Trinity Forum Conversations

• The Duty of the Writer: A conversation from the Michael J. Gerson Memorial Prize event

  This special episode is taken from the launch of the inaugural Michael J. Gerson Prize for Excellence in Writing on Faith and Public Life. Through this conversation, held at Washington National Cathedral in November 2025, you’ll learn a lot about Michael, and what his legacy means for us now. What you’ll hear in this episode is a conversation moderated by Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder on “Conscience, Courage and Craft: The Duty of the Writer in an Age of Confusion.” The all-star panelists are Peter Wehner, David Brooks, Christine Emba, Russell Moore, and Karen Swallow Prior. You’ll also hear videos provided in Michael’s memory by two of his friends – President Bush, and Bono.“Our responsibility [as writers] is to … remind our readers and our audiences of the good, the true, the beautiful, the virtuous … to show that those things can be lovely, actually, to redefine those words in ways that don't make them smell of just old books and past lectures that we've moved past, but something that can be alive in this moment.” —Christine EmbaLater that evening, Matthew Loftus was named as the inaugural winner of the award. You can find writings by Matthew, and by Michael Gerson, at TTF.org. You can also find the full YouTube video of the evening there. While you’re there, why not consider becoming a member of the Trinity Forum? Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope - including through next year’s Michael Gerson Prize.

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• Thanksgiving is a Practice, with Cornelius Plantinga

  Thanksgiving is much more than a holiday. The practice of gratitude is a biblical command, it’s a Christian virtue, and it’s even one of the best predictors of personal well-being. But what does the practice of thanks-giving require? How can we cultivate a spirit and habit of thankfulness with the burdens we bear as individuals, and amidst the sorrows and injustices of a fallen world?Join us in this episode in discovering formative practices from our Christian tradition that can help each of us cultivate a deeply thankful heart. Together we’ll be guided by Cornelius (Neal) Plantinga, theologian and author of Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is the Key to Our Well-Being. “Gratitude makes me content because gratitude makes what I have enough.”This episode is drawn from an online conversation held in 2025. You can find the full video of the conversation on our website, ttf.org. You can become a Trinity Forum Society member there too. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope.

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• Remembering Michael Gerson: Who Is My Neighbor?

  This is a special episode in memory of Michael Gerson. Michael J. Gerson was a White House speechwriter and senior policy adviser, a Washington Post columnist and one of America’s most influential and eloquent commentators. Michael was shaped by his deep Christian faith, and his writing drew from the Christian tradition to call America to greater justice. In particular, he’s remembered for linking that tradition to the global health efforts he championed, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR.  To mark the three years since Michael passed away due to cancer on November 17, 2022, we’re presenting this edited version of his comments at a Trinity Forum evening conversation held in 2016. Hearing him again reminds us of Michael’s extraordinary mind, as well as his heart. “You can never be too careful when you travel. You can go in search of disease and poverty and stumble upon holy ground, and you can find resilience, courage, and faithfulness that will inspire you and challenge you for the rest of your life.”You can find the full video of the conversation on our Trinity Forum website, ttf.org. You can become a member there too. Join us in exploring timeless Christian wisdom together, so you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and help cultivate a renewed culture of hope.

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• Can Character Be Taught? with William Inboden

  Does character matter? In the last century, our society shifted away from teaching character in schools in order to focus on different forms of learning. How has that change shaped the world we live in now? Should cultivating character be a focus of education, and can character even be effectively taught in a pluralistic society?Our guest on today’s podcast is Dr. William Inboden, provost of the University of Texas, and one of our Senior Fellows here at the Trinity Forum. He’ll be our guide as we explore the roles of education, community, and faith in forming people of wisdom and integrity.What does it mean to be in community? What are the implications of your character for that? Loyalty, honesty. Those are fundamental to building friendships. Integrity, self sacrifice. Those are also fundamental to living for something greater than yourself.This episode is drawn from an Online Conversation held in 2025. It’ll give you a sense of what the Trinity Forum is about: a community of people renewing our culture by applying wisdom from the Christian tradition, and nurturing its growth. 

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• Blaise Pascal as a Modern Guide with Graham Tomlin

  In this episode, we explore the life and mind of whom historian Tom Holland calls “17th century Europe’s supreme polymath": Blaise Pascal. Our guide is Graham Tomlin, a former bishop in the Church of England. Drawing from his book, Blaise Pascal, the Man Who Made the Modern World, Graham brings us on a journey through Pascal’s life, his conversion to Christianity, and his famous argument for belief in God known as “the Wager.”Together, we’ll explore the ways in which Pascal himself can still be a guide for us today. "What else does [man's] craving and helplessness proclaim—but that there was once in man a true happiness of which all that remains is the empty print and trace. This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there, the help that he cannot find in those that are. Though none can help. Because this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object. In other words, by God himself."This conversation was recorded in August 2025. You can find the original video and transcript here.Thank you for joining us in exploring timeless wisdom together, to help you gain clarity and courage for your own life, and to help nurture a culture of renewed hope.

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