Imagining Life After Death  

For desert-dwelling Muslims, Heaven was a lush, green garden, filled with springs, rivers and flowing wine. For ancient Jews it was the site of their holy temple, rebuilt brand new after its destruction by the Romans.  And for African-American slaves, Heaven was the place where "the first would be last, and the last would be first.”  In her new book, Newsweek writer Lisa Miller explains why our image of eternity is shaped by our life on Earth now - a reflection of our hopes, anxieties and longings for justice.  Our entire episode first aired in April 2010.

Lisa Miller, author of Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife

Checking In or Reining In?

Late in 2008, the Vatican quietly announced a two-part "visitation" of American nuns.
  On paper, the probes are supposed to examine the sisters' quality of life and adherence to church doctrine. But the real purpose of the extensive questionnaires is fuzzy, depending on whom you ask.

Some nuns see the probes as friendly and unremarkable-- a routine check-in by the Vatican to address declining membership.  And others worry it's an attempt to rein in their advocacy for liberal changes in the church, like womens' ordination and gay rights.  This week: two views on the Vatican's ongoing survey. Our story first aired in August 2009.

Pictured: The Council of Trent, one of the most important assemblies in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.  First convened by Pope Paul III in 1544, it made sweeping reforms and clarified Catholic dogma for future generations.

Ann Carey, author of Sisters in Crisis: The Tragic Unraveling of Women's Religious Communities

Sr. Joan Chittister, author of The Way We Were: A Story of Conversion and Renewal

Debating Park51

It’s not exactly a mosque, and it’s not on Ground Zero, but that hasn’t stopped 61 percent of Americans from opposing the planned Islamic community center known as Park51.  The project has triggered a national debate over Islam, religious liberty, and the memory of 9/11.  This week, we explore two views on the contentious building.

Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Mark Pelavin, Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

There's so much more to this interview...hear an extended version here

100 Mosques, 75 Cities...and 1 Big Question

What does it mean to be an American when your religion – Islam -  is equated with ‘terrorism’ and ‘foreigner'?   And what does ‘American’ mean, anyway? To find out, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and a team of young researchers spent a year criss-crossing the homeland, knocking on doors, praying in mosques and eating in people’s homes.  They paint a complex picture of group that doesn’t always get along, from literalist Muslims who reject Western culture, to immigrant Muslims doing their best to live the American dream.  

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic Studies at American University and author of Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam

Jonathan Hayden, research rssistant and team member

Frankie Martin,  research assistant and team member

Web Extra: Hear the complete interview

Live in in the studio, from her 2010 album, Before and After.

Live in in the studio, from her 2010 album, Before and After.

Live in in the studio, from her 2010 album, Before and After.

A Higher Calling

Meet the new Jim McGreevey: proud gay American, volunteer, seminary student.   About a year after he stunned the country with the announcement that he had been unfaithful, the ex-New Jersey governor enrolled at one of the country’s most prestigious Episcopalian seminaries.  He has now begun a spiritual process, known as discernment, that may lead to his priesthood.  McGreevey joins us to reflect on the long journey to finding his true self.  Our story first aired in March 2010.

Jim McGreevey, former Governor of New Jersey and author of The Confession