Just Politics

According to several recent studies of health care systems across the globe, the U.S. health care system lags far behind those in other developed nations. The system is more expensive per person, but also for the nation as a whole. This high cost doesn't translate into good access, high quality, or favorable outcomes. Many in the nation have no insurance at all, and many can't find a primary care...

As Medicaid faces severe cuts in the federal budget that will take health care away from millions of people, Laura Peralta-Schulte, head of NETWORK's government relations team, discusses the life-saving importance of the program for its 60th anniversary. The program, which emerged as part of President Lyndon Johnson's efforts to help people in the United States not just survive but thrive and whic...

This week on Just Politics, hosts Eilis and Colin welcome Laurie Carafone, NETWORK's new executive director. She comes to the world of Catholic social justice advocacy from Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), where she worked to protect unaccompanied children and advocate for their asylum. Carafone's path began with a formative year working with an asylum attorney, where she witnessed the life-and-dea...

This week on Just Politics, host Joan Neal returns to the interview chair for something that is becoming less and less common: an honest political conversation with someone who has strongly different views. Joan interviews prominent political figure and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who currently serves as an MSNBC political analyst. This episode highlights the dive...

This week on Just Politics, Giovana Oaxaca, the senior government relations advocate for immigration with NETWORK, joins hosts Colin and Eilis to discuss the escalating immigration crisis facing communities nationwide. This episode was recorded in the immediate aftermath of the budget reconciliation bill's passage, which Oaxaca calls a "deportation bill," one that will also decimate the social saf...

This week on Just Politics, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould—political director at Faith in Action—joins us to talk about her journey from corporate America to the front lines of faith-based justice work. Rooted in her family's legacy of civil rights activism, Gould reflects on how her childhood in Alabama and Missouri shaped her understanding of racial injustice, poverty, and power. She shares how her ex...

This week on Just Politics, the hosts revisit a powerful conversation from last season that feels more urgent than ever. Kristen Whitney Daniels—a disability advocate, diabetes educator, and associate director of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph—joins us to talk about the moral and social consequences of stripping people of access to health care. As budget negotiations in Washingto...

This episode of Just Politics sounds a little different—and that's the point. Rather than diving into our usual policy discussion, hosts Colin and Eilis pass the mic to a group of young men wrestling with one of the most pervasive forces shaping our political and cultural moment: toxic masculinity. These college students are all part of NETWORK's Carroll Coston Fellowship, a leadership program nam...

What does it mean to belong to a church—and a country—that doesn't always welcome you? In this episode, Colin Martinez Longmore sits down with Yunuen Trujillo for an open conversation about identity, faith, fear, and belonging. Trujillo is an immigration attorney, LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate, and lay minister. As an immigrant and a queer person who is both a practicing immigration lawyer and faithful...

What do you get when 800 billionaires hoard more wealth than half the U.S. population combined? A rigged tax system and a society that leaves millions behind. In this episode, longtime tax and budget expert Sarah Christopherson joins us to expose the political and moral cost of extreme wealth inequality. She explains how billionaires use loopholes, lobbying, and misleading populist messaging to av...

During a time when ICE raids tear families apart, current administration policies criminalize asylum seekers, and cruelty has become policy, how do people of faith respond? This is the question we ask in this episode of Just Politics. Our guest is Sister of St. Joseph Janet Kinney, the executive director of the Long Island Immigration Clinic , whose ministry with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brent...

Tune in on June 3rd, 2025 for the return of your favorite Catholic social justice podcast: Just Politics, a project of NETWORK Lobby and U.S. Catholic magazine.

"Well, what a summer it's been!" says Joan Neal at the start of this week's episode. And August only just began!   The past few weeks have been a whirlwind in U.S. politics. A shooting targeting former president Trump left many injured and two people, including the shooter, dead. Coming off a debate performance that raised concerns about his age, President Biden withdrew his bid for reelection and...

In 2023, after receiving a transformational gift from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice was finally able to begin working on an issue they'd been feeling called to for a long time: climate justice. That gift came to fruition a few months ago with the hiring of a full-time climate lobbyist: Drake Starling, a Cuban-American Miami native with a b...

When it comes to people organizing to stop gun violence, you probably first think of moms (see Moms Demand Action ). But there is another growing unified voice against gun violence and the policies that enable it—that of Catholic nuns.   Last year, communities of Catholic sisters and their partners formed Nuns Against Gun Violence to educate about, pray for, and advocate for policies that free us...

The freedom to be healthy means being able to access the care and medications we need without worrying or sacrificing other parts of our lives. For people with diabetes, who need insulin to make it through the day alive, that freedom is a daily struggle. Though insulin costs just a few dollars to make, it has been sold for more than $300 per vial.   Kristen Whitney Daniels, who serves as the assoc...

Just Politics will be taking a brief summer break this week. In the meantime, please be sure to catch up on all the episodes from the first half of season four: 1: Let us count the freedoms (with Katherine Stewart and Mary J. Novak) https://uscatholic.org/articles/202406/just-politics-let-us-count-the-freedoms/ 2: We can demand something better (with Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman) https://uscatholic....

When people in the United States think about immigration, many immediately think about the U.S.-Mexico border, cruel border policies, and desperate families fleeing violence. But as Jesús de la Torre of Hope Border Institute shares in this episode, immigration is about so much more—including freedom, good food, global solidarity, and especially dreams. What if our immigration system wasn't just bu...

College students today have grown up through a recession, a pandemic, and an unprecedented era of digitalization and political upheaval. They are also now part of the largest voting bloc in the country, composed of Millennial and Gen Z voters.   Young people have tremendous electoral power, but are often unequipped to engage in our democratic processes. In an era awash in information (and disinfor...

In 2024, white Christian nationalism continues to threaten our democracy and our freedoms—including our freedoms to vote, to practice our diverse religions, to live in safety, to protect and care for our families, and to live in a welcoming country.      There is no one more critical for the struggle against white Christian nationalism than Christians committed to democracy, justice, and human dig...

What if every family in the United States had enough resources to afford secure housing, eat nourishing food, pay medical bills and childcare expenses, and spend quality time with their loved ones without the constant worry of financial stress?   This is exactly what U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey wants to make a reality with the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act. The concept of g...

Freedom doesn't simply mean freedom from things that restrict our lives. It also means the freedom to flourish and live with dignity. It means the freedom to care for ourselves and others, to participate in a vibrant democracy, to be healthy and safe from harm, and to live on a healthy planet and in a welcoming country.   Season four of the Just Politics podcast continues last season's focus on pr...

Just Politics , the  podcast collaboration between NETWORK and U.S. Catholic , returns June 10. This season we will explore the critical decisions facing the United States this year from the perspective of the six freedoms of NETWORK's Equally Sacred Checklist: the freedom to be healthy, freedom to care for oneself and one's family, freedom to live on a healthy planet, freedom from harm, freedom t...

In our Season 3 finale, Just Politics engages in conversation with one of the fiercest advocates for democracy in U.S. politics today: Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the assistant leader of the House Democratic Caucus. A lifelong champion for civil rights, Rep. Clyburn sees the connection between policies that improve people's daily lives and the strengthening of democracy. He is also a perso...

On this season of the  podcast , we've looked at Christian nationalism, voter suppression, threats of political violence, and other threats to democracy. In this  episode , we ask: What's a Catholic to do? What role do people of faith and goodwill have in repairing these structural issues? And who's to blame for creating the conditions that got us here? Sister Anita Baird, D.H.M. offers insights o...