Podcast Episodes

Ep. 146 - Aging in America

Season 1 Episode 146

Fights over federal spending usually follow a predictable pattern, with Republicans attempting to cut entitlement programs as Democrats seek to expand the social safety net. 

One thing that’s rarely t…

Published on 7 months ago

Ep. 145 - Memory Matters

Season 1 Episode 145

For as long as humans beings have existed, we have had a knack for forgetting—not only when memory proves difficult, but when it becomes inconvenient. 

We need only look at Donald Trump’s pardoning of…

Published on 7 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 144 - Best Interviews of 2024

Season 1 Episode 144

As you probably know by now, 2024 was a big year for Commonweal, marking one hundred years of continuous publication. 

It was also an important one for the podcast, which for five years—and nearly one…

Published on 8 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 143 - ‘Hope Grows in the Dark’

Season 1 Episode 143

What does it mean to “have hope,” especially during challenging times? Is it something we can possess, like a talisman to ward off despair?

No, argues Norman Wirzba, distinguished professor of Christi…

Published on 8 months, 4 weeks ago

Ep. 142 - ‘What Backlash Looks Like’

Season 1 Episode 142

In the wake of the 2024 election, many are wondering how to make sense of the results—including how a capable, qualified woman could lose to a man like Donald Trump, an adjudicated rapist whose campa…

Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 141 - Follow the Money

Season 1 Episode 141

The invitation-only Catholic prelature known as Opus Dei, founded in Spain in 1927 by the recently canonized priest Josemaría Escrivá, currently counts just around 3,000 members in the United States.…

Published on 9 months, 4 weeks ago

Ep. 140 - Fewer Screens, More Meaning

Season 1 Episode 140

It’s no secret that there’s a mental health crisis affecting young people in the United States. Rates of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and even suicide attempts have hit record highs. 

That’s partl…

Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 139 - Detroit’s Black Christian Utopia

Season 1 Episode 139

The Trump campaign has made us all too familiar with the ideology of Christian Nationalism, with its violent rhetoric and racist undertones. 

Far less well-known, though, is the tradition of Black Chr…

Published on 11 months ago

Ep. 138 - The Work AI Can’t Do

Season 1 Episode 138

Corporate boosters of artificial intelligence promise that the technology will vastly improve efficiency in the world of work. But is that actually desirable? 

On this episode, associate editor Regina…

Published on 11 months, 2 weeks ago

Ep. 137 - Epic in the Everyday

Season 1 Episode 137

Garth Greenwell’s latest novel, Small Rain, is set in a midwestern ICU during the early days of the pandemic, as its unnamed narrator, a writer, experiences a health crisis and lies confined to his b…

Published on 11 months, 4 weeks ago