John W. Martens

What Matters Most

Religion EN ↓ 106 episodes

What Matters Most is focused on listening to people and what is on their minds, particularly dealing with the big questions of religion and spirituality. It emerges from the Centre for Christian Engagement, a Centre at St. Mark's College, the Catholic college at UBC, but our programming is intended for all interested parties, Catholic or not. In the What Matters Most podcast, we talk to people, some well-known, some not so well-known, some Catholic, some Christian, some not affiliated with any religion, some affiliated with other faiths (Muslims, Sikhs) to find out what matters to them. It is...

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Author

John W. Martens

Episodes

The World in An Acorn: A Conversation with Martin Strong 14.12.2022 1:00:24

Martin Strong is a veteran of radio in Vancouver, starting out as an announcer and writer in the 1980s at CFOX. He then moved to the Bro Jake Show at Rock 101 and hosting at Roundhouse Radio. He also wrote and hosted "Radio Shangri-La" for the CBC under the pseudonym "Marty Beaumont," which featured the best in cocktail lounge music (Frank, Dean, Sammy, etc.). The show ran nationally in various ti...

From Rock and Roll to Remembering Fr. Ed: A Conversation with Dawn Eden Goldstein 29.11.2022 58:44

In this conversation I speak with Dr. Dawn Eden Goldstein about her new biography Fr. Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor . We focus on the life of Fr. Ed, his own struggles to become a priest, his debilitating medical issues, and his indelible mark on AA and the founder of AA Bill W. I hope that when we talk again, we can discuss some of the other books she has written and her own spiri...

Reimagining Biblical Animals: A Conversation with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Part 2 15.11.2022 23:48

In part 2 of my conversation with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of Inter-Religious Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology, we speak about her book Mouth of the Donkey: Reimagining Biblical Animals , a book that rekindles wonder about animals and their place in human lives and in creation. Laura is also Professor Emerita of Philosophy at University of North...

Flooded in Divine Presence: A Conversation with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Part 1 03.11.2022 59:50

In this episode I speak with Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, a professor from Vancouver School of Theology, about her integrated life as a philosopher, rabbi, and professor of Judaism at a Christian school of theology. Rabbi Laura brings a thoughtful approach to the spiritual life, seeing God throughout creation and the natural world, an understanding of God inspired by kabbalah. We also talk about the...

Art Shines Light and Exposes Darkness in the Spiritual Life: A Conversation with Michael W. Higgins 18.10.2022 58:38

Michael W. Higgins is an educator, professor, university President, author, and journalist. Most recently he was President of St. Mark's College at UBC. We talked about Pope Francis and his life in academia and as a journalist. Finally we turned to focus on the necessary role for the arts to shine a light on the truth and expose the darkness in the spiritual life.

"Neither Categories nor Stereotypes, These are Real People": A Conversation with Father Jim Martin 07.10.2022 58:56

In this episode, I discuss with Fr. Jim Martin, a Roman Catholic priest based in New York City, his outreach to the LGBTQ community and his associated book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. We also talk about his pilgrimage to Israel and Jesus, which lead to his book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage . Th...