January 29, 2009

President Barack Obama has cited Reinhold Niebuhr as one of his favorite philosophers — a theologian who has influenced his understanding of the world, religion, and politics. With New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, we explore how Niebuhr's merger of intellect, faith, and realism speaks to a new era of American turmoil and power. Democracy, Reinhold Niebuhr famously said, "is a method of finding proximate solutions for insoluble problems."

So, with one video camera remaining, we filmed Krista Tippett's public conversation at Georgetown University with Brooks and Dionne, including an invocation by Jean Bethke Elshtain. For the final produced public radio program, "Obama's Theologian," download the mp3 (and find a comprehensive, interactive timeline of Niebuhr's life and letters) at speakingoffaith.org/programs/2009/obamas-theologian.