The PloughRead: My Mind, My Enemy by Sarah Clarkson
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Clarkson says that when mental illness struck, her mind became her enemy. She shares her strug...
73: Achieving Disagreement and Other Tips for Political Conversation
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah Black Roberts speaks with Stephanie Summers about how political opponents can disagree well...
The PloughRead: Just Doing What Christians Do by Archbishop Angaelos
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In an interview, Archbishop Angalelos speaks about the Coptic Christians’ legacy of forgiving thei...
The PloughRead: Macedonia Morning by Dana Wiser
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Staughton Lynd and other radical visionaries experiment with communal living in the hills of Georgia...
72: Tyranny, Inc.
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hosts speak with Sohrab Ahmari about how private power crushed American liberty. Sohrab’s new ...
The PloughRead: Hating Sinners by Mary Townsend
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Townsend explores the concept of loving sinners, hating sins, and what our response as Christia...
The PloughRead: A Russian Christian Speaks Out by Rachel Cañon Naffziger
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rachel Cañon Naffziger tells the story of Egor Redin, a Baptist lawyer from Russia who spoke out ag...
71: On Giving Up All One’s Money
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah speaks with Clare Stober and Marianne Wright about living without money. Clare didn’t gro...
The PloughRead: Foolhardy Wisdom by Benjamin Crosby
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Crosby asks if we can afford to love our enemies in an unforgiving society?
The PloughRead: Tough Love on the Mount by Timothy J. Keiderling
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Timothy J. Keiderling reflects from Israel on the teachings of Jesus and who are the enemies we shou...
70: How Should Christians Relate to the Consumer Economy?
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah talk with Dr. William Cavanaugh about his book Being Consumed. What is the natur...
The PloughRead: Pay As You Can by Robert Lockridge
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Lockridge and his family share their homegrown food with the people who live in their urban n...
The PloughRead: The Effective Samaritan, A Parable by Phil Christman
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Phil Christman has a Tradcath, an exvangelical influencer, a mainliner, and a conservative megachurc...
69: Creating Our Identities
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tara Isabella Burton comes on the pod to ask, How did we become a world of self-makers? Susannah, P...
The PloughRead: Leper Colony Sketches by Maria Weiss and Maureen Burn
20 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Maria Weiss finds pain and friendship in the enforced community of outcasts at a Paraguayan leper co...
The PloughRead: The Library at Home by Zito Madu
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Zito Madu describes how his parents’ insistence on reserving an entire room in their small house f...
68: The State of the Left
13 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Leah and Susannah grill Fredrik deBoer on the state of leftist politics. What happened in 2020 and w...
The PloughRead: On Owning Twenty-Two Cars by Maureen Swinger
06 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Maureen Swinger describes what it is like to live in a Bruderhof community where you possess nothing...
The PloughRead: Saving the Commons by Jack Bell
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the Industrial Revolution took off, writes Jack Bell, William Cobbett rose in defense of the cott...
PloughCast Bonus Episode: Is Barbie a confused mess or deeply insightful?
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah Long, Leah Libresco Sargeant, Alastair Roberts, and Susannah Black Roberts discuss the Barbi...
The PloughRead: Selling Friends by Clare Coffey
23 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Clare Coffey says that in multilevel marketing, friendship is not the means to the sell – it is th...
67: David Bentley Hart and the Worship of Mammon
16 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The PloughCast team talks with a philosopher and cultural commentator about money. David Bentley H...
The PloughRead: History Arrives on the Island by Eugene Vodolazkin and Lisa C. Hayden
09 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The first chapter of Eugene Vodolazkin’s new novel, A History of the Island, the chronicle of an i...
66: The Technology of Demons
02 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The PloughCast team talk with Paul Kingsnorth about artificial intelligence and demons. Kingsnorth, ...
The PloughRead: The Religion of Mammon by Eberhard Arnold
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this excerpt from his book Salt and Light, Eberhard Arnold writes that God and money are enemies....
65: Buying and Selling Friends
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Clare Coffey and Dan Walden discuss influencer culture, MLMs, and the monetization of friendship. Th...
The PloughRead: Princess of the Vatican by Sharon Rose Christner
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sharon Rose Christner speaks with Anna, a woman who lives in a former Roman palazzo that has been co...
64: Mary of Bethany and the Virtue of Magnificence
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alastair, a biblical theologian and Susannah’s husband, examines the story of Mary of Bethany’s ...
The PloughRead: Hudson Taylor by Maureen Swinger and Susannah Black Roberts
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This issue's forerunner profiles Hudson Taylor, an early missionary to China.
63: Phil Christman and Leah Libresco Sargeant on Effective Altruism
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Good Samaritan and the effective Altruist meet in the retelling of Luke 10:30–37. The movement...
The PloughRead: The Other Side of the Needle’s Eye by Peter Mommsen
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Mommsen tells the story of Pinianus and Melania, a wealthy fifth-century couple who gave it al...
The PloughRead: In Praise of Costly Magnificence by Alastair Roberts
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Alastair Roberts discusses the virtue of magnificence, the relationship between money and love, and ...
62: Is Money Power?
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eugene McCarraher and Peter Mommsen speak about why Modern capitalism is anything but secular. They ...
The PloughRead: Two Thousand Years of Christian Strangeness by Tom Holland
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A new faith proclaimed one man's agonizing death as history's turning point — and utterly changed ...
61: A Tale of Camels and Needles
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why an issue on money? What is money for? Peter and Susannah discuss. They begin with the story of P...
An interview with Eugene McCarraher
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In an interview with Plough, Eugene McCarraher discusses Christianity’s compromise with mammon and...
The PloughRead: The Unutterable Silence of God by Esther Maria Magnis
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After her father died, Esther Maria Magnis thought she found freedom from her pain in nihilism. In t...
60: That Hideous Strength Is Nonfiction
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Marianne Wright discusses C. S. Lewis’ prescient science fiction novel. Peter Mommsen’s sister c...
The PloughRead: Letters from a Vanishing Friend by Lisabeth Button
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lisabeth Button describes her friendship and shares letters from Ellen, who is suffering from Alzhei...
59: Churches against the law
17 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah Nation tells the story of Wang Yi and the Chinese house church movement. How has the ramp-up ...
The PloughRead: The Mind in Pain by James Mumford
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Mumford asks why even God seems to fall silent when depression takes hold.
58: James Mumford on God, Politics, Depression, Therapy, and Philosophy
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A philosopher examines the theological implications of mental illness and its treatment. James Mumfo...
The PloughRead: Saving Friends: What I’ve Learned from Insufferable Patients by Brewer Eberly
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brewer Eberly shows how doctors may receive valuable insights from their most difficult patients.
57: A Canadian Priest on Medical Assistance in Dying
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Crosby discusses the failure of mainline churches to speak clearly on Canada's euthanasia r...
Baptism Means Leaving Home to Find It by Julian Waldner
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Julian Waldner, a young Hutterite, considers the legacy of his Anabaptist forebears.
56: Felix Manz and the Birth of Anabaptism
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Landsel, author of a new graphic novel, Jason Landsel, author of a new graphic novel, talks ab...
The PloughRead: Where Are the Churches in Canada’s Euthanasia Experiment? by Benjamin Crosby
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Benjamin Crosby asks where the voice of the church is in Canada’s MAID and euthanasia experiment.
55: L. M. Sacasas on Why We Are Not AIs
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A philosopher reflects on human uniqueness. Peter and Susannah speak with L. M. Sacasas, the philoso...
The PloughRead: The Speaking Tree by Eleanor Parker
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eleanor Parker reflects on the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Dream of the Rood.
54: Eleanor Parker on Anglo-Saxon Christianity
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
An Oxford medievalist discusses the Anglo-Saxon poem The Dream of the Rood. Peter and Susannah bring...
The PloughRead: God’s Purpose in Your Pain by Rick Warren
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rick Warren, a pastor, reflects on how we should respond to our own suffering and pain and that of o...
53: How to Read the Four Passion Stories
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s the most famous story in history. Alastair Roberts helps us read the Gospels’ accounts of J...
The PloughRead: The Dust on All the Faces by Navid Kermani
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Navid Kermani reports from south Madagascar, where farming families battle to survive a lethal droug...
52: Oberammergau and the Art of the Passion
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Joy Clarkson and William P. Hyland discuss why the Oberammergau Passion Play disappoints and how art...
The PloughRead: In Search of Solace by Randall Gauger
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Randall Gauger, a pastor at the Bruderhof, lost his son to cancer. He writes about his search for an...
51: Tom Holland on the Christian History of Pain
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did the crucifixion of Jesus change how humanity thinks about suffering? Peter Mommsen speaks wi...
The PloughRead: Fear of a Human Planet by Louise Perry
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Louise Perry writes that the threat of climate change makes some people hesitant to have children.
50: C. S. Lewis and the Problem of Pain
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
C. S. Lewis is an imaginary guest as the hosts consider the problem of pain. Peter and Susannah take...
The PloughRead: Somewhere in Chessington by Rhys Laverty
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My hometown debunks the idea that family-friendly neighborhoods are a thing of the past.
49: Jenn Frey on Liberal Arts
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jenn Frey discusses the value of a liberal arts education. What’s the purpose of this kind of stud...
The PloughRead: Daughter of Forgottonia by Liz Schleicher
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Forgottonia, a left-behind corner of Illinois, Edna Eberlin made her farm a home for a sprawling ...
The PloughRead: Uncle Albert by Springs Toledo
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Springs Toledo writes about his uncle, Albert Burns, and his family’s story of crime and forgivene...
48: Canada’s Euthanasia Industry
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk with Alexander Raikin & Leah Libresco Sargeant on MAID, and take your questions. Raikin disc...
47: Technologizing Babies, Forging Nations
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The hosts talk with Matthew Lee Anderson about his piece on whether there is a right to have childre...
46: Spiritual Realism; Jesus and John Wayne
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah speak with Tara Isabella Burton and Tim Shriver about their manifesto calling for...
45: Effective Altruism and a Scholarly Inheritance
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Mommsen talks with Phil Christman and Joey Keegin about effective altruism. Then, Peter and Su...
44: Carl Trueman and Alastair Roberts: Freedom, Belonging, and Begetting
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah speak with Carl Trueman about communicating the gospel to the current generation,...
43: The Work of Generations, and the Wisdom of a German Prince
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why have an issue on “Generations?” Peter and Susannah discuss the genesis of the current issue,...
The PloughRead: Is There a Right to Have Children? by Matthew Lee Anderson
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Matthew Lee Anderson writes that the fertility industry pushes childless couples toward IVF as an an...
The PloughRead: Singing the Law by J. L. Wall
07 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
J. L. Wall writes that the ancient skill of chanting the Torah joins past generations to generations...
The PloughRead: My Father Left Me Paperclip by Terence Sweeney
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Terence Sweeney asks what kind of inheritance an illegitimate son can expect.
The PloughRead: The Sins of the Fathers by Helmuth Eiwen
31 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Helmuth Eiwen writes that our ancestors guilt can carry over onto the present generation. The Hebrew...
The PloughRead: The Stranger in My House by Wendy Kiyomi
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wendy Kiyomi adopted children with trauma in their past. It didn’t go as she expected.
The PloughRead: Gazapillo by Óscar Esquivias
24 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this story by Óscar Esquivias the young folk moved away, and it seemed like the Three Kings stop...
The PloughRead: Decoding the Bible’s Begats by Alastair Roberts
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Alastair Roberts writes that genealogy and hereditary lines matter a great deal in scripture.
The PloughRead: Yearning for Roots by Peter Mommsen
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Mommsen writes that we’re born with a need for connection with our ancestors – both biolog...
The PloughRead: The Day No One Would Say the Nazis Were Bad by Mary Townsend
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mary Townsend finds that relativism is alive and well on college campuses.
The PloughRead: No Promises by Eve Tushnet
03 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Eve Tushnet writes about AA, alcoholism, and broken promises.
The PloughRead: Vows in Brief by Phil Christman
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Phil Christman explores the courtship of three monogamous animal couples.
The PloughRead: The Adventure of Obedience by Norann Voll
26 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Norann Voll, a Bruderhof member in Australia, took a vow of obedience that included the promise to g...
The PloughRead: Demystifying Chastity by Sr. Carino Hodder, OP
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sister Carino Hodder says the call to chastity applies just as much to spouses and to single people ...
The PloughRead: Why I Chose Poverty by Andreas Knapp
19 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andreas Knapp, a member of the Little Brothers of the Gospel says wealth is not only an unwieldy bur...
The PloughRead: A Broken but Faithful Marriage by Dori Moody
15 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dori Moody relates the story of her grandparents marriage. Even though they separated, they remained...
The PloughRead: A Vow Will Keep You by Randall Gauger
12 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Randall Gauger, a Bruderhof pastor, discusses how lifelong vows make mutual faithfulness possible.
The PloughRead: Victor Hugo’s Masterpiece of Impossibility by Caitrin Keiper
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Caitrin Keiper writes of the vows in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables that brokenness does not erase ...
The PloughRead: The Dance of Devotion by Kelsey Osgood
05 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kelsey Osgood, an Orthodox Jew, writes that we live in an age that glorifies self-care, but any atte...
42: Zohar Atkins on Vows in Scripture and the Existentialists, and Listener Questions
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah talks with Zohar Atkins, a rabbi and philosopher, about vows in Nietzsche, in other philoso...
41: The World After Roe
25 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah have a long conversation with Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University....
40: Hyperpartisanship and Hippocrates
18 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah talk to Justin Giboney of The AND Campaign about polarization in American politic...
39: On Secular and Religious Disciplines, and the Theology of the Vow
11 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah and Peter speak with Kelsey Osgood about her piece “The Dance of Devotion.” What’s th...
38: Christian Internationalism with John Milbank, and a Bruderhof Journey
04 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah speak with John Milbank about his reservations about National Conservatism, and t...
37: Vows, Liberty, and Victor Hugo
27 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Susannah discuss Peter’s lead editorial, “Word Is Bond.” In a culture where keeping ...
The PloughRead: Bring Back Hippocrates by Lydia S. Dugdale
24 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Lydia S. Dugdale on the loss of the Hippocratic Oath and the lack of an ethic to explain medicine’...
The PloughRead: Word Is Bond by Peter Mommsen
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peter Mommsen, editor of Plough, writes that in a culture addicted to endless choice, vows offer a h...
The PloughRead: Tradition and Disruption by David Bentley Hart
17 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David Bentley Hart writes that apocalypse, not dogma or tradition, is what gives Christianity ground...
The PloughRead: The Spiritual Roots of Climate Crisis by Cardinal Peter Turkson
13 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cardinal Peter Turkson speaks about ecological challenges and how more community may be an answer.
The PloughRead: The Other Side of Revelation by Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz
10 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz writes on John’s Revelation, apocalypse, fear, and why there is still...
The PloughRead: The Apocalyptic Visions of Wassily Kandinsky by Shira Telushkin
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The artwork of Wassily Kandinsky reveals his apocalyptic visions. Shira Telushkin reviews the Around...
The PloughRead: Jesus and the Future of the Earth by Eberhard Arnold
03 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Eberhard Arnold tells how the first Christians viewed the end of the age.
After Liberalism – What?
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Susannah Black Roberts, Peter Mommsen, Shadi Hamid and Damir Marusic talk about Yoram Hazony’s Nat...