religion interview essay

Religious Tradition: Interview Essay

Interview summary.

While discussing the interviewee’s background information, the participant replied that he had been in the position of Catholic Church leader for eighteen years. The interview also remarked that being a religious leader required patience because so many people strived to attend the church service to search for reconciliation and forgiveness.

The participant gave account on his early experience of taking this position and explained that this had been his decision to become the minister of religion. Since the childhood, the religious leader was concerned with the possibility to prove his commitment to public life, as well as his love to God.

While reflecting on the purpose of church in his community, Mr. Brown told that his desire to become a Catholic leader was not influenced by his parents. Rather, it had been his own conscious decision. At the of this discussion, the leader admitted that it had taken him 2 years to develop enough confidence in his leadership power to head the church.

While deliberating on leader’s essential message that he reveals in Catholic tradition, Mr. Brown asserted that religion had a potent impact on formation of people’s moral, spiritual, and ethical values. Regardless of religious tradition, the interview believed that Catholicism fulfilled the role of spiritual foundation for people searching for reconciliation and peace.

In addition, the participant looked very concerned while discussing the significance of celebrating the Eucharist and the role of church in the life of the community. In particular, the Catholic leader claimed that the church and divine rule represent the authority under which the public community could integrate. Possessing the uniform rules and principles would allow people to become spiritually closer to God.

Due to the fact that Mr. Brown had lived in the region since his birth, he did not feel any pressure on the part of his parents and community. His attitude to people irrespective of their origin and beliefs is also equal, which is the main principle of Catholic tradition. In particular, the interviewee emphasized that his task as a leader was confined to constant support of parishioners who suffered from problems in a secular life.

His position requires him to be the messenger between the real world and the divine world. While talking about the main challenges during the service, Mr. Brown noted that the most difficult in accomplishing his duty was to convince people of the necessity to observe virtues and values, notwithstanding the difficulties, which are often sent by God as a trial of human patience.

The religious leader also confessed that the most difficult thing about his profession lied in persuading young population about the necessity to attend churches and enriching their values and spiritual beliefs.

While analyzing future plans of the church community, the leader expressed his enthusiasm concerning the possibility of developing strong networks, in which religious tradition was presented in a broader sense. In particular, it should not be regarded as a religious commitment to God only, but as a philosophical framework that should form the underpinning of public life in the district.

The fact that most people attend church and search for spirituality encourages the interviewee most of all. At the end of the interview, Mr. Brown added that this profession had become for him a tool for improving the life in the community and developing a strong ethical and moral system.

While deliberating on the conservation with the religious leader of the Catholic Church Sebastian Brown, specific attention requires the interviewee’s commitment to and understanding of the divine rule and its influence on public life. In particular, unlike many other leaders, Mr. Brown is more concerned with the practical significance of Catholic tradition.

Convincing people of the influence of religion on their ethical and spiritual beliefs should be a priority for the church. Therefore, the role of religious mentors should consist in supporting and encouraging the parishioners to search for improving their life and shaping such virtues as love, compassion, and respect of other people.

Forgiveness, therefore, is the first step toward reconciliation, although this is the most difficult one because individuals often fail to realize the actual value of this action. In fact, Mr. Brown’s vision is well thought because people often resort to God’s help whose actions are under the divine control. In this context, they do not have the right to decide who is to blame.

Loving and respecting people can make the world better and this philosophy of forgiveness and compassion will definitely provide a strong foundation for the entire community. Therefore, while discussing this issue, Mr. Brown focused predominantly on leadership and its importance for sustaining public life.

He was less concerned with the future plans because most of his contributions were directed at improving the current state of affaires. At the same time, the discussion of Catholic tradition referred to its practical value for people who are in need of reconciliation and assistance to overcome the hardships.

Such a philosophic and religious outlook on Catholic tradition presents the divine rule that acts according to reason. In particular, the religious leaders agreed with the idea that Catholicism always defined men, regardless of their social position. Humans, therefore, are creatures of God whose dignity is proclaimed.

Indeed, modern understanding of religion identifies its philosophical strength, which enhances the importance of sustaining faith in God and divine rule by experiencing His love and contemplation.

Although Catholic traditions differs greatly from other religious outlooks, including Islam, or Buddhism, its essence still lies in worshiping such universal virtues as kindness, love, respect, support, and justice. Religious teachings should not rely on elaborating theoretical frameworks, but also on developing the sense of identity and belonging to a specific Church communion.

While reflecting on the role of leadership in the community, specific emphasis should be placed on the way religion influences methods of managing and controlling church service. Hence, the role of church should not be confined to religious commitment. Rather, people should attend churches to fulfill themselves in secular life.

The believers, therefore, should be able to adhere to the utmost principles dictated by the church leader because they can contribute significantly to the welfare of the community. The focus on interviewee’s strong faith in the initial good of individuals allowed him to develop church memberships, as well as main ethical and moral values.

The concept of membership entity premises on the individuals’ freedom to attend church to establish unlimited relationships. At this point, Mr. Brown approach to leading people is efficient because it focuses on people’s shift in their attributions and in their aspiration to enrich their spirituality.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Bibliography

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How a Religious Individual Can Approach a Job Interview

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I hope for a day where individuals are not discriminated against for their religious beliefs, being in a nation that enumerates that right within our Constitution. However, that day has not come to fruition, and we still witness our peers and fellow Americans targeted and ostracized because of what they believe. This blog aims to provide resources for UConn students and Alumni who seek guidance on religious questioning in a job interview without being marginalized.

To start things off, every potential employee should know their rights. The 1964 Civil Rights Act (CRA) was the landmark legislation that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Under Title VII of the CRA, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was established to enforce the CRA in all private and public workspaces. Title VII also only applies to organizations with 15 employees or more, and it does not apply to openly religious organizations hiring for religiously oriented roles.

When you enter a job interview, your interviewer is legally prohibited from asking you about your religion. They can only ask what your availability is, which may align with the religious holidays you celebrate. Specifically, your potential employer cannot ask you about your:

• Religious denomination, affiliations, or societies that you are a part of
• Religious beliefs, practices, celebrations, holidays, or customs
• Church/place of worship
• Religious requirements for working on religious holidays

Source: UConn Office of Institutional Equity

However, some situations call for the employee to inquire about workplace culture or express their availability without revealing their religion. Here are some questions you can ask your interviewer:

• What is your policy for requesting days off? Can a request of denial be appealed for important familial events?
• Does your office offer days off without explanation other than sick/vacation time?
• How diverse are the currently employed staff? Is everyone offered days off for unrecognized cultural holidays?

You may also encounter a situation where you need to defend your religious privacy from a prying question from an interviewer. Nobody wants to come off as combative in a job interview, but you should redirect an improper/illegal question to the interviewer. It would be best if you are polite with your response because, in most cases, it is the lack of experience of the hiring manager, or they are simply trying to figure out your availability. Business Insider has written an article providing examples of questions you can ask. A few are listed below:

• Are you looking for information about which religious holidays I might observe for scheduling purposes, or was there some other piece of information you were looking for?
• My religious beliefs never get in the way of my job. Actually, I can’t think of a time in my life where it affected my results and performance. I don’t know if you have differing views of how it impacts productivity…
• I have never been asked that in a job interview. Religion and spirituality are complex matters for me that would consume a lot of our time here; it’s not a simple answer. I want to spend a little more of our time learning about the XYZ aspect of the job. Can you elaborate on that?

For the Complete List of Questions See: Business Insider – What to Say When the Hiring Manager Asks About Your Religion in A Job Interview

Needless to say, as an employee in the United States, your religion is an enumerated Constitutional Right enforced by the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission under Title VII. Always stand up for yourself and others when you are going through a hiring process. Your religion and privacy are sacred.

Other legal and explanatory sources:

Justia Explanation of Title VII

Picture Source: Verdict-Justia

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• 1 What methodologies can I use to study religious…
• 2 Is it possible to study religion objectively?
• 3 What are the guidelines for objective, reliable and…
• 4 What are the advantages and disadvantages of studying…
• 5 How do you choose and gain access to…
• 6 Why should I use interviews in my research?
• 7 Whom should I interview?
• 8 How do I prepare for an interview?
• 9 What are typical interview questions?
• 10 What are some techniques and strategies for interviewing?
• 11 How do I analyze my interview data?
• 12 What is “participant observation”?
• 13 What data do you collect in participant observation?
• 14 What are the ethical considerations of fieldwork?
• 15 How do I apply social science theoretical frameworks…
• 16 How might a journalist and a social scientist…
• 17 How do I take good photography, video or…
• 18 What research can be done during the COVID-19…
• 19 Extra Resources
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Report How do I prepare for an interview?

Nalika gajaweera and andrew johnson, getting started.

At first, there may be some apprehension on the part of both the interviewer and interviewee. On the one hand, as an interviewer, you may be concerned that the person being interviewed might not be an appropriate research subject or may not be open to your line of questions. This is normal. Sometimes you will have great interviews, rich with significant and detailed data, and at other times you might not get what you hoped for.

Regardless of your concerns, your job is to make the interview as fruitful as possible. The person being interviewed may not be clear on the purpose or intent of the meeting and your questions. It is always helpful to restate the research project and its general objective. Specify to them your interests and questions, and explain why you chose them to interview. Tell the interviewee that you are trying to learn from them about their participation in their religious group or practice. Ask them if they have any preliminary questions for you before you get started.

Talking But Also Listening

Interviewing is a skill that requires you as the interviewer to talk and most importantly to listen and ask further questions. Talking is essential because it helps build rapport, a necessary part of building trust between you and your interviewee, but you also have to listen, always showing interest in what your interview subjects are saying. Here are some tips:

• Sometimes it’s useful to let your interviewee interrupt you, as this may lead to important insights.
• Sometimes it is useful to be quiet and become comfortable with awkward silences or long pauses. This could be a cultural form of communication, and it also gives the interviewee the opportunity to reflect deeper about their experiences.
• Avoid positive or negative feedback to responses the interviewee gives. Use neutral phrases like “that’s interesting” instead. It also builds rapport when you affirm the emotional content of what your respondent is saying, such as “wow, that sounds hard” or “that must have been encouraging.”
• Tangents in the conversations can sometimes be the most meaningful part of an interview, so you do not always need to resist them. At the same time, know when guidance is necessary. If you have a limited time for an interview, be sure that tangents do not prevent you from getting all your questions answered.

Nalika Gajaweera was a senior research analyst with the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture through 2023.

Andrew Johnson is a contributing fellow with the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture.

Studying Faith: Qualitative Methodologies for Studying Religious Communities

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What are typical interview questions?

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• What is “participant observation”?
• What data do you collect in participant observation?
• What are the ethical considerations of fieldwork?
• How do I apply social science theoretical frameworks to make sense of my data?
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The Protesters and the President

Over the past week, thousands of students protesting the war in gaza have been arrested..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Free, free, Palestine!

Free, free Palestine!

Free, free, free Palestine!

Over the past week, what had begun as a smattering of pro-Palestinian protests on America’s college campuses exploded into a nationwide movement —

United, we’ll never be defeated!

— as students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments, and at times seized academic buildings.

[PROTESTERS CLAMORING]:

response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down —

Do not throw things at our officers. We will use chemical munitions that include gas.

— calling in local police to carry out mass detentions and arrests. From Arizona State —

In the name of the state of Arizona, I declare this gathering to be a violation of —

— to the University of Georgia —

— to City College of New York.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING, “BACK OFF”]:

As of Thursday, police had arrested 2,000 students on more than 40 campuses. A situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Look, it’s basically a matter of fairness. It’s a matter of what’s right. There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.

Today, my colleagues Jonathan Wolfe and Peter Baker on a history-making week. It’s Friday, May 3.

Jonathan, as this tumultuous week on college campuses comes to an end, it feels like the most extraordinary scenes played out on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles, where you have been reporting. What is the story of how that protest started and ultimately became so explosive?

So late last week, pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles.

From the river to the sea!

Palestine will be free!

Palestine —

It was right in front of Royce Hall, which I don’t know if you are familiar with UCLA, but it’s a very famous, red brick building. It’s on all the brochures. And there was two things that stood out about this encampment. And the first thing was that they barricaded the encampment.

The encampment, complete with tents and barricades, has been set up in the middle of the Westwood campus. The protesters demand —

They have metal grates. They had wooden pallets. And they separated themselves from the campus.

This is kind of interesting. There are controlling access, as we’ve been talking about. They are trying to control who is allowed in, who is allowed out.

They sort of policed the area. So they only would let people that were part of their community, they said, inside.

I’m a UCLA student. I deserve to go here. We paid tuition. This is our school. And they’re not letting me walk in. Why can’t I go? Will you let me go in?

We’re not engaging with that.

Then you can move. Will you move?

And the second thing that stood out about this camp was that it immediately attracted pro-Israel counterprotesters.

And what did the leadership of UCLA say about all of this, the encampment and these counterprotesters?

So the University of California’s approach was pretty unique. They had a really hands-off approach. And they allowed the pro-Palestinian protesters to set up an encampment. They allowed the counterprotesters to happen. I mean, this is a public university, so anyone who wants to can just enter the campus.

So when do things start to escalate?

So there were definitely fights and scuffles through the weekend. But a turning point was really Sunday —

[SINGING IN HEBREW]:

— when this group called the Israeli American Council, they’re a nonprofit organization, organized a rally on campus. The Israeli American Council has really been against these pro-Palestinian protests. They say that they’re antisemitic. So this nonprofit group sets up a stage with a screen really just a few yards from the pro-Palestinian encampment.

We are grateful that this past Friday, the University of California, stated that they will continue to oppose any calls for boycott and divestment from Israel!

[PROTESTERS CHEERING]

And they host speakers and they held prayers.

Jewish students, you’re not alone! Oh, you’re not alone! We are right here with you! And we’re right here with you in until —

[WORDLESS SINGING]:

And then lots of other people start showing up. And the proximity between protesters and counterprotesters and even some agitators, makes it really clear that something was about to happen.

And what was that? What ended up happening?

On Monday night, a group of about 60 counterprotesters tried to breach the encampment there. And the campus police had to break it up. And things escalated again on Tuesday.

They stormed the barricades and it’s a complete riot.

[PROTESTER SHOUTING]:

Put it down! Put it down! Put it down!

I went to report on what happened just a few hours after it ended.

And I spoke to a lot of protesters. And I met one demonstrator, Marie.

Yeah, my first name is Marie. M-A-R-I-E. Last name, Salem.

And Marie described what happened.

So can you just tell me a little bit about what happened last night?

Last night, we were approached by over a hundred counterprotesters who were very mobilized and ready to break into camp. They proceeded to try to breach our barricades extremely violently.

Marie said it started getting out of hand when counterprotesters started setting off fireworks towards the camp.

They had bear spray. They had Mace. They were throwing wood and spears. Throwing water bottles, continuing fireworks.

So she said that they were terrified. It was just all hands on deck. Everyone was guarding the barricades.

Every time someone experienced the bear spray or Mace or was hit and bleeding, we had some medics in the front line. And then we had people —

And they said that they were just trying to take care of people who were injured.

I mean, at any given moment, there was 5 to 10 people being treated.

So what she described to me sounded more like a battlefield than a college campus.

And it was just a complete terror and complete abandonment of the university, as we also watched private security watch this the entire time on the stairs. And some LAPD were stationed about a football field length back from these counterprotesters, and did not make a single arrest, did not attempt to stop any violence, did not attempt to get in between the two groups. No attempt.

I should say, I spoke to a state authorities and eyewitnesses and they confirmed Marie’s account about what happened that night, both in terms of the violence that took place at the encampment and how law enforcement responded. So in the end, people ended up fighting for hours before the police intervened.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

So in her mind, UCLA’s hands-off approach, which seemed to have prevailed throughout this entire period, ends up being way too hands off in a moment when students were in jeopardy.

That’s right. And so at this point, the protesters in the encampment started preparing for two possibilities. One was that this group of counterprotesters would return and attack them. And the second one was that the police would come and try to break up this encampment.

So they started building up the barricades. They start reinforcing them with wood. And during the day, hundreds of people came and brought them supplies. They brought food.

They brought helmets, goggles, earplugs, saline solution, all sorts of things these people could use to defend themselves. And so they’re really getting ready to burrow in. And in the end, it was the police who came.

[PROTESTERS SHOUTING]:

So Wednesday at 7:00 PM, they made an announcement on top of Royce Hall, which overlooks the encampment —

— administrative criminal actions up to and including arrest. Please leave the area immediately.

And they told people in the encampment that they needed to leave or face arrest.

[DRUM BEATING]: [PROTESTERS CHANTING]

And so as night falls, they put on all this gear that they’ve been collecting, the goggles, the masks and the earplugs, and they wait for the police.

[DRUM BEATING]:

And so the police arrive and station themselves right in front of the encampment. And then at a certain point, they storm the back stairs of the encampment.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING]:

And this is the stairs that the protesters have been using to enter and exit the camp. And they set up a line. And the protesters do this really surprising thing.

The people united!

They open up umbrellas. They have these strobe lights. And they’re flashing them at the police, who just slowly back out of the camp.

[PROTESTERS CHEERING]:

And so at this point, they’re feeling really great. They’re like, we did it. We pushed them out of their camp. And when the cops try to push again on those same set of stairs —

[PROTESTER SHOUTS]:

Hold your ground!

— the protesters organized themselves with all these shields that they had built earlier. And they go and confront them. And so there’s this moment where the police are trying to push up the stairs. And the protesters are literally pushing them back.

Push them back! Push them back!

Push them back!

And at a certain point, dozens of the police officers who were there, basically just turn around and leave.

So how does this eventually come to an end?

So at a certain point, the police push in again. Most of the conflict is centered at the front of these barricades. And the police just start tearing them apart.

[METAL CLANGING]

[CLAMORING]

They removed the front barricade. And in its place is this group of protesters who have linked arms and they’re hanging on to each other. And the police are trying to pull protesters one by one away from this group.

He’s just a student! Back off!

But they’re having a really hard time because there’s so many protesters. And they’re all just hanging on to each other.

We’re moving back now.

So at a certain point, one of the police officers started firing something into the crowd. We don’t exactly know what it was. But it really spooked the protesters.

Stop shooting at kids! Fuck you! Fuck them!

They started falling back. Everyone was really scared. The protesters were yelling, don’t shoot us. And at that point, the police just stormed the camp.

Get back. Get back.

Back up now!

And so after about four hours of this, the police pushed the protesters out of the encampment. They had arrested about 200 protesters. And this was finally over.

And I’m just curious, Jonathan, because you’re standing right there, you are bearing witness to this all, what you were thinking, what your impressions of this were.

I mean, I was stunned. These are mostly teenagers. This is a college campus, an institution of higher learning. And what I saw in front of me looked like a war zone.

[TENSE MUSIC]

The massive barricade, the police coming in with riot gear, and all this violence was happening in front of these red brick buildings that are famous for symbolizing a really open college campus. And everything about it was just totally surreal.

Well, Jonathan, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thanks, Michael.

We’ll be right back.

Peter, around 10:00 AM on Thursday morning as the smoke is literally still clearing at the University of California Los Angeles, you get word that President Biden is going to speak.

Right, exactly. It wasn’t on his public schedule. He was about to head to Andrews Air Force base in order to take a trip. And then suddenly, we got the notice that he was going to be addressing the cameras in the Roosevelt Room.

They didn’t tell us what he was going to talk about. But it was pretty clear, I think. Everybody understood that it was going to be about these campus protests, about the growing violence and the clashes with police, and the arrests that the entire country had been watching on TV every night for the past week, and I think that we were watching just that morning with UCLA. And it reached the point where he just had to say something.

And why, in his estimation and those of his advisors, was this the moment that Biden had to say something?

Well, it kind of reached a boiling point. It kind of reached the impression of a national crisis. And you expect to hear your president address it in this kind of a moment, particularly because it’s about his own policy. His policy toward Israel is at the heart of these protests. And he was getting a lot of grief. He was getting a lot of grief from Republicans who were chiding him for not speaking out personally. He hadn’t said anything in about 10 days.

He’s getting a lot of pressure from Democrats, too, who wanted him to come out and be more forceful. It wasn’t enough, in their view, to leave it to his spokespeople to say something. Moderate Democrats felt he needed to come out and take some leadership on this.

And so at the appointed moment, Peter, what does Biden actually say in the Roosevelt Room of the White House?

Good morning.

Before I head to North Carolina, I wanted to speak for a few moments about what’s going on, on our college campuses here.

Well, it comes in the Roosevelt Room and he talks to the camera. And he talks about the two clashing imperatives of American principle.

The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld.

One is freedom of speech. The other is the rule of law.

In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But, but, neither are we a lawless country.

In other words, what he’s saying is, yes, I support the right of these protesters to come out and object to even my own policy, in effect, is what he’s saying. But it shouldn’t trail into violence.

Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses —

It shouldn’t trail into taking over buildings and obstructing students from going to class or canceling their graduations.

Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.

And he leans very heavily into this idea that what he’s seeing these days goes beyond the line.

I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. In America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that. But it doesn’t mean anything goes.

It has crossed into harassment and expressions of hate in a way that goes against the national character.

As president, I will always defend free speech. And I will always be just as strong and standing up for the rule of law. That’s my responsibility to you, the American people, and my obligation to the Constitution. Thank you very much.

Right, as I watched the speech, I heard his overriding message to basically be, I, the president of the United States, am drawing a line. These protests and counterprotests, the seizing and defacing of campus buildings, class disruption, all of it, name calling, it’s getting out of hand. That there’s a right way to do this. And what I’m seeing is the wrong way to do it and it has to stop.

That’s exactly right. And as he’s wrapping up, reporters, of course, ask questions. And the first question is —

Mr. President, have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regard to the region?

— will this change your policy toward the war in Gaza? Which, of course, is exactly what the protesters want. That’s the point.

And he basically says —

— no. Just one word, no.

Right. And that felt kind of important, as brief and fleeting as it was, because at the end of the day, what he’s saying to these protesters is, I’m not going to do what you want. And basically, your protests are never going to work. I’m not going to change the US’s involvement in this war.

Yeah, that’s exactly right. He is saying, I’m not going to be swayed by angry people in the streets. I’m going to do what I think is right when it comes to foreign policy. Now, what he thinks is that they’re not giving him enough credit for trying to achieve what they want, which is an end of the war.

He has been pressuring Israel and Hamas to come to a deal for a ceasefire that will, hopefully, in his view, would then lead to a more enduring end of hostilities. But, of course, this deal hasn’t gone anywhere. Hamas, in particular, seems to be resisting it. And so the president is left with a policy of arming Israel without having found a way yet to stop the war.

Right. I wonder, though, Peter, if we’re being honest, don’t these protests, despite what Biden is saying there, inevitably exert a kind of power over him? Becoming one of many pressures, but a pressure nonetheless that does influence how he thinks about these moments. I mean, here he is at the White House devoting an entire conversation to the nation to these campus protests.

Well, look, he knows this feeds into the political environment in which he’s running for re-election, in which he basically has people who otherwise might be his supporters on the left disenchanted with him. And he knows that there’s a cost to be paid. And that certainly, obviously, is in his head as he’s thinking about what to do.

But I think his view of the war is changing by the day for all sorts of reasons. And most of them having to do with realities on the ground. He has decided that Israel has gone far enough, if not too far, in the way it has conducted this operation in Gaza.

He is upset about the humanitarian crisis there. And he’s looking for a way to wrap all this up into a move that would move to peacemaking, beginning to get the region to a different stage, maybe have a deal with the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for some sort of a two-state solution that would eventually resolve the Palestinian issue at its core.

So I think it’s probably fair to say that the protests won’t move him in an immediate kind of sense. But they obviously play into the larger zeitgeist of the moment. And I also think it’s important to know who Joe Biden is at heart.

Explain that.

He’s not drawn to activism. He was around in 1968, the last time we saw this major conflagration at Columbia University, for instance. At the time, Joe Biden was a law student in Syracuse, about 250 miles away. And he was an institutionalist even then.

He was just focused on his studies. He was about to graduate. He was thinking about the law career. And he didn’t really have much of an affinity, I think, for his fellow students of that era, for their activist way of looking at things.

He tells a story in his memoir about walking down a street in Syracuse one day to go to the pizza shop with some friends. And they walk by the administration building. And they see people hanging out of the windows. They’re hanging SDS banners. That’s the Students for a Democratic Society, which was one of the big activist groups of the era.

And he says, they were taking over the building. And we looked up and said, look at those assholes. That’s how far apart from the antiwar movement I was. That’s him writing in his memoir.

So to a young Joe Biden, those who devote their time and their energy to protesting the war are, I don’t need to repeat the word twice, but they’re losers. They’re not worth his time.

Well, I think it’s the tactics they’re using more than the goals that he disagreed with. He would tell you he disagreed with the Vietnam War. He was for civil rights. But he thought that taking over a building was performative, was all about getting attention, and that there was a better way, in his view, to do it.

He was somebody who wanted to work inside the system. He said in an interview quite a few years back, he says, look, I was wearing sports coats in that era. He saw himself becoming part of the system, not somebody trying to tear it down.

And so how should we think about that Joe Biden, when we think about this Joe Biden? I mean, the Joe Biden who, as a young man, looked upon antiwar protesters with disdain and the one who is now president and his very own policies have inspired such ferocious campus protests?

Yeah, that Joe Biden, the 1968 Joe Biden, he could just throw on a sports coat, go to the pizza shop with his friends, make fun of the activists and call them names, and then that’s it. They didn’t have to affect his life. But that’s not what 2024 Joe Biden can do.

Now, wherever he goes, he’s dogged by this. He goes to speeches and people are shouting at him, Genocide Joe! Genocide Joe! He is the target of the same kind of a movement that he disdained in 1968. And so as much as he would like to ignore it or move on or focus on other things, I think this has become a defining image of his year and one of the defining images, perhaps, of his presidency. And 2024 Joe Biden can’t simply ignore it.

Well, Peter, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

Here’s what else you need to know today. During testimony on Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, jurors heard a recording secretly made by Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, in which Trump discusses a deal to buy a woman’s silence. In the recording, Trump asks Cohen about how one payment made by Trump to a woman named Karen McDougal would be financed. The recording could complicate efforts by Trump’s lawyers to distance him from the hush money deals at the center of the trial.

A final thing to know, tomorrow morning, we’ll be sending you the latest episode from our colleagues over at “The Interview.” This week, David Marchese talks with comedy star Marlon Wayans about his new stand-up special.

It’s a high that you get when you don’t know if this joke that I’m about to say is going to offend everybody. Are they going to walk out? Are they going to boo me? Are they going to hate this. And then you tell it, and everybody cracks up and you’re like, woo.

Today’s episode was produced by Diana Nguyen, Luke Vander Ploeg, Alexandra Leigh Young, Nina Feldman, and Carlos Prieto. It was edited by Lisa Chow and Michael Benoist. It contains original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.

• May 10, 2024   •   27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
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• May 8, 2024   •   28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
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• May 6, 2024   •   29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
• May 3, 2024   •   25:33 The Protesters and the President
• May 2, 2024   •   29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed
• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring
• April 26, 2024   •   21:50 Harvey Weinstein Conviction Thrown Out
• April 25, 2024   •   40:33 The Crackdown on Student Protesters

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonathan Wolfe and Peter Baker

Produced by Diana Nguyen ,  Luke Vander Ploeg ,  Alexandra Leigh Young ,  Nina Feldman and Carlos Prieto

Edited by Lisa Chow and Michael Benoist

Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

Warning: this episode contains strong language.

Over the past week, students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments and, at times, seized academic buildings. In response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down and called in the local police to detain and arrest demonstrators.

As of Thursday, the police had arrested 2,000 people across more than 40 campuses, a situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Jonathan Wolfe, who has been covering the student protests for The Times, and Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, discuss the history-making week.

On today’s episode

Jonathan Wolfe , a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The New York Times.

Peter Baker , the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Biden and his administration.

Background reading

As crews cleared the remnants of an encampment at U.C.L.A., students and faculty members wondered how the university could have handled protests over the war in Gaza so badly .

Biden denounced violence on campus , breaking his silence after a rash of arrests.

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The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonathan Wolfe is a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The Times. More about Jonathan Wolfe

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker

Luke Vander Ploeg is a senior producer on “The Daily” and a reporter for the National Desk covering the Midwest. More about Luke Vander Ploeg

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