More Than Politics
A podcast for those of us who want something more than what we've come to expect from politics – and who recognize that there is so much more than politics at stake here. Currently featuring season two of the podcast – a series of solo episodes from host Julie Varner Walsh on faith, reality, history, human relationship, society, politics – and ideas for how we might begin to make things better. New episodes dropping on Tuesdays in the summer of 2025.
Episodes
30 episodes
Spiritual Physics (S2, Ep 3)
In this episode, host Julie Varner Walsh explores her idea of the “spiritual physics” – a concept through which she tries to make sense of the mess in the world – especially in politics, and in the way politics has come to affect our relationsh...
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16:57
Faith and Reality (Season 2, Episode 2)
In Season Two of More Than Politics, host Julie Varner Walsh aims to lay a groundwork for how we, as individuals, might consider the political issues and dynamics of our day. And she aims to go as wide and deep as she is able: into history, int...
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18:44
A New Beginning (Season 2, Episode 1)
Welcome to Season Two of More Than Politics – to this new beginning. In the first episode of the season, host Julie Varner Walsh reintroduces herself, lays out what she hopes to accomplish in this season, and challenges listeners to consider ho...
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10:03
MTP 24: Digesting Dobbs
Friends, it has been a long time. It has been a long time since we've published an episode of More Than Politics. There is an explanation, and we have much catching up to do, but for now we wanted to break in with some thoughts as we try to dig...
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Episode 24
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12:23
MTP 23: Where Free Speech Meets Big Tech (Part 2) with David Hancharik
In this week’s episode (the second of a two-part conversation) Julie Walsh talks with David Hancharik, an electrical engineer who has worked in the telecommunications industry for over 36 years. David and Julie discuss the controversy regarding...
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Episode 23
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37:59
MTP 22: Where Free Speech Meets Big Tech (Part 1) with David Hancharik
In this week’s episode Julie Walsh talks with David Hancharik, an electrical engineer who has worked in the telecommunications industry for over 36 years. David and Julie discuss the controversy regarding free speech and “Big Tech” – the techno...
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Episode 22
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51:39
MTP 21: Reconstruction and Criminal Justice: discussing the era and its continued impact with Dede Miller
In this episode Julie Varner Walsh talks with historian Dede Miller for the second part in a series on Reconstruction. Reconstruction was the period immediately following the Civil War, in which the Confederate south was brought back into the f...
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Episode 21
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41:21
MTP 20: From One Presidency to the Next with Dr. Michael Towle
Julie Walsh and Dr. Michael Towle discuss this moment of transition from one presidential administration to the next: the end of the Trump administration, including the Capitol insurrection and the president’s second impeachment – and the begin...
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Episode 20
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52:18
MTP 19: Reconstruction and Voting: discussing the era and its continued impact with Dede Miller
In this episode Julie Varner Walsh talks with historian Dede Miller for the first part in a series on Reconstruction. Reconstruction was the period immediately following the Civil War, in which the Confederate south was brought back into the fo...
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Episode 19
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1:18:31
MTP 18: Unreal: Insurrection at the Capitol and an Unconceded Election
Julie Varner Walsh goes solo for this episode, reflecting on the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, as well as the 2020 election and its aftermath. ***A onetime federal government employee, onetime lobbyi...
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42:13
MTP 17: Make An Honest Stand with Kevin Heider
In this episode Julie Varner Walks talks with singer/songwriter Kevin Heider. Kevin, who lives with his wife and four children in Dayton, Ohio, writes hymns, drinking songs, and everything in between. He has recently released an EP called Make ...
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2:06:01
MTP 16: Stories of Saints in Politically Troubled Times with Meg Hunter-Kilmer
In this episode Julie Varner Walks talks with Meg Hunter-Kilmer on a topic that is more explicitly Catholic than others she’s covered – but which will also have something to offer listeners of different faiths, or no faith at all: stories of sa...
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Episode 16
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1:06:07
Bonus: Why You Should Vote, Even When It Feels Like It Doesn't Make a Difference
In this brief, bonus episode (which should have been posted a bit before the election -- c'est la vie), Julie Varner Walsh revisits a blog post she wrote in 2014. Adapting it a bit for the moment, Julie posts it to encourage any re...
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11:51
MTP 15: Election Day Run-up Round-up with Rita Buettner
This episode is a little different from our usual format. Instead of inviting on a friend to ask them questions, this time Julie Varner Walsh is joined by a friend who’s asking her the questions. In the run-up to election day,...
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Episode 15
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1:06:57
MTP 14: Talking to Children About Politics and Current Events with Laura Kelly Fanucci
In this episode Julie Varner Walsh talks with Laura Kelly Fanucci about how to talk to children about politics and current events. In their conversation, Julie and Laura discuss the importance of forming children’s conscie...
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Episode 14
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1:17:34
MTP 13: The Kitchen Sink Pundit, Debates Edition with Dr. Jill Scheibler
In this episode Julie Walsh is again joined by her friend, Dr. Jill Scheibler, for a conversation about the presidential and vice-presidential debates, the president’s Covid diagnosis, the plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor, absentee voting (an...
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Episode 13
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1:09:21
MTP 12: Impossible Dreams of a Better Civic Future with Julia Harrell
Julie Walsh talks with Julia Harrell in her most freewheeling podcast conversation yet. They discuss some of the biggest challenges of our time – and then they dream about what a better world would look like. From democracy to educa...
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Episode 12
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1:13:29
MTP 11: The Importance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dissent, and Running for Office with Abigail Benjamin
Julie Walsh and Abigail Benjamin discuss the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the importance of good-hearted political debate and being willing to dissent from your peers, and Abigail’s experience of running for public office for the fir...
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Episode 11
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1:11:31
MTP 10: On Executive Power with Dr. Michael Towle
Julie Walsh and Dr. Michael Towle discuss the concept of executive power – the power assigned by our constitution to the executive branch of government – and given to it (or taken by it), over more than two hundred years of muddling through the...
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Episode 10
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1:00:52
MTP 9: Being Open to the Idea that You Might Be Wrong with Dr. Linda Wansi
Julie Walsh and Dr. Linda Wansi discuss a topic that any good citizen – and especially any good Christian – should be willing to wrestle with: being open to the idea that we could be wrong.From abortion to race to spiritual hang...
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Episode 9
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1:02:46
Bonus: The Blue Sky Day
In this special, bonus episode, Julie Walsh commemorates the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. She was very near the tragedy that day – working in her office just a half-mile from the Pentagon when the plane struck the...
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11:49
MTP 8: The Kitchen Sink Pundit, Conventions edition (Part 2) with Dr. Jill Scheibler
In this episode Julie Walsh is again joined by her friend, Dr. Jill Scheibler, for the second part of their conversation on the 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.Jill is a community psychologist, a college professor an...
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Episode 8
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53:13
MTP 7: The Kitchen Sink Pundit, Conventions edition (Part 1) with Dr. Jill Scheibler
In this episode Julie Walsh is joined by her friend, Dr. Jill Scheibler. The two put on their amateur pundit hats to discuss the 2020 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.Jill is a community psychologist, a college professor an...
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Episode 7
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47:10
MTP 6: On Being Politically Uncomfortable with Leslie Sholly
In this episode Julie Walsh talks with writer Leslie Sholly about the experience of being politically uncomfortable. The two enjoy a kinship of sorts: their political views are similar to one another, but make them outliers in their respective ...
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Episode 6
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1:02:10
MTP 5: The U.S. on the World Stage (Part 2) with Dr. Kristen Urban
In this episode Julie Walsh talks with Dr. J. Kristen Urban, Professor Emerita from Mount St. Mary’s University. Dr. Urban, who has taught a variety of courses related to international politics, has spent time in Israel/Palestine, Russia, Roman...
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Episode 5
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51:38