The America Media Podcast

This week’s guest is Dr. Ashleen Menchaca-Bagnulo, an assistant professor of political science at Texas State University in San Marcos, Tex. She joins the show to discuss her latest article for America: “I’m a Conservative Latina. Is there a place for me in Trump’s Republican Party after Charlottesville?” In her piece, Dr. Menchaca-Bagnulo explores the tensions of being a person of color in an Republican Party. “On the right there’s always been a tendency to have significant problems with race and with racial identity,” she says. Dr. Menchaca-Bagnulo argues this long-running problem is now a crisis for the conservative movement and the Republican Party.

Our guest this week is Kaya Oakes, author of The Nones are Alright: A New Generation of Believers, Seekers, and Those in Between and a contributing writer to America. Ms. Oakes wrote “Sex abuse happens across denominations. Here's how one Protestant minister is helping people heal.” in the Oct. 2 issue of America.

Our guest this week is Kerry Alys Robinson, global ambassador of Leadership Roundtable and author of Imagining Abundance: Fundraising, Philanthropy and A Spiritual Call to Service. She recently wrote an article, “Why Catholics are called to radical hospitality in these political times” for America.

This week's guest is Rachel Lu, a philosophy professor and freelance writer for The Federalist and Crisis Magazine among other publications. She recently wrote an article for America called “Can Catholic social teaching help solve the labor crisis?”

This week’s guest is David Dark, author of “Life’s too short to pretend you’re not religious.” He is the author of our recent article “Why does U2 irk so many people? A look at their struggle for pop hits and social justice.”

This week’s guest is Sonja Livingston, the author of Ghostbread and a recent Americaarticle: “How Cajun country, an old ambulance and 1,200 frog legs led me back to the confessional.”

This week Jim McDermott, S.J., joins Tim Reidy, Kerry Weber and Zac Davis in conversation about how to respond to moral crises in Charlottesville and beyond. “Charlottesville is another moment when… there is so much surprising stuff happening, and it creates such a strong response that it becomes difficult to parse…. Outrage is like a fire—once it starts it burns everywhere.”

The podcast’s guest this week is Mark Singel, former lieutenant governor and acting governor of Pennsylvania from 1987-1995. His recent article for America is called “I pardoned a convict who killed again. Here’s why I still believe in mercy.” Singel discusses his decision to commute the sentence of Reginald McFadden in 1992, when he was chairman of the State Board of Pardons. After McFadden was freed, he committed another murder and a rape. Singel’s political opponents were able to “take that incident and turn it into a potent political weapon,” he says. “I had, in fact, voted and made a judgement call to give this individual a second chance,” Singel admits, “and he betrayed that public trust.”

Our guest this week is Simcha Fisher, a contributor to America and the author of The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning. Her recent article is called “I thought Good Catholics didn't need therapy. Then I went.” For Fisher, therapy turned out to be a “tool” that helped her draw closer to God: “I thought that a lot of the things that were wrong with me were spiritual problems, but it turns out that a lot of them were really psychological problems that were impeding spiritual growth.”

This week’s podcast features Elizabeth Bruenig, a contributing writer for America. Her recent article is called “How Augustine's Confessions and left politics inspired my conversion to Catholicism.”  “I was always interested in Christianity. Even as a kid I was active in my church,” Bruenig said. But what was lacking in her Protestant upbringing was the “interpretive tradition that accompanies Scripture.” This desire for theological conversation was one reason Bruenig later converted to Catholicism. 

This week’s podcast features John Jenkins, C.S.C., the president of the University of Notre Dame. Father Jenkins recently wrote a cover story for America marking the 50-year anniversary of the Land O’ Lakes Statement, a seminal document on Catholic higher education in the United States.

Our guest this week is America’s national correspondent, Michael O’Loughlin, whose recent article is: “How Catholic healthcare is fighting against the campaign for physician-assisted suicide.” “[Physician-assisted suicide] is legal in about a half dozen states, and supporters say they hope to take the campaign to about a dozen other states in the next two to three years,” O’Loughlin explained. “It is something that is becoming a reality for millions of Americans.” In light of this reality, he asked: “What does this mean for Catholic hospitals?”

Our guest this week is Nathan Schneider, a contributing writer for America and the author of “Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and The Case Against Philanthropy As We Know It,” which appeared in America’s June 26th issue.

Our guest this week is Eileen Markey, the author of A Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sister Maura. She is also the author of America’s most recent cover article: “The Spirit of Standing Rock.”

Our guest this week is Stephanie Slade, a managing editor at Reason magazine and contributing writer at America. Her latest article explores the legal challenges launched by the American Civil Liberties Union against Catholic hospitals.