Inner Compass interview show
Inner Compass Interview Show
Inner Compass is a television interview show that explores how people make their decisions about ethical, religious, and social justice issues. Guests include authors, activists, religious leaders, and engaging thinkers from around the world. In its ninth season on PBS West Michigan and first on ...
Religion & Reporters: Oil & Water?
As religion becomes a central theme in the headlines of the day, many journalists find themselves to be under-informed. Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. describes how he brings religion experts and reporters ...
Forsaking the Fast Track
John Rodden, a scholar and writer who no longer specializes in one area of study, describes his motivations and adventures after walking away from a promising career as a professor in order to pursue his dreams. Karen Saupe hosts.
When Groups Play: Flash Mobs & Urban Experiments
What does it take to get thousands of people to show up downtown for a pillow fight? Rob Bliss, creator of The Rob Bliss Urban Experiments, tells how technology and social dynamics help him gather crowds for memorable happenings. Karen Saupe hosts.
True Community Development
When families climb out of poverty, they often leave their old neighborhoods behind. What can help an at-risk population when it loses its stabilizing core? Today we'll hear from long-time civil rights activist and author John Perkins, who holds 9 ...
Freeing Today's Slaves
Across the world, children as young as five are sold into brothels, and widows lose land and livelihood due to unenforced laws that could protect them. Human rights activist Sharon Cohn Wu tells stories of International Justice Mission rescuing victims ...
Connecting Cancer & the Environment
If a chemist could sample your body's chemistry, she would find scores of toxic chemicals picked up throughout your life, as early as in your mother's womb. Is this an unavoidable part of life on modern earth? Sandra Steingraber is an ecologist, writer, ...
Plotting Paths to Power
Some people seem born to climb the ladder of success and power. Are leadership qualities innate, learned, bought? January Series guest Michael Lindsay of the Rice University Center on Race, Religion, & Urban Life has interviewed hundreds of prominent ...
Are Christians Losing Touch?
There's a growing skepticism among young people toward Christianity, and Christians don't even seem to be aware of it. Public opinion pollster David Kinnaman, president of The Barna Group and author of unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks ...
Microfinance Miracles
It may be hard to believe that $50 can lift a family out of poverty for life, but it’s happening every day around the world through simple microfinance lending partnerships. Robert Rooy has not only watched it happen—he has dedicated his life to ...
Presidential Character: An Ethical History
Is being a "natural politician" a mark of truth or falsehood? Better to forge ahead in the face of opposition, or to be swayed by the citizens? Presidential historian and biographer Richard Norton Smith draws on a wealth of stories to bring to light the ...
What Marriage Does
Marriage is more than a piece of paper, yet it's more difficult to buy a new car than to wed someone for life. John Witte, Jr., director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University, traces the view of marriage throughout western ...
Middle East Christianity
Christianity was born in the Middle East, yet it's a minority religion there. Egyptian minister Victor Makari, Middle East liasion for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), relays the challenges and dreams of Christians living there and how U.S. churches can ...
The Gifts of Art
Montreat College’s Jim Southerland is an artist who developed his own version of the camera obscura, an ancient predecessor to the camera. Anyone can use it to create drawings in correct proportion. Southerland guides host Karen Saupe as she gives it a ...
An Orphan Crisis
Publicity abounds on the growing number of orphans overseas, but little is known about our domestic situation. Is our foster care system veiling a similar crisis? Kerry Hasenbalg, co-founder of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, brings ...
Giving Advice
What's a 17-year-old to do after lashing out at Mom? Ask Amy. Amy Dickinson’s Chicago Tribune column appears daily in more than 150 newspapers, replacing Ann Landers's long and legendary run. Dickinson gives advice about giving advice, and discusses ...
Explaining Emergent Churches
Who is God? Do we dare answer, or does defining become confining? It's a big question of the emergent church; philosopher Peter Rollins, founder of the Ikon emergent community in Northern Ireland, offers big answers in his books How Not to Speak of God ...
Silent Racism
Is racism a thing of the past or is it still with us, something many people try to will away and out of sight? Barbara Trepagnier, sociology professor at Texas State University-San Marcos, discusses the subtleties of prejudice in her book Silent Racism: ...
Setting Boundaries: Personal & Professional
Do you find yourself texting at soccer games? Do you avoid confronting an inefficient employee? Clinical psychologist and leadership consultant Henry Cloud, author of The One-Life Solution: Reclaim Your Personal Life While Achieving Greater Professional ...
Socially Responsible Clothing
Buying a shirt? Basing your decision on the look and price? Shopping for clothing may feel like a straightforward venture, yet the story behind each garment is complex. Activist and entrepreneur Marta Swain, owner of a community-minded apparel store in ...