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Podcast:  Empathy in the age of Schadenfreude

Podcast:  Empathy in the age of Schadenfreude

Prepared to explore “Empathy in the Age of Schadenfreude,” the God Squad showed up to a room full of people disturbed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It turns out our planned topic was just the opening we needed to explore how one addresses the moral complexities of the war in Ukraine.

Join Village Squarecast for this timely conversation as we seek spiritual reinforcement from God Squad originals Pastor Betsy Ouellette Zierden of St. George Island United Methodist Church, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, and Rabbi Jack Romberg, author of "A doorway to Heroism: A decorated German-Jewish Soldier who became an American Hero."


Schadenfreude = the experience of feeling joy due to another person’s misfortune.

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Stephen Colbert attends the 51st Chaplin Award Gala honoring George Clooney at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on April 27, 2026 in New York City.

(Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Colbert’s Final Late Show Reveals What We’re Losing in Public Dialogue

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(Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

Bruce Springsteen Launches Protest Tour as Warning for American Democracy

When Bruce Springsteen spoke out from a Manchester stage in May 2025, many saw it as just another celebrity taking a political swipe. It was anything but. What happened that night and in the weeks that followed now looks less like a moment and more like the opening chapter of something broader. Springsteen wasn't merely criticizing a president; he was diagnosing a democracy in distress.

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Political Polarization and Extremism

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Strange Days Indeed: Why ‘Nobody Told Me’ Echoes America Today

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