Common Knowledge

One of the most religiously diverse areas of American life is healthcare and medicine. In this episode, we hear from three people working at the nexus of medicine and religion. Christine Mitchell is a public health researcher who shares her experiences working as a chaplain at a cancer hospital. We also talk with Victoria Psomiadis, a student at University of South Florida medical school, about the importance of interfaith literacy in a doctor-patient relationship. And we hear from Aamir Hussain, a student at the University of Chicago medical school, about why he started a Spirituality and Medicine interest group for medical school students.

This month, we focus on concepts and stories that inspire Jewish interfaith work. We talk to Rabbi Josh Stanton about why he engages in interfaith activism and about the emergence of the new academic field of interfaith studies. Rachel Schwartz, an IFYC staff member, shares a story about how a trip to India offered her an unexpected insight into her own Jewish faith.

In this episode, we talk with filmmaker and storyteller Valarie Kaur. We discuss the importance of storytelling in the interfaith movement and how Sikhs engage with interfaith work. We also hear from Maneshwar Singh, an interfaith leader at Loyola University whose passion for Sikh devotional music offered an entry point into the interfaith movement.

In this episode, we talk with Joanna Brooks, a professor and author of the memoir The Book of Mormon Girl. We discuss the diversity within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how Mormons engage with interfaith work. We also hear from Keryn Wouden, a Mormon interfaith activist about how the interfaith service she was doing with a friend was tested by a deep disagreement over political views.

Evangelical Christians represent a significant portion of American religious life, yet they are often overlooked for their contribution to the interfaith movement. In this episode, we talk with Rachael McNeal, an interfaith activist and evangelical, about how being an evangelical inspires her own interfaith work. We also hear a story from Better Together director William Campbell about how his mother, an atheist, had a surprising impact on his own experience with evangelism.

This episode, we talk to Chris Stedman, author and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, about what it means to be both an atheist and an interfaith activist. Prerna Abbi, a secular Hindu, tells us about how an encounter in middle school involving PB&J sandwiches influenced her view of religion. Music by:Floating Fast (@soundcloud.com/floatingfast)Broke For Free (freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/)Blank & Kytt (freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__Kytt/)

In our first episode, you’ll meet our hosts, Cassie and Carr, unpack the big idea that is interfaith literacy with Eboo Patel, and hear the story of a Christian minister from Chicago who learned a profound pastoral lesson from Buddhist monks in Thailand.