The Jim Wallis Podcast

Dr. Eddie Glaude, the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of African American Studies at Princeton University and former president of the American Academy of Religion, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the need for a profound change in America that he calls the "The Third Founding." Glaude says, "The third founding tries to disrupt this idea [of] who white Americans tak...

How did white people justify racism for so long in this country? Heather McGhee, the co-chair of Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the legacy of racism in the United States and the lies that allow America’s original sin to be perpetuated to this day. “The whitewashing and posthumous glorification of our society's agitators a...

Rev. Jeffrey L. Brown serves as associate pastor of the historic Twelfth Baptist church in Boston, one of the oldest African American churches in the nation. Rev Brown is also one of the architects of the Boston Miracle, a proven successful methodology that is being replicated across the country and around the world to reduce gang violence. Rev. Brown spoke with Rev. Jim Wallis about his work to s...

The Right Reverend Robert Wright, the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, speaks with Rev. Wallis about the original sin of racism and how we need to find empathy through proximity. "George Floyd, a man was publicly asphyxiated, violently asphyxiated for the entire world to see, not unlike the public asphyxiation that happened on Calvary. We see this and we've got to speak up. If the...

Civil rights advocate Cecilia Muñoz was an eyewitness to history as she helped shape the Obama administration's immigration reform policies, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) program for the people many now refer to as "Dreamers." Muñoz tells Rev. Jim Wallis, "We have large numbers, 10 or 11 million undocumented people, [who] Congress has rendered deportable, but w...

Third generation historian John Whittington Franklin discusses the history of African Americans with Rev. Jim Wallis. They discuss how Black history is integral to a larger American historical narrative.  Franklin says, "As Americans, we all need to know each other's history, as well as our own. That's the only way we will be complete." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privac...

Sikh American civil rights activist and lawyer Valarie Kaur talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about The Revolutionary Love Project. Kaur finds examples of revolutionary love across many faith traditions: "When we think about Jesus has called to love our neighbor as ourself; or Abraham's decision to open his tent to all; or Buddha to have compassion for all; or Mohammad's to take in the orphan; or Mirabai...

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the potential for a Kairos moment during the unprecedented crisis our nation is facing. Coons says, "A basic fundamental change can happen because there is the action of God in history, touching hearts, moving people ... When there is sin, when there is brokenness, when there's division, we can't be reconciled to each other until there is...

How do you balance the sometimes competing demands of religion and democracy? Religious and legal scholar Melissa Rogers talks with Rev. Jim Wallis on about the fine line that is sometimes hard to distinguish when examining our duty to our religion and our government. Rogers says, "You think about this pandemic and the way that government and all institutions, including religious institutions had...

Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about our need to focus our outrage on the tragic death of George Floyd and the systemic structures that caused it. She warns against being distracted by Donald Trump's brazen attempt to falsely cloak himself with spiritual authority by staging a photo op in front of St. John's, Lafa...

Whitney Parnell, Founder and CEO of Service Never Sleeps, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd about systemic racism, white privilege, and the hope for our collective future. Parnell says, "White supremacy is the institutionalization of white dominance and power. And racism is the structural upholding of that[...] Being born as a white person, you are born into...

As we pass the horrifying milestone of 100,000 American deaths to the coronavirus, we’re using the hashtag #Lament100k to urge people to pause — to lament . Rev. Jim Wallis tells us, "We must stop. We must weep. We must mourn. We must honor. And we must lament." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Robert P. Jones the CEO and Founder of the Public Religion Research Institute ( https://www.prri.org/staff/robert-p-jones-ph-d/ ) and a leading scholar and commentator on religion, culture, and politics speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis on the impact and the importance of polling in the Presidential Election season and the impact of COVID-19 on the perceptions of people of faith. Jones says, "We've...

Rev. Jim Wallis talks with Myungsung Church's lead pastor Rev. Hana Kim about South Korea's response to COVID-19 and the moral, ethical, and religious imperative we have to help the most vulnerable as Jesus commands, many of whom are more at-risk during this global crisis. Kim says, "We have to reclaim Jesus in this crisis. I'm trying to be a true believer and if you're a true believer, you must e...

Rev. Jim Wallis talks with theologian and immigrant advocate Karen González about the lessons of immigration in the Bible. The metrics of the COVID-19 pandemic show how disproportionately affected our immigrant and refugee neighbors have been. González says, "The story of the Bible isn't just a story of moving from being lost to being saved, but it's one of being a foreigner and mov...

President-elect of Bread for the World Rev. Eugene Cho talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the need for faith leaders to speak out about politics in the time of the coronavirus. "I think the word 'politics,' for lots of reasons, it's grown to become this difficult, challenging word in our culture and context. Especially I think in the evangelical context," Cho said. "... That's not the only thing tha...

Ahead of Mother's Day, New York times bestselling author and historian of Christianity at Duke Divinity School, Kate Bowler and Rev. Jim Wallis dig into a meaningful discussion about what being human looks like amid a global pandemic. From waking up in the morning to parent and raise a child to navigating the inevitable suffering life brings, Kate provides a clarifying voice and perspect...

Marie Dennis, senior advisor and former co-president of Pax Christi International, and Rev. Jim Wallis analyze the importance of government social programs to provide true security to our nation. Dennis says, "What we're seeing in this pandemic is the result of a distorted sense of priorities for years in our own country, and that is echoed in the rest of the world. What we're seeing is the need t...

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale, the founder and senior pastor of the Ray of Hope Christian Church talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the need to observe the Sabbath during this time of the COVID-19 crisis.   "The emotional strain of this experience has been undeniable. The uncertainty is a beast. One day when I was feeling overwhelmed by it, all my Apple watch vibrated and when I looked at it, it simply...

Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about state and federal responses to the coronavirus. "We started as part of our overall response to COVID-19, something called our community resiliency and recovery work group, which is really grounded in ensuring that we don't return back to normal and that we are centering people of color, Native Americans, i...

Rev. Dr. Frederick Haynes III and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has further revealed the structural and racial inequalities embedded in our nation and in our society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Billy Shore, founder and chairman of Share Our Strength and the architect of the No Kid Hungry campaign, talks with Rev. Jim Wallis about how to feed the kids who are missing nearly 34 million meals each day now that schools are shuttered because of the coronavirus. "Hopefully one of our responsibilities or charges from a leadership point of view is to help people see how we can make some permanen...

Latin American theologian, missiologist, and educator Ruth Padilla DeBorst and Rev. Jim Wallis discuss the importance of social consciousness in the creation of government policy.  Speaking of government priorities, Padilla DeBorst says, "If there is an awareness that the place of government is to guarantee the wellbeing of people and not just to serve the interests of a few or to line o...

Brian Gallagher, the CEO of United Way Worldwide, speaks with Rev. Jim Wallis about the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on his perspective as the leader of a global network that represents organizations from 40 countries and six continents, Gallagher says, "Extreme political leaders are crushing the soul of our country right now." Addressing extremism from the political righ...

Myrna Pérez, director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, discusses the role of faith in democracy with Rev. Jim Wallis. Pérez and Wallis examine challenges to exercising our right to vote during the pandemic. Together, they discuss the biblical precepts that require all people of faith to defend the voting rights of all Americans, especially those who are the most&nb...