PODCAST · religion
The Commonweal Podcast
by Commonweal Magazine
Conversations at the intersection of politics, religion, and culture: Commonweal Magazine editor Dominic Preziosi hosts The Commonweal Podcast, a regular compendium of in-depth interviews, discussions, and profiles presented by Commonweal’s editors and contributors.
Episodes
-
Ep. 167 - The Objects We Call Bibles
What happens when we read the Bible? Why do we read it? What does it do to us? There are at least as many answers as there are people. Our interpretations of the Bible depend not only on what we read—which texts, which translations, etc.—but how and especially with whom we read it. On this…
more -
Ep. 166 - A Middle Way for AI?
Debates over artificial intelligence tend to vacillate between the poles of blustery optimism and spiraling despair, with AI boosters making stratospheric claims for the technology just as critics vociferously denounce its capacity for disruption. But could there in fact be a via media on AI, a...
-
Ep. 165 - Is Anti-Vaxx Really Anti-Science?
Vaccines have encountered resistance ever since they were invented in the late eighteenth century. But vaccine skepticism has never been as vocal—or as widespread—as it has become in the United States in recent years. Much of that has to do with the policies of the Trump administration, in...
-
Ep. 164 - How to Exit ‘Enemy Mode’ on Immigration
Even as Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to plummet across the country, voters in the deep-red state of Wyoming, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than six to one, remain solidly in support of the president. So it took real courage for Bishop Steven…
more -
The City and the Cross—Episode 3: Dots on a Map
Following the 1989 parish closures, the infrastructure that had supported Black Catholic leadership in Detroit was largely dismantled. Surviving parishes tried to rebuild community, while parishes that were merged struggled to forge new identities. Meanwhile, Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the archbishop...
-
The City and the Cross—Episode 2: A Padlock on All the Doors
In September 1988, Cardinal Edmund Szoka, the archbishop of Detroit, announced via a closed-circuit television broadcast that the archdiocese would close dozens of inner-city parishes in Detroit within a year. Churches on the city’s predominantly Black east side would be disproportionately...
-
Ep. 163 - ‘A Coherent Picture of Reality’
What can I know? What must I do? What may I hope? These questions, originally formulated by philosopher Immanuel Kant, are some of the most essential ones that we ask. Attempting to answer them can take a lifetime, if we can answer them at all. On this episode, we’re featuring an interview with...
-
The City and the Cross—Episode 1: From the Ground Up
In the first episode of Commonweal's new podcast series, The City and the Cross, host and inaugural Centennial Fellow Aaron Robertson traces the origins and flowering of Black Catholic Detroit throughout the twentieth century—from the era of Jim Crow, when Black Catholics were regularly excluded...
-
The City and the Cross—Series Trailer
In Commonweal's first narrative podcast series, inaugural Centennial Fellow Aaron Robertson chronicles the rise, erosion, and defiant survival of Black Catholic Detroit—a community that led its own spiritual renaissance in the 1960s and 1970s only to watch the institutional Church fail to sustain...
-
Ep. 162 - Subversive Cartography
For as long as humans have been able to write, they’ve made maps. Sometimes maps show paths to the sacred. More often, they depict borders and boundaries, becoming tools of exclusion and control. Not so for Sandy Rodriguez, a third-generation Chicana artist based in Los Angeles. Her work, made…
more -
Ep. 161 - Catholicism and Community Organizing
As bad as things have gotten for democracy in America, it no longer suffices to simply denounce those in power. Nor is it enough to march, call members of Congress, or vote, important though all of those things are. Instead we have to find new ways of building power—a process that begins with...
-
Ep. 160 - Humble Work
Catholics have been thinking about vocations for a long time—and not only in terms of becoming a priest or member of a religious order. The Church teaches that every person is called by God to do something particular, to play some unique role in the ongoing creation and salvation of the world.…
more -
Ep. 159 - Reclaiming Attention
Too many of us spend too much time on our phones. We know by now—through whistleblower reports, congressional hearings, and our daily lived experience—that these devices, neutral in themselves, can and often do cause serious harm. Can we learn to live without them again? Would we even want to? On...
-
Ep. 158 - ‘My First War’
When he was missioned to Beirut last fall, Fr. Doug Jones, a recently ordained Jesuit priest, expected to spend his time conducting research and administering sacraments. But since the beginning of Israel’s war with Hezbollah on March 2, Fr. Jones finds himself scanning social media for air…
more -
The Black Church and Progressive Politics: A conversation with Gary Dorrien
Hosts and Commonweal contributors Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Nick Tabor chat with Gary Dorrien, professor at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, about the life and legacy of Jesse Jackson and the Black social gospel tradition. They explore Dorrien's own intellectual journey from...
-
On the Altar: A conversation with historian Jonathan Sheehan
Hosts and Commonweal contributors Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Nick Tabor chat with Jonathan Sheehan, professor of European history at UC Berkeley, about his new book, On the Altar: A History of Sacrifice from the Sacred to the Secular (Princeton University Press). Together, they explore the…
more -
Revelation and Reporting: A conversation with journalist Daniel Silliman
Hosts and Commonweal contributors Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Nick Tabor chat with reporter Daniel Silliman about his tenure at Christianity Today, his bombshell reporting on Ravi Zacharias, the current state of Evangelicals—and more. Episode production and original music by Joel Myers.
-
American Charisms: A conversation with 'Spellbound' author Molly Worthen
Hosts and Commonweal contributors Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Nick Tabor discuss Spellbound : How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump with author Molly Worthen, professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Episode production and original...
-
Christianity's American Fate
Hosts and Commonweal contributors Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins and Nick Tabor introduce the podcast and discuss the book Christianity's American Fate: How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular by David Hollinger, the Preston Hotchkis Professor of History at the University of...
-
An End-of-the-Year Message
Editor Dominic Preziosi updates listeners of The Commonweal Podcast.
-
Ep. 157 - The Counterweight: MAGA vs. the World
A central tenet of the MAGA movement is the Trump administration's "America First" foreign-policy agenda. To fulfill this agenda, it has slashed foreign aid, launched a trade war with the United States’ most reliable trading partners, and threatened to abandon NATO and our most trusted allies....
-
Ep. 156 - The Counterweight: The Common Good & American Liberalism
A little more than eight months into the second Trump presidency, many Americans today find the United States increasingly unrecognizable: a volatile and inflationary economy, rising political violence, and brazen corruption at all levels of government don’t appear to be going away anytime soon.…
more -
Ep. 155 - The Counterweight: Against White Christian Nationalism
One of the most prominent features of the second Trump administration has been its bluntly racist actions and policymaking. Recent examples abound, from the suspension of asylum for migrants and refugees, the all-out war on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in federal agencies and higher...
-
Ep. 154 - The Counterweight: Reclaiming Catholic Social Teaching
Since becoming pope, Leo XIV has reminded us that the Catholic Church “offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching.” That tradition is especially salient now, amid the rise of Christian nationalism and of alternative interpretations of Catholicism among some high-profile politicians in...
-
Ep. 153 - It’s Just Wrong
For decades, public support for the death penalty in the United States has been declining. But in recent years, the number of executions has risen sharply—and a majority of Americans still say they support capital punishment. What’s needed, argues Atlantic staff writer Elizabeth Bruenig, is not...
-
Ep. 152 - Crypto-Religiosity
It’s often remarked that America has become less religious, especially during recent decades. But what if that religiosity hasn’t disappeared, but just taken less visible forms? That’s exactly what was happening in the arts in 1980s NYC, argues Paul Elie, author of The Last Supper: Art, Faith…
more -
Ep. 151 - The First U.S. Pontiff
The swift elevation to the papacy of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost—known simply as ‘Bob’ among his fellow Augustinian friars—defied pundits’ predictions even as it was met with joy by Catholics around the world. It’s impossible to say just how Leo XIV’s papacy will unfold, though…
more -
Ep. 150 - Remembering Francis
Three theologians—Massimo Faggioli, Susan Bigelow Reynolds, and Terence Sweeney—reflect with Commonweal editors on the pope’s legacy. More coverage of the death of Pope Francis: Isabella Simon on Let Us Dream César J. Baldelomar on Laudato Si’ Griffin Oleynick on Evangelii gaudium
-
Ep. 149 - When the Good Book Isn’t a Book
Catholics listen to snippets of the Bible read every Sunday, but how many of them actually sit with and ponder the text? It’s long been a truism that Catholics don’t actually read the Bible — at least not as much or in the same way as their Protestant brethren. But that doesn’t mean Catholics…
more -
Ep. 148 - What Novels Do
What should great fiction do for us? That’s the question asked by Edwin Frank, editorial director of New York Review Books and author of Stranger than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel. Good books—and there were many written during the past hundred years—can entertain, just as they…
more -
Ep. 147 - The New ‘Preeminent Urgency’
In his first month back in office, Donald Trump has made cruelty toward migrants and refugees central to his agenda, while J. D. Vance has used his flawed understanding of Catholic social teaching to justify the administration’s plans for mass deportation. Their actions and remarks have alarmed...
-
Ep. 146 - Aging in America
Fights over federal spending usually follow a predictable pattern, with Republicans attempting to cut entitlement programs as Democrats seek to expand the social safety net. One thing that’s rarely threatened, though, is Social Security, a testament to the political clout of “older…
more -
Ep. 145 - Memory Matters
For as long as humans beings have existed, we have had a knack for forgetting—not only when memory proves difficult, but when it becomes inconvenient. We need only look at Donald Trump’s pardoning of the January 6 “hostages” for the latest, most egregious example. Why do humans long to forget?…
more -
Ep. 144 - Best Interviews of 2024
As you probably know by now, 2024 was a big year for Commonweal, marking one hundred years of continuous publication. It was also an important one for the podcast, which for five years—and nearly one hundred and fifty episodes—has been bringing you reflective conversations with inspiring writers,...
-
Ep. 143 - ‘Hope Grows in the Dark’
What does it mean to “have hope,” especially during challenging times? Is it something we can possess, like a talisman to ward off despair? No, argues Norman Wirzba, distinguished professor of Christian theology at Duke and author of the new book Love’s Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis....
-
Ep. 142 - ‘What Backlash Looks Like’
In the wake of the 2024 election, many are wondering how to make sense of the results—including how a capable, qualified woman could lose to a man like Donald Trump, an adjudicated rapist whose campaign regularly celebrated a version of masculinity that many find offensively misogynistic. On this...
-
Ep. 141 - Follow the Money
The invitation-only Catholic prelature known as Opus Dei, founded in Spain in 1927 by the recently canonized priest Josemaría Escrivá, currently counts just around 3,000 members in the United States. Yet its influence, especially among rightwing Catholics who occupy significant posts in…
more -
Ep. 140 - Fewer Screens, More Meaning
It’s no secret that there’s a mental health crisis affecting young people in the United States. Rates of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and even suicide attempts have hit record highs. That’s partly what motivated Anna Moreland and Thomas Smith to write The Young Adult Playbook, a kind of...
-
Ep. 139 - Detroit’s Black Christian Utopia
The Trump campaign has made us all too familiar with the ideology of Christian Nationalism, with its violent rhetoric and racist undertones. Far less well-known, though, is the tradition of Black Christian Nationalism, a radical social and religious movement founded by Rev. Albert Cleage, Jr., in...
-
Ep. 138 - The Work AI Can’t Do
Corporate boosters of artificial intelligence promise that the technology will vastly improve efficiency in the world of work. But is that actually desirable? On this episode, associate editor Regina Munch speaks with University of Virginia sociologist Allison Pugh, whose new book The Last Human...
-
Ep. 137 - Epic in the Everyday
Garth Greenwell’s latest novel, Small Rain, is set in a midwestern ICU during the early days of the pandemic, as its unnamed narrator, a writer, experiences a health crisis and lies confined to his bed in excruciating pain. In long pauses between visits with nurses and doctors, amid the weird...
-
Ep. 136 - Are Catholic Colleges Unique?
As the fall semester begins, colleges and universities are bracing for fresh controversies over free speech, affordability, and the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence. On this episode, Tania Tetlow, the first layperson and first woman to serve as the president of Fordham University,...
-
Ep. 135 - When A Church Dies
Religious disaffiliation, the drifting away of Americans from their churches, isn’t a new story. But it’s certainly a true one. And yet it’s also not the whole story, as veteran New Yorker journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold argues in her new book, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with...
-
Ep. 134 - Whose Paris?
The 2024 Paris Olympics have brought massive investment to the City of Light, including the construction of new housing, sports facilities, and public transportation. Yet we shouldn’t let that obscure a more sinister phenomenon: gentrification, which has rapidly transformed many of the city’s...
-
Ep. 133 - ‘Live from Death Row’
Alim Braxton, a convicted murderer who admits his guilt, has been incarcerated in North Carolina prison for more than thirty years, spending seven years in solitary confinement and many more on death row. He was once hopeless, but after his conversion to Islam many years ago, he began working for...
-
Ep. 132 - The Glory of ‘Too Much’
Egalitarianism remains one of the core tenets of most liberals and progressives. But does the idea that everyone ought to be equal in the sphere of political economy also hold true for the realm of culture? Absolutely not, argues Becca Rothfeld, nonfiction book critic at the Washington Post and...
-
Ep. 131 - How to Talk About Having Kids
In the past, having kids was simply taken for granted. It was just a thing a person did, like going to college or getting a job. But now, in the face of rising costs and environmental degradation, more and more millennials and zoomers are questioning whether they should become parents at all. On...
-
Ep. 130 - What Plants Know (And Why We Should Care)
Can trees ‘hear’? Can flowers ‘see’? Are shrubs ‘intelligent’? A decade ago, these questions might have seemed absurd. But an emerging scientific consensus posits that plants are much more like animals than previously thought. On this episode, managing editor Isa Simon speaks with Zoë Schlanger…
more -
Ep. 129 - Judaism’s Loving Heart
One of the misconceptions about Judaism is that the religion is concerned primarily with justice and the law, not love and grace. That’s precisely backward, argues Rabbi Shai Held, president and dean of the Hadar Institute in New York and author of the new book Judaism Is About Love. Jewish...
-
Ep. 128 - Diagnosing Disadvantage in America
For decades, discussions of poverty and inequality in America have tended to focus on cities. That’s understandable—cities are often the places where income disparities are most visible. But as poverty researchers Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Schaefer, and Timothy Nelson argue in their recent book The...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Conversations at the intersection of politics, religion, and culture: Commonweal Magazine editor Dominic Preziosi hosts The Commonweal Podcast, a regular compendium of in-depth interviews, discussions, and profiles presented by Commonweal’s editors and contributors.
HOSTED BY
Commonweal Magazine
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Commonweal Podcast have?
The Commonweal Podcast currently has 201 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Commonweal Podcast about?
Conversations at the intersection of politics, religion, and culture: Commonweal Magazine editor Dominic Preziosi hosts The Commonweal Podcast, a regular compendium of in-depth interviews, discussions, and profiles presented by Commonweal’s editors and contributors.
How often does The Commonweal Podcast release new episodes?
The Commonweal Podcast publishes regularly with 201 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Commonweal Podcast?
You can listen to The Commonweal Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Commonweal Podcast?
The Commonweal Podcast is created and hosted by Commonweal Magazine.
URL copied to clipboard!