Oh God Now What

‘Immigrant’ and ‘refugee’ legally do not mean the same thing, although the terms are often used interchangeably. The distinction matters, especially at this time of year, when the U.S. announces refugee totals for the following year. And the recently released number is small: just 17,500 compared to 92,000 before Trump. Our two guests work in refugee resettlement across religious lines: Beth Oppenheim is the...

Sister Norma Pimintel has worked at the Texas-Mexico border for decades. She has witnessed the struggles of immigrants, along with recent changes in immigration policy firsthand. With Catholic Charities, she has provided shelter, safety, and dignity. Hear what she wants you to know about how her resolve, faith and spirituality keep her going. This conversation was recorded live at TribFest 2026 and was sponsored by Religion News Se...

Last week on Oh God Now What, we talked about the Pope’s encyclical on AI. But buried in that encyclical was something astonishing: the church’s first direct apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. This week, we look at his spiritual wisdom with Dr. Shannen D. Williams. Not only has she personally grappled with what it means to be Black in the American Catholic church, it’s also her life’s aca...

Each week brings new scary headlines about AI. Buddhist monk Tenzin Priyadarshi Rinpoche says  Big Tech executives he has worked with lack the ‘discerning empathy’ to understand how AI will affect the masses. He is our guest along with Father James Martin, editor-at-large of America magazine. They help us navigate an industry they say has made outsourcing, efficiency, and potential “free time” God-like ...

In 2001, just before 9/11, Haroon Moghul was head of the Muslim Student Association at NYU, but he had not yet solidified his own relationship with Islam. Then, everything changed, and he had to navigate his beliefs when islamophobia was suddenly everywhere. He is now a chaplain at Xavier University, and offers his take on shifting the focus away from rampant islamophobia onto what we can control.

Mentioned in the show:

• Registe...

What makes travel sacred? With so many flight delays and skyrocketing hotel prices, we look to two spiritual guides to remind us that any kind of trip can be a soul-nurturing experience — even the seemingly mundane.

Phil Cousineau is a an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and travel leader. He's the author of The Art of Pilgrimage, and a new book called The Wisdom of the Odyssey: 24 Life Lessons from Homer's Epic. Rabbi...

The concept of a “just war" is foundational to Christianity, but lately we’ve seen it improperly used – or ignored. Even in his May encyclical, Pope Leo called the concept “outdated.” 

We’ll break apart “just war" with the first rabbi to have been designated a U.S. ambassador, Rabbi David Saperstein, and with Miroslav Volf, a Croatian Protestant theologian at Yale University.

Sub...

Should you vote for a candidate’s policies or for their character? How do we get through another midterm news cycle with our own character intact?

In our debut episode, host Niala Boodhoo welcomes public theologian Curtis Chang and Rabbi Jill Jacobs. Using their expertise as religious thought leaders, they help us navigate aligning beliefs with how we vote. And they offer perspective and tools for strengthening democr...

If you think ‘oh God, now what?’ every time you open your news app, here’s the secret: journalists feel this way, too. Veteran journalist and host Niala Boodhoo created this show because she’s close to the stories of our time, but also passionate about religious wisdom’s ability to guide us when things are difficult. Each week, through conversations with faith leaders of all kinds, you’ll learn h...