On Being with Krista Tippett

David Brooks and E.J. Dionne — Obama's Theologian: Reinhold Niebuhr and the American Present

Aug 13, 2009

52:08

Creator website

Episode guests

E.J. Dionne

David Brooks

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Introduction

6min

The Irony of American History

3min

The Joy of a Progressive Worldview

2min

Reinhold Neibor and the American Present

5min

Obama's Foreign Policy Will Be a Neborian Realist

3min

Barack Obama and the Adamic Tradition

4min

Reinhold Niebuhr and the Importance of Faith

5min

The Challenge of Pluralism in Our Time

2min

The Role of Religious Language in the Politics of Democracy

3min

10.

Reinhold Nieber and the American Present

4min

11.

The Importance of Communism in the Face of Islamic Extremism

3min

12.

The Nature and Destiny of Man

3min

13.

The Relationship Between Moral Commitments and Religious Reservations

3min

14.

The Public Culture of Reinhold Niebuhr

2min

15.

The Irony of American History

5min

President Obama has cited Reinhold Niebuhr’s teachings as significant in shaping his ideas about politics and governance. In a public conversation, we discuss the great public theologian’s legacy and ideas — and what influence they may play in the future of American politics.