Jesuitical
Welcome to Jesuitical, a podcast for young Catholics hosted by two young, lay editors at America—Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless. Each episode features a guest who offers a unique perspective on faith, culture or current events. We also bring you some of the top (and maybe more obscure) Catholic news of the week. And we'll ask: Where do we find God in all this?
Episodes
May 21, 2026 • 47 mins
This week on the “Jesuitical” podcast, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis speak to theologian and legal scholar Cathleen Kaveny about why Catholics seem obsessed with questions of sexual morality. They were prompted to dig into the historical development of Catholic sexual ethics after Pope Leo said in a press conference, “We tend to think that when the church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual. And in...
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May 14, 2026 • 68 mins
This week, Jesuitical co-host Ashley McKinless and producer Sebastian Gomes speak to Michael W. Higgins about the spiritual master, Father Henri Nouwen (1932-1996). They explore Nouwen’s “wounded healer” approach to ministry, his brokenness and vulnerability, and his impact on contemporary Catholic thought.
In “Signs of the Times,” Ashley and Zac discuss Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Pope Leo, plans for a border wall t...
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May 7, 2026 • 38 mins
Jesuitical’s co-host Zac Davis is joined by America's Vatican correspondent, Colleen Dulle, and executive editor Sebastian Gomes to assess the first year of Pope Leo XIV’s ministry as Bishop of Rome. They discuss Leo’s style, priorities and to what degree is continuing Pope Francis’ reforming agenda.
00:00 Pope Leo's first year
1:56 Can Pope Leo be claimed by the left or the right?
5:45 Is Pope Leo continuing Pope Francis' agend...
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April 30, 2026 • 54 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac talk to Laura Kelly Fanucci, author of Living Easter: 50 Days to Practice Resurrection. Together, they discuss the tendency among Christians to overlook the 50-day Easter season, as well as Laura’s personal experiences and struggles practicing resurrection.
In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac speak with James Martin, S.J., editor at large for America, to unpack Pope Leo’s recent comments...
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April 23, 2026 • 70 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Ryan Burge, author of the “Graphs about Religion” Substack and the new book, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us. They discuss the polarization of U.S. Christianity and the supposed Gen-Z “religious revival.”
In Signs of the Times, Ashley and Zac discuss some highlights from Pope Leo’s trip to Africa; what Pop...
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April 16, 2026 • 59 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with John Carr, founder of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
In “Signs of the Times,” a cross-promotion of America’s roundtable discussion between Ashley, Sam Sawyer, S.J., the president and editor in chief, and Colleen Dulle, Vatican correspondent and co-host of “Inside the Vatican,” on President Trump’s unprecedented social media attack ...
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April 9, 2026 • 66 mins
This week on a special crossover episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Colleen Dulle, host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, speak with Gerard O’Connell, America’s senior Vatican correspondent, and his wife Elisabetta Piqué about co-writing The Election of Pope Leo XIV: The Last Surprise of Pope Francis.
In “Signs of the Times,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian break down Pope Leo’s first Holy Week and how it was shaped by the con...
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April 2, 2026 • 40 mins
In March 2026, the Vatican’s doctrine office released its final report on women’s participation in the life and leadership of the Catholic Church. The report brings to a close the two-year work of Study Group 5, which, as part of the Synod on Synodality, was tasked with studying women’s ministries and leadership. In this special roundtable conversation, editors at America magazine discuss the report’s content and proposals, and ask...
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March 26, 2026 • 72 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Bishop Michael Martin, O.F.M. Conv., of the Diocese of Charlotte. Bishop Martin sparked headlines in 2025 when a document leaked with plans to restrict the Latin Mass and other liturgical practices in his diocese.
Ashley, Zac and Bishop Martin discuss:
- His pastoral priorities as bishop of Charlotte
- Changes to the celebration of the Latin Mass in his diocese
- How he appro...
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March 19, 2026 • 68 mins
This week on a special episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley, Zac and Jesuitical producer Sebastian have a conversation with Dr. James Finley about first-half-of-life mysticism. Jim is a clinical psychologist and faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation where he teaches and writes on the Christian mystical tradition. He’s also the host of the podcast, ‘Turning to the Mystics.’
0:00 A special episode on mysticism
3:00 ...
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March 12, 2026 • 66 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics and founder of the nonprofit UNITE, which incubated the Dignity Index, a language evaluation tool that aims to bring greater dignity to our public discourse.
0:00 Welcome back Zac Davis!
2:35 A new papal nuncio to the U.S.A.
6:27 Cardinals respond to Iran war
9:04 Synod report on women released
10:27 Tim Shriver's holy family
1...
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March 6, 2026 • 75 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley sits down with America’s chief correspondent, Kevin Clarke, to discuss the widening conflict with Iran and whether the U.S. intervention in the conflict can be justified under just war theory.
Then, we re-share one of our favorite interviews from last year: a conversation with Jamie Baxter, the founder & C.E.O. of Exodus 90. The program, which helps men to strengthen their faith through prayer, as...
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February 27, 2026 • 46 mins
This week on a special, interview-only episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian talk with James Martin, S.J., editor at large for America, about his new memoir Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest.
Ashley, Sebastian and Father Jim discuss:
The differences in writing an autobiography vs. a book on prayer
Balancing amb...
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February 20, 2026 • 70 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian sit down with Kristen Gilger, author of My Son, The Priest: A Mother’s Crisis of Faith and her son, Patrick Gilger, S.J., to discuss their interwoven journeys of faith.
0:00 Critiquing our ashes
3:00 Pope Leo's first Ash Wednesday
4:35 Vatican won't join "Board of Peace"
5:50 St. Peter's has a new snack bar!
8:10 Kristin's shock when Paddy joined the Jesuits
16:58 The...
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February 13, 2026 • 53 mins
This week on a pre-Mardi Gras episode “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian speak with Dr. Ansel Augustine. Ansel is the assistant director for African American affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the author of Praying with Our Feet: Encountering God in the Margins. They discuss the harrowing and sacred culture of the Black Masking Indians of Mardi Gras.
0:00 Mardi Gras!
4:00 New York City has a new bi...
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February 9, 2026 • 37 mins
Bishop Kevin Kenney was born in Minneapolis and has ministered to Latino communities there for years. Now an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, he speaks to America about the realities facing Latino Catholics on the ground and what the Catholic Church is doing to support them.
0:00 ICE outside churches and schools
4:45 How the Catholic Church is responding
10:00 Targeting criminals only?
11:45 Prea...
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February 6, 2026 • 57 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian sit down with Patrick Kelly, S.J. Father Pat holds the Heider Chair at Creighton University and is an expert in the theology of Sports.
Then, in a special faith sharing segment, the hosts speak with Patrick Hyde, O.P., a Dominican priest and the pastor of St. Paul Catholic Center at Indiana University, about recent Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza. Fernando, the qua...
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January 30, 2026 • 56 mins
This week on a special episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Sam Sawyer, S.J., president and editor in chief of America, have a conversation with David French, political commentator and opinion columnist at The New York Times, about the complex relationship between Christianity and politics during the Trump administration.
Ashley, Father Sawyer and David discuss:
- David’s journey as a never-Trump evangelical Christian
- The futu...
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January 23, 2026 • 71 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian speak to Charles Camosy. Charlie teaches moral theology and bioethics at the Catholic University of America and is the author of 10 books, including Living and Dying Well: A Catholic Plan for Resisting Physician-Assisted Killing.
Ashley, Sebastian and Charlie discuss:
- How opposition to euthanasia transcends typical partisan camps
- The disability advocates on the front...
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January 16, 2026 • 56 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian speak with Vatican expert Thomas Reese, S.J., a Jesuit priest who is a senior analyst at Religion News Service and former editor in chief of America magazine.
Ashley, Sebastian and Father Reese discuss:
- The big takeaways from Pope Leo’s first consistory
- 101 on the recent history of the College of Cardinals
- Whether Leo is continuing on the synodal path set by Pop...
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