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Catholic Studies
Almost Good Catholics December 9, 2023

Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec True Myth

How the Flower World Bloomed into History in 1531

Joseph Gonzalez and Monique González

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
It turns out that our familiar narrative of the Virgin of Guadalupe, when Mary appeared to Juan Diego in 1531 and left her image on his tilma, resembles an …

Catholic Studies

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Religion December 7, 2023

Borders of Belief

Religious Nationalism and the Formation of Identity in Ireland and Turkey

Gregory J. Goalwin

Hosted by Keith Krueger
Despite theories to the contrary, religious nationalism, and the use of religion to determine membership in the national community, has continued to play a role in processes of identification in …
Religion December 3, 2023

Sacred Foundations

The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State

Anna M. Grzymała-Busse

Hosted by Piotr Kosicki
In Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State (Princeton University Press, 2023), political scientist Anna Grzymała-Busse corrects a long-standing distortion in the study of state formation …
Christian Studies December 2, 2023

Crucified

The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus

J. Christopher Edwards

Hosted by Zalman Newfield
In his book Crucified: The Christian Invention of the Jewish Executioners of Jesus (Fortress Press, 2023), J. Christopher Edwards explores the early Christian teachings regarding who actually killed Jesus. Historians …
Science, Technology, and Society December 1, 2023

Transparency

The Material History of an Idea

Daniel Jütte

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
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Transparency is a mantra of our day. It is key to the Western understanding of a liberal society. We expect transparency from, for instance, political institutions, corporations, and the media …
Medieval History November 30, 2023

The Power of Protocol

Diplomatics and the Dynamics of Papal Government, c. 400 – c.1600

D. L. d'Avray

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
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The Power of Protocol: Diplomatics and the Dynamics of Papal Government, c. 400 – c.1600 (Cambridge University Press, 2023) by Dr. David d’Avray asks: How did the papacy govern European …
Medieval History November 24, 2023

International Law in Europe, 700–1200

Jenny Benham

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
Was there international law in the Middle Ages? Using treaties as its main source, International Law in Europe, 700-1200 (Manchester University Press, 2022) by Dr. Jenny Benham examines the extent …
Almost Good Catholics November 23, 2023

Darwinian Accident or Divine Architect?

The Debate between Natural Selection and Intelligent Design

Jay Richards

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
Jay Richards PhD, OP discusses the new book to which he contributed a chapter, God’s Grandeur: The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design (Sophia Institute Press, 2023), edited by Ann Gauger …
Almost Good Catholics November 9, 2023

Let Us Make Man in Our Image

Children of God in a Throw-Away Culture

Paul Louis Metzger

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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In our talk about his book, More than Things: A Personalist Ethics for a Throwaway Culture (InterVarsity Press, 2023), and in addition to quoting Pope John Paul II and Pope …
Almost Good Catholics October 26, 2023

Live from Israel (with Fr. Piotr Zelazko)

Catholics in the Holy Land Today

Piotr Zelazko

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Father Piotr Zelazko is Vicar for the St. James Vicariate in Jerusalem and has been priest in Israel for fifteen years (he is a native of Poland and studied in …
World Christianity October 22, 2023

At the Frontier of God's Empire

A Missionary Odyssey in Modern China

Ji Li

Hosted by Shu Wan
To a lively cast of international players that shaped Manchuria during the early twentieth century, At the Frontier of God's Empire: A Missionary Odyssey in Modern China (Oxford UP, 2023) …
Almost Good Catholics October 19, 2023

Kids These Days

On World Youth Day, Motherhood, and Teaching

Jane Sloan Peters

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Jane Sloan Peters remembers World Youth Day in Toronto back in 2002 when she was a teenager. She also talks about being a young mother and a teacher; she is …
World Christianity October 16, 2023

Women in World Christianity

Building and Sustaining a Global Movement

Gina A. Zurlo

Hosted by Byung Ho Choi
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Gina A. Zurlo's book Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement (Wiley-Blackwell, 2023) is the first textbook to focus on women’s experiences in the founding, spread, and continuation of …
Early Modern History October 16, 2023

The Stolen Bones of St. John of Matha

Forgery, Theft, and Sainthood in the Seventeenth Century

A. Katie Harris

Hosted by Jana Byars
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On the night of March 18, 1655, two Spanish friars broke into a church to steal the bones of the founder of their religious institution, the Order of the Most …
Medieval History October 6, 2023

England and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages

Papal Privileges in European Perspective, C. 680-1073

Benjamin Savill

Hosted by Miranda Melcher
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England and the Papacy in the Early Middle Ages: Papal Privileges in European Perspective, c. 680-1073 (Oxford University Press, 2023) by Dr. Benjamin Savill provides the first dedicated, book-length study …
Jewish Studies September 30, 2023

Living Under the Evil Pope

The Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV by Benjamin Neḥemiah Ben Elnathan from Civitanova Marche (16th Cent.)

Martina Mampieri

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
In Living under the Evil Pope (Brill, 2020), Martina Mampieri presents the Hebrew Chronicle of Pope Paul IV, written in the second half of the sixteenth century by the Italian …
Almost Good Catholics September 28, 2023

Hammertime and Hanukkah

The Books of the Maccabees

Matthew Thomas and Leeanne Thomas

Hosted by Krzysztof Odyniec
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Between 167 and 160 BC, Judas Maccabeus and his brothers led a revolt against the Greek tyrant who desecrated the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Miraculously victorious, the Jews rededicated the …
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 …
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 …