Segments
The annual Conservative Political Action Conference just wrapped up on the outskirts of the nation’s capital. This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s radio show and podcast, we’ll get an eyewitness account of the conference, which featured President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and none other than chief strategist Stephen Bannon.
Host Rev. Welton Gaddy will be joined by Peter Montgomery, Senior Fellow at People for the American Way and a longtime observer of the right wing. We’ll hear what’s new and noteworthy about CPAC during the Trump era and what the conference line-up can tell us about where the conservative movement is headed.
A lot of us gazed skyward this week, as NASA announced the discovery of a set of exoplanets that appear similar to Earth and may be compatible with life. We’ll get some insights on this development from Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, an astrophysicist and director of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In what is a dark and difficult time for many Americans, one heartening theme has been interfaith cooperation at a level not often seen. News of bomb threats, vandalism and possible hate crimes has been offset, at least in part, by stories about faith communities standing up for one another. We’ll close the show with a conversation with Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, Vice President for Community Engagement at HIAS, a leading Jewish refugee aid organization which has taken a strong stand against the Trump administration’s Muslim ban and anti-refugee rhetoric.