Episodes
New Episodes Releasing Weekly
The Root of Suffering and the Myth of the Independent Self | Tibetan Medicine Part 2 with Tenzin Namdul
Tibetan healer Tenzin Namdul joins Arndt Braaten to talk faith, the mind as the root of illness, impermanence and why caring for others helps us heal.
Grace and Truth: A Sermon for the Doctor and the Pastor with Randy Freund
In this episode of Headwaters Journal, physician and Lutheran pastor Arndt Braaten welcomes Randy Freund, who delivers an Advent sermon first preached at Arndt’s installation as a pastor of faith and health. Together they explore why doctors are expected to tell hard truths while pastors are expected to offer gentle comfort, and why both need grace and truth working together. Drawing on John the Baptist’s question, “Are you the one?”, the conversation touches on faith versus optimism, delivering difficult diagnoses, the Kingdom of God, and finding strength in weakness as both healer and patient.
Why Tibetan Medicine Starts With Your Mind, Not Your Body with Tenzin Namdul
Tibetan healer Tenzin Namdul joins Arndt Braaten to talk faith, the mind as the root of illness, impermanence and why caring for others helps us heal.
This World Is a Test: Islam, Immigration, and Raising the Next Generation (w/ Dr. Tamim Saidi) [Part 2]
In Part 2 of this Headwaters Journal conversation, host Arndt Braaten and Dr. Tamim Saidi, a pharmacist, chaplain, and Afghan refugee, explore how faith carries us through hardship.
Tamim answers whether Muslims and Christians worship the same God, explains the difference between the Quran and the hadith, and shares the verses he turns to as a chaplain when people are suffering.
He also reflects on fleeing Kabul, raising four children in the Muslim faith, and the meaning of wudu. The episode closes with a heartfelt discussion of immigration, empathy, and an Ellis Island story from Arndt’s own family history.
Why Faith Traditions Still Belong in Public Life
Physician and pastor Arndt Braaten makes the case for bringing faith traditions back into public life. Explore the Naked Public Square, the Stone Soup model of community, and the Headwaters reading list on faith and health.
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Why faith traditions still belong in public life: Arndt Braaten on the public square, Stone Soup, and the books shaping Headwaters Journal.
What the Elders Didn't Say Out Loud | Anton Treuer on Tradition, Forgiveness, and Growing Up [PART 2 of 2] | (EP005)
Part two of my conversation with Anton Treuer picks up right where we left off, and it goes somewhere I honestly didn't expect.
We head out into the woods with Ezra on his first moose hunt, and what follows isn't just a hunting story.
It's a ceremony, a coming of age, and one of the most honest portraits of what it actually means to become an adult that I've come across in a long time.
The True Headwaters: A Reflection on Faith, Healing, and Origins (EP004)
Have you ever stood at the edge of something small—almost quiet—and known that it held more meaning than anyone could see?
That’s how I feel every time I think about Lake Itasca, and why today’s exploration matters so deeply.
Inside the Story America Forgot | Anton Treuer on Ojibwe Identity and His New Novel [PART 1 of 2] | (EP003)
This week I sat down with Anton Treuer, professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, author, ceremonial leader, and one of the most grounded and generous thinkers I've come across.
At the Crossings: Faith Traditions and the Work of Healing (EP002)
What does it mean to be both a healer of bodies and a shepherd of souls?
That’s the question I’ve been carrying with me for years, and it’s the question that sits at the heart of this very first episode of Headwater’s Journal.
Faith, Health, and the Stories That Shape Us (EP001)
What does it mean to be both a healer of bodies and a shepherd of souls?
That’s the question I’ve been carrying with me for years, and it’s the question that sits at the heart of this very first episode of Headwater’s Journal.
