Inner Compass Podcasts

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Inner Compass is a television interview show that explores how people make their decisions about ethical, religious, and social justice issues. Guests include visiting scholars, authors, activists, religious leaders, and public servants from around the world as well as active members of the local community. Primary Format : Religion Language : English Also Listed as: City : Grand Rapids State/Province : MI Country : USA Region : NA User Tags: User Votes: RSS Feed Website People found this Podcast Searching for: View this Podcast on a Google Map. Podcast iTunes Link Text Only listing of Inner Compass Podcasts Methings.com listings of Inner Compass Podcasts If you like this podcast, you might also like:

Democracy & Sharia Law: Can They Coexist? As we watch Muslim countries consider new forms of government, many in America hope that democracy will win out. But some Muslim countries have used the voting process to establish Sharia law, which includes strict regulations pertaining to punishment, sexuality, religious obligations, hygiene, and personal finances. Jim Skillen, former president of the Center for Public Justice in Washington, DC, discusses current thinking on whether Sharia law can be combined with democracy. Shirley Hoogs ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Making Globalization Work As the world’s markets become more intermingled, we see new kinds of foods on our grocery shelves and hear new accents in our business calls. But we also lose domestic jobs as they are moved to other countries, where workers now get their first taste of middle class living. Is it possible to grow economies and improve living conditions for one population without hurting another? John Tiemstra of the Calvin College economics department describes the moral choices that shape globalized trad ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website U.S. Environment: Our History with the Land North American attitudes toward nature have shifted over time, almost as much as our natural landscape has. Donald Worster of the University of Kansas helped develop the intriguing new field of environmental history to track the intense relationship we’ve had with nature. He describes the patterns he’s seen and how America’s history has been shaped by its natural resources. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website "Look at Me!" Narcissism or Self-Esteem? Are teens posting risqué photos on the internet because they are starved for attention, or because they are convinced they’re HOT? Should EVERYONE on the team get a trophy? Jean Twenge of the San Diego State University psychology department, and author of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, warns that our culture of extreme encouragement may have gone too far. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Starting a Free African School Thousands of children in Uganda don’t go to school because their parents can’t afford books, a uniform, or sometimes, just a pencil. The orphans there have even less of a chance. When Twesigye Jackson Kaguri was confronted with this picture, he and his wife decided to use their savings to establish a free school for orphans. Hear his adventures, also described in his book, The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website All Kinds of Minds As a young adult visiting her aunt’s farm, Temple Grandin found herself able to intuit what the livestock feared as they experienced the regular stresses of farm life. Was it because of her autism? Now this Colorado State University professor is widely known both for her animal welfare research and for her many books on autism. She tells how she has dedicated her life to helping animals and people understand each other. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Exchanging Gangs For Jobs Finding a job may not seem the highest priority for most gang members, but Father Greg Boyle learned otherwise when he befriended gang members in his parish and started the largest gang intervention program in the U.S. His book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion describes his personal experience working with Homeboy Industries in downtown Los Angeles for over twenty years, and he shares what those experiences have taught him. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Female Asian-Americans: Finding a Voice Handling the pressure from society’s expectations is challenging enough; add more demands because of your race, gender, immigrant parents, and religion, and it can be nearly impossible to find your own voice. Nikki Toyama-Szeto is co-editor of More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership and Faith. She describes the struggle and joys of finding one’s own calling and voice. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Transforming Troubled Schools A factory still using production systems from the 1950s would not make sense in today's technological world. Unfortunately, some K-12 schools still use decades-old educational techniques and policies. School turnaround specialist Sajan George describes progressive technologies and approaches currently under consideration to turn around troubled school districts. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Creativity & Cultural Power The more power people have, the more choices they have to use or abuse it. Although some believe the most spiritual path is to renounce power in favor of a life of service, Andy Crouch, contributing editor for Christianity Today and author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, suggests creative strategies for using power to help others flourish. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Justice for Cambodians January Series guest Theary Seng was imprisoned as a child during the 1975-79 Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia. She barely escaped death; her parents did not. After emigrating to the U.S., she became a lawyer, then moved back to help rebuild a country still in recovery. She describes her experiences and motivations, which are also related in her book Daughter of the Killing Fields. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Speaking of Faith After Krista Tippett graduated from seminary, she noticed a hole in the media. There was finally plenty of religion coverage, but the simplicity of the reports drove her to launch a public radio interview show, "Speaking of Faith" (now titled "On Being"). Tippet explains how she helps her guests reveal the complexities of their beliefs and values. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Unexpected Parenthood Special needs children are labeled for the extra care they require. Observers may wonder how their families would cope with all those responsibilities. Faye Knol, whose son who was born 14 weeks premature and lived into early adulthood with severe disabilities, offers the rest of the picture. The title of her memoir Receiving David: The Gift of a Son Who Taught Us How to Live and Love, says it all. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Making it to College For too many students, the hurdles to getting a college diploma are nearly insurmountable. Brandy Johnson, Michigan director of College Access Network, describes the national program designed to support, inform, and encourage students so they have a better chance at career choices and salaries they’d like. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Engaging with Art When artists create, how much consideration should they give to their audience? And, when viewers approach artwork, is it more important to respond to the piece first or to read the printed artist’s statement? Sheila Wyne, a visual artist from Anchorage, Alaska whose work has been installed permanently in public spaces and in several museum collections, describes how to engage with a piece of art, and how a visually literate community fosters the evolution of art. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Navigating Conflict What is your tendency when you see conflict coming--run and hide? Tackle it head-on? Bob Hall, founder of Learning to Live with Conflict, Inc., looks beyond winning and losing to suggest ways the very presence of conflict can help us learn and grow together. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Orphan's Story When a child has been abandoned by his or her parents, it leaves a wound that is hard to heal. Those nearby may feel there is nothing they can do. Rob Mitchell, author of Castaway Kid: One Man’s Search for Hope and Home, describes how several people made a significant difference during his childhood in an orphanage. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website U.S. Slavery in the North When Katrina Browne was 28 years old and in seminary, she learned that her ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. And, they were not from the South; they had lived in Rhode Island. Katrina wrote to 200 family members, inviting them to explore their family's past. The result: an award-winning documentary, Traces of the Trade, made with co-producer Juanita Brown, who helped plan a journey to Africa for the group and facilitate painful conversations about their discov ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Premarital Sex in America According to several surveys, more than ninety percent of Americans in their early 20s are having sex before marriage. Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas at Austin sociology department, and co-author of the book Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate, and Think about Marrying, explains the choices and values of emerging adults today. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Good Life You may long for the latest gadget or fashion, more because of the image it projects than for any other reason. Where do those images come from? Calvin College philosophy professor Jamie Smith, author of Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation, says our idea of “the good life” reveals a lot about us. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website America's Christian Roots? Every so often, there is a swell of complaints that America has strayed from its Christian roots. But others question whether the U.S. was ever designed to be a Christian nation. Notre Dame historians Mark Noll and George Marsden, authors of many works on early American history and on evangelical Christianity, consider current interpretations of the founding fathers. Skot Welch is guest host. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Lies About Ourselves Too many people trudge through life battling mental accusations that trap them in destructive cycles. Anneshia Freeman, an addiction counselor who created the "Lies That Bind" program, describes how she helps people identify what may be blocking them from a more positive lifestyle. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Justice for Hondurans Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) often function better in developing countries by working around broken governmental systems. But could more people be helped if the NGOs focused on fixing the broken systems? Calvin sociology department's Kurt Ver Beek, co-founder of the Association for a More Just Society, describes his team's inclusive approach to justice in Honduras. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Power of Writing We hear about prisoners, but not so often from prisoners. When bestselling novelist Wally Lamb (She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much is True) tried his hand at teaching prisoners to write, he had no idea how many lives would be impacted. Hear how their compelling personal stories were published after considerable opposition from the prison. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Feasting at a Food Pantry Out of curiosity, a woman walks into a church. She’s offered communion, and it changes her life. She ends up turning the feast into a food pantry, which nurtures others (as well as herself) beyond what she ever imagined. Sara Miles, director of St. Gregory's Food Pantry in San Francisco, shares thoughts from her memoirs Take This Bread and Jesus Freak: Feeding Healing Raising the Dead. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Bringing Hope to Prisoners Imagine being asked to take charge of one of the bloodiest prisons in America, where cell-mates chose to sleep in shifts in order to protect each other. Burl Cain, Prison Warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola) was given this charge, and became committed to changing the reputation of the prison. He describes his winning mixture of devotion and discipline. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website African Solutions for African Problems People across Africa were actually living well until European colonialists took control of the natural resources to enhance their own wealth. Now that the occupiers are gone, new governments are still sending wealth offshore--into personal foreign bank accounts! Economist George Ayittey, President of the Free Africa Foundation and author of Africa Unchained: the Blueprint for Africa’s Future, shares his ideas for how Africa can take control of its own riches, starting in the village squar ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Should Reporters Embed? Journalists have been embedded in military units since the early stages of the Iraq War. While this positions them to show the complexities of war, it also exposes them to more danger. CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, author of Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report--and Survive--the War in Iraq, shares her perspective on the benefits and costs, including the day she and her colleagues became the top news story. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Do We Need Free Enterprise? The US Constitution guarantees a host of freedoms. But as we watch the economic freedom of some people come at the expense of other people, many Americans are wondering if capitalism can exist more fairly. Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, suggests who deserves the blame that the free enterprise system gets these days. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Making the Holy Land Holy We call it the Holy Land, and it’s an extremely important region to followers of several religions. But the relationships within it are anything but holy. Archbishop Elias Chacour of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Galilee has spent his life building bridges between the groups with amazing success. His landmark school for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim children reveals a story of unwavering vision for peace. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Relating with North Korea When there’s a country on the other side of the planet developing nuclear capabilities plus long-range missiles, what should the U.S. do? We're suspicious of North Korea, while North Korea is suspicious of us. Tony Namkung--an independent consultant and expert on North Korea, US/Asian relations, and nuclear arms for 20 plus years--shares his observations about what both sides need to understand and do. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Wikipedia: Internet Democracy Wikipedia began with the goal of distributing a free, high-quality encyclopedia to every person on the planet. This internet project, written collaboratively by volunteers in over 260 languages, is now over 10 times larger than Encyclopedia Britannica. Founder Jimmy Wales considers how the project is meeting its many ideals. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Healthcare Around the World Fans of U.S. health care reform point out that many other countries provide coverage for all their citizens, with not one bankruptcy over medical bills. But how exactly do these countries do it? Journalist T.R. Reid, author of The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, tells of his travels comparing systems around the world. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ethics of Hostage Negotiations An angry criminal takes a hostage and demands to speak with authorities. Who’s most qualified to take the phone? What strategy might have worked with David Koresh? Jim Botting, author of Bullets, Bombs and Fast Talk: 25 Years of FBI War Stories, describes the adventures and dilemmas of his seventeen years as hostage negotiator for the FBI. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The New Face of Evangelicalism By 2050, the majority of the U.S. population will be nonwhite. The American church will make this transition even sooner, and if successful, will position itself as a model to the rest of society. Soong-Chan Rah, of North Park Theological Seminary and author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity, suggests ways we can make room for a richness that will benefit us all. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Pornography’s Destructive Path Although viewing pornography is often dismissed as a rite of passage into adulthood, Michael Leahy, author of Porn Nation and Porn University, hears a different message from thousands of college students. Many are not prepared for the guilt, altered perspective, and addiction that often follow in pornography's wake. Leahy describes the destruction from first-hand experience, and suggests ways to begin rebuilding. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Accomodating the Autism Spectrum With the definition of autism now encompassing a wide range of behaviors, more people find themselves daily encountering those diagnosed with some version of this disorder. How can we make more room for differing styles of relating? Laurel Falvo of The Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding provides ideas for improving communication on all sides. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Passing the Plate: Tithing Practices If American Christians gave away just ten percent of their income, the resulting eighty-five billion dollars could fund--and solve--many of the world's most pressing needs. Patricia Snell, co-author of Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money, describes the motives, practices, and myths of charitable giving. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Ethics of Young Adult Literature Scowling cheerleaders and thirsty vampires beckon from the Young Adult bookshelves. How can concerned parents evaluate what their kids are reading? Newbury Honor-winning author Gary Schmidt of the Calvin College English department suggests ways to judge a book other than by its cover. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Enfolding Ex-Prisoners Forever defined by their worst choices, former prisoners re-enter a society that locked them up and tried to throw away the key. Harold Dean Trulear of the Howard University School of Divinity and The Center for Public Justice shows how churches across the nation work to provide a warmer return for these citizens. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Religion & Reporters: Oil & Water? As religion becomes a central theme in the headlines of the day, many journalists find themselves to be under-informed. Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. describes how he brings religion experts and reporters together for some revealing conversations. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Forsaking the Fast Track John Rodden, a scholar and writer who no longer specializes in one area of study, describes his motivations and adventures after walking away from a promising career as a professor in order to pursue his dreams. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website When Groups Play: Flash Mobs & Urban Experiments What does it take to get thousands of people to show up downtown for a pillow fight? Rob Bliss, creator of The Rob Bliss Urban Experiments, tells how technology and social dynamics help him gather crowds for memorable happenings. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website True Community Development When families climb out of poverty, they often leave their old neighborhoods behind. What can help an at-risk population when it loses its stabilizing core? Today we'll hear from long-time civil rights activist and author John Perkins, who holds 9 honorary doctorates for his tremendous success building up poor communities across the country. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Freeing Today's Slaves Across the world, children as young as five are sold into brothels, and widows lose land and livelihood due to unenforced laws that could protect them. Human rights activist Sharon Cohn Wu tells stories of International Justice Mission rescuing victims in their own countries using local courts and litigation. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Connecting Cancer & the Environment If a chemist could sample your body's chemistry, she would find scores of toxic chemicals picked up throughout your life, as early as in your mother's womb. Is this an unavoidable part of life on modern earth? January Series guest Sandra Steingraber is an ecologist, writer, and cancer survivor who promotes a different path. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Plotting Paths to Power Some people seem born to climb the ladder of success and power. Are leadership qualities innate, learned, bought? Michael Lindsay of the Rice University Center on Race, Religion, & Urban Life has interviewed hundreds of prominent public leaders; he shares his notes with host Shirley Hoogstra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Are Christians Losing Touch? There's a growing skepticism among young people toward Christianity, and Christians don't even seem to be aware of it. Public opinion pollster David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group and author of unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity, explains what young adults are looking for and why they're not finding it at church. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Microfinance Miracles It may be hard to believe that $50 can lift a family out of poverty for life, but it’s happening every day around the world through simple microfinance lending partnerships. Robert Rooy has not only watched it happen—he has dedicated his life to helping others watch, too, through film. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Presidential Character: An Ethical History Is being a "natural politician" a mark of truth or falsehood? Better to forge ahead in the face of opposition, or to be swayed by the citizens? Presidential historian and biographer Richard Norton Smith draws on a wealth of stories to bring to light the issue of presidential character. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website What Marriage Does Marriage is more than a piece of paper, yet it's more difficult to buy a new car than to wed someone for life. John Witte, Jr., director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, traces the view of marriage throughout western history, suggesting ways to strengthen and enrich the institution today. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Middle East Christianity Christianity was born in the Middle East, yet it's a minority religion there. Egyptian minister Victor Makari, Middle East liasion for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), relays the challenges and dreams of Christians living there and how U.S. churches can partner with them. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website The Gifts of Art Montreat College’s Jim Southerland is an artist who developed his own version of the camera obscura, an ancient predecessor to the camera. Anyone can use it to create drawings in correct proportion. Southerland guides host Karen Saupe as she gives it a try, and describes the joys of sharing art creation with underprivileged children around the world. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website An Orphan Crisis Publicity abounds on the growing number of orphans overseas, but little is known about our domestic situation. Is our foster care system veiling a similar crisis? Kerry Hasenbalg, co-founder of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, brings the problems to light, offering ways to enfold orphans wherever they may live. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Giving Advice What's a 17-year-old to do after lashing out at Mom? Ask Amy. Amy Dickinson’s Chicago Tribune column appears daily in more than 150 newspapers, replacing Ann Landers's long and legendary run. Dickinson gives advice about giving advice, and discusses her memoir The Mighty Queens of Freeville with host Karen Saupe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Explaining Emergent Churches Who is God? Do we dare answer, or does defining become confining? It's a big question of the emergent church; philosopher Peter Rollins, founder of the Ikon emergent community in Northern Ireland, offers big answers in his books How Not to Speak of God and The Fidelity of Betrayal. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Silent Racism Is racism a thing of the past or is it still with us, something many people try to will away and out of sight? Barbara Trepagnier, sociology professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, discusses the subtleties of prejudice in her book Silent Racism: How Well-Meaning White People Perpetuate the Racial Divide. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Setting Boundaries: Personal & Professional Do you find yourself texting at soccer games? Do you avoid confronting an inefficient employee? Clinical psychologist and leadership consultant Henry Cloud, author of The One-Life Solution: Reclaim Your Personal Life While Achieving Greater Professional Success, examines the boundaries we cross at our own expense. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Socially Responsible Clothing Buying a shirt? Basing your decision on the look and price? Shopping for clothing may feel like a straightforward venture, yet the story behind each garment is complex. Activist and entrepreneur Marta Swain, owner of a community-minded apparel store in Grand Rapids, weaves stories of sustainable farming and labor practices with advice for benefiting everyone involved in your purchase. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Politics by the Bible Whose job is it to ensure justice, human rights, and care of our neighbor? What does the Bible say that could guide our voting and political priorities? Steve Monsma of Calvin College�s Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics describes the possibilities from his book Healing for a Broken World: Christian Perspectives on Public Policy. Shirley Hoogstra hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Progressive Evangelical Politics Some say the era of the American religious right is over. Which direction will evangelicals head next? Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and author of the bestseller God�s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn�t Get it, pinpoints a "moral center" and its corresponding political revival in America today. Karen Saupe hosts. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Questioning "Emergent" Churches "Coffee, candles, and couches" is how some critics describe the style of emergent churches, which are popping up across the U.S. and Europe. As usual, popularity brings questions and concerns. Pastor Kevin DeYoung and writer Ted Kluck, from Lansing, MI, describe theirs for host Shirley Hoogstra as they discuss their book, Why We�re Not Emergent (by Two Guys Who Should Be). Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Evangelicals & Mary In Protestant churches, Mary the mother of God takes the stage at Christmas, only to disappear backstage for the rest of the year. Should she play a leading role year-round? Christianity Today's Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, tells host Karen Saupe what evangelicals can learn from why Catholics revere Mary. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website Striving Toward Multi-Ethnic Church Martin Luther King, Jr. famously pronounced eleven o'clock Sunday morning as the most segregated hour in America. How can churches work to reverse this trend? Sociologist Gerardo Marti of Davidson College tells host Shirley Hoogstra about his research on what works and what doesn't. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC819 The Life of a Scientist Mom Field biologist Margaret Lowman has balanced research and family in rainforest treetops around the world. Lowman, author of It's a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops, tells host Shirley Hoogstra how her high-reaching adventures grounded her as a mother and advanced forest-canopy research for scientists, indigenous people groups, and the online student community. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC820 - Christians in the Courtroom Witnesses place their hand on the Bible before they testify: how would principles from that Bible play out if it were actually opened up and applied? Would prosecutors be arguing for forgiveness? Stephen Bloom, attorney with Irwin & McKnight law firm in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and author of The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues, wonders with host Karen Saupe how empty courtrooms might become. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC818 Stand if Able: Disability and the Church If the Church is the "body" of Christ, then church members function as its distinct yet complementary parts. When those roles aren't obvious, how can we help each other find them? Christopher Smit of the Calvin College communication department explores with host Karen Saupe how churches can progress beyond installing ramps to fully embracing the unique roles of the disabled. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC817 Is More Better? Rethinking Consumption America is the land of opportunity . . . to buy stuff. Yet all this spending isn't making us any happier, studies show, and it weakens our communities. Activist Bill McKibben discusses his latest book Deep Economy: the Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future with host Karen Saupe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC816 Who is Gospel Music For? Many people have strong feelings about what kind of music is appropriate for church, and exactly how it should be performed. Performed for who? January Series guest James Abbington of Emory University�s Candler School of Theology, and executive editor of the African American Church Music series, takes host Karen Saupe on a tour at the piano. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC815 Nuclear Power: Promise or Peril? France generates over 80% of its energy using nuclear power plants; the United States, 20%. Why the difference, and whose air is cleaner? Sigval Berg of UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture of American and French power companies, details to host Karen Saupe the advantages and concerns surrounding the use of nuclear power as an energy source. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC814 The Changing Face of Illegal Immigration: Mothers and Children What if you were a constantly hungry child whose mother moved away for a job, to send you money for food and schooling? And what if that short separation turned into years, decades? Thus begins Enrique�s Journey, written by guest Sonia Nazario. She tells host Shirley Hoogstra of her adventures in covering this Pulitzer Prize-winning story of a Honduran boy�s odyssey to be reunited with his mother in the U.S. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC812 - Altering the Disabled: The "Pillow-Angel" Controversy Many severely disabled children are cared for at home until they grow too large for their parents to be able to handle them. But what if a surgery could keep such a child mid-sized forever? Douglas Diekema, a Seattle physician and ethics consultant, tells host Shirley Hoogstra about such a surgery at his hospital and how people have responded to it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC813 - Does Humanitarian Relief Relieve? When we hear about devastating floods or earthquake overseas, Americans quickly respond. Not only does USAID offer to help, but individual citizens immediately start sending money and supplies. Calvin College January Series guest William Garvelink, until recently the overseer of USAID's worldwide humanitarian assistance programs, tells host Shirley Hoogstra what happens. He also describes his current work as U.S. ambassador to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC811 - Space Exploration: What's it Worth? It's been 35 years since humans last touched the moon�ancient history to our young people. Host Shirley Hoogstra asks chief NASA administrator Michael Griffin about his dreams for the nation's space program and his concerns about its past & present. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC810 - Religion's Role in International Relations No matter how much the U.S. may value its separation of church & state, many other countries either aren�t buying it, or are condemning us for it. Chris Seiple, president of the Institute for Global Engagement in Washington, describes for host Shirley Hoogstra his Council on Faith & International Affairs, which provides resources for today�s leaders about the role of religion in global issues. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC809 - Women in Political Leadership Is a woman strong enough to be President of the United States? To lead us into war, to stand up to terrorists? And can she do it all in a pink suit? Why does it matter what she wears? Host Shirley Hoogstra discusses women in political leadership with Eleanor Clift, contributing editor and columnist for Newsweek and co-author of Madam President: Women Blazing the Leadership Trail. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC808 - Equality or Equity? Defining Justice We're uncomfortable with the idea of inequality, yet we see it all around us, even in nature. Do we need to get more specific with our concerns about justice? Michelle Loyd-Paige, dean of multicultural affairs at Calvin College, suggests to host Karen Saupe a closer look at the term equity. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC807 - Lower to Middle Class: Building Bridges How would you like to walk up to a line of homeless people waiting for food, and offer a respectable job to everyone who wanted one? Ron Jimmerson, workforce diversity manager at plastics manufacturer Cascade Engineering, got the chance to do just that. He tells host Karen Saupe how it turned out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC806 - Suffering In Marriage It has been said that we don�t keep marriage vows; they keep us. David Gushee, professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University in Atlanta and author of Getting Marriage Right: Realistic Counsel for Saving and Strengthening Relationships, tells host Shirley Hoogstra how we can strengthen this kind of commitment in a culture where expectations run high and tolerance for suffering is low. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC805 - What Are Schools For? Does a grade label readily come to mind for what kind of student you were? Does that label accurately reflect you? David Purpel, author of The Moral & Spiritual Crisis in Education, wonders with host Karen Saupe why most schools are more interested in sorting students than in supporting and exhorting them. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC804 - Moving to South Africa We hear stories of destitution and unnecessary death in developing countries. Perhaps you�ve thought of helping. But how about selling your home and moving there with your children? Jared and Jennifer Adams, business owners in Zeeland, Michigan tell host Karen Saupe about their upcoming move to South Africa to join AIDS and education projects in Finetown, a settlement near Johannesburg. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC803 - Moral Messages of Disney Films Why do the words �it's a Disney film� mean �it's wholesome� to so many? Dr. Annalee Ward of the Trinity Christian College communication arts dept., and author of the book Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film, shows host Karen Saupe how parents can take a closer look at these films and provide better guidance for young viewers. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC802 - Adults with ADD Many of us know someone who can�t hold onto a job, an education program, or even a marriage. We might call them �irresponsible.� But what if all this could be set right with a daily dose of medicine? Dr. Oren Mason, of the Behavioral Medicine Center in Grand Rapids, tells host Shirley Hoogstra how adults are suffering with, discovering, and treating their A.D.D Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC801 - Christians in Palestine In the place where Christianity was born, the number of Christians has now dwindled to less than 2%. Maria Khoury, a Greek Orthodox resident of Palestine, explains to host Karen Saupe what life is like there now, why so many Christians have fled the country, and what she is trying to do about it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC724 - Prisoners Re-Entering Society We hide prisons off the highways and hope those who are sent there stay forever. But most return to their communities, in worse shape than ever. We paid heavily for their incarceration; how much more do we pay for not helping them succeed afterwards? Rev. David Schuringa, president of Crossroad Bible Institute, describes for host Shirley Hoogstra ways to stop the cycle. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC723 - Mothering A Soldier What goes into the process of sending your son or daughter off to war? How does it change your child, your relationship, your self? Donna Allen and Sharon VanderKodde, mothers of soldiers who have served/are serving in Iraq, tell host Shirley Hoogstra about the fears and pride that come with having a son who has signed up for military service to our country. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC722 - Socially Responsible Investing Have you ever skimmed through a list of companies your investment money is supporting, and wished you hadn't? But what other options are there? Calvin College business professor Leonard Van Drunen, who has worked in investment banking in New York, Tokyo, and London, tells host Karen Saupe how to explore more �socially responsible� options without having to quit your day job to figure it all out. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC721 - Designing A Lecture Series Imagine the job of offering a free 15-day liberal arts education to your community using the world's best lecturers. Where would you begin? Who would you invite? June Hamersma, director of the award-winning daily lecture series called The January Series of Calvin College, tells host Shirley Hoogstra about her 20 year journey of growing an audience from 100 to 1400 per day. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC720 - The Church in African AIDS AIDS information coming to African citizens from untrusted sources is close to useless. Calvin College January Series guest and Ugandan physician & theologian Peter Okaalet, who works in Nairobi as Director of Health and HIV/AIDS policy for the Christian medical assistance group MAP International, shows host Shirley Hoogstra how churches are making a difference in attitudes, alliances, and actions. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC719 - Why Visit Battlefields? What do you think of when you see a civil war monument? If you�re not the type to run up and read the text, Calvin College January Series guest and historical novelist Jeff Shaara might change all that. He describes for host Karen Saupe his guidebook titled Jeff Shaara's Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America�s Hallowed Ground, featuring 10 battlefields he says every American should visit. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC717 - Enjoying the Bible There�s a lot of talk about the Bible--especially those �unincluded� books--but not so much reading of the included books. January Series guest and leading New Testament scholar NT Wright, Bishop of Durham for the Anglican Church, shows guest host June Hamersma how to enjoy this gift to humankind and make sense of some charges against it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC718 - Giving and Forgiving It�s not always easy to trace the motives for the gifts we give. Where in our hearts do they come from? Might we look there too for one of the greatest gifts--that of forgiveness for a harm done? January Series guest and theologian Miroslav Volf, Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale Divinity School and author of Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace, explores the anatomy of forgiveness with host Shirley Hoogstra. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC714 - Christian Dating Is dating an appropriate practice for Christians? Which aspects should be questioned, redefined, or thrown out? Calvin College January Series guest and religious historian Lauren Winner, contributer to 5 Paths to the Love of Your Life: Defining Your Dating Style, suggests ways to rethink our approach to relationships, singleness, and the church community. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC716 - Fighting Poverty with Film Imagine walking away from a successful Hollywood soap opera producer's desk to the leper colonies of Brazil and the garbage heaps of the Philippines. Calvin College January Series guest Gerry Straub is a filmmaker, photographer, and author now devoted to �putting the power of film at the service of the poor.� He tells host Shirley Hoogstra how it all happened. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC715 - Authentic Race Relations Christ's cross gave us the route to repaired relationships with God and with each other. Why do we hear so little emphasis on the horizontal peace? Calvin College January Series guest Brenda Salter McNeil, co-author of The Heart of Racial Justice: How Soul Change leads to Social Change , tells host Shirley Hoogstra what can happen when we recognize the spiritual roots of our segregation, shed the false roles we've taken on, and speak the truth. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC712 - The New Central Asia Afghanistan was a flourishing center of trade for 2,500 years. If the area can again prosper through the sharing of resources and ideas, there will be room for stability and peace. January Series guest S. Frederick Starr of the Central Asia-Caucusus Institute at Johns Hopkins University tells guest host June Hamersma why there is hope for such a development. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC713 - A Racial Report Card for Sports How many college athletes go on to pursue a professional career using the degree they earn at the college? January Series guest Richard Lapchick, of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at University of Central Florida�s DeVos Sports Business Management Program, explains the statistics for host Shirley Hoogstra regarding graduation, coach hiring practices, sports reporting, and more. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC711 - Supporting Locally-Owned Businesses Is that cheap pair of sneakers really a better price when its lifespan is a third of the more expensive pair? Michael Shuman, author of The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition, shows host Karen Saupe a new way of looking at how we apply our resources and what we get in return. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC710 - Immigration's Effect on American Religion Many immigrants to the U.S. find themselves practicing their religions more devoutly than they did back home. Jose Casanova, Chair and Professor of Sociology at The New School for Social Research in New York City, explains to host Shirley Hoogstra why this happens and the effects it creates. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC709 - Activism Through Music When a songwriter wants to convey a message, when does it become propaganda? It�s OK to be influenced by other fine musicians, but when does imitation set in? Host Karen Saupe enjoys a conversation with Philadelphia singer/songwriter John Francis, followed by his performance of one song. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC708 - Short-Term Mission Trips: Helpful to Whom? Four million Americans take short-term mission trips out of the country every year, with churches spending as much on these trips as they do on long-term missionaries. David Livermore of the Global Learning Center at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and author of the book Serving with Eyes Wide Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence explores the value of such practices with host Karen Saupe. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC707 - Separation of Church and State How did the First Amendment come to be interpreted as self-contradictory, and how did �freedom of religion� turn into �freedom FROM religion?� Judge Michael McConnell of the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and widely recognized expert in church-state relations, explains to host Shirley Hoogstra the amazing evolution of this Amendment�s interpretation. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC706 - Teens and the Church Why do many teens seem unapproachable, while surveys show that they highly value relationships with adults? Darwin Glassford, Associate Professor of Church Education at Calvin Theological Seminary, discusses with host Karen Saupe the ways adults and teenagers regard each other, and how this shapes youth involvement in our churches. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC705 - Fighting Sexual Assault People are far more likely to call the police when they have been robbed than when they have been raped. Why is the reporting rate for sexual assault only around 5%? Stephen Thompson, Associate Professor and Sexual Aggression Services Coordinator at Central Michigan University, discusses with host Shirley Hoogstra the blameshifting, mixed messages, and other factors that complicate this kind of crime, and what we can do about it. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC704 - West Michigan Black History Once upon a time Grand Rapids had among the highest number of ladies literary clubs in the country. Thursday meetings (maids' day off!) featured speakers such as Langston Hughes and W.B. DuBois. Randal Jelks of the Calvin College history department describes for host Karen Saupe our local stories from his book African Americans in the Furniture City. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC703 - Suburban Christianity If you live in the suburbs, you see SUVs, large yards, and the latest greatest tractor mowers. But you don't see poor people struggling to keep their kids from dropping out of school or worse. Dave Goetz, author of Death by Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing Your Soul, discusses with host Shirley Hoogstra the costs of insulating our lives too much. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC702 -SAVING COMMUNITY ACCESS MEDIA Grand Rapids is a model in the community access world, largely because of a rare variety of services and true sense of vision. Laurie Cirivello, the new executive director of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, tells host Karen Saupe why community access and internet neutrality are so vital to our communities, and why their futures are threatened. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website IC701 - Making Decisions Research in the fields of business, economics, and psychology reveals surprising tendencies regarding how people make decisions. Hari Singh of Grand Valley State University Siedman School of Business describes for host Shirley Hoogstra the concepts in his �academic fiction� murder mystery titled Framed! Solve an Intriguing Mystery and Master How to Make Smart Choices. Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website