More Than Politics

In this episode Julie Varner Walsh talks with historian Dede Miller for the first part in a series on Reconstruction. Reconstruction was the period immediately following the Civil War, in which the Confederate south was brought back into the fold and millions of formerly enslaved people began to make their way in a new America.

While Reconstruction is perhaps less well-known to most Americans than slavery, Jim Crow, or the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s, its impact has nevertheless continued to be felt in our politics and society – especially when it comes to racial inequality.

In this first part of the series, Julie and Dede discuss the topic of voting. They talk about black Americans’ political engagement in the years following the Civil War, the mounting violence that resulted in black disenfranchisement, and the vestiges of disenfranchisement that we continue to see today.

And lastly, in an addendum to the originally-recorded conversation, Dede explains the Wilmington coup of 1898, which, as the only known coup in the history of the United States, has attracted much attention in the wake of the January 6th attack on the US. Capitol.

Dede Miller is a wife, a mother of two, a historian, and a former teacher. She holds an M.A. in History and specializes in 18th and 19th century trans-Atlantic slavery and slave revolutions, African-American history, and black political identity.

Dede is a black woman and convert to Catholicism who has a deep love for her community and her faith. She is a founding member and President of Catholics United for Black Lives and is deeply invested in using the principles of Catholic Social Teaching to address the racial divide in America.

To learn more about Dede, follow her on Instagram at @dedes.journey. To learn more about Catholics United for Black Lives, check out their website at www.cubl.org and follow them on Facebook and Instagram at @cublorg. 

Follow Julie on Instagram and Facebook, and visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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Julie Varner Walsh goes solo for this episode, reflecting on the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as the 2020 election and its aftermath.

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A onetime federal government employee, onetime lobbyist, and longtime student of politics, Julie Varner Walsh’s life has always centered around politics and her Catholic faith. And that has made for some strange combinations. Raised Republican, she worked mostly with Democrats when she was a lobbyist for the Catholic Church on poverty, immigration, and health care matters. Today she finds herself politically homeless, but not politically aimless. Walsh has found purpose in encouraging people to look beyond labels, to focus more on the moral implications of politics than the partisan horse race.

Follow Julie on Instagram and Facebook, and visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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In this episode Julie Varner Walks talks with singer/songwriter Kevin Heider. Kevin, who lives with his wife and four children in Dayton, Ohio, writes hymns, drinking songs, and everything in between. He has recently released an EP called Make An Honest Stand. 

A collection of six beautiful songs, Make An Honest Stand is perfect for this moment of political discord and cultural upheaval.

With lyrics that wrestle with our nation’s history and with the concepts of freedom, patriotism, and justice – and which deal, too, with anger, cynicism, and the pitfalls of social media – Make An Honest Stand offers a powerful, yet loving, criticism of our country, our politics, and our own, flawed selves.

Julie views these songs as protest songs of a sort – they are protests, perhaps, against antipathy. Honest and peaceful, challenging and probing, Make An Honest Stand is an invitation to reckoning. Or as Kevin calls it in their conversation, “An examination of our collective conscience.”

Their conversation is long – a full two hours. But it is all of a piece, and Julie couldn’t in good conscience split it into two episodes. It deserves to remain whole. So maybe it can keep you company here in the next week as you prepare your kitchen, your home, your family for Thanksgiving. 

Maybe it, and the songs Julie and Kevin discuss in it, can give you something to think about as we approach this national holiday. Maybe it can help you to consider our place in the history of this country, what parts of it we should be thankful for, and what parts we should work to correct.

To learn more about Kevin and his music, please visit his website, check out his podcast, and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Follow Julie on Instagram and Facebook, and visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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In this episode Julie Varner Walks talks with Meg Hunter-Kilmer on a topic that is more explicitly Catholic than others she’s covered – but which will also have something to offer listeners of different faiths, or no faith at all: stories of saints who lived in politically troubled times.

Given the divisiveness of the 2020 presidential election and how existentially threatening both sides seem to consider it, it’s good to take a longer view. The sad fact is, people have long lived under unjust political systems – systems that are as bad as, if not worse than, our current fears. In this conversation Julie and Meg consider the stories of people who lived through such times, who faced them with courage and conviction, who took them as opportunities to grow in faith, to work toward justice, to do God’s will, and to draw others closer to Him.

In a conversation that was far funnier than Julie expected and which spanned four continents and several centuries, Meg speaks to us about what these holy men and women have to teach us about living through turmoil, about facing oppression, about resisting unjust systems, about speaking truth to power.

Meg Hunter-Kilmer considers herself a “hobo missionary.” After two theology degrees from Notre Dame and five years as a high school religion teacher, Meg quit her job in 2012 to live out of her car and preach the Gospel to anyone who would listen. 50 states and 25 countries later, this seems to have a been a less ridiculous decision than she initially thought. Meg blogs at Pierced Hands and Aleteia and is a prolific poster on Instagram and Facebook – especially about the saints.

To learn more about Meg, please visit her blog, check out her upcoming book, and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Follow Julie on Instagram and Facebook, and visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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In this brief, bonus episode (which should have been posted a bit before the election -- c'est la vie), Julie Varner Walsh revisits a blog post she wrote in 2014. 

Adapting it a bit for the moment, Julie posts it to encourage any remaining reluctant voters to get on out there, even if it feels like your vote can't make a difference.

This bonus episode pairs well with last week's regular episode. So if you liked that one, you should like this one too.

This episode is a little different from our usual format. Instead of inviting on a friend to ask them questions, this time Julie Varner Walsh is joined by a friend who’s asking her the questions. In the run-up to election day, Julie and her friend Rita Buettner thought it would be helpful to do a round-up of topics that might be of interest to listeners just before the election.

They cover modes of voting, write-in and third-party voting, how to make your final choices (if you haven’t yet), voting even when it feels like your vote can’t make a difference, and information to keep in mind about how mail-in ballots are counted. They cover the electoral college, why politics in the United States is dominated by two political parties (rather than three or more), what to watch for on election night, and what may come in the months following the election.

A former journalist, Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review’s Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family, and faith. In her full-time job, Rita is director of university communications for Loyola University Maryland.


To learn more about Rita, please visit her blog and follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

To listen to the episode of The Daily that Julie references in this episode, please visit: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/22/podcasts/the-daily/electoral-college-trump-clinton-gore-bush.html

Visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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In this episode Julie Varner Walsh talks with Laura Kelly Fanucci about how to talk to children about politics and current events. 

In their conversation, Julie and Laura discuss the importance of forming children’s consciences regarding political matters as well as personal. They talk about how to make big issues feel small and approachable, how to incorporate prayer into family discussions on politics and current events, and why politics isn’t as simple as “good guys vs. bad guys.” 

And as we near the end of a highly contentious presidential election, Julie and Laura also discuss how to help children understand a politics that is so marked by bad behavior. (But the two also talk about what is giving them hope for the future.)

Laura Kelly Fanucci is a writer and speaker who has spent over a decade working on theology of vocation. She earned her Master of Divinity from Saint John's School of Theology and her BA from the University of Notre Dame. 

Laura is an award-winning columnist for Catholic News Service, and her nationally syndicated “Faith at Home” column runs monthly in Catholic newspapers across the U.S. Her writing has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, On Being, and the Christian Century, and in popular outlets including People Magazine and the Kelly Clarkson Show.

Laura has authored seven books, including Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting. She and her husband live in Minnesota with their children.

To learn more about Laura, please visit her website, follow her on Instagram and Facebook, and check out her book.

Follow Julie on Instagram or Facebook, or visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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In this episode Julie Walsh is again joined by her friend, Dr. Jill Scheibler, for a conversation about the presidential and vice-presidential debates, the president’s Covid diagnosis, the plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor, absentee voting (and the tallying of absentee votes). They also talk about polling: How polling works, what it’s been showing lately about the presidential race, and why we shouldn’t write it off.

Jill is a community psychologist, a college professor and research coordinator, an art therapist, and the cofounder and Operations & Program Director of the nonprofit Make Studio, which empowers artists with disabilities to grow as professionals with visibility and voice in their communities.

Although not formally a student of political science, Politics-watching is Jill’s main hobby. She is an avid daily reader of news, she enjoys the political "horse race" but not at the expense of substance, and she knows all 50 states’ U.S. Senators by name if not sight. Jill identifies as a left-of-center/"pragmatic progressive" Democrat. 
 
 

Visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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Julie Walsh talks with Julia Harrell in her most freewheeling podcast conversation yet. They discuss some of the biggest challenges of our time – and then they dream about what a better world would look like. 

From democracy to education to the news media, Julie and Julia spend some time following Vaclev Havel’s advice: “[W]e must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality.”

Julia Harrell is an author, a freelance writer, and a stay-at-home mom to four young kids. Her book, How to Be a Hero: Train With the Saints, is a kid’s exploration of the power of the virtuous life. Julia is a former teacher who loves talking about schools, education, and especially literature and the Great Books. She lives outside Washington, DC with her family.

Get to know Julia at her Facebook page, website, and Instagram account.

Julia’s book can be found at the following:

https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Hero-Julia-Harrell/dp/081983453X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=julia+harrell&qid=1601055898&sr=8-1

https://paulinestore.com/how-to-be-a-hero-train-w-saints-3061-173541.html

Visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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Julie Walsh and Abigail Benjamin discuss the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the importance of good-hearted political debate and being willing to dissent from your peers, and Abigail’s experience of running for public office for the first time.

Abigail Benjamin is a lay Carmelite, a Catholic wife of 20 years, and a homeschooling mom to seven kids ages 17 to 2. She is an environmental and real estate lawyer in her small hometown in Central West Virginia. This year she ran for public office for the first time.

Abigail is working on her first novel, "Thin Lines" as part of a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at West Virginia Wesleyan College. She graduated with honors from Smith College and the University of Wisconsin Law School. 

You can learn more about Abigail at her website: http://www.abigaillawoffice.com/

Visit www.thesewallsblog.com/morethanpolitics to learn more about this podcast.

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