Students have been organizing campus protests at universities across the world, so we're going to have a chat about it. This week, we talk about the campus protests from the level of strategy and pull together a few narrative threads about the faith angle to these protests. These are the articles we talked about in this episode https://sojo.net/articles/student-encampments-echo-jesus-parable-annoying-powerful https://religionnews.com/2024/04/30/how-showing-up-for-student-protesters-may-teach-the...
May 07, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 386
Something cool about having a podcast is that you can talk about whatever you'd like and no one can stop you. This week, we're doing just that. We've both gotten really interested in photography as a hobby and practice, so we're talking about Vilém Flusser's Toward a Philosophy of Photography and also some ideas about how it relates to the photographs of Mev Puleo, a photographer who was involved in liberation theology. You can find Mev Puleo's book The Struggle is one here: https://archive.org/...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 385
This week, we're easing back into podcasting after taking a bit of a hiatus. So, we're getting back into the swing of things with some of our favorite goofs. Don't worry; next week, we'll be back with something a bit more substantive. Also, Dean's audio sounds bad...Sorry. 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 *Ge...
Apr 22, 2024•44 min•Ep. 384
Podcasts are hard for busy and successful people like us. We're away travelling this week and next. But, we'll be back with fresh content later this month. This time, Brett O'Shea from Rev Left Radio is joining us to talk about everyone's fav Irish revolutionary, James Connolly! If you're following along at home, you can check out the writings by Connolly that we read for this ep here: “Socialism and Religion” - 1899 “The Connolly-DeLeon Controversy” - 1904 “Labour, Nationality and Religion” - 1...
Apr 15, 2024•56 min•Ep. 383
Podcasts are hard for busy and successful people like us. We're away travelling this week and next. But, we'll be back with fresh content later this month. We're still out here doing this Bible study, and this time we're doing a classic, the parable of the talents! You might think God wants you to invest the gifts he's given you so you can grow his kingdom, but guess what, if you knew a ton of extremely niche information about the first century you'd find out you're wrong! Intro Music by Amaryah...
Apr 09, 2024•57 min•Ep. 382
This week, Matt is away travelling, so we're giving you a spicy episode from the vault! Theology? Yeah, it's boring. Liberation theology? It's DANGEROUS--well, at least according to the CIA! This week we take a look at a few right wing documents from the 1980's that recognize that liberation theology was a possible threat to US hegemony.
Apr 01, 2024•58 min•Ep. 381
Last week, we hit you with the first half of Richard Horsley's book, You Shall Not Bow Down and Serve Them, and this week, we have part two on Paul and his economic message. 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...
Mar 25, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 380
This week, we're back to reading books! We've got some hot takes about the economic message of the Gospels that you didn't learn about in church from Richard Horsley's book You Shall Not Bow Down and Serve Them. We'll be back with the second part of the book next week. 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 Ma...
Mar 19, 2024•58 min•Ep. 379
It's an election year, which means that every person you know will tell you what they think about voting. We're no different. In this episode, we're talking about Joe Biden, the SOTU, Palestine, and the uncommitted vote. Intro: Amaryah Armstrong Outro: theillalogicalspoon
Mar 12, 2024•58 min•Ep. 378
You might have noticed that the podcast feed has been empty for a few weeks. Dean has been travelling the world and went all the way to Nepal to the World Social Forum to rub elbows with liberation theologians and activists. This week, Dean is back and ready to tell us all about it. Learn more about the World Social Forum here: https://www.wsf2024nepal.org/organization/activity/59
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 377
Happy Valentines Day/Ash Wednesday. Here's a classic ep to help us think about love. "Love is a power, and for that reason we cannot sequester it from all politics or keep it trapped in theological and mystical privacy. Love is not a neutral power that agrees with everything. But love lives precariously in a world that vacillates between not knowing what it is and subjecting it to the values of capital." This week, Matt and Dean talk with Richard Gilman-Opalsky about his new book The Communism o...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 376
Dean is halfway around the world at the World Social Forum talking liberation theology, so this week we're bringing you one from the archives. This conversation still seems timely given the new round of He Gets Us ads at the super bowl. This week, Josiah Daniels has joined us from the frontlines of the culture war, where he's been reporting on the He Gets Us campaign for Sojourners. In this episode, we talk about the "elite capture" of Jesus, dark money, and the conservative Christian PR machine...
Feb 12, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 375
This week on the podcast we're thinking about the way St Francis approached animals in his life. To take the idea of animals a bit more seriously we read the book Animalia: An Anti-Imperial Bestiary for Our Times. In the episode, we talk about the imperial history of apes, dogs, cattle, whales, foxes and even unicorns! Check out the book here: https://www.dukeupress.edu/animalia#:~:text=The%20contributors%20to%20Animalia%20analyze,the%20history%20of%20Western%20imperialism. Intro Music by Amarya...
Feb 06, 2024•57 min•Ep. 374
This week, we're taking a look at Leonardo Boff's 2014 book Francis of Rome, Francis of Assisi and talking through Boff's thoughts on reforming the Catholic church, how Pope Francis might do that, and what it means for Pope Francis to take up the project of St. Francis. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Get Magnificast Merch* https://www.redbubble.co m/themagnificast...
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 373
This week we're chatting with Alex Mikulich about his book Unlearning White Supremacy: A Spirituality for Racial Liberation. In the pod we talk about the importance of understanding the colonialist roots of Christianity, how white people can practice anti-racism, and what ecology and degrowth have to do with white supremacy. Check out the book here---> https://orbisbooks.com/products/unlearning-white-supremacy-a-spirituality-for-racial-liberation
Jan 22, 2024•53 min•Ep. 372
You might have heard that this year we're making a big effort to read the Bible. In our reading plan, we just finished up reading Genesis, so in this week's episode, we're going to talk about our experience reading the first book of the bible. If you want to join the community of Magnificasters reading the bibe, then joins us over at patreon.com/themagnificast.
Jan 15, 2024•59 min•Ep. 371
That's right folks, Marika is back to talk about her new book out with SCM Press, Theology for the End of the World! Find Marika's other writing at the AUFS blog: https://itself.blog/author/cmarikarose
Jan 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 370
Today on the pod, we're taking a moment to think through the ongoing genocide in Palestine and Munther Isaac's Christmas sermon Christ in the Rubble. Palestine Resources https://www.movement.org.uk/blog/palestine-resource-pack https://www.redletterchristians.org/christ-in-the-rubble-a-liturgy-of-lament/
Jan 01, 2024•50 min•Ep. 369
We're taking some time off for Christmas, so here's one from the archives! Ho Ho Ho, we're back with more Christmas content for all you Whos down in Whoville. This week, we talked with Pamela Klassen, a professor in the study of religion at the University of Toronto. She edited a rad collection of essays called The Public Work of Christmas and we're excited to talk with her and figure out what Christmas is all about! You can check out a preview of her book here: https://www.google.com/books/edit...
Dec 25, 2023•45 min•Ep. 368
We're always talking about the importance of Christian solidarity with Cuba, but this week we're talking with some folks who recently went on a trip to build that solidarity! Listen in and hear about their experience, reflections, and thoughts about solidarity with Cuba and why it's important. You can also donate some money to cover the cost of their trip here: bit.ly/SCMCuba
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 367
What's Christmas really about anyway? Is it about getting presents? Peace on earth? Or the liberation of the poor and exploited? This week on the podcast we read a bit of Richard Horsley's The Liberation of Christmas, talk about biblical hermeneutics, and talk about the true meaning of Christmas. get the book here: https://wipfandstock.com/9781597525756/the-liberation-of-christmas/
Dec 11, 2023•59 min•Ep. 366
COP 28 just got off the ground in the UAE, and we want to tell you about it. There's so much stuff going on in the world, but it's all happening against the background of climate change and the world's politicians and bureaucracies who are failing to take adequate action. In this episode, we talk about what COP 28 is, the loss and damage fund, and Pope Francis' intervention.
Dec 04, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 365
Nov 28, 2023•59 min•Ep. 364
This week, Dean is down in Cuba, building Christian solidarity with the Student Christian Movement. So, enjoy this classic episode about the rich man and Lazarus. Folks, on this podcast, we love the parables. This week we're talking about Luke 16:19 the Rich man and Lazarus. In the conversation, we talk about the historical context of the parable, the trope of class inversion, and just why the rich man was hell in the first place. In this episode, here are the books we talk about William Herzog ...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 363
This week on the podcast, we're talking to Jewish liberation theologian Marc H. Ellis, about his new book First Light: Encountering Edward Said and the Late-Style Jewish Prophetic in the New Diaspora. Throughout the conversation, we chat with Marc about Edward Said, what it means to be a person of conscience, liberation theology and even his encounters with Dorothy Day! Get Marc's book First Light here: https://www.fulcrum.org/concern/monographs/73666732n Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro m...
Nov 13, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 362
This week, we're giving you one of the episodes from the archive while we do some prep work for future episodes! In 2018, Óscar Romero was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church. His life and faith have been an important example to Christians on the left ever since his martyrdom. In this episode, we talk about the life and martyrdom of Saint Óscar Romero with Matt Eisenbrandt, author of The Assassination of a Saint. You can find his book here: http://www.assassinationofasaint.com/2017/01/02...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 361
Last week, we chatted with Jonathan Kuttab of FOSNA and heard about how to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people. This week, we're digging in further by talking about Naim Ateek's A Palestinian Theology of Liberation. Find out more about Friends of Sabeel North America here: https://www.fosna.org 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:/...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 360
For the past 2 weeks, all eyes have been on Palestine. 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 news of Christianity is in light of that apartheid. Find out more about Friends of Sabeel North America here: https://www.fosna.org Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalsp...
Oct 19, 2023•53 min•Ep. 359
With all that's going on this week, we Matt and Dean needed to take a minute, so this week we've got some classic content for you. Tune in next week for something new and interesting! We've spent more time than usual reading the Bible lately, but, as you might know, reading the Bible can be complicated. To get into how difficult it is, we read William Herzog's Parables as Subversive Speech and talk about the big history behind the context of the parables. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro m...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 358
Folks, we’re back at it. Last week, we refreshed our memories about the Pope’s climate encyclical Laudato Si and how it connected with things like degrowth and dependency theory. But this week, we’re back with some breaking news. The Vatican has released Francis’ most recent apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum, and we will talk through it. Last time, we pulled out some of Francis’ thoughts around dependency and the economy, and in this Laudate Deum, he’s back with a lot of similar themes, but thi...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 357
