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Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Weekly
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated 07/23/2024
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Complete Series

3d ago

How Does a Person Become Real? — Angela Duckworth and Luke Burgis

Luke Burgis and Angela Duckworth are watching the same traffic move in opposite directions, and this hour is the first time they've worked it out in the same room. Burgis, founder of the Cluny Institute, author of Wanting, and a teacher at Catholic University's Ciocca Center, has spent years tracing how mimetic desire pulls us into borrowed identities. How much of what we take to be our own wanting was simply handed to us by someone we were watching. Duckworth, the University of Pennsylvania psychologist who wrote the bestselling book Grit, comes at it from the other side: how the people, places, and situations around us draw out capacities we didn't know were there, or quietly bury them. Between them they take up the difference between a solid self and a pseudo self; what the parable of the lost sheep understands about individuation that our therapeutic vocabulary does not; the "hard thing rule" for raising children who can grit and quit well; and whether any of our institutions still think in terms of formation at all ... or have simply outsourced it and hoped for the best. Recorded live at Comment's inaugural Understory festival, with introductory reflections from editor in chief Anne Snyder. Mentioned: René Girard on mimetic desire; Martin Seligman and positive psychology; The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion, by Luke Burgis; Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, by Angela Duckworth; Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best, by Angela Duckworth; Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life, by Luke Burgis; Unrepeatable: Cultivating the Unique Calling of Every Person, by Luke Burgis and Joshua Miller; The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams; Babette's Feast, by Isak Dinesen; Scottish poet and writer Charles Mackay. 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. Episode Highlights "How do you become real? You commune with what is real." "That search for communion is the most important thing I think we're lacking in the world today." "We're not addicted to our phones—we're addicted to the people inside of the phones." "Nobody gets to choose your hard thing but you." "It's a thousand little moments that happen in the sacred private space between a soul and God." About Luke Burgis Luke Burgis is a serial entrepreneur turned author and scholar whose work sits at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and practical wisdom. He is founder and director of the Cluny Institute and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Business and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Catholic University of America's Ciocca Center, where he studies the invisible forces that shape human behavior. His first book, "Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life," introduced René Girard's thought to a public audience; his latest book, "The One and the Ninety-Nine: Forging Identity in the Age of Social Contagion," is a Next Big Idea Club Must-Read. About Angela Duckworth Angela Duckworth is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative, and a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. Before her research career she taught math and science in public schools in New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, and co-founded Character Lab, a nonprofit advancing the science of character development. Her 2016 book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" was a number-one New York Times bestseller; her forthcoming book is "Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best." #UnderstoryFestival #CommentMagazine #LukeBurgis #AngelaDuckworth #CharacterFormation #MimeticDesire #Identity #Belonging #Grit #Self #ChristianHumanism
Jul 15

Rehumanizing Our Common Life — Shadi Hamid, Elizabeth Oldfield, Ray Pennings, Anne Snyder, and Mark Labberton

What does it take to rehumanize our common life in a moment of cultural fragility, institutional collapse, and crisis of trust? Recorded at the Washington National Cathedral for Comment magazine's inaugural Understory Festival, this roundtable asks how culture, beauty, and faith might rehumanize a fractured public life. Mark Labberton is joined by Comment editor-in-chief Anne Snyder, The Sacred host Elizabeth Oldfield, Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid, and Cardus co-founder Ray Pennings—the hosts of the growing Comment Podcast Network—around a wonderfully simple question: What just happened here? This conversation first appeared on Conversing with Mark Labberton, cross-posted here to The Understory feed. Mentioned: Comment Podcast Network; "The Understory," by Lore Ferguson Wilbert; Romans 8; Madeleine Albright; Ben Sasse; Luke Bretherton. 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: comment.org/podcasts. Episode Highlights "It is actually possible to have deep roots and wide open arms."—Anne Snyder "Naturally as a Muslim, I don't agree with Christianity's truth claims, but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate the beauty of Christianity."—Shadi Hamid "The word that's been coming to me this whole festival is and."—Elizabeth Oldfield "Politics is downstream from culture."—Ray Pennings "We're all made to worship, it's just a question of what we worship."—Shadi Hamid About Elizabeth Oldfield Elizabeth Oldfield hosts The Sacred, the podcast she launched in 2017, and is the former director and now senior fellow of Theos, the UK think tank on religion and society. She is the author of Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times (Brazos, 2024) and a contributing editor at Comment. Her work appears across the BBC, the Financial Times, and UnHerd, and she lives in an intentional community in South London. Learn more and follow at elizabetholdfield.com and linktr.ee/sacredpodcast. About Shadi Hamid Shadi Hamid is a columnist at The Washington Post, where he writes on culture, religion, and foreign policy, and a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. His newest book is The Case for American Power (Simon & Schuster, 2025), following The Problem of Democracy and Islamic Exceptionalism. He co-founded Wisdom of Crowds and co-hosts Zealots at the Gate for Comment. Learn more and follow at washingtonpost.com/people/shadi-hamid. About Ray Pennings Ray Pennings co-founded Cardus in 2000 and serves as its executive vice president and as Comment's publisher. A longtime voice in Canadian public policy and industrial relations, he was lead author of the Cardus report Death is Natural: Reframing the End-of-Life Conversation in Canada. He holds a history degree from McMaster University and an MA in religion from Puritan Theological Seminary. Learn more and follow at cardus.ca. About Anne Snyder Anne Snyder is editor-in-chief of Comment, published by Cardus, and convener of the Understory Festival. She hosts The Whole Person Revolution podcast and is the author of The Fabric of Character. Learn more and follow at comment.org. Helpful Links and Resources The Understory Festival: https://comment.org/festival/ Comment magazine: https://comment.org Cardus: https://www.cardus.ca The Understory, by Lore Ferguson Wilbert: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1587435705 Elizabeth Oldfield, Fully Alive: https://www.elizabetholdfield.com The Sacred podcast: https://linktr.ee/sacredpodcast Zealots at the Gate: https://comment.org/podcasts/zealots-at-the-gate/ Shadi Hamid, The Case for American Power: https://a.co/d/0fEuFUUS #UnderstoryFestival #Comment #Cardus #ChristianHumanism #PublicTheology #Pluralism #ShadiHamid #MarkLabberton #ElizabethOldfield #AnneSnyder #Hope
Jun 18

Is This a Time to Build, or a Time to Re-found? — David Brooks and Ross Douthat

Do our institutions need repair—or replacement? In one of the festival's most anticipated conversations, longtime friends and conservative public intellectuals David Brooks and Ross Douthat debate whether our moment calls for rebuilding existing institutions or re-founding them altogether. Introduced by Christine Emba and reflected upon by Mark Labberton. Mentioned: Albert O. Hirschman Frederick Buechner American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony, by Samuel P. Huntington James Baldwin Gregory of Nyssa and the Song of Songs "Fast Car," by Tracy Chapman The papal encyclical Magnifica Humanitas Comment's 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. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Episode Highlights "We look through the world through mud-colored lenses." (Brooks) "Culture change happens more by example than by argument, via admiration more than by persuasion." (Brooks) "Romanticism is an insurrection of the whole person against the tyranny of the part." (Brooks) "In this period, it's easier to coast, to slide, and often to despair." (Douthat) "What is the new university, and why isn't Silicon Valley money funding it?" (Douthat) About David Brooks David Brooks is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the inaugural senior presidential fellow at Yale's Jackson School of Global Affairs, after twenty-two years as a New York Times columnist. He wrote The Second Mountain and How to Know a Person. About Ross Douthat Ross Douthat is a New York Times Opinion columnist and hosts the podcast Interesting Times. A fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, he wrote The Decadent Society and Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, and lives in New Haven, Connecticut. Helpful Links and Resources Comment's manifesto: comment.org/manifesto/ The Understory Festival: comment.org/understory/ Comment magazine: comment.org #TheUnderstory #CommentMagazine #DavidBrooks #RossDouthat #ChristianHumanism #CulturalRenewal #FaithAndPublicLife #BuildOrRefound
Jun 15

The Christian Humanist Lens on Our Moment — Luke Bretherton

What happens when people no longer feel capable of shaping the world around them? Oxford theologian Luke Bretherton argues that beneath our political and cultural turmoil lie twin crises of agency and institutional trust. Drawing on the Christian humanist tradition, he proposes a recovery of the human person rooted not in autonomy or power but in participation, responsibility, and the image of Christ. Before Luke took the stage, we watched a short film titled What Does It Mean to Be Human? created by our friends at ChristianStory—linked in the show notes. It helped frame the conversation you're about to hear. Mentioned: What Is a Human? (from ChristianStory) Christ and the Common Life, by Luke Bretherton A Primer in Christian Ethics, by Luke Bretherton 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 get your podcasts. Episode Highlights "Christian humanism is not a theory. Rather, it's a therapy for recovering our humanity in and through Christ." "Jesus is remade into a tribal God, and love of neighbor is labeled toxic empathy." "Democracy in this sense is fundamentally a practice of neighboring." "People feel acted upon by forces they can neither understand nor resist." "We cannot live by money and technology alone." About Luke Bretherton Luke Bretherton is the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford and director of the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life. Before Oxford he was the Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke University. His books include Christ and the Common Life (2019), A Primer in Christian Ethics (2023), and What Is Political Theology? (2025), and he hosts the Listen, Organize, Act! podcast (Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion). Learn more and follow at theology.ox.ac.uk/people/rev-canon-professor-luke-bretherton Helpful Links and Resources Luke Bretherton at Oxford: theology.ox.ac.uk/people/rev-canon-professor-luke-bretherton The Understory, from Comment: comment.org/issues/the-understory/ #ChristianHumanism #LukeBretherton #TheUnderstory #CommentMagazine #ImagoDei #PoliticalTheology
Jun 3

What Does It Mean to Support Israel?

Evangelicals, historically, have largely supported the state of Israel. But is support waning? Why have evangelicals taken this stance, and what has changed? Join us as we talk with Robert Nicholson, founder of the Philos Project and editor-at-large of Providence: A Journal of Christianity and American Foreign Policy. Nicholson provides commentary on the history of evangelical support of Israel, current trends, and a theology of the relationship between Christianity and the state of Israel. LINKS Announcing Matt and Shadi's new book: Can Religion Save Democracy? Pre-order your copy from Baker Book House and receive 40% off through its release on October 13, 2026: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9781587436895_can-religion-save-democracy Robert Nicholson bio: https://providencemag.com/authors/robert-nicholson/ Phil Klay on U.S. Support for Israel's War: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/03/gaza-war-indefensible-united-states/677896/
Jun 11

What Is Struggling to Be Born? — Fr. Tomáš Halík

When old certainties crumble, what is God bringing forth? Opening the Understory festival from Prague, Czech Republic, priest and theologian Tomáš Halík reflects on faith after Christendom, the wounds that become sites of encounter with God, and why Christianity's future may depend less on restoration than on spiritual maturity. His remarks are followed by responses from Makoto Fujimura, Romanita Hairston, Amber Lapp, and Christian Wiman, woven together with live cello by Slovak musician Jozef Lupták. Mentioned: Touch the Wounds, by Tomáš Halík The Afternoon of Christianity, by Tomáš Halík "And I Was Alive," from Stolen Air: Selected Poems of Osip Mandelstam — Osip Mandelstam, translated by Christian Wiman Nihonga (Japanese mineral-pigment painting) The Liberty Bell "Great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations) Thales Heraclitus Meister Eckhart Vincent van Gogh Pope Francis and synodality 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 get your podcasts. ——— Episode Highlights Tomáš Halík: "It is difficult to distinguish the pain of dying from the birth pangs of something struggling to be born." Makoto Fujimura: "But rather than rush to fix the crack, now is the time of beholding." Romanita Hairston: "We have not yet learned how to be valuable apart from being useful." Amber Lapp: "It made me wonder how many of our social troubles are downstream from people doubting their dignity, feeling badly about themselves." Christian Wiman: "I believe we've entered a time in which the preservation of individual consciousness will be the great battle." ——— Links The Understory festival: https://comment.org/understory/ Comment: https://comment.org Cardus: https://www.cardus.ca Makoto Fujimura: https://makotofujimura.com Romanita Hairston: https://romanitahairston.com Tomáš Halík: http://halik.cz/en/ Amber Lapp: https://comment.org/contributors/amber-lapp/ Christian Wiman: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/christian-wiman Jozef Lupták: https://www.jozefluptak.com/ ——— Show Notes Opening night in the Cathedral nave; the question beneath the others Tomáš Halík, from Prague: incarnatio, passio, resurrectio continua; resurrection as transformation, not restoration Makoto Fujimura: to understand is to stand under; Nihonga, the Liberty Bell's crack, and broken beauty Romanita Hairston: the move from physical to cognitive labor; twins of a new humanity and new institutions; beloved before useful Amber Lapp: a working-class Ohio town, the marriage gap, doubted dignity, and micro-institutions of recovery Christian Wiman: Mandelstam's last poem; quantum strangeness; consciousness as something shared Live cello by Jozef Lupták; closing word from Anne Snyder ——— #TheUnderstory #UnderstoryFestival #CommentMagazine #Cardus #ChristianHumanism #WhatIsStrugglingToBeBorn #MakotoFujimura #ChristianWiman #BrokenBeauty
Jun 11

Welcome to the Understory, Where the Future Quietly Takes Root — Anne Snyder

In this opening episode, Comment editor-in-chief Anne Snyder delivers the remarks she offered on the first night of the Understory festival—a three-day gathering hosted by Comment at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Drawing on history's overlooked seedbeds of moral imagination, Anne reflects on what stirs beneath the surface of our exhausted public life: a scattered, largely invisible constellation of people committed to building across difference, recovering what has been lost, and reimagining what might yet be born. Something is dying, and something is being born—and they may just be the same story. Welcome to the Understory.
Jun 15

Unfinished Business: Picking Up the Mantle — Anika Prather

What work has been left unfinished—and who will carry it forward? Scholar, educator, and founder Anika Prather traces a mantle passed from Elijah to Elisha, from Abraham Lincoln to later generations, and ultimately to us. Drawing on Scripture, history, song, and the Black Church tradition, she argues that the work of reconciliation, education, repair, and beloved community remains unfinished. Recorded live in the nave of Washington National Cathedral. Mentioned: The Black Intellectual Tradition, by Angel Adams Parham and Anika Prather Human Tapestries, by Anika Prather The Autobiography of Malcolm X The spirituals Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Let Us Break Bread Together Human Family, by Maya Angelou Recommended reading: My Life, My Love, My Legacy, by Coretta Scott King 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. Episode Highlights "Because love keeps no record of wrongs." "We have modern-day Elijahs, and we are called to be Elisha. We have a mantle to pick up." "Home is where we are one based on what's in here. Our love for one another." "Everyone is fighting to center their own story." "My rod is the classical tradition because historically it has been used to bring people together, to bring us together. What is yours?" About Anika Prather Dr. Anika T. Prather is a classical educator and scholar who has helped recover the Black classical tradition. She holds a B.A. from Howard University, a master's from St. John's College, and a PhD from the University of Maryland, and her work builds literacy with African American students through the great books. She co-authored The Black Intellectual Tradition with Angel Adams Parham, self-published Living in the Constellation of the Canon, and has a forthcoming book, Human Tapestries (Anthem Press). She founded The Living Water School and is an assistant professor at the Catholic University of America. Learn more and follow at drprather.com. (Sources: drprather.com; coopercollege.org/leadership; biola.edu events listing for Human Tapestry.) Helpful Links and Resources Dr. Anika Prather: drprather.com The Understory, from Comment: comment.org #TheUnderstory #AnikaPrather #BelovedCommunity #ClassicalEducation #BlackClassicalTradition #FaithAndPublicLife
May 27

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
Apr 29

A Muslim Reads C.S. Lewis

The book Mere Christianity, written by C.S. Lewis, is a staple for Christians and presents what many would argue are the core tenets of the Christian faith. How does Islam interact with what is described as "mere" Christianity? What doctrines stand out as confusing, untenable, and even controversial to a Muslim? From the nature of God's forgiveness to the identity of Jesus to the existence of doubt and faith, Matt and Shadi find moments of divergence and commonality. Join them as they unpack some of the core Christian doctrines found in Lewis's classic text. LINKS: https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-Lewis-Signature-Classic/dp/0007461216

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.

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