Inside the election of the first American pope

On this episode, The Washington Post's Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by religion reporter Michelle Boorstein and Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola to discuss the papal conclave and the election of the first American pope, Leo XIV . The crew breaks down the process the cardinals followed, then dives into the politics of the conclave : How cardinals make themselves candidates, and how they try to elevate their positions behind the scenes while adhering to the strict traditions surrounding the process. And finally, the crew breaks down whether the cardinals take American politics, or world politics, into account at all when choosing a new leader for the Catholic Church.

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Inside the election of the first American pope is an episode from Can He Do That? by The Washington Post.

This episode is 27:09 long.

This episode was published on May 8, 2025.

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