The Commonweal Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 109 - Bordering on Compassion Jul 27, 2023

Show notes

The border is a place, but it is also a metaphor: for our complicated personal identities and political allegiances, and for the moral claims made on us by those born on the other side.

On this episode, interpreter and activist Alejandra Oliva, author of Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration, shares insights from her work with asylum seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Plus, in anticipation of Commonweal’s upcoming centennial, Nicole-Ann Lobo offers a short reflection on the Christian socialism of the late Dominican priest Herbert McCabe.

For further reading:

A photo essay featuring asylum seekers in Piedras Negras
A dispatch from Casa Alitas in Tucson
Herbert McCabe’s essay on priesthood and revolution

Ep. 108 - God’s Editor Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

Though you’ve probably never heard of him, book editor Eugene Exman (1900–1975) exerted tremendous influence on the shape of American religion in the twentieth century.

On this episode, special projects editor Miles Doyle speaks with Stephen Prothero, author of the new Exman biography God the Bestseller: How One Editor Transformed American Religion One Book at a Time.

Prothero explains how Exman’s relationships with religious leaders like Dorothy Day, Howard Thurman, and Martin Luther King, Jr. helped shift American religious discourse away from denominational boundaries and toward a more personal, individual experience of God.

For further reading:

Dorothy Day’s collected writing for Commonweal
Gary Dorrien on Martin Luther King’s theological mentors
Gordon Marino reviews a biography of William James

Ep. 107 - Rescuing Philosophy Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

What should philosophy do? Despite record numbers of practitioners, today the discipline is in crisis, awash in abstraction and increasingly isolated—even within the academy.

But there’s a way out, argues veteran philosopher Philip Kitcher. It starts with attending to the ordinary concerns of human life, then illuminating them with clear, rigorous thought.

On this episode, Kitcher speaks with Commonweal features editor Alex Stern about Kitcher’s most recent book, What’s the Use of Philosophy?

Plus, in anticipation of Commonweal’s centennial in 2024, we’re featuring a special segment by contributor Kate Lucky on author Marilynne Robinson’s understanding of “true community.”

For further reading:

A collection of pieces by Gary Gutting
Alex Stern on Walter Benjamin and democracy
Marilynne Robinson on imagination & community

Ep. 106 - Belief in Something Big Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

At first glance, John West’s Lessons and Carols: A Meditation on Recovery is an unconventional memoir about addiction and the healing power of community.

But it also addresses the challenges of belief today, when almost everything—the nation, religious institutions, the environment—appears on the verge of collapse.

On this episode, West speaks with associate editor Griffin Oleynick about the paradoxes of autobiographical narrative, grief and loss, and the power of art.

For further reading:

Mollie Wilson O’Reilly on Mary Karr’s Lit
Matthew Sitman interviews Marilynne Robinson
Terry Eagleton on the philosophy of Wittgenstein

Ep. 105 - How Hospitals Could Be May 25, 2023

Show notes

Is single-payer health care really feasible in America? For one Texas physician, the answer is an unqualified ‘yes.’

On this episode, Commonweal associate editor Regina Munch speaks with Ricardo Nuila, an internist at Houston’s Ben Taub hospital and author of the new book The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine.

Then, as Commonweal approaches its centennial in 2024, we’re featuring brief reflections on writers we’ve published since our founding. Here, associate editor Griffin Oleynick reflects on the spiritual writing of the late John Garvey.

For further reading:

Paul Farmer’s theology of accompaniment
Luke Mayville campaigns for healthcare in Idaho
Pope Francis’s priorities for Catholic healthcare
John Garvey on spiritual surrender

Ep. 104 - After We’re Gone May 11, 2023

Show notes

Would the world actually be better without us? For most of human history, the question was inconceivable.

But now, anxious over climate change and elated at technological breakthroughs, a growing chorus of thinkers is heralding the end of humanity’s reign on Earth.

On this episode, poet and critic Adam Kirsch, author of The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us, analyzes these ideas with Commonweal senior editor Matthew Boudway.

For further reading:

Eugene McCarraher critiques the ‘technocratic paradigm’
An interview with ex-environmentalist Paul Kingsnorth
Santiago Ramos on the perils of the metaverse

Ep. 103 - Out Loud Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

As National Poetry Month draws to a close, Commonweal’s Claudia Avila Cosnahan is joined by poet, scholar, and professor Joshua Bennett to talk about his new book, Spoken Word: A Cultural History.

A prominent slam champion himself, Bennett explains how spoken word poetry has shaped his life and how the art form contributes to the ongoing work of community-building and liberation.

And be sure to stick around for a short conversation with Mollie Wilson O’Reilly about the life of Claire Huchet Bishop (1898–1993), a writer, librarian, and opponent of anti-semitism who also served for many years as the children’s books editor at Commonweal.

For further reading:

Alejandro Nava on the theology of hip-hop
Anthony Domestico reviews Joshua Bennett’s Owed
Daria Donnelly on the imagination of children’s books
Claire Huchet Bishop on book bannings in the 1940s

Ep. 102 - Writing Climate Change Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

In honor of Earth Week, we’re releasing a special bonus episode featuring our friend Dorothy Fortenberry in conversation with Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi.

Fortenberry, who has written and commented widely on climate change, is also the co-writer and executive producer of Extrapolations, a new show on Apple TV+ that imagines what life on Earth might look like in the near future.

Instead of giving in to climate “doomerism,” Fortenberry argues that there are indeed reasons to be hopeful about addressing the environmental crisis—if we could only summon the political will to do it.

For further reading:

A collection of Commonweal’s best writing on the environment
Dorothy Fortenberry explains why she stays Catholic
An interview with climate activist Bill McKibben

Ep. 101 - A ‘Mindset’ of Misanthropy Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

The billionaire founders of Big Tech firms are constantly touting “revolutionary” new products like cryptocurrency, AI, and the metaverse. They claim these exist “for the good of humanity,” but we should be extremely wary of their altruistic professions.

On this episode, Commonweal features editor Alexander Stern speaks with media critic Douglas Rushkoff, author of more than twenty books. His most recent is Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires.

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Peter Thiel want one thing, according to Rushkoff: profit, which comes at the expense of our psychological attention, physical well-being, and social cohesion. Only by understanding their misanthropic mindset can we begin imagining alternatives and fighting back.

For further reading:

Ep. 100 - Renaissance Man Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

In addition to being an accomplished writer, frequent Commonweal contributor Clifford Thompson is also a self-taught painter.

On this episode, Thompson speaks with associate editor Griffin Oleynick about his first solo gallery show in New York City.

Using Thompson’s art as a jumping-off point, they touch on a range of topics, including music, film, race, and the madness of American politics.

Then, in a special segment, Kaya Oakes speaks briefly with special projects editor Miles Doyle about Doris Grumbach’s memorable portrait of Dorothy Day.

For further reading:

Clifford Thompson on rootedness and political division
Clifford Thompson reviews Wendell Berry’s most recent book
Doris Grumbach reports on a conference with Dorothy Day

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected