Cultural Debris

Dr. Greg Hillis of Bellarmine University in Louisville. He is author of the recent book Man of Dialogue: Thomas Merton’s Catholic Vision from Liturgical Press.

Dr. Hillis and I discuss Merton’s reputation, his role as novice master at the Abbey of Gethsemani, his interaction with the Kentucky literary scene, and the significance of Merton’s interest in Eastern religions.

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Man of Dialo...

Dominican Friar Fr. Gregory Pine is a host of the podcast Godsplaining and frequently appears on Pints With Aquinas. He is author of the new book Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly published by Our Sunday Visitor.

Fr. Pine and I discuss the idea of prudence, its philosophical roots, and his favorite Kentucky bourbon distilleries, plus his strange encounter with a biker in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.

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Anthony Amore is a Boston based New York Times bestselling author and art security expert. He is author most recently of  The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale.

He also works as Director of Security and Chief Investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum where he endeavors to recover the thirteen works of art stolen from the Gardner in a daring heist in 1990.

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Jessica Hooten Wilson is author of the new book The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints from Brazos Press. Jessica is a professor at the University of Dallas and has written previously on Walker Percy and Fydor Dostoevesky. She currently is preparing a manuscript on Flannery O’Connor.

Jessica and I discuss facing the reality of our own limitations, finding literary saints as exemplars,...

My guest is art historian Danielle Oteri who wrote a wonderful article published in The Paris Review about the Unicorn Tapestries in the Met Cloisters.

Danielle and I discuss mystery and wonder, angels and unicorns. And a security guard named Howie. Oh, and a squirrel.

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'The Secret of the Unicorn Tapestries'

Danielle Oteri: Website | Substack | Twitter | Instagram

Cult...

My guest this episode is Allen Mendenhall, Associate Dean and Grady Rosier Professor in the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University, and author of the book Shouting Softly: Lines on Law, Literature, and Culture from St. Augustine’s Press.

We discuss his family’s connection to author Harper Lee, Russell Kirk’s book The Conservative Constitution, the value of being a generalist, and much more.

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Father Harrison Ayre is one of the co-hosts of the podcast Clerically Speaking. I definitely recommend it as it is a favorite of mine.

Father Harrion’s new book is Mysterion: The Revelatory Power of The Sacramental Worldview.

We discuss the idea of sacramentality, the dangers of modernity and acedia, and the benefits of the Marian stance.

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Fr. Harrison Ayre on Twitter

Mysterion Pauline ...

This episode’s guest is the author of the new book Swan Songs: Souvenirs of Paris Elegance. He writes under the pseudonym of Reginald-Jerome de Mans. In the book, he chronicles the end of old Parisian clothing institutions: shops and clothiers that sold luxurious wares for a century and longer, but the world seemingly passed them by. He also writes about a few who remain, but for how long?

We discuss lost shops, lost skills, and, i...

Alan Noble is author of the new book You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World from IVP, The Intervarsity Press. Dr. Noble is a professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and a founder of Christ and Pop Culture.

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You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World

Alan Noble website | Twitter

Christ and Pop Culture

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My guest is Professor Todd Hartch of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond. A specialist in the history of religion, particularly Latin American religion, Todd has written a new book A Time to Build Anew: How to Find the True, Good, and the Beautiful in America. You’ll enjoy our topics from sculptor Frederick Hart, to the Notre Dame School of Architecture, to great books programs, and saving Charleston.

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My guest is author and bookman Stuart Kells of Melbourne, Australia. Stuart and I chat about various things bookish—private presses, pulp paperbacks, typefaces, and university presses. We even talk about two of his books a bit, The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders and Shakespeare’s Library: Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature. Both highly recommended.

You don’t want to miss the story about Stuart’s mystery find that cost hi...

My guest is former Ambassador Alberto Miguel Fernandez. Alberto served as US Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, and also served in various diplomatic roles around the world including in Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan. He currently serves as vice president of the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Alberto shares his early introduction to Russell Kirk’s writings, his family’s history with his native Cuba, his career as a US diplomat,...

My guest is Father Michael Ward of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford and also of Houston Baptist University. Fr Ward has an enviable trifecta in his academic pedigree—degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Andrews. Fr. Ward is perhaps best known for his book Planet Narnia, which explains the correlation of each Narnia book to a planet in medieval cosmology. His recently released book from Word on Fire Academic, After Humanity: A Guide to C...

Jeffrey Bilbro is editor of the The Front Porch Republic. Jeff is a fellow devotee of Wendell Berry, and has written a new book from IVP called Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the News. We discuss setting priorities in a Twitter world with a bit of talk about higher education thrown in. We even have nice things to say about Henry David Thoreau.

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Jared Zimmerer is director of the Word on Fire Institute. Jared is a fellow disciple of Russell Kirk, and currently is pursuing doctoral research on things Kirkian. It should not surprise you that Dr. Kirk is exactly what we talk about, particularly the idea of personalism related to Dr. Kirk’s writings, and the influence of St. John Henry Newman on his thought. In the course of that, we also delve into Dr. Kirk’s conversion to Cat...

My guest is Erik Bootsma a classical architect who specializes in ecclesiastical architecture. Erik was trained at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, which focuses on traditional forms of architecture. He and I discuss the role and modern degradation of architecture, Russell Kirk on modern architecture, the church wreckovations of the 1960s, and the attempts to return to traditional understandings of sacred space....

My guest is Canadian menswear writer and broadcaster Pedro Mendes who operates the website The Hogtown Rake. I have followed Pedro for years on Instagram and also very much enjoyed his podcast series ‘Unbuttoned With Bruce Boyer.’ Pedro has an appreciation for classic men’s clothing that I share, and in this episode we discuss his new book Ten Garments Every Man Should Own: A Practical Guide to Building a Permanent Wardrobe. Is the...

My guest this episode is Grace Olmstead. Grace has done excellent work for several years on issues of localism, just the sort of thing we like to talk about on Cultural Debris. Like your humble host, she is a devotee of Wendell Berry’s works, and her new book Uprooted is a chronicle of approaching her own native place and her own life with the principles of localism, sustainability, and the obligations of membership.

*NEW* Cultur...

Holly Ordway is Cardinal Francis George Fellow of Faith and Culture of the Word on Fire Institute. Her new book, the first from the new Word on Fire Academic imprint, is Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages. It’s an important work, that genuinely breaks new ground in Tolkien studies. Holly was kind enough to chat about the book and about J.R.R. Tolkien, certainly a favorite of mine, and I suspect, yours, to...