The Leader’s Way

The Rev. Dr. Danielle Tumminio Hansen joins Hannah and Brandon for an enriching discussion about teaching theology using pop culture (Harry Potter), trauma-informed spiritual care, and new frontiers in the theology of abortion.   Hosts: Brandon Nappi and Hannah Black Guest: Danielle Tumminio Hansen Production: Goodchild Media Music: Wayfaring Stranger, Theodicy Jazz Collective Art: Ella Landino  ...

Renowned author and spiritual leader Parker Palmer joins Brandon and Hannah to explore the world of leadership and teaching. Palmer shares stories from his life, including profound mystical experiences, bouts of clinical depression, and classroom successes. The conversation underscores the importance of listening and trusting in leadership and teaching. This episode is a heartfelt exploration of t...

This special Halloween episode focuses on the Salem witch trials with a focus on what church leaders can learn from this period of history. Dr. Kenneth Minkema—Executive Editor of The Works of Jonathan Edwards and of the Jonathan Edwards Center & Online Archive at Yale University—teaches us about the witch trials in New England, highlighting their religious and social contexts, the dynamics of...

Brandon and Hannah chat about why the podcast is called The Leader’s Way. We hear Brandon’s definition of leadership and talk about the courage, vulnerability, and commitment required of leaders. We hear Brandon’s vocation story and reflect on the work we do, offering continuing education to church leaders.

In part 2 of our recording with a live studio audience, Bishop Barber breaks down how spiritual leaders are either prophets of the kingdom or chaplains to empire. He takes questions from the audience about the relationship between Episcopal tradition and moral demands, interfaith leadership, and leadership amid the military-industrial complex. Hosts: Brandon Nappi and Hannah Black Guest: William B...

The Rev. Dr. William Barber joined us at the Berkeley Center with a live studio audience for this episode of The Leader's Way Podcast, which will be released in 2 parts. Barber tells his vocation story and explains how morality is the key to nonpartisan spiritual leadership in politics. He talks about the "least of these" as a central part of moral engagement in politics and takes us inside a UN c...

The Very Rev’d Randy Hollerith, Dean of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, joins us as we continue thinking about leading churches through especially political times. He talks about the church’s role as being a voice for the “better way”: the promotion of values like unity and love in contrast to what we often see in the world around us. He talks about the cathedral’s role in politics as on...

A rare mostly unserious episode amid serious times: Brandon and Hannah take a moment one year into the show to reflect on past episodes and celebrate the new podcast art and music. We play the inaugural Golden Retriever Games: “Taylor or Dante?” and “The Question Game.”

Kaitlyn Schiess is an author (The Liturgy of Politics and The Ballot and the Bible) and podcaster (The Holy Post and Curiously, Kaitlyn). She joins us to talk about leadership during an election season and how spiritual formation is at the heart of our political engagement. We talk about everything from how to talk about politics at Thanksgiving dinner to how to preach when politics are involved.

Father and son Richard and Christopher Hays discuss their new book The Widening of God’s Mercy: Sexuality Within the Biblical Story. This book seeks to take the Bible seriously by taking more of the Bible seriously. These authors do not focus solely on the prooftexts that have been used to deny LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the church, nor do they try to write them off. In this book, New Testament profess...

The Rev’d Rob Fisher tells the story of St. John’s Lafayette Square in Washington, DC. He tells us stories about Presidents Madison and Lincoln and reminds us that the church’s history, including having lived through the American Civil War, gives us perspective. He talks about the life of the church in 2020 and tells stories of Trump’s photo op, a Molotov cocktail, the pandemic, and more. He tells...

The Rev’d Rob Fisher is Rector of St. John’s Lafayette Square, known as the “Church of the Presidents.” He joins us to talk about his vocation story and what it’s like to be the priest at a church where people’s lives and careers revolve around politics. Join us next week for part 2, where Fisher discusses what it was like to be the rector of St. John’s during the events of 2020.   Hosts: Brandon...

Yale Professor Willie Jennings joins us to talk about the relationship between race and theology. We break down how this relationship manifests in Zionism, supercessionism, and Christian nationalism. We break these ideas down to understand where they have come from and what they are. We talk about the bizarreness of being introduced to academic theology, and we consider the ways in which theology...

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eliza Griswold joins us to talk about her new book Circle of Hope, a compelling and honest portrait of a progressive evangelical church. Griswold’s immersive journalism brings into focus how one church was impacted by division brought about by events like the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Dr. Kwok Pui Lan joins us to share wisdom from her 2023 book The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective. We talk about what a postcolonial perspective is and how it can color our thinking on topics from the history and identity of the Anglican Church to the ecological crisis and more.

The Rev’d Sarah Condon, co-host of Mockingcast, joins Hannah to talk about the twists and turns of life…in particular, vocation and grief.

Simeon Zahl, Professor of Christian Theology at the University of Cambridge, joins us to talk about the Holy Spirit. Our conversation ranges from who the Holy Spirit is to how we understand Christian experience to how the Book of Common Prayer is written with emotion in mind.

Brian McLaren joins us to share some of the riches from his new book Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart. The conversation names a feeling many of us have in our current world and helps us locate hope in the midst of it all.

Professors Amy Carr and Christine Helmer join Hannah to talk about their new, timely book, Ordinary Faith in Polarized Times: Justification and the Pursuit of Justice. We take a moment in this season leading up to the presidential election to discuss high-conflict times and how we can move toward good conflict. We talk about how Christians can create space for conversation because of their status...

Executive Director of El Hogar Denise Vargas joins us to talk about entrepreneurship. She helps us think in an entrepreneurial way about ministry and grounds innovation in community. We also take a while to chat about Vargas’s life as a poet, to hear some of her poetry, and to talk about how poetry intersects with the work she does at El Hogar.

Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove joins us from the Yale Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. He describes the making of white, Christian nationalism and helps us see a different path forward, following the teachings of Jesus. He walks us through the reality of the New Right in the 1970s as a way for us to understand our positionality headed into the 2024 election.

Astrophysicist Graziella di Tulliio Zinn joins Brandon and Hannah to chat about the beauty of the stars, Graziella’s experience of being a Christian astronomer, the Big Bang, the theology of Disney’s movie Wish, UFOs, the ethics of space junk, astrology, prayer, and more.

Father Lizzie and Mother Laura join us to talk about their vocation stories, how they each ended up doing digital ministry (accidentally), and why they joined forces to create their new podcast, “And Also With You.”

Academic Dean of Westcott House Karen O’Donnell joins us from Cambridge for an intro to feminist theology. Dr. O’Donnell describes what feminist theology and trauma theology are, talks about her own journey into these fields, and considers where we go from here. Brandon, Hannah, and Karen (of course) also talk prayer and hope.

The 104th Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams joins Brandon and Hannah to talk about church unity in the face of difference, vocation, and prayer. He explains how to engage in contemplative prayer and offers hope for the future of the church.