Church Meets World: The America Magazine Podcast

Riana decided to run away from home after getting into an argument with her mother for missing curfew. It was cold and nighttime. She had nowhere to go. Looking for help, she reached out to an older man who had given her his phone number earlier that day...

Isabelle Senechal narrates the harrowing story of Riana, a young woman who was manipulated and coerced by a violent sex trafficker.

The booming industry is largely hidden, but some faith-based anti-trafficking initiatives are making progress by tracking the digital footprints of traffickers using the most advanced data science to recommend policy solutions.

Links from the show:

How some researchers are using data science to fight sex trafficking

Learn more about America's Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., Postgraduate Media Fellowship

On January 6th, 2021, a violent mob, incited by President Trump, stormed the US Capitol. They were there to disrupt Congress as it was certifying the election of Joe Biden. The mob overwhelmed the capitol police and made their way into the offices and chambers, as elected officials ran for safety.

In conversation with Fr. Matt Malone, America’s Editor in Chief, Fr. Bryan Massingale says the insurrection was a direct result of four years of lies from Donald Trump. This interview first aired as a video on America Media’s YouTube channel and has been reformatted for podcast with additional commentary from Sebastian Gomes and Maggi Van Dorn.

Support this podcast by subscribing at Americamagazine.org/subscribe.

Links from the show:

Fr. Bryan Massingale’s article: The Racist Attack on Our Nation’s Capitol

America’s Editorial: After the storming of the Capitol: We need accountability, repentance and a reckoning

Watch Fr. Matt Malone, S.J. in conversation with Fr. Bryan Massingale: How to make spiritual sense of the attack on the Capitol

Is your relationship with work undermining all the other goods in your life? If so, you might have what Jonathan Malesic calls a “demonic work ethic.”

He’s not alone in saying so. After years of academic burnout, Jonathan made a trip to the Christ in the Desert monastery, where the Benedictine monks helped him rediscover the sacred rhythms of work and rest.

Everyone from Thomas Aquinas to Annie Dillard has written about the importance of leisure, and yet, Catholic Ethicist Conor Kelly says that for most of us, our fast-paced, capitalist culture makes free time an afterthought. And we certainly don’t have federal laws like family leave or paid time off to support an ethic of leisure.

So how do we make the most of our time? What’s the best recreation for your soul? And why must we see free time not as a luxury, but a necessity for the Christian moral life?

Links from the show:

The streaming era ruined our free time. Is it too late to reclaim it?

Why we need a new theology of work

On January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden will make history in several ways: He received over 74 million votes, surpassing any presidential candidate in history. Biden is the oldest person and only the second Catholic to become president. And his running mate, Kamala Harris, is the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of the Vice President.

But beyond the polls, numbers and issues, Biden’s Catholic faith has become a subject of great interest. So we’re sharing an interview from 2015 that America Media’s editor-in-chief Fr. Matt Malone did with then Vice President Joe Biden. It was conducted just before Biden and President Obama hosted Pope Francis at the White House. It’s an intimate conversation about Biden’s faith, family and how tragic life experiences have shaped him personally. For ongoing coverage of politics and the presidential election visit americamag.org.

Just ahead of the election we're sharing the Voting Catholic podcast. To hear the full series, just search "Voting Catholic" wherever you get your podcasts!

Voting Catholic

Episode 1: "What Happened to the Catholic Vote?"

A survey of the evolution of the Catholic vote from the election of JFK in 1960 to the election of Donald Trump.

Show links:

8 facts about Catholics and politics in the U.S.

US Bishops teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics: "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship"

Stay up-to-date with America Media's coverage of the 2020 election: www.americamagazine.org/newsletters

You can support this media ministry at www.americamagazine.org/donate

On the anniversary of Emmitt Till’s murder on August 28, 1955, we reflect on the present day killing of George Floyd and the litany of Black Americans who have been crucified by racial injustice. In both, we witness how Floyd’s cry for his mama and Mamie Till Mobley’s public outcry at her son’s murder, turns private suffering into a public sin and catalyst for justice. 

This episode was adapted from an America Magazine article written by Abraham Nussbaum, which you can read at: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/08/06/emmett-till-george-floyd-black-deaths-racism

Thanks to Oregon Catholic Press for the use of John Becker’s “Litany of the Saints.”

Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Written and narrated by one of America's executive editors, Kerry Weber, the following coronavirus prayer is a reminder of God’s healing presence in a time of great fear and anxiety. Please pray along with us in the language of your choice:

A Coronavirus Prayer - In English

A Printable Version of "A Coronavirus Prayer" in English

Una Oracion por el Coronavirus - En Español

Une priere pour le coronavirus - En Francais

Una Preghiera per il Coronavirus - In Italiano

In "Plague" journalist Michael O'Loughlin investigates stories of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church. Mike is America’s national correspondent and he’s covered Catholicism for more than a decade. Mike is also gay and Catholic—and he’s curious how others manage this sometimes complex identity.

No time in modern history has been more volatile for gay Catholics than the height of the AIDS epidemic. So he spent the last few years interviewing people who were right in the middle of it. People who fought, worked and grieved through it.

Episode 1 will be available on World AIDS Day, December 1, wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more at www.americamag.org/plague

This is the series finale of "America This Week." Our guest is John W. Miller. We discuss his article "The opioid crisis demands a new solution. Churches are hoping to be part of it." 

We also discuss these articles:

Social media reinforces clean divisions, but reality is messy.

The threat of a climate catastrophe is here. Will U.S. Catholics heed the call?

Detroit Catholic schools and parishes to stop all sports on Sunday

This week's guest is Anna Keating. We discuss her article “Why Evangelical megachurches are embracing (some) Catholic traditions.”

We also discuss these articles:

Pope Francis tells women religious church cannot alter revelation on women’s diaconate

Pope Francis’ almsgiver restores power (illegally) to homeless shelter in Italy

How Mary can be a bridge between Christians and Muslims

Can Christianity in northern Iraq survive after ISIS?