Listen to the episode:

Part 1

Part 2

Fiction writer and essayist Sergio Troncoso was born to immigrant Mexican parents and grew up Catholic. He was educated at Harvard and Yale, but finds himself calling on the values he learned in childhood — as well as his outsider status — in his writing. His wife Laura is Jewish, and they raised their two sons in both traditions. During our interview, he reads excerpts from his essays and fiction, illuminating his ideas about immigration reform and the resilience of families in a multicultural society. Go to http://www.sergiotroncoso.com to learn more about him and his writing.

Listen to a portion of the interview — about Sergio and Laura’s journey with breast cancer — that had to be trimmed from the show for reasons of time.

In the news:

Lesus?! The Vatican had to recall commemorative medals celebrating Pope Francis after the name of Jesus was spelled with an L.

Of interest:

Paul Baumann, editor of Commonweal magazine, will speak at 7 p.m. on Tues., Oct. 29, at Connecticut College’s Harkness Chapel, 270 Mohegan Ave., in New London. His talk is titled: “Liberal, Conservative, or Just Catholic: Religious Identity in a Pluralistic Age.” For information, go to www.connecticutcollege.edu.