Today, we begin discussing the final chapter of The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis. Topics include: slavery and freedom; the conquest of man over man; the flight from the reality of death; the world state as a surrogate for the Tao; eugenics, trans-humanism and post-humanism; man as raw material for the post-human project; the impact of World War I on the thinking of Lewis; and what a positive and humane technical progress could look like. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis After Humanity: A ...

My friend Kale Zelden returns to the podcast to discuss with me The Abolition of Man, a collection of lectures on ethics that C.S. Lewis first delivered in 1943 at the University of Durham. Today's episode contains our opening conversation about The Abolition of Man. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward The Stranger - Albert Camus A Critical Look at The Stranger: The Culpability of Moral Estrangement That Hideous Streng...

My friend Kale Zelden and I finish discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: “The Way.” We discuss the rebellion of the branch against the tree; whether authority can be interrogated from within or without the Tao; addressing moral relativity before making an apologia for faith; and how the end of this chapter of The Abolition of Man echoes the tower of Babel and The Screwtape Letters. Click here for the show notes.

In this episode, Kale and I discuss the final pages of The Abolition of Man. In a world allegedly without objective values, what conditions the conditioners? Chesterton’s idea of play and rules providing freedom; the reality that a value-free neutrality does not exist; trans-humanism and post-humanism; the dismembering of nature and disenchantment; the magician’s bargain: how the last step toward the abolition of man is unlike every prior step; the common ancestry of science and magic; ...

The second season of this podcast will be focused on the theme of humanity: Specifically, the topic of how to ground our humanity within a truly ethical framework. It's something to which C.S. Lewis gave close attention in a book titled The Abolition of Man, first published in 1943. My friend Kale Zelden will return to discuss the book with me, as we have both appreciated the book for a long time and are eager to revisit it. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis After Humanity by F...

My friend Kale Zelden and I complete our conversation about the first chapter of The Abolition of Man: "Men Without Chests." We discuss debunking, the cultivation of just sentiments, the Tao, the poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen, and the chest as essential mediator between the head and the belly. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - John Vervaeke Shadowlands Theolog...

My friend Kale Zelden and I begin discussing the second chapter of The Abolition of Man: "The Way." We discuss Innovators and Debunkers, the limits of instinct, and the indispensable role of the Tao. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man - Michael Ward Bishop Barron's conversation with evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein Macbeth - William Shakespeare Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Today, I'm posting a special episode on The Stations of the Cross. What follows is a Stations of the Cross text I wrote in 2004, reflecting on the images Mel Gibson provided in his movie The Passion of The Christ. Each mediation also includes a quote from one of my favorite spiritual writers. In the show notes, you'll find links to learn more about the Stations of the Cross, sources for the quotes used in the meditations, and a link to learn more about the album Via Crucis by Dic...

In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I complete our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. In the last major section of the letter, Benedict XVI speaks of the experience of judgment as a setting for hope. We pick up our reading at paragraph 39. This episode concludes the first season of the podcast. I'd really appreciate your feedback on the first season of this podcast -- what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd like to see in season two -- by taking a mome...

In today's episode, Kale Zelden and I resume our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on Christian hope. Specifically, we read and reflect on paragraphs 32 through 38: Settings for learning and practicing hope. Benedict XVI speaks in these paragraphs of prayer and suffering as two "schools of hope." The music in the introduction and close of this podcast is provided by Dennis Crommett. Learn more about Dennis at DennisCrommett.Bandcamp.com or in the show notes. If you're...

In honor of the approaching solemnity of Pentecost, I'm posting a special episode today on the grace of Pentecost and loving the Church. It's a presentation I recorded in Los Angeles back in 2008, when I had the chance to hear then-Father (and now Cardinal) Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap give a talk sponsored by the Southern California Renewal Conference (SCRC). Cantalamessa's words about divisions in the body of Christ, the importance of each person seeking the good of the other, and the valu...

Today's episode will cover paragraphs 24 through 31 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: what is the true shape of Christian hope? I had recorded a conversation about these paragraphs with my friend Kale Zelden, but the audio somehow didn't survive the recording process, so today's episode will be a simple reading of these paragraphs. But more than any other part of the letter, this section is the culmination of everything that has been discussed be...

In today's episode, my friend Kale and I reflect on paragraphs 16 through 23 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: how has the concept of Christian hope been transformed in the modern age? More specifically, how has modernity reappropriated the concepts of faith and hope in the service of secular goals?

My friend Kale Zelden and I reflect on paragraphs 13 through 15 of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope, which asks the question: Is Christian Hope Individualistic? This question leads to a wide-ranging conversation about the role of Christian community, and its importance in our initiation and reconciliation with God in the Church. Show notes/resources: Confession and General Absolution "Party of Christ... or Church of Jesus Christ?" in Called to Communion, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinge...

Jack Sacco, an engineer and writer by trade, interviewed a multi-disciplinary group of scientists who were given access to study the Shroud in 1978. This two-hour presentation summarizes the remarkable findings of that scientific research. The venue for the talk was Saint Monica's Catholic Church in Santa Monica, California, and the speaker was introduced by Father Willy Raymond, CSC. If you're enjoying this podcast, or wish to send along a question or friendly critique, drop me a note on Tw...

My friend Kale Zelden and I continue our discussion of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope (Spe Salvi) -- specifically, we read and discuss paragraphs 4 through 12, covering the concept of faith-based hope in the New Testament and the early Church, and the question about what eternal life is. Show notes/resources: The Still Point in the Turning World - T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets, "Burnt Norton" The "already/not yet" tension of Christian liturgy and life: "The Sanctification ...

Together, long-time friend Kale Zelden and I read Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical letter on hope (Spe Salvi) and discuss the idea of faith-based hope. In today's episode, we break open the letter and unpack the first few paragraphs. Show notes/resources: Ave Maris Stella (Mary, Star of the Sea) Angel prayer from Fatima Jesus of Nazareth trilogy - Benedict XVI God's performative word: Verbum Domini, Benedict XVI, paragraph 53 God's performative word - Isaiah 55:10-11 Saint Josep...

My friend Kale and I discuss a broad range of topics, including: the self-conscious church; the church as an expert in humanity; self-exploitation and social media; and Catholic identity and liturgy. Kale's interview with Paul VanderKlay (September 3, 2020) Katie Van Schaijik - Theology of the Body: A Cure for Clericalism (2019) Ernest Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises (1926) Pope Francis - Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), paragraphs 93-97 (2013)...

Beginning this month (January 2021), I'll be releasing several episodes that I recently recorded with a longtime friend of mine, Kale Zelden, as we engage in a close reading of a letter by Pope Benedict XVI on the theme of hope. This letter, entitled Spe Salvi or "The Hope that Saves," has several points of convergence with the work of C.S. Lewis.

In the current pandemic, nothing is more evident than our diverse attitudes toward our vulnerability and the ephemeral quality of life in this world. The aversion to risk and the obsession with surviving at any cost have been thrown into very sharp relief. In this context, I think that an essay by C.S. Lewis entitled On Living in an Atomic Age, first published in 1948, is incredibly relevant to the current hour. To illustrate the point, I have adapted the essay to speak not about the atomic...