Interfaith Voices Podcast (hour-long Version)

Harley Rustad recounts the life of Justin Alexander Shetler, an American man who vanished in India’s Parvati Valley in 2016. Shetler, described as a sort of “lost boy” by his friends, was on a spiritual quest, one that caused him to push himself to greater and greater extremes and eventually, fatal danger.

In 2014, our founder Maureen Fiedler interviewed President Jimmy Carter shortly after his book A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.

In the 2014 religious biography Redeemer, Randall Balmer describes how the controversial president’s rise and fall coincided with the decline of Christian progressives and the Religious Right.

Jan Williams witnessed and describes President Carter’s spiritual legacy which included working to support women’s access and inclusion in all spheres of church life.

Martyn Oliver, says fasting most likely predates organized religion. And we explore how individuals and communities are embracing the ancient ritual of abstaining from food, water, intimacy, and comfort as a response to modern life. Then, the 19-Day Fast in the Bahá’í tradition begins at sundown on March 1, 2023.  The fast marks the last month of the Bahá’í calendar before the new year. It involves abstaining from food or drink from sunrise to sunset. The multigenerational Ewing-Boyd family of Washington DC invites host, Ambereen Khan, to join a breaking of the fast and share how they do their best to use this time of fasting as an opportunity to slow down, gain discipline, and reconnect with each other.

In his 2021 book, “Learning to Pray,” Jesuit priest and bestselling author Father James Martin charts an approach to prayer that is not just for Catholics, but is for everyone.

Springtide Research Institute’s former executive Josh Packard explains why data and survey research offers more nuance and insights into GenZ’s approach to values, meaning-making, and answering the big questions.

Bob Smietana's new book Reorganized Religion takes a closer look at the state of the American church and the way congregations and their leaders are adapting, shifting, or resisting.

Five years ago she left her church and found a more profound sense of connection and belonging outdoors.  Valerie Luna Serrels shares her journey and offers a glimpse at how members of her local Church of the Wild gather and find meaning. 

Jovana Nieto is the coordinator of the Migrant Accompaniment Network and she is on a mission to recruit volunteers to support newcomers on their journey to making the US home.

The leader of the New York Immigration Coalition Murad Awawdeh is undeterred in his advocacy for migrants.  The oldest coalition of immigration groups in New York is leading efforts to secure housing, shelter, and support for new arrivals.

Two years ago on the campaign trail, President Biden promised to end the inhuman border policies that barred migrants seeking asylum from entering the United States. Instead of ending the use of Title 42, faith leaders describe how new proposed rules and laws will expand its use. 

One of the major themes to emerge from the new PBS documentary "The Black Church: This is Our Story, This is Our Song" is the often-overlooked roles Black women play in strengthening that institution.

Dr. Yolanda Pierce, dean of Howard University's Divinity School, describes how women keep the institution of the Black church strong and growing, despite being often unwelcome in the pulpit.

We talk to filmmaker Joshua Seftel to learn about his Academy Award-nominated film "Stranger at the Gate" and the backstory that lead him to make it.

Rev. Earl Smith, Jr is the chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors.   It’s a pastoral job that demands a different approach.

Award-winning author Sofia Samatar was raised Mennonite, but, with brown skin in a Germanic faith, she sometimes felt she did not fit in. Then she discovered the obscure story of a group of 19th-century Russian Mennonites who made a difficult and deadly migration to Uzbekistan.

Award-winning Palestinian-American journalist Daoud Kuttub writes for the Religion News Service that the rise of Israel’s far-right orthodox parties in the new coalition government could threaten democracy and democratic norms.

Dr. Lewis V Baldwin, professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University, discusses his new book, “The Arc of Truth: The Thinking of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,” which he was inspired to write, in part, by the battle over truth that characterized the presidency of Donald Trump.

Dilshad Ali shares her top picks of stories that began in 2022.