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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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Word Kill: Politics Can Be Murder on Poetry

A poster featuring Renee Good sits along the street near a memorial to Good on January 16, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Word Kill: Politics Can Be Murder on Poetry

Across the United States and the world, millions are still processing the recent killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by ICE agents. Reactions have intensified as more recently ICE agents shot a Venezuelan man in the same city, and additional National Guard troops have been deployed there.

Many were shocked learning of Good’s shooting, and the shock grew as more information and details about the events leading up to her death, as well as facts about Good herself.

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Bad Bunny Super Bowl Clash Deepens America’s Cultural Divide

Bad Bunny performs on stage during the Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour at Estadio GNP Seguros on December 11, 2025 in Mexico City, Mexico.

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Bad Bunny Super Bowl Clash Deepens America’s Cultural Divide

On Monday, January 26th, I published a column in the Fulcrum called Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Sparks National Controversy As Trump Announces Boycott. At the time, I believed I had covered the entire political and cultural storm around Bad Bunny’s upcoming Super Bowl performance.

I was mistaken. In the days since, the reaction has only grown stronger, and something deeper has become clear. This is no longer just a debate about a halftime show. It is turning into a question of who belongs in America’s cultural imagination.

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Independent film captures Latino immigrant life in Wisconsin

Miguel (David Duran) in an ice fishing tent with a strange local, Carl (Ritchie Gordon)/ Nathan Deming

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Independent film captures Latino immigrant life in Wisconsin

Wisconsin filmmaker Nathan Deming said his independent film February is part of a long-term project to document life in Wisconsin through a series of standalone fictional stories, each tied to a month of the year.

Deming said the project is intentionally slow-moving and structured to explore different perspectives rather than follow a single narrative. He said each film functions on its own while contributing to a larger portrait of the state.

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