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A new podcast wants to form minds and hearts

Catholics need help to navigate the political arena. That’s the goal of a new podcast, “Catholic in America,” produced in partnership with OSV News, which explores the intersection of faith and politics.

Hosted by Jason Adkins, the executive director for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the podcast features long-form interviews with experts and professionals from various backgrounds.

Through these conversations, Adkins hopes that listeners will come to realize the importance of integrating the Catholic faith with all aspects of life, particularly politics.

“It seems like there’s a million podcasts and everyone’s doing one these days, but I think there is a need to integrate our faith into everyday life — and politics is part of everyday life,” Adkins told Our Sunday Visitor.

“Society is using faith as merely a means of therapy. But what we’re called to do is live the reality of the kingdom of God in every aspect of society’s life, including politics,” Adkins said.

Principled, not partisan

Through the podcast, Adkins is not trying to provide political commentary; rather, he hopes to help inform Catholic’s about pertinent topics.

“The point of the podcast is to discuss how we as Catholics and citizens of the United States are called to be faithful citizens,” Adkins said. “We want to form the conscience of each listener and inform them about the issues that Catholics need to know about so they can go out and transform every aspect of society.”

Nor is the podcast trying to sway listeners’ votes or opinions; rather, it is simply attempting to bring issues to light in a non-partisan manner that holds Catholic teaching above all else.

“We try to be principled, not partisan; we try to bring light and not heat,” Adkins said. “There are some people who become too interested in politics when they read the news. Our Catholic faith needs to be the bedrock around which we build our political action.”

Already, Adkins has had some powerful conversations with highly-acclaimed thinkers on issues ranging from affordable health care to marriage and family life.

“The podcast features long-form interviews with really substantive thinkers discussing timely topics,” Adkins said. “We started with three episodes on healthcare and the missionary imperative of Catholic healthcare, and now we’re doing a series on marriage and family, both from a cultural angle and a faith angle.”

Called to participate

To cultivate these conversations, Adkins adopts a threefold approach: invite good guests, ask stimulating questions and allow the guest to shine.

“This is not the Jason Adkins show,” Adkins said. “My role is to identify timely issues, invite good guests, ask them really strong questions and then get out of the way.

“What I enjoy most is talking to some incredible people and having substantive conversations about very timely issues.”

Adkins hopes that the podcast will inspire people to participate in their local communities and engage in politics at a local level.

“One of the themes of Catholic social teaching is a call to participate in public and community life,” Adkins said. “We participate in community because community is ultimately the sharing of gifts. Building a healthy community requires everyone’s participation, because we all have unique individual gifts.”

Listeners, Adkins hopes, will be better equipped to address controversial issues within their community and understand their call to participate in local communities.

“Hopefully, by forming the conscience, providing a toolbox of the principles of Catholic social teaching and informing people about the issues, (listeners) will be more equipped to transform their places of work, their homes and their local communities and share the beauty of the Church.”