The Jim Wallis Podcast

Latest Episodes:

When Christians Answer the Call Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we pause the usual programming to ask a deeper question: what does it really mean for believers to answer God’s call in this cultural moment? We’ll introduce The Call for Christians, share why it matters, and invite you to consider how your faith can shape your public life in tangible, hopeful ways.

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Every Child of God Has Dignity: John Carr on 50 Years of Faith and Public Life Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

John Carr joins Jim Wallis to look back on five decades at the intersection of faith, politics, Catholic social teaching, and public life. From working with bishops, presidents, and popes to launching Georgetown’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, John has spent 50 years helping people connect what they say they believe with what they do in the world.

He tells stories of pressing President Obama with Matthew 25 to protect “the least of these,” explains why human dignity, solidarity, and the common good offer an alternative to our “deeply broken, almost meltdown” politics, and proposes replacing a “sanity caucus” with a dignity caucus that puts the image of God at the center of public life.

John also speaks candidly about surviving clergy sexual abuse, living 20 years in recovery from alcoholism, and what the serenity prayer, community, and Catholic social teaching have taught him about vocation, conversion, and courage in this moment.

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Springfield’s Witness: Haitian Neighbors and Faith‑Rooted Resistance Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

Jim Wallis focuses on Springfield, Ohio, where Haitian families who fled insecurity and disaster now face

bomb threats,
school evacuations,
neo‑Nazi demonstrations, and
dehumanizing lies from national leaders.

He speaks with Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church and Viles Dorenville of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center about how Haitian neighbors have

revived a shrinking city,
transformed worship, and
organized to defend Temporary Protected Status and community safety.

Together they explore faith‑rooted resistance, neighbor love in practice, and how Springfield’s story can guide churches and communities across the country to stand with immigrants.

If you would like to support the Haitian Support Center, please go to https://haitiansupportcenter.org/ and click on donate.

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Neighbors, Truth, and Higher Law: Chris LaTondresse and Jim Wallis on Minnesota’s Moral Uprising Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Jim Wallis talks with Minnesotan civic leader and Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative CEO Chris LaTondresse about how neighbors are stepping up amid ICE crackdowns, killings, and the climate of fear in Minnesota. From overnight vigils and mutual aid to churches inside security perimeters, they explore what it means to “bear witness,” follow a higher law of loving our neighbors, and resist the normalization of cruelty and lies.

Chris reflects on raising his sons just blocks from active enforcement, his formation as a missionary kid in post-Soviet Russia, and why Minnesota has become “the beating heart of the nation” in the struggle for truth, decency, and democracy. Together, they invite people of faith and conscience everywhere to reclaim civic trust, rebuild community, and remember that “we the people” — not any political party or charismatic leader — will save America by showing up for one another.

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“Civil but Not Silent”: Billy Shore on ICE in Maine, Kids, and Shared Purpose Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

Welcome back to the Jim Wallis Podcast. Today we're focusing on Maine, where the threat of ICE operations is growing under the second Trump administration. The same federal enforcement that has disrupted communities and resulted in unlawful detentions and even death of civilians and legal residents now looms over a state known for tight-knit towns and neighbors who look out for each other.

Jim talks with Billy Shore, founder of Share Our Strength, the No Kid Hungry campaign, and the host of the Add Passion and Stir podcast, who lives in Maine and serves as a volunteer firefighter. Billy describes the “tremendous amount of trepidation” across Maine, the state’s long history of immigrant welcome, and how ICE raids would be “a completely unnecessary, self-inflicted injury.” They discuss how federal tactics undermine school meals and summer grocery benefits, erode trust in first responders, and make “life harder for just about everybody in these communities”—and why now is the time to be “civil but not silent.”

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Minnesota Is Mourning’: Peggy Flanagan on ICE, Faith, and Fighting Mass Deportations Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Minnesota is mourning. These days, Minnesota has become ground zero in a national immigration battle, with ICE deployments escalating under the second Trump administration. Just days ago, a community volunteer observer, Renee Nicole Goode, was shot and killed by an ICE agent while aiding immigrants, unleashing both heartbreak and “absolute terror and chaos” in immigrant communities.

Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, running for the U.S. Senate, joins Jim Wallis to explain what is happening on the ground, how Minnesotans and multi-faith leaders are responding, and why she calls this a Matthew 25 moment. She contrasts that faith-rooted resistance with the politics of mass deportations, including her critique of Rep. Angie Craig’s vote for the Laken Riley Act and Democrats who “praise ICE” while immigrants are being kidnapped from school graduations.

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Tyranny and Epiphany: Matthew D. Taylor on White Christian Nationalism and the Continuing Coup Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of The Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim speaks with theologian and extremism expert Matthew D. Taylor about why Epiphany is a season of revelation that exposes both divine light and political lies. Together, they connect the Magi story, Herod’s tyranny, and the “slaughter of the innocents” to January 6, the second Trump administration, ICE violence, and the rise of White Christian Nationalism.

They explore why Jesus’ incarnation is God “living under tyranny with us,” how the kingdom of God directly subverts empires, and why theology must be part of resisting authoritarianism in the United States and around the world.

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Advent, Moral Empathy, and Trump’s America: Jim Wallis with David Gushee Dec 19, 2025

Show notes

Christian ethicist David Gushee joins Jim Wallis for a sobering Advent conversation on moral empathy in an age of school shootings, antisemitic violence, and Trump’s callous public rhetoric.

They discuss the Hanukkah massacre in Australia, the Brown University shooting, Trump’s vile response to the murder of Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer, the rise of authoritarian reactionary Christianity, and how to resist moral numbness while practicing “healthy politics” and Kingdom-of-God ethics in a deeply polarized nation.

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Advent Welcome: Faith, Truth, and Immigration Solidarity with Rev. Gabe Salguero Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of the Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim is joined by Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, to talk about the Advent Welcome: Immigration Solidarity Initiative. They discuss how Latino and immigrant churches are facing indiscriminate immigration enforcement, why attendance in some congregations has dropped by up to 40 percent, and how pastors are responding with prayer, accompaniment, advocacy, and a renewed theology of hospitality rooted in the Christmas story.

Rev. Salguero shares powerful stories from congregations across the country, explains why “hospitality is not optional for Christians,” and invites churches to practice “room at the inn” to welcome this Advent through concrete actions for immigrant families.

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Advent, Patient Impatience, and Courageous Hope: Jim Wallis with Bishop Michael Curry Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry joins Jim Wallis for a powerful Advent conversation on “patient impatience” — acting boldly for justice without believing we are in charge of history.

They explore how Advent fuels long‑distance courage in the Trump era–from the parable of the persistent widow and slave‑preacher wisdom–to today’s struggles for democracy, racial justice, and a deeper revolutionary spirituality rooted in love.

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