Callings

Well before vocation and calling developed their current popularity, Parker Palmer was recognized as one of the foremost scholars, authors, and speakers on the topic. In this conversation, he shares …

Norman Wirzba’s research, writing, and teaching explore the overlap between theology and ecology, working to address major environmental issues such as climate crisis and food insecurity. In this con…

This bonus episode features highlights from conversations that aired during the third season of Callings. In these clips, our guests offer advice for today's students and for anyone who teaches or me…

Rainn Wilson—best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the sitcom The Office—is an actor, comedian, and the author of the recently published Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. While sh…

Richard Sévère shares his approach to mentoring, friendship, and vocation in this episode, drawing in part from his work with first-generation students and students from the Black diaspora. As a prof…

Part of our call as educators is to prepare students for a dynamic and complicated world. Paul Hanstedt helps us understand how vocation and pedagogy intersect. He is author of Creating Wicked Studen…

Ever since the publication of her New York Times bestselling book, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (2020), Kristin Kobes Du Mez has been in the m…

How does experience with trauma inform, and transform, our vocations? Our guest, Deanna Thompson, helps us understand how suffering shapes us and how our vocational frameworks might integrate sadness…

Meghan Sullivan teaches philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, where she also directs a program on God and the Good Life. Meghan’s newest book, co-authored with Paul Blaschko, is titled The Good…

Rowan Williams is a professor, public theologian, author, poet, and one of the most recognized Christian leaders of our era. Most notably, from 2002 to 2012, he served as the 104th Archbishop of Cant…

Shaun Casey’s work explores the overlapping concerns among religion, diplomacy, and public life. Trained as a theologian with an interest in public policy, Shaun held many academic positions before h…

Meghan Slining, an epidemiologist and public health professor, shares how we might model compassion and love as we address burnout and support vocations that serve the public good. After five semeste…

This bonus episode features highlights from conversations that aired during the second season of Callings. Our guests offer advice for students today, but the advice is also helpful for anyone who te…

Jon Malesic explores the gap between the ideals and reality of work in his new book, The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives. In our conversation, Jon shares how we can i…

How might literary studies expand our understanding of vocation? In this episode we hear from two English professors who have explored this question in depth. Stephanie Johnson (The College of St. Sc…

Richard Hughes—whose scholarship ranges across religious history, vocation, and the role of race in American religious culture—joins us for a conversation about some “troublesome questions” that have…

In this interview, Tim Clydesdale talks about living intentionally—and about what it means to serve through one’s vocation. Building on his influential book The Purposeful Graduate and his subsequent…