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The Commonweal Podcast
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Episodes of The Commonweal Podcast
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For decades, discussions of poverty and inequality in America have tended to focus on cities. That’s understandable—cities are often the places where income disparities are most visible. But as poverty researchers Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Schaef
Vinson Cunningham is one of the most dynamic critics working today. Best known as the New Yorker’s theater critic and co-host of the weekly podcast Critics at Large, he’s also the author of the novel Great Expectations, based on his experience
We’re all familiar with the tired stereotype of the “God of the Old Testament,” a capricious creator Who subjects His chosen people to endless cycles of punishment and retribution. But in her reading of the Book of Genesis, novelist and essay
The past year or so hasn’t been the best one for higher education. Debates over affirmative action, free speech, and affordability, combined with recent cuts to the humanities, have led many to wonder what the future holds. Here to speak abou
Recent weeks have seen an intensification of the Republican campaign against Catholic groups that offer assistance to migrants and refugees along the southern border. Last month, Texas state attorney general Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit ag
For many religious people, the pandemic accelerated a decline in institutional allegiance and trust that was already well underway. Many Catholics stopped attending Mass and still haven’t returned.One figure who thinks deeply about the contem
For the first time, a majority of Americans now live in the suburbs—places that have been transformed over the past several decades by boom-and-bust construction cycles and rapid demographic shifts.On this episode, associate editor Regina Mun
For decades, Fr. Columba Stewart, a Benedictine Monk of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, has traveled the world in an effort to preserve manuscripts belonging to endangered communities. On this episode, Fr. Stewart joins Commonweal
Last month, Commonweal hosted a book launch in New York City with poet Christian Wiman. The topic was his new book Zero at the Bone: 50 Entries Against Despair, a mixture of poetry, essays, quotations, and close readings. The former editor of
On this special year-end episode, we’re revisiting four of our favorite conversations from the past year. Sociologist Matthew Desmond explains how the United States can choose to abolish poverty. Sr. Helen Prejean and singer Ryan McKinney disc
American workers have fared poorly in recent decades, suffering the loss not just of purchasing power, but of political power, too. On this episode, Commonweal senior editor Matt Boudway speaks with journalist Sohrab Ahmari, a conservative po
Last month’s Synod on Synodality in Rome is perhaps one of the most important ecclesial gatherings to take place since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. But what exactly happened remains unclear. On this episode, Commonweal editor Domi
Today, the political and social philosophy known as liberalism—which champions democracy, individual rights, and free enterprise—is on the defensive. Conservatives often charge it with eroding community, while some progressives view it as a j
Dead Man Walking, based on the acclaimed memoir by Sr. Helen Prejean, may be the world’s most popular contemporary opera. But it had never before been performed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City—until now. On this s
With its frequent earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires, and other maladies, California is no stranger to environmental disaster. But in the long run, even these highly visible effects of climate change pale in comparison to the looming threat of s
The fact that nearly 40 million Americans live in poverty is a national embarrassment. But it’s also a choice. If poverty exists, it’s because we “wish and will it to.”That’s the thesis of Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond, who joins Commo
The 2016 presidential election brought “fake news” to the center of national debates over media bias, election interference, free speech, and content moderation. But the phenomenon isn’t exactly new.Misleading stories, sensationalism, and outr
John McPhee is widely regarded as America’s most prolific nonfiction author. Over a career spanning seven decades, McPhee has written more than thirty books, elucidating everything from shipping and boatbuilding to geology, engineering, and avi
Religious life stands in radical opposition to much of modern culture. But what is it, exactly? On this episode, philosopher Zena Hitz speaks with senior editor Matt Boudway about her new book on religious life—a crucial part of the Catholic C
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
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 P
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
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,
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 hospit
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 hum
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