What if your deepest identity came from God?   On this episode, writer and thought leader Tiq Milan joins Jacqui to discuss the transformative power of Love—particularly when we offer it freely and generously to our LGBTQ friends and family.  He offers: "My transness and my queerness make me closer to God. It's my gift. I feel present in this life because I get to be the man I need to be. I've come into the best version of myself."   Resources: To learn more about Tia, check out his website...

What can we do today to prevent a bit more suffering for those around us?   An award-winning writer who serves as Scholar in Residence at the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg joins Jacqui for the latest episode of Love Period, to discuss healing work that is happening around us even amid chaos and uncertainty.   She offers: “We must do the best we can to prevent as much suffering as possible. That is our main job down here, on earth. That’s the work.”  Don’t...

Does your work fulfill your spiritual purpose? On this episode of Love Period, Majora Carter joins Jacqui to help us understand what it means to be inspired to create a professional life that is fueled by spiritual principles.   As a real-estate developer, urban revitalization strategy consultant and MacArthur Fellow, Majora Carter’s thriving professional life is built on the moment she “found real meaning in the scriptures when Jesus says, ‘there are only two important laws: Love God and...

What stories do we miss when we only read the Bible at the surface?  In this episode, Rev. Natalie Perkins, co-author of the new book In Trembling Boldness, helps us take a deeper look at how we read and experience traditional from the Bible, as well as stories from extra-canonical texts. Natalie offers us this: “We often approach the Bible as fact. It’s not about fact. If we approached it more like poetry, we would get a richer sense of the nature of the Divine.”   May this engaging...

Do you see weeping as a spiritual experience?   On this episode, Rev. Ben Perry joins Jacqui to help us embrace the healing power of tears. Together they explore Ben's new book, Cry, Baby, discuss how scripture inspired it, and what tears have to do with our faith. As Ben explains: “Weeping after acts of violence reminds us that this is not the way God intends the world to be. This is not preordained violence, blessed by God—it is a violation of God’s intent for our lives.”  This moving...

What modern rituals stir your heart?   On this episode, Rev. Otis Moss III returns to the show and offers his perspective on what living a spiritually awakened life means for us today. He explains, “Love your neighbor. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you are devoid of self-love, if you hate who you are, then you are incapable of loving your neighbor. And maybe that’s the most insidious thing about white supremacy. Many of us don’t love ourselves enough to love our...

How have relationships shifted your perspective on life and love?  In this episode, Jacqui talks with John Blake, an award-winning journalist who tells the story of his quest to reconcile with his white mother and the family he’d never met. Together, they explore how healing systems—from families to the culture of an entire country—begins with true and honest human connection.  This memorable conversation will shift your understanding of how building relationships and telling stories have the...

What if we refused to break anyone’s heart—including our own? In this episode of Love Period, Jacqui Lewis speaks with Rabbi Josh Stanton, getting to the heart of Jesus’ radical teachings. If you have ever wondered how to love those you don’t understand (or even like), this episode offers guidance.  Join us for this new season of Love Period where Jacqui invites theologians, scholars, and clergy from Abrahamic traditions to bring scriptural teachings back to their core—revealing key wisdom...

Can we be theologians in our own lives? In the first episode of Season 4, Jacqui talks with Marcie Alvis-Walker—author, mother, friend, and theologian who invites us to read the Bible in a way that speaks to our hearts. The author of Everybody Come Alive: A Memoir in Essays, Marcie shares her experience of finding reflections of herself in scriptures that have too long been interpreted by others.  Join us for this new season of Love Period where Jacqui invites theologians, scholars, and...

How do we teach our kids love and resilience in this divided world? On this episode of Love Period, writer, editor, and President of Interfaith Alliance, Paul Raushenbush joins Jacqui in a conversation about creating interfaith partnerships and the challenge of hopeful parenting. Listen in on Paul and Jacqui’s discussion on the importance of practicing self-love grounded in experiences of adversity.   Resources: Jacqui’s new book Fierce Love can be found here. The transcript for this...

How do we let go of fear theology? On this episode of Love Period, Rev. Jacqui Lewis is joined by children’s book author, editor, and activist, Jamia Wilson, for an inspiring conversation that explores how being affirmed in a fellowship of radical Love unleashes our creative potential. In this episode, Jamia and Jacqui discuss how intimate relationships can be a vital part of our journey to create a more balanced and loving world.  Jamia is an award-winning feminist activist, writer, speaker,...

What if we considered ourselves first responders to the fires burning in our lives?   On this episode of Love Period, Rev. Jacqui invites her friend Kerri Kelly to the table to discuss the healing power of radical love. Amid unfairness of opportunity, capitalist culture, and a maze of misleading information, we need this love now more than ever — for ourselves, each other, and the world.  Kerri Kelly is the author of “American Detox” and the founder of CTZNWELL, an organization that embraces...

What’s been burdening you lately? Today, it seems everyone is managing the emotional weight of the increasingly insecure tone of our world.  In this episode, Religious Scholar Serene Jones joins Rev. Jacqui for a conversation about the impact of trauma on our ability to love. In this healing conversation, Serene and Jacqui share how affirming our emotional experiences can lead us to a deeper understanding of personal power.  A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr....

How do we walk through the fire? Trials in life have often been likened to an encounter with fire—first, we experience disorientation, but in the end, transformation, and renewal.   In this episode, inter-spiritual scholar and mystical teacher, Mirabai Starr, joins Jacqui in conversation on wise ways to navigate the fires burning in our world. Embrace fire as a symbol for purging the elements of our lives that no longer serve us in loving each other more deeply.  Resources: Jacqui’s new...

What can we learn about balance from the natural world? On this episode, Rev. Jacqui Lewis speaks with Kerry Docherty, Chief Impact Officer of Faherty Brand, to explore how each aspect of our lives has the potential to transform and strengthen our communities. Whether we're focusing on expanding our professional life or our relationships, how do we show up with a greater sense of purpose and ease?  Kerry Docherty is a lawyer with a background in human rights and mindfulness, Kerry uses...

How do our political realities affect our lives? Can we in fact, heal despite the very real threats that we face today? On this episode, Rev. Jacqui Lewis is joined by Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft the Executive Minister for Justice, Education & Movement Building at Middle Church, in conversation about the effect of political injustice on our lives. Jacqui and Amanda discuss loss and devastation—of loved ones, of spaces of safety and inspiration, and the work and clarity it demands to...

Are you open to a new vision of God? Dr. Christena Cleveland joins Jacqui for the first episode of the third season. In this revolutionary conversation, Rev. Jacqui Lewis and Christena Cleveland, author of God Is a Black Woman, talk about the power of encountering embodied symbols of the Divine that can move us toward greater expansion, hope, and love for one another. Together, they invite you, the listener, to let go of a vision of God who is small minded, fearful, and oppressive in exchange...

What does your sanctuary look like? What does it feel like? On this episode, Rev. Jacqui invites author and educator Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts to the table to discuss the nature of joy—how to recognize it, feel it, and invite it into our lives. Through this stimulating conversation, explore how claiming a space of sanctuary can energize your journey of awakening.  As a writer and thought-leader, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts offers those who read her work and hear her speak an authentic...

On the third season of Love Period, Rev. Jacqui Lewis gathers a cadre of writers, parents, and activists looking for common threads of wisdom as they survive and thrive in these traumatic times. What wisdom and insight do their experiences have for each of us? And, as always, Rev. Jacqui is asking "What's fierce love got to do with it?"

Kaliswa Brewster joins Jacqui for this episode of Love Period, part of our special mini-series celebrating Black History Month. Kaliswa Brewster is an actress based in NYC and helped co-produce Seasons 1 and 2 of Love Period. Kaliswa has recurred on Showtime’s BILLIONS, ABC’s series TIME AFTER TIME, and RELEASE. Film credits include PATERNO for HBO Films starring Al Pacino, the feature film PAINT directed by Michael Walker, and THE BIT PLAYER for PBS. Guest star and other television credits...

Shaka Senghor joins Jacqui for this episode of Love Period, part of our special mini-series celebrating Black History Month. Shaka’s priority is shifting societal narratives through storytelling and developing workshops with high entertainment value and deep social impact. Shaka Senghor is the Head of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at TripActions. He is also the President of Shaka Senghor, Inc., and Founder of Redeemed Sole. Shaka is a former MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow and a former...

Civil Rights icon Ruby Sales joins Jacqui for this episode of Love Period, part of our special mini-series celebrating Black History Month. Ruby is a leader in the Southern Freedom Movement, and a mentor to many, including Jacqui. Listen in as she and Ruby discuss what it means to be Black in America today. Ruby Sales is the founder and director of the Spirit House Project. She joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s as a teenager at Tuskegee University and...

Love Period is sharing a 4 part mini-series to celebrate Black History Month to close out Season 2. In this series, Jacqui is talking with friends about what it means to be Black in America today. Jacqui kicks off this series with poet, pastor, and peacemaker Drew Jackson. Drew E. Jackson is a poet who came late to writing poetry, although he would say that his love for the art form began with hip-hop, learning to put words together from Nas’ Illmatic. He writes at the intersection of...

Abigail Disney joins Jacqui to bring the second season of Love Period to a close. Abigail E. Disney advocates for real changes to the way capitalism operates in today's world. As a philanthropist, she has worked with organizations supporting peacebuilding, gender justice, and systems and culture change. She is an Emmy-Winning Documentary Filmmaker, activist, and co-founder of Fork Films, a nonfiction media production company, which produces the podcast "All Ears," where host Abigail Disney...