Full episode
463: Mortal Vs. Venial

Prologue

Host Ira Glass plays tape from a political rally in support of a Chicago politician named Derrick Smith, who had just been arrested for accepting a bribe. His supporters likely believed that Smith had erred...but they also believed that the other candidate was even worse. Then Ira speaks with a Franciscan priest named Father Augustino Torres, to help clarify what separates serious sins — the mortal ones — from the not so serious, venial sins. (9 minutes)