Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching?
Michael speaks with Dr. Richard Wood, a leading scholar on religion and democracy, about the passing of Pope Francis and the extraordinary political and spiritual process of selecting his successor. They explore the real-life conclave's inner workings, how much of it is prayer—and how much is politics—and what the next chapter might look like for the Catholic Church. Plus, Michael debates whether viewers will actually get up at 4 a.m. to watch the funeral, and if he's obligated to keep talking papal news when he hits the airwaves on CNN this Saturday morning.
April 25, 2025
31 min
1350
Full
1,363 of 1,936
Episode 1350 · April 25, 2025
Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching?
0:00 / 31:47
Excerpt playback isn’t available for this episode — use the full-episode link.
Search the Record
Moment search isn’t open for this episode yet
When it opens, you’ll be able to type any phrase and jump straight to the second it was said.
Allan Lichtman Episodes Around April 25, 2025
Episode 1,363 of 1,936 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
Conclave Countdown: Politics, Papal Legacy & Who’s Watching?
Summary
Michael speaks with Dr. Richard Wood, a leading scholar on religion and democracy, about the passing of Pope Francis and the extraordinary political and spiritual process of selecting his successor. They explore the real-life conclave's inner workings, how much of it is prayer—and how much is politics—and what the next chapter might look like for the Catholic Church. Plus, Michael debates whether viewers will actually get up at 4 a.m. to watch the funeral, and if he's obligated to keep talking papal news when he hits the airwaves on CNN this Saturday morning.
Topics
Episode details and artwork are published by the show’s own feed. Sentinel plays short cited excerpts and links every episode back to its publisher.