Podcasts

James Martin, S.J., explains why joy and laughter are essential to the spiritual life and why they have been too often neglected in the church. Discussing his new book, Between Heaven and Mirth, Fr. Martin retells some humorous stories from the Bible, and remembers the lives of light-hearted saints like Philip Neri. He also shares […]

In this week’s podcast Associate Editor Kerry Weber interviews Mary Karr, a poet and author of three memoirs. The most recent of these is the bestselling Lit, which describes her struggle with alcoholism and her eventual conversion to Catholicism. Kerry Weber spoke with Karr from the author’s apartment in Manhattan. Read Timothy W. O’Brien’s essay […]

Associate Editors Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., and Kerry Weber join Tim Reidy for a conversation about Manning Marable’s new biography of Malcolm X. Read Fr. Schroth’s review of Marable’s book in the September 26 issue. Also discussed: the controversial memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—why does he look so serious?—and David Brooks’ recent column […]

Jesuit scholastics Kevin Spinale and Tim O’Brien join Tim Reidy for a discussion of Peter De Vries’ 1961 novel The Blood of the Lamb. In this tragicomic tour de force, De Vries chronicles the life of Don Wanderhope, a Calvinist from Chicago who works as a garbageman and spends his nights necking in city parks. […]

Brian B. Pinter offers an intriguing account of his experiences teaching the Bible to Catholics in parishes in New York. A small but vocal minority of parishioners have taken issue with the historical/critical approach he espouses, preferring instead a literal account of Genesis and other Biblical stories. Pinter explains why some Catholics may be taken […]

Historian David O’Brien talks about how September 11 marked a turning point in his identity as an historian and “Americanist” and how impressed he was by the stories of courage and love that grew from that day. In a second interview, Fr. Robert Robbins describes his role in inter-religious relations in New York in the […]

Kevin Clarke leads a discussion with Editorial Director Karen Sue Smith and Editor in Chief Drew Christiansen, S.J. on America’s fiscal woes, an upcoming article in America on American Muslims post-9/11 and the signs of dissatisfaction among the British underclass.

Jennifer Haigh’s novel, Faith, centers on a priest who is accused of sexual abuse in Boston in 2002 and his half-sister who sets out to find the truth. In this installment of America‘s Book Club, Kevin Spinale, S.J., describes the complex relationships among the Irish-Catholic family at the heart of the book, and explains why […]

James Martin, S.J., describes the devastating drought in Eastern Africa, and what Catholics can do to help, and Kerry Weber discusses the challenges facing unemployed workers who are now being told not apply for jobs if they have been out of work for an extended period. Kevin Spinale, S.J., reports on Google’s legal battle to […]

Is the race for the Republican nomination Mitt Romney’s to lose? Will Sarah Palin ever decide whether to run, and can Michelle Bachmann pull a Mike Huckabee at the Iowa stroll poll next month? Can any of these candidates defeat President Obama, even at a time of growing unemployment? Matt Malone, S.J., former associate editor […]