Ambition is the air we breathe—but what is it costing us? In this episode, Amy Julia Becker and theologian Miroslav Volf discuss his latest book, The Cost of Ambition. They unpack the hidden damage of a culture obsessed with competition and invite us to imagine a new way of being, for ourselves and our society, rooted not in achievement, but in love, mutuality, and genuine abundance. They explore:

• Striving for superiority in American culture
• The dark side of competition
• Longing for what we have
• Striving for excellence vs. striving for superiority
• The illusion of individual achievement
• Practices for embracing love and generosity
• Reimagining human relationships beyond superiority

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• The Cost of Ambition: How Striving to Be Better Than Others Makes Us Worse by Miroslav Volf
• Abundance by Ezra Klein
• The Sabbath by Abraham Heschel
• Luke 18:9-14, Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 12:21-26, Mark 10:35-45
• The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
• Works of Love by Søren Kierkegaard
• Subscribe to Amy Julia's newsletter

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Miroslav Volf (DrTheol, University of Tübingen) is the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture in New Haven, Connecticut. He has written or edited more than two dozen books, including the New York Times bestseller Life Worth Living, A Public Faith, Public Faith in Action, and Exclusion and Embrace (winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and selected as among the 100 best religious books of the 20th century by Christianity Today). Educated in his native Croatia, the United States, and Germany, Volf regularly lectures around the world. CONNECT with Miroslav Volf on X at @miroslavvolf.

Photo Credit: © Christopher Capozziello

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What if the perfect family doesn’t exist—and never was supposed to? Theologian Emily McGowin, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to explore family life in America and what the Bible really says (and doesn’t say) about family life. They discuss:

• the idealized version of the American family
• the misconceptions surrounding a biblical blueprint for family
• creating a home centered on love, not expectations
• apprenticing ourselves to love through daily household practices

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Households of Faith: Practicing Family in the Kingdom of God by Emily Hunter McGowin, PhD
• Amy Julia's episode with Matthew Mooney about families, disability, suffering, and "the good life'
• Small Talk: Learning from my Children about What Matters Most by Amy Julia Becker

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Emily Hunter McGowin (PhD, University of Dayton) is associate professor of theology at Wheaton College. She is the author of Quivering Families and Christmas, and coeditor of God and Wonder. Her articles have appeared in Christianity Today and The Week. She is a priest and canon theologian in the Anglican diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others. She and her husband, Ron, also a priest, live in Chicagoland with their three children. Follow her on Twitter: @EmilyMcgowin and visit her website at: emilymcgowin.com.

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Is disability a tragedy? Is it a gift? What place is there for grief and for joy in this story of disability so many of us are living within our families? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently portrayed disability as tragic, as something that needs to be fixed, in his comments about autism. In response, Matthew Mooney, co-founder of 99 Balloons, joins Amy Julia Becker to share a better and truer story of disability. They explore:

• Societal perceptions of disability
• How relationships change the story of disability
• Recognizing the inherent worth of every individual
• Navigating grief, loss, and suffering
• Cultivating the beauty found in community

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• 99 Balloons
• Amy Julia's Vox essay: My daughter has Down syndrome. Would I “cure” her if I could?
• NYT Essay by Emily May: Kennedy Described My Daughter's Reality
• I Corinthians 12, Exodus 4, and John 9:3
• Hans Reinders
• RFK Jr.’s statements about autism

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

When Matthew and his wife Ginny were 30 weeks pregnant, they learned their son Eliot had trisomy 18. Eliot was born eight weeks later and lived for 99 days. The Mooneys founded 99 Balloons, a nonprofit supporting individuals with disabilities locally and globally.

Matthew now serves on the 99 Balloons Board and lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with Ginny and their three children—Hazel, Anders, and Lena.

A writer, speaker, and consultant on disability and inclusion, Matthew is also an attorney and a PhD candidate in Theological Ethics at Aberdeen University. His work has taken him to Haiti, Mexico, Ukraine, Uganda, India, and beyond.

Websites: 99 Balloons :: matthewlylemooney
Social: insta

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For some of us, Christian summer camp is where we felt most at home. But for campers at white Evangelical church camps in particular, camp was also often the place to inherit an image of God—and of each other—that was incomplete at best and toxic at worst. Author Cara Meredith joins Amy Julia Becker on the podcast to explore belonging, betrayal, and new beginnings as they talk about Cara's latest book, Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, and How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation. They examine:

• Personal experiences of church camp, including joy, exclusion, and betrayal
• Complexities of faith and belonging
• Emotional manipulation
• Reconstructing faith
• Deciding if church camp is right for your child

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Amy Julia's Live, In-Person Workshop on May 3: Reimagining Family Life with Disability
• Free resource: 5 Ways to Experience God's Love and Practice Peace
• Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church by N.T. Wright

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Cara Meredith is a speaker, public theologian, and development director who found home at a church camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After serving in various roles, she continued as a speaker for two decades at camps up and down the West Coast. With a master of theology (Fuller Seminary) and a background in education and nonprofit work, she is also the author of The Color of Life. Her writing has been featured in national media outlets such as The Oregonian, The New York Times, The Christian Century, and Christianity Today, among others. She lives with her family in Oakland, California. CONNECT with Cara on her website (carameredith.com) or on Facebook and Instagram.

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How do we redefine success, community, and family when parenting a child with disabilities? In this conversation, Amy Julia Becker and Adrian Wood, PhD, creator of the vlog Tales of an Educated Debutante and co-author of Autism Out Loud, discuss community, belonging, autism, and the ways they have grown up with their children. They explore:

• Cultural perceptions of family life with disability
• Navigating family dynamics
• Communication
• Building community connections
• Collaborating with schools for better outcomes
• Redefining success

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Carrie Cariello, Adrian Wood
• Amy Julia’s Reimagining Family Life with Disability workshop
• Amy Julia's Live, In-Person Workshop on May 3

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Adrian Wood is the creator of the vlog Tales of an Educated Debutante. She has a PhD in Educational Research and contributes to Today Parents, The Today Show, and the Love What Matters blog. She lives in rural eastern North Carolina with her family.

CONNECT with Adrian on her website (talesofaneducateddebutante.com), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.

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How does language, both careless and careful, shape our world? What's the connection between social status and the words we choose? How does technology influence our understanding of culture and control? Amy Julia Becker and special guest Andy Crouch examine these questions in a conversation about language, culture, and culture making. They also ask:

• What does the recent rise of the r-word tell us about our culture?
• In what ways are technology and vulnerability interconnected?
• How can we show up with care in our relationships and creative endeavors?

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's weekly email
• Culture Making by Andy Crouch
• “Where the Magic Doesn’t Happen” by Andy Crouch
• “The Trump administration’s rhetoric about disability diminishes us all” by Amy Julia Becker
• “Embracing the Mystery (more than the magic) of Christmas” by Amy Julia Becker
• Breaking Ground essay | “Wrestling with Sovereignty in a Kairos Year” by Amy Julia Becker
• Ken Myers and Mars Hill Audio
• Playing God by Andy Crouch
• Strong and Weak by Andy Crouch
• The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
• Philippians 2: 5-8
• Marc Andreessen: The Techno-Optimist Manifesto

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CONNECT with Andy Crouch on his website: https://andy-crouch.com/

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, a venture-building ecosystem advancing redemptive entrepreneurship. His writing explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. He is the author of five books (plus another with his daughter, Amy Crouch).

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Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.

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What happens when we step into silence? Author Pico Iyer joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss his book Aflame: Learning from Silence. He reflects on his time spent in monasteries and how he grounds the ethereal idea of silence in the very earthy realities of everyday life—filled with deadlines, relationships, and the unexpected, like the wildfire that consumed his home in southern California. Pico and Amy Julia examine:

• the profound lessons that arise from moments of crisis
• how practices of silence transform lives and relationships
• the importance of community and service
• the essence of a good life

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Women's Conference 2025 | Greenwich, CT
Meet Amy Julia in person!

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Free Resource/PDF Download:
5 Ways to Experience God's Love and Practice Peace

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer
• Iyer's 1990 Time essay: "California: In The Blazing Eye of the Inferno"

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CONNECT with Pico Iyer on his website (www.picoiyerjourneys.com).

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here. READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Pico Iyer is the author of fifteen books, translated into twenty-three languages, and has been a constant contributor for more than thirty years to Time, The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and more than 250 other periodicals worldwide. His four recent talks for TED have received more than eleven million views.

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Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.

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When U.S. foreign aid is frozen, what happens to the people who depend on it? In this episode, Dr. Matthew Loftus and Amy Julia Becker dive into the effects of USAID cuts, including:

• The life-or-death consequences for HIV patients
• The difficult choices clinics and hospitals now face
• The political and religious divisions driving the debate
• What it means to be pro-life
• How concerned Americans can respond

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Amy Julia's Substack email newsletter about USAID: Caring for Humans is Slow, Messy, and Beautiful
• NYT opinion essay by Leah Libresco Sargeant, Matthew Loftus, Kristin M. Collier, and Kathryn Jean Lopez:
  “As Fellow Pro-Lifers, We Are Begging Marco Rubio to Save Foreign Aid”
• ProPublica article:
  "The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway."
• Washington Post article
• Matt’s thesis: Discipline and Flourish
• African Mission Healthcare
• Subscribe to Amy Julia's weekly email

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WATCH this conversation on YouTube by clicking here.

READ the full transcript and access detailed show notes by clicking here or visiting amyjuliabecker.com/podcast.

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ABOUT:

Matthew Loftus lives with his family in East Africa, where he has taught and practiced Family Medicine since 2015. He is especially passionate about Family Medicine education and mental health care in mission hospitals. He grew up in a family of 15 children and did all of his medical training in Baltimore. He also holds an M.A. in Theology from St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore and has written for several publications, including Christianity Today, Mere Orthodoxy, First Things, and The New York Times. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.matthewandmaggie.org

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Let’s stay in touch. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly reflections that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and envision a world of belonging where everyone matters.

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