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=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Damien+Costello+black+elk You can get Basil Brave Heart's book here: https://b...
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 on incarceration. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon
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 can follow him @jaybeware on twitter. For more information and updates on the strike, visit https://in...
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 "Are Prisons Obsolete" is a really accessible and forceful presentation of the history of prisons a...
Greetings from the past! Dean's on vacation this week, so here's an episode we recorded a few weeks ago. In this episode, Matt and Dean read through Marx's The Critique of the Gotha Program. Hold on to your butts for some more Marxism 101! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon
We did it folks, we finally talked about that good good book, that fifth gospel, the Communist Manifesto! Buckle up because this conversation is a meandering series of gushing comments about how good communism and how weird the bourgeoisie is! Music by Amaryah Armstrong and theillalogicalspoon
On this episode, Matt and Dean talk about the fine art of Jon McNaughton's "Crossing the Swamp" and the fine Christianity influenced communism of A.E. Smith. This episode highlights the biography of Smith and talks about what his example means for Christian Leftists. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon
Over the past few weeks, we've been getting into that good pre-Marxist communism. This week, Matt and Dean take a look into what makes Marx so special in the first place! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon
Have you ever asked yourself, "is there communism in the bible?" If so, do we have a podcast for you! In this episode, Matt and Dean talk about Communism in the Bible by José Porfirio Miranda. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon
We almost skipped from episode 68 to 70, but we thought our listeners deserved an extremely mature episode 69. Thankfully we found someone who can actually help us do that--Jessica Johnson, an anthropologist at the University of Washington who did an ethnographic study of Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill church in Seattle. Her findings and reflections are published in "Biblical Porn: Affect, Labor, and Mark Driscoll's Evangelical Empire" (Duke, 2018). It's probably the only book that ever cites Guattar...
Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea, was once called the "Jerusalem of the East" because there were so many Christians there. After a brutal war with the US left the country in rubble, however, things changed--but how? We talked to Derek Ford, member of the PSL and organizer of a recent delegation to the DPRK, to find out what the country is like. We also read two articles by Korean scholar Dae Young Ryu, one from 2006 called “Fresh Wineskins for N...
God is not dead. God is bread. The bread is rising! Bread means revolution. —New York Young Lords, “Celebration for a People’s Church” This week, Matt and Dean talk with Darrel Wanzer-Serrano about his book "The New York Young Lords and the Struggle for Liberation." In this episode, we hear about The Young Lords, their 13 point platform, and the church offensive. You can find Wanzer-Serrano's book here: https://www.amazon.com/York-Young-Lords-Struggle-Liberation/dp/1439912033/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8...
Continuing our historical tour through the medieval European radical Christians, this week we focus in on what Thomas Müntzer is all about by reading "Sermon to the Princes" and his confessions. In this episode, Matt and Dean connect Müntzer's radical message with the contemporary political situation and get to the bottom of just how many horses Counts and other noblemen should use. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon
We know how much you love our episodes on the intertwined history of Christianity and leftist movements, so we dug up some hot takes on Gerrard Winstanley and The Diggers! Check out this episode for that good historical leftist Christianity and a new segment called "Answers from a Pastor" Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro by Chumbawamba
In the past few months, we've been talking up the May Day Retreat the Friendly Fire Collective was putting on. Well, it happened! In this episode, we talk with Hye Sung Gehring from the Friendly Fire Collective about the retreat and just what happened! Donate to the Friendly Fire Collective here: https://www.gofundme.com/friendly-fire-retreat Intro/transition music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro by theillalogicalspoon
The Vatican released a document about economics and dang are the commenters upset! This week we talk about what the document does and doesn't do for Christians on the left, how the Vatican needs a better PR game, and what Christians can say about systemic capitalist problems. You can read along with us for the Magnificast home game here: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/05/17/180517a.html Intro/transition music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro by theillalogicalspo...
This week we remember the life of James Cone, who sparked black liberation theology in the United States. He died on April 28th this year. To think about his work, influence, and future, we talk with Amaryah Armstrong about how Cone has played a role in her own work and in public theology. We also talk about Cone's essay "The Black Church and Marxism: What Do They Have To Say To Each Other?" Also, we give you an update from the Benedict Basement. Spoiler: Marxism is scary, folks! Intro/transitio...
Every Christian think piece since 2012 has basically been asking the same question: Why are young people leaving the church? In this episode, Matt and Dean (along with their good friend Rosa Luxemburg) offer a definitive answer to that question: churches just aren't communist enough! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by theillogicalspoon.
Happy May Day, Happy Birthday Karl Marx! This week is full of leftist celebrations! To help us think more about the historical connections about Christianity and the US Labor movement, we've got Heath Carter back for another discussion about the ways Christianity has informed class struggle! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro Music by Woodie Guthrie
This week we sat down with Kiegan Irish, MA student at the Institute for Christian Studies and part of Christians for Socialism Toronto, to talk about his recent essay "Christian Reflections on Locke Street Anarchism." We think through what direct action says about society, why Christians have a hard time not siding with capital, and how you don't even have to be an anarchist to dig what anarchists are trying to tell you. Kiegan's essay is available here: http://www.groundmotive.net/2018/04/chri...
We all know that the Zapatistas are the coolest and most inspiring political movement, so this week we decided to learn more about them! In this episode, we talked with author, Hilary Klein, about her incredible book Compañeras: Zapatista Women's Stories. You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Compa%C3%B1eras-Zapatista-Stories-Hilary-Klein/dp/1609805879 Intro music: Amaryah Armstrong Outro music: theillogicalspoon
After last week's discussion with Greg Daly about the Easter Rising, we decided to track down how the Irish Christian Left emerged later in the 20th century. Unsurprisingly, our search brought us to 1968, when a radical Christian collective were in the news for demonstrations and publications. We rounded up a magazine called "Grille," published by some of those Irish Christian lefties, and decided to talk about the article "Theology of Violence" by journalist John Feeney. Intro music by Amaryah ...
On last week's episode, Travis McMaken commented that it's important to find other examples of Christianity that diverge from the usual right-wing path. This episode, we're investigating the faithful revolutionaries from the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. This episode features a brilliant interview with Greg Daly, the author of 1916: The Church and the Rising. Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon
The Christian political imagination is often limited to a brutal and ignorant capitalism or a stuffy and naive liberalism. Finding other examples of Christianity that counter both of these logics are essential projects for the Christian Left. In this episode, we interviewed W. Travis McMaken about one of those characters that express a faithful and socialist Christianity: Helmut Gollwitzer. You can find a link to "Our God Loves Justice" here: http://fortresspress.com/product/our-god-loves-justic...
Last week we talked about Jacques Ellul's weird anarchism, so this week we're talking with Katherine and Hye Sung from the Friendly Fire Collective about cool anarchism! We talk about how Quakerism and pentecostalism feed into anarchism, why anarchists and Marxists can be buds, and hear about an upcoming retreat in Philadelphia--which you can register for until March 29 (https://friendlyfirecollective.wordpress.com/retreat/). You might remember Katherine from the episode we did together with her...
True basement dwellers will remember our totally unlistenable first episode where we tried to talk about Jacques Ellul's book "Anarchy and Christianity." A year later, we revisited the book together in Toronto. Highlights include Ellul's weird anarchism, some more of that Very Good reflection on violence, and a reminder that there are cooler Christian anarchists out there! Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon
Usually, on The Magnificast, we bring on a guest and talk about their work. However, in this episode, we're bringing you an amazing lecture by one of our favorite theorists: Richard Gilman-Opalsky. In this episode, you'll hear Dr. Gilman-Opalsky give a lecture he delivered at Greenville University in the fall of 2017 about incarceration, policing, and revolt. You can find Gilman-Opalsky's newest book here: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2405_reg.html Intro/transition music by Amaryah Arms...
