Jesuitical
Jesuitical is a podcast from America Media for saints and sinners. Tune in every week for honest conversations about the Catholic Church and our world today—sometimes over drinks. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis. AMDG
Episodes
June 25, 2026 • 74 mins
When President Trump took to Truth Social earlier this year and attacked Pope Leo for being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” most Catholics were understandably shocked. But a clash between a secular leader and the bishop of Rome is hardly without precedent. This week on “Jesuitical,” hosts Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless talk with Miles Pattendens, an expert on popes and papal conclaves, abou...
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June 18, 2026 • 72 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley sit down with Luke Burgis, the director of the Cluny Institute at The Catholic University of America and the author of The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion. They discuss why we join and leave tribes, how to form a “solid” self and what healthy group identity looks like.
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Vice Presi...
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June 11, 2026 • 55 mins
This week on “Jesuitical”, Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis talk to Dianne Bergant, C.S.A., who taught Scripture at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago for 44 years. She also served as America’s Word columnist from 2002 to 2005. During her time at CTU, Sr. Dianne had one very famous student, Robert Prevost—the future Pope Leo XIV. With Sr. Dianne, Zac and Ashley discuss what it’s like to be the t...
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June 4, 2026 • 53 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley speak with Mary Kate Polanin, the executive editor of The Good Newsroom, the digital news outlet of the Archdiocese of New York. They discuss the important and changing role of diocesan communications, Catholics in the digital space and New York’s new archbishop.
In Signs of the Times, Zac and Ashley discuss Pope Leo’s surprising and historic choice to lead the Vati...
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June 2, 2026 • 47 mins
On this bonus episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with two digital evangelization experts who helped create the Vatican’s study group report on the digital environment as part of the Synod on Synodality. Kim Daniels directs the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, and José Manuel de Urquidi runs the Evangelization Lab. Both were synod delegates, along with then-...
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May 28, 2026 • 41 mins
This week on Jesuitical: A feed drop of this week's special “Inside the Vatican” roundtable, a discussion of “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo’s groundbreaking first encyclical on protecting the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. Host Colleen Dulle sits down with her co-host and senior Vatican correspondent, Gerard O’Connell, as well as America’s president and editor in chief...
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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...
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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...
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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 contin...
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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...
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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...
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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 Pres...
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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&rs...
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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 conten...
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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
- ...
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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 specia...
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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 ho...
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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 fa...
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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
...
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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 ...
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