Episodes

Nov. 9, 2021

Anthony Benedetti and the Work of the Committee for Public Counsel Se…

In 1963, in a case called Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court held for the first time that a person accused of a crime in a state court has a right to counsel secured by the United States …

Episode page
Oct. 19, 2021

Imagine! A Conversation with Attorney/Artist Michael Bogdanow

I got to know Michael Bogdanow when we co-chaired the Litigation Section of the Boston Bar Association in the early 2000’s. An alum of Harvard Law School and chair of the appellate practice at a small but powerful personal injury …

Episode page
Oct. 5, 2021

Hon. Denise D. Reilly: A Calling For Justice

(Photo: Kevin and Denise Reilly) Denise Reilly is a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. As a religion major in college, her passion for justice instilled in her a calling to become a lawyer. While raising a young family, …

Episode page
Sept. 28, 2021

Bonus Episode: Rev. Pashington Obeng and the Pan African Heritage Wor…

Last week I had the privilege of publishing portions of my interview of Rev. Pashington Obeng in which he described his work with descendants of Africans living in India, known as the Siddis. In this bonus episode, we shift our …

Episode page
Sept. 21, 2021

Africans in India: Rev. Pashington Obeng and the Siddi People

Reverend Pashington Obeng, Ph.D. is a Protestant minister and scholar, who was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, and has been living and working in Massachusetts for more than 30 years. In 1998, he learned of a community of …

Episode page
Sept. 7, 2021

Tom Benninger, M.D.: Healing the World, One Patient at a Time

Dr. Tom Benninger is a retired physician who lives in Louisville, Kentucky. On more than a dozen occasions, Tom, along with other volunteers, traveled to third world countries where they worked to address the medical needs of people who had …

Episode page
Aug. 18, 2021

Bonus Episode: Highlights from Season One

As we begin work on Season Two, we wanted to share this episode of highlights from the four interviews featured in Season One. First, mediator David Hoffman describes an insightful model for understanding and resolving confli...

Episode page
June 15, 2021

The Pro Bono Lawyer: A Conversation With Emily L. Cooke

From time immemorial, lawyers and law firms have provided free legal services to clients who could not afford to pay. What motivates them to do so? What are the rewards of pro bono service? What makes pro bono legal services …

Episode page
June 8, 2021

Jennifer Haverkamp: Saving the Earth Through Environmental Diplomacy …

Higher Callings is pleased to offer this unedited version of our interview of Jennifer Haverkamp, the Graham Family Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan. Jennifer has had a long and di...

Episode page
May 26, 2021

Jennifer Haverkamp: Saving the Earth Through Environmental Diplomacy

Climate change is an existential crisis. It can't be solved by one country or a few countries, but only through worldwide cooperation and commitment. Outside of the glare of the political spotlight, American diplomats work ti...

Episode page
May 11, 2021

Phil Mueller Part II: The Prosecutor as Public Servant

The trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd featured a team of prosecutors who exemplified professionalism. Phil Mueller, knows something about the professionalism of prosecutors. As a state prosecutor for 26 ye...

Episode page
May 5, 2021

Phil Mueller Part I: Discovering a Calling in Criminal Prosecution

Phil Mueller, a highly successful graduate of an ivy league law school, followed a long and meandering path until he finally found his calling. A decade after his law school graduation, he left a promising career as a civil ...

Episode page
April 17, 2021

David Hoffman: From Social Justice to Private Peace

David Hoffman is the founder of the Boston Law Collaborative and teaches mediation and dispute resolution at Harvard Law School. Influenced by the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the anti-war movement of the 1960s and 1970s, …

Episode page