Podcast appearances and mentions of Marilynne Robinson

Text us your questions!Randy and Kyle sit down with Milwaukee pastor and author Matt Erickson to explore a different vision of pastoral ministry: not the pastor as CEO, brand manager, or religious expert, but the pastor as gardener. Matt's book, The Pastor as Gardener: A Renewed Vision for Ministry, grows out of real ministry pressure, including moral failures, church decline, the pandemic, and the strain of navigating racial justice and polarization in a multiracial congregation.We dig into why agrarian imagery in Scripture still has bite for modern life, even in an urban church context. The gardener metaphor reframes leadership around cultivation instead of control: planting and watering while admitting we can't manufacture growth. That shift changes what we celebrate, what we fear, and what we measure, especially when the visible “fruit” of ministry looks strong but the hidden “roots” of prayer, integrity, and interior life are neglected.From there, we talk about what shepherding can still mean today, why care for the sick and grieving often gets delegated away, and why pastors need space to evolve without being treated like they've failed. Along the way we touch Gregory of Nyssa, Marilynne Robinson's Gilead, and the pressure for pastors to project certainty in a world where nobody can be an expert at everything.Look for Part 2 of this conversation in a couple weeks.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.Other important info:Rate & review us on Apple & SpotifyFollow us on social media at @PPWBPodcastWatch & comment on YouTubeEmail us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.comCheers!

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy. As always, listeners asked more mailbag questions than we could respond to in one episode, so we continue answering them here for subscribers. In this second round we take up: a playlist of KYE's Straussian-related episodes; (Straussian) esoteric writing versus (French) death of the author and the art of writing (and interpretation); prose style—what it is, why it matters, its relationship to poetry, and the rhythms of Norman Maclean; a "Straussian" reading of Steely Dan; and why liberalism is (mostly) worth defending. Thank you to everyone who attended our live event in NYC on Thursday! We had a great time.  Sources: Leo Strauss, Persecution and the Art of Writing (1952) — Thoughts on Machiavelli (1958) Stanley Rosen, Hermeneutics as Politics (1987) Wallace Stevens, "The Snow Man," Poetry, Oct 1921 Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories (1976) — The Norman Maclean Reader (2008) Edmund White, Nocturnes for the King of Naples (1978) Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (2004) W.H. Auden, "Friday's Child," (1958) Sam Adler-Bell, "Can Liberalism Stop Being So Darn Liberal?" The New Republic, June 20, 2024.

May 17, 2026 - Sunday AM Sermon This episode explores how to avoid the two common extremes in Christian living — full-on worldliness and monastery-style separatism — and instead embrace a third, biblical way of enjoying God's world. Hiram walks listeners through key passages from Ecclesiastes and other Scripture to show how believers can live joyfully and faithfully: enjoy your work, savor food and drink, accept your portion, cultivate relationships, trust life's seasons, rejoice in youth, and receive life as a gift. Along the way the episode references passages in Genesis, Psalms, Proverbs, John, Acts, Paul's letters, and wisdom from writers like Marilynne Robinson to illustrate how creation, vocation, and ordinary pleasures point to God's goodness. The episode concludes with an invitation to respond to the gospel and practical encouragement to live as stewards who enjoy God's gifts while keeping an eternal perspective.   Duration 35:33

Description:This month in the Jen Hatmaker Book Club, we're reading a novel that doesn't just tell a story—it inhabits one.   Jen sits down with author Maddie Mortimer to talk about Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, a breathtaking and formally inventive debut that explores what it means to live inside a body that is changing, remembering, and, ultimately, letting go. At the center is Lia, a woman living with terminal cancer—but this story unfolds as a chorus, with voices that include her family, her own inner world, and even the cancer itself.   Together, Jen and Maddie explore the deeply personal roots of the novel, including Maddie's own experience of losing her mother, and how that grief shaped the book's emotional precision. They talk about why she chose to move beyond a traditional narrative and instead capture the feeling of illness—the disorientation, the fractured sense of time, and the way memory lives not just in the mind, but in the body.   They also tap into the book's striking structure—the visual and sensory journey it creates for readers—and how that imaginative form is now being adapted for the stage, bringing the story full circle to Maddie's theatrical roots.   In this conversation, we consider what it means to listen to the body as a narrator, how love shows up in the smallest moments, and why stories like this invite us to pay closer attention to the life we are living right now.   This one is tender, surprising, and quietly unforgettable.   Thought-provoking Quotes:   Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Guest's Links: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/maddiemortimer/ Twitter - https://x.com/MaddieMortimer   Connect with Jen!Jen's Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen's Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen's Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen's Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker   The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. ★ “For me, the writing process was much more about thinking of cancer and the way that it moves through language and how language can metastasize on the page and the rhythm of this incredibly hyperactive virus, this illness kind of consuming a body, the way that a dark thought could consume a mind.” – Maddie Mortimer★ “I'm quite a restless reader and I think I get bored quite quickly. What I look for in books is that immediacy of how exciting a sentence is or how funny or moving or strange it is.” – Maddie Mortimer ★ “So much of the process of putting words on a page and writing fiction, specifically, is that you surrender yourself. I think it's less about me feeling like I know anything or have anything to say, but more about removing myself so that you feel like you're listening to the world and to the people that you've met, and the impressions that you, your body, whatever, have absorbed.” – Maddie Mortimer★ “The realm of the playground is the page. It's where anything goes.” – Maddie Mortimer★ “There's something really special about a group of people in a room that are willing to give their time to writers reading their words. It's got that kind of religious, congregational quality to it.” – Maddie Mortimer➢ Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer - https://amzn.to/3NRIPCC➢ Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson - https://amzn.to/4dFVYJC➢ Booker Prize: Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies - https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/maps-of-our-spectacular-bodies➢ Jen Hatmaker Book Club - https://shop.jenhatmaker.com/collections/book-club?srsltid=AfmBOoriPvTDl3MAspLOwF2sMjqu3tmHzwmOex7CKgSLNzOlfBPmpUWb To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listen to the rest of this premium episode by subscribing at patreon.com/knowyourenemy. REMINDER: COME SEE KYE x MIKE DUNCAN LIVE IN NYC Given the string of recent episodes that, in various ways, grappled with religion we wanted to take a step back and offer a rather personal conversation about believing in God, or not, and what difference it might makes. The discussion begins by revisiting when we first met over a decade ago and talked a lot about faith, then ranges widely, including: atheism vs agnosticism, W.H. Auden, why we're not experiencing a religious revival in the United States (but could be soon), and more. Sources: Christopher Beha, Why I Am Not an Atheist (2026) Edward Mendelson, "The Secret Auden," New York Review of Books, March 20, 2014 David Martin, w/ a reply from Edward Mendelson, "Why Auden Married," New York Review of Books, April 24, 2014 Matthew Sitman, "Saving Calvin from Clichés: An Interview with Marilynne Robinson," Commonweal, Oct 5, 2017 Ryan Burge, "Religion Has Become A Luxury Good For The Middle Class, Married College Graduate With Children," Religion Unplugged, July 12, 2023 Daniel Cox, "The Illusion of America's Religious Revival," American Storylines, Nov 13, 2025 Walker Percy, Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book (1983) — The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man Is, How Queer Language Is, and What One Has to Do with the Other (1975) The Living Thoughts of Kierkegaard, edited & with an introduction by W.H. Auden (1999) W.H. Auden, "In Praise of Limestone," in Nones (1951) "Jill Lepore on Nationalism, Populism, and the State of America," EconTalk, April 15, 2019

We're in our new "month of renewal" format. We're essentially exploring this question throughout the month... what if growth required less effort? This is an encore episode that helps us answer this question. Reminder that we'll be back with new episodes May 1, 2026.  "Joyless urgency." Two words that probably just hit a little too close to home. In this episode, Henry Emmons, MD and Aimee Prasek, PhD dig into the Element of Fun — and why so many of us have so little of it. Drawing on the writing of Marilynne Robinson, the surprising decline of kids biking, and sobering research on social media's role in what researchers call problematic engagement, Henry and Aimee make a compelling case that fun isn't frivolous. It's foundational. And reclaiming it might be one of the most radical — and effective — things you can do right now.   About: The Joy Lab Podcast is an Ambie-nominated podcast that blends science and soul to help you cope better with stress, ease anxiety, and uplift mood. Join Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek for practical, mindfulness-based tools and positive psychology strategies to build resilience and create lasting joy. Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with the Joy Lab Program.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! And... if you want to spread some joy and keep this podcast ad-free, then please join our mission by donating (Joy Lab is powered by the nonprofit Pathways North and your donations are tax-deductible).   Full transcript here   Like and follow Joy Lab on Socials:  Instagram Linkedin Watch this episode on YouTube   Sources and Notes: Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. More about Marilynne Robinson from The Poetry Foundation Farivar, S., Wang, F., & Turel, O. (2022). Followers' problematic engagement with influencers on social media: An attachment theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 133. Access here. Joy Lab Episodes referenced: Worrier? You're Not Alone. Here's Why We Worry... [ep. 213] Unmasking Your True Self: Exploring Authenticity and Awe [ep. 216] Embrace Your True Self: Accepted, Connected, & In The Game [ep. 217] The Road Most Travelled: Awakening Through Suffering [ep. 218] Follow Your Bliss: Awakening to Joy [ep. 219]  The Still Small Voice: Awakening with Soulfulness [ep. 220] Key moments: [00:00:00] — Welcome & The Quote That Started It All Henry and Aimee open with a striking passage from author Marilynne Robinson's essay collection The Givenness of Things: "The spirit of the times is one of joyless urgency." Aimee unpacks why those two words land so hard — and how Robinson's observation that this urgency serves "inscrutable ends that are utterly not our own" is the quiet crisis underneath hustle culture. [00:02:00] — The Question We're Too Busy to Answer We've all had that moment of clarity — what am I doing this for? — only to immediately rush past it into the next task. Aimee names the pattern: sometimes urgency is more comfortable than sitting with the possibility that all this striving might not actually be for us. [00:03:00] — Henry's Childhood Take on Boredom (Wisdom From the Old Wise Rat) Henry reflects on being a kid who dreaded boredom — and how that boredom turned out to be necessary. The inactivity between moments of play is what made the play so rich. Think of it like the pause between musical notes. [00:05:30] — Aimee's Dollar Ice Cream Cone Moment Aimee connects bike riding to early experiences of autonomy and confidence — biking to the corner store with a dollar felt like being a real adult. A sweet illustration of how unstructured play doubles as a training ground for real-world social skills, self-confidence, and approach behavior. [00:07:00] — Social Media and the Architecture of Joyless Urgency Here's where it gets science-y. Aimee connects the joyless urgency framework directly to how most social media platforms are designed — not to satisfy us, but to keep us in a loop of stimulation and momentary relief. The mechanics: activate anxiety, ease it briefly, activate again. Repeat. Sound familiar? [00:08:00] — Problematic Engagement: What the Research Says Aimee introduces the research concept of problematic engagement — used in studies on social media addiction and gambling — which describes the cycle of engaging with something that momentarily eases dis-ease but ultimately causes harm. Key finding: social anxiety is a primary driver, and these platforms are algorithmically built to exploit it. [00:09:30] — The Most Ironic Research Finding People who believe they have complete control over their social media use — who think they could stop at any time — actually show the most signs of problematic engagement. They're absorbing the most harm while feeling the least concerned about it. [00:10:00] — Dr. Samira Farivar Quote + What We're Up Against Aimee references research by Dr. Samira Farivar: "You can't action a problem you don't even know exists." The platform isn't incidental to the problem — it is the business model. We're not weak for falling into this loop. We're human, and the trap was engineered specifically for us. [00:11:30] — The Simple Truth About Adding More Fun Henry brings it home: adding more fun to life is theoretically simple. If we just slow down enough to let our awareness catch up, we'll almost naturally fill that space with something we enjoy. Kids don't need instructions for fun — and adults don't either, once we clear the noise. [00:13:00] — Listening to the Voice That Wants to Play Henry offers a quiet but urgent reminder: our inner wisdom needs to be heard. If we don't honor it, it either goes silent — or gets louder until we can't ignore it. The invitation is to pause, ask what am I doing?, and actually wait for an answer to surface. [00:14:00] — Play Is an Offensive Strategy Aimee closes the conversation with a reframe: fun and play aren't a retreat from the hard stuff in the world. They're a way of moving through it.   Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Står ditt åndelige rom i fare for å implodere, og trenger en litterær håndsrekning? Eller har du fått nok av besserwisseres ordrike oppgulp? På kort tid har både Jordan Peterson og Marilynne Robinson gitt ut hver sin bøk om Første Mosebok. Kulturmisjonen er på saken!

Marilynne Robinson gir oss en teologi for vår tid, blir det sagt. Hun insisterer på at teologien fremdeles har en viktig rolle å spille i samtiden, og at alt det vakre vi erfarer i skaperverket ikke bare er en barnslig misforståelse. Preben Jordal, Robinsons sakprosa-oversetter, slår et hardt slag for verdien av å lese vanskelige tekster: «Å konsentrere seg over tid ting du knapt forstår. Det finnes ingenting som er bedre!» Men når det leses vanskelige tekster trenger man venner som kan guide og vise vei. I denne episoden løfter Kulturmisjonen turistguide-flagget og leder an.

Vi tar for oss Robinsons to siste bøker i Gilead-kvartetten, Lila og Jack. Hvorfor betyr Gilead-romanene så mye for så mange? Og hva sier de om dagens USA, om rasisme, tro og nåde? Robinsons Gilead-romaner er USA-brillene vi alle trenger!

The New Yorkers Mark O'Connell, litteraturkritiker og selverklært hardbarka ateist, har sagt at grunnen til at han elsker Marilynne Robinson er at hun er den eneste forfatteren som klarer å gi han en følelse av hva det skulle innebære å leve med en følelse av det guddommelige. Nå er to av hennes romaner ute på norsk: Gilead og Hjem.

Vil du bli klok på Marilynne Robinson, som nå gjester Oslo for å holde Fosseforedraget?I forbindelse med Robinsons oslobesøk, gjenutgir Kulturmisjonen våre fire episoder som omhandler hennes bøker. Slikt krever en kort introduksjon, der Preben Jordal også leser et kort utdrag fra Fosseforedraget han selv har oversatt.I studio sitter Robinsons sakprosa-oversetter, Preben Jordal, Fosseforedragets rådsmedlem, Live Lundh, og Arne Christian Konradsen.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2026 is: nugatory • NOO-guh-tor-ee • adjective Something described as nugatory is of little or no consequence. In law, nugatory describes something (such as a statute or agreement) without operative legal effect. // Most of the criticism of the film in the weeks since its release has been nugatory nonsense. // This new contract renders the previous agreement nugatory. See the entry > Examples: “Public outrage, fanned by the press, did not engage with the work but focused instead on taxpayers' money having been squandered on a worthless ‘pile of bricks.' In fact, the purchase price of [pounds sterling] 2,297 was nugatory, but the issue was never really about price but about rejecting the new and the challenging in art.” — Art Monthly, 1 Dec. 2025 Did you know? Just because nugatory isn't the most common word in the English language doesn't mean it's trifling. Rather, nugatory is literally trifling because the two words are synonymous, as in “comments too nugatory to merit attention.” Nugatory first appeared in English in the 17th century; it comes from the Latin adjective nugatorius, which can mean not only “trifling” or “frivolous” but also “futile.” This sense carried over into English as well, and so in some contexts nugatory means “ineffective” or “having no force,” as when Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson invoked “the nugatory value of the contemporary penny.” Nugatory may mean little to some, but we think it's worth a pretty penny.

John and Maria talk about the Artemis II mission. A new study finds mental health worsens after gender transitions. And what's behind the falling teen pregnancy rate?    Segment 1 – Seeing God from Space  Artemis and Human exceptionalism  Victor Glover article  Segment 2 – Finland Study on Gender Dysphoria  Finland Transgender Study  City Journal article  Segment 3 – Teen Birth Rates Dropping  Teen Birth Rate hits Record Low  Ross Douthat – Ben Sasse interview  Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 

Genesis has long been a flashpoint in conversations about science and faith. Is it history? Poetry? Theology? Some combination of all three? For decades, BioLogos has returned to this ancient text as we wrestle with questions about creation, humanity, and God's action in the world. In this episode, Jim Stump sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson to talk about her recent book Reading Genesis. Robinson approaches Genesis not as a scientific puzzle to solve or a battleground to defend, but as a work of profound literary and theological depth.  Together, they explore the genre of Genesis, the meaning of the creation narratives, the flood story, divine restraint, human freedom, and what it means to be human in light of both Scripture and science. Robinson also shares insights from her broader work, including her reflections on consciousness, the inner life, and the limits—and wonders—of modern scientific thought. Rather than flattening Genesis into either literalism or metaphor, this conversation invites us to read it with patience, imagination, and intellectual humility. Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Kyle Booth, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc. 

 Poet Kevin Nance uses writing prompts regularly because they "can take you places that you never could have gone any other way."On this episode, Kevin discusses ways to access the part of the brain that author Marilynne Robinson believes is most creative—your "back mind." He also shares a prompt that helps his writing students "tap into their inner angst."About Kevin NanceKevin Nance is a photographer, arts journalist, and poet in Lexington. He has published widely in newspapers and magazines including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and Poets & Writers, and has work in literary journals, including The North American Review, Poet Lore, Willawaw, and Still: The Journal. His four books include Smoke, published last year by Accents Publishing. Kevin was recently announced as the new editor of Yearling, the poetry journal of Workhorse Writers.

What does it cost a person to go unseen? And what does it ask of us to truly see one another? In this solo reflection, Corey Nathan explores the moral weight of being seen and the deliberate cruelty of being made invisible. From Marilynne Robinson's Lila to Muhammad Ali's thundering "What's my name?" to Mother Teresa's gaze upon the discarded, this episode traces a thread that runs through literature, history, jazz, and the headlines of this particular moment. When Attorney General Pam Bondi turned her back on Jeffrey Epstein's survivors, when federal agents hide behind masks while the faces of those they detain are photographed and published, when a president plasters his name above John F. Kennedy's, these are not isolated incidents. They are a pattern. And naming that pattern is where the work begins. What would it mean to choose differently? To look at one another the way John Ames looked at Lila? To call each other by our own names? Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey's Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion What This Episode Explores The Need to Be Seen To be seen — truly seen, not used or categorized or erased — is both what we most need and what can make us most exposed. Marilynne Robinson's Lila captures this with devastating precision: the way genuine recognition can feel terrifying to someone who has only ever been seen as a body to be used. When Power Weaponizes Invisibility Pam Bondi sat before Congress with her back to Jeffrey Epstein's survivors. Federal agents conceal their identities behind masks while those they detain are pictured and named. Those killed in lethal operations are reduced to labels. The pattern Colonel David Lapan identified is not accidental: those with power choose who remains invisible and who is exposed. What's My Name Muhammad Ali didn't just fight Ernie Terrell in 1967. He demanded to be known on his own terms, not by a name others had assigned him. The jazz musicians of the 1940s did the same thing, quietly and subversively, by calling each other "man" in a culture that called Black men "boy." To name someone is to acknowledge their humanity. The Counterexamples From Mother Teresa to David Brooks to Vaclav Havel, this episode draws on voices who understood what it means to see and be seen, as well as why that capacity is never merely symbolic. It is the foundation of moral culture. The Challenge to the Church As a Christian, Corey wrestles honestly with a hard number: more than two-thirds of white evangelicals continue to support an administration whose record on human dignity, as described in this episode, is difficult to square with the gospel. What We Can Choose None of us can single-handedly reshape national politics. But we can choose how we see each other. We can turn around and see those this administration will not. Why This Matters Now The daily acts of seeing, naming, and beholding are not symbolic gestures. They are the building blocks of moral culture. And when those in authority systematically exploit the need to be seen or weaponize anonymity to strip others of their humanity, the response can't only be political. It has to be personal. As Jesse Jackson shared with a group of children on Sesame Street: I am... somebody. Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... Substack LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Threads Bluesky TikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today's conversation possible. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Final Thought The world will not always look at you the way you deserve to be seen. But you can choose to look that way at others. Now go talk some politics and religion. And step forward. With gentleness and respect.

What does it cost a person to go unseen? And what does it ask of us to truly see one another? In this solo reflection, Corey Nathan explores the moral weight of being seen and the deliberate cruelty of being made invisible. From Marilynne Robinson's Lila to Muhammad Ali's thundering "What's my name?" to Mother Teresa's gaze upon the discarded, this episode traces a thread that runs through literature, history, jazz, and the headlines of this particular moment. When Attorney General Pam Bondi turned her back on Jeffrey Epstein's survivors, when federal agents hide behind masks while the faces of those they detain are photographed and published, when a president plasters his name above John F. Kennedy's, these are not isolated incidents. They are a pattern. And naming that pattern is where the work begins. What would it mean to choose differently? To look at one another the way John Ames looked at Lila? To call each other by our own names? Calls to Action ✅ If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who believes connection across difference still matters. ✅ Subscribe to Corey's Substack: coreysnathan.substack.com ✅ Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen: ratethispodcast.com/goodfaithpolitics ✅ Subscribe to Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other on your favorite podcast platform. ✅ Watch the full conversation and subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/@politicsandreligion What This Episode Explores The Need to Be Seen To be seen — truly seen, not used or categorized or erased — is both what we most need and what can make us most exposed. Marilynne Robinson's Lila captures this with devastating precision: the way genuine recognition can feel terrifying to someone who has only ever been seen as a body to be used. When Power Weaponizes Invisibility Pam Bondi sat before Congress with her back to Jeffrey Epstein's survivors. Federal agents conceal their identities behind masks while those they detain are pictured and named. Those killed in lethal operations are reduced to labels. The pattern Colonel David Lapan identified is not accidental: those with power choose who remains invisible and who is exposed. What's My Name Muhammad Ali didn't just fight Ernie Terrell in 1967. He demanded to be known on his own terms, not by a name others had assigned him. The jazz musicians of the 1940s did the same thing, quietly and subversively, by calling each other "man" in a culture that called Black men "boy." To name someone is to acknowledge their humanity. The Counterexamples From Mother Teresa to David Brooks to Vaclav Havel, this episode draws on voices who understood what it means to see and be seen, as well as why that capacity is never merely symbolic. It is the foundation of moral culture. The Challenge to the Church As a Christian, Corey wrestles honestly with a hard number: more than two-thirds of white evangelicals continue to support an administration whose record on human dignity, as described in this episode, is difficult to square with the gospel. What We Can Choose None of us can single-handedly reshape national politics. But we can choose how we see each other. We can turn around and see those this administration will not. Why This Matters Now The daily acts of seeing, naming, and beholding are not symbolic gestures. They are the building blocks of moral culture. And when those in authority systematically exploit the need to be seen or weaponize anonymity to strip others of their humanity, the response can't only be political. It has to be personal. As Jesse Jackson shared with a group of children on Sesame Street: I am... somebody. Connect on Social Media Corey is @coreysnathan on all the socials... Substack LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter Threads Bluesky TikTok Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners Thanks to Pew Research Center for making today's conversation possible. Links and additional resources: Pew Research Center: pewresearch.org Meza Wealth Management: mezawealth.com Proud members of The Democracy Group Final Thought The world will not always look at you the way you deserve to be seen. But you can choose to look that way at others. Now go talk some politics and religion. And step forward. With gentleness and respect.

My guest on the show today is Jonny Thakkar. Jonny is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at Swarthmore College and one of the founding editors of The Point. He's the author of various articles, most recently “Beyond Equality” in the newest issue of the Point, and the 2018 book Plato as Critical Theorist.I asked Jonny on to talk about his late friend and mentor the philosopher and psychoanalyst Jonathan Lear, who was his advisor at the University of Chicago Committee on Social Thought and, as you'll hear in our discussion, his occasional advisor on matters of the heart.He wrote about Lear, after his death, along with a collection of other remembrances from friends and colleagues of Lear's:His own career path was so individual as to be impossible to emulate. Institutionally speaking, he had completed two undergraduate degrees, one in history and the other in philosophy, followed by two graduate degrees, the first a Ph.D. on Aristotle's logic under the supervision of Saul Kripke—a prodigy in contemporary logic and metaphysics who was only eight years older than Jonathan, had no expertise in Aristotle and only ever supervised one other dissertation—and the second a professional qualification in psychoanalysis that licensed him to treat patients clinically. His philosophical interlocutors were many and various, among them Plato, Aristotle, Kierkegaard, Freud, Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Williams, J. M. Coetzee and Marilynne Robinson, but he was no dilettante. He wanted to understand what it meant to be human, and he simply followed that question wherever it took him. Without end, I should add: he took up the study of ancient Hebrew in his mid-seventies because he had become so puzzled by the treatment of the prophet Balaam that he wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything in translation!That ethos of constant self-development was central to what you might call Jonathan's philosophy of life. Some people use the term “perpetual student” pejoratively; for Jonathan, being open to learning from the world was the key to human flourishing. As he told matriculating undergraduates in a 2009 address, “the aim of education is to teach us how to be students.” In the preface to Open Minded, he wrote that achieving tenure at Cambridge in his twenties freed him from professional pressures to such an extent that he was forced to confront the meaning of his own existence. “I realized that before I died, I wanted to be in intimate touch with some of the world's greatest thinkers, with some of the deepest thoughts which humans have encountered. I wanted to think thoughts—and also to write something which mattered to me.”We talk about Lear's work, but also about what it means to be, or be influenced by, what Lear called a “local exemplar,” which is someone who has a profound influence on the people around him or her. An exemplar could be a real mentor in the classic sense, as Lear was for Jonny and other students of his, or a writer who affects other people just through text, which is how he functioned in my life. It could also be someone who just said or did something once or a few times that stays with us, imprints itself on us, and changes us in ways that unfold over time.So we talk about how Lear played that role in our lives, but also about the ways in which Thakkar may be playing the role of local exemplar, as a teacher, in the lives of his students, and more generally what it is about someone, or something, that makes it capable of influencing us in these ways.One reason we ended up in this space, I think, is that I've been wrestling a lot, lately, with the question of how writing does or doesn't influence people, because I'm writing a book, on relationships and therapy, that edges into the territory of self-help, and I've become moderately obsessed with not replicating the mistake that so many self-help books make on this front, which is thinking that in order to help people, the thing to do is give them straightforward advice on how to do or be better.This always seems to me like a fundamental misunderstanding of how texts change people, and in some ways an odd one to make in particular for the therapists and psychologists who write so many of these books. If anyone should understand that the human psyche is tricky and that real change tends be a product of close relationships and communal structures playing out over time, rather than advice distilled to words, it should be therapists.Texts do change people's lives, but it's indirect. They're poetic. They're narrative. They're allusive and elusive. They're not precision tools to achieve a predictable outcome in readers.Lear understood this. I asked him once if the style of his essays was deliberately looping and associative because he was trying to emulate something about the rhythms of psychoanalytic practice, and his response was surprise. I just try to write clearly, he said, and the more I think the more I believe him. I think there was something so integrated in the way he did all these things – teach, write, practice psychoanalysis – that his version of writing clearly became this thing that I perceived as indirect, and that it is because of this, in some sense, that his writing has the capacity to affect people in a way that most self-help literature doesn't.I didn't know Lear well, as a person, but he had, and continues to have, a big influence on me. That's even more the case for Jonny, as you'll hear. I don't think he's for everyone, but if he might be for you, I really encourage you to pick up one of his books or find one of his essays online. I'll drop in some links to a few of below. He was a remarkable person.Hope you enjoy. Peace.Jonathan Lear articles:* “Aims of Education”* “Inside and Outside the Republic”* “A Case for Irony”* “Wisdom Won from Illness” [this is actually the whole text of one of his books]* “Transience and hope: A return to Freud in a time of pandemic”* “Jumping from the Couch: An Essay on Phantasy and Emotional Structure”* “Can the virtuous person exist in the modern world?” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danieloppenheimer.substack.com/subscribe

Rachel Grandey reads her review, "'A kind of tribute to what we are': A Review of Marilynne Robinson's Reading Genesis." Rachel Grandey is a UK-based doctoral researcher in Extinction Studies, exploring religious perspectives around environment and culture in South East Asia. Her writing has featured in Agape Review, Amethyst Review, Paper Dragon and Monk in the World. She can be found on social media as @RachelGrandey or at rachelgrandey.wordpress.com.

Francesca Samsel is crafting a new language for our world. That is, she crosses art, science, and visualization to open new ways of understanding and engaging with the natural world, not just visually but across the sensorial spectrum. She recognizes the inextricably social element to this, too, and her work raises our capacity to collaborate, and in the process, alters our sense of what scientific inquiry is and can (and perhaps needs to) be. Her work as her life are teachers we need for the world we are walking into. Origins Podcast WebsiteFlourishing Commons NewsletterShow Notes:vulnerability (11:30)problem with the 'follow your passion' path (14:20)Ganymede (15:00)what she tells her students (15:50)art-science collaboration (16:00)Santa Fe Institute (21:20)James (Jim) Ahrens (24:00)Craig Tweedie (25:20)visual structure to see the complexity in data (29:00)Isaac Asimov 'that's funny' (30:20)the need for scientific breakthrough (31:20)Lia Halloran - your hand will physically guide you the way to breakthrough (31:30)the only mark that you determine as an artist is the first one (33:00)delivery-oriented society (34:30)"Stewardship of Global Collective Behavior" by Joseph Bak-Coleman et al. (40:00)visual vocabulary work (42:00)Art-Sci-Vis Lab at UT Austin (43:20)flourishing (47:00)Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (51:45)lightning round (48:00)Artist: Jon McCormick (work called "Fifty Sisters")Passion: geoscience and the complexity you find when you walk out of the doorHeart sing: fused glass, ice, and rockScrewed up: obliviousness to colleaguesFind Francesca online:Website UT AustinLogo artwork by Cristina GonzalezMusic by swelo on all streaming platforms or @swelomusic on social media

Maria Nisii"La casa dell'invisibile"Marilynne Robinson e la teologia del quotidianoEditrice Querinianawww.queriniana.itPrefazione di Gian Luca CarregaUna panoramica vasta e completa, che fa assaporare best-seller come GileadL'unico saggio italiano sulla dimensione teologica nelle opere di Marilynne Robinson, versante a volte trascurato ma di cruciale importanzaCon la sua scrittura accurata, Marilynne Robinson ha trasformato la letteratura in uno spazio sacro, dove la parola diventa casa dell'Invisibile e la narrazione strumento di grazia. In questo saggio Maria Nisii svela come l'autrice di Gilead, seguita e amata da moltissimi lettori anche in Italia, abbia ridisegnato i confini fra teologia e narrazione facendo della scrittura un atto liturgico. Attraverso un'analisi critica rigorosa e appassionata, che spazia in maniera completa dai romanzi ai saggi, emergono le radici calviniste di una visione artistica unica, capace di tradurre il mistero divino in personaggi affascinanti e in storie di ordinaria redenzione. Il lettore intraprenderà un viaggio nella poetica robinsoniana, dove ogni gesto – per quanto apparentemente banale, come un bagno in un fiume, una lettera paterna, un silenzio – riscatta il senso del vivere e rivela l'Eterno nel frammento. Queste pagine sono una bussola letteraria e teologica, utile tanto a lettori curiosi quanto a studiosi appassionati. Un'indagine originale e necessaria che li accompagna a scoprire, tra le pieghe del racconto, una delle voci più profonde del nostro tempo, che fa suo il sovvertimento evangelico dell'ordine costituito e trasforma il dubbio in bellezza e la solitudine in comunione.Maria Nisii, studiosa di americanistica e docente all'Istituto superiore di scienze religiose di Torino, da tempo si occupa dei rapporti tra letteratura e teologia; in quest'ambito svolge attività di divulgazione su riviste teologiche e in convegni nazionali e internazionali, nei podcast realizzati per l'ufficio di pastorale della cultura della sua diocesi, nella rubrica di poesia che cura per il periodico digitale Il foglio di Torino. Ha al suo attivo, fra l'altro, un saggio sulle riscritture bibliche: L'apocrifo necessario (Effatà, 2022).Marilynne Robinson, autrice di cinque romanzi e numerose raccolte di saggi, è fra le maggiori scrittrici americane viventi, e nel 2012 è stata insignita della National Humanities Medal. Il suo primo romanzo, Le cure domestiche (Einaudi 2016 e 2018), ha vinto nel 1982 il PEN/Hemingway Award per la miglior opera prima ed è stato inserito dal Guardian Unlimited fra i cento migliori romanzi di tutti i tempi. Con il successivo romanzo Gilead (Einaudi 2008 e 2017) ha vinto il National Book Critics Circle Award e il Pulitzer Prize. Casa (Eianudi 2011 e 2017) è stato finalista per il National Book Award e vincitore dell'Orange Prize e Lila (Einaudi 2015 e 2017) è risultato finalista per il National Book Award e vincitore del National Book Critics Circle Award. Einaudi ha pubblicato anche Jack (2021).Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

"Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life."Welcome to our final episode of the King's Way Podcast Book Club for 2025! If you haven't already read the book we're reviewing, don't worry–this could be the talk you need to get you interested in reading it. And if you have read it, welcome to the club!In this episode, Trevor and Ryan talk about a surprisingly beautiful, restful book: Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. Treading the path between historical fictional narrative and pastoral theology, the author follows the letters of a fictional aging pastor in Gilead, Iowa as he prepares for his inevitable death from his old, failing body, written to his very young son in hopes that his son will get to know who his father was when he gets old enough to appreciate it. If you find narratives easier to digest than monologues or diatribes, this may be the perfect faith book for you!As always, you can join the conversation by letting us know what you thought of the book or our conversation!

“Gratitude is contagious. It's something that becomes more powerful as you express it. It reminds me of how fortunate I've been — and through that privilege I feel I owe to do what I can for others.”John Pepper, P&G's former Chairman and CEO, needs no introduction. John has played many roles in business, community, service, and the lives of countless people. He returns to our podcast to discuss his new book, "100 Books That Shaped My Life: Reflections on a Lifetime of Reading, " which might just be the perfect gift this holiday season, for yourself or for anyone in your life who loves a good read."100 Books That Shaped My Life" is no mere book list — it is a life story told through the books that walked alongside John: as a husband, father, leader, citizen, and as someone thinking deeply about what matters most in the time we're given. These are the books that shaped John's understanding of history, democracy, gratitude, and hope — especially in the most recent chapters of his life.Moving from Values, to Biographies, Philosophy, U.S. and Global History, Memoirs, Novels, and Personal Essays, 100 Books That Shaped My Life mirrors something true about John himself: a leader shaped not by one discipline, but by a lifelong curiosity across every discipline. In our conversation, John reflects on how a lifetime of reading helped him better live a lifetime — deepening his understanding of friendship, love, loss, courage, service, and the quiet beauty of everyday life.John's literary influences range from novelists like John Steinbeck, Oliver Sacks, Wallace Stegner, Marilynne Robinson, George Orwell, and Tolstoy, to memoirists such as Frederick Douglass, Katharine Graham, James Reston, and Michelle Obama, to historians and biographers including David Blight, Jon Meacham, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jill Lepore, and so many others. Woven through all of it is a deeply human narrative — his love for his late wife, Francie; his reflections on aging, family, and purpose; the leaders who shaped him; the lessons hard-won; and the quiet moments that stayed with him.As Bob Iger put it, “Whether you're an executive or simply someone who loves reading and learning, you will find great value and wisdom in this book.” And we couldn't agree more. For anyone who enjoys learning from lived experience, this conversation — and this book — make a wonderful companion. It might even inspire you to reflect on everything you've read and learned along the way. Be sure to check out John Pepper's "100 Books That Shaped My Life" wherever you get your favorite books.bookshop.org/p/books/100-books-that-shaped-my-life-reflections-on-a-lifetime-of-reading/23a8c953e3dfd1e5amazon.com/gp/product/B0FXQPHQPK

Marilynne Robinson er en spesielt aktuell forfatter, fordi vi hører så mye fra USA for tida. Og en som skriver mye om religion og USA og landets historie, men fra en helt annet sted enn det vi ser i nyhetene i dag, er Robinson. Som Kulturmisjonens Live Lundh sier: Hun skriver alt det vi burde vite, men ikke får høre noen ting om.»Vi tar for oss Robinsons to siste bøker i Gilead-kvartetten (Episode 46 tar for seg de to første). Hvorfor betyr Gilead-romanene så mye for så mange? Og hva sier de om dagens USA, om rasisme, tro og nåde? Robinsons Gilead-romaner er USA-brillene vi alle trenger!I studio sitter Arne Christian Konradsen, Live Lundh og Maria Bjørdal.

Rebecca is excited to speak with award-winning Canadian author Barbara Joan Scott about her debut novel, The Taste of Hunger.   https://freehand-books.com/product/the-taste-of-hunger/#tab-description "In Saskatchewan in the late 1920s, a fifteen-year-old Ukrainian immigrant named Olena is forced into marriage with Taras, a man twice her age, who wants her even though she has refused him. Stuck in a hardscrabble life with a husband she despises, starved for a life of her own choosing, at every turn Olena rebels agains her husband and her fate. As Olena and Taras drag everyone around them into the maelstrom that is their marriage, they set off a chain of turbulent events whose aftershocks reverberate through generations."   Book Recommendations: All of Baba's Children by Myrna Kostash Endling; Good Citizens Need Not Fear: Stories by Maria Reva Late Breaking; All Saints: Stories; Holy Writ by K.D. Miller Gilead; Home; Lila; Jack; What are We Doing Here? by Marilynne Robinson   https://www.barbarajoanscott.com/  

Ben Fountain is far more than just the author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which won RTB hearts and minds (and the National Book Award) long before it became a weird Ang Lee movie. Back in 2020's lockdown, RTB asked Fountain what was consoling and engaging him. American novels, especially those about Americans abroad (Joan Didion. say) have always done something special for him. Marilynne Robinson's and James Baldwin's work make us confront the reality that's happening around us all the time, “a freaking massacre.” He carried the the (fictional but genuine) facts of Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk in his head for forty years. Allen Tate, Fugitive poet (and author most famously of the tricky post-Eliotic 1928 “Ode to the Confederate Dead“) Joan Didion, The Last Thing He Wanted (1996; “a masterpiece of tone and mood and character and profound interiority”; the movie, not so much) Joan Didion, Democracy (1984; she goes “straight after the heart of that mystery, what is America?“) Marilynne Robinson. Listeners, do you prefer her incisive nonfiction (“Poetry of Puritanism“) or the deep, torqued interiority of her first novel, Housekeeping ? Zadie Smith on the amazing, terrifying Americanness of Kara Walker Kara Walker's “A Subtlety” (also referenced in our Silvia Bottinelli episode on food art!) James Baldwin, A Letter to My Nephew (1962) James Baldwin, e.g. If Beale Street Could Talk (Ben loves those Library of America volumes…) Another Country (1962) Giovanni's Room (1956) Sewanee Review, The Corona Correspondence Chronicles of Now George Saunders “A Letter to My Students…." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Ben Fountain is far more than just the author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which won RTB hearts and minds (and the National Book Award) long before it became a weird Ang Lee movie. Back in 2020's lockdown, RTB asked Fountain what was consoling and engaging him. American novels, especially those about Americans abroad (Joan Didion. say) have always done something special for him. Marilynne Robinson's and James Baldwin's work make us confront the reality that's happening around us all the time, “a freaking massacre.” He carried the the (fictional but genuine) facts of Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk in his head for forty years. Allen Tate, Fugitive poet (and author most famously of the tricky post-Eliotic 1928 “Ode to the Confederate Dead“) Joan Didion, The Last Thing He Wanted (1996; “a masterpiece of tone and mood and character and profound interiority”; the movie, not so much) Joan Didion, Democracy (1984; she goes “straight after the heart of that mystery, what is America?“) Marilynne Robinson. Listeners, do you prefer her incisive nonfiction (“Poetry of Puritanism“) or the deep, torqued interiority of her first novel, Housekeeping ? Zadie Smith on the amazing, terrifying Americanness of Kara Walker Kara Walker's “A Subtlety” (also referenced in our Silvia Bottinelli episode on food art!) James Baldwin, A Letter to My Nephew (1962) James Baldwin, e.g. If Beale Street Could Talk (Ben loves those Library of America volumes…) Another Country (1962) Giovanni's Room (1956) Sewanee Review, The Corona Correspondence Chronicles of Now George Saunders “A Letter to My Students…." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lorenzo Fazzini"Dio è sempre tra le righe"Ancora Editricewww.ancoralibri.itPuò un romanzo parlarci di fede? Una scrittrice o un narratore, tramite i loro personaggi e le loro storie, sanno comunicarci qualcosa di nuovo del cristianesimo? L'immaginazione letteraria fa bene a chi crede?In queste pagine Lorenzo Fazzini, che da anni come giornalista indaga i punti di contatto fra letteratura contemporanea e teologia, prova a rispondere a tali interrogativi facendo parlare alcuni dei grandi narratori di oggi – Marilynne Robinson, Cormac McCarthy, Colum McCann, Jon Fosse, Michel Houellebecq, per citarne alcuni.Si scopre così che parole antiche come fede, speranza e carità, il mistero di Dio e lo scandalo del Vangelo trovano un'eco inedita in tanti romanzi di oggi, anche in quelli scritti da autori che si dichiarano non credenti. Perché lo Spirito di Dio sa soffiare ovunque, soprattutto in quei libri che prendono sul serio la complessità umana.Il vostro modo di leggere un romanzo non sarà più lo stesso dopo aver gustato questo libro, prezioso e originale: vi ritroverete anche voi a cercare se esiste un Dio (e c'è sempre) nelle righe di un racconto. "In questi intensi bozzetti, Lorenzo Fazzini riesce a volgere lo sguardo del finito verso l'infinito. Nella letteratura trova una ragione di vita. Dio è presente tra le righe, ma lo è anche prima che esse prendano forma e pure quando si dissolvono. Nella letteratura si può incontrare la redenzione, perfino la risurrezione. Questi saggi sono frammenti di luce nel buio."Colum McCannLorenzo Fazzini, nato nel 1978 a Bellano (LC) e residente in provincia di Verona, laureato in Lettere moderne e in Scienze religiose, dal 2021 è il responsabile editoriale di Libreria Editrice Vaticana, la casa editrice della Santa Sede. Giornalista, scrittore, autore televisivo e traduttore, scrive di religioni e cultura su Avvenire, L'Osservatore Romano e L'Arena. Ha pubblicato una decina di libri, alcuni dei quali tradotti in varie lingue, fra i quali Nuovi cristiani d'Europa (Lindau 2009) e Dio fra le righe (Il Pellegrino 2024). Con il cardinale Matteo Maria Zuppi ha scritto Odierai il prossimo tuo (Piemme 2019) e con il cardinale Luis Antonio Tagle Ho imparato dagli ultimi (Emi 2016). Insegna «Letteratura e teologia» all'Istituto Superiore di Scienze Religiose «Mons. Onisto» di Vicenza. Dal 2020 è consulente per l'editoria religiosa del Salone internazionale del libro di Torino. Per i suoi lavori editoriali e giornalistici ha ottenuto il premio Capri San Michele, il premio Giorgio Fallani e il premio Natale Ucsi. È sposato con Anna, medico, con la quale ha avuto quattro figli: Marco, Maria, Chiara ed Elia.Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

Since the start of the Trump Era over a decade ago, few words have been deployed as often as "democracy": how it's become imperiled, who threatens it, and what to do to defend it. In The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding, Osita Nwanevu sets out to understand the true meaning of democracy and defend it from its critics, not just on the right but those liberals who doubt the capacity of ordinary voters to determine their country's fate in a complex world. From there, he levels a critique of the Constitution for its myriad democratic deficits, then details what refounding the United States to be genuinely democratic—politically and economically—would require of us.Listen again: "The Wolfe in the White Suit" (w/ Osita Nwanevu), July 5, 2024Sources:Osita Nwanevu, The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding (2025)— "Conservatism's Baton Twirler," New York Review of Books, Sept 25, 2025. Sheldon Wolin, Fugitive Democracy: And Other Essays (2016)Michael J. Klarman, The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution (2016)Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought (1998)Walter Lippman, Public Opinion (1922)Publius, Federalist 49 (February 1788)Matthew Sitman, "Will Be Wild," Dissent, April 18, 2023...and don't forget to subscribe on Patreon for access to all of our bonus episodes!

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing: Bookish Moments: being told what to read by our past selves + insomnia reading on my kindle Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately Deep Dive: how to read deeply The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site). .  .  .  .  1:30 - Our Bookish Moments Of The Week 2:01 - The September House by Carissa Orlando 5:26 - Our Current Reads 5:33 - The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi (Meredith) [releases September 30] 8:16 - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman  10:49 - Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun (Kaytee) 14:23 - The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett 14:28 - Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson 14:50 - We Spread by Iain Reid (Meredith)  16:39 - I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 16:42 - Foe by Iain Reid 20:41 - The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei (Kaytee)  23:07 - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty 23:18 - The Adventures of Amina al-Sarafi by Shannon Chakraborty 24:21 - Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Meredith) 28:47 - Stuart Little by E. B. White  29:58 - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 31:32 - This Is Happiness by Niall Williams (Kaytee) 36:24 - Time of the Child by Niall Williams 36:54 - Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar 37:11 - How and When to Read Deeply 37:45 - Currently Reading: A Journey to Three Pines series 40:33 - A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer 43:31 - Babel by R. F. Kuang 50:33 - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow  55:31 - Still Life by Louise Penny 58:06 - Meet Us At The Fountain 58:12 - I wish my iPhone would make automated actions easier for handling my screenshots. (Meredith) 1:02:28 - I wish that we would all come up with our list of Slam Dunks. (Kaytee) 1:05:42 - Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin 1:06:47 - Chrissie on Instagram and at Sarah's Bookshelves Support Us: Become a Bookish Friend | Grab Some Merch Shop Bookshop dot org | Shop Amazon Bookish Friends Receive: The Indie Press List with a curated list of five books hand sold by the indie of the month. September's IPL comes to us from: Words Matter in Pitman, NJ. Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.  All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller From the Editor's Desk with Kaytee and Bunmi Ishola - a quarterly peek behind the curtain at the publishing industry The Bookish Friends Facebook Group - where you can build community with bookish friends from around the globe as well as our hosts Connect With Us: The Show: Instagram | Website | Email | Threads The Hosts and Regulars: Meredith | Kaytee | Mary | Roxanna Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans Affiliate Disclosure: All affiliate links go to Bookshop unless otherwise noted. Shopping here helps keep the lights on and benefits indie bookstores. Thanks for your support!  

Our Summer 2025 series, Beside Still Waters, focuses on the places where creativity brings life into a world fatigued by brokenness and division. From jazz to Jane Austen and in between, this season we're focusing on the ways literature and the arts can refresh and challenge our inner lives—and connect us with the Creator of the good, the true, and the beautiful.Today's episode concludes our summer series. Our guide today is the acclaimed writer Marilynne Robinson, author of the Gilead series, and much else. In this episode, originally an Online Conversation recorded in 2020, Marilynne reflects on the art of writing as a means of exploring truth and engaging questions around learning to live well, to love others, and to create a home and community, in our fractious world:“The unique brilliance of a human being … is something that we tend utterly to disparage, demean, utterly fail to notice … every person lives out a [life] beautiful, complicated, inaccessible to other consciousnesses. And it is sacred.”And if this conversation resonates with you, consider joining the Trinity Forum community as a member, at ttf.org. You can find the full video of this conversation there too. Marilynne Robinson's Novels | Housekeeping, Gilead, Home, Lila, Jack, Reading GenesisArticle in Breaking Ground from our event.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Marcel ProustRalph Waldo EmmersonPaul HardingWalt WitmanWilliam FaulknerJohn CalvinJonathan EdwardsMoby Dick, by Herman MellvillePiers Plowman, by William LanglandRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Sacred and Profane Love | A Trinity Forum Reading by John Donne Bulletins from Immortality | A Trinity Forum Reading by Emily Dickinson Confessions | A Trinity Forum Reading by Saint Augustine Brave New World | A Trinity Forum Reading by Aldous Huxley Marilynne Robinson is a novelist, essayist, and teacher, one of the most renowned and revered of living writers. Her novels Housekeeping, Gilead, Lila, and Home have been variously honored with the Pulitzer Prize, National Books Critics Circle Award (twice), a Hemingway Foundation Award, an Orange Prize, The Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, and the Ambassador Book Award. She's also the author of many essays and non-fiction works, including her work, “Mother Country”, and her essay collections, “Death of Adam,” “Absence of Mind,” “When I was a Child I Read Books,” “The Givenness of Things,” and “What Are We Doing Here?”. She's the recipient of the National Humanities Medal and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition to her writing has spent over 20 years teaching at the Iowa Writers Workshop, as well as several universities.

Join us (Dr. Henry Emmons and Dr. Aimee Prasek) as we talk about "joyless urgency," a brilliant phrase coined by Marilynne Robinson. The short story is that our modern kind of hustle culture and constant busyness often leads to little personal fulfillment. So what's causing all this urgency? We've highlighted some important reasons in some recent episodes (see links below). Today, we'll introduce another one: too much social media. We'll focus on something called "problematic engagement" and how excessive use on social media can fuel a cycle of anxiety and temporary relief followed by more anxiety and temporary relief and then more anxiety... you get the picture. Awareness is the first step to get out of this cycle and we'll hit on that a bit in this episode. And be sure to tune in for the next several episodes as we'll cover some practical steps you can take to get out of joyless urgency and back into joy.   If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!   Sources and Notes: Joy Lab Program: Take the next leap in your wellbeing journey with step-by-step practices to help you build and maintain the elements of joy in your life. More about Marilynne Robinson from The Poetry Foundation Joy Lab Episodes referenced: Worrier? You're Not Alone. Here's Why We Worry... [ep. 213] Unmasking Your True Self: Exploring Authenticity and Awe [ep. 216] Embrace Your True Self: Accepted, Connected, & In The Game [ep. 217] The Road Most Travelled: Awakening Through Suffering [ep. 218]  Follow Your Bliss: Awakening to Joy [ep. 219] The Still Small Voice: Awakening with Soulfulness [ep. 220] Farivar, S., Wang, F., & Turel, O. (2022). Followers' problematic engagement with influencers on social media: An attachment theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 133. Access here.   Full transcript here.   Please remember that this content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice and is not a replacement for advice and treatment from a medical professional. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health professional before beginning any diet change, supplement, or lifestyle program. Please see our terms for more information. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call the NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-6264 available Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., ET. OR text "HelpLine" to 62640 or email NAMI at helpline@nami.org. Visit NAMI for more. You can also call or text SAMHSA at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

We’re in Saratoga, New York, with the soulful American believer Marilynne Robinson, prize novelist and teacher of novelists. She’s known over the decades as the storyteller we trust to observe the troubled heart of our ... The post Occupied America appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

A dying preacher writes a (rather) long letter to his son. Another dying preacher's son returns home, seeking…something. Salvation? Forgiveness? A balm? Robinson's novel is a deeply considered portrait of a family of ministers, wrestling with the powers and limitations of their faith and fatherhood.This episode is sponsored by Squarespace. Go to squarespace.com/overdue for 10% of your first purchase of a website or domain.Our theme music was composed by Nick Lerangis.Follow @overduepod on Instagram and BlueskyAdvertise on OverdueSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a world competing for our attention, our guest this week admits: “It's probably harder to read novels now than it ever was.” But their value cannot be overstated. The novel's unique humanity, its careful and open treatment of the human experience, helps us to develop a sympathetic imagination, tuning our hearts and minds in a way that non-fiction argument simply cannot. Christopher Scalia, author of 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read), makes the case that it is a distinctly conservative interest to explore the Western tradition through fiction. Recommendations in hand, he invites adults to refresh their reading list with novels—from the very inception of the form up to the present. Chapters: 1:47 The great book rut 4:11 Novels: the medium of recent Western tradition 5:30 The 18th-century bildungsroman 9:47 “Conservative” themes 16:18 The American dream in My Ántonia 22:39 Miraculous realism in Peace Like a River 29:02 Acknowledging the existence of evil 31:44 Wonder and encounter over strict interpretation 37:03 Revisiting works from your school years 38:47 Why narrative works 42:01 Books that nearly made the cut Links: 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven't Read) by Christopher Scalia Christopher J. Scalia at American Enterprise Institute The History of Rasselas by Samuel Johnson (1759) Evelina by Frances Burney (1778) Waverley by Sir Walter Scott (1814) The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1852) Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876) My Ántonia by Willa Cather (1918) Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark (1963) The Children of Men by P. D. James (1992) Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (2001) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (2004) The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006) How I Won a Nobel Prize: A Novel by Julius Taranto (2023) Also on the Forum: Heights Forum Book Reviews On Reading Literature by Joseph Bissex Some Summer Reading Recommendations for Teachers by Tom Cox Modern Literature: On Curating the Contemporary featuring Mike Ortiz Guiding Our Boys through Modern Literature featuring Joe Breslin and Lionel Yaceczko Featured opportunities: Teaching Essentials Workshop at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)

Find out how Marilynne Robinson's fresh insights on the book of Genesis relate to its spiritual significance for Mary Baker Eddy.

Andrew Porter is the author of two story collections, The Disappeared and The Theory of Light and Matter. He's also the author of the novel In Between Days. His latest, out this month, is The Imagined Life and it treads on some familiar territory as the others. Andrew joins Marrie Stone to talk about it. His work has been compared to Richard Yates and John Cheever. He talks about those influences and his hyper-focus on the domestic realm. He also talks about the impacts his former professor, Marilynne Robinson, has on his work. They talk about writerly choices — point of view, structure, revision, and character development. And they discuss larger themes of men, boys, marriage, and sexuality in today's culture and how literature reflects those struggles. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. You'll help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It's stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you'll find an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners! (Recorded on April 16, 2025) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)

Faith and Una Meredith, Mary Vance, Sara Stanley, Felicity and Cecily King – all of these girls have different relationships with housekeeping and cooking, and PhD candidate Ariel Little is here to tell us all about it! We speculate about how the characters might show up on social media, the way that housekeeping reflects power and authority in Montgomery's work, and why cleanliness was so important to the Victorians.  If you want to read some of Ariel Little's writing, she's published this article, Under the Moon's Healing Influence: George MacDonald's Literary Re-envisioning of Women's Health  and also has a chapter in this new book, Beyond Little Women, edited by Lauren Hehmeyer.   Inspired by: Ragon is inspired by: Fourteen Talks By Age Fourteen by Michelle Icard and Finding The Magic In Middle School by Chris Balme. Kelly is inspired by: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Ariel is inspired by:  The Sanitary Arts:  Aesthetic Culture and the Victorian Cleanliness Campaign by Eileen Cleere and Architecture in the Family Way by Annmarie Adams, as well as The House Of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones. If you want to get a free logo sticker from us, either leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or share your love for the pod on social media!  Send us a photo of your share or review at either our email: kindredspirits.bookclub@gmail.com or on our KindredSpirits.BookClub Instagram. 

Welcome back to another season of With All Due Respect, where your hosts, Megan Powell du Toit and Michael Jensen, tackle tricky topics with respect and grace.To kick things off, celebrated author Marilynne Robinson joins the show to discuss her new book Reading Genesis, which looks at God's covenant with humanity - despite how dark things get.Our hosts then share their thoughts on the first book of the Bible and look at other recent attempts to understand it - notably Jordan Peterson's musings in his latest work, We Who Wrestle With God.

Author Marilynne Robinson talks with John about the enduring power of literature, the spiritual depth of Genesis, and the role of faith in shaping civilisation. With grace and wisdom, she explores how ancient texts like the Bible continue to offer moral clarity and insight into human dignity, while lamenting the cultural shift toward superficial modernity. Her reflections remind us that true wisdom lies in understanding our shared history and revering the sacredness of every individual. This conversation offers a rare glimpse into Robinson's deeply held beliefs about democracy, beauty, and the human condition. Thought-provoking and rich in literary references, it challenges us to rethink the narratives of our era and to seek meaning in complexity, compassion, and the timeless pursuit of truth. Marilynne Robinson is an American Pulitzer Prize winning author and novelist. She has written many award-winning books, including Gilead, Housekeeping, Home and Jack. Her latest book is the bestseller Reading Genesis.

Today Craig answers several listener questions about religion and morality. Cecil chimes in with his thoughts. They both chat about the death of former President Jimmy Carter.      The idea of a trial of innocence asking each human whether to do well or not do well comes from André LaCocque, Onslaught Against Innocence, Cain, Abel, and the Yahwist.  (Eugene, Or., Cascade Books, 2008), p. 1.  See also, André LaCocque, The Trial of Innocence, Adam, Eve, and the Yahwist. (Eugene, Or., Cascade Books, 2006).  Rachel S. Mikva provides multiple interpretations of holy writings in Dangerous Religious Ideas, The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, (Boston, Beacon Press, 2020).  Marilynne Robinson discusses Jonathan Edwards' sense of biblical generosity in When I Was a Child I Read Books, (N.Y., Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2012), pp. 81-83.    Susan Thistlethwaite briefly discusses President Carter's work to end violence against women and support women's rights while noting that President Carter also read the Bible literally in No Fear Religion and Politics “Thank You, President Carter, You were a decent Christian and the world's peacemaker,”     https://susanthistlethwaitewaite.substack.com/p/thank-you-president-carter?publication_id=1360431&post_id=153777616&isFreemail=true&r=3ag8ix&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email  Linda K. Williams' song, "When Jesus Said Love Your Enemies" and a photo of the bumper sticker can be found at:  https://betterworld.bandcamp.com/track/when-jesus-said-love-your-enemies-the-original-bumpersticker-song-2

As you probably know by now, 2024 was a big year for Commonweal, marking one hundred years of continuous publication.  It was also an important one for the podcast, which for five years—and nearly one hundred and fifty episodes—has been bringing you reflective conversations with inspiring writers, thinkers, artists, and political and religious leaders.  On this episode, we're revisiting four of our favorite episodes from the past year: Marilynne Robinson and Christian Wiman on Genesis Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman on the ethics of having children Vinson Cunningham on criticism as a way of life Rabbi Shai Held on Judaism's loving heart. 

Kate Wolf and Eric Newman are joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, novelist, and translator Forrest Gander to discuss his new book, Mojave Ghost. A long poem situated along the 800-mile length of the San Andreas Fault, which runs from Northern California where Gander lives to his birthplace in the Southern California Desert, the work reflects both exterior and interior landscapes with tender precision and heightened awareness. Gander moves through memory, grief, and fault lines— in the earth, our country, and himself. He confronts what it means to be a self that contains divisions born out of time, experience, and relationships to other people, both living and gone. Also, Simon Critchley, author of Mysticism, returns to recommend A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg, and give a tip of the hat to Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson.

“It's sort of strange to think about beauty and horrible circumstances together. But I try, probably clumsily at times, to bring beauty to a thing that's really horrible. … But in terms of covering executions, there is just a void there. The main character always dies.” (Elizabeth Bruenig, from the episode) Despite sin, there remains an inherent beauty and goodness throughout creation… including humanity. And even in the most divisive circumstances, when we appeal to the beauty and horror in our shared human condition, we might be able to find common ground for mutual understanding and collaboration. And sometimes, in the best circumstances, we might even find a beautiful and life-giving encounter with the other. In this episode, celebrated journalist and self-described “avid partisan of humankind” Elizabeth Bruenig (Staff Writer for The Atlantic, and formerly The New York Times, Washington Post, and The New Republic) joins Mark Labberton to talk about journalism, her journey toward Catholicism, the complex moral and emotional lives of human beings, capital punishment and violence, and the prospects for introducing beauty into polarized politics and horrifying evil. About Elizabeth Bruenig Elizabeth Bruenig is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She was previously an opinion writer for The New York Times and The Washington Post, where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing. She has also been a staff writer at The New Republic and a contributor to the Left, Right & Center radio show. She currently hosts a podcast, The Bruenigs, with her husband, Matt Bruenig. Elizabeth holds a master of philosophy in Christian theology from the University of Cambridge. At The Atlantic, she writes about theology and politics. Show Notes Elizabeth Bruenig shares about her religious and philosophical background Bruenig shares about her journey toward Roman Catholicism The Eucharist and embodied experience of God The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist “I don't need to be studying and getting degrees, I need to just be living my life radically as a Christian.” Journalism, paying attention, and compassionate “I'm very interested in people and people's moral lives. Things like honor and shame, guilt—you know, very complex emotions—interest me a lot, and I think everyone has them all the time. People have these spiritual, ethical, moral struggles going on inside them. And so everybody is a little universe unto themselves.” What it means to be a Staff Writer Journalism with narrative, story, opinions, and arguments “I have found that to be a very successful way of garnering stories. It's just to listen to people.” “The first execution I ever witnessed, I witnessed for the New York Times, it was during Trump's spree of federal executions. I think they executed something like 13 people in six months, really unprecedented. I wanted to report on that.” Media witnesses as The Executions of Alfred Bourgeois, David Neal Cox, James Barber, Kenny Smith, and Alan Miller “I have had the opportunity to speak with men who were about to die.” “The Man I Saw Them Kill” “The idea of execution promises catharsis. The reality of it delivers the opposite, a nauseating sense of shame and regret. Alfred Bourgeois was going to die behind bars one way or another, and the only meaning in hastening it, as far as I could tell, was inflicting the terror and the torment of knowing that the end was coming early. I felt defiled by witnessing that particular bit of pageantry, all of that brutality cloaked in sterile procedure. So much time and effort goes into making executions seem like exercises of justice, not just power. Extreme measures are taken at each juncture to convince the public, and perhaps the executioners themselves, that the process is a fair, dispassionate, rational one. It isn't. There was no sense in it, and I can't make any out of it. Nothing was restored, nothing was gained. There isn't any justice in it, nor satisfaction, nor reason. There was nothing, nothing there.” Faith, the void of execution “I find that reading great essays summons language in me.” On Beauty and Being Just by Elaine Scarry “Beauty inspires reproduction” “It's sort of strange to think about beauty and horrible circumstances together. But I try, probably clumsily at times, to bring beauty to a thing that's really horrible. … But in terms of covering executions, there is just a void there. The main character always dies.” “I had a religious conviction going into the first execution that I was at that executions were wrong and it wasn't really based on anything that I could point to. I just had the, you know, very simple notion that killing people is wrong and that it's wrong in, in all cases, even if the person is a very bad person.” Two executions in the New Testament: the one Jesus halts, and the one that kills Jesus Execution as a subhuman act The logic of criminal justice system and capital punishment The difficulty of introducing beauty into polarized politics “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8) Groaning beauty “All of creation groans under the weight of sin.” “The holiness of creation, the goodness of it, is so strong that it can't be, I don't think, entirely blotted out by sin. I just don't think that humans have the power to rob of beauty that which was made beautiful.” Finding beauty in visual culture, pop culture, museums, essay writing, and art On Beauty, Eula Biss— “… her prose, you know, glitters to me. I think it's fantastic. Not too melodramatic, restrained. And elegant.” Marilynne Robinson, imagination and beauty The political landscape Fears “I think when what's up for debate is like the rule of law, then I'm going to go with the candidate who whatever other faults is actually in favor of the rule of law. I think that's very important.” Assisted Suicide and Physician Assisted Suicide “I don't think I can write without bringing in theology, because it's so much a part of what I consider to be true. And so to give readers an honest view into what I'm thinking I have to provide the theological Issues that I'm thinking through.” Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment Magazine and Fuller Seminary.

“We have to go back to the very basic thing of understanding our shared humanity. And we've departed a long way from that—even the best of us, I'm afraid. It is just stunning. I mean, we are such a danger to everything we value.” (Marilynne Robinson, from the episode) Today on the show, Mark Labberton welcomes the celebrated novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson to discuss her most recent book, Reading Genesis. Known for novels such as Housekeeping, Gilead, Home, and Lila, she offers a unique perspective on ancient scripture in her latest work of nonfiction. In this enriching and expansive conversation, they discuss the theological, historical, and literary value in the Book of Genesis; the meaning of our shared humanity; fear and reverence; how to free people from the view of God as threatening; the complicated and enigmatic nature of human freedom; the amazing love, mercy, and long-suffering of God on display in the unfolding drama of the Genesis narrative; and overall: “The beautiful ordinariness of a God-fashioned creature in ordinary communion with one another.” About Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Robinson is an award-winning American novelist and essayist. Her fictional and non-fictional work includes recurring themes of Christian spirituality and American political life. In a 2008 interview with the Paris Review, Robinson said, "Religion is a framing mechanism. It is a language of orientation that presents itself as a series of questions. It talks about the arc of life and the quality of experience in ways that I've found fruitful to think about." Her novels include Housekeeping (1980, Hemingway Foundation/Pen Award, Pulitzer Prize finalist), Gilead (2004, Pulitzer Prize), Home (2008, National Book Award Finalist), Lila (2014, National Book Award Finalist), and most recently, Jack (2020). Robinson's non-fiction works include Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State, and Nuclear Pollution (1989), The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought (1998), Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self (2010), When I was a Child I Read Books: Essays (2012), The Givenness of Things: Essays (2015), and What Are We Doing Here?: Essays (2018). Her latest book is Reading Genesis (2024). Marilynne Robinson received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Brown University in 1966 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington in 1977. She has served as a writer-in-residence or visiting professor at a variety of universities, including Yale Divinity School in Spring 2020. She currently teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. She has served as a deacon for the Congregational United Church of Christ. Robinson was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho and now lives in Iowa City. Show Notes Get your copy of Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson Mark introduces Marilynne Robinson and her most recent foray into biblical interpretation Overarching narrative of God's time vs. Human time Theological, biblical, historical, and literary categories Why Genesis? Why biblical commentary? “Genesis is the foundational text, and God's self-revelation is the work of Genesis.” The expansiveness of the creation narrative from the beginning of everything to two people hoeing in a garden. Elohim and the universal God-name Monotheism and the enormously cosmic assertion of the nature of God From cosmology to granular human existence Amazement and the Book of Genesis “God saw the intentions of our heart and they were only evil always.” Conjuring the idea of a vindictive God—as opposed to a merciful, long-suffering, and loving God “It's hard to wiggle people free from the idea that God is primarily threatening.” The role of fear in sin, temptation, and evil “I think the fall is a sort of realization of a fuller aspect of our nature, which is painful to us and painful to God. But it's our humanity.” From the book: “The narrative of scripture has moved with astonishing speed from let there be light to this intimate scene of shared grief and haplessness. There is no incongruity in this. Human beings are at the center of it all. Love and grief are, in this infinite creation, things of the kind we share with God. The fact that they have their being in the deepest reaches of our extensionless and undiscoverable souls only makes them more astonishing. Over and against the roaring cosmos, that they exist at all can only be proof of a tender solicitude.” Ancient Near Eastern mythology “Meaning cannot leak out of this. It's absolutely meaningful.” Genesis is a “particular series of stories that are stories of the tumbling, bumbling, faithful, faithless, violent, peaceable, loyal, disloyal agency of human beings.” Mystery Theology as a vision, a revelation “The beautiful ordinariness of a God-fashioned creature in ordinary communion with one another.” The impact of Genesis in the history of our understanding of humanity, freedom, relationships, and so much more. Law as a liberation of one another: it limits your behavior and is emancipating to everyone around you. God's patience with human freedom and the ability to go wrong The enigma of freedom “From the very beginning, the Bible seems aware that we are our enemy and that we are our apocalyptic beast.” “Our freedom is very costly. It's costly to us. It's costly to God.” Imagination and the dynamics of freedom “An enhanced reverence for oneself has to be rooted in a reverence for God.” “The idea of the sacredness of God and the sacredness of the self.” Fear and reverence “You are holding in your imagination … and helping us to see, feel, and hear the voices and see the actions of ordinary human beings, who are both (like Psalm 8), ‘a little lower than the angels,' and at the same time, ‘we are dust and to dust you will return.'” Paying attention Marilynne Robinson's upbringing, access to nature, access to books, and plenty of solitude Joseph and the ending of the Genesis narrative: How might the story of Joseph speak to our time? “We have to go back to the very basic thing of understanding our shared humanity. And we've departed a long way from that—even the best of us, I'm afraid. It is just stunning. I mean, we are such a danger to everything we value. We are a danger to everything we value. And the fact that we can persist in doing that or tolerating it … there we are, you know? … We've always been strange, we human beings.” The perplexity of freedom “The way that Joseph understands his history is a comment on the idea of divine time.” “Joseph did enslave the Egyptians.” “There is no bow to tie around anything. There's simply whatever it yields in terms of meaning and beauty and so on.” Matthew 28 and the Great Commission “Christianity sliding into empire” The value of resolution and the open-ended nature of the Genesis narrative Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.

Today, we're joined by one of our favorite writers and thinkers, Vinson Cunningham, to discuss his excellent debut novel, Great Expectations, which tells the story of brilliant-but-unmoored young black man, David Hammond, who finds himself recruited — by fluke, folly, or fate — onto a historic presidential campaign for a certain charismatic Illinois senator. A staff writer at the New Yorker, Vinson also worked for Obama's 2008 campaign in his early twenties. (He bears at least some resemblance to his protagonist.) And his novel provides a wonderful jumping-off point for a deep discussion of political theater, the novel of ideas, race, faith,  the meaning of Barack Obama, and the meaning of Kamala Harris. Also discussed: Christopher Isherwood, Saul Bellow, Garry Wills, Ralph Ellison, Marilynne Robinson, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant! If you can't get enough Vinson, check out his podcast with Naomi Fry and Alexandra Schwartz, Critics at Large.  Sources:Vinson Cunningham, Great Expectations: A Novel (2024)— "The Kamala Show," The New Yorker, Aug 19, 2024— "Searching for the Star of the N.B.A. Finals," The New Yorker, June 21, 2024— "Many and One," Commonweal, Dec 14, 2020.Saul Bellow, Ravelstein  (2001) Garry Wills, Lincoln at Gettysburg (1992)Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)— Shadow and Act (1964)David Haglund, "Leaving the Morman Church, After Reading a Poem," New Yorker Radio Hour, Mar 25, 2016. Phil Jackson, Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior (1995)Glenn Loury, Late Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative (2024)Matthew Sitman, "Saving Calvin from Clichés: An Interview with Marilynne Robinson," Commonweal, Oct 5, 2017...and don't forget to subscribe to Know Your Enemy on Patreon so you can listen to all of our premium episodes!

“The whole of human existence is like some sweet parable told in the most improbable place and circumstances. … God values our humanity. … One of the things that's fascinating about the Hebrew Bible is that it declared and was loyal to the fact that God is good and creation is good.”Novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson joins Miroslav Volf to discuss her latest book, Reading Genesis. Together they discuss why she took up this project of biblical commentary and what scripture and theological reflection means to her; how she thinks of Genesis as a theodicy (or a defense against the problem of evil and suffering); the grace of God; the question of humanity's goodness; how to understand the flood; the relationship between divine providence and working for moral progress; and much more.About Marilynne RobinsonMarilynne Robinson is an award-winning American novelist and essayist. Her fictional and non-fictional work includes recurring themes of Christian spirituality and American political life. In a 2008 interview with the Paris Review, Robinson said, "Religion is a framing mechanism. It is a language of orientation that presents itself as a series of questions. It talks about the arc of life and the quality of experience in ways that I've found fruitful to think about."Her novels include: Housekeeping (1980, Hemingway Foundation/Pen Award, Pulitzer Prize finalist), Gilead (2004, Pulitzer Prize), Home (2008, National Book Award Finalist), Lila (2014, National Book Award Finalist), and most recently, Jack (2020). Robinson's non-fiction works include Mother Country: Britain, the Welfare State, and Nuclear Pollution (1989), The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought (1998), Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self (2010), When I was a Child I Read Books: Essays (2012), The Givenness of Things: Essays (2015), and What Are We Doing Here?: Essays (2018). Her latest book is Reading Genesis (2024).Marilynne Robinson received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Brown University in 1966 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington in 1977. She has served as a writer-in-residence or visiting professor at a variety universities, included Yale Divinity School in Spring 2020. She currently teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. She has served as a deacon for the Congregational United Church of Christ. Robinson was born and raised in Sandpoint, Idaho and now lives in Iowa City.Show NotesGet your copy of Reading Genesis by Marilynne RobinsonMarilynne Robinson's New York Times article, “What Literature Owes the Bible” (2011)Reading Genesis as the singular ancient literature that it isThe Bible (and Genesis) as theodicyHow Calvin and Luther influenced Robinson's approach to GenesisThe benefit of reading Genesis as a wholeThe story of JosephThe fractal nature of the bibleUnsparing, honest descriptions of the characters“I think that the fact that they are recognizably flawed creatures is, what that reflects is the grace of God. He is enthralled by these people that must have been a fairly continuous disappointment, you know? We have to understand humankind better, I think, in order to understand what overplus there is in a human being that God loves them despite their being so human.”“An amazing little theater of domestic dysfunction.”Abraham and Isaac: “Poor Isaac … or he could just be a plain old disappointing child.”“The Bible is a theodicy.”God's goodness, and a defense of GodGod's value of humanity and the conservation of the human self“God stands by creation.”Humanism in Genesis“Humanity sinks so deep into evil. that they become near incarnations of evil.”Genesis 6: “Every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was Only evil and continually.”Total depravity and the bleak view of humanityNoah and the Flood“… there's a kind of a strange lawlessness of Genesis.”“When God remakes the world after Noah, after the flood, he does not change human beings. He gives them exactly the same blessings and instructions that he did originally, which is simply another statement of his very deeply tested loyalty to us as we are.”“Finding a humane way to deal with the inhumanity of human beings.”Genesis 8: “Because human beings are evil, I will never destroy them.”Grace as a condition of possibility for all lifeThe similarities between Hebrew Bible as a philosophic text, drawing influences from cultures around them“what is a greater question of theodicy than the fact that populations are wiped off the face of the earth every so often—it must have been so common in the ancient world with plagues and wars and all the rest of it.”“Every human, every thought, all the time: evil.”“Genesis is a preparation for Exodus because the solution to human wickedness, which nevertheless does not violate human nature, is law.”What is the moral purpose of humanity?The roaring cosmos and modern atheisms: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche on moral purpose is gone, humanity is just a little boat amidst a storm“The whole of human existence is like some sweet parable told in the most improbable place and circumstances.”Charles Taylor's Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of DisenchantmentProvidence and moral progress“We're still terribly violent. Terribly violent people.” “And terribly blind to our violence.”Revelation and God's control of an otherwise nasty worldThe possibility of human encounterProduction NotesThis podcast featured Marilynne Robinson and Miroslav VolfEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Emily BrookfieldA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

The novelist Marilynne Robinson has a nearly constitutional role in our heads, our culture by now. She's the artist we trust to observe the damaged heart of America, and to tell us what we're going ...

Marilynne Robinson is one of America's best and best-known novelists and essayists, whose award-winning works like Housekeeping and Gilead explore themes of faith, grace, and the intricacies of human nature. Beyond her writing, Robinson's 25-year tenure at the famed Iowa Writers' Workshop allowed her to shape and inspire the new generations of writers. Her latest book, Reading Genesis, displays her scholarly prowess, analyzing the biblical text not only through the lens of religious doctrine but also appreciating it as a literary masterpiece. She joined Tyler to discuss betrayal and brotherhood in the Hebrew Bible, the relatable qualities of major biblical figures, how to contend with the Bible's seeming contradictions, the true purpose of Levitical laws, whether we've transcended the need for ritual sacrifice, the role of the Antichrist, the level of biblical knowledge among students, her preferred Bible translation, whether The Winter's Tale makes sense, the evolution of Calvin's reputation and influence, why academics are overwhelmingly secular, the success of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, why she wrote a book on nuclear pollution, what she'll do next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video. Recorded February 8th, 2024. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Photo Credit: Alec Soth, Magnum Photos

Marilynne Robinson is one of the great living novelists. She has won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Humanities Medal, and Barack Obama took time out of his presidency to interview her at length. Her fiction is suffused with a sense of holiness: Mundane images like laundry drying on a line seem to be illuminated by a divine force. Whether she's telling the story of a pastor confronting his mortality in “Gilead” or two sisters coming of age in small-town Idaho in “Housekeeping,” her novels wrestle with theological questions of what it means to be human, to see the world more deeply, to seek meaning in life.In recent years, Robinson has tightened the links between her literary pursuits and her Christianity, writing essays about Calvinism and other theological traditions. Her forthcoming work of nonfiction is “Reading Genesis,” a close reading of the first book of the Old Testament (or the Torah, as I grew up knowing it). It's a countercultural reading in many respects — one that understands the God in Genesis as merciful rather than vengeful and humans as flawed but capable of astounding acts of grace. No matter one's faith, Robinson unearths wisdom in this core text that applies to many questions we wrestle with today.We discuss the virtues evoked in Genesis — beauty, forgiveness and hospitality — and how to cultivate what Robinson calls “a mind that's schooled toward good attention.” And we end on her reading of the story of Israel, which I found to be challenging, moving and evocative at a time when that nation has been front and center in the news.Book Recommendations:Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John FoxeThe Vision of Piers Plowman by William LanglandTheologia GermanicaThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing from Efim Shapiro. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sonia Herrero and Alex Engebretson.