Oh God Now What

Last week on Oh God Now What, we talked about the Pope’s encyclical on AI. But buried in that encyclical was something astonishing: the church’s first direct apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. This week, we look at his spiritual wisdom with Dr. Shannen D. Williams. Not only has she personally grappled with what it means to be Black in the American Catholic church, it’s also her life’s academic work. Also joining us is Father Tim Kesicki, the past president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States; their mission is one of justice and reconciliation. Subscribe on Substack Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @ognwprx Follow Niala on Instagram: @nialab

Each week brings new scary headlines about AI. Buddhist monk Tenzin Priyadarshi Rinpoche says Big Tech executives he has worked with lack the ‘discerning empathy’ to understand how AI will affect the masses. He is our guest along with Father James Martin, editor-at-large of America magazine. They help us navigate an industry they say has made outsourcing, efficiency, and potential “free time” God-like without us questioning if that is even a good idea. Subscribe on Substack Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @ognwprx Follow Niala on Instagram: @nialab

In 2001, just before 9/11, Haroon Moghul was head of the Muslim Student Association at NYU, but he had not yet solidified his own relationship with Islam. Then, everything changed, and he had to navigate his beliefs when islamophobia was suddenly everywhere. He is now a chaplain at Xavier University, and offers his take on shifting the focus away from rampant islamophobia onto what we can control. Mentioned in the show: Register here for Religion News Service's event moderated by Niala, "The 9/11 Generation: 25 Years Later" El-Sayed's interview on FOX Subscribe on Substack Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @ognwprx Follow Niala on Instagram: @nialab

What makes travel sacred? With so many flight delays and skyrocketing hotel prices, we look to two spiritual guides to remind us that any kind of trip can be a soul-nurturing experience — even the seemingly mundane. Phil Cousineau is a an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and travel leader. He's the author of The Art of Pilgrimage, and a new book called The Wisdom of the Odyssey: 24 Life Lessons from Homer's Epic. Rabbi Shira Stutman is a frequent traveler who hosts the weekly Jewish advice podcast, Chutzpod, about how to live life better. She's also senior rabbi at Aspen Jewish Congregation and was the founding rabbi at Sixth & I Synagogue in DC. Subscribe on Substack Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @ognwprx Follow Niala on Instagram: @nialab

The concept of a “just war" is foundational to Christianity, but lately we’ve seen it improperly used – or ignored. Even in his May encyclical, Pope Leo called the concept “outdated.” We’ll break apart “just war" with the first rabbi to have been designated a U.S. ambassador, Rabbi David Saperstein, and with Miroslav Volf, a Croatian Protestant theologian at Yale University. Subscribe on Substack Follow Niala on Instagram: @nialab