Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching? episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 25, 2025 · 31 MIN

Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching?

from The Smerconish Podcast · host Richard Wood, Michael Smerconish

Dr. Richard Wood is President of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael speaks with Dr. Richard Wood, a leading scholar on religion and democracy, about the passing of Pope Francis and the extraordinary political and spiritual process of selecting his successor. They explore the real-life conclave's inner workings, how much of it is prayer—and how much is politics—and what the next chapter might look like for the Catholic Church. Plus, Michael debates whether viewers will actually get up at 4 a.m. to watch the funeral, and if he's obligated to keep talking papal news when he hits the airwaves on CNN this Saturday morning.

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Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching?

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This episode was published on April 25, 2025.

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Dr. Richard Wood is President of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for...

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