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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.
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- 1 weeks ago34 min
Ep. 171 - No War Is Just
According to recent reporting, both the U.S. and Israeli militaries are preparing for renewed missile strikes in Iran in early November, on the heels of important elections in both countries. The editors of Commonweal have repeatedly criticized the U.S.-led war in Iran as unwise and unjustifiable. Besides being illegal, it has already ballooned the national debt domestically and tarnished the reputation of the United States abroad. The casualty count stands at around 10,000 killed and wounded, a figure that excludes the deaths of roughly 2,000 Iranian civilians. On this episode, Commonweal senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf speaks with Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Wester has been among the most outspoken religious leaders not only about the immorality of the war in Iran, but modern warfare itself. All wars, Wester argues, are failures: not only of diplomacy, but of our duty to live out the nonviolent demands of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Gospels. For further reading: The editors on Pete Hegseth’s disastrous leadership Heidi Schlumpf on the Catholic Military Conference The editors on the immorality of the Iran War
- 3 weeks ago48 min
Ep. 170 - The Women Behind Civil Rights
The field of history is under fire these days, and not just from conservatives. Perhaps as a result of a need for unambiguous heroes in dark, unsettled times, historians also face pressure to simplify the historical record when it comes to liberal causes—and perhaps nowhere more so than in the country’s long struggle for racial equality. “I wanted to write about Civil Rights in a way that made Martin Luther King, Jr. a bit player,” said Marcia Chatelain, author of the new choral biography How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington. The women featured—among them Rosa Parks, Mahalia Jackson, and Marian Anderson—are imperfect. But that’s exactly what makes them interesting, their stories worth reexamining. On this episode, Chatelain joins Commonweal associate editor Griffin Oleynick to talk about her book, motherhood, and vocation. Plus, senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf speaks with Dominic Preziosi about the latest in Catholic news, including Pope Leo’s health, and the Pentagon toying with the idea of broadcasting an execution, a decision President Trump walked back just after the segment was recorded. For further reading: Marcia Chatelain on Georgetown and slavery Gary Dorrien on the Black Social Gospel Mollie Wilson O’Reilly on Trump’s destructive impulses
- Oct 2, 202640 min
Ep. 169 - Love Songs
Readers of Commonweal and beyond will likely recognize Lawrence Joseph, the author of many books of poetry and prose, and whose work has often appeared in the pages of our magazine. We’re delighted to report that Larry has just published a new collection of poems, entitled Precisely Now. It’s a collection of thirty-two poems, some of which appeared for the first time in Commonweal, that he began shortly after the first election of Donald Trump in 2017 and continued writing right up to the present. They are poems of linguistic compression and colloquial precision that, as our literary critic Anthony Domestico puts it, “match anything published in the past half-century in their formal control and moral witness.” On this episode, senior editor Matthew Boudway talks with Larry Joseph about the new collection, the poet’s process of composition, and the theology of grace. For further reading Anthony Domestico reviews Precisely Now Lawrence Joseph’s poem entitled ‘Now Light’ Lawrence Joseph speaks about So Where Are We?
- Sep 17, 202653 min
Ep. 168 - ‘All We Want Is to Live’
By now, many of us are familiar with the realities of the Trump administration’s violent campaign of mass deportations. But how often do we listen to the stories of some of the most vulnerable victims—young children and teenagers separated from their families? Gabrielle Oliveira, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, did just that. For her ethnographic study Now We Are Here, she followed sixteen migrant families from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and her native Brazil from 2018 to 2021. All of Oliveira’s subjects experienced some form of family separation as a result of U.S. immigration policy under Donald Trump. Yet all also managed to remain in the United States, where their educational journeys remain the single most important factor in their lives. On this episode, Oliveira speaks with Commonweal Director of Mission and Partnership Claudia Avila Cosnahan about how these families have metabolized the trauma of separation. Plus, Commonweal Senior Correspondent Heidi Schlumpf speaks with Dominic Preziosi about the latest in Catholic news, including the midterms, new Catholic converts, and the U.S. Bishops’ pointed letter to Donald Trump on behalf of Haitians living in the United States. For further reading: Heidi Schlumpf on new Catholic converts Jonathan Heaps on the Catholic theologian joining DHS A photo essay of migrants forced to remain in Mexico
- Aug 27, 202641 min
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 episode, professor of spirituality—and editor of the Commonweal Podcast—David Dault joins associate editor Griffin Oleynick to discuss the ethics of reading the Bible, detailed in his new book The Accessorized Bible. Core to Dault’s argument are the Jewish concepts of tikkun olam, or repairing the world, and tzniut, indicating modesty. Reading—and even willfully misreading—the Bible with these in mind can help commit us to liberation instead of coercion, to peacemaking rather than violence. For further reading: Christian Wiman on the Bible as poetry Luke Timothy Johnson on the history of the Bible Sarah Ruden on translating the Bible
- Aug 5, 202647 min
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 path that celebrates technological advances while also respecting limits and safeguards? The key to such a shift, argues ethicist Meghan Sullivan, a professor of philosophy at Notre Dame, where she also directs the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, is a commitment to prioritizing human life over technocratic paradigms. That means, above all, foregrounding human dignity—a concept the Catholic Church is well-positioned to articulate. Plus, Commonweal senior correspondent Heidi Schlumpf reports on Catholic news from the past few weeks, including schism, ICE roundups, and new polling about young people and religion. For further reading: Our symposium on Pope Leo’s Magnifica Humanitas Meghan Sullivan on the DELTA framework for AI Heidi Schlumpf on the ‘tradwife’ phenomenon
- Jul 9, 202648 min
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 particular Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose drastic changes at the CDC have reversed decades of American vaccination policy. But what explains such broad receptivity to vaccine skepticism among wide swaths of Americans? On this episode, Commonweal associate editor Regina Munch speaks with Kiera Ganga Kieffer, a professor of religious studies at Fairfield University. Her new book, Unvaccinated Under God, offers a provocative reading of the history of vaccine hesitancy in America. Anti-vaccination beliefs are less a matter of scientific misinformation, Kieffer argues, than forms of religious expression, in which vaccines themselves become proxies for broader existential concerns about justice and morality. For further reading: Regina Munch on Kennedy’s crusade against vaccination Michael Peppard on persuading anti-vaxxers during the pandemic M. Anthony Mills on rebuilding America’s scientific infrastructure
- Jun 25, 202638 min
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 Biegler—appointed by Pope Francis in 2017 to lead the Diocese of Cheyenne, encompassing all of Wyoming—to promulgate a pastoral letter on migration just a few months ago. Bishop Biegler is keen to point out that Be a Merciful Neighbor is not a political document. Instead it asks Catholics to evaluate policies of mass deportation in light of the values of the Gospel—especially Christ’s unequivocal call to welcome the stranger. On this episode, Bishop Biegler speaks about the letter, and its surprising reception by Wyoming Catholics, with Commonweal Senior Correspondent Heidi Schlumpf. Before their interview, Schlumpf also updates listeners on recent news affecting American Catholics. For further reading: Heidi Schlumpf on the Church’s continued fight on behalf of migrants Pablo Christian Soenen on moral ambiguity in the borderlands Paul Moses on the evils of immigration enforcement under Tom Homan
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About The Commonweal Podcast
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.
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