Avoiding Babylon

Avoiding Babylon Crew
  • 4.7 (196)
  • Christianity

Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.  As we see it, our job here at Avoiding Babylon is to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God’s Grace.  Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!”

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  1. 1d ago ·  Video

    Stop the Synod, Save the Council? Cardinal Zen's Blind Spot

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! Somebody tried to get our sponsors to drop us, and it accidentally became the funniest kind of promo. We start with that sponsor-email drama, why it failed, and what it reveals about modern cancel tactics in podcasting. Then we veer into something that sounds like a bit but is very real: an AI voice assistant that can place phone calls. We used it to prank the producer, and the laughter quickly turns into a real conversation about how automated calling changes harassment, persuasion, and online influence overnight.  After the chaos, we settle into the main event: Cardinal Zen’s critique of the Synod on Synodality. We read large chunks, pause often, and say the quiet part out loud about what feels solid and what feels off. That takes us straight into Vatican II debates, the long shadow of religious liberty, and why so many Catholics feel like modern catechesis is failing their kids. We talk Baltimore Catechism, the “separated brethren” language problem, and why confusion doesn’t start with one pope, one document, or one decade.  We also dig into the mechanics of synodal politics: hidden agendas, pre-planned outcomes, study groups, and the Fiducia Supplicans fallout. If you care about Church authority, Catholic moral theology, and what “local experimentation” does to unity, you’ll hear exactly why we think this moment matters and why “subtle” leadership can be more dangerous than loud leadership. Subscribe, share this with a friend who follows Catholic Church news, and leave a review with your take: is the synodal process reform or a loophole machine? Support the show Get 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout! Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order! Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss

  2. 1d ago · Subscribers Only

    Stop the Synod, Save the Council? Cardinal Zen's Blind Spot (Full LOCALS Show)

    A “virtual assistant” called Anthony on a recorded line to read the Gettysburg Address, and somehow that wasn’t even the weirdest part of the night. We start with sponsor drama and the modern “cancel the show” playbook, then detour into AI tooling, automated phone calls, and how easy it is to turn trolling into a full-blown content ecosystem.Then we get serious and walk through Cardinal Zen’s long critique of the Synod on Synodality, the manipulation baked into synodal processes, and the downstream chaos from documents like Fiducia Supplicans and the broader same sex blessings debate. We agree with Zen on a lot, but we also push back on the popular framing that the crisis begins with Francis alone. For us, the deeper fault lines run through religious liberty, doctrinal ambiguity, failed catechesis, and a Church culture that struggles to say what it believes without immediately “contexting” it into meaninglessness.We also talk about building real Catholic life outside the algorithm: sponsor relationships that don’t fold under pressure, a pilgrimage to Italy centered on daily Mass and the Lanciano Eucharistic miracle, and the challenge of forming families and young men in a confused age. If any of this hits home, subscribe, share the episode, leave a review, and tell us what you think: where does the real turning point in this crisis begin?

  3. 6d ago ·  Video

    The Lesser Evil Lost — Now What for Catholics?

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! You can feel it after this election: the old scripts are breaking. We sit down with Stephen Cox to talk through the fallout, the fury aimed at Catholics who refuse to “just press R,” and the deeper issue underneath the internet drama. When political identity becomes a substitute for moral reasoning, even serious Catholics start excusing what they used to call evil, as long as it comes packaged as conservative. We dig into the heart of the argument: the “lesser of two evils” approach has trained generations to normalize corruption, foreign policy disasters, and moral compromise while calling it prudence. We walk through Catholic moral theology in plain language, including material cooperation with evil, proportionate reasons, and why scandal matters when you publicly back candidates who keep moving the line. Along the way we challenge talking points on abortion politics, abortion pills, IVF, and contraception, and we ask why so many leaders treat “pro life” as branding rather than policy. The conversation also turns to how certain historical and religious debates become taboo, how edited texts and social penalties shape what Catholics feel safe discussing, and why media narratives can control a movement without ever winning an argument. We close with what all this means for the next few years: immigration pressure, war politics, growing distrust of establishment figures, and the search for a coherent Catholic public witness. If this hit a nerve, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review. Where do you draw the line between prudence and compromise? Support the show Get 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout! Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order! Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss

  4. 6d ago · Subscribers Only

    The Lesser Evil Lost — Now What for Catholics? (Full LOCALS Show)

    The election dust settles and we’re left with a brutal question: what if the “lesser of two evils” has stopped being lesser and has started shaping our consciences instead? We talk through why some Catholics chose to abstain, what that choice signals, and why the online backlash got so personal so fast. Along the way, we dig into the deeper issue beneath the party drama: consistency. If we can spot liberalism and modernism in church life, why do so many of us suddenly lose that clarity when the same logic shows up in the civil order?We also take on the pro-life conversation without slogans. We argue about “pro-lifeism” as an industry, the incentives that keep abortion permanently useful to politicians, and how issues like IVF, contraception, and abortion-pill access get quietly normalized as long as the branding stays conservative. We connect that to foreign policy and war messaging, especially how moral outrage can switch on or off depending on who is holding the microphone.Then we zoom out to culture and control: immigration and social fragmentation, the memory of COVID-era coercion, and why future crackdowns could look different but feel familiar. We also discuss Catholic media, censorship pressures, and why publishing transparency matters when older Catholic texts get edited or sanitized. Finally, we land on a practical path forward: stop outsourcing your judgment, build real Catholic habits, and think long-term instead of chasing political serotonin.If this conversation helps you think more clearly, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it. What part of the “lesser evil” argument still feels convincing to you?

  5. Nov 4 ·  Video

    Marvel Jesus? What Happened to The Chosen

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! That new trailer moment where Christian TV starts to look like superhero cinema is the kind of thing that makes us pause and ask a serious question: are we being entertained into believing the wrong things about Jesus? We react to The Chosen’s latest direction and explain why “creative liberties” stop being harmless when a show puts brand-new words in Christ’s mouth, dodges His divinity, or frames Him like a reluctant hero who needs help finding His confidence. If you care about the Gospels, Catholic teaching, or just honest storytelling, this is a conversation worth having. From there we branch out into the wider culture and the way institutions bend under pressure. A Ryan Long comedy clip about women priests turns into a blunt, practical discussion about confession, secrecy, and why some ideas fail not only theologically but humanly. Then we pivot into geopolitics, where the loudest headline is often the least important detail. We talk foreign aid to Israel, what “leverage” really looks like, and why focusing on a single dollar figure can miss the deeper machinery behind policy and war. We close by connecting the uneasy “pre-COVID” vibe a lot of people feel right now to real vulnerabilities: cyber disruptions, smart devices, AI surveillance, inflation that outpaces wages, and the creeping pressure toward digital money control. Our most grounded takeaway is also the least glamorous: build community now, know your neighbors, and don’t let the next crisis script isolate you again. If this hit a nerve, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave us a review with your take on where all of this is heading. Support the show Get 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout! Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order! Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss

  6. Nov 4 · Subscribers Only

    Marvel Jesus? What Happened to The Chosen (Full LOCALS Show)

    A new trailer drops and suddenly you can see the whole problem with modern Christian entertainment: it doesn’t just “add backstory,” it can quietly change how people imagine Jesus. We dig into The Chosen trailer beat by beat, why invented dialogue and missing moments of divinity matter, and why portraying Christ on screen is the one creative choice that demands real theological fear and trembling. If you’ve ever felt a show made Jesus seem unsure, hesitant, or like a reluctant hero, we put words to that discomfort and explain what’s at stake for viewers who treat TV as catechesis.Then we widen the lens into the uneasy mood a lot of people feel right now. We talk U.S. foreign policy and escalation fears, what cyber attacks and “internet of things” dependence could look like on the ground, and why disruption doesn’t have to be a movie-style blackout to still wreck supply chains and daily life. We also get practical: cash, gold, local trust, and why knowing your neighbors may be the most underrated preparedness plan.The most personal part hits culture and relationships. We talk parenting young adults through social media loneliness, why men stop approaching and why good women avoid the apps, and how pop culture keeps selling moral inversion to girls by rebranding villains as heroes. If you want Catholic commentary that connects theology, media criticism, politics, and real family life without pretending any of this is normal, you’ll feel at home here. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

  7. Nov 2 · Subscribers Only

    When Everything Becomes A Performance (Full LOCALS Show)

    Something feels off right now, and it’s not just politics. The moment we saw a tired dad get prank “robbed” for a livestream clip, we knew we were looking at the real story: a performative culture colliding with an exhausted public that can’t take one more hit.We talk through how phones and social media addiction have reshaped everyday life, from work crews that used to talk and joke to trucks full of people silently doomscrolling. That constant camera-lens mindset doesn’t stay online either. It turns podcasts into performances, turns virtue into branding, and trains all of us to live for reaction instead of reality. We even pull back the curtain on our own show dynamic and what happens when one of us is trying to “riff” while the other is trying to land a real point.From there we go deeper: the financial stress that pushes families into side hustles, the shame that makes people hide struggles, and the way that pressure can bend marriages until they snap. We also hit the modern beauty panic, Botox culture, aging, and why so many people feel like they’re chasing a face or a life that can’t exist. Finally, we land where we always end up when everything feels unstable: the sacraments, confession, the Eucharist, and the decision to stay Catholic even when leadership is confusing and trust feels thin.If this conversation hits close to home, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s tired of the fake world, and leave a review so more people can find us. What part of modern life feels most “performative” to you right now?

  8. Oct 28 ·  Video

    You Can See Everything: The Art of Manipulating Reality (Nathan Fielder & Elizabeth Holmes)

    Want to reach out to us? Want to leave a comment or review? Want to give us a suggestion or berate Anthony? Send us a text by clicking this link! A single word can flip a villain into a victim, and that’s what sent us down a rabbit hole after watching the Elizabeth Holmes documentary. What bothered us wasn’t just Theranos or Holmes’ “character,” but the feeling that the film is actively working on the viewer. Once you see the fingerprints of narrative framing, you start asking a different question: who is manipulating whom, and why does it work so well? To make sense of it, we trace the logic back to Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal and his obsession with controlled reality, reenactment, and perception management. From there, the conversation gets uncomfortably personal: we take the same idea into everyday life, where two people can attend the same party and walk away with totally different stories of what happened. That gap between intent and interpretation is where most arguments live, and it’s also where media narratives thrive. Then we hit the deeper problem: memory. A Kathy Bates clip becomes the perfect illustration of how confidently wrong a person can be for decades, which forces hard questions about how we process long-ago events, public accusations, and “what I remember” as a substitute for evidence. Finally, we zoom out to the bigger anxieties of the moment: Pentagon guidance on 90-day self-sufficient military bases, governments nudging citizens toward emergency supplies, AI-driven cybersecurity incidents, and what a real power or internet disruption would do to modern life. If this made you rethink how you trust stories, memory, and “official narratives,” subscribe for more, share this with a friend who loves media breakdowns, and leave a review with the moment that stuck with you most. Support the show Get 10% off an amazing Black Monk Rosary by going to https://www.blackmonkrosaries.com/?ref=AVOIDINGBABYLON and using code AVOIDINGBABYLON at checkout! Check out our sponsor, Nic Nac, at www.nicnac.com and use code "AB25%" for 25% off of your first order! Please subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsxnv80ByFV4OGvt_kImjQ?sub_confirmation=1 https://www.avoidingbabylon.com Merchandise: https://avoiding-babylon-shop.fourthwall.com Locals Community: https://avoidingbabylon.locals.com Full Premium/Locals Shows on Audio Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1987412/subscribe RSS Feed for Podcast Apps: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1987412.rss

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4.7
out of 5
196 Ratings

About

Avoiding Babylon was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these difficult and dark days, when most of us were isolated from family, friends, our parishes, and even the Sacraments themselves, this channel was started as a statement of standing against the tyrannical mandates that many of us were living under. Since those early days, this channel has morphed into an amazing community of friends…no…more than friends…Christian brothers and sisters…who have grown in joy and charity.  As we see it, our job here at Avoiding Babylon is to remind ourselves and those who enjoy the channel that being Catholic is a joyful and exciting experience. We seek true Catholic fraternity and eutrapelia with other Catholics who, like us, are doing their best to live out their vocation with the help of God’s Grace.  Above all, we try to bring humor and joy to the craziness of this fallen world, for as Hillaire Belloc has famously said: “Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!”

Information

  • Creator
    Avoiding Babylon Crew
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    743
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Avoiding Babylon
  • Show Website
    Avoiding Babylon
  • Provider
    Robert Blyton

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