The America Media Podcast

Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., a Missionary of Charity, was the official postulator for St. Teresa of Calcutta, who will be canonized on Sept. 4.  He was the editor of the book of her letters and notebooks, Come Be My Light, which, in 2007, revealed Mother Teresa’s struggle with decades of interior darkness. Father Kolodiejchuk is also the editor of a new collection of her writings, A Call to Mercy, published this month by Image Books. In an interview with James Martin, S.J., in May, he spoke of her early mystical experiences and her struggles with the “dark night.”

In this week's podcast the theologian and writer Jonathan Malesic speaks to Matt Malone, S. J., and Kerry Weber about why we need a theology of work. Drawing on St. John Paul II and Benedictine thought, Malesic argues that it is important set boundaries around our work lives, because a person's dignity is not derived from work—it is God-given.

Elizabeth Dias, winner of the George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize for Excellence in Journalism, Arts Letters, talks to Kerry Weber and Eric Sundrup, S.J., about her career as a religion journalist, Mother Teresa's upcoming canonization, and Pope Francis.

The artist Alfonse Borysewicz, who received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1995, brings his paintings to parishes and talks to parishioners about how art interacts with faith. In this podcast Alfonse speaks to Tim Reidy and Kevin Clarke about the role of art in Catholic communities, and how Catholic artists depict sacred figures today.

David Stewart, S.J., is America's London correspondent. He talks to Matt Malone, S. J., and Kerry Weber about the aftermath of the Brexit vote, and discusses how the Scottish independence movement has been affected.

What can the church do on the parish level for people with disabilities? Matt Malone, S.J., and Kevin Clarke talk with Steve Riley of Potomac Community Resources about how one parish's ministry is expanding across the archdiocese, and what it means for a parish to be inclusive. 

Robert A. Orsi is a professor of religious studies and history and the Grace Craddock Nagle Chair in Catholic Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of a new book, History and Presence. In the book, Orsi challenges modern conceptions of the presence of the transcendent in our lives, beginning with the metaphysical Eucharistic debates of early modern Europe, and proposing a view of history where our gods are fully present. 

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and adjunct assistant professor in Georgetown University’s security studies program, tells America magazine Chief Correspondent that tougher security measures, restrictions on immigration and a deeper consideration of 'crisis architecture' may be the lasting impact of truck attack in Nice, France.

During the week of June 19, the leaders of the self-governing Orthodox churches worldwide gathered on the island of Crete for the first global Council of the Orthodox Church in more than 1,000 years. Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, who attended as an external correspondent for the Press Office of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, joins Tim Reidy and Kerry Weber to discuss the historic event in the Orthodox Church.

Father Bryan Massingale, professor of theology at Fordham University, reflects on issues of race and police brutality in the aftermath of two more shootings that have shocked the nation and why the Catholic Church is in a special position to do something about these continuing problems.

Rhona Tarrant, America's Dublin correspondent, joins Tim Reidy and Ashley McKinless to discuss reactions from Ireland to the U.K.'s referendum to leave the European Union.

Dan Barry is a national columnist and reporter for The New York Times and the author of a new book, The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland. The book tells the story of dozens of men with intellectual disability who spent decades working at an Iowa turkey-processing plant, living in an old schoolhouse, and enduring exploitation and abuse—before finding justice and achieving freedom.

Dr. Jacob Kohlhaas, assistant professor of moral theology at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, talks with Tim Reidy and Sam Sawyer, S.J., about his upcoming article on lessons for families from Scripture, as part of our continuing series, “The Living Word: Scripture in the Life of the Church,” a multiyear, multiplatform joint project of America Media and A.B.S. to promote deeper popular engagement with the Bible. 

Bishop Robert McElroy of the Diocese of San Diego talks with Tim Reidy and Ashley McKinless about the president's visit to Hiroshima and the future of nuclear weapons. 

Dr. Phyllis Zagano, the author or editor of 20 books in religious studies, including ground-breaking work on the history and theology of women ordained as deacons, talks with Matt Malone, S.J., and Tim Reidy about the pope's recent comments about commissioning a study on the role of women deacons in the church.