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Catholic Studies
Almost Good Catholics September 14, 2023

Brides of Christ

Contemplative Life among the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Sister Mary Josefa

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
Sister Mary Josefa of the Eucharist is a Benedictine nun in Missouri; she and the sisters of her community recently wrote a charming children’s book, Brides of Christ (Sophia Institute …

Catholic Studies

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Interviews with scholars of Catholicism about their new books.

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Early Modern History September 13, 2023

Defining Nature's Limits

The Roman Inquisition and the Boundaries of Science

Neil Tarrant

Hosted by Morteza Hajizadeh
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Neil Tarrant challenges conventional thinking by looking at the longer history of censorship, considering a five-hundred-year continuity of goals and methods stretching from the late eleventh century to well into …
Madison's Notes September 12, 2023

Religion and Politics in the Lord of the Rings

A Discussion with Rachel Fulton Brown

Rachel Fulton Brown

Hosted by Annika Nordquist
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J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork The Lord of the Rings delighted so many of us as children, yet it and its vast body of accompanying work, such as the Silmarillion, contain a …
Indian Religions September 7, 2023

Between Hindu and Christian

Khrist Bhaktas, Catholics, and the Negotiation of Devotion in Banaras

Kerry P. C. San Chirico

Hosted by Raj Balkaran
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On the second Saturday of each month, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Varanasi, Shiva's own city, thousands of shudra and Dalit devotees worship Yesu (Jesus) at a …
Christian Studies September 5, 2023

On Creation, Science, Disenchantment and the Contours of Being and Knowing

Matthew W. Knotts

Hosted by Adrian Guiu
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For Augustine, the world is replete with meaning; it represents not merely a collection of facts to be catalogued but a repository of truths to be discovered and discerned, a …
Literature September 5, 2023

I Surrender

A Memoir of Chile's Dictatorship, 1975

Kathleen M. Osberger

Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb
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Today I talked to Kathleen Osberger about her book I Surrender: A Memoir of Chile's Dictatorship, 1975 (Oribis Books, 2023). In 1975, Kathleen Osberger, who’d just graduated from Notre Dame University …
Latin American Studies September 1, 2023

Love and Despair

How Catholic Activism Shaped Politics and the Counterculture in Modern Mexico

Jaime M. Pensado

Hosted by Brad Wright
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Love and Despair: How Catholic Activism Shaped Politics and the Counterculture in Modern Mexico (U California Press, 2023) explores the multiple and mostly unknown ways progressive and conservative Catholic actors …
Almost Good Catholics August 31, 2023

Who’s Afraid of the Catholic Integralists? (with Kevin Vallier)

Thinking about Caesar and God Today

Kevin Vallier

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
Kevin Vallier is a philosophy professor and author of All the Kingdoms of the World: On Radical Religious Alternatives to Liberalism (Oxford UP, 2023), a new book about Catholic Integralism …
Almost Good Catholics August 24, 2023

The Seven Deadly Sins

Theology of Sin and Redemption

Father Chris Pietraszko

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Father Chris Pietraszko has been thinking about sin and redemption for the last year and a half as he has been writing a series of articles that will become a …
Disability Studies August 22, 2023

From Inclusion to Justice

Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership

Erin Raffety

Hosted by Bingwan Tian
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American Christianity tends to view disabled persons as problems to be solved rather than people with experiences and gifts that enrich the church. Churches have generated policies, programs, and curricula …
Early Modern History August 21, 2023

Praying to Portraits

Audience, Identity, and the Inquisition in the Early Modern Hispanic World

Adam Jasienski

Hosted by Jana Byars
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Praying to Portraits: Audience, Identity, and Inquisition in the Early Modern Hispanic World (Penn State University Press, 2023), art historian Adam Jasienski examines the history, meaning, and cultural significance of …
Almost Good Catholics August 3, 2023

The Fourth Wise Man

Follow Jesus—He’s Getting Away!

Jonathon Fessenden

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Jonathon Fessenden, theologian and editor of Missio Dei, invited me to talk about The Fourth Wise Man, the 1985 film based on the 1895 Henry van Dyke novella, The Other …
Almost Good Catholics July 27, 2023

When Did We See You a Stranger and Welcome You?

A Policy Discussion about Housing and Homelessness

Ben Metcalf

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
The poor have always been with us, even in a rich country and a prosperous time. I ask Ben Metcalf, former Secretary of Housing and Community Development in California, about …
Medieval History July 25, 2023

Reimagining Christendom

Writing Iceland's Bishops Into the Roman Church, 1200-1350

Joel D. Anderson

Hosted by Evan Zarkadas
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With its expanding legal system and its burgeoning throngs of lawyers, legates, and documents, the papacy of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries has often been credited with spearheading a governmental …
Genocide Studies July 21, 2023

In Defense of Christian Hungary

Religion, Nationalism, and Antisemitism, 1890–1944

Paul Hanebrink

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
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In this important historical account of the role that religion played in defining the political life of a modern national society, Paul A. Hanebrink shows how Hungarian nationalists redefined Hungary--a …
Almost Good Catholics July 20, 2023

What Jesus Intended

Finding the Kingdom of God in this Field

Todd D. Hunter

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Bishop Todd Hunter is an Anglican Bishop in Tennessee and author of What Jesus Intended: Finding Faith in the Rubble of Bad Religion (IVP, 2023). He argues that, despite the …
Jewish Studies July 15, 2023

Jews in Southern Tuscany During the Holocaust

Ambiguous Refuge

Judith Roumani

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
The province of Grosseto in southern Tuscany shows two extremes in the treatment of Italian and foreign Jews during the Holocaust. To the east of the province, the Jews of …
Almost Good Catholics July 13, 2023

Master Craftsman, Broken Tools (with Fr. Chris Alar, MIC)

Why God Works Through Us, Hears Intercessory Prayers, and Grants Divine Mercy

Fr. Chris Alar

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
Father Chris talks about his devotion to Our Lady, and what he has learned from St. Maria Faustyna Kowalska, the poor Polish country girl, whose visions of and friendship with …
Catholic Studies July 11, 2023

Look Out Below!

A Story of the Airborne by a Paratrooper Padre

Francis L. Sampson

Hosted by Allison Isidore
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A veteran of the Second World War and the Korean War, Francis L. Sampson was a real-life hero whose exploits inspired one of the most famous war films of all …
Almost Good Catholics July 6, 2023

Love Them Both (with Kimberly Bird)

How to Change Hearts and Minds about Abortion

Kimberly Bird

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
Kimberly Bird is vice president of external relations of Live Action, an online media advocacy and education organization that works to shift public opinion on abortion and protect the lives …