from? It dates all the way back to December 31, 1862, on the eve of the Emancipation Proclam...

"Each Advent, I do something unusual; I reread  King Lear . Revisiting Shakespeare's dark exploration of the dissolution of family, friendship, personality, and nation has become part of my annual rhythm. That might seem odd, particularly during this most difficult of years: With short winter days, and so much national, international, and personal pain all around us, who needs more darkness? As a...

"I think my hope is that by this time next year, we would have survived this. … The hope is to survive. … It's really hard to think beyond that." "We need to repent from apathy. We need to fight this normalization of a genocide." —Rev. Dr. Munther Issac, from the episode In the long history of conflict in the Middle East, both Jews and Palestinians have felt and continue to feel the existential th...

"We learn the most from those who came before us, not by gazing up at them uncritically or down on them condescendingly, but by looking them in the eye. And taking their true measure as human beings, not as gods." (Daniel Gidick, quoting historian John Meacham) "When does the revolution end? … It doesn't." (Daniel Gidick on Thomas Jefferson) "This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will r...

"In October 1975, I was shot six times. And while I was on the hospital gurney, doctor told me I was going to die. I heard a very clear voice that spoke to me and said, you're not going to die. You're going to be a chaplain at San Quentin prison." (Chaplain Earl Smith) Chaplain Earl Smith believes that ministry to the incarcerated is about so much more than rehabilitation. It's about regeneration....

"Things had radically changed. … They had not only changed my mindset, but they had saved my life." In this Conversing Short, Mark Labberton opens up about a period of darkness and despair, when as a younger man he considered ending his life. But when he was invited to share Thanksgiving dinner with a local couple, his eyes were opened to a concrete hope, friendship, and joy—all embodied in the si...

"We've just created a hereditary aristocracy in this society, and it has created a populist backlash." (David Brooks, from the episode) There's a growing chasm that divides the affluent and non-affluent in American society, and it's perhaps most pronounced in higher education. The elite meritocracy suggests that we should reward individual ability, ambition, and accomplishment. But what is "merit"...

Our increasingly reactionary political environment doesn't lend itself to nuanced, patient understanding of events like the 2024 re-election of Donald Trump. What historical and philosophical resources can help us gain insight and wisdom? How can we successfully know and encounter each other in such a divided society? In this episode, Mark Labberton welcomes David Brooks (columnist, New York Times...

How should we respond to the anxiety, fear, and catastrophizing of Election Day? Is there an alternative to fight, flight, or freeze? Can people of Christian conviction stand firm, grounded in faith, leaning into the storm? In this special Election Day episode of Conversing , Mark Labberton welcomes Peter Wehner (columnist, the New York Times , The Atlantic ) and David Goatley (president, Fuller S...

The history of racism has a parallel history of resistance. Courageous women and men have responded to injustice with lives of faith, hope, and love—bearing witness to the spirit of justice. They have inspiring stories we can learn from today. But who is willing to tell those stories? And who is willing to hear them? In this episode Mark Labberton welcomes historian Jemar Tisby to discuss his new...

"Sometimes I'm not sure even believers understand the power that exists in their sheer humanity. That there really is something that God has placed on the inside of us that when we come to some form of collected agreement—not uniformity, but just some kind of collective unity around something—that really wonderful, great, powerful things can happen." (Rev. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson) Growing up in...

When it comes to voting, how should we balance character and policy? "If I'm voting for a politician," journalist David French suggests, "I have a test. One is: Do they have the character necessary for the job? And the higher the position they're seeking, the more character that is necessary. And number two: Do they broadly agree with me on the most important policies?" In this episode, Mark Labbe...

"It's sort of strange to think about beauty and horrible circumstances together. But I try, probably clumsily at times, to bring beauty to a thing that's really horrible. … But in terms of covering executions, there is just a void there. The main character always dies." (Elizabeth Bruenig, from the episode) Despite sin, there remains an inherent beauty and goodness throughout creation … including...

"We have to go back to the very basic thing of understanding our shared humanity. And we've departed a long way from that—even the best of us, I'm afraid. It is just stunning. I mean, we are such a danger to everything we value." (Marilynne Robinson, from the episode) Today on the show, Mark Labberton welcomes the celebrated novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson to discuss her most recent book,...

"I'm here because you're here." Berkeley, California is known for being the home to the Free Speech Movement of the 1960s. It was and is the site of many protests, drawing vocal minorities to Sproul Plaza and People's Park for demonstrations, activism, and public assembly. So it's come to symbolize what it means to speak out and be heard. But what does it mean to minister to an energized public sq...

"Wisdom is not just about knowledge. Wisdom adds to knowledge with discernment, with understanding, with a moral sense of what's right and wrong." We live in a time of overflowing and interweaving crises. A global pandemic exacerbates a mental health crisis caused social media technology. The upheaval of American electoral politics caused by an erosion (or breakdown?) of social and relational trus...

Is perfection possible? And if so, is it worth the cost to your mental and spiritual health? The quest for perfection haunts many people: students, athletes, employees, parents—and the children of those parents! While this quest is often framed as the pursuit of excellence, virtue, and success, perfectionism often results in various maladaptive behaviours—such as procrastination, people-pleasing,...

The news media offers a steady drip of audacity, nerve, and offence—something for each end of the political spectrum and every corner of the public square. But when we integrate audacity with a humble confidence, it can lead to powerful acts of love and justice. The gospel makes an audacious claim about God's grace. It makes an audacious demand that we love our neighbours in humility. And that com...

How should we approach disagreements when our deepest convictions and commitments are challenged or questioned? A healthy society is built around the ability to navigate these kinds of disagreements with responsibility and respect, but in our increasingly polarized society, it's becoming harder and harder to cultivate the habits, skills, and virtues that can keep us united amid our vehement disagr...

"The mystery has great meaning."   Joy and sorrow don't have to be dissonant opposites, author Amy Low suggests. There can be harmony in the space between triumph and tragedy. In her recent memoir, *The Brave In-Between: Notes from the Last Room ,* she recounts her battle with Stage IV metastatic colon cancer following the end of her marriage.   Her gracious, generous wisdom is beautifully express...

"A certain degree of faith in Providence and a certain degree of confidence in America … May that combination not be overwhelmed by some disaster." ( New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, offering a blessing for election season) Contemporary political debate and commentary operates from deeply moral sources. People tend to vote their conscience. Our values and ideals, our sense of right and wrong...