Podcasts

Karen Sue Smith, editorial director of America, reports on obstacles to health care reform and why despite growing opposition the passage of a bill is more likely today than 1994. Also, a closer look at the uninsured. For more on this subject read Karen Smith’s blog posts on the path to health care reform.

Alon Ben-Meir of New York University analyzes U.S. strategy in Afghanistan under President Barack Obama and offers commentary on the upcoming Afghan election. Read Professor Ben-Meir’s article, “Obama’s Long War,” from the August 17-24 issue.

Now the dean of Fordham Law School in New York, William Michael Treanor served for three years in the president’s Office of Legal Counsel, a branch of the executive that was little-known to the general public until legal advisers to President George W. Bush released the infamous “torture memo” in 2002. Treanor, who served under […]

America‘s Book Club reviews Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn, a new novel that chronicles a young Irishwoman’s journey to adulthood in an unfamiliar country. Purchase Brooklyn from amazon.com.

Julie Irwin Zimmerman discusses the difficulties facing Catholics encountering infertility. Too often, she argues, Catholics feel bewildered by the moral implications of the choices offered by the fertility industry. In this environment, the church should do more to reach out to couples weighing these difficult matters, to listen and guide them to a life-affirming decision. […]

Jim McDermott, S.J., describes the terrible beauty of Australia, a country that he experienced as both exotic and familiar. Father McDermott spent seven months down under as part of the final stage of his Jesuit formation. Read his article, “Gone Walkabout,” from the June 22-29 issue of America.

Dave Nantais, a frequent contributor to America‘s pages and a Detroit native, reports on the mood of the Motor City as the American auto industry continues to shrink, what the church is doing to help the unemployed and why the city’s cultural scene continues to hum despite the troubles.

Jaime Lara of Yale Divinity School considers trends in church architecture from early church history when no seating was provided for the congregation to the innovations introduced after Vatican II. Professor Lara also offers a critique of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels” in Los Angeles, and an appreciation of the new Cathedral […]

Robert Sullivan, author of The Meadowlands and How Not To Get Rich and a frequent contributor to the New Yorker and Vogue, talks about rats, swamps and his new book, The Thoreau You Don’t Know. Inspired by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins and the theology of Karl Rahner, Sullivan’s writings seek out the divine […]

As President Barack Obama charts a new course for the country’s educational system, Robert J. Birdsell, the president of the Cristo Rey Network, argues that Catholic schools should have a seat at the table. The potential economic collapse of Catholic schools could become a major issues for the president and his education team, Birdsell says, […]