Jesuitical

How’s your Lent going? Did you make it at least a few days (unlike me) before breaking your Lenten practice? If you’re trying to up your prayer game this Lent and haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet, you won’t want to miss this week’s guest. Luigi Gioia, a professor at the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, is the author of Say It To God: In Search of Prayer, which the Archbisho...

This week, to celebrate our one year (liturgical) anniversary we are talking with Liel Leibovitz and Stephanie Butnick. They are two-thirds of Unorthodox, a Jewish podcast from The Tablet. Here at Jesuitical, we hold a special place in our hearts for these hosts—they are a part of our origin story. We talk to Liel and Stephanie about how we basically stole their podcast format, the differences bet...

We live in an age of opinion writers telling us that we live in an age of [insert sweeping generalization here]. The hotter the take, the more attention it gets not only from readers who already agree but pundits eager to tear it down with their own scorching rebuttal. Enter Christine Emba, an op-ed writer for The Washington Post, who traffics in nuance and explores the deeper questions beneath th...

“It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God,” Pope Francis said early in his pontificate. “But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people.” Many U.S. Catholics have not only ignored their Muslim brothers and sisters but harbor discriminatory views about Muslims at alarming rates. Georgetown University’s B...

Is yoga cultural appropriation? Is it just stretching? Is it possible to blend yoga and the Catholic faith? This week we get into these questions and more with Bobby Karle, S.J., the founder of Ignatian Yoga, a practice that draws on Ignatian spirituality and yoga. Through Ignatian Yoga, Bobby offers classes, retreats and workshops centered around the core principles of Ignatian spirituality, like...

You have heard it said, “Who run the world? Girls” (Bey 4:12). But we ask: Who runs the church? Popes, of course. But across the country there are dedicated women of faith taking the lead in parishes, schools, social ministries—and magazines. Our guest this week is one of them. Kerry Weber is an executive editor at America and the driving force behind a groundbreaking new survey of U.S. Catholic w...

It is not the first time and it is unlikely to be the last time, but President Trump’s latest racist remarks about “shithole” countries has many of asking: Who are we? What do we stand for? Who do we welcome and why? We recorded this episode on Wednesday before the news about the president’s comments broke, but nonetheless we think a lot of what we talk about with this week’s guest will help you c...

In our final Jesuitical episode of 2017, we talk with my fellow Bronxite and award-winning journalist at The New York Times, David Gonzalez. Born and raised in the South Bronx to Puerto Rican immigrants, David was raised Catholic and attended Cardinal Hayes High School. Since the 1970s, he has been snapping pictures of people and places all around New York City. Currently, he co-edits the Times’ p...

How does an appointee in the Bill Clinton administration end up as a regular face of Fox News? It’s complicated. And what does a woman who has worked for decades in both politics and the media have to say about today’s sexual assault and harassment reckoning? A lot. This week we talk with Kirsten Powers, who you may recognize as a frequent on-air political analyst for CNN and an opinion writer for...

Have you ever gotten to know a priest only to discover that your conception of who he was was misguided? Too often priests have either the best or the worst assumed of them, and the result is that we, the laity, fail to see them as they are: human. Our guest this week is Chris Yates, a graduate of Loyola Marymount University who has created a fine-art coffee table book that seeks to show the Jesui...

When you think about the history of American Catholicism, images of Irish, Italian, German and Polish immigrant parishes probably come to mind. Think about the future of the U.S. church, and you’ve probably been told it’s Latino. But the story of the church, in the United States—past, present and future—is the story of black Catholics. On this week’s show we talk with Mary C. Curtis, an award-winn...

This week, we talk with Brian Larkin of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Larkin is part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight. Founded in 2018, the J.B.S. is “a nationwide effort to capitalize on basketball games between Jesuit schools and, through those games, bring greater positive awareness and exposure to Jesuit education and its shared mission.” We talk about its creation, th...

In an article that appeared in America over the summer, David Michael wrote: Hipsters are drawn to craft beer, obscure cheeses, organic farms, taxidermy and homemade preserves. They favor hand-dipped candles, old-fashioned stationery, Indian headdresses and the lamentable industrial-chic decor and exposed bricks that mark so many new restaurants and bars. Hipsters love the authentic, the craft and...

Last weekend Jesuitical took the show on the road for our first live recording at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in my hometown, Arlington, Va. The Teach-In is the country’s largest Catholic social justice gathering, which brings together students from Jesuit high schools and colleges and other members of the Ignatian family for three days of learning, prayer and advocacy. For this week’...

This week, we talk with celebrity nun, Sister Simone Campbell. Sister Simone is the leader of the Nuns on the Bus and executive director of the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. We talk balancing spirituality with fame, women religious, Catholic feminism, Paul Ryan and more.  In Signs of the Times, next week is Halloween, and some women religious warn: sexy nun costumes aren’t funny. Half...

“What does religion have to offer me?” It’s a question more people are asking as affiliation with organized religion continues to fall. Brandon Vogt thinks that Catholics should be ready with answers. “Today, as the world becomes more and more disinterested and disenchanted with religion, we need this positive approach [to being Catholic more] than a negative defense,” he says. Vogt, the guest on...

What does it mean to be a feminist? I wasn’t raised one—I barely even understood what the word meant growing up. It wasn’t until my 20s that I began to fully engage with feminist ideas and literature, from Betty Friedan to bell hooks to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. For me, feminism is intersectional, incorporating various aspects of my identity: being a woman of color, an immigrant, a writer, and a p...

Even super fans (your hosts included) of Grammy-nominated Christian artist Matt Maher may not know this fun fact: The Canadian musician went to a Jesuit high school in Newfoundland! On this week’s episode, we ask Matt if Ignatian spirituality has influenced his music, how the music industry has changed since he released his first album in 2001 and about the place of protest and suffering in his la...

Tiny homes—you’ve probably heard of them. They’re littered all over Instagram and Pinterest, and HGTV has dedicated a show to hunting them. But what you probably haven’t heard about is how they could be a solution to end chronic homelessness. This week we talk to Andrew Lunetta, a graduate of LeMoyne University, who is the executive director of A Tiny Home for Good. Only 27, Andrew “builds and man...

Last week, we talked about how to pray—this week, we bring you the music for those prayers as we talk with Catholic rockstar Audrey Assad. She is the daughter of a Syrian refugee, an author, speaker and producer who uses her music and her various social media platforms to talk about her Syrian identity and movements like Black Lives Matter. We talk to Audrey about her latest album, “Inheritance,”...

Chances are if you’re Catholic you’ve said it, or at least thought it: I am terrible at praying. I know I have (and am). You’ve tried the rosary. You’ve given the Examen a shot. You even dragged yourself to adoration. Why isn’t God answering?! Especially in this long slog between Pentecost and Advent, it’s easy to get discouraged. Fear not, dear listener. This week, we bring back Father James Mart...

Rap got religious last year. At least that’s what Zac wrote earlier this year for America. The truth is, while it may have gotten more explicit about religion in 2016, hip-hop has always had a deep religious undercurrent to its bars and beats. This week we’re chatting with Alex Nava, the author of In Search of Soul: Hip-Hop, Literature, and Religion. We talk to Alex about religion’s influence on h...

Whether you connect our episode title to Beyoncé, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or even Vampire Weekend, maps matter. This week we are talking with Molly Burhans, the founder and executive director of GoodLands, a startup that is mapping the global Catholic Church. Information can change lives and Molly helped us wrap our heads around the amazing work she and h [...] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

This week, we talk with Lino Rulli, host of “The Catholic Guy” on Sirius XM’s The Catholic Channel. We talk balancing his Catholicism and comedy, being vulnerable on air, relationships, late-night television and more. Is there anything he hasn’t (or wouldn’t) share with listeners after 10 years on the radio? In Signs of the Times, the “Mother Teresa of Pakistan” gets a state funeral. Iceland claim...

How could I possibly have kids if I can barely do my taxes without calling my mom in a panic on April 14? It’s a question I must admit that has crossed my mind more than once. I’ve never even owned a dog. Isn’t that a prereq for parenting these days? Our guest this week, Liz Bruenig, wears many hats: Washington Post editor, socialist, Catholic convert, Twitter enthusiast—and “young” mother. She pu...