The Jim Wallis Podcast

District Productive

4.8 (137)
Religion & Spirituality
Updated Biweekly

The Jim Wallis Podcast explains how our faith should inform our politics, and not the other way around. Each episode, Wallis, a prominent Christian ethicist and social justice advocate, host conversations about faith and justice with activists, authors, scholars, spiritual leaders and prominent politicians.

3d ago

Patriarchs: Jefferson, Adams, and the Moral Reckoning to Found a Nation

From the producers of The Jim Wallis Podcast, here is Patriarchs — a six-part audio drama about the most consequential friendship in American history, the one between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. As we emerge from the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Patriarchs invites listeners into the founding era with dramatic force, historical depth, and moral honesty, asking not only how America began, but who paid the price and what kind of republic it became. Written by award-winning playwright Jim McGrath and featuring Stacy Keach as Thomas Jefferson and Edward Gero as John Adams, the series opens in Philadelphia in 1776 and concludes on Independence Day in 1826. Every scene is drawn from real letters, speeches, and memoirs, bringing to life the friendship, rivalry, animosity, and reconciliation that shaped the early United States. Along the way, Patriarchs also gives voice to Abigail Adams, whose letters cut through ego and ideology, and centers Sally Hemings not as rumor but as a speaking, thinking presence whose life illuminates the brutal realities of slavery and sexual exploitation in the founding generation. This is history as drama, but it is also history as reckoning. Listen and subscribe to Patriarchs on your favorite podcast apps: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/patriarchs/id1896832143 https://open.spotify.com/show/033o4ZbOWxJjM3yHZ8cuBV https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1e3165a6-b42f-471a-b5c6-ede68b01dcbf/patriarchs Please subscribe, rate, and review Patriarchs on your favorite podcast app so more listeners can discover the series and join the conversation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

30 min
Jul 2

Eddie Glaude on America’s Divided Soul and the 250th Anniversary

Jim Wallis speaks with Princeton professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author America, America: A New History of the New World, about the 250th anniversary of the United States and the nation’s ongoing struggle with race, democracy, memory, and truth. Glaude argues that America has a “divided soul,” torn between its ideals and the reality of white supremacy, and that July 4th can only become meaningful if the country tells the truth about slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, immigration, and the long backlash against multiracial democracy. The conversation also asks what faith, prophetic imagination, and “blues-soaked hope” require now, especially in a time of authoritarian politics, white Christian nationalism, and attacks on voting rights, immigrants, and the truth itself. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

51 min
Jun 25

Obama Presidential Center, Faith, and the Future of Democracy

On this episode of the Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim Wallis speaks with Melissa Rogers, former executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships under President Obama, about the opening of the Obama Presidential Center and what it means for moral values, leadership, hope, democracy, and faith in public life. Rogers describes the Center as a living work, not simply a museum, one that highlights dignity, empathy, bridge-building, religious freedom, and the importance of bringing people together across differences. The conversation also connects Obama’s legacy to current challenges, asking how courage, love, conscience, and the refusal to weaponize religion can guide the country forward. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

56 min
Jun 18

NBA Coach Ron Adams on Sports, Unity, and the Moral Meaning of Competition

Jim Wallis talks with Ron Adams, longtime NBA coach for the Golden State Warriors, about how sports can unite or divide us in a polarized culture. Their conversation begins with the emotional power of the Knicks’ championship run and then moves into deeper biblical and ethical questions about community, identity, humility, sacrifice, and hope. Ron Adams reflects on what makes teams truly connected, why great players still need one another, how sports teach acceptance of the neighbor, and why character matters as much as talent. The episode also explores the role of athletes in public life, the moral responsibility of fans and leaders, and how sports can either become a spectacle of aggression or a witness to the common good. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

40 min
Jun 4

David Beckmann on Poverty Abolition, Faith, and the Trump Backlash

On this episode of the Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim Wallis talks with David Beckmann, longtime anti-poverty leader, former president of Bread for the World, and author of Poverty Abolitionists, about why poverty is solvable, how faith communities can help end it, and why the Trump administration has created a major setback for low-income people in the U.S. and around the world. Beckmann argues that progress against poverty is possible through political action, legislative advocacy, charitable work, cross-partisan cooperation, and a deeper theology of a forgiving God. He also explains how cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, foreign aid, and USAID are already hurting children, families, and vulnerable communities, and why Christians should treat poverty as a moral and political emergency. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

49 min
May 28

The Urgency of Now: A Pentacostal Reflection

In this special re-release from Soul of a Nation, Jim Wallis shares a powerful address delivered at Villanova University on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, reflecting on King’s vision of the Beloved Community and the urgent work of crossing the lines that divide us. With stories from his own upbringing in Detroit and a call to confront racism as both a personal and structural reality, Wallis argues that faith must move beyond private belief into public witness. Released in the season of Pentecost, this message takes on renewed meaning. Pentecost is the story of a Spirit that breaks through fear, language, and division, calling people into a wider community shaped by courage, truth, and justice; Wallis’s speech echoes that same call to build relationships across barriers and to imagine a multiracial democracy rooted in love. As Wallis reminds us, the work is difficult, but not impossible. In a time of polarization and rising extremism, this episode invites listeners to consider what it means to be Spirit-led now—and how faith communities can help lead the way toward repair, redemption, and the common good. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

36 min
May 21

Mark Labberton on Christ Alone, Neighbor Love, and Rededicate 250

On this episode of the Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim Wallis speaks with Mark Labberton, pastor, theologian, and author of The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor, about what it means for Christians to say Christ Alone in a time of political pressure, Christian nationalism, and public religion. Recorded on the eve of Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, the conversation asks whether public rededication language reflects the teachings of Jesus or drifts into civil religion, false loyalty, and the temptation to bless the nation without naming its failures. Jim and Mark also discuss: Why loving your neighbor is costly, Why evangelical Christians should resist tribalism and worship of nation or party, and Why the church must become a “communion of unlike people” if it is to remain faithful to the gospel. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

57 min
May 14

Aaron Graham on Ascension Day, the Great Commission, and Unshakable Faith

On this episode of the Jim Wallis Podcast, Jim Wallis talks with Aaron Graham, pastor of The District Church and author of Unshakable Faith, on Ascension Day about what Jesus’ ascension means, why the Great Commission is not just about conversion but discipleship, and how Christians can live with courage, humility, and public faithfulness. Jim and Aaron also discuss how the church can become a “school of formation,” why faith is personal but never private, and how believers can resist cultural drift, selective scripture, and the temptation to make Christianity comfortable rather than costly. The conversation closes with a prayer for listeners to find strength, hope, and the boldness to act in this moment. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

42 min

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4.8

out of 5

137 Ratings

My port in the storm

03/28/2025

jack’sjillie

Thank you, Jim, for yet another thought-provoking conversation with the ever wise and inspiring Dahlia Lithwick. I admit to being more than “a little bit afraid” in this moment of peril for our democracy. But for the sake of my grandchildren - and in memory of my family (Japanese-American citizens and their immigrant parents) interned by our government during WWII - I am “inching out of my safe space” to speak up and speak out against the tyranny and lawlessness attempting to destroy our democracy today. America is far from perfect. But we can and WILL do better than this.
Exactly what I needed!

10/10/2024

Rebecca Kingston

I recently found this podcast and am so happy I did. The content is so hopeful and encouraging at this precarious time. I have been sharing it with many people I know. I wish more of our church leaders would speak about living as Jesus calls us to in the beatitudes ❤️
Inspired, Revealing, Much Needed

09/12/2024

ForeverHis@23

Jim Wallis on “The Soul of a Nation” interviews fine leaders like Rep. Jim Clyburn, covering topics of great relevance and importance to America and the proper expression of following Jesus. To reflect God and help this nation move forward, the horror of white supremacist racism must be addressed and put away. White American Christians especially must speak out against the evils of racism and white supremacy, both in U.S. history and today. Jim Wallis is at the forefront of that battle against systemic racism.
Restores my sanity

06/26/2022

ClouisePK

….and helps to show me a way that Christianity can be a beacon for change rather than a tool for promoting white supremacy.

The Jim Wallis Podcast explains how our faith should inform our politics, and not the other way around. Each episode, Wallis, a prominent Christian ethicist and social justice advocate, host conversations about faith and justice with activists, authors, scholars, spiritual leaders and prominent politicians.