Podcasts

Applications to religious volunteer programs have risen dramatically this year as a result of the shrinking job market. In “Will Work for Free,” assistant editor Kerry Weber looks at how the influx of volunteers and the poor economic conditions are affecting programs like the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. On our podcast Kerry discusses why she chose […]

The small island of Malta may seem like a surprising choice for a papal visit, but that country’s rich Catholic culture drew Pope John Paul II to travel there twice. Pope Benedict XVI made the trip in April, and U.S. ambassador Douglas W. Kmiec says that the pontiff seemed rejuvenated after his tour of some […]

“Robin Hood” may be inexplicably dreary, and “Iron Man 2” may not match the lively wit of the original, but do not despair: the films of summer 2010 aren’t a complete bust. Film critic John Anderson highlights some smaller films worth looking out for, including “Restrepo,” a documentary about a platoon in Afghanistan, and “Coco […]

Novelist Mary Gordon’s new book, Reading Jesus: a Writer’s Encounter with the Gospels, began as an effort to understand Christian fundamentalism by looking at the primary sources of the Christian tradition. As she examined Jesus’ life and work, she discovered that she did not always agree with Jesus’s teachings, refusing, for example, to heed his […]

Drawing from the new report, Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Policy, Joseph A. Califano Jr. argues that drug treatment is essential to reducing crime outside prison and improving the environment within. This is not a liberal or conservative issue, he argues, but should be embraced by all politicians interested in fighting crime. […]

We feature two online conversations this week: the first is with Clayton Sinyai, right, a member of the Catholic Labor Network and the director of strategic campaigns for the Amalgamated Transit Union. Speaking at a conference on Caritas in Veritate held at Princeton University, Clayton explored what the pope’s latest encyclical has to say about […]

Named by Time magazine in 2001 as the “best theologian in America,” Stanley Hauerwas is a towering figure in theology today, a pacifist and author whose work has sought to integrate a variety of Christian and ethical sources. His new book, Hannah’s Child, is an account of his life in theology that deals frankly with […]

Matt Malone, S.J., a former associate editor at America, reports from London on what may be the closest–and most exciting–race to lead Parliament in decades. What happens if there is a “hung Parliament,” and what role does the Queen play in this scenario? How does the British election compare with its American counterpart? Malone provides […]

Gregory Boyle, S.J., the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention program in the United States, talks about why young people join gangs, and the services his agency offers to “homies” and “home girls” who finally decide they want to leave the gang life. In his new book, Tattoos on the Heart, Fr. Boyle […]

Life in Year One is not a book about Jesus, but about the time in which Jesus lived, explains author Scott Korb. What did people eat, where did they work and worship, and what was their relationship to Roman authorities? Few historical records of the time exist, so looking back at this era requires moral […]