{"podcast":{"title":"Common Threads: An Interfaith Dialogue","slug":"common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462","podcast_index_feed_id":450462,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/4g1jyNuN","website_url":"https://www.wgvunews.org/programs/common-threads","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/73e87d5a-7bcd-4521-9f32-3647c0cd2aae/c2b9340d-e286-40b9-8c87-d12eadd050a9/3000x3000/common-threads.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"Fred Stella","episode_count":356,"summary":"Rated as the #1 podcast on all matters interfaith by Feedspot (https://blog.feedspot.com/interfaith_podcasts/), this is a weekly program that airs on Michigan NPR affiliates WGVU and WGVK. These 2 stations cover the entire western portion of the state. The show is hosted by Fred Stella, President of Interfaith Dialogue Association, an affiliate of Kaufman Interfaith Institute, which operates out of Grand Valley State University, the license holder of both stations. Each week Fred invites clerics, authors, activists and the occasional mystic into conversation about the role of spirituality and religion in politics, world affairs, societies and individuals. The parameters are quite wide. Besides his passion for all things transcendent, Fred Stella has an extensive resume in the world of media. Since his graduation from college Fred has worked in multiple radio formats, including news/talk, where he developed his skills in the art of the interview. He also has extensive experience in TV, stage, web entertainment, audiobook narration and more. He lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-05T06:19:20.949167+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462"},"episode":{"title":"Islam: The Basic Tenets Parts 1 & 2","slug":"islam-the-basic-tenets-parts-1-2","published_at":"2026-01-22T01:40:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462/islam-the-basic-tenets-parts-1-2","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462","url":"https://www.wgvunews.org/programs/common-threads","audio_url":"https://cdn.simplecast.com/audio/920008cb-7530-4ec5-b363-8198629c298e/episodes/009f21c7-c8bb-4e57-ae5a-dc0531cc9789/audio/b01f9109-636b-4cfa-8919-cfd2203ad8ac/default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=4g1jyNuN","summary":"Once again we delve into the vault of recently discovered recordings that never made it to the podcast universe. These come from 2009. So please disregard any information about the conference on Islam that is being promoted. I've thought about these conversations over the years. I'll tell you why. As you might know, while I may ask probing questions, and on occasion uncomfortable ones, I'm not out to go all 60 Minutes on a guest, right? But every once in a while someone does say something that I just can't ignore. Well, in this case I did. At some point (either in Part 1 or 2, I can't recall) I ask our guests if there was any country on earth that they would put up as an example of a model Muslim nation. There wasn't much discussion. Immediately one of them said it would be Saudi Arabia. Wait...what...? Saudi Arabia? You mean that repressive state that controls personal behavior in almost every aspect? Where women were not allowed to drive until 2018? Seriously? I can't believe I let that go unchallenged. But I did. My bad. But other than that it was a reasonably good discussion. You will notice that the terrorist attack of 9/11/01 took up a fair amount of time. Obviously, only 8 years from that date the incident was still quite present in our minds as we continued to deal with the trauma. Theme music \"Nigal.\"","meta_description":"Once again we delve into the vault of recently discovered recordings that never made it to the podcast universe. These come from 2009. So please disregard…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3388,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462/episodes/islam-the-basic-tenets-parts-1-2/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/common-threads-an-interfaith-dialogue-450462/islam-the-basic-tenets-parts-1-2.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}