Best Interpreter Magazine Podcasts (2025)

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Nominations with the Synod Secretary 59:49

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1h ago59:49

59:49

In this episode of the Lutheran Witness podcast, we dive deep into nominations for offices, boards and commissions of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The Rev. Dr. John Sias, LCMS Secretary, discusses why the Synod needs nominations, who to nominate, the types of roles these nominees fill and much more. To learn more about the nomination process…

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Jeff Tweedy on His New Triple Album, “Twilight Override” 28:27

3d ago28:27

28:27

Jeff Tweedy is best known as the front man of Wilco, the rock band he formed in Chicago in 1994. In recent years, he’s been working more often as a solo artist, putting out records under his own name as well as a memoir and essays on songwriting. Amanda Petrusich sat down with the singer-songwriter to talk about “Twilight Override,” which comes out…

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Episode #37: Conversation with Blackie, Malayan Sun Bear: Part 1 31:16

1d ago31:16

31:16

Send us a text Loli Jane, an Animal Communicator, and Pranic Healer, shares an incredible deep conversation with a rescued Malayan Sun Bear, named Blackie, living at the Honolulu Zoo. Blackie shares his deepest thoughts, his soul purpose and his Messages for Humanity. Loli Jane is a professional, international animal communicator, energy healer, sp…

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Anna Wintour Embraces a New Era at Vogue 39:30

6d ago39:30

39:30

Speculation, analysis, and commentary circulated all summer, after the announcement, in June, that Anna Wintour would step back from her role as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue. This changing of the guard is uniquely fraught, because Wintour’s name has become nearly inextricable from the magazine, to a degree almost unknown today. And, as New…

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“Sacramental Shadows” LW Searching Scripture, September 2025: Exodus 13 & 14 29:14

7d ago29:14

29:14

Anyone who has studied the Third Commandment in confirmation class has encountered Colossians 2:16–17, which answers the question, “Why don’t Christians have to worship on Saturday (the Sabbath) as the Israelites did in the Old Testament?” St. Paul writes, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to …

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Fred Armisen on “100 Sound Effects” 18:11

9d ago18:11

18:11

The comedian Fred Armisen has a thing for sound. He’s a former punk musician and a master of accents, and he is now releasing a new album of sound effects. “I was lamenting that there aren’t sound-effects albums in our lives as much,” he tells Michael Schulman. “I feel like they just used to exist more or they were more present. . . . And instead o…

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Donald Trump’s War on Culture Is Not a Sideshow 31:56

13d ago31:56

31:56

The term “culture wars” is most often associated with issues of sexuality, race, religion, and gender. But, as recent months have made plain, when Donald Trump refers to the culture wars, he also means the arts. He fired the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Republicans want to rename for him. His Administration fir…

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How Extreme Heat Affects the Body 17:17

16d ago17:17

17:17

The Korey Stringer Institute, at the University of Connecticut, is named after an N.F.L. player who died of exertional heatstroke. The lab’s main research subjects have been athletes, members of the military, and laborers. But, with the extreme heat wrought by climate change, even mild exertion will put more and more of us in harm’s way; in many pa…

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How Big Tech Sets the Agenda in Trump’s America 32:43

20d ago32:43

32:43

Donald Trump is the most tech-friendly President in American history. He enlisted social media to win office; he became a promoter—and beneficiary—of cryptocurrency, breaking long-standing norms around conflicts of interest; and, in his second term, he brought Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest tech baron, to the White House, to disrupt the federal …

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A Palestinian Journalist Escapes Death in Gaza 26:43

24d ago26:43

26:43

Mohammed R. Mhawish was living in Gaza City during Israel’s invasion, in the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attack. He witnessed the invasion for months and reported on its devastating consequences for Al Jazeera, The Nation, and other outlets. After his home was targeted in an Israeli strike, which nearly killed him, he fled Gaza. In The N…

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Spike Lee and Denzel Washington on a Reunion Making “Highest 2 Lowest” 23:58

27d ago23:58

23:58

Spike Lee and Denzel Washington first worked together on “Mo’ Better Blues,” released in 1990. Washington starred as a trumpet player trying to make a living in jazz clubs; Lee, who directed the film, also played the musician’s hapless manager. They later worked together on “Malcolm X” and other films, but it has been nearly twenty years since thei…

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Richard Brody Picks Three Favorite Clint Eastwood Films 16:16

1M ago16:16

16:16

With seven decades in film and television, Clint Eastwood is undeniably a Hollywood institution. Emerging first as a star in Westerns, then as the embattled cop in the Dirty Harry films, the ninety-five-year-old filmmaker has directed forty features and appeared in more than sixty. The film critic Richard Brody just reviewed a new biography of East…

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Your Questions Answered: Trump vs. the Rule of Law 34:14

1M ago34:14

34:14

From the attempt to end birthright citizenship to the gutting of congressionally authorized agencies, the Trump Administration has created an enormous number of legal controversies. The Radio Hour asked for listeners’ questions about President Trump and the courts. To answer them, David Remnick speaks with two regular contributors: Ruth Marcus, who…

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Providing for Refugees in Germany 16:21

1M ago16:21

16:21

This edition of The Lutheran Witness podcast was recorded almost a year ago in Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. In this episode, we speak with Sandra, an American living in Germany and working with the members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. She discusses her life between Germany and the USA, and the great privilege and opportunity s…

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“Substitutes” LW Searching Scripture, August 2025: Genesis 17:15–21 and 22:1–18 27:22

1M ago27:22

27:22

In May, we studied Exodus 12:1–14, which introduced the idea of substitution: In order to escape the destroyer, who would kill the firstborn male of every family as a judgment on Egypt, an unblemished male lamb had to be killed and its blood sprinkled on the lintels and doorposts of Israelite houses. The Passover lamb was a substitute for the first…

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Jamaica Kincaid on “Putting Myself Together” 25:53

1M ago25:53

25:53

Jamaica Kincaid began writing for The New Yorker in 1974, reporting about life in the magazine’s home city. She was a young immigrant from Antigua, then a British colony; she had been sent to New York—against her wishes—to work as a nanny. Soon began a love affair with New York’s literary scene. “I had to change my name,” she tells David Remnick, “…

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Baptized into Christ: Sebastian’s Story 19:19

1M ago19:19

19:19

This edition of The Lutheran Witness podcast was recorded almost a year ago in Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. In it, we speak to Sebastian, who was baptized during our trip to Germany. In this podcast, he discusses the importance of dreams in Iranian culture, how he came to faith, and how the Lord is working through Trinity Lutheran Church, Berlin-Stegl…

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John Brennan, Former C.I.A. Director, on Being Targeted by Trump 26:49

1M ago26:49

26:49

In Donald Trump’s first term, he was furious that people were investigating his connections to Russia—“Russia, Russia, Russia,” he complained. Now, as Trump fulfills a campaign promise of retribution, his Administration has put the Russia “hoax” back into the headlines. They claim to have opened investigations into the former F.B.I. director James …

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Persians Find a New Home in Christ in Germany 31:44

1M ago31:44

31:44

In this podcast recorded almost a year ago, the Rev. Dr. Gottfried Martens, the Rev. Dr. David Preus and the Rev. Dr. Christian Tiews join the podcast to discuss the work at Trinity Lutheran Church, Berlin-Steglitz, Germany. This congregation of the Independent Evangelical — Lutheran Church (SELK) cares for Persian immigrants seeking asylum in Germ…

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Congregational Spotlight: Augustana Lutheran Church, Moscow, Idaho 26:44

1M ago26:44

26:44

The Walking Together column in The Lutheran Witness is a regular column that features congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. In this special edition of the LW podcast, we interview the Rev. Jonathon Krenz, pastor of Augustana. He talks about the struggles of starting a church plant without a physical building, and what it’s like being…

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Dexter Filkins on Drones and the Future of Warfare 21:47

1M ago21:47

21:47

Since the end of the Cold War, most Americans have taken U.S. military supremacy for granted. We can no longer afford to do so, according to reporting by the staff writer Dexter Filkins. China has developed advanced weapons that rival or surpass America’s; and at the same time, drone warfare has fundamentally changed calculations of the battlefield…

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Episode #36: Moving or Relocating with Animals 21:56

1M ago21:56

21:56

Send us a text Loli Jane, an Animal Communicator, and Pranic Healer, shares incredible tips to help ease your animal's anxiety when you have to move or relocate. Whether you are moving locally, to another state or even oversees. Loli teaches you how to may your pets and animals feel comfortable and at ease when moving. Loli Jane is a professional, …

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Mayor Karen Bass on Marines in Los Angeles 29:02

2M ago29:02

29:02

The city of Los Angeles has declared itself a sanctuary city, where local authorities do not share information with federal immigration enforcement. But L.A.—where nearly forty per cent of residents are foreign-born—became ground zero for controversial arrests and deportations by ICE. The Trump Administration deployed marines and the National Guard…

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Director Ari Aster Explains His COVID-Era Western “Eddington” 25:17

2M ago25:17

25:17

“I’m personally desperate for art that at least attempts to grapple with whatever the hell is going on right now,” the writer-director Ari Aster tells Adam Howard, a senior producer of the Radio Hour. “ ‘Eddington’ is a film about a bunch of people who . . . know that something’s wrong. They just—nobody can agree on what that thing is.” Many of us …

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Michael Wolff on MAGA’s Revolt Over Jeffrey Epstein 26:29

2M ago26:29

26:29

The sense that the White House is covering something up about Jeffrey Epstein has led to backlash from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters. Even after the financier was convicted for hiring an underage prostitute, for which he served a brief and extraordinarily lenient sentence, Epstein remained a playboy, a top political donor, and a very good …

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Carrie Brownstein on Cat Power. Plus, “Materialists,” “Too Much,” and the Modern Rom-Com. 1:00:46

2M ago1:00:46

1:00:46

For The New Yorker’s series Takes, Carrie Brownstein—the co-creator of Sleater-Kinney and “Portlandia”—writes about an iconic rock-and-roll image. In the summer of 2003, the musician Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, was transitioning from an indie darling to a major rock artist, and the staff writer Hilton Als wrote a Profile of her in The…

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Janet Yellen on the Danger of a “Banana Republic” Economy. Plus, Susan B. Glasser on Why “We Are the Boiled Frog.” 38:14

2M ago38:14

38:14

In conservative economics, cuts to social services are often seen as necessary to shrink the expanding deficit. Donald Trump’s budget bill is something altogether different: it cuts Medicaid while slashing tax rates for the wealthiest Americans, adding $6 trillion to the national debt, according to the Cato Institute. Janet Yellen, a former Treasur…

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Kalief Browder: A Decade Later 18:17

2M ago18:17

18:17

Kalief Browder was jailed at Rikers Island at the age of sixteen; he spent three years locked up without ever being convicted of a crime, and much of that time was spent in solitary confinement. In 2014, the New Yorker staff writer Jennifer Gonnerman wrote about Browder and the failings of the criminal-justice system that his case exposed: unconsci…

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U2’s Bono on the Power of Music 31:32

2M ago31:32

31:32

In 2022, The New Yorker published a personal history about growing up in Ireland during the nineteen-sixties and seventies. It covers the interfaith marriage of the author’s parents, which was unusual in Dublin; his mother’s early death; and finding his calling in music. The author was Bono, for more than forty years the lyricist and lead singer of…

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“Super Gay Poems” 15:08

2M ago15:08

15:08

In 2024, Harvard University offered a course on Taylor Swift. It was popular, to say the least. That course was taught by a professor and literary critic named Stephanie Burt. In The New Yorker, Burt has written seriously about comics and science fiction, but she’s also considered great poets such as Seamus Heaney and Mary Oliver. Now, Burt has put…

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Bret Baier On Trump’s Love-Hate Relationship with Fox News 34:54

3M ago34:54

34:54

The relationship between Fox News and Donald Trump is not just close; it can be profoundly influential. Trump frequently responds to segments in real time online—even to complain about a poll he doesn’t like. He has tapped the network for nearly two dozen roles within his Administration—including the current Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, a fo…

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Ancient Mission, New Alliances 30:12

3M ago30:12

30:12

In this episode, we interview the Rev. Isaac Machado and the Rev. Allison Henn, alliance missionaries in Spain. Alliance missionaries are called by LCMS partner church bodies to serve as missionaries for the LCMS in an LCMS mission field, with the full support and guidance of the LCMS. For the full story, please read the summer edition of Lutherans…

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America’s Oligarch Problem 15:09

3M ago15:09

15:09

A mega-donor to the Republican Presidential campaign, Elon Musk got something no other titan of industry has ever received: an office in the White House and a government department tailor-made for him, with incalculable influence in shaping the Administration. But even with Musk out of Washington, it remains a fact that the influence of wealth in A…

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Preaching Christ Crucified in Italy 39:44

3M ago39:44

39:44

In this episode, we interview the Rev. Tyler McMiller, LCMS missionary in Italy, to learn about the work of the Confessional Lutheran Church of Italy (CLCI). McMiller serves a number of house churches across the peninsula and recent developments — the ordination of two new local pastors — have greatly expanded the ability of the CLCI to proclaim th…

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Why Israel Struck Iran First 42:38

3M ago42:38

42:38

The Ayatollahs who have ruled Iran since 1979 have long promised to destroy the Jewish state, and even set a deadline for it. While arming proxies to fight Israel—Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and more—Iran is believed to have sought to develop nuclear weapons for itself. “The big question about Iran was always how sign…

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The Unfolding Genocide in Sudan 19:53

3M ago19:53

19:53

The New Yorker recently published a report from Sudan, headlined “Escape from Khartoum.” The contributor Nicolas Niarchos journeyed for days through a conflict to reach a refugee camp in the Nuba Mountains, where members of the country’s minority Black ethnic groups are seeking safety, but remain imperilled by hunger. The territory is “very signifi…

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Barbra Streisand on “The Secret of Life” 26:14

3M ago26:14

26:14

Barbra Streisand has been a huge presence in American entertainment—music, film, and stage—for more than sixty years. She was the youngest person ever to achieve the EGOT, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards by the age of twenty-seven. At eighty-three years old, Streisand is releasing a new album, “The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2.” …

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John Seabrook on the Destructive Family Battles of “The Spinach King” 19:48

3M ago19:48

19:48

John Seabrook’s new book is about a family business—not a mom-and-pop store, but a huge operation run by a ruthless patriarch. The patriarch is aging, and he cannot stand to lose his hold on power, nor let his children take over the enterprise. This might sound like the plot of HBO’s drama “Succession,” but the story John tells in “The Spinach King…

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What Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Doesn’t Understand About Autism 30:23

3M ago30:23

30:23

When Donald Trump made an alliance with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., he brought vaccine skepticism and the debunked link between vaccines and autism into the center of the MAGA agenda. Though the scientific establishment has long disproven that link, as many as one in four Americans today believe that vaccines may cause autism. In April, Kennedy, now th…

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“The Promised Spirit” LW Searching Scripture, June/July 2025: Joel 2:28–32 & Acts 2:1–22 27:26

3M ago27:26

27:26

We have now come through Lent and the Easter season, including the Ascension of Jesus to His Father’s right hand, and in June we celebrate Pentecost. In these studies, we have explored messianic prophecies in January through April, with an introduction to messianic typology last month. This month’s study will deal with a prophecy that is not exactl…

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Brian Eno Knows “What Art Does” 23:46

3M ago23:46

23:46

In the music business, Brian Eno is a name to conjure with. He’s been the producer of tremendous hits by U2, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Grace Jones, Coldplay, and many other top artists. But he’s also a conceptualist, nicknamed Professor Eno in the British music press, and a foundational figure in ambient music—a genre whose very name Eno coined. …

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Episode#35: Easing Pet Anxiety When Traveling 22:47

3M ago22:47

22:47

Send us a text Loli Jane, an Animal Communicator, and Pranic Healer, shares incredible tips to help ease your animal's anxiety of traveling. Whether you are taking them with you or leaving them behind, Loli teaches you how to communicate with your pets, before you even start packing. Loli Jane is a professional, international animal communicator, e…

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Lesley Stahl on What a Settlement with Donald Trump Would Mean for CBS News 27:26

3M ago27:26

27:26

Lesley Stahl, a linchpin of CBS News, began at the network in 1971, covering major events such as Watergate, and for many years has been a correspondent on “60 Minutes.” But right now it’s a perilous time for CBS News, which has been sued by Donald Trump for twenty billion dollars over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris duri…

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Louisa Thomas on a Ballplayer’s Epic Final Game; Plus, Remembering the Composer of “Annie” 23:59

4M ago23:59

23:59

In honor of The New Yorker’s centennial this year, the magazine’s staff writers are pulling out some classics from the long history of the publication. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker’s sports correspondent, naturally gravitated to a story about baseball with a title only comprehensible to baseball aficionados: “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.” The essay was…

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Cécile McLorin Salvant Performs Live In-Studio 26:18

4M ago26:18

26:18

When the jazz singer Cécile McLorin Salvant was profiled in The New Yorker, Wynton Marsalis described her as the kind of talent who comes along only “once in a generation or two.” Salvant’s work is rooted in jazz—in the tradition of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan and Abbey Lincoln—and she has won three Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Bu…

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From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night” 33:49

4M ago33:49

33:49

This special episode comes from “On the Media” ’s Peabody-winning series “The Divided Dial,” reported by Katie Thornton. You know A.M. and F.M. radio. But did you know that there is a whole other world of radio surrounding us at all times? It’s called shortwave—and, thanks to a quirk of science that lets broadcasters bounce radio waves off the iono…

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Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson on President Joe Biden’s Decline, and Its Cover-Up 49:50

4M ago49:50

49:50

Nearly a year ago, a Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash of CNN, began the end of Biden’s bid for a second term. The President struggled to make points, complete sentences, and remember facts; he spoke in a raspy whisper. This was not the first time voters expressed concern about Biden’s ag…

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Percival Everett’s “James” Wins a Pulitzer 20:17

4M ago20:17

20:17

A year ago, Percival Everett published his twenty-fourth novel, “James,” and it became a literary phenomenon. It won the National Book Award, and, just this week, was announced as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. “James” offers a radically different perspective on the classic Mark Twain novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”: Evere…

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Elissa Slotkin to Fellow-Democrats: “Speak in Plain English” 28:38

4M ago28:38

28:38

When Elissa Slotkin narrowly won her Senate seat in Michigan last fall, she was one of only four Democratic senators to claim victory in a state that voted for Donald Trump. It made other Democrats take note: since then, the Party has turned to her as someone who can bridge the red state–blue state divide. In March, Slotkin delivered the Democrats’…

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"Isn’t That Typical?" LW Searching Scripture, May 2025: Typological Connections Throughout Scripture 24:50

4M ago24:50

24:50

“Type” has to do with forms, shapes, patterns, images. People demonstrate “typical” behavior when they act in a similar pattern time and again. In typesetting, a block with a typographic character on it makes an image of that character on the page. Our first four Bible studies in this year’s series have focused on straightforward messianic propheci…