Cathleen Falsani

Cathleen Falsani
Born September 25, 1970 (1970-09-25) (age 41)
Connecticut
Education Graduate of Wheaton College, master's degrees from Northwestern University and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Occupation Journalist, author, blogger
Spouse(s) Maurice Possley
Official website

Cathleen Falsani (born September 25, 1970) is an American journalist, author and blogger. She is an award-winning religion columnist who writes for Religion News Service and Sojourners magazine. From 2000 to 2010 she was the religion writer for theChicago Sun Times. Falsani is the author of several non-fiction books that deal with religious, spiritual, and cultural issues.

She was the 2005 Religion Writer of the Year, as awarded by the Religion Newswriters Association, a professional society of reporters, editors and producers who cover religion for the secular media in the United States and Canada.

Contents

Education

Falsani graduated from Wheaton College in 1992, and holds master's degrees in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and in theological studies from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

Career

Falsani is the author of the critically acclaimed book, The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People, a collection of 32 spiritual profiles of famous "culture shapers" including Bono of U2, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, author Anne Rice, and professional basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon. The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People, Falsani's first book, was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux on March 14, 2006, to critical acclaim, launching Sarah Crichton Books, the newest imprint at the New York publishing house. The paperback edition of The God Factor was published in June 2007. Falsani's debut was named among the best non-fiction books of 2006 by the Christian Science Monitor.

In early 2007, Falsani left the Chicago Sun-Times as its religion reporter after 10 years on the news beat in Chicago, but continued on as the paper's religion columnist until Jan. 13, 2010.[1] In 2007 she signed with the publishing giant Zondervan for two new non-fiction books, Sin Boldly: A Field Guide For Grace — a spiritual memoir and travelogue published September 1, 2008 — and The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers, published in October 2009.

Falsani is a columnist for the nationally syndicated Religion News Service as well as a columnist and contributing editor at Sojourners magazine.[2]

Since 2004, she has been the author of a religion-and-popular culture blog called "The Dude Abides".[2]

In Sept. 2011, Falsani became the Web Editor and Director of New Media for the Christian social justice organization Sojourners.

Interview with Obama on religion

In March 2004, Falsani conducted an interview with eventual President of the United States Barack Obama. At the time of the interview, Obama was a state senator from Illinois and the nominee of the Democratic Party of Illinois for the U.S. Senate in the 2004 election.[3] The interview focused on Obama's religious beliefs and spiritual predilections, and is widely regarded by journalists and political observers as the most in-depth and detailed interview Obama has granted to date regarding his views on religion and faith.[3]

Personal

Falsani was born and raised in Connecticut. Since 1997, Falsani has been married to Maurice Possley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning, former Chicago Tribune investigative reporter and author. The couple has a son adopted from Malawi in June 2010 and the family lives in Laguna Beach, California.

Books

Notes

  1. ^ Rosenthal, Phil (2010-01-15) "Brief update on end of Cathleen Falsani's Sun-Times religion column", Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  2. ^ a b (2010-08-06) "Dominican University Presents Lecture with Cathleen Falsani", MetroCatholic. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  3. ^ a b (2008-11-11) "Obama's Fascinating Interview with Cathleen Falsani", Beliefnet. Retrieved 2010-09-08.

References

Gordon, Dick (2009-06-12) Vasco's Heart on NPR's "The Story with Dick Gordon." American Public Media/NPR. Retrieved 2011-01-13.

Gordon, Dick (2010-11-10) Update of Vasco's Heart on NPR's "The Story with Dick Gordon." American Public Media/NPR. Retrieved 2011-01-13.

External links