Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

Difference exposes our tendency to rank people as “better” or “worse.” Theologian Brian Brock, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore a life rooted in connection, creatureliness, and love. They consider: Social hierarchy and disability stigma Dietrich Bonhoeffer, community, and moral responsibility Human worth and personhood Joining Creation's Praise S10 E8: 00:00 Introduction: Joining Creati...

S10 E7 —Saying "I'm sorry" isn't enough to repair personal or institutional harm. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of On Repentance and Repair , joins Amy Julia Becker to share an ancient framework for repentance and repair that challenges our culture's obsession with quick apologies. Together they discuss forgiveness, institutional responsibility, and breaking cycles of har...

S10 E6 —Is disability a tragedy to overcome, a burden to bear, an inspirational lesson for everyone else? Or is there a different story to tell, and who gets to tell it? Craig Thomas, co-creator of How I Met Your Mother , joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss That’s Not How It Happened , his novel written from nearly two decades of growing up with a son with a rare genetic condition. Together they exp...

S10 E5 —Where does racism come from? Many of us assume it's rooted in hatred or fear, but what if it’s actually rooted in greed? As we approach Juneteenth, a day that commemorates freedom while reminding us of the work still before us, pastor and historian Malcolm Foley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about his book The Anti-Greed Gospel . He traces the roots of racism to economic exploi...

S10 E4 —Do you ever wonder what your life would look like if you had made different decisions a long time ago? Author Karen Swallow Prior joins Amy Julia Becker for a conversation about regret, human limitations, and her experience of not having children. Together, they explore what it means to face the losses of the past while remaining open to the unexpected opportunities and possibilities that...

S10 E3 —The return of the R-word is about more than language. The words we choose both reflect and shape our moral imagination. When disability becomes an insult or a political weapon, it influences how we understand human worth, vulnerability, and belonging. In this conversation, Christina Cipriano, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore her research on political language and disability, includin...

S10 E2 —What do you do when you’ve done all the “right” spiritual things and still feel exhausted? Tish Harrison Warren, a writer and Anglican priest, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore burnout, spiritual dryness, midlife weariness, and the practices that help us stay rooted when God feels distant. For those who are tired, discouraged, or wondering why faith feels harder than it used to, here’s hop...

S10 E1 —When you walk into a room, what does that room tell you about who you are as a human being? What assumptions go into our restaurants and civic buildings and churches and homes and schools? What do they say about who we are and about how we relate to each other? Artist and design researcher Sara Hendren joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how modern spaces—from office buildings to nursing hom...

What makes a life good? In this new season of Reimagining the Good Life , Amy Julia Becker invites listeners into thoughtful conversations about faith, family, disability, belonging, beauty, repair, community, and what it means to be human. This season features interviews with: Tish Harrison Warren about persevering with grace through midlife Malcolm Foley about the role of greed and pride in raci...

Exciting news! New episodes are dropping on my Take the Next Step podcast, and I’m sharing this one here so you won’t miss out. Be sure to follow Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker wherever you listen so you are sure to get future episodes. https://pod.link/1838911087 More about Take the Next Step: amyjuliabecker.com/step/ ___ What if inclusion in schools didn’t have to be a constant fight?...

S9 E9 — Our culture feels like a battlefield, but perspectives and actions change when we see it as a garden we’ve forgotten how to tend. Artist and author Makoto Fujimura shares with Amy Julia Becker how art, wonder, and imagination can restore our capacity to love, hope, and tend culture with care. Together they explore his book Art Is: A Journey into the Light , slow art, spiritual imagination,...

S9 E8 — We're living through a season of deep division, political unrest, and global instability. Justin Giboney, political strategist and author of Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around , joins Amy Julia Becker to help us recover a moral imagination shaped by faith—one that resists polarization, refuses hatred, and offers a better way forward in public life. 00:00 Guidance from the Civil Rig...

S9 E7 — Your body is trying to tell you something. Are you listening? In this episode, corporate lawyer Justin Whitmel Earley joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how spiritual life is also embodied life. As you reflect on the year ahead, this conversation invites you to think not in terms of resolutions, but in terms of habits that nurture health and wholeness. Justin and Amy Julia reflect on: How b...

S9 E6 — In a season of parties and entertaining, it’s good to remember that hospitality means something very different—welcoming the stranger and caring for one another. In The Hospitality of Need , Kevan Chandler, born with a progressive disability, explores how dependence can expand life and deepen community. His story points us back to our shared human neediness, reflected in the baby lying in...

S9 E5 — There is a lot of conversation right now about the role of women and men in society. Whether we’re talking about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal or the viral essay "The Great Feminization" and all the commentary it sparked, it’s clear we’re in a cultural moment where we don’t quite know how to talk about men and women. Should we see men and women as interchangeable? What does equalit...

S9 E4 — What if real freedom doesn’t come from more self-esteem—but from self-forgetfulness? Amy Julia Becker and author and pastor Sharon Hodde Miller explore the difference between the false self and the true self—and how thinking about ourselves less without thinking less of ourselves leads to healing, humility, and purpose. 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Defining Self and Self-Forgetfulness 07:33 Un...

S9 E3 — What is the good life? Is it a life marked by money and success and achievement? Or a life marked by love? Author and professor Kelly Kapic joins Amy Julia Becker to rethink our obsession with productivity and self-reliance. They explore: Why “independence” is not the ideal How love—not intelligence or achievement—defines our humanity How receiving our limits can lead to rest, belonging, a...

S9 E2 —  What if disability isn’t something to fix, but a way to see God and one another more clearly? Theologian John Swinton joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how our ideas of perfection, healing, and humanity can distort—or deepen—our understanding of the good life. Together, they imagine a church and a world that welcomes every body as good, beloved, and whole. They explore: How culture shapes...

S9 E1 —  Some people get paid to do what they love, but most don’t. How can we find meaning in everyday work that we don’t always love doing? How can we discover our purpose in life? Author Karen Swallow Prior and Amy Julia Becker explore: Why passion is not the same as calling How vocation centers on service and relationships, not just career Pursuing truth, goodness, and beauty in ordinary life...

What really makes life worth living? This season on Reimagining the Good Life , Amy Julia Becker dives into the ideas, assumptions, and cultural narratives that shape how we live. Upcoming conversations include: Karen Swallow Prior on calling Sharon Hodde Miller on self-forgetfulness Kelly Kapic on human limitations Leah Libresco Sargeant on the dignity of dependence  If you’re curious about cultu...

This is the very first episode of my new podcast, Take the Next Step , and I’m sharing it here so you won’t miss the launch. Be sure to follow Take the Next Step with Amy Julia Becker wherever you listen so you don’t miss future episodes. (New episodes of Reimagining the Good Life are coming in October!) Follow the new podcast at: amyjuliabecker.com/step/ __ Feeling overwhelmed by the challenges o...

I’m so excited to share something new with you! My new show, Take the Next Step , is a podcast for families experiencing disability—filled with real talk, real tools, and real hope. Tune in over at Take the Next Step each week for conversations with parents, therapists, and advocates about how we can cultivate belonging and build a flourishing future for the entire family. You can find the new sho...

When Heather Avis says she’s one of “the lucky few,” she means it. In this episode, we talk about growing up with our children with Down syndrome, what it means to delight in our kids, and how all of us can participate in shifting the narrative around disability toward love and belonging. Our conversation highlights her new children’s book, I Like You So Much , and focuses on: Proclaiming the wort...

Ambition is the air we breathe—but what is it costing us? In this episode, Amy Julia Becker and theologian Miroslav Volf discuss his latest book, The Cost of Ambition . They unpack the hidden damage of a culture obsessed with competition and invite us to imagine a new way of being, for ourselves and our society, rooted not in achievement, but in love, mutuality, and genuine abundance. They explore...

What if the perfect family doesn’t exist—and never was supposed to? Theologian Emily McGowin, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore family life in America and what the Bible really says (and doesn’t say) about family life. They discuss: the idealized version of the American family the misconceptions surrounding a biblical blueprint for family creating a home centered on love, not expectations app...