My top 5: Speaking of Faith podcasts from NPR

NPR Speaking of Faith is one of my favorite podcasts online. Often listening to it makes me feel a bit more mentally coherent. I'm not sure why. This is my top 5 list of podcasts, in order of preference, from 2006. I particularly liked the Soul in Depression because Parker Palmer talked in it and I an a huge fan of Parker Palmer and all his writings!

1. The Soul in Depression Nearly ten million Americans are diagnosed with clinical depression. As a society, we're increasingly aware of the many faces of depression, and we've become conversant in the language of psychological analysis of depression and medical treatment for it. But there is a growing body of literature by people who have struggled with depression and found it to be a lesson in the nature of the human soul. Krista engages some of these voices experiencing a range of varieties of depression and religious perspective.
   
   
2. Gay Marriage: Broken or Blessed? Two Evangelical Views
   Our culture's acrimonious debate on the morality of gay marriage has been framed in religious — largely conservative Christian — terms. With Richard Mouw and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, we go behind the rhetoric to explore the human confusion, hopes, and fears this subject arouses. We'll name hard questions that these religious people on both sides of the issue are asking themselves, and that they would like to ask of others.
   
   
3. The Body's Grace: Matthew Sanford's Story
   An unusual take on the mind-body connection with author and yoga teacher Matthew Sanford. He's been a paraplegic since the age of 13. He shares his wisdom for us all on knowing the strength and grace of our bodies even in the face of illness, aging, and death.
   
   
4. Money and Moral Balance The sales are starting, the stores are open late, and many of us are gearing up to spend more money than we actually have in a holiday season with deep roots in religion. With family financial advisor Nathan Dungan, we'll explore turmoil many of us experience with money in our day-to-day lives — and how we might work towards a moral and practical balance for ourselves and the next generation.
   
   
5. The Spirituality of Addiction and Recovery We explore the spiritual aspects of recovery from addiction with Susan Cheever, author of a biography about the co-founder of AA. And Lakota teacher Basil Brave Heart describes how, in his own life and in native communities, the 12 Steps find resonance in indigenous spiritual practices.

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