The Leader’s Way

Welcome back to the new season of The Leader’s Way, a podcast for people who aren’t ready to give up on the world.

In this episode, host Brandon Nappi talks with Volker Leppin about all things mysticism, for Meister Eckhart to Francis of Assisi to Martin Luther to so much more.

Dr. Leppin is a German Protestant theologian and the Horace Tracy Pitkin Professor of Historical Theology at Yale Divinity School. A historian of medieval and Reformation studies, his research focuses on scholasticism and mysticism in the late Middle Ages. He is a prolific author of 19 monographs and 11 critical editions of text, the editor or co-editor of 49 books, and the author of more than 300 scholarly articles or chapters. He is well-known for arguing that the Reformation should be understood not as a rupture, but as a transformation, one encompassing both continuity and change. His most recent book, Ruhen in Gott, Eine Geschichte der Christlichen Mystik (C. H. Beck München, 2021), emphasizes the importance of mysticism within Christianity while exploring also its interreligious potentials.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Volker Leppin

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

In this live-recorded episode of The Leader’s Way Podcast, Brandon interviews Sophfronia Scott, a novelist, essayist, and leading contemplative thinker, whose book The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton won the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award from the International Thomas Merton Society. In this conversation, Brandon and Sophfronia explore the powerful ways a contemplative life can infuse a life of activism, a life rooted in justice. This episode was recorded at the Berkeley Center at Yale Divinity School in front of a live audience that includes seminarians, Yale faculty, and special guests.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Sophfronia Scott

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

Welcome back to Within, a contemplative segment of The Leader’s Way Podcast that explores the convergence of mental health, art, and spirituality through authentic conversations across traditions about personal and collective transformation. In this episode, Brandon Nappi talks with Shabnam Mogharabi, an award-winning entertainment executive and entrepreneur who is also trained in positive psychology. Shabnam is the oldest daughter of immigrant parents from Iran and grew up wanting to tell stories that uplift, connect and shine a light on our capacity for joy. With actor Rainn Wilson, Shabnam co-founded the inspiring, mission-driven studio SoulPancake. Brandon asks Shabnam about her spiritual journey, her work as a storyteller and journalist, and the new workbook she and recently co-authored with Rainn Wilson, Soul Boom Workbook: Spiritual Tools for Living

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Shabnam Mogharabi

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

The Reverend Dr. John F. Ross is the Executive Director of The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Program at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he shepherds global engagement with the Saint John’s Bible—the first handwritten illuminated Bible in over 500 years. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, Brandon Nappi asks John to tell the story of how this artistic and beautiful Bible came to be, from the early inspirations of renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson to the Bible's commissioning by a Benedictine monastery and its subsequent travels across the world.

Explore more of the history and images from The Saint John’s Bible project here: https://saintjohnsbible.org/

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: John Ross

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

In this lively conversation, Brandon, Misty, and Whitney talk with The Most Rev'd Sean Rowe, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church. In this role, he serves as the church’s chief pastor and CEO. Known for his expertise in organizational learning and adaptive change, Rowe is committed to strengthening support for local ministry and mission. This episode offers a wide-ranging conversation, touching upon everything from the role of seminary in spiritual formation, to leadership in a church that is still becoming, to our willingness to engage with God’s imagination.

Hosts: Brandon Nappi, Whitney Kimball Coe, Misty Krasawski

Guest: Sean Rowe

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

In this tender and powerful episode, Leader’s Way host Brandon Nappi interviews Nelba Márquez-Greene, a devoted advocate for survivors of gun violence and someone who has been named one of the “Ten Women Changing the World,” according to People Magazine’s October 2019 issue. A Community Scholar at the Yale School of Public Health, Nelba also hosts the “Shared Humanity” podcast and video series, which focuses on the humans behind the headlines of gun violence in a moment in history where all too often we focus on everything but our shared humanity. Márquez-Greene seeks ways to partner with community organizations, clergy, and those looking to strengthen their response to the trauma of gun violence and injustice in our communities.

Nelba would like to dedicate this episode to all clergy who have ever prayed for her and her family and all people who are in winter seasons of their souls.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Nelba Márquez-Greene

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

What does “community” actually mean? Is community something we achieve or is it something we practice? Claire Brown and Austin Sauerbrei are partners, parents, and community practitioners, living and working in small town rural America. Claire is the rector of a small Episcopal church and Austin is a community organizer with the 50+ year-old statewide nonprofit, SOCM. Their daily lives are a whirlwind of tending to relationships and building muscle for faithful community engagement in their small town. With humor, candor, and wisdom honed by years of deep listening, they offer insights about the tensions and opportunities that arise when we acknowledge how intertwined we are with one another.

This episode is worth watching on The Leader’s Way YouTube channel! In this interview, Austin and Claire model what it looks like to engage in thought-partnership and parenthood, passing their youngest child, Ardy, between them as they respond to host Whitney Kimball Coe’s questions about how we do the thing we call “community.”

Learn more about The Rev’d Claire Brown: https://www.revclairebrown.com/

Learn more about Austin Sauerbrei’s new graphic novel, Trouble! At Coal Creek: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2529-trouble-at-coal-creek

Joseph Yoo was baptized, raised, and ordained in the United Methodist Church, and is now an Episcopalian priest and the planter of Mosaic Episcopal Church located in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Joseph is the author of When the Saints Go Flying In: Stories About Faith, Life, and Everything in Between and is known for his dynamic presence on Instagram and TikTok, where he reflects on everything from scripture to social justice to pro wrestling. In this conversation, Joseph and Brandon talk about the curious and winding paths we travel as we follow the spiritual calling of our lives, and the people who, through the unfolding of their lives, teach us about God.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Joseph Yoo

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders

Omid Safi was raised in a Muslim family where mystical poetry, particularly “love” poetry, and spirituality, were the currency of daily life. Poetry still “perfumes” Omid's social interactions, intellectual pursuits, and his curiosity about the ways religion, love, and justice intersect. Safi is a professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. He specializes in the study of Islamic mysticism and contemporary Islam and frequently writes on liberationist traditions of Dr. King, Malcolm X, and is committed to traditions that link together love and justice.  He has delivered the keynote for the annual Martin Luther King commemoration at the National Civil Rights Museum. In this episode of The Leader’s Way, host Brandon Nappi talks with Omid about his own spiritual path, the longings we each carry for community and belonging, and Omid’s forthcoming book on the famed mystic Rumi.

Host: Brandon Nappi

Guest: Omid Safi

Instagram: @theleadersway.podcast

berkeleydivinity.yale.edu/podcast 

You can support our work at https://tinyurl.com/support-transforming-leaders