Surviving the Religion of Mao
We speak with Chinese-American author Anchee Min on what she learned about the human spirit in a forced labor camp in Communist China, and how she's found healing in America.

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.

America's Changing Religious Landscape: A Conversation with Martin Marty
We explore Martin Marty's historical and personal reflections on religion in American culture, politics, and daily life - including the decline of the Protestant majority in this country, and the vigor of Evangelical Christianity.

Hanukkah, and a Rediscovery of Jewish Customs
Book designer Scott-Martin Kosofsky tells us what he learned about the meaning of custom, scripture, and prayer, as well as his insights into what he calls this surprising season of Hanukkah.

The Freelance Monotheism of Karen Armstrong
Armstrong, a renowned thinker on the role of religion in the modern world, reflects on theology, poetry, and her life as a freelance monotheist.

At Table: The Meaning of Communion
Communion is a foundational ritual of Christian tradition. Its mystery and power are rooted in the human paradigm of sharing a meal. We'll explore a Protestant and a Catholic perspective on the origins and social relevance of this practice so important to Christians of every variety.

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.

Heart and Soul: The Integrative Medicine of Dr. Mehmet Oz
We explore the philosophy and practice of a leading cardiovascular surgeon — and hear what he is learning at the intersection of western medicine, human spirituality, and the physiology of the human heart.

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.

The Other Religious America in Election 2004
This year's presidential campaign has made much of religion — that of the candidates and that of the largely white, Christian electorate. But is everyone being heard from? We hear from an African-American Christian and an American Muslim who defy this year's generalizations about religion, party politics, and the campaigns.

The Spirituality of Addiction and Recovery
Due to sensitive material, this program is no longer available.

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.

Violence and Crisis in Islam
As horrific violence is perpetrated in the name of Islam, we speak with Vincent Cornell, an American Muslim and leading scholar of Islamic studies. What makes Islam a potent vehicle for violence and danger at this moment in time?

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.

Beyond the God Gap
We'll explore the role of religion at this year's political conventions, and how faith matters to people in both parties, with journalist Steve Waldman. He's followed religious messages and language in this presidential campaign and published a religion blog from the Democratic and Republican conventions for beliefnet.com, the influential Web site he founded.

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.

The Gods of Business
We speak with international business analyst Prabhu Guptara, who offers fascinating observations about how the world's many religions have shaped global business practices. Can we imagine a place for ethics - even religious values - in the global economy?

Truth and Reconciliation
As final reparations are being made to the victims of the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa, host Krista Tippett speaks with two people who worked closely with South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We'll explore the religious dimension of this extraordinary process.

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?

In Praise of Play
If sport is an American religion, is that bad for us? What is the metaphysic of baseball? We speak with a theologian and sports fan, Joe Price, who has spent much of his career studying the religious character of rituals in sporting events and the spiritual significance of fans' attention to sports.

Deciphering the Da Vinci Code
Host Krista Tippett focuses on gathering a basic picture of what really happened in the fluid early years of Christianity. Why were some of the books early Christians read included in the Bible while others were left out? How did it happen that modern Christians inherited an erroneous view of women in the early Church, including Mary Magdalene?

A Return to the Mystery: Religion, Fantasy, and Entertainment
From the Harry Potter series to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Americans are hungry for movies, fiction, and TV shows that explore spiritual — even theological — themes. We explore how religion and fantasy in modern media reflect, and may be shaping, the spiritual sensibility of younger Americans.

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.

Religion and Politics with Joseph Califano
We speak with Washington insider Joseph Califano, a devout, lifelong, Catholic, who held key positions inside the Kennedy, Johnson, and Carter administrations. Califano provides frank insight into the practical difficulties of applying religious ideals in the political arena.

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 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.

Science and Hope
George Ellis, a Templeton prize-winning cosmologist and Quaker activist from South Africa, has worked on cutting-edge theories about the origins of the universe and the nature of space and time. He believes that there is a moral foundation to the cosmos just as there are physical laws that govern it.

Surviving the Religion of Mao
We speak with Chinese-American author Anchee Min on what she learned about the human spirit in a forced labor camp in Communist China, and how she's found healing in America.

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 Spirituality of Addiction and Recovery
Due to sensitive material, this program is no longer available.

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.

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.

Gay Marriage: Broken or Blessed? Two Evangelical Views
We speak with two evangelical Christians who are struggling with the question of gay marriage in provocative and contrasting ways. They discuss the religious virtues at stake and share their concerns that our public conversation on this subject must move beyond judgment and name-calling.

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.

A Spirit of Defiance
In this close-up look at the human dynamics of the war on terror, Mariane Pearl speaks about her husband, journalist Daniel Pearl, who was murdered in Pakistan shortly after 9/11. She talks about Buddhism, her ethic of spiritual defiance, and her hopes for the future.

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 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.

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 Jewish Roots of the Christian Story
New Testament writings about Jews may sound inflammatory in modern ears. Joel Marcus, a New Testament scholar at Duke Univesity with ties to both Judaism and Christianity, helps us put these writings in context and look for meaning in the Passion story that Hollywood and popular culture can't convey.

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.

The Freelance Monotheism of Karen Armstrong
Armstrong, a renowned thinker on the role of religion in the modern world, reflects on theology, poetry, and her life as a freelance monotheist.

Religion and Violence
Theologian Miroslav Volf grew up in war-torn Croatia, and knows Christianity's violent potential from experience. He's spent his life as a scholar and activist trying to make sense of that — asking what goes wrong when religion is used to justify violence, and how that can be made right again.

A Perspective on Islam in Iraq
What role will Islam play in the future of Iraq? In the wake of this week's approval of an interim Iraqi constitution, host Krista Tippett explores the religious geography of post-war Iraq with Iraqi-American educator Ahmed al-Rahim.

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.

Reflections on the Death Penalty in America
With Sr. Helen Prejean, Rabbi Elie Spitz, and Debbie Morris, we ask religious questions about one of America's most controversial public policies of life and death. We explore the meaning of the biblical teaching to take "an eye for an eye" and the human impulses towards revenge, forgiveness, and justice.

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.

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.

Deciphering the Da Vinci Code
Host Krista Tippett focuses on gathering a basic picture of what really happened in the fluid early years of Christianity. Why were some of the books early Christians read included in the Bible while others were left out? How did it happen that modern Christians inherited an erroneous view of women in the early Church, including Mary Magdalene?

Religion on the Campaign Trail
Religious ideas are staking their place in the 2004 election. Host Krista Tippett speaks with two political commentators: one, a liberal proposes that there is substance in the religious rhetoric of Democratic candidates, and that this reflects a larger shift in the role of religion in American life; the other, a conservative discusses what the American public doesn't understand about Evangelical, churchgoing voters.

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.

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.

Truth and Reconciliation
As final reparations are being made to the victims of the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa, host Krista Tippett speaks with two people who worked closely with South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We'll explore the religious dimension of this extraordinary process.