Friends, we took a little break, as you may have noticed.

We used the downtime to put together something special: we asked writers to submit their very best writing on the theme "finding meaning in a time of strife." The submissions were overwhelming, and for the next twelve weeks or so, you'll get to hear some of the best of them.

To introduce the series, Alyssa and Ben share one of Ben's own essays: "My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord." This essay won the Emerson College Graduate Writing Award in Nonfiction with High Distinction. It grapples with faith, history, evil, and, of course, music.