The Pope, Poverty, and Poetry

In just a few months, Pope Francis has proven to be one of the most outspoken pontiffs in recent history, especially when it comes to the widening gap between the rich and poor. This week on Moyers & Company Bill talks to author and historian Thomas Cahill to get his perspective on what the actions of Pope Francis could mean for the future of the church and why he has some conservatives up in arms. In a web extra, they continue their conversation on the nature of human progress and explore the ascendancy of Christopher Columbus, who Cahill describes as an “avatar of the new man” that emerges following the Black Death. Also on the broadcast, poet Philip Levine joins Bill to discuss why Americans have lost sight of those who really keep the country afloat – the hardworking men and women who toil, unsung and unknown, in our nation’s fields and factories. Levine himself worked on the assembly lines of Detroit’s auto plants, and his experience inspired several of his poems. Described by one critic as “a large, ironic Whitman of the industrial heartland,” Levine recently served as the nation’s poet laureate at the Library of Congress.