

The Magnificast
The Magnificast
A weekly podcast about Christianity and leftist politics. The Magnificast is hosted by Dean Dettloff and Matt Bernico. Each week's episode focuses on a unique or under-realized aspect of territory between Christianity and politics that no one taught you about in sunday school.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 18, 2025 • 1h 2min
The Structural Problems of Green Growth
When it comes to climate change and mitigation, some have suggested that we harness the power of capitalist growth and use it for something useful like green energy. But, there are some problems baked into capitalism about why that won't work. Listen in and learn all about why.Here are the books we mentioned in the ep. Brett Christophers - The Price is Wrong - https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3069-the-price-is-wrong?srsltid=AfmBOoq28BkqbNEqmZ1FJ1zTK0jnuVuJ5aYkb54H9xr2EaBfuU-Uph2EAndreas Malm and Wim Carton - Overshoot - https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3131-overshoot?_pos=1&_psq=Overshoot&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Feb 12, 2025 • 49min
Zip lines, the opiate of the masses
Over the past few weeks, Trump's mass deportations have started and everyone's least favorite Catholic convert, JD Vance, has tried to add the intellectual weight of Catholic social teaching to defend it. In response, Pope Francis wrote a subtle reply to Vance. Tune in this week and learn more! Also, read Jim Hodgson's blog on USAID here: https://unwrappingdevelopment.ca/2025/02/09/dismantling-usaid-yes-no-maybe/Intro Music by Amaryah ArmstrongOutro music by theillogicalspoonhttps://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

Feb 5, 2025 • 53min
Magnificast classic: Friends of Sabeel North America W/ Jonathan Kuttab
With Trump back in the White House, Threatening to ramp up the genocide against Palestinian people, it's a good time to revisit the conversation we had with Jonathan Kuttab.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.orgIntro Music by Amaryah ArmstrongOutro music by theillogicalspoonhttps://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

Jan 29, 2025 • 58min
Magnificast Classic: Sandino's Nation w/ Stephen Henighan
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we're bringing you an episode from the archive! We're always talking up a storm about Ernesto Cardenal, but this time around we're talking with Stephen Henighan, a real scholar on Latin American literature! In this episode, we learn more about Cardenal's background, influences, and his lasting impact on the politics of Nicaragua.

Jan 21, 2025 • 59min
Cuba update w/ Jim Hodgson
This week, we chatted with a friend of the show, Jim Hodgson, about Biden removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. Unfortunately, since we recorded this Trump has rescinded that decision and we're right back where we started. It's still a worthwhile conversation!Get more from Jim at his blog: https://unwrappingdevelopment.ca/Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Jan 14, 2025 • 57min
Spongebob Economics
Last week we talked about the GDP and growth and that was fun. But, this week, we're taking things a bit further by talking about monopoly capitalism, monopsony, and the financialization of capitalism. If you want to learn more about finance then look no further: https://monthlyreview.org/2010/10/01/the-financialization-of-accumulation/https://monthlyreview.org/2010/10/01/the-great-financial-crisis-three-years-on/Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Jan 7, 2025 • 56min
GDeanP
Capitalism can't work unless it's growing. How do economists measure capitalist growth? Through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is a magical number that goes up and down, but do you know how it's calculated? Well, tune in and learn all about the GDP and why it sucks! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Dec 31, 2024 • 42min
Liminal lockin
In the weird liminal space between Christmas and New Year's, your favorite leftist youth pastors are locking you in to talk about feeling bad for the devil, dinosaurs, bones, magic portals, and AI.Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Dec 24, 2024 • 1h 3min
Magic doors and debt forgiveness
The Pope is opening the magic doors for the year of Jubilee! In this episode, we're talking about the 2025 year of Jubilee in the Catholic church. Of course, we're talking about the weird Catholic stuff in this episode, but we're also talking about the material side of the Jubilee and the campaign to forgive and restructure debt throughout the world. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/

Dec 17, 2024 • 1h
Josiah Daniels in Palestine
This week, we chat with, friend of the pod and Sojourners editor, Josiah Daniels about his recent trip to Palestine with Sabeel. Listen in as we talk about Palestinian resistance, liberation theology, and what it's like to be an American in Palestine at this moment in history. Read Josiah's piece about his trip in Sojourners.Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-bluesSupport The Magnificast on Patreon http://patreon.com/themagnificast Get Magnificast Merch https://www.redbubble.com/people/themagnificast/