Dustbowl Diatribes

Spencer and Laurie interview Chris Smaje, author of (most recently) Finding Lights in a Dark Age.

Spencer and Laurie discuss Isaiah Berlin's liberal nationalism and ask whether liberalism can be held in balance with nationalism, and even whether this uncomfortable mix is inevitable.

For April Fools this year, we cover a millennial touchstone television series about growing up, or at least about trying to.

Spencer and Laurie discuss the topic of patriotism, which was touched upon briefly in the last Dustbowl episode, and also in the Secret Grange episode that followed (for patrons only), on their interview with Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. The discussion involves the value of patriotism, what ... Read more

Spencer and Laurie talk to Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. His views on the intellectual and spiritual milieux leading up to the emergence of the Catholic Worker movement, as well as his views on American history, and what’s wrong and right with American Catholicism, offer a unique ... Read more

Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of the Maurin Academy, and can be found on almost all podcast platforms! https://pmaurin.org Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy John Paul II Catholic Worker Farm: https://jpiicatholicworkerfarm.com Follow the Maurin Academy and the JPII Farm on Instagram for notifications about upcoming events.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Bert and Emma Fitzgerald of the Simon Weil Catholic Worker House in Portland, OR: https://simoneweilhouse.org

This is a talk by Dr. William T. Cavanaugh, author of The Uses of Idolatry. It was originally given for the Center for Catholic Social Thought, October 9, 2025. We thought it was so good we asked if we could share it with our audience, and we got it from both Dr. Cavanaugh and the Center for Catholic Social Thought.

Spencer and Laurie discuss what they learned from their recent trips. Laurie went to Milwaukee, WI, to do research on the Peter Maurin papers and to give two talks on Maurin and Day. Spencer and Emily traveled to Pennsylvania and other spots on the East Coast to help move a friend, and along the way visited two Catholic Worker houses, the Rodale Institute, Blue Hill Farm, Dorothy Day's gravesite a...

Laurie and Spencer talk to Colin Miller and Tyler Hambley, who trace their path to the Church through the practices of Catholic Workers: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to the homeless. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community o...

Spencer and Laurie discuss an article by Paul V. Stock, "The Perennial Nature of the Catholic Worker Farms: A Reconsideration of Failure," in Rural Sociology, 2014. https://pmaurin.org/get-involved/

Spencer and Laurie kick off their new season with Catholic Worker James Murphy of St. Martin de Porres, Harrisburgh, PA. The Catholic Worker movement is a testing ground for solutions to poverty, successful relationships, and the possibility of bypassing politics. We get into some of those issues in this interview.

As Spencer and Laurie segue to a new season of Dustbowl Diatribes , they look back at the people they've interviewed in 2025 so far and point the way to their next topic.

Spencer Leonard talks to us about human potential, what constitutes freedom and progress, and why it seems particularly difficult to reach.

Spencer and Laurie talk with Prof. Jodi Dean about themes from her new book Capital's Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle (Verso, 2025). The theme of neofeudalism is one we have returned to several times as it seems more and more clear that our economy has moved well past competition into monopolies and highly concentrated wealth.

Laurie interviews a very special guest, and Spencer misses out on the best interview in Dustbowl Diatribes three seasons.

John Rao visits Dustbowl Diatribes for an episode tracing periods of "sleep" and revival in Catholic history.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Dave McKerracher of Theory Underground about his book, Timenergy, and also his plans for farming.

Spencer and Laurie talk with Benjamin Studebaker about his new book, Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies. Studebaker will give a speech for the Maurin Academy March 3, 2025.

Spencer and Laurie interview Catholic Worker and Sociology professor Harry Murray, who is also doing the "Harry Murray Sessions" for the Maurin Academy. The next Harry Murray session, this one on Nikolai Berdyaev's personalism and Christian existentialism, will be on December 16, 2024. To find out more about this and other classes from the Maurin Academy, visit our website at: https://pmaurin.org/...

Spencer and special guest Caleb Owens interview Laurie Johnson about her newly published book, The Gap in God's Country: A Longer View on Our Culture Wars. For more information about this book and where to buy it, as well as information about a series of talks she'll give on themes from the book, check out: https://pmaurin.org/2024/11/02/the-gap-in-gods-country-themes-discussion-with-laurie-johnso...

Spencer and Laurie visit with Chris Cutrone, a leading founder of the Platypus Affiliated Society and the author of a new book published by Sublation Media. Here's a link to Cutrone's latest book, Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory and the Party, 2006-2024, Sublation Media, 2024. Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy

Spencer and Laurie talk to Catholic Worker Renée Roden about her experiences in the Catholic Worker movement and what she is doing now as she transitions to a new community. She also discusses the upcoming Peter Maurin Conference in Chicago: Sept. https://www.stgregoryhall.org/maurin.html

Alfredo Poggi talks to Spencer and Laurie about his new book Magical Realism, Latin America, and the Appearance of Precritical Theory, published by Rowman & Littlefield. Poggi makes the bold argument for taking Marian visions at face value and seeing them as a powerful antidote to ideology. Poggi uses Latin American literary approach of magical realism to reveal a precritical perspective.

What happens when even basic business can't be effectively done? How did we get here? Spencer and Laurie digest more of John Rao's thoughts from various books and try to settle their argument from the last episode.