NCR In Conversation

NCR contributor Melissa Musick Nussbaum speaks about liturgical traditions that remember the dead and how Catholics can start their own traditions to remember loved ones gone before them. Later, Fr. Chris DeGiovine shares his reflections on the month of November as a period of remembrance. He shares inspiration from Scripture and other Catholic thinkers as well as his thoughts as a pastor on the great mystery of life after death.

This week, Joshua McElwee, NCR Vatican correspondent, reports from a recent high-profile conference at the Vatican on nuclear disarmament. Later, NCR’s Michael Sean Winters and Heidi Schlumpf are back with a recap of the bishops meeting in Baltimore earlier this week. They talk about what election results mean for the future of US church leadership and other noteworthy action items from the meeting, including the vote to create a pastoral plan on marriage and family life. 

Nearly 2,000 Jesuit-educated students traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to attend social justice-oriented sessions and hear from keynote speakers including Fr. Bryan Massingale and Sr. Patricia Chappell. Some of these students spoke to NCR about what brought them to the Teach-In and what they’re taking back to their schools. Later, NCR national correspondent Heidi Schlumpf and columnist Michael Sean Winters talk about the upcoming meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.

In this episode, host Brittany Wilmes is joined by some NCR reporters who are looking at key political issues a year after the presidential election. Global Sisters Report staff writer Dawn Araujo-Hawkins talks about women becoming politically involved after the women’s march. NCR staff writer Brian Roewe and Bertelsen interns Maria Benevento and James Dearie talk about their reporting on the environment, immigration, and foreign policy.

This week, NCR Vatican correspondent Joshua J. McElwee talks about a recent public correction Pope Francis made to an article by Cardinal Robert Sarah. Later, Global Sisters Report national correspondent Dan Stockman talks about a treasure trove of newly available information: the vast results of a 1967 survey, answered by a majority of the country’s Catholic sisters in active ministry as they were grappling with Vatican II reform.

In this episode, NCR books editor Jamie Manson, feminist theologian Mary Hunt, and Dignity USA executive director Marianne Duddy-Burke talk about what LGBTQI Catholics need from the church, where they see an embrace of the gender and sexuality spectrums and what gives them hope.

NCR Bertelsen intern James Dearie makes his podcast debut to talk about the winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Later, NCR correspondents Josh McElwee and Heidi Schlumpf talk about what they're reporting on and who they're watching in the U.S. and abroad.

In this episode, NCR contributor Julie Bourbon explains kriya yoga and the Assisi Institute's inaugural kriya yoga conference. Devotees and teachers say that practicing this form of meditation can bring one into deeper relationship with God. Then, a conversation with theologian Deanna Thompson on her book “The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World.” Deanna talks about how a journey through illness led her to embrace her digital connections as a vital example of the body of Christ.

NCR's Tom Roberts and David Gibson of Fordham University discuss an unsettling pattern of Catholic writers and scholars being disinvited from speaking engagements and adjunct positions due to intimidation from far-right Catholic groups.

In this episode, former NCR editor and publisher Tom Fox discusses Ken Burns' documentary series "The Vietnam War." Tom attended a screening of the series in Kansas City where Ken Burns and Lynn Novick spoke, as well as John Musgrave, a veteran prominently featured in the series. Tom also talks about his time serving as a civil volunteer in Vietnam during the war and the lessons he learned there.

Pope Francis on September 9 released Magnum Principium, a document announcing new canon law for liturgical translations. Msgr. Rick Hilgartner, former executive director of the U.S. bishops’ Office for Divine Worship, talks about what this means for the church. Later, NCR editor Dennis Coday and Celebration editor Denise Simeone discuss the historical perspective on liturgical changes and the importance of language in Catholic prayers.

NCR intern Maria Benevento discusses her recent article on Catholic peacebuilders and their ideas to bring stability to Afghanistan in the wake of the Trump administration’s announcement to drastically change U.S. strategy in the conflicted country. Later, Fr. Roy Donovan with the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland talks about his statement asking the Irish bishops to put a hold on the permanent diaconate until Pope Francis makes a decision on allowing women deacons.

NCR contributor Jonathan Luxmoore breaks down Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s visit to Russia. Michael Sean Winters explains what to look for as Congress resumes session on Tuesday. Global Sisters Report national correspondent Dan Stockman shares updates from sisters in the Houston area and how they’re reaching out to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Theologian Christopher Pramuk joins host Brittany Wilmes to talk about race relations, how art can help people connect, and where Catholics might to go from here. Later, Catholic sisters Tracey Horan and Larretta Rivera-Williams discuss their own experiences of race and solidarity and places where they find hope.

Episode 18: Tom Fox on NCR's mission