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?
276
How living in L’Arche made Jeremy McLellan a be...
This week, we talk with Jeremy McLellan, a comedian from Charleston, S.C. Jeremy was recently named a “New Face of Comedy” at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He was recently baptized at this year’s Easter Vigil. We talk to the...
31 min
277
What Mario Lopez learned about his Catholic fai...
It was a curious Tweet that came across my timeline. Was A.C. Slater really getting baptized in the Jordan River? Got baptized in the same river Jesus did... — Mario Lopez (@MarioLopezExtra) And there was another one—this time at the...
33 min
278
Fighting Islamophobia with social justice comed...
How do you change the mind of someone who thinks you don’t belong in this country because of your faith? Make them laugh, says Negin Farsad, Muslim-American comedian, actress, writer and filmmaker. And she does. Back in 2014, she took a troupe of...
37 min
279
Meet Cyrus Habib: the most interesting Catholic...
Cyrus Habib is the 16th and current Lieutenant Governor of Washington State. Born in Baltimore, Md., Cyrus is a three-time cancer survivor and has been fully blind since he was 8-years-old. His parents immigrated to the United States from Iran before...
48 min
280
Ross Douthat is worried about Pope Francis’ lea...
It’s not an easy position for faithful Catholics to stake out, criticizing a popular pope. But is worried about where Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church. In his new book, To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism,...
46 min
281
What makes a good "Christian" movie? Ep. 61
What makes a Christian movie? Can you define it based on its themes and subjects? Or is it all in whom it’s marketed at? is a film critic at , where she covers film and culture. Before writing at Vox, Alissa was critic-at-large at . We discuss the...
39 min
282
Wajahat Ali reminds U.S. Catholics of their own...
This week, we talk with Wajahat Ali, a contributing op-ed writer for The New York Times, where he covers religion, family life and U.S. politics. Wajahat is also one of the producers of the Emmy-nominated series, which takes a look into the...
49 min
283
From alcoholism and agnosticism to converting t...
“Any way I tell this story is a lie.” Mary Karr opens her memoir “Lit” with a warning about the inevitable unreliability of memory. But don’t be fooled. Mary Karr delivers many truths that you need to hear. Mary Karr is an award-winning poet...
42 min
284
Have we reached a turning point in the gun cont...
As I write this, thousands of students across the country are walking out of their high schools to protest gun violence. April 20 marks the 19th anniversary of the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colo., which left 13 dead. At the...
42 min
285
The (Catholic) Science Guy Ep. 57
Whoever says you have to choose between science and faith has not met Guy Consolmagno, S.J.—a Jesuit brother and director of the Vatican Observatory. We ask what projects the pope’s astronomers are working on now, if he believes in aliens and why...
41 min
286
Sarah Silverman on whether hell exists and why ...
“You know, I don’t know about Jesuits except what I am learning,” Sarah Silverman tells us on this week’s episode of Jesuitical. “Every Jesuit I meet, I find that I adore and just love the bringing emotion and feelings and intellect...
37 min
287
Live from Loyola University Chicago Ep. 55
For this week’s episode, we’re bringing you our live recording from last Friday, March 23 at Loyola University Chicago. We’re talking with a frequent guest of the show, James Martin, S.J., about his new podcast Now, I will admit—I have always...
51 min
288
The making of a Papal Ninja Warrior Ep. 54
What is a papal ninja and how do you become one? This week, we went straight to the source to find out. Sean Bryan competes on the hit NBC show “,” where he takes on insanely difficult obstacle courses—for the greater glory of God. And...
26 min
289
So we interviewed our boss Ep. 53
It’s taken over a year for us to get our boss, Matt Malone, S.J., on Jesuitical—and we promise it was worth the wait. Matt is president and editor in chief of America, and the reason why Jesuitical exists in the first place. This week we talk to...
50 min
290
How ESPN’s Joe Lunardi invented bracketology Ep...
This week, due to inclement weather, we were unable to record on our usual Wednesday. This week’s episode is an abbreviated one, sans consolations and desolations, but have no fear: It’s a good one. Since Selection Sunday—the official start of...
32 min
291
Think you’re not a poetry person? Let Elizabeth...
I feel the same way about poetry that I do about prayer: I know it’s good for the soul; I really respect those who have mastered the art—and I have a very hard time getting into it. To which Elizabeth Acevedo, this week’s guest, (wisely)...
40 min
292
Why do we let ‘good manners’ get in the way of ...
How’s your Lent going? Did you make it at least a few days (unlike me) before breaking your Lenten practice? If you’re trying to up your prayer game this Lent and haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet, you won’t want to miss this week’s...
42 min
293
An Unorthodox celebration of our one year (litu...
This week, to celebrate our one year (liturgical) anniversary we are talking with Liel Leibovitz and Stephanie Butnick. They are two-thirds of , a Jewish podcast from The Tablet. Here at Jesuitical, we hold a special place in our hearts for these...
46 min
294
The case against hot takes Ep. 48
We live in an age of opinion writers telling us that we [insert sweeping generalization here]. The hotter the take, the more attention it gets not only from readers who already agree but pundits eager to tear it down with their own scorching...
33 min
295
A conversation on why Catholics need to dialogu...
“It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God,” Pope Francis said early in his pontificate. “But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God, while ignoring other people.” Many U.S....
33 min
296
Is it possible to blend yoga and Catholicism? E...
Is yoga cultural appropriation? Is it just stretching? Is it possible to blend yoga and the Catholic faith? This week we get into these questions and more with Bobby Karle, S.J., the founder of , a practice that draws on Ignatian spirituality and...
41 min
297
What do (Catholic) women want? Ep. 45
You have heard it said, “Who run the world? Girls” (Bey 4:12). But we ask: Who runs the church? Popes, of course. But across the country there are dedicated women of faith taking the lead in parishes, schools, social ministries—and...
48 min
298
One thing you can do to support migrants and re...
It is not the first time and it is unlikely to be the last time, but President Trump’s latest racist remarks about “shithole” countries has ...
35 min
299
What’s it like being Catholic at The New York T...
In our final Jesuitical episode of 2017, we talk with my fellow Bronxite and award-winning journalist at The New York Times, David Gonzalez. Born and ...
27 min
300
Kirsten Powers worked for Bill Clinton and Fox ...
How does an appointee in the Bill Clinton administration end up as a regular face of Fox News? It’s complicated. And what does a woman ...
30 min