Another Life with Joy Marie Clarkson

The PloughRead: Heaven Meets Earth by Rowan Williams

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rowan Williams reminds us that in the birth of Christ, God comes to restore and set free every person and all creation.

The PloughRead: Students Brave the Heat by Leah Libresco Sargeant

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leah Libresco Sargeant discusses conflict as a part of debate and the activities of the Braver Angels Debates and Discourse program.

The PloughRead: Walls behind Bars by Antoine E. Davis and Aaron Olson

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Antoine E. Davis and Aaron Edward Olson, both inmates, took risks to withstand the racism within the prison.

The PloughRead: The Witching Hour by Kathleen A. Mulhern

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kathleen A. Mulhern considers how we should spend our time in the evenings. We start the day intentionally and prayerfully, but all bets are off after...

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 struggle to love it again.

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. Stephanie is the head of the Center for Public ...

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 their enemies and those who persecute them.

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 book, Tyranny, Inc., is a thoroughly reported loo...

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 Christians should be.

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 against the war.

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 grow up in the Bruderhof – she made the decision to...

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 should love.

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 nature of the consumer economy? That’s what this shor...

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 neighborhood, whether or not they can afford it.

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 megachurch pastor star in this retelling of Luke 10:30–37...

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, Pete and Tara discuss her new book, Self-Made: Cre...

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 colony.

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 for books expanded his world.

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 why have things not changed more? How does a self-d...

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 but share everything.

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 cottage economy.

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 Barbie Movie. Does it have a moral? What is Gerwig try...

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 the thing being sold.

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 Hart reflects on how his experience translating the...

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 island from medieval to modern times.

66: The Technology of Demons

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The PloughCast team talk with Paul Kingsnorth about artificial intelligence and demons. Kingsnorth, an environmental activist, novelist, former Wiccan...

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. We must choose one or the other.

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. They also go entirely off script and end up in so ma...

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 converted into a homeless shelter.

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 anointing of Jesus’ feet before Holy Week as a p...

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 that most recently hit the headlines with the dow...

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 all away.

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 what we can learn from Mary of Bethany’s gift.

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 discuss Christianity’s compromise with mammon –...

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 the meaning of suffering.

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 Pinianus and Melania, two married Roman patricians ...

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 how to resist modern capitalism.

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 that emptiness, eventually, God found her.

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 comes on the pod with Pete and Susannah to discuss ...

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 Alzheimer’s.

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 in persecution of the church in China affected pas...

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 Mumford tells his own story of the philosophical inadeq...

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 regime. The Canadian government, several years ago,...

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 about the Radical Reformation and its legacy. Peter ...

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 philosopher behind The Convivial Society newsletter, abou...

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 on Eleanor Parker to discuss this poetic portraya...

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 others.

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 Jesus’ death with fresh eyes.  First, he looks a...

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 drought caused by climate change.

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 artists have imagined Jesus’ crucifixion. The hosts...

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 answers to the problem of pain.

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 with the well-known historian about the way that Chr...

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 Voltaire as an interlocutor first, considering th...

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 study? For what does it liberate you, and who ought to...

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 multigenerational family. It was never easy.

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 forgiveness.

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 discloses his recent reporting on Canada’s massive r...

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 children. How does your relationship to your children cha...

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 a new “spiritual realism.” Should questions o...

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 Susannah welcome Dhananjay Jagannathan to discuss hi...

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, and the distinct challenges that that can bring. ...

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, and then go into the issues covered in Pete’s l...

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 answer to the pain of childlessness. But at what cos...

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 yet unborn.

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 prophets show a way out.

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 stopped visiting the empty village in Asturias, Spain....

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 biological and spiritual.

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 go anywhere the church needed her.

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 looking for romance as it does to consecrated reli...

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 burden, but is incompatible with love of neighbor.

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 faithful to one another.

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 hope in any person when the cycle of retributi...

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 attempt to deny oneself something pleasurable is suspe...

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 philosophers, and in the Jewish theological tradition. Ar...

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. A veteran of the pro-life movement, Robert P. Geo...

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 political life. They discuss practical matters: How can w...

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 the difference between a figure skater whose sport r...

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 the possibilities of Christian internationalism. Ch...

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 our options open is the categorical imperative, ho...

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’s telos.

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 higher freedom.

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 grounds for hope in his book Tradition and Apocalypse.

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.