Comment

Channel · 5 Shows

Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated 21 Oct
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated 23/07/2024
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Complete series
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated weekly

29 Oct

How Christian Social Thought Shapes Canadian Policy Debates — Brian Dijkema

What is the link between proverbs and policy? For Brian Dijkema, the Canadian president of Cardus, it has to do with wisdom—and wisdom is something that's available to all. He argues that every human being is made in the image of God for a particular type of social life, and that we should have a rich variety of relationships. In part 2, hosts Andreae Sennyah and Ray Pennings take a deeper dive into Christian social thought: creation order, common grace, antithesis, and sphere sovereignty; the four permanent principles of the Catholic church's social doctrine; and what this means for day-to-day policy work and public life in North America. Notes 00:00 Guest Brian Dijkema; Solomon asked for wisdom when he was made king 03:00 Christian social thought seen as some esoteric private interest group 05:00 Every human being is made in the image of God and worthy of dignity 08:00 TV show Alone: almost everybody leaves because they miss their family 10:00 Cardus as "civil society maximalists," a beloved colleague's phrase 12:00 Reducing a sauce is good. Reducing a human person is really, really bad 13:00 A forest's biodiversity; churches, mosques, synagogues, chess groups 16:00 "I'm the worst smuggler possible"; contracts are honoured because of honesty 19:00 Historian Tom Holland's Dominion; a darker Nietzschean individualism 24:00 Nonpartisan Cardus with Manitoba's NDP health minister on euthanasia 26:00 Ninety organizations representing groups with disabilities on MAID 29:00 Payday lending and access to credit: usury limits or credit unions 33:00 Theologian Thomas Aquinas: prudence as the highest political virtue 34:00 Leo XIII's Rerum novarum; we're actually Christian futurists 38:00 Part 2: the hosts connect some of the dots to Christian social thought 40:00 Next Gen Fellowship; Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 45:00 Creation order, common grace, antithesis, and sphere sovereignty 48:00 Human dignity, common good, solidarity, and subsidiarity as principles 55:00 Christian social thought as something prior to political philosophies 1:05:00 A hopeful future: a resurgence of religion among young people Links Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, by Tom Holland: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/tom-holland/dominion/9781408706978 "Groups Urge Ottawa to Permanently Halt MAID for Mental Illness" via The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-groups-urge-ottawa-to-permanently-halt-maid-for-mental-illness Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html Credits Brian Dijkema is the president, Canada, at Cardus. Before joining Cardus in 2011, he spent almost a decade in labour relations. He lives in Hamilton with his wife, Nicole, and their four children. Hosted by Ray Pennings and Andreae Sennyah. Ray Pennings is a co-founder and the executive vice president of Cardus. Andreae Sennyah is the director of policy and stakeholder relations at Cardus. Produced by Evan Rosa and Dayna Hillier. Technical production by Allie Crummy, artwork by Domenic Sallese, and marketing by Brendan Steven. Proverbs & Policy is part of the Comment Podcast Network: https://comment.org/podcasts Cardus is a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, how society's institutions can work together for the common good. To learn more about us, visit https://www.cardus.ca. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and leave us a review. It helps other listeners find the show. You can also sign up for Cardus Insights, a weekly newsletter by Ray Pennings for anyone looking for thoughtful, measured, and principled perspectives on faithful public life. Subscribe for free at https://www.cardus.ca/insights.
19 Aug

Can You Build AI That Serves Human Flourishing? — Adam Kronk, Meghan Sullivan, L.M. Sacasas, and Jeremy Cowart

What is a human being? One of the convictions in the seedbed of the Understory is that every age eventually reveals an answer to this question either explicitly or implicitly. This sometimes surfaces in philosophical debate. Other times, it is embedded in education. Or in politics or public policy. Or in marketing and economics. And sometimes it appears in the technologies we build. Artificial intelligence has made that timeless question unavoidable. Much of today's conversation about AI revolves around safety, regulation, bias, and transparency—understandably, we want to focus on the guardrails. But they all assume a prior question, often left unasked: What exactly are we trying to protect? At the 2026 Understory Festival, Notre Dame's Institute for Ethics and the Common Good convened a conversation worthy of the question. Moderated by Adam Kronk, three panelists led the discussion to explore not merely what AI is becoming but what we are. Meghan Sullivan, Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy; founding director, Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, Notre Dame Michael Sacasas, executive director, Christian Study Center of Gainesville; technology essayist (The Convivial Society) and Comment contributing editor Jeremy Cowart, photographer and artist, Nashville, TN; founder of Help-Portrait and If You're Breathing Recorded at the Virginia Mae Center during the Understory Festival, this is the question: "Can you build AI that serves human flourishing if you don't agree on what a human is?" Mentioned: Magnifica Humanitas by Pope Leo XIV; The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams; The Convivial Society by L. M. Sacasas; Simone Weil; Ivan Illich; Marshall McLuhan; Humathy; the DELTA framework. Episode Highlights "Our vulnerability and frailty as human beings, and the fact that we are capable of being loved and loving other frail, vulnerable creatures ... is in fact what makes us magnificent." (Meghan Sullivan) "We're already becoming so numb to AI perfection that we no longer gasp." (Jeremy Cowart) "One of the moments where I see our humanity come alive … is when students learn that they can think." (Michael Sacasas) "We're looking ... but we're not seeing. And we're hearing, but we're not really listening." (Michael Sacasas) "The technocratic spirit does not see to behold and to contemplate, it sees first and foremost to use." (Michael Sacasas) Helpful Links and Resources Magnifica Humanitas: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html DELTA at Notre Dame: https://ethics.nd.edu/programs/delta/ The Convivial Society: https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com Humathy: https://humathy.com Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at team@comment.org. The Understory is a production of Comment (comment.org), published by Cardus (cardus.ca). Hosted by Anne Snyder. Edited by Allie Crummy. Produced by Tiffany Thompson and Evan Rosa. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. #TheUnderstory #AI #VelveteenRabbit #AIEthics #HumanFlourishing #MagnificaHumanitas #DELTAFramework #Attention #NotreDame #Philosophy
18/06/2024

Forming Peacemakers, Stoking Imagination

What are the pathways of formation required to cultivate the kind of wisdom and forbearance needed for a very real world of constraints and differences? With Anne to reflect on this vital if contested work today are David Katibah and Sarah Sturm, who together serve Telos, an organization that equips civic leaders to help reconcile seemingly intractable conflicts at home and abroad.
14/12/2022

Is Democracy a Mere System or a Way of Life?

We have ourselves a disagreement. A debate breaks out as our hosts discuss Shadi's new book, The Problem of Democracy. Shadi argues that we should see democracy as a mere form of governance, a systemic way to resolve ideological conflicts peacefully. Matthew argues that in order for democracy to endure, it must be more than a mere mechanism—it must be a way of life, something we practice, treasure, and even revere. As ideological conflicts threaten to divide countries across the globe, the stakes could not be higher. LINKS • Shadi Hamid's new book: The Problem of Democracy • Matthew Kaemingk's article on learning democratic habits in pubs and coffeehouses. • Matthew Kaemingk's book on the future of democracy amidst deep difference: Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration
8 Apr

The Minds Behind the New Right

Underneath a bombastic and bumbling Donald Trump sits a world of radical right-wing intellectuals, shaping the ways we experience the MAGA movement today. How did the American far right emerge? How have we misread the far right—and what does that mean for our democracy? Join us as we talk with Laura Field, scholar in residence at American University and author of the new book Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right, as she talks about the intellectuals and thinkers behind Trumpism today. What do they actually believe? Links: Laura Field's Book, Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right: https://www.amazon.com/Furious-Minds-Making-MAGA-Right/dp/0691255261/ Laura's review of Alexandre Lefebvre's Liberalism as a Way of Life: https://www.illiberalism.org/good-liberals-bad-cave-a-review-of-liberalism-as-a-way-of-life/ Laura's website: https://www.lkfield.com/
17/05/2023

Tinder and the Gods of Modern Sex

Welcome to a frank and thought-provoking discussion of the modern sexual marketplace and its discontents. Our guest and guide is Washington Post columnist Christine Emba. Author of the widely acclaimed book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation, Emba argues that while the sexual revolution and the MeToo movement brought much good to the world, there is a growing suspicion that there is something profoundly unsatisfying about the modern sexual ethic. Do we need more religion to get sex right, after everything? LINKS Christine Emba's book Rethinking Sex: A Provocation https://bookshop.org/a/65404/9780593087565 Christine Emba's article "Consent is not Enough" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/17/sex-ethics-rethinking-consent-culture/
21 Oct

Renewal and the Academy: Reimagining Institutional Stewardship — Shirley Hoogstra, Robin Baker, Shirley Mullen, Claude Alexander, and Aaron Winkle

We measure a forest by the height of its trees, but its future takes root lower, in the understory. Colleges, churches, and schools are part of that soil: formative communities shaping the moral imagination of future leaders. Those who lead them are stewards, not mere administrators, and they steward under strain—fiscal pressure, threatened accreditation, political scrutiny, phone-shaped students, and a doubting public. Shirley Hoogstra, president emerita of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), handed four leaders a phrase from the Comment Manifesto. Robin Baker of George Fox University argues we face not a season of change but a change of age. Houghton University's Shirley Mullen insists that institutions need constant tending. Aaron Winkle of Grand Rapids Christian Schools tells what a student named Max taught him about being loved. And bishop Claude Alexander turns the premise back: Those who form others must themselves be formed. Recorded in the Virginia Mae Center on the Understory festival's final morning. Mentioned: Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age, by Felicia Wu Song; the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7); a New York Times essay on Deep Springs College; the work of Robert Putnam and Aaron Renn; the festival debate between David Brooks and Ross Douthat; the Comment Manifesto Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at team@comment.org. The Understory is a production of Comment (comment.org), published by Cardus (cardus.ca). Hosted by Anne Snyder. Edited by Allie Crummy. Produced by Tiffany Thompson and Evan Rosa. Episode Highlights "We're not living through a season of change but a change of age, which requires reinvention rather than just strengthening." (Robin Baker, quoting Aaron Renn) "They are foundational. But they are foundational in the way that agriculture is foundational, not the way that stone walls are foundational." (Shirley Mullen, on the necessity and value of institutions) "I would never go work at an … institution that wasn't fully committed to including students of all abilities. Not because it's good for them. But because I need it." (Aaron Winkle, on full inclusion) "Clarity about from whom the trust comes, for whom the trust is exercised, to whom the trust goes." (Claude Alexander, on stewardship) "There was simply no response that was adequate. So I simply had to listen." (Robin Baker, on a public reckoning in Portland) About the Panel Shirley Hoogstra, moderator, is president emerita of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, which she led from 2014 to 2024. Robin Baker is a historian and president of George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, a role he has held since 2007. Shirley Mullen is a historian, president emerita of Houghton University, and author of Claiming the Courageous Middle. Aaron Winkle is superintendent of Grand Rapids Christian Schools and former head of school at Living Stones Academy. Claude Alexander is bishop and senior pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and author of Necessary Christianity. Helpful Links and Resources Robin Baker, president of George Fox University: https://www.georgefox.edu/about/president/index.html Claiming the Courageous Middle, by Shirley Mullen: https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/authors/shirley-a-mullen/3799 Grand Rapids Christian Schools: https://www.grcs.org Becoming the Church: God's People in Purpose and Power, by Claude R. Alexander Jr.: https://www.ivpress.com/becoming-the-church "Shirley: A Lasting Legacy," on Shirley Hoogstra's CCCU tenure: https://www.cccu.org/magazine/shirley-lasting-legacy Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age, by Felicia Wu Song (2021): https://ivpress.com/restless-devices #TheUnderstory #CommentMagazine #RenewalAndTheAcademy #HigherEducation #ChristianHumanism #InstitutionalStewardship #ChristianEducation #Leadership
26 Aug

It Is Now, It Is Not — Christian Wiman

Is reality itself a settled fact or an ongoing act of creation? Is some new chapter in history struggling to be born? Or, more demandingly, are we facing our own awakening within it? Poet Christian Wiman weaves together his own thoughts with the words of exiled Russian poet Osip Mandelstam in an effort to notice the entanglement of external reality with our perceiving it—"It is now. / It is not." This intimate dialogue between subject and object suggests that individual consciousness isn't owned as much as it is shared with everything else. And from this awareness, both feeling and healing can emerge. This reflection originally appeared in our episode, "What Is Struggling to Be Born?" framed by an address from Fr. Tomáš Halík and recorded at the National Cathedral on the Understory's opening night. Mentioned: "And I Was Alive," by Osip Mandelstam, translated by Christian Wiman, from Stolen Air: Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam; Quantum entanglement; Vincent van Gogh; Thales; Heraclitus; Meister Eckhart Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at team@comment.org. The Understory is a production of Comment (comment.org), published by Cardus (cardus.ca). Hosted by Anne Snyder. Edited by Allie Crummy. Produced by Tiffany Thompson and Evan Rosa. Subscribe to The Understory wherever you get your podcasts. Episode Highlights "The world is addressed to us." "What is struggling to be born? I am. You are." "It's as if reality were a constant storm of creation that we only freeze by seeing." "I believe we've entered a time in which the preservation of individual consciousness will be the great battle." About Christian Wiman Christian Wiman is the Clement-Muehl Professor of Communication Arts at Yale Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he has taught religion and literature since joining the faculty in 2013. Raised in West Texas and educated at Washington and Lee, he edited Poetry magazine from 2003 to 2013, a decade in which the magazine tripled its circulation and won two National Magazine Awards. He is the author, editor, or translator of fourteen books, among them My Bright Abyss, He Held Radical Light, Survival Is a Style, Zero at the Bone, and Stolen Air, his versions of Osip Mandelstam. A former Guggenheim Fellow, he holds two honorary doctorates. Helpful Links and Resources "And I Was Alive," read by Wiman: https://onbeing.org/poetry/and-i-was-alive/ Christian Wiman on Conversing with Mark Labberton https://comment.org/podcasts/poetry-paradox-and-the-absence-of-god/ Episode 2: What Is Struggling to Be Born? — Fr. Tomáš Halík Episode 1: Welcome to the Understory, Where the Future Quietly Takes Root — Anne Snyder https://comment.org/podcasts/welcome-to-the-understory/ #TheUnderstory #Comment #Cardus #ChristianWiman #OsipMandelstam #Poetry #Consciousness #PublicTheology
09/11/2022

Against Political Certainty

Democracy is suffering from an overabundance of ideological certainty. Few citizens are willing (or able) to honestly express their doubts about their tribe. We can only project ideological certainty, purity, and strength—no wavering or weakness allowed. How might we begin to doubt ourselves again? How might we take ourselves and our political ideas less seriously? While Islam and Christianity are often labelled "dogmatic" and "fundamentalist," Shadi Hamid and Matthew Kaemingk explore the unique ways in which their faiths actively help them to doubt. Related links: Shadi's article on the dangers of religious certainty in politics: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/how-resist-making-politics-theological/578851/ Matt's discussion of Christian political humility can be found in chapters 4, 6, and 7: https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Hospitality-Muslim-Immigration-Fear/dp/0802874584 Andrew Tate explains his conversion to Islam https://twitter.com/Raaaatiba/status/1586293661360193537 Rod Dreher on Islam: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/islam-the-last-badass-religion/ Zizek Devours Hotdogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YamAsbzPKA
27 May

The Politics of Falling Birthrates

Birthrates are falling drastically in many parts of the world. Why is this? And how does this trend relate to our political and religious lives in the twenty-first century? Join us as we talk with Lyman Stone, senior fellow and director of the Pronatalism Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies, as well as director of research at Demographic Intelligence. Stone will provide us insights into the current trends, explain why birthrates matter to us all, and offer a way forward. Links: Lyman Stone, Senior Fellow and Director: https://ifstudies.org/about-us/lyman-stone

Meet the voices behind Comment’s school of thought: reconcilers, peacemakers, hosts, and interlocutors. In our podcasts, you’ll find a tone and a way of life that provides an alternative to the battle-axe didactics of an age riven by false binaries. Have a listen. You might just find your gaze open up.

Website

Comment

Top Shows

Top Episodes

About