Speaking of Faith

Public radio's conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas. Free podcasts available.

Evolution and Wonder – Understanding Charles Darwin: A fresh and thought-provoking look at Darwin's life and ideas. He did not argue against God but against a simple understanding of the world, its beauty, its brutality, and its unfolding creation.

The Tragedy of the Believer – a Conversation with Elie Wiesel: Exploring the literary and religious journey that unfolded after Night, his memoir of the Holocaust that has climbed to bestseller lists five decades after its publication. Hear passages of his varied writings of the last 50 years. Explore his thoughts on God and evil, youth in Jerusalem and Berlin, and prayer after the Holocaust.

Deciphering the DaVinci Code: New Testament scholars, Luke Timothy Johnson and Bernadette Brooten, give us the basic picture of what really happened in the fluid early years of Christianity. Why were some of the books early Christians read included in the Bible while others were left out? How did it happen that modern Christians inherited an erroneous view of women in the early Church, including Mary Magdalene?

Obedience and Action: In over 50 years as a Benedictine nun, Joan Chittister has emerged as a powerful and at times uncomfortable voice in Roman Catholicism and in global politics. If women were ordained in the Catholic Church in our lifetime, some say, she should be the first woman bishop.

The Spirituality of Addiction and Recovery: Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson once said that the program he helped create is "utter simplicity which encases a complete mystery." This program explores the spiritual aspects of addiction and recovery with Susan Cheever, who's written a biography of Bill Wilson. Also, Lakota teacher and healer, Basil Brave Heart, describes how, in his own life and in native communities, the 12 Steps find resonance in indigenous spiritual practices.