AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

When the celebrity chef and restauranter Lidia Bastianich was just a few months old, the city her Italian family lived in was assigned to Yugoslavia as part of the reorganization of Europe after World War II. Her family became exiles without a proper homeland. Eventually, her family fled to Italy, where they lived in a refugee camp for two years. With the help of the Catholic Church, her family was resettled in the United States in 1958. It is her own family history and her own close personal connection with the Society of Jesus that prompted Lidia to join the board of the Jesuit Refugee Service USA recently. The mission of Jesuit Refugee Service is to accompany, serve and advocate for the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. Founded by Jesuit superior general Fr. Pedro Arrupe in 1980, in direct response to the humanitarian crisis of Vietnamese refugees, JRS today works in 58 countries worldwide to meet the educational, health and social needs of refugees. Lidia is most well known for Italian cooking, which she has shared with the world in almost 20 cookbooks, several restaurants and a handful of extremely popular cooking shows on PBS. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked her about her career and how her family’s moving story led her to where she is today. They also talked about the unique and mysterious power of a shared meal, plus differences between Italian and Italian-American cooking and how the US at its best is a place where cultures from around the world can come, encounter each other and grow in harmony. Lidia also gave Mike a few tips for his own cooking! She is a delightful storyteller and an insightful conversation partner and we know you’ll love getting to know her in this extended interview format. Lidia Bastianich: https://lidiasitaly.com/ Jesuit Refugee Service USA: https://www.jrsusa.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

From the Jesuit Media Lab, this is AMDG. I’m Mike Jordan Laskey. Today’s episode is the fourth and final one in our series on faith and politics leading up to the 2024 presidential election here in the U.S. Our guest is the Jesuit Conference’s very own Tom Mulloy, who serves as our director of government relations. Sometimes people are surprised to find out that we have a director of government relations and that our Office of Justice and Ecology spends the majority of its time here in Washington meeting with lawmakers and others in power, trying to influence laws and policies. Tom is a lobbyist, essentially, but you have to think about that word differently in this case. Instead of lobbying on behalf of big oil or a tech behemoth like Google, Tom works alongside other faith groups and NGOs to advocate for a more just and peaceful world. He brings the voices and experiences of the huge Jesuit network to the halls of power in order to humanize issues ranging from immigration to tax policy to indigenous housing. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Tom to share how he got into this work and why his faith calls him to bring Gospel values to Capitol Hill. They also talked about how all of us can be informed, faith-filled advocates on behalf of justice. Because the work of politics is not just about elections. It’s about making sure those we elect pursue the common good. The Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology: https://www.jesuits.org/our-work/justice-and-ecology/oje/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Go Yankees. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit M

For the third episode of our pre-election series, we’re going to focus on the role of the media in a democracy. Our guest is Scott Detrow, a veteran radio journalist and a host of NPR’s flagship show All Things Considered. You can usually find Scott hosting the weekend editions of the show on Saturday and Sunday, but this month he’s filling in on the weekday afternoon broadcast. He’s also a host of the Consider This podcast. Scott joined NPR in 2015, and he spent eight years covering national politics. He covered two presidential campaigns, Congress and the White House. Before NPR, Scott was a statehouse reporter in California and Pennsylvania for NPR member stations. He's also Jesuit educated twice over -- an alum of Marquette University High School in Milwaukee and Fordham University in New York. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him on the show recently to discuss the state of the news media today, which is just as caught up in the challenges of polarization as the Catholic Church is. We wanted to get his take on the state of journalism today and even just to get back to basics: What is the news media for in a democracy? Why is mistrust of media so high these days? Are there any signs of hope out there? And you can trust Scott on this stuff because he’s thoughtful, hard-working and a great old-fashioned journalist. He wants to tell stories that matter to communities, not to spout his own opinions about the latest hot topic of the day. Because he’s not a pundit, this podcast might be the only time you get to hear him share his thoughts on the media landscape today and why journalism is worth fighting for. Scott Detrow: https://www.npr.org/people/444796749/scott-detrow AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Nichole Flores, an associate professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, dives into the intersections of faith and politics. She discusses the polarization within Hispanic communities and stresses the importance of engaging in inclusive dialogues. Flores also explores immigration through the lens of compassion, advocating for human dignity in policy. Additionally, she sheds light on the diverse political affiliations of Latino voters, ultimately emphasizing hope during the Advent season amid contemporary challenges.

It’s October, which means the presidential election here in the US is next month. So here on AMDG we are going to take old that rule about never discussing religion or politics in polite company and throw it in the Potomac River. Our four episodes this month will all cover faith and politics in a variety of ways. We know you don’t come here for political news and analysis, so we won’t be talking about the ins and outs of the election or really all that much about the election itself. Instead, we’re hoping to go deeper into why politics might matter to people of faith in the first place. Our series of guests all come at questions about this stuff from different angles. We’re getting started on today’s episode with the only American Jesuit who served as a state’s lieutenant governor before entering the Society of Jesus. (We didn’t actually look that fact up, but we’re sure it’s true.) Cyrus Habib, SJ, is a Jesuit in the stage of formation called regency. When he entered the Jesuits in 2020, Cyrus had been serving as the State of Washington’s Lieutenant Governor for three years. An extremely successful and popular politician, it was quite possible Cyrus would’ve eventually become the governor of the state. But he gave up his political career for a Jesuit vocation. And these are just two chapters of Cyrus’ incredible life story: the son of Iranian immigrants to the United States, Cyrus lost his eyesight to cancer as an eight-year-old kid. After graduating from Columbia University in 2003, he studied English literature as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University then earned a law degree at Yale. He practiced law in Washington State from 2009 until 2017, and during that time was elected to the Washington House of Representatives. It’s safe to say he surprised a lot of people when he walked away from politics to enter the Society. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Cyrus about his story and his vocation. They also talked about the value of politics and what from the Church’s tradition we might be able to offer the country to help heal our partisan divides. Cyrus Habib, SJ, on his decision to join the Jesuits in America Magazine: https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/03/19/lieutenant-governor-cyrus-habib-why-i-am-giving-elected-office-and-joining-jesuits AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Santos and Noehlia worked with Jesuits in Nicaragua; when the government began to attack the Church, they had to flee. This audio reflection is part of a series marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Over the course of six episodes, we invite you to join migrants in solidarity and prayer. Find supplemental resources for reflection and action here: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website

Fr. Sudzer and Matthew support migrants at the Jesuit parish in Miami. They both have family members who’ve migrated. This audio reflection is part of a series marking the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Over the course of six episodes, we invite you to join migrants in solidarity and prayer. Find supplemental resources for reflection and action here: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website

Today’s episode is different from anything we’ve ever done. Instead of an interview, we have three audio pieces about what you could call the spirituality of everyday life. What are the things we do to find meaning and purpose within the daily grind? First, host Mike Jordan Laskey tells you about his “kindie rock” band, Down By The Bagel. Then, New York-based writer Kaitlin Campbell shares “You Can Do This,” a story about a big case of writer’s block and her prayer for God to just show her a sign already. Finally, Steve Givens, an author and spiritual director from St. Louis, has a piece about how an imaginary baseball game he played as a kid shaped his spiritual life in ways he only would come to realize decades later. If you’d like to submit us your own proposal for some creative work, check out our pitch guide at JesuitMediaLab.org. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Sometimes on this show, host Mike Jordan Laskey has topic in mind he’d like to cover and then he goes and finds someone great to talk about it. Other times, he knows he wants to talk to a specific person because they’re brilliant and Mike doesn’t really care what the topic is. Whatever the guest wants to discuss will be interesting. Today’s episode is this latter type of show. Dr. Mahri Leonard-Fleckman teaches at the College of the Holy Cross, where she’s an associate professor in the Departments of Religious Studies and Classics. She’s an Old Testament scholar, and first came on the show about four years ago to talk about the Book of Ecclesiastes and King David. Mike wrote her recently and asked what’s fascinating her these days. And that’s how we have come to have an episode about Samson, that strong guy with the long hair from the Book of Judges. Mahri has been researching the history of Samson, how this bizarre Biblical character came to be and how interpretations about him have shifted through centuries. Mahri’s research has way deeper concerns than the surface-level story of Samson – she uses the story to reflect on the nature of Biblical biography writ large. Where do these larger-than-life characters come from and what do they mean? How do cultures receive and interpret sacred texts over generations? After hearing form Mahri, you won’t think about Samson the same way ever again. Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, Ph.D.: https://www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/religious-studies/faculty/mahri-leonard-fleckman Mahri’s “Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study”: https://litpress.org/Products/PONDERSET/Ponder-Complete-Set?srsltid=AfmBOopdlMpTTpBbZ-ug-XsSwHtMz-zSQYcBLkw3BBr6-h8AcDpI1Szl World Day of Migrants and Refugees Audio Reflection Series: https://sites.ignatiansolidarity.net/world-refugee-day-website AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Think back to the early days of ChatGPT and generative AI. It was a topic discussed on seemingly every podcast and countless news segments. Nearly every one of them started those segments with some elaborate introduction about the risks and opportunities that the new technology posed, how the way we communicate with one another would be irrevocably changed, how we would no longer be able to differentiate the writing of humans from that of computers. And then, to conclude the intro, the host would say something along the lines of, “Bet you didn’t realize everything I just said was written by ChatGPT.” Don’t worry—we didn’t do that here. All that clunky writing is your host's. But for a second, you were unsure. Even now, you might be wondering if you can trust us, if you can take us at our word. And that, our guest today says, is a problem. Dr. Joseph Vukov is an associate professor of philosophy and the associate director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. His latest book—and the topic of today’s podcast—is called “Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence.” Joe points to this erosion of trust as just one of the threats AI poses to our ability to stay human. But he doesn’t stop there. Throughout our conversation, he takes on this idea that just because AI can write something that sounds vaguely human doesn’t at all mean it’s eroding the building blocks of our humanity. All the same, as people of faith responding to the signs of the times, continuing to reflect on AI and its inevitable role in our present and future is important. And that’s what we do today. It’s a fun conversation. If you want to learn more about Joe and his work, visit josephvukov.com and check out the links below. Get his book: https://www.amazon.com/Staying-Human-Era-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/1565485998 Learn about his course: https://www.scienceforhumans.com/