The Commonweal Podcast

Shortly before the death of her father, New Yorker staff writer Kathryn Schulz met the woman she would marry. These opposite experiences prompted Schulz to reflect on the ways in which they’re joined. On this episode, Schulz joins Commonweal literary editor Anthony Domestico for a wide-ranging conversation about her new memoir, Lost & Found.  Our humanity, Schulz argues, guarantees that we’ll even...

What do scholars do, exactly? Which virtues does a life of scholarship require?  On this episode, longtime Commonweal contributor and renowned New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson speaks with editor Dominic Preziosi about his lifelong intellectual journey.  One of the keys to being a good scholar (and a good Christian) Johnson argues, isn’t simply discipline and fortitude, but imagination an...

Since the pandemic began, large numbers of Americans working in diverse fields have reported increased levels of burnout and exhaustion.  But the phenomenon of burnout is nothing new, argues frequent Commonweal contributor Jonathan Malesic. The problem has been with us for decades, a consequence of the increasingly blurry lines between our professional and personal lives. On this episode, Malesic...

The pandemic has forced many of us to rethink our answers to some of life’s deepest questions: How should we treat other people? Should we practice a religion? Does it matter what we believe? What would make our lives meaningful?  Thankfully, we’re not alone. Virtue ethics, as Notre Dame’s Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko contend, offers a method for reasoning about, and gaining new insights into...

It’s our favorite time of year here on the Commonweal Podcast. On this special episode, we revisit four of our best interviews from 2021: Phil Klay elucidates the complexities of modern warfare. Rita Ferrone explains how Catholic tradition evolves. Alice McDermott tells us what made her decide to become a writer. And Susannah Heschel describes how the spiritual legacy of her father, Rabbi Abraham...

When the first pandemic lockdowns began back in March 2020, acclaimed novelist Yiyun Li took to social media with a modest proposal: a communal reading of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece War & Peace, complemented by daily reflections and live conversation on Twitter. Li’s invitation met with a hearty response from readers around the world: hundreds participated in the online book club. Some of their com...

In 1940, a group of armed, anti-Semitic Catholic militants were arrested by the FBI in Brooklyn and charged with plotting to overthrow the U.S. government. All were members of the Christian Front, a radical rightwing group inspired by Catholic theology and galvanized by the preaching of notorious “radio priest” Fr. Charles Coughlin. On this episode, we speak with Charles Gallagher, a historian at...

The November issue of Commonweal featured a special package of stories on Catholic religious communities in the broadest sense of the term, including religious orders, secular institutes, lay ecclesial movements, pious houses, and houses of hospitality. Despite the variety of communities surveyed, some key themes emerged: the difficulty of adapting to new circumstances, the relationship of communi...

Even as political leaders gather in Glasgow to discuss global solutions to climate change, why is it that the most basic facts of climate science still aren’t being taught in classrooms here at home? On this episode, Commonweal assistant managing editor Isa Simon speaks with Katie Worth, an investigative reporter and author of the forthcoming book Miseducation: How Climate Change Is Taught in Amer...

The murder of eleven Jews at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue three years ago in October 2018 was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. On this episode, journalist Mark Oppenheimer, author of the new book Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and The Soul of a Neighborhood, joins Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi for a wide-ranging discussion of the aftermath of that...

Six weeks after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, can we really say that America is no longer a country at war? On this episode, we’re featuring two reflections—one political, the other philosophical—on America’s “forever war.” Longtime Commonweal contributor and historian Andrew J. Bacevich explains the little-understood Carter Doctrine, and why it needs to go, while fiction writer and Marine...

Our modern food system and its reliance on industrial farming practices has caused considerable harm in rural communities, breaking up family farms and scarring the environment.   That’s a shame, argues journalist Gracy Olmstead, because the legacy of these small farms, and the communities they nurture, could help make life in America fairer and more meaningful. On this episode, Olmstead joins Com...

This July, Pope Francis largely rescinded permission for priests to celebrate the so-called “Extraordinary Form” of the Roman Rite, also known as the Tridentine Mass. The move generated considerable controversy, especially among Catholics in the United States. On this episode, longtime Commonweal contributing writer Rita Ferrone draws on her extensive knowledge of liturgical history to explain the...

For National Book Award winner Alice McDermott, being a writer is a lot like being a believer. You get used to uncertainty, and become comfortable living in the dark. On this episode McDermott, a frequent Commonweal contributor, shares a career’s worth of insights on the art of fiction with managing editor Katie Daniels. She also recounts the moment when she realized she would be a writer, and dis...

Commonweal editor-at-large Molly Wilson O’Reilly addresses the U.S. bishops’ misguided approach to President Biden and communion, their missteps in responding to the presidency of Donald Trump, and missed opportunities in ministering to American Catholics during the pandemic. For further reading: ·     The Real Threat to American Catholicism, Mollie Wilson O’Reilly ·     Pastors, not Prophets, The...

Both priest and poet have one vocation: to love. Few know that as well as Spencer Reece—an accomplished poet, former chaplain to the Episcopal Bishop of Madrid, and now the leader of a diverse parish in Queens, NY. In conversation with Commonweal contributing writer Anthony Domestico, in this episode Reece speaks about his new memoir, The Secret Gospel of Mark. For further reading: ·     Celebrati...

The life and thought of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) exerted a profound impact on the history of American religion and social activism. The subject of a new PBS documentary, Spiritual Audacity, Heschel offered prophetic insights into the nature of God, the meaning of justice, and the necessity of Jewish-Christian dialogue. On this episode, we discuss the rabbi’s legacy with two guests:...

Three months into the Biden presidency, with pandemic restrictions at last beginning to ease, author and New Yorker contributor Paul Elie joins us to talk about the state of American Catholicism today. In conversation with editor Dominic Preziosi, Elie addresses Joe Biden’s political strategy, the Church’s stance on LGBT unions and women’s ordination, and the legacy of the abuse crisis. He also hi...

Though often invisible, Islamophobia is still alive in the United States today, from bullying in schools to political scapegoating to violence at houses of worship. On this episode, we speak with Jordan Denari Duffner, a doctoral student at Georgetown University and author of the new book Islamophobia: What Christians Should Know (and Do) about Anti-Muslim Discrimination. Talking with contributing...

Nearly one hundred days into Joe Biden’s presidency, the new administration is rethinking American foreign policy on a number of fronts—including relations with Iran. On this episode, assistant editor Regina Munch speaks with John Ghazvinian, Executive Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the book America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present. Ghazv...

Kirstin Valdez Quade’s debut novel The Five Wounds tells the story of a year in the life of a Mexican-American family, chronicling their struggles as they confront teenage pregnancy, unemployment, and addiction. On this episode, Valdez Quade speaks with Commonweal managing editor Katie Daniels about the value of vulnerability, the religious history of the American southwest, and the importance of...

Ep. 54 – ‘Tell Me Your Story’ Maria Hinojosa’s nearly thirty-year career as a journalist includes reporting for PBS, CNN, and NPR, as well as anchoring and producing the Peabody Award–winning radio program Latino USA. She’s also the founder of Futuro Media, an independent nonprofit that provides a platform for people often overlooked by mainstream journalism. On this episode, Hinojosa speaks with...

Can we “converse” with God? Why can prayer be so difficult, sometimes even impossible? And is there a right way to do it? On this episode Fr. James Martin, author of a new book on prayer, shares his thoughts on these questions, but he also takes on a bigger one: why do humans pray at all? For further reading: ·     Spring Cleaning, Katherine Lucky ·     Perpetual Lent, Claudia Avila Cosnahan ·    ...

At the start of spring training, with opening day a little more than a month away, it’s time to talk about baseball. On this episode, theologian Carmen Nanko-Fernández, whose work focuses on the surprising connections between religion, politics, and popular culture, helps us do just that.  Baseball, Nanko-Fernández explains, is much more than a game. That’s especially true along the U.S.-Mexico bo...

How does great fiction work? Which techniques enable readers to lose themselves in plots and connect with characters? On this episode, celebrated novelist and short story writer George Saunders shares the lessons he’s learned from Russian masters like Chekhov and Tolstoy. The best literary works, Saunders tells Commonweal literary editor Anthony Domestico, are much more than something beautiful or...