The unique power of an American pope

Nearly a year ago, Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV, the first pope in history from the U.S. His papacy so far has been relatively calm — until recent weeks, when a sharp public conflict with President Trump over the Iran war thrust him onto the political stage. Scott Detrow, host of NPR's All Things Considered and coauthor of the upcoming American Pope: Leo XIV's Road From the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City , joins guest host Sam Sanders to explore what it means to have an American pope who understands U.S. politics — and why his influence may be felt far beyond the Catholic Church.

You can listen to The unique power of an American pope online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The unique power of an American pope is an episode from Apple News In Conversation.

This episode is 31:00 long.

This episode was published on Apr 23, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Apple News In Conversation when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.