Religion and Justice

In this episode, host Gabby Lisi talks with author, speaker, content creator, and public theologian Damon Garcia about vocation, purpose, alienation, work, capitalism, and the liberating power of interdependence. Garcia challenges the idea that each of us simply needs to “find our calling” and pursue it harder. Instead, he asks what happens when our gifts, dreams, and sense of purpose are shaped b...

In this powerful discussion, hosts George Schmidt and Gabriella Lisi speak with John and Samuel Munayer about their new book, The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza . The conversation delves into the indigeneity of Palestinian Christianity, the metaphor of the olive tree as a framework for theology, and the importance of staying in the "long silence" of...

Deep solidarity is not a warm sentiment or a “let’s all get along” slogan. It’s the kind of collective connection that makes the powerful nervous because it turns everyday shared pressure into organized power. We sit down with Professor Joerg Rieger to unpack what he means by deep solidarity and why it emerged for him out of Occupy Wall Street and the claim “we are the 99%.” Along the way, we draw...

Blaming “humanity” for climate collapse feels intuitive, but it hides the real drivers. We sit down with Prof. Joerg Rieger to unpack why Anthropocene flattens responsibility and how Capitalocene offers a sharper, more useful map—one that follows power, money, and relationships across extraction, production, and belief. From oil fields to boardrooms to pews, we trace how decisions at the top casca...

George and I took a break this holiday season and gave the mic to another organization doing great work: BTS Center's Climate Changed  Climate Changed is The BTS Center’s podcast. Well-crafted, warm, and invitational, Climate Changed explores some of the most pressing questions about faith, life, and climate change. The hosts of Climate Changed explores honest climate grief, then move toward...

In this episode, pastoral theologian and psychotherapist Dr. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn —pastoral theologian, clinician, and author of Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age — exposes how today’s mental-health system locates suffering in individual pathology while ignoring the social and economic forces producing widespread distress. He explains how research funding, psychotherapy models, and the biomedica...

What if “reconciliation” lets the powerful off the hook? We sit with theologian and former United Church of Canada moderator Carmen Lansdowne to rethink repair from the ground up—centering Indigenous wisdom, circular time, and mission reimagined as solidarity. Carmen opens a candid window into her story of sobriety, Advent, and returning to a faith that saved her life, then presses the church to p...

Benny Overton and Rosemarie Henkel-Rieger share their journey building the Southeast Center for Cooperative Development and explain how cooperative businesses create a democratic alternative to traditional capitalism. • Origins in labor organizing and union work with UAW and AFL-CIO • Different types of cooperatives including worker-owned, consumer, and producer co-ops • Cooperatives address power...

This episode was recorded in May 2025. We'll have Fr. Bruce back on the pod to discuss our new pope in the coming months!  What makes a pope "Marxist"? Is challenging capitalism equivalent to embracing communism? Father Bruce Morrill, Jesuit priest and theological scholar, joins us for a fascinating exploration of Pope Francis's complex legacy and the radical vision that define...

What happens when theology meets revolution? In this episode of Religion and Justice , we sit down with Joshua Bartholomew, author of Black Theology and the Black Panthers , to explore the rich, radical relationship between Black Christian theology and one of the most influential political movements of the 20th century. Bartholomew walks us through the theological foundations of the Black Panther...

What if justice — as we commonly understand it — isn’t enough? In this episode, theologians David True and Tom James, co-authors of The Transcendence of Desire: A Theology of Political Agency , join us to explore the limitations of liberal justice frameworks and the radical potential of love-as-desire. We talk about the co-optation of justice under capitalism and how eros — not sacrifice — might b...

Recorded in January 24, 2025.  Built upon four blog posts from Joerg, Aaron, Gabby, and George, this event will explore how faith and justice intersect to create pathways for collective liberation. At the heart of this conversation is the belief that mourning, grief, and collective suffering can be powerful tools for social change. Rooted in the understanding that justice is not just a personal en...

In this episode of Religion and Justice , Gabby and George welcome Terra and Joerg, co-editors of Liberating People, Planet, and Religion: Intersections of Ecology, Economics, and Christianity . Their groundbreaking work explores how faith communities can confront ecological devastation and economic inequality, offering a powerful call to action for justice and sustainability. Join us as we dive i...

Editor's Note: We originally uploaded this episode with audio for a Terra and Joerg episode. The corrected episode was uploaded shortly thereafter (~48 hours). The official Terra and Joerg episode will be released in mid-February. Stay tuned! In this episode, Gabby and George talk with  Dr. Terra Schwerin Rowe , an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the Univer...

In this special Christmas episode of Religion and Justice , we are joined by Dr. Joerg Rieger to unpack the profound and often overlooked realities of the nativity story. Far from the idyllic scenes of "Silent Night, Holy Night," Dr. Rieger presents the birth of Jesus as a story of drama, precarity, and resilience amidst imperial power and systemic injustice. We explore how Jesus’s preca...

In this special episode, George and Gabby take a backseat as we present a powerful conversation featuring Dr. Joerg Rieger, Dr. Elaine Nogueira-Godsey, and moderated by Dr. Jeremy Posadas. Together, they explore the intertwined exploitation of people and the planet, examining how Christianity has historically contributed to systemic injustices. But it’s not just about identifying the problems — it...

In this special episode, we honor the life and legacy of Gustavo Gutiérrez, a towering figure in the realm of liberation theology. Gabby and George sit down with esteemed scholars Jung Mo Sung and Joerg Rieger, both of whom have been  influenced by Gustavo's teachings and friendship. Through reflections and shared memories, our guests illuminate the transformative power of Gutiérrez’s work, e...

In this episode of Religion and Justice , we sit down with Dr. Tad DeLay to discuss his latest work, Future of Denial: Ideologies of Climate Change . As global temperatures rise and wildfires, droughts, and floods become more common, denialism continues to morph—from greenwashing corporate strategies to political distractions. Tad DeLay offers a deep dive into the psychology, history, and capitali...

In this episode, Gabby and George dive into the connections between ecological exploitation, economic inequality, and religion with renowned theologian Joerg Rieger. As the founder of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt, Rieger shares insights on "deep solidarity," a concept that unites various forms of exploitation across class, race, gender, and environment...

In this episode, we sit down with theologian Priscila Alves Gonçalves da Silva to explore how faith, solidarity, and human resilience intersect in times of socio-economic despair. Drawing on her personal experiences growing up in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and witnessing her mother’s struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, Priscila delves deep into the feelings of helplessness caused by modern...

In this special episode, George and I take a break from hanging out with our guests and let Aaron Stauffer lead!  Join Aaron, Director of Online Learning at Vanderbilt Divinity School, as he leads a compelling conversation with three distinguished scholars exploring the deep connections between the social gospel movement, labor, and economic justice in the South. In this episode, our guests—Associ...

In this episode, we explore the intersection of religion, ecology, and economics through the lens of the Wendland-Cook Program's "Liberating People and the Planet" series. We delve into how capitalism entangles communities in destructive ways and how religion might offer liberative practices to imagine a more enlivening future. The companion book to this series has been released thi...

In this episode, hosts Gabby Lisi and George Schmidt are joined by Robert Kell, the New Economy Program Manager with Appalachian Voices and a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School (Wendland-Cook Program Fellow). Together, they discuss Robert's article, " Flooding in Appalachia Calls Us to Redemptive Work ," which delves into the environmental and social challenges facing Appalachia...

In this episode, hosts Gabby Lisi and George Schmidt sit down with Genevieve Rand, a prominent leader in the trans worker rights movement. Together, they delve into the struggles and triumphs of trans workers in the labor movement, discussing the unique challenges they face and how unions can better support them. Genevieve shares powerful stories of resilience, solidarity, and hope in the face of...

In this episode of Religion and Justice , hosts George and Gabby sit down with members of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition, Palestine Hurra Collective, Vanderbilt Divinity School Students Against Genocide, and Vanderbilt Graduate Workers United to discuss the urgent issues of divestment, Palestine, and the Vanderbilt administration's response to the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Join us as we he...