Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker

Do you feel like there isn’t enough time or wish you could just get a better hold on time? This episode is a chance to enter into a way of greater freedom with time. Professor and author James K. A. Smith talks with me about history, contingency, limitations, Black Lives Matter, hope, and his latest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now . __ Gu...

It’s Christmastime! But how do we celebrate Christmas when consumerism and church hurt bring complicated feelings to this season? Journalist Bekah McNeel and Amy Julia Becker talk about divisions within the American church and Bekah's book Bringing Up Kids When Church Lets You Down . If you are someone who is wrestling with questions of faith and doubt and how to raise kids with faith without...

How does control lead to anxiety? How can we let go of the illusion of control and entrust our lives to God? Pastor and author Sharon Hodde Miller joins Amy Julia Becker for a down-to-earth, intellectually astute conversation about the wisdom surrounding control, agency, and influence. __ Giveaway: We are giving away a copy of Sharon's latest book: The Cost of Control . To enter to win, share...

In between the extremes of selfishness and selflessness, how do we bring healing to our true selves? Dr. Alison Cook, psychologist and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about finding our true selves and how that helps us bring health and wholeness into our relationships with God and with one another. __ Guest Bio: “Dr. Alison Cook is a psychologist and the author of two books, including her new...

Rest is a challenge for almost all of us in our frantic and distracted world. For anyone who is longing to stop and rest and delight but feels stuck in a pattern of never-enough-time, this conversation is for you. Ruth Haley Barton talks with Amy Julia Becker about rest as a healing practice given to us by God that leads to a spacious, generous life. Ruth is the author of many books, including her...

"The challenge is to trust again the beauty of life together.” Professor and author Willie James Jennings talks with Amy Julia Becker about the beauty, promise, and hope of Christianity, especially if and as we are able to untether Christianity from whiteness and reimagine institutions and relationships built upon mutual dependence. __ Guest Bio: “Willie James Jennings is Associate Professor...

“You belong here, as you are, who you are. Come be in this place with us.” Down syndrome advocate and author Heather Avis joins Amy Julia to talk about the importance of people with Down syndrome, celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and creating spaces of belovedness and belonging. __ Guest Bio: “Founder of The Lucky Few and The Lucky Few Foundation , Heather Avis is a New York Times bestse...

We may sometimes doubt the importance of our questions, but the practice of curiosity is actually a gift. Author Lore Ferguson Wilbert joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about all the questions we are invited to ask of God and of ourselves and how those questions can open up spacious places in our souls. __ Guest Bio: “Lore Ferguson Wilbert is a writer, thinker, learner, and author of A Curious Faith...

Can we find—can we grow—goodness, beauty, and kindness in a wounded world? Rich Villodas talks with Amy Julia Becker about what it means to live lives formed by the love of God. ___ GUEST: “Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens. Rich holds a Master of Divinity from Alli...

Welcome to Season 6 of Love Is Stronger Than Fear, a podcast about pursuing hope and healing in the midst of personal and social brokenness. The lineup of guests for this podcast season is extraordinary! I can’t believe I get to talk to these people. A few of the upcoming guests include: 🎙Rich Villodas 🎙Sharon Hodde Miller 🎙Ruth Haley Barton 🎙Lore Ferguson Wilbert 🎙Haider Warraich And more! Our mo...

How do we create communities where friendship is a possibility among people of differing abilities? Dr. John Swinton, theologian and author, talks with Amy Julia Becker about mutual relationships of care, the meaning of health and healing, and the speed of love. ___ Guest Bio: “John Swinton is chair of divinity and religious studies at the University of Aberdeen. He has published widely within the...

How do we raise children who will stand against racial injustice? Helen Lee, co-author of The Race-Wise Family , and Amy Julia Becker discuss why it’s important for all of us to talk about race, how we can do this well with and for our children, and the postures of celebration and lament. Guest Bio: “Helen Lee has been a Christian publishing professional since 1993, when she began her career worki...

While Jesus welcomed the disabled, the poor, and the outcast, Christian communities are often spaces of exclusion. Dr. Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar, a Shakespeare Lecturer, and the author of My Body Is Not a Prayer Request . In this conversation, she talks with Amy Julia Becker about disability, the church, ableism, and creating communities of belonging. ___ GIVEAWAY Rate and review this podcas...

How do we rest in a restless world? Kate Rademacher, public health expert and author of Reclaiming Rest , talks with Amy Julia Becker about rest, burnout, healing, social justice, and the difference between religious and secular approaches to rest. GUEST BIO: “A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Cha...

How do we reclaim personhood and relationships in a technological world? Andy Crouch, author of The Life We’re Looking For, talks with me about technology and what it means to be a person. We conclude our conversation with daily practices to help us reflect the truth that we are designed in and for love. Guest Bio: Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis , an organization that wo...

When we need healing, is medicine the only solution? Dr. Matthew Loftus talks with Amy Julia Becker about both the limits and the role of medicine connected to healing, wholeness, and community.  Guest Bio: Dr. Matthew Loftus teaches and practices Family Medicine in Baltimore and East Africa. His work has been featured in Mere Orthodoxy , Christianity Today , Plough , Comment , and other publicati...

In a society that pursues happiness at all costs, how do we cultivate contentment? Niro Feliciano, psychotherapist and author of This Book Won’t Make You Happy, talks with Amy Julia Becker about the keys to finding true contentment. Bio: Niro Feliciano is a psychotherapist, podcast host, national media commentator, and expert on anxiety, brain science, and spirituality. She holds a master’s degree...

What if I feel disappointed with God? Does grief play a role in healing? Is racial reconciliation a work of healing? Katherine Wolf and David Bailey join me for a conversation celebrating the book launch of To Be Made Well . We talk about the multidimensional nature of healing, and then we respond to questions from launch party guests at the end as we reflect on healing and hardship and hope in ou...

For anyone struggling with pain or loss, for anyone concerned about the things that divide us, this episode—this book— is for you. It’s launch day for my latest book, To Be Made Well . I'm celebrating by sharing an excerpt with you! I hope you enjoy it, and if you think of other people who might find this relevant and helpful in their own lives, please pass it along to them as well. You can f...

The effects of trauma often surface in our embodied existence. What about hope? Cole Arthur Riley, author of This Here Flesh and creator of Black Liturgies , talks with Amy Julia Becker about bearing witness to the pain of the world through our bodies, the healing found in belonging, and the importance of weaving together self-care and community-care for social healing. SHOW NOTES AND GIVEAWAY Vie...

In a world of pain, can one person—one action—make a difference? Becca Stevens, author of Practically Divine , talks with Amy Julia Becker about the healing available through the practice, practicality, and presence of love within community. SHOW NOTES: Go to amyjuliabecker.com/becca-stevens/ for complete show notes, transcript, and BOOK GIVEAWAY info. GUEST BIO: “Becca Stevens is a speaker, socia...

Learning the history of enslavement and racism illuminates the path to repentance and repair. Lisa Sharon Harper, leading faith and race activist and author of Fortune , joins Amy Julia Becker and looks at the power and beauty of her ancestors, the ways that America’s race and enslavement laws broke her family (and our nation), and why there is hope for healing. SHOW NOTES: Go to amyjuliabecker.co...

In a society reeling from the pandemic and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, is it possible to create something new for our world? Anne Snyder, editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and co-editor of the new anthology, Breaking Ground , talks with Amy Julia Becker about the pandemic and our collaborative imagination. They examine how questions asked communally about our past, present, and futur...

Can our children really make a difference in the fight against racism? Dr. Jemar Tisby, author of How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition , talks with Amy Julia Becker about practical ways kids can stand up to injustice and how courageous actions will transform them (and us) into agents of healing in this world. “It’s not just about what we’ve done. It’s about who we’ve become.” SHOW NOTES:  go...

As we near the end of 2021, I'm returning to one of the most listened to (and possibly most appreciated) episodes from this past year—my conversation with Osheta Moore about her book Dear White Peacemakers . ******** Can peacemaking dismantle racism? Osheta Moore, author of Dear White Peacemakers , offers a warm and welcoming invitation to White people as she talks with Amy Julia about antira...