The Magnificast

In light of the ongoing coup in Venezuela, this week Matt and Dean talk with Jim Hodgson. Hodgson is the Program Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean for the United Church of Canada and was an observer of the recent elections in Venezuela. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon

Ever feel like you're working harder than ever and not really getting anywhere? Do you find it weird that people blame you and other folks for being poor when 26 people own as much wealth as half the planet? It might be because you've been demonized. This week we talk with Adam Kotsko, author of Neoliberalism's Demons, to find out all about the political theology behind this very messed up society...

Last week we talked about Christians and communist parties. This week we decided to take a look at how Christians related to the Socialist Party of America in the early 20th century. We read Dan McKanan's article "The Implicit Religion of Radicalism: Socialist Party Theology, 1900–1934" to get an idea of what kind of theology emerged from the Socialist Party. We also descended into the bunker of C...

We talk a lot about Christian communist and communists who like Christians, but we never really got around to talking about communist parties themselves! In this episode we get a little help from some Very Good books by Jodi Dean to think about the communist party, and then we reach through the archives to see if some of the people and movements we've talked about in the past might help us think t...

It's 2019 and we're back on our bullshit. Joining us for the New Year is John Thornton Jr! In this ep, Matt and Dean talk with John about the political theology of debt and decide on the theme for this year. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

In this episode, Matt and Dean talk with Lilian Calles Barger about her new book: The World Come of Age: An Intellectual History of Liberation Theology. You can check out Lilian's book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-world-come-of-age-9780190695392?cc=us&lang=en& Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

Do you feel like everything about Christmas is too commercial? Are you wondering what the real reason for the season is? Well, it's capitalism. This week we talk about Jean Baudrillard's The Consumer Society and whether or not Tim Allen wore Santa's underwear. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

Mary did you know that your baby boy would be the king of kings? Yeah, she knew. In this extra credit episode of the Magnificast, Matt talks with Hannah Shanks author of This Is My Body: Embracing the Messiness of Faith and Motherhood (https://www.amazon.com/This-Body-Embracing-Messiness-Motherhood/dp/1935205285)about Mary, The Magnificat, Advent and revolution!

This week on the Magnificast we talk about President, Priest, and liberation theologian Jean-Bertrand Aristide. We also get philanthropic with the Matt & Dean Memorial Scholarship. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

This week we talk about Grace Hutchins journey from missionary to Bolshevik! We also do a segment about Comrade School Bus a great communist spin on the magic school bus. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

We talk about a lot of cool historical Christian leftists on this podcast, but this week we're talking with some cool contemporary Christian leftists: The Friendly Fire Collective! Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

This week on The Magnificast we revisit the topic of violence! In this episode, you can hear us talk about Christian hang ups about violence, pacifism, we say "nuance" like a million times, Deans cat being noisy in the background, and Matt keep bringing up The Americans. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon

This week on the Magnificast we celebrate All Saints Day and talk about some of the leftist Christians who give us permission to be both committed to leftists struggles and faithful Christians. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon

If you’ve been paying attention to the news cycle over the past few weeks, you know that there’s been a lot happening. Fascism in Brazil, anti-semitism, bombs in the mail and the US Army coming to the border to confront refugees. In all of that, there was also some important and troubling stuff from the Prez about possible changes to Title IX that would narrowly define an individual’s gender. Whil...

Hey did you know Kim Il-Sung taught Sunday School at a Methodist church once? Or that his parents were Christians? Or that his uncle was a Presbyterian pastor who served in the revolutionary government? Well thanks to a new article by Dae Young Ryu called "Kim Il-Sung and Christianity in North Korea," now you can learn all about that and the changing shape of Christianity in the DPRK. The article...

ok, so I can't promise that this episode is as fun to listen to as it was to record, but we're allowed a bad ep every once and while right? In this episode of The Magnificast Matt and Dean talk about socialist realism, kitsch, and the aestheticization of politics in the work of Jon Mcnaughton.

The big news lately is that we're still ecologically doomed by capitalism. We got bummed about that so we decided to read Michael Löwy's book Ecosocialism to get some ideas about how to comport ourselves. We also looked to Leonardo Boff for a little inspiration and get a little theological (sorry) at the end. Music by Amaryah Armstrong and theillalogicalspoon

Paul Virilio, a Christian anarchist, architect, urbanist, philosopher, and peace activist, died this year on September 10th. We're both really influenced by Virilio, and we've talked about him in the past on the show, so we thought we'd do a retrospective on some of his major themes to say goodbye to a radical Christian comrade. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon

Last week we heard an interview with Damian Costello and Basil Brave Heart on Nicholas Black Elk. This week we're talking to Damian himself about his book Black Elk: Colonialism And Lakota Catholicism. We talk through some of the finer points of Damian's book, discuss colonialism, post-colonialism, and the agency of the colonized. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong outro music by theillogicalspoon

Damian Costello, author of Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism, has gifted us with a neat interview with Lakota elder Basil Brave Heart. This episode features an interview with Basil over the Catholocism of Nicholas Black Elk. You can get Damien's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Elk-Colonialism-Catholicism-Culture/dp/1570755809/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537551433&sr=8...

this week you get two episodes! we put in a little bit of extra work to give you a double episode! A few episodes back, we talked with Jared Ware about Christians involved in prison abolition--we specifically we wondering about any hot takes from prison chaplains, but that was something he was aware of. We went down to the hot take mine and talked with an actual prison chaplain and got her opinion...

Do you like learning? Of course, you do! In this episode we talk through Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In this episode we get into some big ideas like pedagogy, revolutionary leadership, matt gets cranky about some stuff, and we learn the true name of Ty Pennington! Move that bus! It's the Magnificast! Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon

The usual deal on The Magnificast is to read a leftist Christian or a leftist who has something constructive to say about Christianity. This week, however, we're reading something really critical of Christianity. This week we're reading Mikhail Bakunin's God and the State! intro music by Amaryah Armstrong outro music by theillogicalspoon

Following up on last week's episode about Angela Davis's book "Are Prisons Obsolete?" we decided to talk to Jared Ware, a freelance journalist and prison abolitionist covering the prison strike going on right now. Jared is also co-host of the podcast Millennials Are Killing Capitalism (there's a great episode there on the prison strike as well) and a producer for the Beyond Prisons podcast. You ca...

In case you haven't heard, there's a massive prison strike going on in the US and in Canada from August 21 to September 9. Prisoners are striking with a list of ten demands (those demands and more info are available here: https://incarceratedworkers.org/campaigns/prison-strike-2018). This week we decided to look at prison abolition with the help of Angela Davis, a former prisoner herself. Her book...