Another Life with Joy Marie Clarkson
How can we live well together? What gives life purpose? How do technology, education, faith, capitalism, work, family change the way we live? Is another life possible? Plough editor Joy Marie Clarkson digs deeper into perspectives from a wide variety of writers and thinkers appearing in the pages of Plough.
Episodes
A Path Forward for Palestinians and Israelis with Maya Savir and Aziz Abu Sarah
Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli Maya Savir chart a hopeful course for their country, and celebrate Maya’s new book On Reconciliation.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Who Were Harold Cruse and Howard Thurman? with Vincent W. Lloyd
Vincent W. Lloyd is on the podcast to discuss two towering figures of twentieth-century black intellectual life.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Read transcript.
The Lessons and Warnings of the Azusa Street Revival with Keri Day
Keri Day and Joy Marie Clarkson discuss a fascinating and truly Pentecost-like event – the Azusa Street Revival of the early twentieth century.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Read transcript.
Why Baseball Is the Most Sublime of Sports with David Bentley Hart
On the latest episode of Another Life podcast, David Bentley Hart convinces Joy of the transcendent beauty of baseball.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Read transcript.
Growing Roots in Appalachia with Amanda Held Opelt
A conversation that covers returning to Appalachia, the Scopes Monkey Trial, leather britches, shucky beans, and blue ghost fireflies.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Read transcript.
The Fountain of Youth, The Godfather, and Lana Del Rey with Santiago Ramos
Two Plough editors discuss a roadtrip to America’s forgotten first settlement, who is America’s Homer, and much more.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Read transcript.
What Makes America Great? with Ken Burns
For all its flaws, there’s something exceptional about the United States of America. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns joins Joy Marie Clarkson on the Another Life podcast.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Existential Gratitude with King-Ho Leung
There’s something about the experience of being in the world that evokes wonder. Listen to Joy Marie Clarkson’s conversation with King-Ho Leung.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Life on the Edge of Catastrophe with Katja Hoyer
Katja Hoyer, a German historian discusses her new book on Weimar and how the Communists stifled religion.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Faith in China with Easten Law
In the latest episode of Another Life, Dr. Easten Law sheds light on the complexities of faith in contemporary China.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
All Shall Be Well with Karen Kilby
In the latest episode of Another Life, Karen Kilby and Joy Clarkson discuss how should Christians should respond to a declining church.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
An Artist Reinterprets Classic Nature Poems with Julian Peters
Julian Peters, the comic artist behind Plough’s new anthology of nature poems, talks to Joy Clarkson. Read transcript here.
Get Nature Poems to See By.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
A Season of Unveiling with Norann Voll
Norann Voll and Joy Marie Clarkson discuss how they are observing Lent and a book of Lenten and Easter devotions that you shouldn’t miss.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
On Beauty and Justice with Makoto Fujimura and Haejin Fujimura
Makoto Fujimura, Haejin Fujimura and Joy Marie Clarkson discuss how art can serve as a means of envisioning a just future.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
In Defense of Iconoclasm with Natalie Carnes
In this episode of Another Life, Joy Clarkson speaks with Natalie Carnes, a professor of theology at Duke University, about the role of images in worship.
Read the transcript.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Unexpected Beauty with Brandon Vaidyanathan
Brandon Vaidyanathan: I discovered beauty through betrayal by my girlfriend, studying business, and my mother's mental illness.
Read the transcript.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
How Does Scripture Talk About Beauty? with Ben Quash
In a new season of the Another Life podcast, Joy Marie Clarkson and
Ben Quash look at beauty in the Old and New Testaments.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Bonus episode: Paul Kingsnorth gives a talk called “Six Ways to Resist the Machine”
In his new book *Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity*, English writer Paul Kingsnorth argues that forces of economic globalization have treated people as means not ends, leading to homogenized culture and widespread nihilism. With the force of this “machine” sucking us in, how can we remain human? How can we fend off despair and cynicism when it threatens to crush our very soul? Is an
Humans Aren’t the Only Pebble on the Cosmic Beach with Alison Milbank
Joy Marie Clarkson and Alison Milbank discuss the importance of angels and why parishes are good.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
When You Believe in a Living God with Sarah Killam Crosby and Benjamin Crosby
Sarah Killam Crosby, Benjamin Crosby, and Joy Marie Clarkson discuss what happens to your life, church, and marriage when you actually believe in the Holy Spirit.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
The Collective Burden of War with Phil Klay
US Marines veteran Phil Klay talks to Joy Clarkson about going to war, honor, penance, and the burden we should all share.
Read transcript here.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Why Are People Returning to Church? with Andrew Davison
We are seeing an unexpected resurgence of openness to God and spiritual matters, and an uptick in religious participation. What’s behind it?
Read the transcript.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and action. Subscribe at our introductory rate to learn how another life is possible.
Introducing Another Life Podcast
To live in better we have to begin with the conviction that another life is possible. That is what this podcast aims to explore.
In today's inaugural episode, Joy interviews Plough Editor-in-chief Peter Mommsen, and senior editor Maureen Swinger and her husband, Jason.
Read the transcript.
This podcast is from Plough Quarterly, a magazine of stories, ideas, and culture to inspire faith and a
In Defense of Pint and Pipe by Malcolm Guite
Smoking and drinking carry known risks. Here’s why I haven’t given them up.
Against Self-Optimization by David Zahl
The wellness industry sells you a version of yourself it can’t deliver. Hope lies elsewhere.
The Exploitation of Immigrant Care Workers by Hazel Thompson
Hidden in plain sight, foreign health aides in UK care homes face exploitation.
What My First Psychiatric Patient Taught Me by Abraham M. Nussbaum
Sharon could hardly leave the house. She showed me the wonder and limits of therapy.
Abraham’s Warring Children by Kelsey Osgood
After October 7, can a Muslim-Christian-Jewish center in Abu Dhabi make any difference?
What Families with Autistic Children Know by Sam Tomlin
For parents of neurodiverse children, church and school can be another hurdle.
Chronically Healthy, Chronically Ill by Aberdeen Livingstone
Living with a chronic illness, I’ve traveled between the kingdom of health and the kingdom of sickness.
The Faces of the Bhopal Disaster by Cristiano Denanni
Forty years after history’s worst industrial accident, survivors still live in its shadow.
The Return of the Family Doctor by Brewer Eberly
The direct primary care model aims to put relationships over profit.
Desire, Use, Repeat by James Mumford
An addict looks for a way out.
A Disabled Savior by Devan Stahl
The wounds of a resurrected God help us live with ours.
In Deep Water off Antarctica by Jessica T. Miskelly
On an icebreaker off the coast of Antarctica, I felt a warming planet’s pulse.
What Is Health? by Peter Mommsen
My grandfather’s best summer was the one he spent dying.
Following the Clues of the Universe by Alister McGrath
Can Sherlock Holmes help us find meaning in life? Detective stories and murder mysteries hint at how to make sense of our world.
Passing On the Farm to My Daughter by James Rebanks
A record-breaking bull showed that my seventeen-year-old is ready to start taking my place.
Warehouse Workers of Paris Find Their Voice by Benoît Gautier
In de-industrializing France, a shuttle bus is workers’ last link to stability.
Stanley Hauerwas’s Provocations by Tish Harrison Warren
America’s theologian isn’t worried about the death of cultural Christianity.
Building Solidarity in Europe’s Gig Economy by Ben Wray
Food-delivery bike riders in London, Berlin, and Copenhagen are pushing back against their algorithmic bosses.
In the Holy Land, Seeking the Solace of the Cross by Stephanie Saldaña
In a year wracked by violence, I remember the crucifixion to find comfort.
The Quest to Emancipate Labor by Peter Mommsen
Why do we work? The dream of a truly human economy spans millennia, from Genesis to Marx to Martin Luther King.
Deerassic Park by Tim Maendel
A high-school science teacher and his students practice conservation in the woods and ponds of upstate New York.
Sister Penelope in Expectation by Grace Hamman
The mysterious friend of C. S. Lewis teaches how to know and be known in Christ.
Should I Read Scary Fairy Tales to My Child? by Stephanie Ebert
My kids already know the world is not safe. Will dragons and goblins make it worse?
Teaching the One Percent by Dhananjay Jagannathan
Dhananjay Jagannathan defends the spiritual worth of liberal education at Columbia University.
Jesus Changes Everything: An Afternoon with Stanley Hauerwas
For decades, Stanley Hauerwas has been provoking Christians with his insistence that if they would only follow their Master, it would impact all areas of life, from the personal to the societal. In his new book, *Jesus Changes Everything*, his timely and prophetic voice speaks to another generation of followers of Jesus tired of religion as usual.
On March 4, 2025, Stanley Hauerwas, Brian Zahnd,
Tell an Old Story for Modern Times by Lisabeth Button
A Bruderhof teacher applies lessons from her mentors and Homer in her classroom and beyond.
Why We’re Failing to Pass on Christianity by Benjamin Crosby
How do you teach Christian basics to those who think they know all about it?
The School that Escaped to the Alps by Marianne Wright
Faced with a Nazi takeover, the first Bruderhof school took refuge in Liechtenstein.
Does Teaching Literature and Writing Have a Future? by Phil Christman
Learning that one’s job might soon be eliminated by the emergence of an overhyped new technology puts one in good company.
Why I Became a Firefighter by Brit Frazier
A priest joins her local volunteer fire department.
Schools for Philosopher-Carpenters by Alex Sosler
A new crop of innovative schools encourages all students to use their minds and their hands.
Educating for Freedom by Peter Mommsen
Peter Mommsen asks whether our society has lost sight of how to raise young humans.
The PloughRead: An Exodus From China by Pan Yongguang
Pan Youngguang describes how his persecuted house church chooses to flee together as a community.
The PloughRead: Paraguayans Don’t Read by Santiago Ramos
Santiago Ramos points out that in a dictatorship, literature nurtures freedom. In a democracy, does it matter?
The PloughRead: The Busted Bean by Maureen Swinger
Maureen Swinger describes an old school bus’s transformation into a space for coffee and camaraderie.
The PloughRead: Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
The PloughRead: Encounters at the Southern Border by Robert Donnelly
Robert Donnelly meets the migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
The PloughRead: Jakob Hutter, Radical Reformer by Emmy Barth Maendel
Emmy Barth Maendel describes how, in just three short years, a sixteenth-century martyr founded a church that has endured to this day.
The PloughRead: The Bible’s Story of Freedom by Heinrich Arnold
Heinrich Arnold describes how scripture tells an unfinished history of liberation.
The PloughRead: Form and Freedom by Joy Marie Clarkson
Visual artist Hannah Rose Thomas, architect Charles Howell, and poet Malcolm Guite celebrate the freedom of coloring within the lines.
The PloughRead: Taking Lifelong Vows by Dori Moody
Dori Moody describes how poverty, chastity, and obedience bring a different kind of freedom.
The PloughRead: The Body She Had by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
Rosemarie Garland Thomson asks why parents are not spared the terrible freedom of having to choose whether to have a child with a disability.
The PloughRead: Recovering from Heroin and Fiction by Jordan Castro
Jordan Castro describes how he sought freedom in drugs and novels, but they couldn't save him.
The PloughRead: Become Slaves to One Another by John M. G. Barclay
John M.G. Barclay explores how Paul's letters probe the paradox of freedom through love.
The PloughRead: The Workers and the Church by Sohrab Ahmari
Sohrab Ahmari asks what happened to the Christian tradition of supporting workers' rights?
The PloughRead: A Lion in Phnom Penh by J. Daniel Sims
J. Daniel Sims, an insider, reckons with complicity and compromise in Cambodia’s aid industry.
The PloughRead: The Autonomy Trap by James R. Wood
James Wood tells his conversion story and asks: Is commitment just for suckers?
The PloughRead: In Defiance of All Powers by Peter Mommsen
Peter Mommsen asks what's the point of freedom?
The PloughRead: Tech Cities of the Bible by Alastair Roberts
Alastair Roberts describes how our struggle with technology starts in Genesis.
The PloughRead: Will There Be an AI Apocalypse? by Peter Berkman
Matthew Loftus reminds Western donors not to send junk to his Kenyan hospital while stressing that they do depend on Western excess.
The PloughRead: Toward a Gift Economy by Simon Oliver
Simon Oliver argues that some goods and services have value beyond their market price.
The PloughRead: Computers Can’t Do Math by David Schaengold
David Schaengold argues that computers can’t do math and the human mind is a marvel that no machine has matched.
The PloughRead: Give Me a Place by Brian Miller
Brian Miller, an East Tennessee farmer, praises a simple piece of technology.
The PloughRead: The Artificial Pancreas by Peter Mommsen
Peter Mommsen asks how we can live well with technology?
The PloughRead: ChatGPT Goes to Church by Arlie Coles
Arlie Coles asks if large language models should write sermons and prayers.
The PloughRead: Taming Tech in Community by Andrew Zimmerman
Andrew Zimmerman tells how the Bruderhof community tries to be intentional about personal technology.
The PloughRead: Send Us Your Surplus by Matthew Loftus
Matthew Loftus reminds Western donors not to send junk to his Kenyan hospital while stressing that they do depend on Western excess.
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