L'Arche: A Community of Brokenness and Beauty
During this "radio pilgrimage" into the world of L'Arche — communities formed around people with mental disabilities and others who share life with them — we discover a religious idea of difference as normal and imperfection as a source of strength.

Children and God
We explore the spiritual wisdom of children with pediatric oncologist Diane Komp, religious educator Carol Dittberner, and Robert Coles, author of The Spiritual Life of Children — also, the voices of children on the deepest meanings of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan.

A History of Doubt
Poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht has published a sweeping, lyrical history of the world's great doubters, and she shows that the act of questioning, as much as the act of believing, has changed the world.

The Religious Legacy of John Paul II
John Paul II's papacy was dramatic and historic on many fronts. We explore some of the critical religious issues of his 26 years as pontiff and discuss the great and contradictory impact he made on the Catholic Church in America and abroad.

Patterns of Prayer
In a country in which church and state are separate, over 90 percent of Americans say that they pray. Sales of prayer books of every variety have been exploding in America and Europe for years. Even Western medicine is looking at prayer as it expands its definition of healing. What is prayer, and how has the practice of prayer been changing in American lives?

The Tragedy of the Believer
Author and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel shares his thoughts on modern-day Israel and Germany, his understanding of God, and his practice of prayer after the Holocaust.

The Spirit of Islam
We experience the religious thought and spiritual vitality of two Muslims — male and female — both American and both with roots in ancient Islamic cultural, intellectual, and spiritual traditions. They reveal how sound, music, and poetry offer a window into the subtleties and humanity of Islamic religious experience.

The Religious Roots of American Democracy
Philosopher Jacob Needleman explains the spiritual sensibility of America's founders. He says that they perceived democracy not simply as a set of external structures but as inward work on one's character, spirit, and intellect.

A Theological Perspective on Cloning
Jewish bioethicist Laurie Zoloth examines the moral implications of human cloning and raises provocative questions about what's at stake for our society.

Religion and Our World in Crisis
Rabbi Harold Schulweis and Islamic scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl break new ground in interfaith dialogue and understanding as they explore the dynamics of their own religious lives and the beauty and problems of their traditions.

Pentecostalism in America
With theologian Robert Franklin, we explore the rise of Pentecostal worship among African Americans of every denomination. Also, sociologist and Roman Catholic Pentecostal Margaret Poloma on her study of modern-day Pentecostals, whom she sees as mystics among us.

The Meaning of Faith
We examine what it means to be a person of faith with a diverse group of religious writers and thinkers. Born-again Christian and writer Anne Lamott says "Faith is a verb," while Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg calls faith "an opening of the heart." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Muslim theologian Omid Safi examine why it is so difficult — and so important — to talk about faith in our time.

Children of Abraham
The religious story of Abraham traverses the geography of some of the most bitter political conflict in the modern world. Yet Abraham is the common patriarch of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Journalist and author Bruce Feiler discusses who Abraham was and why he is important in our time.

Brother Thây: A Radio Pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh
Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and poet, Thich Nhat Hanh, was nominated for a Nobel Peace prize by Martin Luther King, and influenced the thought of Thomas Merton. He speaks about his teachings of engaged Buddhism, "being peace," and walking meditation.

The Need for Creeds with Jaroslav Pelikan
Jaroslav Pelikan is one of this country's greatest religious scholars. In his 80th year, he published the largest collection in modern times of Christian Creeds from across the globe. He'll discuss why creeds are so difficult for modern people and why, in his view, human beings will always need them.

Progressive Islam in America
We speak with a spectrum of American Muslims who describe themselves as devout and progressive: Omid Safi, Kecia Ali, Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, and Michael Wolfe. In this country, they say, Islam has found a home like no other.

The Power of Fundamentalism
Krista speaks with three people-Muslim, Christian, and Jewish; a lawyer; a seminary president, and a journalist-who have experienced religious fundamentalism from the inside. What is the human appeal of fundamentalism, and how does it become dangerous? What might we learn from the fundamentalist impulse at this moment in time?

Work and Conscience
Host Krista Tippett explores the practical implications of spirituality at work with FBI special agent and whistleblower Coleen Rowley and syndicated columnist Tim McGuire. With all her personal experiences, Rowley discusses how her conscience has developed. McGuire traces his interest in this field to a period in which he was searching for ways to reconcile his own values and style of leadership.

Ethics and the Will of God: The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The German theologian wrestled with religious principles in the thick of political and personal crisis during Hitler's regime. With filmmaker Martin Doblmeier, we explore Bonhoeffer's religious creativity and the present-day resonance of his ideas.

Joe Carter and the Legacy of the African-American Spiritual
A genre born in slavery, the Negro spiritual has claimed a place at the heart of our nation's musical, and religious, life. Discover the beauty, lament, and hope of this singular, musical tradition.

Homosexuality and the Divided Church
General Convention of the Episcopal Church has sharpened our culture's intensifying focus on homosexuality. We set aside the ins and outs of the controversy to examine what these issues mean religiously. Host Krista Tippett engages two Episcopal bishops with opposing viewpoints in a thoughtful conversation about the theological implications of homosexuality.

Women, Marriage, and Religion
In this program, three devout women who also call themselves feminist. They are mainline Christian, evangelical and Muslim. They discuss the changing nature of marriage, partnership and their tradition.

Marriage, Family, and Divorce
Rabbi Elliot Dorff and Christian theologian Luke Timothy Johnson help us explore the nuances of Jewish and Christian teachings and reveal the striking practicality of Jewish tradition across the ages and the surprising ambiguities of the New Testament.

The Soul in Depression
We explore the spiritual aspect of clinical depression and its aftermath with author Andrew Solomon, Quaker author and educator Parker Palmer, and poet and psychologist Anita Barrows.

Science and Being
How do science and religion — practiced together — distinctively illuminate what it means to be human? Host Krista Tippett speaks with three scientists on how science and religious faith inform their understanding of what it means to be human.

Religious Liberty in America: The Legacy of Church and State
We speak with people who are exploring the dynamic between religion and public life in novel-and sometimes uncomfortable-ways. Listen as Krista and our guests discuss the origins of the separation of church and state, the loss and reemergence of religious expression in tribal public life, and the American public school system.

Spirituality and Sexuality
We crack open the difficult subject of Christian tradition and healthy sexuality. What is the positive sexual ethic of the Bible, beyond the identification of sin? What does sexuality have to do with the human spirit and how might this change they way it is discussed in communities of faith?

Progressive Islam in America
We speak with a spectrum of American Muslims who describe themselves as devout and progressive: Omid Safi, Kecia Ali, Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, and Michael Wolfe. In this country, they say, Islam has found a home like no other.

Science and Being
How do science and religion — practiced together — distinctively illuminate what it means to be human? Host Krista Tippett speaks with three scientists on how science and religious faith inform their understanding of what it means to be human.

Patterns of Prayer
In a country in which church and state are separate, over 90 percent of Americans say that they pray. Sales of prayer books of every variety have been exploding in America and Europe for years. Even Western medicine is looking at prayer as it expands its definition of healing. What is prayer, and how has the practice of prayer been changing in American lives?

Ethics and the Will of God: The Legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The German theologian wrestled with religious principles in the thick of political and personal crisis during Hitler's regime. With filmmaker Martin Doblmeier, we explore Bonhoeffer's religious creativity and the present-day resonance of his ideas.

Sacrifice and Reconciliation
We explore the legacy of four World War II chaplains — Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish — who all went down with their torpedoed ship in 1943. We hear interviews with surviving veterans from both sides. Krista speaks with a nephew of one of the chaplains, and a poet who served in the Vietnam War.

L'Arche: A Community of Brokenness and Beauty
During this "radio pilgrimage" into the world of L'Arche — communities formed around people with mental disabilities and others who share life with them — we discover a religious idea of difference as normal and imperfection as a source of strength.

Joe Carter and the Legacy of the African-American Spiritual
A genre born in slavery, the Negro spiritual has claimed a place at the heart of our nation's musical, and religious, life. Discover the beauty, lament, and hope of this singular, musical tradition.

The Soul in Depression
We explore the spiritual aspect of clinical depression and its aftermath with author Andrew Solomon, Quaker author and educator Parker Palmer, and poet and psychologist Anita Barrows.

Religion in a Time of War
More than any crisis in modern memory, the War on Terror-including the current U.S. military presence in Iraq-is being debated in religious, usually Christian, terms. We explore the nuances of that debate with a former war correspondent, a political theorist, and a renowned preacher. We ask how and whether Christian principles really make a difference at this moment in our national life-and if not, why not?

A Program for Passover and Easter
Through conversation and readings, we explore imaginative ways of approaching ancient texts and traditions to give them modern sense.

The Meaning of Faith
We examine what it means to be a person of faith with a diverse group of religious writers and thinkers. Born-again Christian and writer Anne Lamott says "Faith is a verb," while Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg calls faith "an opening of the heart." Rabbi Lawrence Kushner and Muslim theologian Omid Safi examine why it is so difficult — and so important — to talk about faith in our time.

Children of Abraham
The religious story of Abraham traverses the geography of some of the most bitter political conflict in the modern world. Yet Abraham is the common patriarch of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Journalist and author Bruce Feiler discusses who Abraham was and why he is important in our time.

Religion in a Time of War
More than any crisis in modern memory, the War on Terror-including the current U.S. military presence in Iraq-is being debated in religious, usually Christian, terms. We explore the nuances of that debate with a former war correspondent, a political theorist, and a renowned preacher. We ask how and whether Christian principles really make a difference at this moment in our national life-and if not, why not?

Faith and Politics in America
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in Washington, D.C., recently invited Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and Congressman Mark Souder of Indiana to speak about how they have reconciled personal religious conviction with serving a pluralistic American constituency. In the highlights of their remarks, featured in this program, they defy stereotypes of liberal and conservative.

The Soul in Depression
We explore the spiritual aspect of clinical depression and its aftermath with author Andrew Solomon, Quaker author and educator Parker Palmer, and poet and psychologist Anita Barrows.