Over my 25 years as a spiritual director, I don’t think I have quoted any line (apart from verses from the Gospels) more than St. Augustine’s dictum, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Podcasts
America offers a number of podcasts. To learn more about each individual podcast series and subscribe for free, please visit http://americamagazine.org/podcasts
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A Scripture scholar breaks down the first witnesses of the risen Christ
What does it mean to preach resurrection into a broken world? In this first episode of our 2026 Easter series, host Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and New Scripture scholar Alberto Solano open up the post-resurrection appearances in John’s Gospel.
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Roundtable: Catholic women react to the Vatican’s report on women’s leadership
In March 2026, the Vatican’s doctrine office released its final report on women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Catholic Church. The report brings to a close the two-year work of Study Group 5, which, as part of the Synod on Synodality, was tasked with studying women’s ministries and leadership. In this special roundtable conversation, editors at America magazine discuss the report’s content and proposals, and ask if the document changes the status quo for women in the Catholic Church.
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Catholic and Anarchist: The spiritual wisdom of Dorothy Day
For the longest time, perhaps over a decade, I’ve been encouraging my good friend Robert Ellsberg, the publisher of Orbis Books, to write a book about the time he spent with Dorothy Day when he was a young college student.
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The inside story of Pope Leo XIV’s election
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle is joined by guest host Ashley McKinless for an interview with Gerard O’Connell and his wife and journalist Elisabetta Piqué about their new book, “The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis.” They discuss pre-conclave maneuvering, including organized resistance to Pope Francis’s reforms, as well as their decision to report conclave details despite Cardinals taking oaths of secrecy.
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Interview: Charlotte’s Bishop Martin on making disciples in a booming diocese, and why we should all care about the liturgy
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Bishop Michael Martin, O.F.M. Conv., of the Diocese of Charlotte. Bishop Martin sparked headlines in 2025 when a document leaked with plans to restrict the Latin Mass and other liturgical practices in his diocese.
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Why do bad things happen to good people? A conversation on suffering with Kate Bowler
Kate Bowler leans, as I do, on a God who accompanies us through our suffering, as she felt God did during her cancer treatments.
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Pope Leo is using every way possible to advocate peace
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerard O’Connell and Colleen Dulle discuss Pope Leo’s consistent statements pushing for peace and an end to armed conflicts worldwide. In the second part of the show, Colleen and Gerry unpack a few brief stories including Pope Leo receiving the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center, his new home in the apostolic palace and the Vatican’s appeals court’s decision for a partial re-trial in the “Trial of the Century.”
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Exploring the Catholic mystical tradition with James Finley
This week on a special episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley, Zac and Jesuitical producer Sebastian have a conversation with Dr. James Finley about first-half-of-life mysticism. Jim is a clinical psychologist and faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation where he teaches and writes on the Christian mystical tradition. He’s also the host of the podcast, “Turning to the Mystics.”
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The Spiritual Life: What is the Sacred Heart?
In my interview on “The Spiritual Life” podcast with the talented Jesuit Cristóbal Fones, S.J., now the executive director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, we talk about his work, his prayer, the pope’s intentions, Ignatian spirituality, music and, not incidentally, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.