Stay ConnectedInterfaith Voices provides engaging and informative discussion on the key public issues of our day through the lenses of many different faith perspectives. We foster religious tolerance and educate our listeners on the broad diversity of religious traditions and viewpoints in the United States.
This podcast feed is for the hour-long version of the program.
Jeanne Lewis reflects on how faith-rooted work differs from the organizing of previous eras and rejects the notion that the progressive movement has lost religion.
Kristin Kobes Du Mez talks about the role of Christian pop culture in reshaping evangelical attitudes about gun rights, gender, and demographic changes sweeping across the country.
Two Catholic women share how they are working to educate and engage American Catholics to examine their beliefs and perceptions about Palestinians.
For many years, Dr. Duane Bidwell served as a hospital chaplain, working to offer spiritual support to people who were often in their most vulnerable moments.
The issue advocacy campaign to urge voters in Michigan to cast an uncommitted ballot as a protest vote exceeded organizers' expectations and has sparked a movement spreading to other primary states.
Women don’t always feel welcome in American mosques. They’re sometimes turned away, sent to basements to pray, or discouraged from serving on the boards of directors. Aisha al-Adawiya is devoted to changing that.
Author Ann W. Duncan describes the “sacred pregnancy movement” and examines three major organizations involved. Their services range from sacred belly painting in luxurious retreat settings to helping process pregnancy l
Samira Mehta discusses how words like “sacred,” “ensoulment,” “mother,” and “baby” have been used by both sides of the culture war over reproductive rights and how they have changed our perception of pregnancy.
This special segment was produced by NPR’s Code Switch, co-hosts B. A. Parker and Gene Denby explore the curious twists and turns in the relationship between freedom-seeking activists across oceans and borders.
A group of public health workers in North Carolina worked to foster trusting relationships to tackle vaccine hesitancy among Native Americans.
A college student shares what it is like to be a religious Jew who rejects Zionism
Dr. Toni Pressley-Sanon's latest book, Lifting As They Climb: Black Women Buddhists and Collective Liberation explores how a growing number of Black women have integrated Buddhist practices into their spiritual lives.
Mike Merryman-Lotze joins us to share the struggles facing humanitarian workers in Gaza.
The Israeli military is using artificial intelligence and the targeting of low-level members of Hamas in their homes at a time when civilian casualties would be high.
Joy Ashford is the new religion reporter at the Dallas Morning News, supported by Report for America. They join us to share some of the stories Joy has been covering in North Texas.
Bob Otis, founding pastor of Sacred Garden Community Church, outlines its beliefs and practices. Then, the author of God on Psychedelics describes how psychedelic worship communities are proliferating.
Pastor Bob Otis describes his faith journey from a Christian home in Tennessee to a psychedelic church in Berkeley. Then, Chief Phillip Scott discusses the fine line between respectful use and cultural appropriation.
Richa Karmarkar, RNS's first national religion reporter covering the Hindu beat hopes the growth of the Hindu community sparks interest and curiosity about a religious tradition not well understood.
A trailblazer in Christian feminist theology, Dr. Mary Hunt, joins to reflect on how the world for women in religion has changed and how groups like hers are adapting.
Carolina Nieto, director of Ashoka's Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean office, established a "council of elders," hoping to tap into its members' wisdom, patience, and spirituality.
Cultural anthropologist Lynsey Farrell, co-founder of The Grandmother Collective, is building community by connecting older women with adolescent girls.
Dr. Connie Zweig discusses why spirituality—however it may be defined—is crucial to a fulfilling old age.
A new poll released by the Pew Research Center reinforces one key finding: Americans believe religion is a force for good in society.
The leader of Word and Way, a Christian media company, is focused on building conversation spaces for Christians to deal with the MAGA version of Christianity and confront the political manipulation of scripture.
Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Oseguera joins us to explain why she sees interrogating the Western narrative of the enslaved as interconnected to Black Muslim mental health today.
Dr. Robert P. Jones, President and Founder of PRRI, discusses the latest research documenting the rising influence of Christian Nationalism in some segments of American politics.
As the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a group of multifaith peace activists began a journey from Philadelphia heading for the White House.
Emgage Action Michigan interim executive director Hira Khan joins to explain why her organization and volunteer network worked with partners to encourage voters to use the ballot to send a message instead of disengaging.
Women don’t always feel welcome in American mosques. They’re sometimes turned away, sent to basements to pray, or discouraged from serving on the boards of directors. Aisha al-Adawiya is devoted to changing that.
Kim Bobo, executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, joins us to discuss the 2024 legislative agenda and how the 42-year-old organization continues to grow and expand its base across the Comm
Among the hundreds of volunteers preparing to lobby lawmakers was Anne Murphy, a Catholic retiree and resident of Northern Virginia. In this conversation, she describes why she has attended these annual lobbying events
Though the Founding Fathers were Christian, many of them held beliefs out of step with most American Christians of their time – and ours.
Both Union and Confederate leaders invoked God to advance their causes during the Civil War. But Abraham Lincoln refused to claim the divine on his side.
As a law student, Thomas Jefferson bought a Quran from an English publisher. But why? Did he read it as a sacred text? As a window into Muslim law?
Sick, tired, and hopeful, Central American migrants are bused daily from a detention center to a former Benedictine monastery in Tucson, Ariz., where a small army of volunteers offers showers, fresh clothes, and medical
We talk to Daisy Vargas, whose current work traces the history of anti-Mexican and anti-Catholic bias in the U.S.
Rev. Esau McCaulley confronts the controversy that the Civil War was not fought because of slavery but Southern heritage.
We explore the inspiration behind Dr. Jemar Tisby's new book, How to "Fight Racism: A Young Reader's Edition".
Dr. Ryan Burge discusses the trends and data that may explain Mr. Trump’s ongoing appeal, evidenced in the 2024 Iowa Caucus results.
Journalist Jeff Sharlet talks about the "slow civil war" taking place in the United States and his book The Undertow.
Dr. Lewis V Baldwin discusses his new book, “The Arc of Truth: The Thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” He looks at what we could lose if we forget the teachings of Dr. King.
Episcopal priest and writer Greg Garrett confronts the religious legacy of James Baldwin and the challenge his theology poses to anti-black racism in the United States.
Ronit Y. Stahl is an associate professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied how military chaplaincy evolved.
Filmmakers David Washburn and Razi Jafri introduce the three military Muslim chaplains profiled in their new documentary and describe how they came to spend seven years following them around the country.
The RNA’s Ken Chitwood breaks down the top three religion stories of the year.
Tia Kolbaba of Rutgers University co-teaches a popular course connecting religion to the hot-button headlines. Kolbaba teaches her students that religion is not separate from everything else but is almost always in the r
In Spokane, Washington, a religion-news website called FāVS is bucking the national trend away from local news.
This week, we feature selections from the December 8, 2019, Sounds of Faith concert at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Tim Alberta’s new book, "The Kingdom, The Power, and The Glory," examines the divisions threatening to destroy the American evangelical movement.
This week, Kelley Nikondeha joins to talk about why she wrote about that first season and how the book, released in October 2022, is now being discovered as more Christians want to learn about Palestine.
Journey Films founder and director Martin Doblmeir talks about the documentary feature that tells the story of Black liberation theologian Howard Thurman and his legacy. The feature film now airing on public television
Raza Segal, an Israeli-born scholar of the Holocaust. at Stockton University, describes how the decontextualized use of Holocaust memory and Nazi imagery can be used to justify war crimes.
No matter your race, class, gender, or faith, we all have to eat. We explore what food says about who we are and what we believe.
We look at one of the thorniest issues confronting contemporary America – how to reconcile our history of slavery with our present.
Honor is a riveting novel that transports readers to an India where interfaith marriage between Muslims and Hindus animates deep religious polarization.
Reporter Kimberly Winston explores the links and intersections between religion and horror with Dr. Jonathan Greenaway from the University of Chester in Manchester, England.
Dr. Mathew Sandoval’s scholarship and research into the history and evolution of the festival known as Dia de Los Muertos was fueled by two pivotal events: as a young man traveling to Guatemala and observing the festival
As the drumbeat of support for Israel’s retribution for a deadly terror attack grows, some faith leaders are raising concerns.
Human rights leaders talk about the threat of Hindu nationalism for religious minorities and the struggle to hold India accountable for transnational repression.
On June 2, 2020, Donald Trump used military and law enforcement to forcibly clear peaceful protesters, so he could pose for a photo with a bible. With Juneteenth approaching we interrogate the symbology of this event.
We speak with two “spiritual magpies” – Blair Hodges, the Mormon host of a popular podcast, and Rabbi Danya Rutenberg, the “wunderkind of Jewish feminism.”
Blair Hodges, host of Fireside with Blair Hodges, discusses the new freedom he has as a podcaster since leaving the Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University.
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg spoke to a reporter about the Jewish views on redemption and forgiveness in 2018. When she shared her teachings in a Twitter thread, the reaction surprised her.
Esau McCaulley confronts the controversy that the Civil War was not fought because of slavery but Southern heritage.
This is Not the Story of An Exceptional Kid. Rev. Esau McCaulley uses the memoir to write a story about the family and community that shaped him, not his journey or success. In each chapter, he introduces readers to a new person who he sees as shaping and forming the world that raised him.
In 2016, journalist Stephanie Salda set out to interview people fleeing wars in Iraq and Syria. What, she wondered, did people bring with them when forced out of their homes.
What do people bring with them when forced out of their homes, perhaps never to return? Stephanie Saldaña set out to answer this question.
Journalist Kalpana Jain is raising alarms about the threats to press freedom in the world’s most populous democracy, India.
Filled with anticipation and hope, the indigenous community hopes a rare sighting of a salmon in the creek is the answer to a century of prayers.
Carolina Nieto started working for the non-profit Ashoka at the age of 62. Now she is the director of its Mexican, Central American, and Caribbean office. Just this year, she and Ashoka established a “council of elders”
Cultural anthropologist Lynsey Farrell co-founded The Grandmother Collective is building community by connecting older women with adolescent girls.
Dr. Connie Zweig, a retired therapist in her 70s, is the author of multiple books on spiritual wellness. She discusses why spirituality -- however it may be defined -- is crucial to a fulfilling old age.
We sit down with award-winning filmmaker Martin Dobleimer to discuss his latest documentary, "Sabbath: An Ancient Practice Meets the Modern World".
Dr. Robert Gross outlines the often confounding basics of Transcendentalism and shows why they were extraordinary in 19th-century America.
In this non-narrated reflection from musician Craig Green, we learn why creating space for people to sing outdoors is his spiritual calling.
A Northern California indigenous tribe’s declaration of war generates global support — Then the faith identity of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer.
This episode of "A Pray For Salmon" begins as Northern California’s Winnemem Wintu tribe faces a turning point in 2004 as the government plans to raise the Shasta dam accelerate. The tribal leaders make a difficult decis
Mentor Dida was an 8-year-old boy when the Balkan War came to his hometown in Kosovo. A chance encounter with a volunteer aid worker in a refugee camp set the course of the rest of Dida’s life, leading directly to his fo
The online space InnoFaith works to transcend religious boundaries by building service-based community programs to foster mutual understanding and empowerment. Founder Danielle Goldstone shares her vision of how humanity
Many Americans feel disillusioned with formalized religious institutions, yet their hunger for spiritual comfort remains. Enter, the Nearness, a year-old online space where people of all faiths and no faith can talk over
In June 2023, the Public Religious Research Institute released a new poll exploring America’s shifting public attitudes on gender, the role of inclusive policies and perceptions of fairness, and the recent attacks on policies that support transgender individuals. Public Religion Research Institute’s CEO Dr. Melissa Deckman joins Ambereen Khan to discuss the findings and to review the shifts in attitudes especially among a surprising cohort -- younger Americans.
Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier talks about his 2021 Gabriel Award-winning film "Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story" and the life of this powerful social activist.
At a school board protest hundreds of Muslim and Ethiopian Orthodox parents demand the right to opt their kids out of reading LGBTQ+ story books invoking religious rights and then, the organizer of Faith for Pride talks
This installment of A Prayer For Salmon begins with the creation story of the Winnemem Wintu, at a sacred spring high up on Mt. Shasta.
In the next part of A Prayer for Salmon, we travel back to Northern California to continue the story of an indigenous community fighting plans to raise the level of Shasta Dam.
Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C. and one of the most influential women in American Christianity. Her new book, How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Fait
Annette Gordon-Reed is no stranger to diving into the areas that make readers uncomfortable. In her 2021 book, On Juneteenth, she offers a hybrid history and memoir that gets personal.
Soularize founder Spencer Burke talks about his vision for Soularize and lays out its goals – to be a bridge between people working at the different intersections of faith with social justice, youth empowerment, migratio
Guest Anne Borden Evans of the Ashoka Foundation discusses why this secular non-profit is interested in supporting what it calls “spiritual changemakers” and “spiritual innovators.”
Editor-in-Chief of the Gospel Coalition Collin Hansen reflects on his friendship with Keller and insights from writing the pastor’s biography, released earlier this year.
Public intellectual, gay marriage activist, journalist, and author Jonathan Rauch shares how he found an unlikely friendship with Keller, who, as a Reformed evangelical opposed same-sex marriage.
We revisit our December 2022 conversation between host Ambereen Khan and Keller, including how his terminal cancer changed his views on mortality and time, and heightened the need to make forgiveness a cultural priority.
Episode five of "A Prayer for Salmon," and an Elder of the Lummi Nation uses indigenous storytelling to educate the world about the sacred obligation to protect the water.
In episode five of A Prayer for Salmon, the Winnemem Wintu and supporters start a two-week Run4Salmon prayer to call salmon back to the waters above Shasta Dam.
Lummi Nation member Darrell Hillaire is on a mission: amplify native indigenous storytelling using technology to educate and inspire actions to protect water ecosystems for future generations.
We spend a day with Rabbi Oksana Chapman, a Russian-speaking chaplain who grew up under Soviet rule and once got an 'A' in Atheism.
Our guests, a physician and a hospice chaplain, discuss the importance of attending to the spirit as well as the body at the end of life.
In a soundscape of surf, sand, and spirituality, Father Christian Mondor recounts how he began riding waves at age 70. In water, he finds a metaphor for the holy trinity. And in the surf, he finds a kind of baptism.
An elder remembers indigenous life back before Shasta Dam was built. The legality of the proposal to raise Shasta Dam is considered. Meanwhile, Chief Caleen Sisk considers a new strategy to fight back: turning an adversa
Liam Adams, the religion reporter for The Tennessean in Nashville, introduces us to the complex religious landscape of the city, and talks about the response of the faith community to the Covenant School shooting. Many f
In his latest book, The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War, Journalist Jeff Sharlet outlines a new era of martyrs and civil war.
Bob Otis is the founding pastor of Sacred Garden Community Church. He outlines its core beliefs, its practices, and the somewhat long path to membership. Then Don Lattin, author of “God on Psychedelics,” describes how wo
Pastor Bob Otis describes his own personal faith journey that brought him from a Christian home in Tennessee to a psychedelic church in Berkeley.
Chief Phillip Scott is a teacher in indigenous medicine with Lakota ancestry. He has consulted with Sacred Garden Community Church on their use of what he calls “sacred plants."
The story continues as Judy Silber explores how the Winnemem Wintu view water and land as sacred entities that must be in balance and believe they were put on Earth to protect and steward their homeland.
Judy Silber, producer of A Prayer for Salmon, talks about building trust with the Winnemem Wintu tribe as a journalist,
We present A Prayer for Salmon: A documentary series from The Spiritual Edge telling the story of the Winnemem Wintu people and their clash with the raising of Shasta Dam.
To say that planning a Model Seder and Iftar was a learning experience would be an understatement. In this conversation, Orthodox Jew Deena Grant shares how surprised she was to discover many similarities between her tra
Pardeep Kaleka shares what he has learned about himself, how his faith has evolved, and how escalation in mass shootings demands a reckoning with the deeply held values of the nation.
Anwar Khan is the President of Islam Relief USA and is a board member of global and national humanitarian organizations working to alleviate hunger and human suffering. He describes their counterparts in Turkey and how
Dr. Tricia Bruce, a sociologist from Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Religion in Society recently published a paper studying discordant benevolence as it relates to attitudes about abortion in America.
In 2005 Dr. Amina Wadud made waves when she led Muslim prayers in New York City.
Stephen Prothero talks about Eugene Exmam who was responsible for publishing some of the most important religious books of the 20th century.
In his book, God, the Best Seller, Stephen Prothro tells the story of Eugene Exman, responsible for the religious book department at Harper and Brothers from 1928 to 1965.
Dr. Linda Mercadante a Distinguished Research Professor, Emerita, at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. and founder of HealthyBeliefs discussed her journey from being "spiritual but not religious" to becoming a scholar of religion.
Harley Rustad recounts the life of Justin Alexander Shetler, an American man who vanished in India’s Parvati Valley in 2016.
Finding new inspiration in this ancient story to stand with oppressed women in the #MeToo era.
Jan Williams witnessed and describes President Carter’s spiritual legacy which included working to support women’s access and inclusion in all spheres of church life.
In the 2014 religious biography Redeemer, Randall Balmer describes how the controversial president’s rise and fall coincided with the decline of Christian progressives and the Religious Right.
In 2014, our founder Maureen Fiedler interviewed President Jimmy Carter shortly after his book A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.
In his 2021 book, “Learning to Pray,” Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin charts an approach to prayer that is not just for Catholics, but is for everyone.
Martyn Oliver, says fasting most likely predates organized religion. And we explore how individuals and communities are embracing the ancient ritual of abstaining from food, water, intimacy, and comfort.
Five years ago she left her church and found a more profound sense of connection and belonging outdoors. Valerie Luna Serrels shares her journey and offers a glimpse at how members of her local Church of the Wild gather
Bob Smietana's new book Reorganized Religion takes a closer look at the state of the American church and the way congregations and their leaders are adapting, shifting, or resisting.
Springtide Research Institute’s former executive Josh Packard explains why data and survey research offers more nuance and insights into GenZ’s approach to values, meaning-making, and answering the big questions.
Two years ago on the campaign trail, President Biden promised to end the inhuman border policies that barred migrants seeking asylum from entering the United States. Instead of ending the use of Title 42, faith leaders d
The leader of the New York Immigration Coalition Murad Awawdeh is undeterred in his advocacy for migrants. The oldest coalition of immigration groups in New York is leading efforts to secure housing, shelter, and suppor
Jovana Nieto is the coordinator of the Migrant Accompaniment Network and she is on a mission to recruit volunteers to support newcomers on their journey to making the US home.
One of the major themes to emerge from the new PBS documentary "The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song" is the often-overlooked roles Black women play in strengthening that institution.
Dr. Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University's Divinity School, describes how women keep the institution of the Black church strong and growing, despite being often unwelcome in the pulpit.
We talk to filmmaker Joshua Seftel to learn about his Academy Award-nominated film "Stranger at the Gate" and the backstory that lead him to make it.
Award-winning author Sofia Samatar was raised Mennonite, but, with brown skin in a Germanic faith, she sometimes felt she did not fit in. Then she discovered the obscure story of a group of 19th-century Russian Mennonite
Rev. Earl Smith, Jr is the chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors. It’s a pastoral job that demands a different approach.
Dr. Lewis V Baldwin, professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University, discusses his new book, “The Arc of Truth: The Thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,” which he was inspired to write, in part, by the battle over truth
Award-winning Palestinian-American journalist Daoud Kuttub writes for the Religion News Service that the rise of Israel’s far-right orthodox parties in the new coalition government could threaten democracy and democratic
Kalpana Jain offers context, history, and analysis of the biggest global stories likely to appear in the headlines in 2023.
Christian Chronicle editor Bobby Ross Jr. and producer Kimberly Winston discuss the biggest stories in the US based on feedback from religion reporters around the world.
Lauren Markoe is the news editor at the Forward. This American Jewish weekly publication monitors the rise in anti-Semitism and the various responses from civic and government leaders.
This week we feature selections from the December 8, 2019 Sounds of Faith concert at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
After building a megachurch in Manhattan, Presbyterian Timothy Keller has no trouble engaging secular and skeptical audiences. Keller insists that our culture is failing to value a key skill and essential building block
Alyssa, a young Mormon woman, tells us her personal story of sexual assault. When her church leaders pressured her to forgive her abuser, it made her feel as if her pain did not matter and that she wasn’t worthy of being
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg talks about what it means to make amends and if a person wronged has an obligation to forgive the person who hurt them.
First-person accounts of people who grew up inside insular religious groups, and then choose a different path. These stories are collected from our Escaping Religion series.
>When Luzer Twersky was in his early twenties and already a married father of two, he decided to leave the only world he had ever known, a close knit Jewish enclave in Brooklyn. He told his story to documentary producer
Lauren Drain, was a member of The Westboro Baptist Church for seven years. Today, She is a cardiac nurse and a popular fitness model.
Joshua Safran was born in 1975 into a coven of radical feminist witches. Then one day he discovered he was Jewish, and after years of wandering he finally felt he had found a home.
Jean-Luc Pierite, the chair of the board of the Native American Culture Center in Boston — dives into the history and role of the National Day of Mourning.
Robert P. Jones, Founder, and President of the Public Religion Research Institute joins us to talk about the findings from the 2022 American Values Survey.
Religion News Service national religion reporter Jack Jenkins talks about the races where faith and religion emerged in surprising and not-so-surprising ways.
Thrity Umrigar is a much-lauded author of literary fiction, much of it set in India and among the Indian diaspora. Now, she returns to the Diwali celebrations of her Indian childhood for Binny’s Diwali, a picture book fo
The Yoruba religion is a tapestry of myths, magic, spirits, and secrets. Prothero calls it "a tradition about hanging onto tradition," a way for people scattered by the African diaspora to connect to their common origins
Steve Sarowitz is not a filmmaker. But when the former tech entrepreneur declared himself a Baha’i, he felt compelled to let others know about his new faith.
Rev. Dr. Alvin Edwards has been part of the Charlottesville, Virginia faith community since 1981 but in 2015 after the horrific attack at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina he began to assess his
Bob Smietana is an award-winning religion reporter and editor whose new book Reorganized Religion takes a closer look at the state of the American church and the way congregations and their leaders are adapting, shifting
A seminarian decides to recharge by centering nature in her sacred practices and rituals in Ojai, California. Within six years Victoria Loorz's exploration and experimentation sparked a new movement – The Church of the
Reza Aslan believes a 22-year-old Presbyterian missionary from North Dakota offers a spiritual lesson for those losing hope in democratic institutions and liberal values. In a new biography, Aslan introduces the events
On October 15, 2022, in Washington Square Park in New York City, hundreds gathered to demonstrate support for the resistance movements in Iran. Host Ambereen Khan captures the sounds and talks to Iranian-Americans about
Reporter Kimberly Winston explores the links and intersections between religion and horror with Dr. Jonathan Greenaway.
Dr. Mathew Sandoval’s scholarship and research into the history and evolution of the festival known as Dia de Los Muertos was fueled by two pivotal events: as a young man traveling to Guatemala and observing the festival
Reverend Timothy McDonald, III is the senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta and a leader in Faithworks, a new voter mobilization campaign to increase voter participation in Georgia.
Veteran environmental advocate Heather White talks about her new book, One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Save the Earth.
Producer Kimberly Winston interviews Dr. Katey Walter Anthony, author of Chasing Lakes: Love, Science and the Secrets of the Arctic, about how science and faith intersect in her life.
Musician Craig Green, tells us why creating space for people to sing outdoors is his spiritual calling.
Dr. Robert Gross outlines the often confounding basics of Transcendentalism and shows why they were extraordinary in 19th-century America.
We talk to filmmaker Joshua Seftel to learn about his film "Stranger at the Gate" and the backstory that lead him to make it.
As the United Kingdom mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, around the globe a new generation is calling for a reckoning.
Producer Kimberly Winston talks with Catherine Wolff, an educator, and university chaplain, about her new book, Beyond:: How Humankind Thinks About Heaven.
This week we are reflecting on the anniversary of 9/11 and the origins of Interfaith Voices. Dalia Mogahed and Dr. Sylvia Chan-Malik share their insights.
Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier talks about his 2021 Gabriel Award-winning film "Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story" and the life of this powerful social activist.
Two religion professors team up to launch an irreverent and informative podcast, and become what host Ambereen Khan calls "the Click and Clack of religion podcasting."
Shankar Vedantam defines a “useful delusion” as an untruth we allow ourselves to believe so we can get through the day or accomplish some greater goal.
Dr. Melissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute, describes the main findings of their research survey work examining attitudes, affiliations, and beliefs of QAnon supporters.
This week, a conversation with Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, who was killed five years ago at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Michael O’Loughlin explores the largely unexamined role the Catholic Church played at the height of the AIDS crisis.
In this first episode of the limited series podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church hosted by O’Loughlin, we meet David Pace who shares his first memories from the early days of the AIDS crisis.
We look into some of the biggest headlines of the last few months from the perspective of religion.
Steve Rabey talks about the links between Christian pro-family groups and Republicans who support and promote the false and misleading claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Emily McFarlan Miller has been following the investigations into abuses at residential boarding schools for indigenous peoples run by the governments of Canada and the U.S.
Recently, The Associated Press’s David Crary wrote a primer about Zoroastrians, one of the oldest faiths that has, until recently, experienced ever-dwindling numbers. A new focus on young Zoroastrians may change that.
We speak to Harley Rustad about his book, Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Death in the Himalayas. Then Barbara Bradley Hagerty considers the "mid-faith crisis."
Harley Rustad recounts the life of Justin Alexander Shetler, an American man who vanished in India’s Parvati Valley in 2016.
There are times when people of faith feel, for a while, far from God. Former NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty sits down with two spiritual scholars to talk about their experiences with "the dark night o
The PBS limited series, The Great Muslim American Road Trip is on a mission to break stereotypes.
Alex Kronemer shares behind-the-scenes insights about Syrian-American rapper Mona Haydar and her husband, educator, and Muslim convert Sebastian Robins.
As Haydar and Robins travel historic Route 66, they encounter Muslims and hear their untold stories of Islam’s contributions to American history and culture.
Alex Kronemer lays out the history of Muslim representation in Hollywood media, and charts how negative perceptions of off-screen Muslims are influenced by on-screen Muslim characters.
Summer is not yet over for campers attending the Hindu Heritage Summer Camp in Rochester, New York.
2021 was Radhika Amin’s last summer attending the Hindu Heritage Summer Camp in upstate New York. Each year the camp attracts 200 eight to 15-year-olds to attend two-week sessions at the rural campus on the outskirts of
Devi Parvati who identifies as a practitioner of all traditions describes how her life changed when she attended a retreat at an Ashram in the Poconos in 1968 and her journey to becoming a Swami.
Summer camps are not just about fun and games They are, more broadly speaking, immersive and unique experiences that quickly create an ethos and culture that allow for the transmission of tradition, morality, and beliefs
As a conservative Supreme Court majority overturns long-standing precedents, we look at the implications for church and state with an eye on history.
The lamentation took place outside the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, when the nation’s highest court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Baptists are a diverse group and that is in some ways most evident in the advocacy around issues of church and state.
We review this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Then we hear how an interfaith organization in Olympia, Washington is running an innovative summer camp.
AP Religion Reporter Deepa Bharat shares observations and highlights from the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual gathering in Anaheim, California.
Reverend Corey Passons of Interfaith Works in Washington State oversees Faith Explorations, a summer camp that offers age-appropriate activities for 8-12-year-olds that explore different religious beliefs and wisdom trad
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a historian and the best-selling author of Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation talks about the role of Christian pop culture in reshaping evangeli
Michael Austin, Christian ethicist and author of Gods, Guns and America shares reflections and insights from contemplating whether a Christian can find a theology that supports gun ownership? And why it's so difficult to
Guns and God continues. This week we take a closer look at the way gun culture has been cultivated and intertwined with evangelical faith over the last 75 years.
We look at two expressions of freedom in the United States: Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day and the right to bear arms.
Annette Gordon-Reed is no stranger to diving into the areas that make readers uncomfortable. In her 2021 book, On Juneteenth, She offers a hybrid history and memoir that gets personal and is timely as Texas lawmakers ba
Data shows that the two most likely predictors of gun ownership in America are religion – evangelical Christianity, in particular – and political affiliation – Republicans own more guns than Democrats.
Journalist Michael O’Loughlin digs into the history of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church in his podcast Plague, and the companion book Hidden Mercy.
For ten years religion reporter Michael O’Loughlin covered the Catholic beat. This led him to question an unexamined chapter of church history: the Church’s role at the height of the AIDS crisis.
In this first episode of the limited series podcast Plague: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church, we meet David Pace who shares his first memories from the early days of the AIDS crisis.
Shortly before Memorial Day, Americans marked a grim milestone - one million deaths from COVID-19. How can we comprehend such a loss? How can we commemorate it? And how can we make sure this never happens again?
Sabila Khan found herself in the surreal position of watching her father’s burial on her cell phone. When she did not find the support she needed, she co-founded a Facebook group for people that have lost family and frie
Dr. Pauline Boss has spent decades studying ambiguous loss — a loss in which there may be no body to bury, no clear explanation of death, no real answer to the question, “Why did this happen?”
Rev. Katey Zeh of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice describes her preparations for an anticipated overturning of Roe v Wade, and Lawyer Allan Parker describes his legal ministry to overturn it.
Before she became the leader of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Rev. Katey Zeh was a seminary student who volunteered to provide spiritual support to women having abortions.
Lawyer Allan Parker of the Justice Foundation describes his work representing women who have had abortions and his legal ministry working to overturn the laws that legalize abortion.
The spiritual journey of activist and author Chenxing Han led to one persistent question: "Where are all the Asian-American Buddhists in American Buddhism?"
We examine the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion from the Supreme Court that outlines a legal argument for reversing a 49-year legal precedent that legalized abortion.
We review the various political reactions to the unprecedented leak of a SCOTUS draft opinion made public on the evening of May 2, 2022, and how some religious voices and leaders are preparing to respond with national re
Historian Mary Ziegler, visiting professor at Harvard University explains why so many Americans are confused by the legal history, timeline, and rhetoric of the abortion battles taking place in the states and courts. Th
The Washington D.C. Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is normally reserved only for church members. But after a four-year renovation, the doors are open to the public.
After four years of renovation, the Washington D.C. Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is open to the public. We look back to the founding of the church.
We take an audio tour of the Washington D.C. Temple of The Church of Latter-day Saints,
Phylicia Jimenez, a Black woman and an LDS convert discusses the progress – or lack thereof – towards racial equity in the LDS Church.
We look at the sacred sounds people of faith are making during the COVID-19 pandemic and what those sounds—music, prayer, chants, songs—tell us about our future.
The pandemic has prompted composers to create new sacred music of all kinds — hymns, liturgical music, prayers, praise music, and more.
We talk to Solomon Hoffman, a rabbinical student and composer, and Keely Garfield, a Buddhist and director of a dance company. They collaborated on a piece of music, dance, and song called “Harofei,” Hebrew for “the one
Professors Amy DeRogatis and Isaac Weiner were collecting recordings of traditional religious practices when COVID struck. They had to quickly pivot their work to life under lockdown.
Dr. Peter Manseau, the curator of American religious history at the National Museum of American History, discusses the purpose of the Smithsonian’s new exhibit, “Discovery and Revelation: Science, Religion and Making Sen
As a consultant to the Smithsonian’s “Discovery and Revelation” exhibit, Dr. Myrna Sheldon - wanted visitors to understand the direct impact science and religion have on individual lives.
Dr. Adam R. Shapiro discusses how the interplay between science and religion has changed in the last decade,
Science and religion are often portrayed as the bitterest of enemies, or, as Stephen Jay Gould termed them, “non-overlapping magisteria.” But the reality is often much more complex.
Rev. Lynn Casteel Harper discusses her book On Vanishing: Mortality, Dementia and What it Means to Disappear, a call for communities of faith to rethink the value of people coping with memory loss.
Sofie Lovern is a Latina convert and comedienne who learned the difficulty of trying to merge two very different cultures in a marriage, even when their religions were the same.
The Spiritual Edge podcast brings us stories that explore the motivations and challenges facing converts to Islam in the United States.
This week we are featuring a radio documentary from KALW’s The Spiritual Edge. Host and Reporter Hana Baba explores the motivations and challenges of converts as they carve out a uniquely American path for being Muslim i
Raul Gonzalez lives in the Chicago area and converted to Islam twenty years ago. He has been trying to answer the question of how to reconcile his identity as a Latino — and Muslim — ever since.
Honor is a riveting novel that transports readers to an India where interfaith marriage between Muslims and Hindus animates deep religious polarization.
This week we look at the morals, emotions, and ideas about order and justice that have shaped just war thinking and public rhetoric with Dr. Valerie Morkevičius.
In the face of invading Russian forces, a young democratic nation’s resistance has galvanized world attention and support. We take a closer look at the religious context behind the conflict
As Russian President Vladamir Putin ordered Russian troops to the border with Ukraine, he sought to reframe the way the world sees Ukraine. Religion was at the heart of that effort.
Instead of leaving Ukraine for the United States when the conflict erupted, Pastor Benjamin Morrison explained this is home and his calling is to minister and support those in need.
On Sunday, February 27th, 2022, Father Hitchens was overwhelmed to see the wider community's solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
We get a Religion 101 for Ukraine with Associated Press reporter Peter Smith.
January saw the debut of OnlySky Media. The new media outlet offers news, commentary, criticism, podcasts, video, and more, all from a secular perspective.
Phil Zuckerman outlines the goals of OnlySky, one of which is to erase the stereotype of atheists and other non-believers as angry white men. How will OnlySky attract voices of color?
Founder Shawn Hardin believes OnlySky will be a one-of-a-kind media platform because of its secular orientation.
Dr. Juhem Navarro-Rivera studies people like him – atheists, agnostics, “Nones” and other non-believers of color. He says non-believers of color have extra challenges in “coming out”.
Though the Founding Fathers were Christian, many of them held beliefs out of step with most American Christians of their time – and ours.
Both Union and Confederate leaders invoked God to advance their causes during the Civil War. But Abraham Lincoln refused to claim the divine on his side.
Thomas Jefferson bought a Quran from an English publisher. But why? Did he read it as a sacred text? As a window into Muslim law?
From George Washington to Donald Trump, we explore the often surprising religious history of the presidency and the Constitution's promise of religious freedom.
Susan Katz Miller explores the possibilities, benefits, and challenges of interfaith marriages — and we hear from listeners who describe their own interfaith families..
Religion Reporter Kelsey Dallas talks about the ways religion is showing up at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
For Buddhist lay minister Caroline Yongue - the journey to change the way we think about death, dying, and the impermanence of suffering began decades ago.
The interplay between culture, politics, and personal practice at the Olympics and in a new movement that includes approaching death and dying differently.
We take a look at a new initiative of public scholars of history, religion, philosophy, and sociology to contribute to the civic discourse around January 6, 2021.
Dr. Benjamin Parks explains why an obscure spiritual figure from Mormon sacred texts has become a political symbol and what it says about the challenges facing the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S
Dr. Michael Altman co-leads a collaborative platform Uncivil Religion that offers visitors an immersive experience navigating curated content with analysis from a bench of public scholars in the humanities.
Playwright, commentator, and author Wajahat Ali discusses his memoir, "Go Back to Where You Came From and Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become an American."
We explore the inspiration behind Dr. Jemar Tisby's new book, How to "Fight Racism: A Young Reader's Edition".
We speak with Sister True Dedication, who has edited a collection of the great Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn’s thoughts on the natural world.
This week we are diving into the top religion news stories of the year as chosen by the members of the Religion News Association.
Religion reporters like to say “religion is always in the room,” meaning there is a religion, faith, or spirituality angle to all of the big news stories of the day.
Religion journalists across the country picked the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as the top religion story of the year.
We’ve assembled a cadre of top religion journalists to dive into the top religion news stories of the 2021.
We take a look back at our first-ever live show, we explore the beauty and chaos that comes with having a diverse family.
We remember Interview with a Vampire author, Anne Rice, and we dive into the sounds of the season with the podcast Hark!
On December 11th, 2021, best-selling vampire novelist Anne Rice passed away. We listen back to interviews Rice gave to with Mark Oppenheimer and our founder Sr. Maureen Fiedler, SL.
If you have ever wondered about the backstory of holiday carols and Christmas hymns - you are not alone. We talk with Maggie Van Dorn about what she learned hosting the podcast Hark!
From a graduate degree program in a maximum-security prison in Illinois to humanizing incarcerated people on death row - people of faith are advocating for those behind bars.
Inside an Illinois maximum-security prison -- theology professor Michele Clifton-Soderstrom found a new calling.
We stand on the steps of the Supreme Court as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health is heard - a major challenge to Roe v. Wade - and ask, “How did we get here?”
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow traces the evolution of today’s battles over when a fetus becomes a person with rights.
Historian David Garrow and Liz Cavell, an attorney for the Freedom From Religion Foundation, parse the possible outcomes of the recent arguments abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organizations.
Jamie Manson, the new leader of Catholics for Choice, outlines the ways Catholic attitudes towards abortion access have changed.
Food is not traditionally included in the study of religion, but as our guest says, “everyone eats!”
Vegetarianism and veganism are not religions, but Ben Zeller of Lake Forest College says the decision to stop eating meat and other animal products can be an incredibly meaningful shift in one’s philosophy of eating.
Ravinder “Ravi” Singh, head of the Share a Meal program under the Khalsa Peace Corps, is taking langar on the road to reach the most vulnerable.
No matter your race, class, gender, or faith, we all have to eat. We explore what food says about who we are and what we believe.
The leader of an Adventist community organization collecting donations, and partnering with other organizations to help new arrivals fleeing war and violence.
This week we hear from volunteers across the country helping neighbors in need.
Volunteers across the country are “gleaning” -- the ancient practice of picking crops for the poor after the harvest is completed.
As people seek ways to do good, researcher and food security advocate Kate Martin offers ways to minimize harm and remove the stigma and shame people feel when receiving charity
A remembrance of the life of Sister Dianna Ortiz a survivor of torture who became a voice for victims. And the intrigue-filled exploits of Herod the Great and his family.
In 1989 Sister Dianna Ortiz survived torture in Guatemala and became a voice for victims.
Dr. Bruce Chilton chronicles the intrigue-filled dynastic exploits of Herod the Great and his family in The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession.
A children’s book about Diwali and a discussion of what is at stake as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops considers denying communion to politicians who support abortion.
Thrity Umrigar returns to the Diwali celebrations of her Indian childhood for Binny’s Diwali, a picture book for children that explains how her family celebrates this important but little understood Indian festival.
Dr. Massimo Faggioli is an expert on American Catholicism looks at the subtext of President Joseph Biden’s recent meeting with Pope Francis -- only the second time in history a sitting Catholic president has met with a s
From a study of spirituality in the horror genre to the celebration of Dia de Los Muertos, we explore how people find meaning in rituals we may not fully understand.
Reporter Kimberly Winston explores the links and intersections between religion and horror with Dr. Jonathan Greenaway.
Dr. Mathew Sandoval maps the evolution of an obscure syncretic holiday into a pop culture mainstay.
It's not devil worship. It's not make-believe. Modern-day pagans are taking part in a diverse array of spiritual practices and reviving traditions of long ago. (Originally broadcast in September 2018.)
Wiccans and druids — and other practitioners of paganism. It’s a diverse group with an array of spiritual practices and beliefs.
We meet up with a Washington D.C. area pagan group, the Firefly House, which is trying to counter the stereotypes and stigmas swirling around paganism.
We speak with Sister True Dedication, who has edited a collection of the great Zen Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn’s thoughts on the natural world.
Family members of those killed in the attacks of 9-11 have organized to promote peace and prevent the memory of their loved ones from being manipulated to justify war and violence.
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