The America Magazine Podcast

The Imagination of Uwem Akpan

americamagazine — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:18:42 +0000

Jesuit priest Uwem Akpan published his first short story in the New Yorker in 2005 and his writing career has blossomed from there. His short story collection, Say You’re One of Them, is the most recent selection of Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, and Father Akpan appeared with Ms. Winfrey on a live Webcast earlier this month. In an interview with America, Father Akpan describes how the Ignatian tradition has helped nurture his writing and why he decided to tell his stories from a child’s point of view.

November 23 - A Vatican Visitation

americamagazine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:55:39 +0000

Doris Gottemoeller, R.S.M., past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, offers four recommendations for the Vatican visitation of women religious, and reflects on the opportunities and limitations such a process entails.

November 16 - Deaths in the Family

americamagazine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:55:19 +0000

Kevin F. Burke, S.J., the author of two books on Ignacio Ellacuria, discusses the legacy of the Spanish Jesuit and the other victims of the massacre at the University of Central America in San Salvador on Nov. 16, 1989. A total of eight people were killed on that day, which proved to be a turning point in American policy toward El Salvador. Father Burke also reports on the work of Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino, one of two members of the CAU Jesuit community who were not home that night and thus survived the attack.

November 9 - Rediscovering Dorothy Day

americamagazine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:40:29 +0000

Robert Ellsberg, the editor of The Duty of Delight, the Diaries of Dorothy Day remembers first meeting the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, and what he has learned about Day by editing her diaries and her forthcoming collection of letters.

November 2 - The Trouble with Social Conservatives

americamagazine — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:58:16 +0000

William Bole offers a critique of the social conservative movement, arguing that too often their positions are indistinguishable from the platform of the Republican National Committee. This is unfortunate, Bole contends, because a truly independent social conservative movement could play a key role in implementing policies designed to strengthen the family.

October 26 - Crisis in Honduras

americamagazine — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:33:26 +0000

Associate editor Kevin Clarke interviews John Donaghy, a lay missionary from Honduras, on the country’s political crisis in wake of the ouster of Manuel Zelaya on June 28. Donaghy assesses the church’s response to what some have called a coup d’etat, and what impact the political strife will have on the country’s poor.

October 19 - A Man of Restless Delight

americamagazine — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:06:48 +0000

What would “Mexican Night” look like in heaven? The Jesuit Peter Steele offers a playful scenario in his poem of the same name, read here by the author along with “Kyrie Eleison, “Lazarus at the Gate (After Tiepolo),” and other writings. For more on the Australian poet read Jim McDermott’s profile of Steele in the October 19 issue.

October 12 - St. Francis’s Mission of Peace

americamagazine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:51:04 +0000

Paul Moses recounts the remarkable meeting between St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Kamil in the midst of the Fifth Crusade. Moses explores why this meeting was glossed over for so many years, and what the encounter can teach contemporary observers in an age of tense Muslim-Christian relations.

October 5 - Birth and the Spiritual Life

americamagazine — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:11:14 +0000

Susan Windley-Daoust, a professor of theology at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, makes the case that birth is not simply an ordeal to endure, but a rich spiritual gift that is comparable in many ways of the prayer life. She argues that while medicine has made great strides in the area of childbirth, it has not come without some cost to the spiritual immediacy of the experience.

September 28 Podcast - Mad Men’s Existential Thrills

americamagazine — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:53:12 +0000

James Martin, S.J., America’s culture editor, looks at the first few seasons of the AMC television show “Mad Men” and the literary and philosophical themes it invokes, from John Paul Sartre and Richard Yates to Flannery O’Connor.

September 14-21 Podcast — Ethics and Public Policy

americamagazine — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:02:19 +0000

Jesuit ethicist Thomas Massaro considers the legacy of Ted Kennedy and Robert McNamara, and explores the complexities of bringing the church’s social tradition to bear on political decisions.

Aug. 31-Sept. 1 - Waiting for Health Care Reform

americamagazine — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:09:06 +0000

Karen Sue Smith, editorial director of America, reports on obstacles to health care reform and why despite growing opposition the passage of a bill is more likely today than in 1994. Also, a closer look at the uninsured. For more on this subject read Karen Smith’s blog posts on the path to health care reform.

August 17-24 - Obama’s Long War

americamagazine — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:13:17 +0000

Alon Ben-Meir of New York University analyzes U.S. strategy in Afghanistan under President Barack Obama and offers commentary on the upcoming Afghan election. Read Professor Ben-Meir’s article, “Obama’s Long War,” from the August 17-24 issue.

August 3-10 - Torture and the Rule of Law

americamagazine — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:37 +0000

Now the dean of Fordham Law School in New York, William Michael Treanor served for three years in the president’s Office of Legal Counsel, a branch of the executive that was little-known to the general public until legal advisers to President George W. Bush released the infamous “torture memo” in 2002. Treanor, who served under President Clinton, talks about the expansion of executive power under Bush II, and what Congress and President Obama can do to bring greater transparency to the activities of the executive branch and to restore the integrity of the Office of Legal Counsel. Read Den Treanor’s article, “Legal Obligations,” from the Aug. 3-10 America.

July 20-27 - An Irishwoman in ‘Brooklyn’

americamagazine — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:27:31 +0000

America’s Book Club reviews Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn, a new novel that chronicles a young Irishwoman’s journey to adulthood in an unfamiliar country. Purchase Brooklyn from amazon.com.

July 6-13 - Struggling with Infertility

americamagazine — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:45:37 +0000

Julie Irwin Zimmerman discusses the difficulties facing Catholics encountering infertility. Too often, she argues, Catholics feel bewildered by the moral implications of the choices offered by the fertility industry. In this environment, the church should do more to reach out to couples weighing these difficult matters, to listen and guide them to a life-affirming decision. Look for Zimmerman’s article, “Science and the Path to Parenthood,” in the July 6-13 issue.

June 22-29 Podcast - Gone Walkabout

americamagazine — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:26:22 +0000

Jim McDermott, S.J., describes the terrible beauty of Australia, a country that he experienced as both exotic and familiar. Father McDermott spent seven months down under as part of the final stage of his Jesuit formation. Read his article, “Gone Walkabout,” from the June 22-29 issue of America.

June 8-15 Podcast - A Prayer for the Motor City

americamagazine — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:45:20 +0000

Dave Nantais, a frequent contributor to America’s pages and a Detroit native, reports on the mood of the Motor City as the American auto industry continues to shrink, what the church is doing to help the unemployed and why the city’s cultural scene continues to hum despite the troubles.

May 25-June 1 Podcast - Whither the Ambo?

americamagazine — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:25:45 +0000

Jaime Lara of Yale Divinity School considers trends in church architecture from early church history, when no seating was provided for the congregation, to the innovations introduced after Vatican II. Professor Lara also offers a critique of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and an appreciation of the new Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif.

May 18 Podcast - Getting to Know Thoreau

americamagazine — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:30:51 +0000

Robert Sullivan, author of The Meadowlands and How Not To Get Rich and a frequent contributor to the New Yorker and Vogue, talks about rats, swamps and his new book, The Thoreau You Don’t Know. Inspired by the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins and the theology of Karl Rahner, Sullivan’s writings seek out the divine spark in even the most repellent of God’s creations.