AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

Back in 2021, Descendants of ancestors who had been enslaved and sold by the Jesuits and the Jesuits of the United States announced a landmark partnership: Called the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, the partnership was created to support Descendants themselves and promote racial justice throughout the country. Today, as millions of dollars have been raised to support this vision, the Foundation now offers college scholarships for Descendants, helps elderly Descendants make their homes safer, and funds community healing and art projects that tell the truth about the Jesuits’ history of slaveholding. Host Mike Jordan Laskey caught up with the Foundation’s leaders recently to hear more specifics about how the work of the Foundation is growing and thriving half a decade into the work. Our two guests are Monique Trusclair Maddox and Fr. Tim Kesicki, SJ. Monique is president and CEO of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation and a descendant of Isaac Hawkins and Nace Butler, two of the people the Maryland Jesuits enslaved and sold in 1838. Learning that history in 2016 changed the course of her life. Fr. Tim is a former president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States who helped create the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation. He now chairs the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust and leads the Jesuits' fundraising for the foundation. In the episode, you’ll learn about the flurry of activity the Foundation has been part of over the past few years. And as November is Black Catholic History Month here in the US, we remember in a special way that the story of the people the Jesuits enslaved, and the Descendants carrying their legacy forward, belongs at the heart of American Catholic history. After you listen to the episode, learn more about this history and the great work the Foundation is doing at Descendants.org. The Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation: Descendants.org AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Before host Mike Jordan Laskey hit “record” during a recent conversation with the Thomas Merton scholar Dr. Patrick O’Connell, he told Pat that the way he writes about the famed theologian, author and Trappist monk feels like Pat is writing about a friend. Even though they never met before Thomas Merton died tragically in 1968, Professor O’Connell didn’t dispute this characterization. There’s something about Merton’s work, the combination of spiritual depth and insight, the clarity of expression, the vulnerability, that can make even relative newcomers to his work feel like they really know this man. And Pat O’Connell is no newcomer. He’s one of the world’s leading experts on Merton’s work. An emeritus professor of English and theology at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, Pat is a founding member and former president of the International Thomas Merton Society, longtime editor of The Merton Seasonal and copy editor of The Merton Annual. He has edited 16 volumes of Merton materials, and his latest book is titled “Thomas Merton’s Holistic Spirituality.” It was published earlier this year by Liturgical Press. In this interview, Mike asked Pat how he came to be so interested in the life and work of Thomas Merton, and what this prophet of the mid-20th century might have to say to us today. Pat reflected on some of the key themes from his book, including Merton’s theological thought on the self and the world, plus his deep concern for ecological justice. It was a lovely conversation that will help you get to know Merton’s work better. “Thomas Merton’s Holistic Spirituality”: https://litpress.org/Products/02683/Thomas-Mertons-Holistic-Spirituality Photo of book cover courtesy of Liturgical Press. AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Autumn in the US means football season, and our guest today is one of the greatest teachers and coaches in the history of Jesuit high school football. Chuck Kyle was the head football coach at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1983 until his retirement in 2022. His teams racked up 353 wins and an Ohio-record 11 Division I state championships. More than a dozen of his players reached the NFL, including longtime quarterback Brian Hoyer and current Patriots starting linebacker Dre’Mont Jones. And earlier this year, Amazon Prime Video released a documentary on Coach Kyle called “The Object of the Game,” which features interviews with football luminaries such as Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin. During our recent interview, host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Coach Kyle about his coaching philosophy and what made him so successful. Coach Kyle embodies the idea that football can be a powerful venue for teaching virtues like teamwork and perseverance that apply to life both on and off the field. And as Kyle also served as an English teacher throughout his coaching career, they discussed his favorites books to read and teach. It was such a fun conversation that revealed Coach Kyle’s passion for teaching and how he cared for his players using some of that good old-fashioned Jesuit cura personalis. “The Object of the Game” documentary: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.07310b0e-9ed5-463e-8f37-ac1a375c6343?ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb More about Coach Chuck Kyle: https://www.clevelandsportshall.com/kyle-chuck/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

A great lesser-known Martin Luther King, Jr., quote is “that before you’ve finished eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world.” It’s even truer today than when Dr. King spoke the line during his Christmas sermon in 1967. Think of the millions of unseen hands that worked to bring you your toothpaste, your smartphone, your shoes, your clean running water, your toast, your cup of coffee. Our guest today is a Jesuit economist who’s particularly interested in that last one on the list — your cup of coffee. Fr. Stephen Pitts, SJ, is an economics professor at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A lot of his research and ministry work has been done in connection with a cooperative of farmers called Capeltic Coffee. Based in Chiapas, Mexico, Capeltic is a word from the local Tseltal Maya language that means “our coffee.” Capeltic is a Jesuit-supported project that was founded in 2001, and it brings together more than 300 local farmer-owners who grow, harvest, process and sell their coffee together. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Fr. Pitts to share Capeltic’s story and why he finds their cooperative approach to be an interesting economic model. They also talked about the intersection of economics and Catholic social teaching more broadly, including what Fr. Pitts thinks the church tradition has to offer the discipline and what good economics can offer the church. It was a fascinating conversation with someone whose intellectual and pastoral vocations are so beautifully integrated. More about Capeltic Coffee: https://www.capeltic.org/home Order coffee in the USA: https://shop.ignatiansolidarity.net/collections/coffee/products/capeltic-origin-roasted-gourmet-coffee-2-20-lbs-1-kg More about Fr. Stephen Pitts, SJ: https://spittssj.github.io/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

In Rome, Ignatius and his companions endure accusations, obtain public vindication and begin works of spiritual and practical service that anticipate the Society of Jesus. Da Câmara closes the story by tracing the Spiritual Exercises to Ignatius’ own experiences and describing how, through the years, he grew ever more able to find God in every moment. About the Series We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic. The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed. The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey. "The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

There aren’t many people on Earth more famous than the Pope. It can be easy to think that there’s not much new to learn about a person with that level of fame. But we think you’ll learn something on literally every page of a new biography of Pope Leo XIV, which is titled “American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City.” The book is by two NPR journalists, Daniel Burke and Scott Detrow, and they’re our guests today. Daniel serves as NPR’s Senior Editor of Religion and Spirituality and Scott is a host of “All Things Considered.” “American Pope” is the first deeply researched and reported biography of Pope Leo, and it covers his entire life from childhood through the 2025 conclave. Daniel and Scott traveled to Peru and all over the United States to report this story, talking to dozens and dozens of people who knew Robert Prevost during all stages of his life. And their reporting shines through throughout the book, which is filled with vivid story after vivid story about Pope Leo gathered from these interviews, 70-year-old church bulletins, historical archives, and more. Host Mike Jordan Laskey found the biography to be a truly moving portrait of a priest, a missionary and a leader. It was so fun to have Daniel and Scott on the show just before the book released on October 6. We know you’ll enjoy hearing their behind-the-scenes stories of reporting and writing “American Pope.” And we think what they shared about the project in this conversation will make you eager to track down a copy as soon as you can. "American Pope: Leo XIV’s Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City": https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-pope-leo-xiv-s-road-from-the-south-side-of-chicago-to-vatican-city-daniel-burke/c6b282694ebe4270?ean=9781250446053 AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

After returning briefly to his homeland to recover, teach and settle unfinished matters, Ignatius travels to Venice to rejoin his companions. When war prevents them from sailing to Jerusalem, they serve, preach and prepare for priesthood until their pilgrimage is redirected toward Rome, strengthened by Ignatius’ profound experience of being placed with Christ. About the Series We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic. The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed. The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey. "The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

For 12 years, the Catholic author, speaker and minister Meg Hunter-Kilmer lived out of her car, driving all over the US and beyond to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. If that sounds to you like someone with incredible zeal for the Lord, that is an accurate impression. Meg is a powerhouse of discipleship. She’s also an incredibly gifted writer, and we were thrilled to publish a series of her essays on lesser-known Jesuit and Ignatian holly men and women over the past couple of years. We’ll leave a link to her series, which we called “Friends of Ignatius,” here in the show notes. The occasion for her recent conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey, though, was the publication of Meg’s newest book, titled “Eyes Fixed on Jesus, Volume 2: A Journey Into the Gospels.” In the book, Meg combines storytelling, Scripture study and cultural history to present the Gospel accounts in vivid ways. Mike asked Meg about the project and why she’s so excited to encourage Catholics to read more Scripture. She also shared the fruits of returning to the same Scripture stories time after time, and how there’s always more for us to discover in the text. They talked about one of the holy Jesuit priests she wrote about for our “Friends of Ignatius” series, the Venerable Eusebio Kino. Finally, as Meg serves as a campus minister at the University of Notre Dame, they talked about what she finds young Catholics to be hungering for these days. It was such a fun conversation and you’ll hear Meg’s passion and deep faith come through so clearly. “Eyes Fixed on Jesus, Volume 2”: https://www.orderosv.com/product/eyes-fixed-on-jesus-vol-2-a-journey-into-the-gospels More about Meg: https://www.piercedhands.com/ Read Meg’s 10 “Friends of Ignatius” essays here: https://www.jesuits.org/profile/meg-hunter-kilmer/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Through years of poverty, study, illness and setbacks in Paris, Ignatius gradually learns a more patient and sustainable way of pursuing his mission. He also gathers companions — including Peter Faber and Francis Xavier — who commit themselves to serving souls together in Jerusalem or wherever the pope might send them. About the Series We are bringing you the entire text of “The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola” in podcast form. Over 12 episodes, join our pilgrimage guides Fr. Jack Bentz, SJ, and Cameron Bellm as we make our way through this spiritual classic. The series premiered on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with episode 2 dropping Friday, July 31 — the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. These first two episodes and the remaining 10 episodes (dropping on subsequent Fridays) will all appear here on the AMDG podcast feed. The series is edited by Frank Tuson, who also composed all the music you hear on the podcast. The podcast uses a translation of the “Autobiography” by Fr. Parmananda Divarkar, SJ. The text is read by Fr. George Drance, SJ. Produced by Mike Jordan Laskey. "The Autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola Podcast," a special-edition series of AMDG, is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

This past summer, the Scripture scholar Amy-Jill (AJ) Levine, Ph.D., was elected as the first Jewish president of the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA). Sadly and horrifyingly, AJ’s election led to a torrent of antisemitic online comments and posts directed her way. Subsequent statements of support from the CBA and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops were positive, and we thought the way we could show our support was to invite her onto the podcast for a conversation about her distinguished scholarly career, which she has dedicated to countering Biblical interpretations that exclude and oppress. We were honored she accepted our invitation. AJ spoke with host Mike Jordan Laskey last week. AJ Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, and Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University. Since retiring from Vanderbilt, she is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. Her publications include “The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus”; “Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi”; “Jesus for Everyone, Not Just Christians”; and “The Jewish Annotated New Testament,” the third edition of which has just been published. In our conversation, Mike asked AJ about some of the central theses of her intellectual project, plus why a self-described Yankee Jewish feminist has spent so much of her career thinking about Jesus. We also talked about her recent election as president of the Catholic Biblical Association, the horrible anti-Jewish backlash, the subsequent support she received, and how she might use her position with the CBA to continue her work. “The Jewish Annotated New Testament”: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-jewish-annotated-new-testament-9780190461850 More about AJ Levine: https://www.hartfordinternational.edu/faculty/amy-jill-levine AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/