Love Thy Niebuhr

The hosts interview the man, the myth, the legend--the Godfather of Niebuhr Studies--Robin Lovin.  Conversation ranges from Langdon Gilkey to human nature to runaway cyborg monsters terrorizing Morningside Heights.

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's chapter, "Humour and Faith", from his work Discerning the Signs of the Times with Dr. Jon Weatherly.  

The hosts open the LTN October Interviews talking shop with international relations expert, Dr. Joseph Stieb, and discuss his article on Samuel Moyn’s recently published work on Cold War Liberalism.

The hosts interview Drs David True and Tom James on their chapter in the book, Paradoxical Virtue--a volume co-edited by David True.  The chapter is on virtue ethics and phronesis.

The LTN hosts interview Kevin Carnahan, discuss his book, Paradoxical Virtue, and apply Niebuhr to Virtue Ethics in the context of Justice.

The hosts interview Dr. Stanley Hauerwas and Dr. Gary Dorrien about Christianity in the public square, Barth/Niebuhr stuff, and more. 

The hosts chat with foreign policy expert, Dr. Andrew Bacevich, about The Irony of American History, lessons we're still learning from it today, and more general conversations about Ukraine, Taiwan, and current U.S. illusions.

In this episode, the hosts interview Niebuhr scholar and Harvard Div lecturer on her forthcoming book, which reveals newly unearthed correspondences between the Niebuhr brothers that have immediate implications on how we understand both.

The hosts welcome on another guest co-host, Dr. Jeremy Sabella, to explore with them the final chapter of Niebuhr's 1937 book, Beyond Tragedy.  Chapter title: "The Fulfillment of Life."

The hosts are joined by special guest co-host, Matt Andersen, to discuss the 14th chapter of Beyond Tragedy, The Kingdom Not of This World, which covers Jesus' dialogue with Pilate.

The hosts interview Dr. Josefin Graef on her upcoming project which explores an application of Niebuhr to right-wing extremism, race, and national collective memory.

The hosts--joined Eli Valentin--interview Shaun Casey about his new book, Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom, his time in Obama’s State Department under Secretary John Kerry, and the role religion plays in foreign policy and diplomacy. 

The hosts interview Dr. Scott Paeth on his book, The Niebuhr Brothers for Armchair Theologians.

The hosts interview Mark Tooley on his recent article involving police brutality and the Tyre Nichols murder.

Valentine's Day Special: The hosts interview prominent lawyer and columnist, Gordon Mehler, on his recent article which chronicles the unlikely friendship between Reinhold Niebuhr and Abraham Joshua Heschel.

"Two Parables About Judgment"

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's 13th chapter in Beyond Tragedy that tries to reconcile the parables of the Last Judgment and the Laborers in the Vineyard.

"Zeal Without Knowledge"

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's 12th chapter in Beyond Tragedy, particularly the way it foreshadows the easy/uneasy conscience Niebuhr will address in Nature and Destiny of Man.

Chapter 11: The Things that Are and the Things That Are Not

In this episode, the hosts discuss Niebuhr's evolving philosophy of time by way of his continuation through Paul's first chapter of I Corinthians.

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's 10th chapter in Beyond Tragedy, "The Transvaluation of Values", where Niebuhr addresses Nietzsche's critique of Christianity with Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

The hosts discuss the 9th chapter of Beyond Tragedy, "The Suffering Servant and the Son of Man," and discuss how Christ's messianic claims should inform our politic.

The hosts meander through the maze of Niebuhr's 8th chapter in Beyond Tragedy, connecting the literary terms of tragedy and pity to Christian life.

The hosts look back on the month and list their highlights and regrets from each episode since the beginning of the October interviews, and conclude by taking turns answering one question: how would Niebuhr vote?

On this second episode of a double-episode Halloween special, the hosts critically reflect with Dr. Jon Weatherly on the second half of the book, "Christian Nationalism" by the Andrews Torba and Isker.

On this first episode of a double-episode Halloween special, the hosts critically reflect with Dr. Jeremy Sabella on the first half of the book, "Christian Nationalism" by the Andrews Torba and Isker.

In this episode, the hosts discus Niebuhr's final essay, 'The King's Chapel and the King's Court', which contrasts prophetic religion with power-friendly religion.  The episode concludes with an interview with Dr. Amos Yong.

On this week’s episode, the hosts converse with Niebuhr scholar, Matt Andersen, about the term ‘Realist’ and whether Niebuhr even belongs in the category.

The hosts discuss the great Niebuhr V. Barth rivalry throughout their careers, and bring the discussion up to date in its application on current trends in theology and politics.

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's 7th chapter in Beyond Tragedy, which covers childhood, development, and maturity as applied to both nations and Christian life.

The hosts discuss the sixth chapter in Niebuhr's Beyond Tragedy, which is on the catastrophic nature of Christian development and its resiliency through the destruction left by its own pride by way of trust.

The Test of True Prophecy

The hosts discuss Niebuhr's sermonic essay on Jeremiah's warning against false prophets.  Topics include: false security, technology, the task of the prophet in today's age, and how to know who is a false prophet.

On this episode, the hosts take a break from Niebuhr's Beyond Tragedy to interview Niebuhr scholar and political analyst, Eli Valentin.  Topics include: Niebuhr and politics, Niebuhr the journalist, and current applications of Niebuhr in contemporary politics and Latino/a-American religious dynamics.

400 to 1!

In this episode, the hosts continue reading through Beyond Tragedy and discuss the prophet Micaiah's opposition to two kings and all their prophets.  Topics include: Henry VIII, Thomas More, Donald Trump, and Liza Cheney

The hosts continue through Niebuhr's Beyond Tragedy, taking a look at the story of David leaving the Temple to be constructed by Solomon.  

The Tower of Babel

In this episode, the hosts discuss the second chapter of Beyond Tragedy.  Topics include: Babel, pride, human nature, technology, world history

Chapter 1: As Deceivers, Yet True

The hosts begin their journey through Niebuhr's 1937 classic, Beyond Tragedy.  Topics include: epistemology, myth, creation, fall, atonement, eschaton.

The hosts dialogue with scholar, Dr. Jason Hudson, about Kierkegaard's influence on Niebuhr, and discuss Niebuhr's review of Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript. 

The hosts conclude their deep dive into An American Conscience with a debrief interview with the author and friend of the show, Dr. Jeremy Sabella.

The hosts this week conclude their reading of Jeremy Sabella's An American Conscience.  This episode takes a look at Niebuhr's life, legacy, and how we might expect his influence to continue in the 21st century.

The hosts continue their journey through Sabella's biography on Niebuhr, An American Conscience.  This chapter deals almost exclusively with the backdrop of the Cold War era and Niebuhr's classic text on American foreign policy, The Irony of American History.

The hosts continue their trek through Jeremy Sabella’s biographical sketch of Niebuhr, An American Conscience. Today they discuss the third chapter, which covers Niebuhr’s life and writing during the post-WWII era.  Topics include: Children of Light & Children of Darkness, Nuclear Weapons, and the State of Israel  

The hosts continue their chapter-by-chapter study of Jeremy Sabella's biography of Niebuhr, An American Conscience.

The hosts begin their chapter-by-chapter study of Jeremy Sabella's biography of Niebuhr, An American Conscience.

The hosts interview Dr. Jeremy Sabella in preparation for their journey through his biography on Reinhold Niebuhr, An American Conscience.

The hosts interview Dr. Gary Dorrien to wrap up their first of two sections examining the life of Reinhold Niebuhr

The hosts further discuss Professor Gary Dorrien's sections on Niebuhr from his book, 'The Making of American Liberal Theology.'

The hosts discuss Professor Gary Dorrien's sections on Niebuhr from his book, 'The Making of American Liberal Theology.'

Rounding out the fourth and final installment in the "Niebuhr, War, and Pacifism" series, the hosts discuss Niebuhr's 1940 essay, "Why the Christian Church is Not Pacifist" with writer,  pastor, and non-violence advocate, Patrick Miller.

The hosts open up and discuss President Barack Obama's highly regarded Nobel Peace Prize speech to look for clues and investigate whether a Reinhold Niebuhr can be found lurking in the wild there.

The hosts dialogue with Pastor Anthony Jones to get a clearer picture of the position of Christian non-violence--what some may call pacifism--as it is expressed in conversation with the Niebuhrian perspective.

In this episode, the hosts discuss an article by Mark Tooley on America's role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, along with additional thoughts on Niebuhr's turn from pacifism.

In this episode, the hosts introduce themselves, explain what got them into Reinhold Niebuhr, and share their top 5 favorite takeaways from the work and life of Reinhold Niebuhr.  The show concludes with the hosts explaining what they hope to achieve with this podcast.