The Magnificast

True basement dwellers will remember our totally unlistenable first episode where we tried to talk about Jacques Ellul's book "Anarchy and Christianity." A year later, we revisited the book together in Toronto. Highlights include Ellul's weird anarchism, some more of that Very Good reflection on violence, and a reminder that there are cooler Christian anarchists out there! Intro music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon

Usually, on The Magnificast, we bring on a guest and talk about their work. However, in this episode, we're bringing you an amazing lecture by one of our favorite theorists: Richard Gilman-Opalsky. In this episode, you'll hear Dr. Gilman-Opalsky give a lecture he delivered at Greenville University in the fall of 2017 about incarceration, policing, and revolt. You can find Gilman-Opalsky's newest book here: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/2405_reg.html Intro/transition music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon

We did it! We made it to ep 50! We couldn't have done it without all of you good good comrades listening and responding! To celebrate this occasion, we took some of your voicemails and emails and reflected on the past magnificent magnificast year. Intro/transition music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon

Matt and Dean hung out with Vincent Lloyd in real life, so we decided to bring him back on the show to talk about his forthcoming book, In Defense of Charisma (Columbia University Press)! We talk about why people are suspicious of charisma, what's good about charisma, how charisma functions in organizing contexts, and more! Also, next week is our 50th episode, and we need your help! Send us your questions, comments, favorite episodes, favorite guests, reflections on the show, etc., and we might read your response! Our email is themagnificast@gmail.com. If you're feeling really ambitious, you can even give us a call at leave a voicemail that we might play on air by calling 815-408-0745! Intro/transition music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillalogicalspoon

Everybody's talking about Black Panther, so we decided to talk about the Black Panthers! Specifically, we looked at two essays by Huey P. Newton, the Minister of Defense for the Black Panther Party, one called "On the Relevance of the Church" and another called "The Son of Man." We talk about how leftists can help Christians see the contradictions in our communities, Huey's mystical theology, and Jesus's popular movement in Judea! Very Good intro music by Amaryah Armstrong. Very Good outro music by theillalogicalspoon

This week we talked with Kaya Oakes (of America Magazine, Religion Dispatches, Killing the Buddha) about the Pope, women's ordination, and the religious left! Dope into by Amaryah Armstrong Dope outro by theillogicalspoon

In the past weeks, we've been focusing on conversations about the extremely bad history embedded in Christianity and how to wrestle with Christian complicity. This week, we continue that theme with Michael Jimenez, author of Remembering Lived Lives(https://wipfandstock.com/remembering-lived-lives.html). In this episode we talk about history, theology, decolonial theory, and we even get back around to Zizek through a patented Magnificast transition! Dope intro by Amaryah Armstrong Dope Outro by theillogicalspoon

"The biggest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us." - Dorothy Day There is no history of the Christian Left in the United States that can be complete without a discussion of the Catholic Worker. Staring in 1933, the Catholic Worker was a network of Catholics, Anarchists, and other Leftists who helped establish newspapers, communal farms, and houses of hospitality. In this Episode, Matt and Dean talk with two Catholic Workers: Brenna Cussen and Joe Kruse. Dope intro beats by Amarya Armstrong Dope Outro by theillogicalspoon

In the first half of the show, we talk with Marika Rose about her essay "For Our Sins: Christianity, Complicity and the Racialized Construction of Innocence," which looks at the ways Christian appeals to universality troublingly license Christian colonialism and white supremacy. We talk about Christian complicity in domination, whether there's a future for Christianity, how Trump is innocent, and more! On the second half of the show, we talk about Marika's work on Slovenian Marxist Slavoj Zizek, including how he carries on some of the same pathologies in European Christianity that created white supremacy. As always, the episode is Very Good.

Talk about a "religious left" has been swirling in the media ever since Donald Trump was elected. Was it a force to be reckoned with in 2017? Will it be a force in 2018? We take a look at some popular representations of the "religious left," and think through the new Christians for Socialism manifesto as one way of responding to the problem of organizing Christian folks struggling to make sense of their moral injunction to capitalism and Trump's presidency. (Bonus Tradinista content. May God have mercy on our menchies.)