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© 2025 Reimagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker
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A podcast about reimagining the good life through the lens of disability, faith, and culture. Host Amy Julia Becker interviews guests in conversations that challenge assumptions about the good life, proclaim the inherent belovedness of every human being, and help us envision a world of belonging.
182 Episodes
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S9 E5 — There is a lot of conversation right now about the role of women and men in society. Whether we’re talking about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal or the viral essay "The Great Feminization" and all the commentary it sparked, it’s clear we’re in a cultural moment where we don’t quite know how to talk about men and women. Should we see men and women as interchangeable? What does equality look like when our bodies are not the same? Can we admit our neediness and maintain our dignity as women ...
S9 E4 — What if real freedom doesn’t come from more self-esteem—but from self-forgetfulness? Amy Julia Becker and author and pastor Sharon Hodde Miller explore the difference between the false self and the true self—and how thinking about ourselves less without thinking less of ourselves leads to healing, humility, and purpose. 00:00 Introduction 01:58 Defining Self and Self-Forgetfulness 07:33 Understanding the Self and Healing 09:50 Noticing Ourselves 14:12 False Self vs. True Self 16:31 Th...
S9 E3 — What is the good life? Is it a life marked by money and success and achievement? Or a life marked by love? Author and professor Kelly Kapic joins Amy Julia Becker to rethink our obsession with productivity and self-reliance. They explore: Why “independence” is not the idealHow love—not intelligence or achievement—defines our humanityHow receiving our limits can lead to rest, belonging, and deeper joySubscribe to Amy Julia’s Substack newsletter: amyjuliabecker.com/subscribe/ 00:00 Expl...
S9 E2 — What if disability isn’t something to fix, but a way to see God and one another more clearly? Theologian John Swinton joins Amy Julia Becker to explore how our ideas of perfection, healing, and humanity can distort—or deepen—our understanding of the good life. Together, they imagine a church and a world that welcomes every body as good, beloved, and whole. They explore: How culture shapes (and distorts) our perceptions of disability and beautyWhat it means for a world to be both ...
S9 E1 — Some people get paid to do what they love, but most don’t. How can we find meaning in everyday work that we don’t always love doing? How can we discover our purpose in life? Author Karen Swallow Prior and Amy Julia Becker explore: Why passion is not the same as callingHow vocation centers on service and relationships, not just careerPursuing truth, goodness, and beauty in ordinary lifeHow multiple callings unfold across a lifetimeWisdom for discerning and living into a deeper pur...
What really makes life worth living? This season on Reimagining the Good Life, Amy Julia Becker dives into the ideas, assumptions, and cultural narratives that shape how we live. Upcoming conversations include: Karen Swallow Prior on callingSharon Hodde Miller on self-forgetfulnessKelly Kapic on human limitationsLeah Libresco Sargeant on the dignity of dependence If you’re curious about culture, disability, family, and faith—and how big ideas can change everyday life—this season is for y...
When Heather Avis says she’s one of “the lucky few,” she means it. In this episode, we talk about growing up with our children with Down syndrome, what it means to delight in our kids, and how all of us can participate in shifting the narrative around disability toward love and belonging. Our conversation highlights her new children’s book, I Like You So Much, and focuses on: Proclaiming the worth of our childrenThe role of children's books in shifting disability narrativesUnderstanding ident...
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 cultureThe dark side of competitionLonging for what ...
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 familythe misconceptions surrounding a biblical blueprint for familycreating a home centered on love, not expectationsapprenticing ourselves to love through daily household practices___ MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Househol...
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 disabilityHow relationships change the s...
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. ...
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 disabilityNavigating family dynamicsCommunication Building community connectionsCollaborating with schools f...
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...
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 crisishow practices of silen...
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 patientsThe difficult choices clinics and hospitals now faceThe political and religious divisions driving the debateWhat it means to be pro-lifeHow concerned Americans can respondMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Amy Julia's Substack email newsletter about USAID: Caring for Humans ...
In the work of reimagining, religion can play a significant part. What does it mean to be human? Does God exist? Is the universe good? Is there order and purpose to human life? These are the types of questions that help to shape our imagination about our individual lives and our life together. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss his latest book, Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious. They explore: the current cultural landscape of religion in Americathe...
Recent political changes and executive orders have polarized the complex conversation around diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). David M. Bailey, the Founder and CEO of Arrabon, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss: the consequences of dismantling DEIA initiativesthe implications of colorblindness and meritocracythe role of the church in advocating for justicethe importance of maintaining hope and engagement amidst societal polarizationthe need for critical thinking and...
Is disability a tragedy? Are disabled people “inspiring”? The language we use often reveals our assumptions about disability. Carrie Hahn, a pediatric speech-language pathologist and mother, joins me on the podcast to talk about her book Beyond Inclusion: How to Raise Anti-Ableist Kids. Maybe you feel like our culture is too full of language police and that we should just move on to more important things. Or maybe you worry that you'll never get your words right. Whether you feel cynic...
"Just try harder. Work harder. Think harder." But what if the key to creativity, whether that’s in our art or in the art of our daily lives, isn’t more effort but surrender? Carey Wallace, artist and author of The Discipline of Inspiration, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about: How discipline and spiritual practices nurture inspiration The role of surrender in the creative process How all humans can explore their creative potential and embrace the joy of creation Art as a communal experien...
How do we attend to diverse voices in our churches and society without silencing or patronizing each other? Author and professor Esau McCaulley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to discuss The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary. They talk about: the importance of connecting church and culture the insights provided by scholars from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities the harm caused by limiting biblical interpretation to a Western-centric lens the role of the church in today'...
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