Evangelization & Culture Podcast

In the ruinous aftermath of the Second World War, the Catholic intellectual tradition found itself at a crossroads. Had the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, an anchoring point for over half a century, sufficed in responding to the ideological inferno that was World War II? Or was there a need for a Ressourcement—a "return to the sources" of our Catholic faith, including the Church Fathers? Join Tod a...

The word "humanism" was still in its nineteenth century infancy when it was stolen and transformed by Marxists and atheists. But, today, is there a religious humanism that champions human dignity, acknowledges man's response to God's saving grace, and wills the good of the other on their way to God? Join me and Professor Randall Poole as we discuss a Catholic humanism that invigorates the spirit w...

"The truth doesn't change according to your ability to stomach it emotionally." So said the ingenious, straight-talking novelist Flannery O'Connor . Who profoundly influenced the faith and fiction of one of the finest (and most shocking) writers of the twentieth century? None other than St. Thomas Aquinas. Join Tod and Fr. Damian Ference as they explore the thought of Flannery O'Connor in his powe...

What would happen if a brilliant philosopher penned influential works that undermine the religious and moral underpinnings of society only to replace them with utility and appetite? It doesn't end well. Join Tod and Professor Aaron Alexander Zubia as we dive into his new book, The Political Thought of David Hume . Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of the Evangelization & Culture Podcast biw...

Crushed under an oppressive Communist regime in twentieth century Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel decided that enough was enough. Taking to his pen, the playwright and dissident crafted essays that changed the landscape of resistance. Join me and Professor Flagg Taylor as we unpack Stories and Totalitarianism and The Power of the Powerless , two of Havel's penetrating essays that still have enduring...

When everything is telling people to do things in a way that will make them sick, fat, and unhealthy, to be healthy is an act of rebellion. In his 2021 book The Resistance Training Revolution , Mind Pump host and fitness trainer Sal Di Stefano bluntly tells us the fitness industry has been plagued with more myths than ancient Greece. Join us as Sal and I discuss fitness and faith. Stay up-to-date...

The year was 1984 when a sixteen-year-old Mike Piazza had a visitor come to watch him hit baseballs in the batting cage his father crafted at their Phoenixville, PA home. The keen-eyed and deeply impressed visitor was none other than Ted Williams, the greatest baseball hitter of all time. Join me and Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza as we explore his life in baseball and his Catholic faith. Stay u...

To explore the history of the Catholic Church is to encounter soaring heights and catastrophic depths, the grace of the Divine and the grit of our sin. At the center of this two-millennia spiritual odyssey has been the goodness of the saints, the beauty of the arts, and the pride of fallen man. How do we begin to comprehend the seismic sweep and enduring impact of our Catholic history? Join me and...

When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we are transformed by our encounter with the Divine. When we sing the Liturgy of the Hours, we encounter the Divine in a new and sublime light. How does singing center our worship? Join me and Paul Rose of SingTheHours.org as we explore how our prayer lives can deepen as we enflesh the bones of sacred prayer with sublime music.  Stay up-to-date with the lates...

What does it take to be named Adolf Hitler's "Enemy Number One"? According to the life of Catholic philosopher Dietrich von Hildebrand—the man the Nazis hated—it takes uncommon courage, conviction, and clarity. Join me and John Henry Crosby, the president and founder of The Hildebrand Project, as we discuss Hildebrand's gripping memoirs, My Battle Against Hitler .  Stay up-to-date with the latest...

"In almost all of [Seneca's] tragedies," sixteenth century playwright Giambattisa Giraldi Cinthio confessed, "he surpassed . . . all the Greeks who ever wrote—in wisdom, in gravity, in decorum, in majesty, and in memorable aphorism." And yet no one seems to remember him. Who was this ingenious ancient Roman thinker and writer? Join me and celebrated poet Dana Gioia as we discuss Seneca's The Madne...

While many argue that Adolf Hitler was "made" upon the 1939 outbreak of World War II or his 1933 accession to the Chancellorship of Germany, one historian reasons that the ordinary man became Führer in 1923. With the French occupying industrial portions of Germany, the economy fell into a tailspin and political radicalism skyrocketed. This led a rabid German corporal with a toothbrush mustache to...

How did a young, passionate politico rise to accompany Richard Nixon into the Oval Office only to find himself convicted and imprisoned for false statements about political dirty tricks? Join Tod and former Deputy Assistant to the President, Dwight Chapin, as we explore his rise and fall and the lessons learned about the complexity of human nature in his gripping memoir, The President's Man . Stay...

What happens when a cradle Catholic wanders from his faith, succeeds brilliantly as a Protestant in the Academy, only to find himself convicted through his own research and the grace of God of the truth of the Catholic Faith? As G.K. Chesterton wrote, "The moment a man ceases to pull against the Church he feels a tug towards it. . . . The moment he tries to be fair to it he begins to be fond of it...

The respected, middle-aged Kate Montclair has an inoperable brain cancer. She is going to die. But how? Her friend Adele, the vivacious leader of the Death Symposium, knows just how to help her. Join me and Christendom associate professor of philosophy and novelist Daniel McInerny as we explore the profound tensions and irresistible temptations surrounding incurable illness and the fashionable cho...

"I am inclined to set it up as a canon," C.S. Lewis clucked, "that a children's story that is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story." To read children's literature as a child is to be immersed in a world of wonder. To read them again as an adult is to begin to understand what they truly meant. Join me and Word on Fire Spark Editor Haley Stewart as we explore exactly why children's lit...

"When Christ calls a man, he bids them come and die." So said Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was executed by the Nazis at Flossenbürg concentration camp. True commitment to Christ is no lark; it is seismic. Join me and Bishop Robert Barron as we discuss  The Strangest Way —the nature, impact, and responsibility that comes with authentic conversion to Catholicism. Stay up-to-date with the latest ep...

What happens when you assert control, determine your destiny, and then find out that you are going to die shortly from an incurable cancer? If you are Tammy Peterson, you embrace the cross, pray the Rosary, and find yourself completely and utterly transformed. Join me and Tammy Peterson as we explore her harrowing journey from the consuming darkness of cancer to the blinding light of Christ. Stay...

What if there was an incandescent Truth, but no one felt it worth fighting for? Meet Turnbull and MacIan, a fiery atheist editor and an ardent Catholic highlander, as they physically duel and verbally joust over the highest of things while an ideological world conspires to affect their silence. Join me and the President of the Society for G.K. Chesterton, Dale Ahlquist, as we explore Chesterton's...

Before Pope John Paul II shook the foundations of the Communist world, there was the inspired witness and breathtaking courage of Hungary's József Cardinal Mindszenty. Carrying a picture of Christ bearing his crown of thorns, Mindszenty drew strength from its Latin inscription, Devictus vincit (Defeated, he is victorious). Join me and Professor Daniel Mahoney as we delve into the gripping Memoirs...

How did four English women—a genius, a firecracker, a polymath, and a synthesizer—enter a stultifying philosophical milieu at Oxford and change ethics forever? Join me as I discuss Elizabeth Anscombe, Iris Murdoch, Mary Midgely, and Phillipa Foot with Professor Benjamin Lipscomb and his captivating book, The Women Are Up to Something . Stay up-to-date with the latest episodes of the Evangelization...

French pediatrician and geneticist Jérôme Lejeune insisted, "We need to be clear: The quality of a civilization can be measured by the respect it has for its weakest members. There is no other criterion." After he criticized the cozy relationship between the scientific community and the practice of aborting patients with Down syndrome, Lejeune wrote to his wife, "Today, I lost my Nobel prize." Joi...

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia possessed a towering intellect, a sharp wit, and a deep Catholic faith. When asked if Justice Scalia was cognizant of the grand impression he made, his daughter Meg would answer, "Oh, yes. I mean, he was putting on a show—but it was a great show." Join me and Newsmax Chief White House Correspondent James Rosen and author of Scalia: Rise to Greatness as we explo...

Fr. Leonard Andrie writes, "Isolated and exhausted, Elijah, the worn-out prophet lies by a broom tree. He is, without question, a portrait of despair. He not only wants to resign his office as prophet but says in exasperation, 'It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors' (1 Kings 19:4)."  He asks to die because of his perceived failure. But God is not done w...

According to Dr. Tracey Rowland, "Pope Benedict XVI was not just a shy man who enjoyed writing books, listening to Mozart, and feeding stray cats, but a Church Doctor with an absolutely reliable sense for where the theological 'true north' lies." Join me and internationally renowned and Ratzinger Prize awarded Benedict XVI scholar, Dr. Tracey Rowland, as we explore the astounding intellectual lega...