For the Life of the World / Yale Center for Faith & Culture Podcast Por Miroslav Volf Matthew Croasmun Ryan McAnnally-Linz Drew Collins Evan Rosa Macie Bridge arte de portada

For the Life of the World / Yale Center for Faith & Culture

For the Life of the World / Yale Center for Faith & Culture

De: Miroslav Volf Matthew Croasmun Ryan McAnnally-Linz Drew Collins Evan Rosa Macie Bridge
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Seeking and living a life worthy of our humanity. Theological insight, cultural analysis, and practical guidance for personal and communal flourishing. Brought to you by the Yale Center for Faith & Culture.2020-2028 Yale Center for Faith & Culture Ciencias Sociales Cristianismo Espiritualidad Filosofía Ministerio y Evangelismo
Episodios
  • Dying Alone: Terminal Loneliness, Modern Medicine, and Contemplative Solitude / Lydia Dugdale (SOLO Part 5)

    Dying Alone: Terminal Loneliness, Modern Medicine, and Contemplative Solitude / Lydia Dugdale (SOLO Part 5)
    Nov 12 2025
    Living alone may be difficult, but what about dying alone? Physicians and nurses are the new priests accompanying people as they face death. But the experience of nursing homes, assisted living, and palliative wards are often some of the loneliest spaces in human culture.“He said, ‘Someone finally saw me. I’ve been in this hospital for 20 years and I didn’t think anyone ever saw me.’”This episode is part 5 of a series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone.In this episode, Columbia physician and medical ethicist Lydia Dugdale joins Macie Bridge to reflect on loneliness, solitude, and what it means to die—and live—well. Drawing from her clinical work in New York City and the years of research and experience that went into her book The Lost Art of Dying, Dugdale exposes a crisis of unrepresented patients dying alone, the loss of communal care, and medicine’s discomfort with mortality.She recalls the medieval Ars Moriendi tradition, where dying was intentionally communal, and explores how virtue and community sustain a good death. Together they discuss solitude as restorative rather than fearful, loneliness as a modern epidemic, and the sacred responsibility of seeing one another deeply. With stories from her patients and her own reflections on family, COVID isolation, and faith, Dugdale illuminates how medicine, mortality, and moral imagination converge on one truth: to die well, we must learn to live well … together.Helpful Links and ResourcesThe Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by Lydia S. DugdalePew Research Center Study on Loneliness (2025)Harvard Study of Adult Development on LonelinessEpisode Highlights“If you want to die well, you have to live well.”“Community doesn’t appear out of nowhere at the bedside.”“He said, ‘Someone finally saw me. I’ve been in this hospital for 20 years and I didn’t think anyone ever saw me.’”“We are social creatures. Human beings are meant to be in relationship.”“Solitude, just like rest or Sabbath, is something all of us need.”About Lydia DugdaleLydia S. Dugdale, MD, MAR is a physician and medical ethicist at Columbia University, where she serves as Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. She is the author of The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom and a leading voice on virtue ethics, mortality, and human flourishing in medicine.Show NotesLoneliness, Solitude, and the CityNew York’s “unrepresented” patients—those who have no one to make decisions for them.The phenomenon of people “surrounded but unseen” in urban life.“I have a loving family … but I never see them.”Medicine and the PandemicLoneliness intensified during COVID-19: patients dying alone under strict hospital restrictions.Dugdale’s reflections on balancing social responsibility with human connection.“We are social creatures. Human beings are meant to be in relationship.”Technology, Fear, and the Online Shadow CommunityPost-pandemic isolation worsened by online echo chambers.One in five adults reports loneliness—back to pre-pandemic levels.The Lost Art of DyingMedieval Ars Moriendi: learning to die well by living well.Virtue and community as the foundation for a good death.“If you don’t want to die an impatient, bitter, despairing old fool, then you need to practice hope and patience and joy.”Modern Medicine’s Fear of DeathPhysicians unpracticed—and afraid—to talk about mortality.“Doctors themselves are afraid to talk about death.”How palliative care both helps and distances doctors from mortality.Community and MortalityThe man who reconnected with his estranged children after reading The Lost Art of Dying.“He said, ‘I want my kids there when I die.’”Living well so that dying isn’t lonely.Programs of Connection and the Body of ChristVolunteer models, day programs, and mutual care as small restorations of community.“The more we commit to others, the more others commit back to us.”Solitude and the Human SpiritDistinguishing solitude, loneliness, and social isolation.Solitude as restorative and necessary: “All of us need solitude. It’s a kind of rest.”The contemplative life as vital for engagement with the world.Death, Autonomy, and CommunityThe limits of “my death, my choice.”The communal role in death: “We should have folks at our deathbeds.”Medieval parish customs of accompanying the dying.Seeing and Being SeenA patient long thought impossible to care for says, “Someone finally saw me.”Seeing others deeply as moral and spiritual work.“How can we see each other and connect in a meaningful way?”Production NotesThis podcast featured Lydia DugdaleInterview by Macie BridgeEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Hope ChunA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale ...
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    48 m
  • Women Alone with God: Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women / Hetta Howes (SOLO Part 4)

    Women Alone with God: Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women / Hetta Howes (SOLO Part 4)
    Nov 5 2025
    What is the role of solitude in Christian history? Medievalist Hetta Howes comments on the allure of enclosure, how seeking solitude supports community, and what these ancient lives reveal about our modern search for connection.“Even those moments of solitude that she’s carving for herself are surprisingly sociable.”This episode is part 1 of a 5-part series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone.Medieval Anchoresses and Women Mystics sought a life of solitude with and for God—what about their vocation might illuminate our perspectives on loneliness, isolation, and solitude today?In this episode, Hetta Howes joins Macie Bridge to explore the extraordinary lives of medieval women mystics, including Julian of Norwich and Marjorie Kempee. Drawing from her book Poet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women, Howes illuminates how these women lived in literal and spiritual solitude—sometimes sealed in stone anchorages, sometimes carving sacred space in the midst of family and community. Together they consider the physical and spiritual demands of enclosure, the sociable windows of anchorages, and the simultaneous human longing for both solitude and companionship. Across the centuries, these women invite us to think anew about loneliness, vocation, and the need for community—even in devotion to God.Helpful Links and ResourcesPoet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women – Hetta HowesJulian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love (Penguin Classics)The Book of Margery Kempe (Oxford World’s Classics)Episode Highlights“An anchorage is a small cell, usually joined to a church… and the idea was that you would never leave that place alive again.”“Sometimes you do come across these things and you’re like, oh, maybe the cultural consciousness was so different that they had a different language for loneliness.”“Marjorie frames herself as a figure who is constantly looking for connection—sometimes finding it, but often being rejected in really painful ways.”“Even those moments of solitude that she’s carving for herself are surprisingly sociable.”“What I’ve learned from them is the importance of community—that even solitary professions absolutely rely on other people.”About Hetta HowesHetta Howes is a Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern Literature at City St. George’s, University of London. She specializes in the literature of the Middle Ages, with particular focus on medieval women writers, mysticism, and representations of gender and devotion. Her most recent book is Poet Mystic Widow Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women (2024).Show NotesSolitude and SanctityHowes introduces her research on medieval women mystics and writers (Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, Christine de Pizan, Marie de France).Exploration of the anchoritic life—cells built into church walls where women lived sealed from the world.The paradox of solitude: enclosure for God that still required connection for survival.The Anchorite’s WorldAnchorages included small windows—to the church, the street, and for food—balancing isolation with limited engagement.Guidebooks warned women against gossip and temptation, revealing anxiety about sociability and holiness.“Why have a window to the world if you’re not ever going to converse with it?”Loneliness and BoredomLoneliness rarely appears in medieval texts; boredom and idleness were greater concerns.“Boredom comes up as a concept much more often than loneliness.”Modern readers project our loneliness onto them; their silence might reveal difference, not absence.Julian and MarjorieJulian’s quiet solitude contrasts with Marjorie’s noisy, emotional piety.Marjorie Kempe’s “roarings” and unconventional piety challenged norms; she lived in the world but sought holiness.“I wish you were enclosed in a house of stone”—a critique of her refusal to conform.Solitude and CommunityEven in seclusion, anchorites served others—praying, advising, maintaining windows to the world.Julian’s writings reveal care for all Christians; her solitude was intercessory, not selfish.Howes connects medieval community to our modern digital and emotional isolation.Modern ReflectionsHowes parallels her own experience of digital overload and motherhood with the medieval longing for quiet focus.“As amazing as the digital can be, it’s eroding so much.”She cautions against idolizing solitude but affirms its value for clarity and grounding.Production NotesThis podcast featured Hetta HowesInterview by Macie BridgeEdited and Produced by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Hope ChunA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give
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    50 m
  • Lonely Tech: AI, Isolation, Solitude, and Grace / Felicia Wu Song (SOLO Part 3)

    Lonely Tech: AI, Isolation, Solitude, and Grace / Felicia Wu Song (SOLO Part 3)
    Oct 29 2025
    Is technology the source or salve of social isolation? Given the realities of increasing division, the epidemic of loneliness, and unwanted isolation today, how should we think about the theological, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of the human experience of aloneness?“AI technologies aren’t capable of creating conditions in which grace can happen—it’s endemic to personhood.”This episode is part 3 of a 5-part series, SOLO, which explores the theological, moral, and psychological dimensions of loneliness, solitude, and being alone.In this episode, sociologist Felicia Wu Song joins Macie Bridge to discuss the sociology of solitude, loneliness, and isolation, framed by today’s most pressing technological challenges.Drawing from her work on digital culture and AI, Song distinguishes between isolation, loneliness, and generative solitude—what she calls “positive aloneness.” She explores how technology both connects and disconnects us, what’s lost when care becomes automated, and why the human face-to-face encounter remains vital for grace and dignity. Together they consider the allure of AI companionship, the “better-than-nothing” argument, and the church’s local, embodied role in a digitized age. Song invites listeners to rediscover curiosity, self-reflection, and the spiritual discipline of solitude as essential practices for recovering our humanity amid the noise of the crowd.Helpful Links and ResourcesFelicia Wu Song, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age — https://www.ivpress.com/restless-devicesAllison Pugh, The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World — https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691240817/the-last-human-jobDavid Whyte, “Solace: The Art of Asking the Beautiful Question” — https://www.amazon.com/Solace-Art-Asking-Beautiful-Question/dp/1932887377Sherry Turkle, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other — https://www.sherryturkle.com/alone-togetherEpisode Highlights“Even though I study technology, I’m really interested in what it means to be human.”“What happens when we have technologies that always bring the crowd? The crowd is always with us all the time.”“Loneliness is the gap between what I think I should have and what I actually have.”“AI technologies aren’t capable of creating conditions in which grace can happen—it’s endemic to personhood.”“We should cut ourselves a lot of slack. Feeling lonely is very human. It doesn’t mean something’s wrong with me.”About Felicia Wu SongFelicia Wu Song is a sociologist, writer, and speaker, and was Professor of Sociology at Westmont College for many years. She is author of Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age. Her research examines digital technology, culture, and Christian formation, exploring how contemporary media ecosystems shape our social and spiritual lives. Learn more about her work at https://feliciawusong.com/Show NotesTechnology, Humanity, and SolitudeSong describes her sociological work at the intersection of culture, technology, and spirituality.She reflects on how technology reshapes our sense of identity, community, and human meaning.“Even though I study technology, I’m really interested in what it means to be human.”The question of loneliness emerges from the expectation of constant accessibility and permanent connection.The Crowd Is Always With Us“What happens when we have technologies that always bring the crowd?”Song critiques how digital connectivity erases silence and solitude, making stillness feel uncomfortable.Explores the challenge of practicing ancient spiritual disciplines like silence in the digital age.Connection and DisconnectionSong traces the historical celebration of communication technology’s power to transcend time and space.Notes the danger of normalizing constant connectivity: “If you can do it, you should do it.”Examines how connection can become a cultural norm that stigmatizes solitude.Defining Loneliness, Isolation, and Solitude“Social isolation is objective; loneliness is subjective; solitude is generative.”Distinguishes “positive aloneness” as a space for self-conversation and divine encounter.References David Whyte and the Desert Fathers and Mothers as guides to solitude.Youth, Boredom, and the Portal of LonelinessDiscusses the value of “episodic loneliness” as a portal to self-discovery and spiritual growth.Connects solitude to creativity and reflection through the “boredom literature.”AI, Care, and the Better-Than-Nothing ArgumentExamines the emergence of AI chatbots and companionship tools.Engages Allison Pugh’s critique of “the better-than-nothing argument.”“It sounds altruistic, but it actually leads to deeper and deeper inequality.”Raises justice and resource questions around replacing human teachers and therapists with chatbots.The Limits of...
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    51 m
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