Voices of Interfaith America

On this episode of Faith in Elections , Adam Phillips talks with Jennifer Roberts, former mayor of Charlotte and advocate for trusted elections. Roberts discusses her work with the North Carolina Network for Free, Fair, and Safe Elections. She emphasizes the importance of building trust, promoting community engagement, and combating misinformation. Roberts also shares insights from a recent trip t...

In this episode of Faith in Elections, host Adam Phillips speaks with two Muslim leaders about their civic engagement efforts. First, Dr. Dilara Sayeed of the Muslim Civic Coalition shares her work on combating voter apathy, including passing the Wadee Resolution to address rising hate crimes. She emphasizes the need for resilient, engaged communities. Next, Shariq Ghani from the Minaret Foundatio...

In this episode, Jenan Mohajir interviews Dr. Da'Tarvia Parrish, an award-winning and energetic professor at Livingstone College, proud AME Zionite, and author of Jailbirds Don't Fly . Born in prison to an incarcerated parent, Dr. Parrish shares how her faith and community shaped her dedication to civic engagement. She also discusses the role of Historically Black colleges and universities in safe...

In this episode of Faith in Elections , Adam Phillips talks with Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, an evangelical leader from Milwaukee, who discusses how her Christian faith inspires her to promote civic engagement within the Latino community. Reflecting on her journey as an immigrant and her conversion from Catholic to Evangelical, she explains challenges Latino voters face, including misinformation. Patrici...

In the kickoff episode of Faith in Elections, host Jenan Mohajir speaks with Yashpreet Singh Matharu from the Sikh Coalition and Dani Levine from Hillel International. Both guests share how their faith traditions motivate young people to engage in the democratic process, highlighting the importance of civic involvement within the Sikh and Jewish communities. Yashpreet emphasizes the Sikh principle...

In an election season marked by chaos and division, Interfaith America’s Faith in Elections podcast cuts through the noise and deepens the conversation, highlighting the remarkable stories of everyday faith leaders who are working to build bridges and uphold democracy. Join hosts Jenan Mohajir and Adam Phillips as they speak with Interfaith America Faith in Elections grantees about how faith convi...

Voices of Interfaith America is your home for stories of bridgebuilding and engaging diversity productively across the country. This podcast will include shows that reflect the varied experiences and complex landscape of our religiously diverse democracy. This feed will still include episodes of Interfaith America with Eboo Patel, but as we expand to include more voices from interfaith America, yo...

Following a spring semester when universities made headlines, columnist, author, and Professor David Brooks joins Eboo to discuss the need for institutions of higher education to teach diverse viewpoints, broaden definitions of success beyond traditional measures of intelligence, and nurture students as whole persons. Reflecting on past and current trends of hyper conformity and the pressures plac...

In a plenary session for the 2024 Teaching Interfaith Understanding Faculty Seminar, Eboo Patel and outgoing Middlebury College president, Laurie Patton, discuss how Middlebury’s campus culture evolved in the years since 2017, when political scientist Charles Murray’s visit was met with upheaval. Patton elaborates on Middlebury’s conflict transformation efforts, including the successes of the Enga...

Read the full essay here: ‘Will Palestine Still Exist When This War is Over?’ My Answers to My Children’s Questions. Earlier in April, Jenan Mohajir joined her colleague, Rebecca Russo, to narrate their personal stories and reflect on their Jewish-Muslim friendship they insist on maintaining in the face of ongoing devastating news from Israel/Palestine. Listen to the full episode here.  Interested...

If you've ever wondered what bridgebuilding looks like, look no further than Jenan Mohajir and Rebecca Russo. Just two weeks after the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th and the subsequent Israeli bombing and invasion of Gaza, Jenan - who is Muslim and the mother of three beautiful Palestinian children - and Rebecca - who is Jewish and has multiple personal and familial connections to Israel (...

In the face of rising national polarization amid a turbulent election season, Eboo Patel and Mónica Guzmán discuss the role of curiosity, humility, and civil dialogue in a democratic society. They also discuss Guzmán’s new book  I Never Thought of it That Way,  emphasizing the responsibility we all share to embrace diverse perspectives with an inquisitive spirit and reflect on privilege and exclus...

Eboo Patel is joined by American theologian, writer, and editor of Sojourners, Jim Wallis, to discuss his new book The False White Gospel. Wallis shares his belief that white Christian nationalism is an enemy of democracy and pluralism due to its exclusionary theology and emphasis on dominance. They discuss a vision for creating a new, multifaith American church that partners across differences an...

Najeeba Syeed and Eboo Patel explore the ethics and future of interfaith work amid deep divides across religious communities. They focus on the impact of global wars and crises on religious communities and discuss the role of institutions in promoting interfaith understanding through open-mindedness and deep listening. Guest Bio: Najeeba Syeed is the inaugural El-Hibri endowed Chair and Executive...

Widely known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom The Office, Emmy Award nominee Rainn Wilson talks about his new book 'Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution,' the future of religion and spiritual themes in Hollywood, and the spirituality of his famous character Dwight Schrute.   Guest Bio: Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writ...

Ayad Akhtar, American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter, joins Eboo Patel at the Chicago Humanities Festival to discuss art, creativity, and cultural sensitivity. They emphasize the need to engage with and respect different identities in a diverse democracy rather than resorting to simplistic labels like "victim" or "racist."  Bio: Ayad Akhtar is a novelist and playwright. His work has been p...

Prominent law and religion professor John Inazu discusses the political flip-flop of conservative Christians in America, the role of evangelical Christians in creating safe spaces, and the importance of navigating differences with empathy and respect.   Guest Bio: John Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion and holds a joint appointment in the Washington Univers...

Danielle Allen is a political scientist, professor, and director of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Allen explains the Declaration of Independence's error about democracy, how she navigates a cluttered world of power, and the opportunities she sees to marry religious ideologies with civic identities.  Guest Bio: Danielle Allen is James Bryant Conant University Prof...

Jonathan Eig, an American journalist, and biographer, gives us a deeper insight into MLK Jr.'s life as a civil rights activist and the lessons we can still learn from his work about the role of religion in activism. He also discusses MLK's hopes for our nation and why young people today are skeptical of the Church.  Bio: Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including his most recen...

Amanda Ripley is a New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and co-founder of Good Conflict, a media and training company that helps people reimagine conflict. As the violence abroad and at home escalates, Ripley and Patel discuss “high conflict” – what it is, how it impacts individuals and society, and ways to resolve high-conflict situations. GUEST BIO:  Amanda has spent her career trying...

You can tune in to Season 1 and learn more about the podcast on our website , Apple ,  Spotify , and everywhere else you listen to your favorite podcasts.  New episodes drop every Tuesday at 5 a.m. CST.   Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay updated with new episodes, interfaith stories, and our programs.

In Season 2, the Interfaith America with Eboo Patel podcast explores how we engage religious diversity in different sectors of our nation, from Hollywood to politics, journalism to academia. Featuring prominent public figures including Rainn Wilson, Jonathan Eig, and Danielle Allen, Eboo Patel engages in meaningful conversations to understand how our nation’s constantly evolving religious diversit...

More than ever, the world needs builders – people ready to roll up their sleeves and build solutions for the challenges we face. In this season finale episode, Eboo Patel, Founder and President of Interfaith America, speaks with four leaders already building Interfaith America. Grounded in their faith communities and ethical traditions, these panelists respond from their beliefs to provide hope an...

What are constructive ways for leaders in higher education to navigate the inevitable conflicts that emerge in a religiously diverse democracy? Eboo leads a conversation with Maria Dixon Hall, Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Professor of Organizational Communication at Southern Methodist University; Laurie Patton, President of Middlebury College; and Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies a...

 Is the new model for American Judaism a deliciously eclectic Brooklyn food hall or the brick-and-mortar synagogue built by previous generations? Rabbi Joshua Stanton and Rabbi Ben Spratt, who each lead a synagogue in New York City, speak with Eboo about their new book, “Awakenings: American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Leadership, and Belonging.”   Guest Bio: Rabbi Joshua Stanton is spirit...