The Pugcast

Today's episode delves into how the mystery of God assuming human flesh has continued to upturn paradigms of what it means to be a human creature, of what it means to be divine, and how the two are related. The pug’s engage this rich and timely topic by delving into the history of the scandal such teaching has evoked and ways we can draw upon this most profound mystery to challenge the fashi...

Today the Pugs discuss a post by Ted Gioia on his Substack, The Honest Broker. The title of the post is, "The State of the Culture, 2024" Gioia is a well known music critic, and is actually the brother of Dana Gioia (the poet). Ted Gioia's Substack is nearing 200,000 subscribers--that's very impressive. In the post the Pug discuss he outlines the demise both of art and entertainment by two new for...

Today the Pugs welcome Rory Groves, author of Durable Trades, and a new book, The Family Economy: Discovering the Family as It was Designed to Work. Rory transitioned out of a high tech career a few years back in order to build a family based economy with his wife and children. It took time, and there were many challenges, but he learned some important lessons along the way that he wants to share...

Today the Pugs are joined by writer and editorialist, Bethel McGrew to discuss Paul Kingsnorth’s Erasmus Lecture for First Things. The Pugs found themselves both barking when they found disagreement as well as agreement, with a slight weight given to disagreement. We hope that you enjoy the show.   Paul Kingsnorth’s Erasmus Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3hMSZqatHI &nbs...

Article: https://breakpoint.org/bioethics-and-big-sheep/   Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Catch our new documentary ‘A Pugcast Pilgrimage: Lewis, Oxford, and Our Postmodern Age’ on Canon+: https://canonplus.com/tabs/discover/videos/34865?fbclid=IwY2xjawF-J-9leHRu...

In this episode, Glenn and honorary Pug John West of the Discovery Institute interview Indian Christian philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi about his life, his proposals for recovering the role of the church in higher education, and his analysis of where Western culture epistemology went wrong. This last point generated a lively discussion about general and special revelation between Vishal and John. &n...

Today Chris shares some thoughts on techno-utopianism--namely, what characterizes it? He proffers six distinctives and asks the guys to reflect with him on them. He suggests that while very few people would say they're on board with all six, most people seem to at least think that technology inevitably makes the world a better place. But is that necessarily so, or are we presented with a set of tr...

Today the Pugs welcome Rhys Laverty (all the way from the UK!) to discuss a new collection of essays on C. S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy (sometimes misleadingly known as the Space Trilogy). The collection is being published under the title 'Life on the Silent Planet' by the Davenant Trust. Contributors include many friends of the Pugcast, including Michael Ward, of Planet Narnia fame. The Pugs enjoy a...

This week's episode engages an article by moral theologian, Luke Bretherton of Oxford, who suggests that the recent swath of conversions by public intellectuals like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Paul Kingsnorth, and flirtations with Christianity by figures like Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray and Luise Perry are best understood as idolatrous pseudo-conversions which are more about preserving Western Cultur...

Unconfirmed reports coming out of North Carolina of the government simply bulldozing areas affected by Hurricane Helene without searching for bodies prompted Glenn to raise the question of how we think of and treat the bodies of the dead. Historically, Christians have always believed that we belong, body and soul, to the Lord, and thus even after death the body was treated with respect and buried,...

Trad Dad is back (Oct 25-26) in Battle Ground, Washington for our Second Annual Fatherhood Intensive. This year we will hear from Scott Yenor, Allan C. Carlson, and C.R. Wiley on Pro-Natal Fatherhood and the recovery of a proper philosophical, political, and most importantly, Biblical perspective on children.   Today’s conversation features CR Wiley and Allan C. Carlson, Professor of Hi...

Trad Dad is back (Oct 25-26) in Battle Ground, Washington for our Second Annual Fatherhood Intensive. This year we will hear from Scott Yenor, Allan C. Carlson, and C.R. Wiley on Pro-Natal Fatherhood and the recovery of a proper philosophical, political, and most importantly, Biblical perspective on children.   Today’s conversation features CR Wiley and Scott Yenor, Professor of Politic...

On today's show Chris leads the Pugs in a reflection on the story of Jonah--not the Biblical prophet, but the seminary student Rod Dreher interviewed for his book, Living in Wonder. Jonah was raised in an evangelical home, and was even homeschooled, yet fell into a spell of dark enchantment that included visions of demons and the use of psychedelic drugs. Eventually he was delivered through exorci...

On today's show Tom brings along Paul Kingsnorth’s article, The Illusion of a Pagan West, for the Pugs to engage. Topics delved into range from why we still talk about Roman Civilization to the theatrics of subversive woke culture. Most interesting is Kingsnorth’s claim that we are not returning to paganism but are locked into to a shallow culture which subverts Christianity all the wh...

In this episode, Glenn the History Pug gets into revisionist histories on the left and the right that both argue that history has been distorted to favor elites, and that they have the real story about what happened. Oddly, they both identify people like Churchill as villains, though for different reasons, and functionally try to at least soften our view of the people traditionally seen as the bad...

Today the Pugs revisit Matthew B. Crawford's book, Shop Class as Soulcraft. Among the many fascinating things discussed in it is the essential difference between autonomy and agency. Ironically, we live in a world of manufactured illusions of autonomy. We're led to make choices between options presented to us by parties that profit no matter what choice is made. On the other hand, there are people...

Today the Pugs are shorthanded because Tom is in great demand. Never fear, Glenn and Chris are joined by Tim Adams, erstwhile conservative Methodist Minister. I know what you’re thinking, isn’t that an oxymoron? Sadly it seems so, but Methodism has a remarkable history and once was the fastest growing Protestant denomination in the United States. So, what happened? That’s what th...

Can we really have a ‘meaningful job’? Is such a notion delusional? Tom initiates discussion with the other Pugs around the topic of whether the very notion of a ‘meaningful job’ in the contemporary understanding is delusional. Introducing the topic by way of Stuart Whately’s recent article in Unherd, the Pugs unpack rich threads of conversation sparked by the article...

In this episode, the Pugs use an article from The Imaginative Conservative called “The Artistic and Intellectual Temperaments” by Michael De Sapio as a jumping off point to discuss art, intellectual life, and the connections and disconnections between the two. The guys discuss medieval and Renaissance art, modern art, Romanticism, poetry, intellectual life and academia, and roller skat...

Today the Pugs discuss a fascinating article by Jacob Howland that was published in the always interesting online journal, "Unherd." The article reflects on the sad story of Timothy Treadwell documented by film maker Werner Herzog in his 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man. But that's just the occasion for reflecting on the even sadder story of the crisis of the west--a crisis with an ending prophesied...

Who counts as a theologian? Who gets to address the deep things of God and creation? Tom is at the helm this week and he is joined by a special guest, Dr. Jahdiel Perez of Villanova University. Dr. Perez is a C. S. Lewis scholar, writing the first doctoral dissertation in ‘theology’ at the University of Oxford on C. S. Lewis. Wrapping up our Lewis theme, Tom and Jahdiel discusses many...

Thank God for Bitcoin?   On today's show Glenn and Chris interview Jordan Bush--the man behind the "Thank God for Bitcoin Conference." If this sounds a bit odd to you, here's something else to consider--Glenn and Chris both spoke at this year's conference in Nashville. So, what is this Bitcoin thing, and why should Christians be grateful for it? Tune in and hear why and judge for yourself whe...

On today's show the Pugs look back on their trip to Oxford and talk about some of the things they learned and enjoyed from the trip. Glenn leads off with three things he got a deeper appreciation for about C. S. Lewis, each of which brings in further discussion, ideas, and tangents from Chris and Tom. Throughout the conversation, all of the Pugs share experiences, ideas, and appreciation for Oxfor...

After a week at Oxford, surrounded by some of the best buildings to be found anywhere in the world when it comes to higher education, the Pugs discuss architecture on today's brief episode. "Why does beauty matter?" and “Why are all the science buildings ugly?” are among a host of questions addressed. Tune in as the guys long for a world that builds things the way they used to.  ...

The Pugs continue their adventure in Oxford with an interview with Dr. Simon Horobin, the man behind the recently released book C. S. Lewis's Oxford. Dr. Horobin is an authority in medieval literature and teaches at Magdalen College. The Pugs joined Dr. Horobin in his room at Magdalen, not for from the rooms where Lewis taught and met with the Inklings. The conversation was rich and covers a lot o...