Pop Culture and the Papacy

In the weeks since Pope Francis’s passing, the internet has been flooded by papal memes, election analysis, and even close readings of the newly appointed Pope Leo XIV’s own posts. On this episode of Critics at Large, Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz consider why the moment has so captivated Catholics and nonbelievers alike. They discuss the online response and hear from the writer Paul Elie, who’s been covering the event on the ground at the Vatican for The New Yorker. Then the hosts consider how recent cultural offerings, from last year’s “Conclave” to the HBO series “The Young Pope,” depict the power and pageantry of the Church, with varying degrees of reverence. Leo XIV’s first address as Pope began with a message of peace—an act that may have contributed to the flurry of interest and excitement around him. “The signs are hopeful,” Cunningham says. “And reasons to hope attract attention.”

Read, watch, and listen with the critics:

“Francis, the TV Pope, Takes His Final Journey,” by Vinson Cunningham (The New Yorker)
“White smoke, Black pope?,” by Nate Tinner Williams (The National Catholic Reporter)
“The First American Pope,” by Paul Elie (The New Yorker)
“Brideshead Revisited,” by Evelyn Waugh
“Conclave” (2024)
“Angels & Demons” (2009)
“The Young Pope” (2016)
“The Two Popes” (2019)
Pope Leo XIII’s “Rerum Novarum”

New episodes drop every Thursday. Follow Critics at Large wherever you get your podcasts.