The Magnificast

The last time we talked about climate change we were kind of doomers about it, but so we're back to complicate the whole notion a bit more with some tools from the monthly review. In this episode, we investigate the term "Anthropocene" from a Marxist perspective and consider just how capitalism fits into it all.  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong  Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalog...

On this podcast, it's always Catholic church this and the Pope that, but this week we're talking about anglo-Catholicism. That's right, folks we're talking about the tradition of socialism in the Episcopal church with Tony Hunt & Caleb Roberts of The Hour Magazine. The Hour is a magazine that explores the often forgotten and even more often unexplored history of socialism within the anglo-Cath...

We all love St Francis, but did you know he was a communist? Well, according to Karl Kautsky he was. There are a lot of wild medieval Christians who, for theological reasons, didn't believe in private property and Francis was one of them! However, unlike the Waldensians or the Brethren of the Free Spirit, Francis' movement was assimilated into the Catholic Church. Listen in and hear all about how...

You might have heard all of the bad news about the state of the climate in the recent IPCC report. In this episode, we talk through what it means and try to parse out what it is that Christians and the left should think about it. Honestly, it's a tough one! 

Did you know that we have a whole second podcast behind our patreon paywall? Dang, well now you do. This weeks episode was kind of a downer, so we decided to drop our patreon-only podcast out here in the open in case you need something to distract you from all the bad news. 

We're taking a break from all of our Cuba conversations to talk about Christianity in an expansive sense and think through claims that people on the left and the right make about what counts as "true Christianity."   Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong  Outro music by Paul Robeson https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificast on Patreon...

Over the past few weeks, we've talked a lot about Cuba. We decided to keep the Cuba train running with an interview with Rev. Elice Higginbotham, who formerly worked with IFCO/Pastors with Peace. In this conversation, we talk about Pastors with Peace, their history of sending aid to Cuba, Christians in Cuba, and a lot more!    Learn more about IFCO here: https://ifconews.org  Intro Music by Amarya...

Due to capitalist media and deeply seated ideological positions, it's hard to get real information about what's happening in places like Cuba. As usual, we invited Jim Hodgson on, an individual with a history with and good relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. Throughout the episode, Jim tells us what's been happening on the ground with the recent wave of protests in Cuba, gives some g...

This week on the Magnificast, we chatted with Austin González who recently went to Venezuela with a delegation from the DSA International committee. In this interview, we hear a bit about Austin's time in Venezuela, his visit with the communes, Nicolas Maduro, and just what the DSA international committee is up to!  Follow Austin on twitter: twitter.com/Gaius_Gracchus_ Check out Austin's podcast:...

Sometimes, on the pod, we focus a lot on what's wrong in Christianity and its kind of a bummer. So, what if we talked with someone who is doing something good with Christianity? This week we're talking with Ryan Cagle about his new project at Jubilee House in Alabama. Listen in and soak up this good stuff.  Check out Ryan's project at jubileehouse.co  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong  Outro music...

We're always going on and on about Catholicism on this podcast, so why don't we give it a break and talk to someone about...uhhh...I don't know...a queer reading of John Wesley's sermons. This week, we're bringing you an interview with Keegan Osinski, the author of the forthcoming book "Queering Wesley, Queering the Church." You're not going to want to miss Keegan's takes on doing theology, queer...

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about atheism, Marxism, and how revolutionary kinds of Christianity challenge some of the assumptions on the left. This week we thought we’d take a look at conversations around the secular, secularism, and secularization, which actually have a lot of complicated things to say about both Christianity and Marxism. This might get a little grad schooly, but...

In this episode, we’ll take a look at the ways the claim to “common good” from Catholic Social Teaching can be deployed from the right and why Catholic Social Teaching alone doesn’t go far enough to resolve the tensions of capitalism.

We've been struggling to answer the question: What does Christianity contribute to Marxism or socialism? This week, we read The Desacralization of Marxism within Latin American Liberation Theology by Otto Axel Maduro Lang to get another perspective. Liberation Theology, as Maduro argues, takes the best of Marxism while rejecting what doesn't make sense in the given context. Read the essay here: ht...

Not too long ago, we made the case for why Christians should be socialists. This time, we're looking at the question from another angle and making the case why Socialists should make room for Christians in socialist movements. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnific...

Everyone's been talking about wages and the labor shortage and we know you've been wondering what we think. So, in this episode, we're embracing James 5 and illuminating the ongoing conversation about wages and why Christians need to be advocates for workers. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by St. Lenox https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bl...

Héctor Acero Ferrer is back to talk to us about the ongoing wave of protests and Colombia and to tell us about his work on memory and liberation theology. This is an episode you don't want to miss! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by St. Lenox https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificast on Patreon* http://patreon.com/th...

This week on the show, we talk with Margaret Randall. Margaret Randall is a legendary poet, activist, and many other things! In addition to plenty of poems, she’s written a ton of books, including Christians in the Nicaraguan Revolution, which is a series of interviews she did with Christian Sandinistas, and Exporting Revolution (just to name a few). She spent her life in revolutionary moments, fr...

We're always talking up a storm about Ernesto Cardenal, but this time around we're talking with Stephen Henighan, a real scholar on Latin American literature! In this episode, we learn more about Cardenal's background, influences, and his lasting impact on the politics of Nicaragua.

When people think of religion, they think of miracles. A bush miraculously burning, a baby being born to a virgin, someone rising from the dead, etc. But sometimes seem miraculous without being quite so fantastic. We get into all of this and more with a conversation with Andrew Choi, from the band St. Lenox. You can find all of Andrew's music here: https://stlenox.bandcamp.com/ Intro Music by Amar...

In this episode, we talk with Daniel Saunders about his new essay on commodity fetishism and Christianity. You can find his essay here: https://danielsaunders.blog/2021/04/16/ideology-fetishism-apophaticism-marxist-criticism-and-christianity/ Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by Paul Robeson https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support T...

A thought we've been sitting with a lot recently is "Where do we see crucifixion in the world today?" Though with Easter in the rearview mirror, we thought it might be helpful to think about a related question "Where do we see resurrection in the world today?" In this episode, we think through resurrection as a political idea. You can read the article from Lydia Wylie-Kellerman that we mentioned i...

Everyone's talking about the Amazon union drive, so we decided to talk about it to. This week, we're giving you the scoop on what's going on where things stand at the Amazon union in Bessemer, Alabama from Jacob Morrison, the co-host of The Valley Labor report. We also get into the recent Mineworkers strike, and even some very on-brand religious content. Find more from The Valley Labor Report here...

Some of our best episodes have been talking about solidarity with Jim Hodgson, well this time around we've got one of Jim's incredible colleagues, Patti Talbot, to talk about peace and solidarity movements that focus on the Korean Peninsula. Northeast Asia is a complicated place, but this interview gives some good handles for thinking about a very complex situation! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstron...

How does money work? If you tithe, will you get more money? What's a commodity? Why is a holographic Charizard worth so much? These questions and more will be answered in this week's episode of The Magnificast. This week, we're tackling the political economy of money and the Christian criticism of money as idolatrous. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theill...