The Magnificast

This week on the pod, we're talking about the militarization of society, speed, politics, and death. In case you couldn't guess based on that constellation of topics, this episode features one of our favs, Paul Virilio. Throughout the episode, we're primarily referencing Paul Virilio's book Pure War. But we also reference Virilio's The Administration of Death.  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Out...

Folks, we're once again kind of busy this week and couldn't record an episode. However, given the ongoing protests and police violence in LA, I thought it might be fun to give you this classic ep from 2020 about police abolition and Marxism. Please do not hold us too accountable for anything we said in 2020...unless it's good, then we're accountable. This week on The Magnificast, Matt & Dean t...

We talk a lot on this show about all of the bad stuff that Christianity contributes to the world. But this week, we're talking about the historical Christian tools and ideas that have contributed something good to the world. Specifically, we're linking together some of overarching themes we find in left-wing expressions of Christianity that have something to contribute to degrowth socialism. We've...

Folks, we've got a new Pope. Pope Leo is here and we're going to tell you about him. In this episode, we cover the midwest pope meme, Rod Dreher's take, the Pope and his past on survivors of sexual abuse, and his emerging takes on AI. Here are the articles we talked about in this episode. https://religionnews.com/2025/05/21/theres-an-american-pope-and-hes-just-like-us-at-least-we-really-really-wan...

We're recouping from all the travel we've done in the last week, so enjoy a classic ep.  A lot of moral questions revolve around doing or not doing something, but what if the biggest moral problems were actually about the very way we live our lives? Driving, smartphones, food production, etc. are all far more political than most people realize. In this episode, we talk through the book The Imperia...

Folks, the conclave kicks off tomorrow and we can barely contain ourselves. This week, we're doing a round up of everything you need to know before we get conclaving. Here are the articles we referenced https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/conclave-roundup-conclave-begin-less-48-hours https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2025/05/young-people-tell-cardinals-they-want-a-role-in-the-future-church https://cruxnow...

In this episode, Matt and Dean reflect on Pope Francis' life, death, and everything that comes after. Later in the episode we talk about conclave and how to think about some of the reporting on who will be the next Pope.  Read Dean's article on the Conclave in the Nation:  https://www.thenation.com/article/society/pope-francis-jorge-bergoglio-dead-obituary/ Also read Dean's article reflecting on t...

There's a Cheeto in the White House and he's once again doing some devious stuff. Back in February, the President signed an executive order against the weaponization of anti-Christian bias. Listen in for the whole story.  Articles we talked about https://theconversation.com/claims-of-anti-christian-bias-sound-to-some-voters-like-a-message-about-race-not-just-religion-250729 https://www.politico.co...

We're back with an episode from the vault. Dean is out traveling through the exotic province of Ontario, so this week we're giving you a classic Episode with Marika Rose. You might remember a few weeks back we talked about Angels from the perspective of a weird book by Michel Serres. Well, we decided we couldn't leave the conversation there. We needed an angel expert. So, this week, we're joined b...

This week, we're talking about degrowth, misunderstandings, and liberation theology. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificast on Patreon* http://patreon.com/themagnificast *Get Magnificast Merch* https://www.redbubble.com 

In the gospel, Jesus says you've got to love your enemies. But, that's such a hard thing to do when your enemies are so contemptible, cruel, and stupid. This week, we're getting to the bottom of how to love your enemies, but not in a cringe way. Here are the articles and books we mentioned in this episode. The best way to love Elon Musk? Protest him - https://sojo.net/articles/opinion/best-way-lov...

There have been some "strategic conversations" lately in Europe about nuclear sharing and other scary ideas about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. So, we're using this as an opportunity to talk about how Christians have thought about nuclear weapons and mass death. Here's the Bill Wylie-Kellerman essay we read from at the end of the episode: https://geezmagazine.org/magazine/article/eucharist...

Last week, we had a chat about right-wing forms of Christianity. This week, we're taking a bit of a different approach and thinking through the process of building counter Christianities to help keep ourselves mentally healthy (maybe) and oppose right-wing Christianity. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low...

If you're a long-time listener of the Magnificast, you'll know that we have a unique analysis of the question: are right-wing Christians actually Christians? We've got another round of right-wing Christians in power at the moment, so we're bringing the discourse back and telling you everything you need to know.    Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalog...

Magnificast lock in? No. This week, we're descending into the crypt. Buckle up bone perverts, it's time to answer all of the hottest bone related reddit questions.  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificast on Patreon* http://patreon.com/themagnificast *Get Magnifi...

This week, we're locking in and answering all of the hottest questions from the internet about Christianity. In this episode, we talk about walking into a Catholic Church, gaseous Jesus, Nudist Episcopalianism, Scotland, and chicken fossils.  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Supp...

When it comes to climate change and mitigation, some have suggested that we harness the power of capitalist growth and use it for something useful like green energy. But, there are some problems baked into capitalism about why that won't work. Listen in and learn all about why. Here are the books we mentioned in the ep.  Brett Christophers - The Price is Wrong -  https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/p...

Over the past few weeks, Trump's mass deportations have started and everyone's least favorite Catholic convert, JD Vance, has tried to add the intellectual weight of Catholic social teaching to defend it. In response, Pope Francis wrote a subtle reply to Vance. Tune in this week and learn more! Also, read Jim Hodgson's blog on USAID here: https://unwrappingdevelopment.ca/2025/02/09/dismantling-usa...

With Trump back in the White House, Threatening to ramp up the genocide against Palestinian people, it's a good time to revisit the conversation we had with Jonathan Kuttab. To talk about solidarity with Palestine we brought on Jonathan Kuttab, the director of Friends of Sabeel North America, to tell us about Palestinian Liberation Theology, the horrors of Israel's apartheid, and what the good new...

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we're bringing you an episode from the archive!  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. 

This week, we chatted with a friend of the show, Jim Hodgson, about Biden removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Unfortunately, since we recorded this Trump has rescinded that decision and we're right back where we started. It's still a worthwhile conversation! Get more from Jim at his blog: https://unwrappingdevelopment.ca/ Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillo...

Last week we talked about the GDP and growth and that was fun. But, this week, we're taking things a bit further by talking about monopoly capitalism, monopsony, and the financialization of capitalism. If you want to learn more about finance then look no further: https://monthlyreview.org/2010/10/01/the-financialization-of-accumulation/ https://monthlyreview.org/2010/10/01/the-great-financial-cris...

Capitalism can't work unless it's growing. How do economists measure capitalist growth? Through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is a magical number that goes up and down, but do you know how it's calculated? Well, tune in and learn all about the GDP and why it sucks!  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up...

In the weird liminal space between Christmas and New Year's, your favorite leftist youth pastors are locking you in to talk about feeling bad for the devil, dinosaurs, bones, magic portals, and AI. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues Support The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon....

The Pope is opening the magic doors for the year of Jubilee! In this episode, we're talking about the 2025 year of Jubilee in the Catholic church. Of course, we're talking about the weird Catholic stuff in this episode, but we're also talking about the material side of the Jubilee and the campaign to forgive and restructure debt throughout the world.  Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music b...