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
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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January 9, 2026 • 58 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian sit down with Eric Sundrup, S.J., a Jesuit priest who is the vice president for mission and ministry and university chaplain at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Father Eric has also worked on “Jesuitical” since its inception (in 2017!) in a variety of roles; today, he continues to provide faith formation for the team.
Ashley, Sebastian and Father Eric discuss:
- Wh...
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December 19, 2025 • 55 mins
Who’s the best TV priest? Should you name your kid after a saint? And what pilgrimage sites are on our bucket list? These are just a few of the questions Zac, Ashley and “Jesuitical” producer Sebastian Gomes tackle in our end-of-year mailbag episode!
Thanks to all the listeners who sent in questions for the hosts—we love hearing what’s on your minds. So don’t hesitate to reach out to jesuitical@americamedia.org or on our Facebook ...
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December 12, 2025 • 58 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak to Noah Banasiewicz, S.J. Noah is a Jesuit scholastic and lecturer in the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago.
Ashley, Zac and Noah talk about:
- The opportunities and pitfalls of evangelizing on social media
- The fine line between evangelist and Catholic influencer
- How media theory can help us understand the evolution of evangelization
In Signs of the Times, ...
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December 5, 2025 • 87 mins
This week, Ashley and Zac debrief Pope Leo XIV's first international trip to Turkey and Lebanon, where he preached a strong message of peace and Christian unity, and shared insights from the conclave that elected him.
Then, they speak to their colleague and America's senior audio producer, Maggi Van Dorn, about the new season of her podcast, "Hark! The Stories Behind Our Favorite Christmas Carols." They reflect on Maggi's reportin...
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November 21, 2025 • 66 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac chat with Daniel Corrou, S.J. Father Corrou is a Jesuit priest from the USA East Province who is currently the regional director of Jesuit Refugee Service Middle East & North Africa. Father Corrou lives and works in Lebanon, where Pope Leo XIV will visit from November 30 to December 2, 2025.
Ashley, Zac and Father Corrou talk about:
- The significance of Pope Leo choosing Lebanon for one ...
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November 14, 2025 • 53 mins
This week on an interview-only episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Sister Theresa Aletheia and Sister Danielle Victoria, founding members of the Sisters of the Little Way, a private association of the faithful intending to become a religious institute, who live a mission of listening and solidarity with people who have been hurt by the church.
Ashley, Zac and the sisters talk about:
- The ins and outs of starting a...
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November 7, 2025 • 74 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac chat with Chris Cimorelli. Chris is the director of the National Institute for Newman Studies and the editor of the Newman Studies Journal, and an expert on St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, the newest doctor of the church.
Ashley, Zac and Chris talk about:
- Newman’s journey from Anglicanism to the Church of Rome
- Newman’s many (and lasting) contributions to Catholic thought
- Why Catho...
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October 31, 2025 • 74 mins
This week on a special Halloween episode of “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Micah Kiel, a professor of New Testament at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minn., where he teaches a class called “Apocalypse-mania.” Micah is also the author of Apocalyptic Ecology: The Book of Revelation, the Earth, and the Future.
Ashley, Zac and Micah discuss:
- How Catholics should read the Book of Revelation
...
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October 24, 2025 • 64 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac talk to Brendan Curran, O.P., a Dominican priest who leads interfaith partnerships at the Resurrection Project and serves on the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace.
Links for further reading:
The International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace website
The Resurrection Project website
Chicago Catholics confront ICE, fear and protests to prote...
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October 17, 2025 • 51 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac sit down with Colleen Dulle, America’s Vatican correspondent and host of the “Inside the Vatican” podcast, to speak about her new book, Struck Down, Not Destroyed: Keeping the Faith as a Vatican Reporter.
Ashley, Zac and Colleen discuss:
- The spirituality of a Vatican reporter covering church scandals
- Colleen’s experience attending—and leaving—the Latin Mass
- Being present at Mass ...
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October 10, 2025 • 54 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Kate Williams, the vice president of sacred music at GIA Publications, publisher of the “Gather” and “Worship” hymnals.
Ashley, Zac and Kate discuss:
- Why Catholics don’t sing at Mass
- How the role of music in liturgy changed post-Vatican II
- Why the slightest changes in language make all the difference when it comes to hymns
In a brief “Signs of the Times,” Ashley point...
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October 3, 2025 • 51 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac speak with Sam Sawyer, S.J., president and editor in chief of America Magazine, to discuss the recent controversy surrounding Cardinal Blase Cupich’s decision to present Senator Dick Durbin with a “lifetime achievement award” for his work in defense of migrants.
Ashley, Zac and Sam discuss:
- Senator Durbin’s decision to decline the award in the face of mounting controversy
- How the “co...
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September 26, 2025 • 61 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and Zac sit down with Dean Detloff, a research and advocacy officer at Development and Peace – Caritas Canada, to talk about the importance of foreign debt relief in the Jubilee Year.
Ashley, Zac and Dean discuss:
- The biblical roots of forgiving debts in a jubilee year
- How foreign debt stunts the development of poor nations
- Why framing matters when it comes to debt forgiveness versus reli...
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September 19, 2025 • 52 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley sits down with Sam Sawyer, S.J., president and editor in chief of America Media, and J.D. Long-Garcia, senior editor for America to respond to the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Ashley, Fr. Sawyer and J.D. discuss:
- Why this is a difficult (but necessary) conversation
- Why people rush to say, "This is terrible, but..."
- Significance of the murder in national political life
In Signs of the Times, A...
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September 12, 2025 • 59 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian sit down with Jack Bentz, S.J., a Jesuit priest and the host of the “Catholics in Ordinary Time” podcast and Substack. Father Jack also works in campus ministry at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Ashley, Sebastian and Father Jack discuss:
- What kids are looking for in campus ministry and parish settings
- Surprise lessons from a Jordan Peterson talk
- The wa...
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September 5, 2025 • 74 mins
This week on “Jesuitical,” Ashley and guest host Sebastian unpack the trend of “hot priests” on social media with Maggie Phillips, a contributing writer for Tablet Magazine. Maggie recently published an article exploring the phenomenon of the “hot priest”: Thou Shalt Not Scroll Past a Hot Priest.
Ashley, Sebastian and Maggie discuss:
- What the “hot priest” trend says about the cultural status of the Catholic Church
- Is there...
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August 29, 2025 • 34 mins
On this last "best of" episode of summer 2025, Zac and Ashley resurrect an interview with the always entertaining Father Dave Dwyer, the executive director of Busted Halo, a media outreach of the Paulist Fathers, and the author of the book “Mass Class: Your Questions Answered.”
Is there a question you have about the Catholic Mass that you’ve always been too embarrassed to ask? Like: When we say, “Only say the word and my soul shal...
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