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The Table Podcast

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Helen Prejean

Dead Man Walking: Sister Helen Prejean on Grace, Justice, and Death Row

Helen Prejean

Dead Man Walking: Sister Helen Prejean on Grace, Justice, and Death Row

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About The Table Podcast

Check out the first episode of Season 2, featuring Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, which was a 1994 New York Times Bestseller before it was made into a feature film starring Susan Sarandon (who received the Academy Award for her portrayal of Sister Helen) and Sean Penn. Sr. Helen offers stories and reflections of grace, love, and the ethics of the death penalty.

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Latest Podcasts

Kent Dunnington

Radical Un-Selfing: Kent Dunnington on Christian Humility and Dependence on God

Radical Un-Selfing: Kent Dunnington on Christian Humility and Dependence on God

Philosopher Kent Dunnington suggests Christian humility is nothing less than "radical un-selfing."

J. Kameron Carter

Unshackling the Imagination: J. Kameron Carter on Structural Injustice, Misery and Melancholy, and the Theology of Race

Unshackling the Imagination: J. Kameron Carter on Structural Injustice, Misery and Melancholy, and the Theology of Race

In this conversation, theologian J. Kameron Carter comments on racial injustice in America, the nature of suffering, and the unkillable, vibrant life of Jesus the slave.

Kelly M. Kapic

Defiant Hope: Kelly Kapic on Lament, Finitude, Community, and the Cross

Defiant Hope: Kelly Kapic on Lament, Finitude, Community, and the Cross

Theologian Kelly Kapic reflects on theology and biography, lament, finitude and the human body, and the meaning of hope in the context of pain.

Miroslav Volf

Standing in the Fissures: Miroslav Volf on Theology, Memory, Reconciliation, and the Self

Standing in the Fissures: Miroslav Volf on Theology, Memory, Reconciliation, and the Self

Theologian Miroslav Volf on living theology in the fissures of life; memory and forgiveness; and the porous, open self, ready for encounter and embrace.

Miroslav Volf

We're All Monsters: Ralph Wood on the Good, the Bad, and the Human

We're All Monsters: Ralph Wood on the Good, the Bad, and the Human

Baylor University's Ralph Wood on the monstrosity of humanity, the goodness of God, finding grace and hope along the dark terrain of human history, all through the lens of literature and faith.

Peter Kreeft

Surfing on God: Peter Kreeft on Surfing, Science, Sanctification, and C.S. Lewis

Surfing on God: Peter Kreeft on Surfing, Science, Sanctification, and C.S. Lewis

Peter Kreeft’s reflections, each as their own short and yet quite expansive essay, spanning from surfing and sanctification to C.S. Lewis and mythology.

Stacey Floyd-Thomas& Juan Floyd-Thomas

Patchwork Redemption: Suffering and Joy in Racial Perspective

Patchwork Redemption: Suffering and Joy in Racial Perspective

“How can you know flourishing if you don't understand loss? How can you know liberation if you don't understand what it's like to have your freedom taken away?"

Eleonore Stump

Wandering in Darkness: Eleonore Stump on Suffering, Evil, and Personal Encounter

Wandering in Darkness: Eleonore Stump on Suffering, Evil, and Personal Encounter

“The heart of Christianity is personal relationship, persons sharing love with each other. And so for Christians, the greatest thing for human being is not character development. It's loving personal relationship."

Stanley Hauerwas

Try Some Courage: Stanley Hauerwas on Death, Church, America, Suffering, and Love

Try Some Courage: Stanley Hauerwas on Death, Church, America, Suffering, and Love

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas on death, love, suffering, mental disability, the American church, and what it means to him to be a Christian.

Jessica Hooten Wilson

Descent to Ascent: Jessica Hooten Wilson on Saints, Martyrs, Icons, and Heroes

Descent to Ascent: Jessica Hooten Wilson on Saints, Martyrs, Icons, and Heroes

Jessica Hooten Wilson on her love for the saints and the concept of writing and reading saints lives as a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic task. Includes discussion of martyrdom, art, and the reverence due to great books and sacred texts…

Oliver Crisp

Oliver Crisp and the Theology of Christmas

Oliver Crisp and the Theology of Christmas

A Christmas Podcast: Evan Rosa interviews analytic theologian Oliver Crisp on the Incarnation of Christ, and how we can learn from the Incarnation about what it is to be human.

J. Todd Billings

Rejoicing in Lament: J. Todd Billings on Life with Christ and Terminal Cancer

Rejoicing in Lament: J. Todd Billings on Life with Christ and Terminal Cancer

Dr. J. Todd Billings is the Gordon H. Girod research professor of reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. His life changed in 2012 when he was diagnosed with an incurable…

Os Guinness

Os Guinness on Covenantal Love, Unspeakable Evil, and Being American Now

Os Guinness on Covenantal Love, Unspeakable Evil, and Being American Now

Acclaimed author and speaker Os Guinness on the timeless topics of covenantal love, evil, suffering, political life in modern America, public discourse, death, legacy, and the character of God.

Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

You're So Vain: Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung on Vainglory and Glittering Vices

You're So Vain: Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung on Vainglory and Glittering Vices

Philosopher Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, "Queen of the Vices", discusses soul care and excavating the heart of pride, vainglory, and other glittering vices. Her emphasis on grace gives a way forward toward a life of healing, dignity, and freedom.

Robert Emmons

The Psychology of Gratitude: Robert Emmons on How Saying Thanks Makes You Happier

The Psychology of Gratitude: Robert Emmons on How Saying Thanks Makes You Happier

Psychologist Robert Emmons on the positive effects of gratitude on subjective well-being (that is, happiness). A special Thanksgiving episode.

Thomas Oord

What is Love? Thomas J. Oord on the Mystery and Definition of Love

What is Love? Thomas J. Oord on the Mystery and Definition of Love

What is love? For something so familiar to the human experience, love is notoriously difficult to define and even harder to embody. Our guest today, Thomas J. Oord, has spent the last two decades thinking about the theology, science, and…

Diane Glancy

No Man’s Land: Diane Glancy on Identity, Voicelessness, and Living in the In-Between

No Man’s Land: Diane Glancy on Identity, Voicelessness, and Living in the In-Between

Diane Glancy, an American poet, author, and playwright of Cherokee descent has come to embrace the experience of liminality — feeling caught in the margins, living constantly in the "in-between". Here, we reflect with Diane on finding meaning, identity, and voice…

Jessica Hooten Wilson

Jesus, Stab Me in the Heart!: Jessica Hooten Wilson on the Gospel According to Flannery O'Connor

Jesus, Stab Me in the Heart!: Jessica Hooten Wilson on the Gospel According to Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor is an American novelist, essayist, and short-story writer known for her sardonic Southern Gothic style with grotesque characters and violent scenes. Our guest today, Jessica Hooten Wilson, is a Flannery O'Connor expert and is currently preparing O'Connor's unfinished…

Russell Moore

For God and Country: Russell Moore on Love and Humility in American Politics

For God and Country: Russell Moore on Love and Humility in American Politics

In October 2016 just prior to the Presidential Election, we interviewed Dr. Russell Moore—an Evangelical ethicist, theologian, and preacher who has been named one of the top 50 influence-makers in Washington. Moore was dubbed by then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump on…

Jennifer Herdt

The Joyous Dance of Humility and Magnanimity: Jennifer Herdt on Virtue and Joy

The Joyous Dance of Humility and Magnanimity: Jennifer Herdt on Virtue and Joy

How shall we approach seemingly opposing virtues of humility and magnanimity? What happens when our view of self is too low or too high? Professor of Christian Ethics Jennifer Herdt discusses the balancing act between what St. Thomas Aquinas penned…

Nicholas Wolterstorff

Lament for a Son: Nicholas Wolterstorff on Grief and Suffering

Lament for a Son: Nicholas Wolterstorff on Grief and Suffering

Renowned philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff talks to us about his only non-philosophical published work, Lament for a Son—an expression of profound grief written in the wake of his son Eric's untimely death in 1983. Dr. Wolterstorff reflects on his own loss,…

Helen Prejean

Dead Man Walking: Sister Helen Prejean on Grace, Justice, and Death Row

Dead Man Walking: Sister Helen Prejean on Grace, Justice, and Death Row

Sister Helen Prejean tells her story of how grace awakened her to be a champion of justice. A Catholic nun who befriended a death row inmate and witnessed his execution, Sr. Helen brings us into her mission of standing with…

Kathleen Norris

Fighting the Noonday Demon: Kathleen Norris on Acedia, Boredom, and Desert Spirituality

Fighting the Noonday Demon: Kathleen Norris on Acedia, Boredom, and Desert Spirituality

A spiritual riddle to the modern mind: A desert monk burns all of his baskets as a means of fighting off the so-called “Noonday Demon.” Evan Rosa interviews celebrated writer Kathleen Norris, author of The Cloisterwalk, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary…

Emmanuel Katongole& Tyler Wigg-Stevenson

Inventive Love, Locality, and Slacktivism (Emmanuel Katongole, Tyler Wigg-Stevenson)

Inventive Love, Locality, and Slacktivism (Emmanuel Katongole, Tyler Wigg-Stevenson)

What is love's response to suffering? Easy, mediated solidarity? Social media lowers the bar for being an activists. These days, we’re all activists. But as Tyler Wigg-Stevenson suggests, the danger of lowering that bar is to cut out the costliness…

Emmanuel Katongole& Thomas M. Crisp

Global Indifference & the Mothers of Invention (feat. Tom Crisp, Emmanuel Katongole)

Global Indifference & the Mothers of Invention (feat. Tom Crisp, Emmanuel Katongole)

Evan Rosa interviews Tom Crisp and Emmanuel Katongole in this first installment of a two-part series on love's response to suffering. Featuring the (in?)famous pond case applied to relief efforts, an exploration of lament, Pope Francis on the globalization of…

Krista Tippett

Krista Tippett on Public Life, Social Humility, and the Religious Other

Krista Tippett on Public Life, Social Humility, and the Religious Other

Krista Tippett discusses the social aspects of humility and how it enables communication with the religious and political other.

Krista Tippett

Krista Tippett on Humility, Mystery, and Self-Knowledge

Krista Tippett on Humility, Mystery, and Self-Knowledge

Evan Rosa interviews Krista Tippett host of On Being and author of Becoming Wise on humility, mystery, and self-knowledge.

Krista Tippett

Introduction - Seeking Christian Wisdom for Life's Big Questions (Season 1, Episode 1)

Introduction - Seeking Christian Wisdom for Life's Big Questions (Season 1, Episode 1)

Evan Rosa introduces The Table Audio, featuring sneak peeks of upcoming podcast guests and a little bit behind why we do what we do.

Robert C. Roberts

Humility and Ambition in Politics, Leadership, and Life

Humility and Ambition in Politics, Leadership, and Life

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3) Leaders have AMBITION—a passion for accomplishment and a drive to make a difference. But Christians are called to be HUMBLE. In…

Oliver Crisp

And the Soul Felt Its Worth, or, Why Christmas Is Weirder Than You Think

And the Soul Felt Its Worth, or, Why Christmas Is Weirder Than You Think

Or, Why Christmas Is Weirder Than You Think

Robert Emmons

How Gratitude Just Might Save Your Life

How Gratitude Just Might Save Your Life

Giving thanks is more than a holiday; it can change your life.

Frederica Mathewes-Green

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Jeffrey Long

The Science of Near-Death Experiences

The Science of Near-Death Experiences

Do veridical near-death experiences prove the existence of the soul?

J.P. Moreland

What Is the Soul and Is It Real?

What Is the Soul and Is It Real?

J. P. Moreland argues for the existence of the soul, working from considerations at the intersection of the philosophy of mind, consciousness, and neuroscience.