Jesuitical
Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?
226
The Amazon synod should matter to you. Here’s w...
The Synod of Bishops for the Amazon is underway in Rome. This week, we welcome Luke Hansen, S.J., a former associate editor at America and special correspondent for the synod, to discuss why the synod is so significant. Since the start of the synod on...
33 min
227
Loneliness isn’t something you can “fix” (or ne...
Loneliness: When you’re experiencing it, it can seem like you are the only person in the world who feels this way. But when you say it out loud, you find out almost everyone, at some point, has had the feeling that they are missing out or that they...
31 min
228
Is Augustine the most relatable saint? Ep. 114
Forget what you think you know about Saint Augustine. Maybe you only know the cities that take his name, or you had a tough experience in your introduction to philosophy class and found him medieval (in the pejorative sense) and scrupulous. But...
44 min
229
Faith and politics in Silicon Valley Ep.113
Faith is probably not the first thing you think of when you hear “Silicon Valley.” But Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents the capital of the tech world in Congress, says many people in his diverse district can be found in the pews on Sunday. The...
31 min
230
What makes Catholic School Movies so great? Ep....
As someone who never attended Catholic grammar or high school, I am not exactly the most qualified to break down what makes a Catholic school movie great. Then again, I rarely let qualifications get in the way of my opinions. A few weeks ago,...
35 min
231
Why you (yes, you) should go on a retreat Ep. 111
If you’ve never been on a retreat—or if you have—this week’s guest is perfect for you. Father Joe Laramie is a Jesuit and campus minister. For years, Father Joe has been giving retreats, and this year, he published Abide in the Heart of...
33 min
232
Why Malcolm Gladwell wants to think like a Jesu...
This summer, the hosts of this podcast learned they have something in common with Malcolm Gladwell: We all think being called “jesuitical” should be considered a compliment. Malcolm, a staff writer at the New Yorker and the author of several...
42 min
233
When Millennials move in with Nuns Ep. 109
When Millennials move in with Nuns Every year, more people—particularly those who skew younger—opt out of identifying with a religious tradition. In many ways, the spiritual lives of the next generation will look drastically different than...
29 min
234
Painting black saints. Ep 108.
Chloe Becker was upset when she realized she could not name a single African or African-American saint. A junior at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, Ohio, Chloe was inspired to learn more about racial justice after attending a school-sponsored...
35 min
235
Being Gay and Catholic. Ep. 107
Pat Gothman is committed to creating welcoming spaces for L.G.B.T. Catholics. Pat, who is gay and Catholic, is a writer and editor of Reaching Out, an online publication that highlights the stories of L.G.B.T. people of faith. In December, Pat...
37 min
236
How a punk rock journalist found healing in the...
Dawn Eden Goldstein was born into a Jewish family, but in her teens and 20s—dealing with cycles suicidal depression—charted her own path as a journalist and devotee of the religion of punk rock. In the early 2000s, as the first round of the sexual...
34 min
237
Georgetown Jesuits enslaved her ancestors. Now ...
Onita Estes-Hicks has been Catholic her entire life. Men in her family were named “Nace” after St. Ignatius, a testament to the influence of the Jesuits in her family’s life. But her relationship with her faith was forever changed in 2004, when...
42 min
238
A beginner’s guide to spiritual direction Ep. 104
For over two years, Father Eric Sundrup has provided the hosts of Jesuitical with spiritual formation. Every week, we sit and talk to him about where we found God—and where it was a little harder. Sadly, it’s Eric’s last week as an associate...
48 min
239
How this Jesuit leads the Vatican’s fight again...
Hans Zollner, S.J., has dedicated his life to protecting children from the horrific crime of sexual abuse. A psychologist and Jesuit priest, he has guided the church’s efforts to bring healing to survivors and to prevent such abuse from happening...
30 min
240
Remembering Rachel Held Evans. Ep. 102
Like so many, we were devastated by the news of Rachel Held Evans’s death last weekend. Rachel’s willingness to write candidly and prophetically about her faith inspired countless believers and doubters. The importance of Rachel’s life and work...
42 min
241
Kate Bowler on faith, cancer and the prosperity...
On this week’s episode, we talk with Kate Bowler, the author of the New York Times bestseller Everything Happens For A Reason (And other lies I’ve Loved). She just won a Christopher Award for the book. (The were created in 1949 to celebrate...
33 min
242
Jesuitical’s 100th episode: This time, Ashley, ...
Zac, Olga and I have had the chance to interview some pretty incredible people over the course of 99 episodes—from and to , and so many more. But this week, we’re turning the tables: To celebrate our 100th episode, former guest and CNN analyst...
38 min
243
Should Catholics care about what happens at the...
Should you care about what’s going on at the Vatican? It seems clear that you should pray for the pope and for the people making important decisions about the church’s governance, but should you follow the updates about hirings and firings,...
34 min
244
Meet the two teens who started a feminist club ...
Matias Benitez and Matt Chen are students at Regis High School in New York City, and in February of 2018, the teenagers started HeForShe, the school’s first feminist club. Every week, a dozen or so students gather after school to discuss the...
33 min
245
Meet the evangelical pastor who spoke with Pope...
“Walk together, work together, love each other.” That is how the journey of building Christian unity in the 21st century. Michael Rudzena is walking that path as part of the , an ecumenical group dedicated to responding to the...
48 min
246
Marquette’s Markus Howard is changing the way a...
Marquette University men’s basketball standout Markus Howard is having a banner year. He’s earned the Big East Conference Player of the Year award on his way to leading Marquette toward a (hopefully) deep run in the N.C.A.A. tournament. He’s...
26 min
247
Meet Mireille Twayigira: Rwandan Refugee, Docto...
When Mireille Twayigira was two, she fled Rwanda with her family after her father was killed in the country’s genocide. At the age of eight, she entered a Jesuit Refugee Service school in Malawi. After she graduated from secondary school as one of...
38 min
248
The Catholic nun stories that haven’t gone vira...
Catholics a good nun story. cleans up after Hurricane Irma? Social media gold. Nuns ? Yes please. And who can forget Sister Jean? (). But every day and on every continent women religious are doing life-saving, cutting-edge work in hospitals,...
33 min
249
What in the hell? How Vinson Cunningham imagine...
Vinson Cunningham doesn’t meet many people who believe in hell—but he still does. We sit down with Vinson, who is staff writer at the New Yorker, to discuss his recent essay We talk about our first memories of hell, how it still impacts...
41 min
250
Will the sex abuse crisis ever end? Ep. 92
This week, America and Spoke Studios published “,” a new podcast about the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Maggi van Dorn is the host and executive producer of “Deliver Us.” Following the release of the Pennslyvania grand jury...
35 min