Spiritual Criminals with Michelle Nickerson

Spiritual Criminals with Michelle Nickerson

January 8, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Michelle Nickerson about resistance to the Vietnam War and the role of organized Catholic activism.

Here we go again—another invasion, another occupation, another aggression. The US government is a warmongering behemoth that is in a constant, continuing state of war, and it ceaslessly gas-lights the pubic, asking us to repudiate “your own lying eyes,” and to instead embrace euphemisms designed to make murder, theft, and brazen lawlessness sound inevitable and benevolent. A humane future makes a simple demand on each and all of us: RESIST! We’re joined in conversation with Michelle Nickerson, professor of history at Loyola University Chicago and author, most recently, of Spiritual Criminals: How the Camden 28 Put the Vietnam War on Trial, an illuminating account of the organized Catholic resistance to the US war against Vietnam, and an inspiration for the task ahead.

People in this episode

Host: Bill Ayers

Guest: Michelle Nickerson

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Loyola University Chicago

Books & works: Spiritual Criminals: How the Camden 28 Put the Vietnam War on Trial

Places: Vietnam, US

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