What We Can't Not Talk About

Taking the Soviet Union as a case study, economist Dr. Clara E. Piano analyzed the way in which an autocrat will deal with the family. Will it support divorce and abortion, or will it enact pro-family and pro-life laws? Tune in to find out: the answers will surprise you! Dr. Clara E. Piano's website: https://www.clara-elizabeth.com Dr. Clara E. Piano's work: https://www.clara-elizabeth.com/project...

Let’s begin at the end... The first episode of this new season is an engaging and provocative conversation on one of the most serious events of our human life: its natural end. Join in to listen to Dr. Marianna Orlandi and Lydia Lydia Dugdale, MD, MAR (ethics), author of “The Lost Art of Dying”. Link to our guest's book: https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Art-Dying-Reviving-Forgotten/dp/0062932632. More...

Dr. Marianna Orlandi and Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Melissa Moschella discuss parental rights, school choice, critical race theory, and the meaning of education in today’s world. Melissa Moschella is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America, where her research and teaching focus on natural law, bioethics and the moral and political status of the family and...

How did the world arrive at its current, disorienting state of identity politics, and how we respond? Historian Carl R. Trueman shows how influences ranging from traditional institutions to technology and pornography moved modern culture toward an era of “expressive individualism.” Investigating philosophies from the Romantics, Nietzsche, Marx, Wilde, Freud, and the New Left, he outlines the histo...

Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute Mark Regnerus discusses the science behind current issues around gender identity, such as affirmative care and the rise of gender dysphoria among youth. Especially in the United States, medical research has been affected by external political pressure and predetermined conclusions. Dr. Regnerus ch...

In this episode, we interview April Readlinger, Executive Director of CanaVox, on a recent article published in Public Discourse about the inclusion of gender ideology in K-12 public education in New Jersey. Mrs. Readlinger here discusses some of the troubles regarding the legislation that introduced this issue into the state’s public school curriculum and specifically explores the challenges it p...

Warsaw, Poland, May 18th, 2022: On the day that would have marked Karol Wojtyła's 102nd birthday and in the context of the international conference on John Paul II’s Natural Law Legacy & International Human Rights organized by Ave Maria School of Law, Dr. Marianna Orlandi delivered a talk focused on a play that the young Karol Wojtyła wrote long before becoming a Pope: "The Jeweler’s Shop." Tune i...

In this podcast, Dr. James Poulos discusses technology, media, and alternatives to the current technocratic-political order by a union between branding, patriotism, and an alternative theological vision, all the while exploring the link between modern gnosticism and transhumanism. Dr. James Poulos is the Executive Editor of The American Mind, the Claremont Institute's online publication devoted to...

In today’s world, we talk of time as a possession. It is a commodity that can be gained, spent, or lost. But before the invention of the clock, people understood time as God’s time, something too big to own or use. Days, lunar cycles, and seasons marked the turning of a cosmos; they reflected a sometimes scary and mysterious universe whose time we inhabit rather than control. In a moment, the pand...

In this episode, Dr. Mark Regnerus, Professor of Sociology at UT Austin and Senior Fellow and founder of the Austin Institute, joins us to discuss a recent study he carried out concerning the approval and disapproval of medical-surgical interventions to treat gender dysphoria by Americans. The study uncovered some interesting information on links between the number of children one has, religiosity...

In this episode, Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of "The European Conservative," joins us to discuss his quarterly journal which features news articles and reviews concerning the state of Europe and European conservatism, as well as essays on philosophy and the arts. Mr. Fantini here explores the status of the European conservative movement, his philosophy of conservatism as non-ideological,...

Conservatism today, whether animated by concern for lost political greatness or by dismay over the evisceration of traditional morality, has grown skeptical of the case for personal liberty and for market freedom. Individual liberty is condemned on account of the excesses of radical autonomy, the free market on account of corrupt practices of wealthy corporations. Drawing on insights from leading...

In this episode, Dr. Susan Yoshihara, President of the American Council on Women, Peace, and Security, joins us to discuss war as it relates to women in the context of her own background as a former Naval officer, the conflict in Ukraine, as well as humanitarian efforts in war. Dr. Yoshihara here also discusses foreign intervention and the nature of just war theory. We invite you to listen to this...

As the war in Ukraine is raging on, we are seeing how a nation responds to the roles of its men and women in a time of great crisis. In this episode, UT Professor and AI Senior Fellow Mark Regnerus shares key insights about his latest Public Discourse article, “War Highlights Sex Differences and Family Ties." “A nation could recover from the loss of scores of men, as the twentieth century’s postwa...

In this episode, J. Budziszewski, Professor of Philosophy and Government at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute, joins us to discuss his latest book, How and How Not to Be Happy. Prof. J. Budziszewski reflects here on his motivations for writing the book as well as the following questions: What is the meaning of happiness? Do such things as pleasure, honor,...

In this episode, Kate Bryan, author of the recent book Living the Feminist Dream, joins us to talk about her book and her project 1 Girl Revolution. Ms. Bryan discusses with us such topics as her background, her interest in the stories of various women in modern society and how they change the world around us, the importance of women in community, the failures of the contemporary secular feminist...

Can the Christian ethic of selfless, self-sacrificial Agape be reconciled with the classical eudaemonism of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle? Thomas Aquinas attempted such a reconciliation, agreeing with the Greeks that one’s own happiness (eudaemonia/beatitude) is the ultimate end of all human action, and that self-love (eros) is the foundation of all other loves, while insisting (with the Christia...

In this podcast special, Sohrab Ahmari, best-selling author and editor of the New York Post, discusses his most recent book, "The Unbroken Thread," with Dr. Mark Regnerus, Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute. Mr. Ahmari and Dr. Regnerus specifically discuss Question Ten of the book: Is Sex a Private Matter? Mr. Ahmari explains the b...

In this podcast special, Sohrab Ahmari, best-selling author and editor of the New York Post, discusses his most recent book, The Unbroken Thread, with Dr. Robert Koons, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute. Mr. Ahmari and Dr. Koons specifically discuss Question Nine of the book: What is Freedom For? Mr. Ahmari explains the backgroun...

In this episode, Dr. Brian Willoughby, assistant professor at the School for Family Life at BYU, discusses his recent research conducted with the support of the Wheatley Institute and Austin Institute on the effects of pornography on relationships. Dr. Willoughby details some of the methods and categories used in carrying out this survey, explaining some controversies in modern social science on t...

On Saturday, November 20th, 2021, three scholars and senior fellows of the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture conversed with journalist and author Sohrab Ahmari. Focusing on three chapters of his most recent book and on the figures of Thomas Aquinas, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Andrea Dworkin, the speakers engaged in conversations about the reasonableness of God, the purpose of h...

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Price, Professor of Economics at BYU and Senior Fellow for the Austin Institute, discusses a recent study he conducted on the benefits of mothers reading to their children. He also discusses difficulties in drawing a line of causation between the activity of mothers reading to their children and the overall benefits for those children later in life. How does this activi...

"As a young father and a self-proclaimed 'radically assimilated immigrant,' Sohrab Ahmari realized that when it comes to shaping his young son's moral fiber, today's America comes up short." During this talk, journalist and author Sohrab Ahmari will share some of his ideas about the direness of the crisis we currently face and about the ways forward (which might actually require some looking back)...

In this episode, UT Professor of Philosophy Dr. Daniel Bonevac joins us to discuss the contents of a recent seminar he presented at Stumberg Hall on the philosophy of time. He discusses and explains some of the authors he selected for the seminar including Augustine, Boethius, Borges, and McTaggart. An eclectic selection to be sure, but one that makes sense given the implications of time Dr. Bonev...

Everyone suffers. For many Catholics, however, deep psychological and emotional pain persists despite our frequent encounter with the sacraments. We're rightfully confused when we do not receive any healing from the touch of our Lord that we find in the Church. Healing seems to evade us. In this talk, we will explore the nature of our emotional and psychological pain, practical steps to address ou...