Episode #1612H

KQED World: Sat, Nov 24, 2012 -- 7:00 AM

CARING FOR AN AGING PARENT - "A lot of people in caregiving situations ask, 'Why is God doing this to me? Where is God in the midst of all this?' and they really struggle with spiritual matters," says Rev. Kate Bryant. Her church started a special ministry to support parental caregivers. We also talk to Jane Gross, author of "A Bittersweet Season: Caring for Our Aging Parents - and Ourselves." (originally broadcast April 13, 2012).
RABBI ADIN STEINSALTZ - "The idea of the Talmud is that you are allowed to ask questions about everything," says Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who calls the Talmud "the central pillar of Jewish culture" and "a vast book encouraging you to ask questions." Translating the Talmud into modern Hebrew and English has been his life's work. (originally broadcast April 27, 2012).
DANA GREENE ON POET DENISE LEVERTOV - Watch our interview at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC with biographer Dana Greene, author of Denise Levertov: A Poet's Life. Levertov (1923-1997) was a poet of doubt and faith, Christianity and Judaism, war and peace, protest, lament, nature, spirituality, and more.

Episode #1611H

KQED World: Sat, Nov 17, 2012 -- 7:00 AM

THE SISTINE CHAPEL - After 500 years, the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, which Michelangelo spent four years painting, remains as important a piece of art as has ever been created. As Lucky Severson reports, until then God had not generally been depicted as human, or male, and art historians may still disagree: did God create man in his own image, or was it the other way around?
LIFE OF PI - Opening nationwide this week, this film adaptation of the best-selling book explores the phenomenon of being open to faith, as experienced by a young boy stranded at sea with a man-eating tiger. Director Ang Lee tells Deborah Potter: "To believe in God you have to go through suffering and pain - you have to be in awe."
JEWISH COMMUNITY FOOD STAMP CHALLENGE - As Thanksgiving approaches, Rabbi Leonard Gordon of Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill, MA describes this effort of rabbis across the country undertaking the challenge of living for a week on the food stamp budget of $31.50.

Episode #1610H

KQED World: Sat, Nov 10, 2012 -- 7:00 AM

ELECTION 2012: RELIGION & THE RESULTS - In the wake of Tuesday's election, Bob Abernethy leads a discussion analyzing the role religion and people of faith played in the outcome and what it may mean for the future. The panel will include RENW Managing Editor Kim Lawton and Religion News Service Editor-in-Chief Kevin Eckstrom.
THE MISSION CONTINUES - Lucky Severson reports on a rapidly growing organization that enlists veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Mission Continues, which was founded in 2007 by former Navy Seal and Rhodes Scholar Eric Greitens, provides opportunities for military veterans to continue to serve, an effort that aids both them and their communities.

Episode #1609H

KQED World: Sat, Nov 3, 2012 -- 7:00 AM