Church Meets World: The America Magazine Podcast

Church Meets World: The America Magazine Podcast

This is where the Catholic Church meets the most interesting and consequential issues of our time. Each episode explores a different topic through immersive stories told by America’s editors. “Church Meets World” is the best of our award-winning magazine content reimagined in podcast form. It’s not only what you read in our pages but how you hear it. Presented by Maggi Van Dorn and Sebastian Gomes.

Episodes

Introducing "Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast"

June 19, 2023 • 29 mins
We have an exciting new podcast from America Media to share with you. It’s called “Preach: The Catholic Homilies Podcast.”  On each episode listeners will first hear an inspiring homily, especially delivered for the podcast, and then take a privileged peek into the heart and mind of the preacher in a conversation with the host, Jesuit priest and America’s associate editor, Ricardo da Silva, S.J.  Whether you’re a preacher looking f...
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What it’s like to be an 11 year old Afghan boy fleeing the Taliban

September 15, 2022 • 24 mins
After the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, thousands of Afghan refugees have been seeking a permanent home in the United States. This is the intimate family portrait of Ali, a child refugee since eleven years old, and his American foster parents, Mary and Mark Kaech.  The episode is based on an article written for America Magazine by J.D. Long-García called  Thousands of Afghan refugees fled to America in search ...
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Introducing: Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols

December 22, 2021 • 40 mins
Church Meets World is proud to share the latest podcast in the America Media family: Hark! The stories behind our favorite Christmas carols. Subscribe to the entire Hark! podcast series online, on apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. It is hard to imagine a midnight Mass on Christmas Eve without Silent Night. Musicians may treat it differently—singing it a cappella, with spare chords on the organ in the background, or ...
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Young adults struggle with the church. But they are also its best advocates for justice.

October 12, 2021 • 36 mins
What does it mean to be ruined for life? Join America’s summer intern Amelia Jarecke, as she follows three young women who have spent the last year serving in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. They wrestle with lots of challenges, like: How do you live on a $100 month? Can you live simply and gluten-free without breaking the bank? How do you reconcile being Catholic and bisexual? What happens when your prayer life dries up? And what...
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What Catholics still don’t understand about the abuse crisis

August 7, 2021 • 39 mins
Three years ago, a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report described in graphic detail the abuse of over 1,000 minors at the hands of more than 300 priests. Then, Theodare McCarrick, an influential cardinal in the American Church, was found credibly accused of abusing minors and adult seminarians. For survivors, the news was painful, yet validating. How did this second wave of scandal–the news of both abuse and cover up–affect the Catholic ...
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'The Memory of God': How residents of one NYC nursing home survived Covid

July 21, 2021 • 33 mins
As the world went into lockdown, the residents at Terence Cardinal Cooke–a Catholic nursing home and rehabilitation center run by the Archdiocese of New York–did too. Many seniors required long-term care while others had only expected to stay for a short period of recovery. The pandemic changed everyone’s experience. Ricardo da Silva, S.J., an associate editor at America, takes us through the center to hear from the residents who n...
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How I learned to grieve

June 30, 2021 • 46 mins
In a time when so much has been lost, what does it mean to grieve well? In this episode, America’s audio producer, Maggi Van Dorn, turns the mic on herself to capture a more intimate side of a subject that is already pretty personal- the experience of grief. To help her unpack this strange and unpredictable force, she turns to friends and people whose lives have also been visited by grief.  Support this podcast by subscribing to Am...
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Descendants & the Jesuits: Beginning a path toward racial healing

April 29, 2021 • 35 mins
In 1838, to save itself from financial ruin, the Jesuits at Georgetown University sold 272 enslaved persons. It’s a shameful piece of history and one that the Jesuits are reckoning with like many other communities and institutions today. But the bill of sale that has been recently recovered has enabled thousands of descendants to discover their ancestry and reunite for a better future. And the Jesuits have pledged $100 million to a...
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Should colleges pay their athletes?

March 19, 2021 • 43 mins
Should college athletes get paid? That’s the question we’re exploring in today’s episode of Church Meets World. It was written, produced and narrated by Kevin Jackson and based on a feature he wrote last year called, “Should colleges pay their athletes? What Catholic social teaching has to say.” This episode of Church Meets World is brought to you by The Great Courses Plus. Sign up for The Great Courses Plus and get an entire mont...
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'Year of the Rat'

February 8, 2021 • 45 mins
America's poetry editor Joe Hoover S.J. sits down with Ohio's first poet laureate Amit Majmudar to talk about his poem "Year of the Rat." They discuss the unforgettable year that was 2020, writing during Covid, and mystical parallels between Catholicism and Hinduism. Read 'The Year of the Rat' here.
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Entrapment: The data scientists fighting to end human trafficking

January 16, 2021 • 30 mins
Riana decided to run away from home after getting into an argument with her mother for missing curfew. It was cold and nighttime. She had nowhere to go. Looking for help, she reached out to an older man who had given her his phone number earlier that day... Isabelle Senechal narrates the harrowing story of Riana, a young woman who was manipulated and coerced by a violent sex trafficker. The booming industry is largely hidden, but s...
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The inevitable result of Donald Trump’s presidency

January 8, 2021 • 45 mins
On January 6th, 2021, a violent mob, incited by President Trump, stormed the US Capitol. They were there to disrupt Congress as it was certifying the election of Joe Biden. The mob overwhelmed the capitol police and made their way into the offices and chambers, as elected officials ran for safety. In conversation with Fr. Matt Malone, America’s Editor in Chief, Fr. Bryan Massingale says the insurrection was a direct result of four ...
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Burned out: The case for more free time

December 28, 2020 • 42 mins
Is your relationship with work undermining all the other goods in your life? If so, you might have what Jonathan Malesic calls a “demonic work ethic.” He’s not alone in saying so. After years of academic burnout, Jonathan made a trip to the Christ in the Desert monastery, where the Benedictine monks helped him rediscover the sacred rhythms of work and rest. Everyone from Thomas Aquinas to Annie Dillard has written about the importa...
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Joe Biden's Catholic Faith

November 18, 2020 • 43 mins
On January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden will make history in several ways: He received over 74 million votes, surpassing any presidential candidate in history. Biden is the oldest person and only the second Catholic to become president. And his running mate, Kamala Harris, is the first woman and first woman of color to hold the office of the Vice President. But beyond the polls, numbers and issues, Biden’s Catholic faith has...
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Living the issues with the 'Voting Catholic' podcast

October 29, 2020 • 29 mins
Just ahead of the election we're sharing the Voting Catholic podcast. To hear the full series, just search "Voting Catholic" wherever you get your podcasts! Voting Catholic Episode 1: "What Happened to the Catholic Vote?" A survey of the evolution of the Catholic vote from the election of JFK in 1960 to the election of Donald Trump. Show links: 8 facts about Catholics and politics in the U.S. US Bishops teaching document on ...
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‘Mama, I’m through’: The martyrdoms of Emmitt Till and George Floyd

August 28, 2020 • 20 mins
On the anniversary of Emmitt Till’s murder on August 28, 1955, we reflect on the present day killing of George Floyd and the litany of Black Americans who have been crucified by racial injustice. In both, we witness how Floyd’s cry for his mama and Mamie Till Mobley’s public outcry at her son’s murder, turns private suffering into a public sin and catalyst for justice.  This episode was adapted from an America Magazine article wri...
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A Coronavirus Prayer

March 14, 2020 • 4 mins
Written and narrated by one of America's executive editors, Kerry Weber, the following coronavirus prayer is a reminder of God’s healing presence in a time of great fear and anxiety. Please pray along with us in the language of your choice: A Coronavirus Prayer - In English A Printable Version of "A Coronavirus Prayer" in English Una Oracion por el Coronavirus - En Español Une priere pour le coronavirus - En Francais ...
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Introducing PLAGUE: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church

November 26, 2019 • 2 mins
In "Plague" journalist Michael O'Loughlin investigates stories of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church. Mike is America’s national correspondent and he’s covered Catholicism for more than a decade. Mike is also gay and Catholic—and he’s curious how others manage this sometimes complex identity. No time in modern history has been more volatile for gay Catholics than the height of the AIDS epidemic. So he spent the last few yea...
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The Final Episode

May 23, 2019 • 26 mins
America This Week This is the series finale of "America This Week." Our guest is John W. Miller. We discuss his article "The opioid crisis demands a new solution. Churches are hoping to be part of it."  We also discuss these articles: Social media reinforces clean divisions, but reality is messy. The threat of a climate catastrophe is here. Will U.S. Catholics heed the call? Detroit Catholic schools and parishes to stop ...
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Why Evangelical megachurches are embracing (some) Catholic traditions.

May 17, 2019 • 24 mins
This week's guest is Anna Keating. We discuss her article “Why Evangelical megachurches are embracing (some) Catholic traditions.” We also discuss these articles: Pope Francis tells women religious church cannot alter revelation on women’s diaconate Pope Francis’ almsgiver restores power (illegally) to homeless shelter in Italy How Mary can be a bridge between Christians and Muslims Can Christianity in northern Iraq survi...
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