Fully Human with Eliza Monts

Eliza Monts
  • 4.5 (15)
  • Christianity

Each Wednesday morning we’ll dig into applications of Catholic Social Teaching applied to modern-day living, covering everything from democracy and political activity, 20th century saints who served the poor in big ways, western philosophy, being pro-human in an AI-ridden world, and care for the vulnerable everywhere we go.

Episodes

  1. 12h ago

    How I Unlearned Single-Issue Voting as a Catholic

    For years, I believed that being a faithful Catholic meant abortion had to determine my vote. If a candidate claimed to be pro-life, every other political issue seemed secondary. Eventually, I realized that isn't actually what the Catholic Church asks of voters.In this episode, I share my story of unlearning single-issue voting, the conversation with my mom that changed how I approached the ballot box, and what the U.S. Catholic bishops actually say in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. I talk about abortion as a preeminent issue, President Trump, the dignity of already-born human beings, poverty, immigration, racism, war, healthcare, the environment, and why Catholic social teaching makes voting much more complicated than simply choosing the candidate with the “pro-life” label. 00:00 Why Politics Matter 01:24 Cradle Catholic Roots 03:28 Abortion Unit Impact 06:33 2016 Trump and Single Issue 08:10 Questioning Pro Life Claims 10:50 Mom Challenges Voting 13:51 Bishops on Many Issues 18:28 Not Single Issue Voters 21:51 Catholic Social Principles 23:33 Encouragement and Prayer Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  2. Oct 21

    How a Catholic Nazi Became an Anti-Fascist Martyr: Blessed Teresio Olivelli

    Blessed Teresio Olivelli was a practicing Catholic who attended daily Mass, prayed the rosary, and supported Hitler and the Nazi movement. Eventually, something changed. Teresio recognized the profound contradiction between the Catholic faith he professed and the political ideology he supported. He left Germany, fought against fascism, helped found the Catholic underground resistance newspaper Il Ribelle, and was eventually captured and sent to a concentration camp. At only 29 years old, he died after throwing himself over another prisoner to protect him from a guard's brutal beating. In this episode of Fully Human, I explore Teresio's remarkable transformation from Nazi sympathizer to anti-fascist Catholic martyr, and what his life can teach us about cognitive dissonance, political tribalism, integrity, and the danger of assuming that outward religious practice necessarily means our beliefs and actions are aligned with Christ. 00:00 Nazi To Blessed 00:53 Saints And Politics 02:52 Early Life In Italy 03:33 Catholic Nazi Dissonance 06:05 Breaking With Nazism 07:07 Underground Paper Il Ribelle 08:32 Capture And Martyrdom 08:58 How Martyrs Are Formed 10:27 Prayer Lord Set Us Free 11:10 Reading The Prayer 14:16 Integrity And Survival 16:51 Warning And Benediction Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  3. Oct 14

    Why Catholics Should Care About AI Data Centers and the Environment

    AI data centers are becoming one of the strangest bipartisan issues in American politics, and I think Catholics should be paying attention. In this episode of Fully Human, I look at the environmental and human costs of AI data centers, why opposition to them is bringing together people across the political spectrum, and what Catholic teaching actually says about caring for creation. Drawing on Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, Laudato Si’, and the Church’s critique of the “technocratic paradigm,” I argue that environmentalism shouldn’t be dismissed as a partisan or “woke” concern. Caring for our common home is deeply connected to human dignity, our responsibilities to future generations, and our obligations as Christians. 00:00 Bipartisan AI Backlash 01:39 Why Data Centers Harm 02:44 Catholic Duty to Creation 04:09 Election Politics and NIMBY 05:48 Walterboro Victory Story 06:59 Laudato Si Warning 08:16 Technocratic Paradigm Explained 09:43 Benedict and Stewardship 10:30 Imperfect Environmentalism 12:11 Practical Steps and AI Refusal Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  4. Oct 7

    Why Are Catholic Men Talking About Taking Away Women’s Right to Vote?

    In this episode of Fully Human, I examine three of the most common arguments I hear against women having the right to vote: that husbands should cast one vote on behalf of the entire household, that women tend to vote for the “wrong” political party, and that women’s suffrage supposedly led to abortion, contraception, and other social changes. I look at why I don’t think these arguments hold up logically or theologically, and why Catholic ideas about marriage, male headship, mutual submission, human dignity, and the common good don’t require taking political rights away from women. Ultimately, I think the question is much simpler: women don’t need to prove that they vote better than men to deserve a vote. Women are human beings, citizens, and fully capable of intellectual and rational thought. 00:00 Why This Matters 02:03 From 13 Arguments to 3 03:14 Household Vote Myth 06:18 What Unites Marriage 07:29 Voting and Human Value 08:54 Headship Is Service 10:17 Do Women Need Men? 13:27 What About Single Women 13:43 They Vote Wrong? 14:43 Blaming Suffrage for Liberalism 16:08 Little Women Nails It Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  5. Sep 30

    How Left-Voting Catholics Started the Modern Pro-Life Movement

    The pro-life movement in America hasn't always looked the way it does today. In fact, some of its earliest advocates were Catholics whose defense of unborn life was deeply connected to their concern for the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable. After reading Daniel K. Williams' Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement Before Roe v. Wade, I was surprised by just how much the movement, and its relationship with American politics, has changed. In this episode, I explore the Catholic roots of the pro-life movement, how abortion became increasingly associated with Republican politics, the impact of the sexual revolution and birth control, and why I believe today's pro-life movement needs to recover a truly consistent life ethic. 00:00 Pro Life Origins 02:48 Catholic Action Book Club 04:28 Choosing a History Book 06:24 Science and Personhood 09:46 Early Liberal Catholics 13:13 Politics and Sexual Revolution 16:24 Birth Control Split 20:19 Modern GOP Tensions 22:24 Consistent Life Ethic 24:12 Bipartisan Path Forward Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  6. Sep 23

    What Happens After Democracy Collapses? The Catholic Perspective

    What happens when democracy begins slipping toward tyranny, and what are ordinary Catholics supposed to do about it? In this episode of Fully Human, I explore Plato’s warning in The Republic about the progression from democracy to tyranny and put it in conversation with Catholic social teaching on human dignity, the common good, subsidiarity, solidarity, and political participation. I also look at why Catholics cannot simply retreat from politics when government becomes unjust or authoritarian. Through the examples of saints and blesseds like Pier Giorgio Frassati, Jerzy Popiełuszko, Franz Jägerstätter, and others who resisted fascism, communism, and political oppression, I explore what courageous Catholic citizenship can look like, even when we have very little political power ourselves. 00:00 Catholic Teaching on Government 01:42 Plato and the Common Good 03:48 Why We Live in Democracy 06:11 Democracy Sliding to Tyranny 08:06 After Tyranny Wreckage 09:15 Numbness and Sanewashing 13:53 Saints Under Totalitarianism 14:39 Virtue Makes Democracy Work 17:42 Faithful Citizenship Framework 20:46 Saints Who Resisted Regimes 23:13 Franz Jägerstätter’s Witness 27:31 What We Can Do Now Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com. Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠ Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠ Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠ #catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  7. Sep 16

    Welcome to Fully Human with Eliza Monts

    What does it mean to be human in the world of AI? Why should we recognize that every human being has equal value? What does Catholic Social Teaching have to do with this? In the inaugural Fully Human show episode, speaker, Substack bestseller, and Penguin Random House author Eliza Monts shares her “pro-human manifesto” of what the Catholic Church teaches about the inherent worth of every single human being alive. 00:00 Industrial Revolution Misery 00:41 Rerum Novarum Begins 01:36 Romanticism Then and Now 02:51 Welcome to Fully Human 03:45 Why This Podcast Exists 05:46 Episode Roadmap 07:16 State of the Union 2026 10:46 Attacks on Human Dignity 12:28 AI and Human Worth 13:11 Why Humans Matter 15:11 Imago Dei and Pope Leo 19:04 Fully Human Manifesto 21:27 Seamless Garment Teaching 23:19 Reading the AI Encyclical 25:38 Romans Benediction Outro Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com.Eliza Monts on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/ Eliza Monts on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101 catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

  • 7 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Each Wednesday morning we’ll dig into applications of Catholic Social Teaching applied to modern-day living, covering everything from democracy and political activity, 20th century saints who served the poor in big ways, western philosophy, being pro-human in an AI-ridden world, and care for the vulnerable everywhere we go.

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