What We Can't Not Talk About

In this podcast special, Sohrab Ahmari, best-selling author and editor of the New York Post, discusses his most recent book, The Unbroken Thread, with Dr. Robert Koons, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute. Mr. Ahmari and Dr. Koons specifically discuss Question Nine of the book: What is Freedom For? Mr. Ahmari explains the background for the chapter in the 1978 Harvard commencement speech given by Alexander Solzhenitsyn concerning the shortcomings of the liberal democratic west, and Dr. Koons poses questions concerning the “eclectic” nature of Ahmari’s book and broader political project. We welcome you in joining us for this special and hope it provides some substantial ideas for reflection about the nature of freedom and the state of western politics.

In this episode, Dr. Brian Willoughby, assistant professor at the School for Family Life at BYU, discusses his recent research conducted with the support of the Wheatley Institute and Austin Institute on the effects of pornography on relationships. Dr. Willoughby details some of the methods and categories used in carrying out this survey, explaining some controversies in modern social science on these topics along the way. In what way exactly does porn harm relationships? Does it make a difference whether it’s used by both partners? We hope that you join us in finding out the answers to these questions and find something useful that you can apply to your own relationships and marriage. National Couples and Pornography Survey 2021: https://wheatley.byu.edu/National-Couples-and-Pornography-Survey2021/ The Porn Gap How is Pornography Impacting Relationships Between Men and Women Today? https://wheatley.byu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/The-Porn-Gap-Wheatley-2021.pdf

On Saturday, November 20th, 2021, three scholars and senior fellows of the Austin Institute for the Study of Family and Culture conversed with journalist and author Sohrab Ahmari. Focusing on three chapters of his most recent book and on the figures of Thomas Aquinas, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and Andrea Dworkin, the speakers engaged in conversations about the reasonableness of God, the purpose of human freedom and the meaning of sex. These videos are broken into three parts. This is part two. About our Speakers Sohrab Ahmari is a contributing editor of The American Conservative and a visiting fellow of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University. Previously, he spent nearly a decade at News Corp., as op-ed editor of the New York Post and as a columnist and editor with the Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London. Dr. J. Budziszewski is a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. His main area of research is the natural moral law, in which he is best known for his work on moral self-deception. His most recent books include Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on Happiness and Ultimate Purpose (2020), and Commentary on Thomas Aquinas’s Treatise on Divine Law (2021).

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Price, Professor of Economics at BYU and Senior Fellow for the Austin Institute, discusses a recent study he conducted on the benefits of mothers reading to their children. He also discusses difficulties in drawing a line of causation between the activity of mothers reading to their children and the overall benefits for those children later in life. How does this activity change outcomes for children? Does it change the children in any way or is it something else? Does it make your child smarter? We hope that you join us for this podcast to find answers to these questions and perhaps find something that can be applied to your own life and parenting, now or in the future.

"As a young father and a self-proclaimed 'radically assimilated immigrant,' Sohrab Ahmari realized that when it comes to shaping his young son's moral fiber, today's America comes up short." During this talk, journalist and author Sohrab Ahmari will share some of his ideas about the direness of the crisis we currently face and about the ways forward (which might actually require some looking back). Enjoy this conversation! About Our Speakers Sohrab Ahmari is a contributing editor of The American Conservative and a visiting fellow of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University. Previously, he spent nearly a decade at News Corp., as op-ed editor of the New York Post and as a columnist and editor with the Wall Street Journal opinion pages in New York and London. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Spectator, the Times Literary Supplement, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Dissent and America, among many others. His books include From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith (Ignatius, 2019) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (Convergent/Random House, 2021). He has testified before the British Parliament and appears regularly on broadcast media on both sides of the Atlantic, including the BBC, Sky News, France 24, Deutsche Welle, EWTN and Fox News. Fr. Jonathan Raia was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He came to know Jesus Christ through his parents' faith, and he grew in relationship with the Lord through Catholic school and various opportunities for service and leadership. He was also inspired by the example of holiness he witnessed in the priests at his parish and began to consider the priesthood as a young boy. His four years as a student at the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated with a B.A. in Plan II (Liberal Arts) and Spanish in 2002, were pivotal for his faith because of the friends he made at the University Catholic Center. The call to the priesthood grew stronger during his years at the UCC, and he entered seminary for the Diocese of Austin upon graduation. He was ordained a priest in 2009 and served for four years as parochial vicar at St. William Parish in Round Rock, then for a year as parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M University, before beginning as Vocation Director for the Diocese of Austin in July 2014. Six years later, he was named Chaplain/Director of the University Catholic Center. Fr. Jonathan holds a Master’s degree in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University, where he also received training in spiritual direction, a ministry that has been an important part of his priesthood. Ministry to college students has been a consistent source of joy for him, and he considers it an honor to return to his alma mater and to take on the mission of bringing Christ to the students of UT.

In this episode, UT Professor of Philosophy Dr. Daniel Bonevac joins us to discuss the contents of a recent seminar he presented at Stumberg Hall on the philosophy of time. He discusses and explains some of the authors he selected for the seminar including Augustine, Boethius, Borges, and McTaggart. An eclectic selection to be sure, but one that makes sense given the implications of time Dr. Bonevac wished to explore for the seminar. Is time real? How does time bear on memory, identity, human freedom, fate, or ethics? These are some of the questions that will be explored here at length, and we hope you find it edifying and even helpful for better understanding the role of time in your own life.

Everyone suffers. For many Catholics, however, deep psychological and emotional pain persists despite our frequent encounter with the sacraments. We're rightfully confused when we do not receive any healing from the touch of our Lord that we find in the Church. Healing seems to evade us. In this talk, we will explore the nature of our emotional and psychological pain, practical steps to address our pain and increase our healing, and daily practices that will allow us to live in the freedom to which Christ has called us. About Our Scholar Matthew Breuninger is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He received his Psy.D. in clinical psychology from Baylor University as well as an M.A. in Theology from Ave Maria University. His research interests lie generally in psychology of religion. In particular he is interested in how churches perceive and address mental illness, God attachment, religious and spiritual struggles, clinical disorders, and implicit and explicit attitudes toward God. His current research includes looking at the relationship between religious/spiritual struggles and well-being in adolescents, the effects of perceived parenting style on religious/spiritual struggles, and comparing the predictive validity of implicit and explicit attitudes toward God on various outcome variables. When not teaching or researching, he enjoys fishing and hiking in the mountains of Pennsylvania with his family.

In this episode, Professor in Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute Mark Regnerus discusses his latest research on the state of the Roman Catholic clergy in the United States. He found that, to the surprise of some, the priesthood in America is becoming increasingly conservative on matters of Church teaching in contrast to previous decades.

In this episode, Dr. Joseph Price, Professor of Economics at Brigham Young University and Senior Fellow of the Austin Institute, discusses matches in the marriage market, particularly for women with higher education. He points to the apparent scarcity of potential spouses for these women and describes how this may have come to be. Dr. Price shares his research on this subject and what it could mean for those of us navigating the marriage market. Mismatches in the Marriage Market research: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335623782_Mismatches_in_the_Marriage_Market

The art of the Faith — i fiori della Fede— in places of the Faith -- nei luoghi della Fede — are visible prayers. They are to be meditated upon in the manner of a ‘lectio divina’, rather a ‘visio divina’, and not as mere “pictures at an exhibition”. In this talk, Professor Emeritus Norman Farmer will discuss beauty, faith, and the time they both require. Supplementary materials recommend for this conversation include Dietrich von Hildebrand's "Beauty in the Light of Redemption" as well as some familiarity with St. Francis' of Assisi's "The Canticle of Brother Sun." Norman Farmer is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English at UT Austin and received his Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. He served as the director of the Humanities Program in the College of Liberal Arts for over a decade, and received many awards over the years, including the UT "Best Professor" Teaching Award, the Thomas Cranfill Teaching Fellowship, The Jean Holloway Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Graduate School Award for Teaching Excellence. He was also a director and teacher for The University of Texas Study in Italy Program at Castiglione Fiorentino, Italy. Through the Center for International Leadership in Washington D.C. he led seminars for executives of American and multinational corporations examining corporate culture, leadership development and corporate as well as individual ethical values.