New Things Podcast

with Meg Dano

Welcome to New Things Podcast! The name of this podcast is drawn from Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum. Meaning 'Of New Things,' Rerum Novarum responded to the many changes of the Industrial Revolution. Today, in the midst of the Digital Revolution, New Things Podcast will analyze current social and cultural happenings from a genuinely Catholic perspective. Join us as we look at the new things that surround us and look to the future with hope!

Episodes

  1. Jun 8

    I Never Chose College. I Just Went.

    Did you choose college — or did you just go? For most of us, college was never really a decision. It was the next thing on the list. Junior year: SAT. Senior year: applications. Nobody ever stopped to ask should you go — just where are you going. But it wasn't always this way. For most of American history, college was rare, deliberate, and built around a very specific purpose. So how did we get from there to here — from forming clergy and civic leaders to the automatic next step for every eighteen-year-old in America? That's what this episode is about. In Episode 1 of the College Crisis Mini-Series, we trace the full history of American higher education — from Harvard's founding in 1636, through the Morrill Act of 1862, to the GI Bill and the moment college stopped being about what you owe society and started being about what society owes you. This is the question nobody asked before we all filled out our applications. And it matters — because before we can talk about whether a degree is worth it, or who's drowning in debt to pay for one, we need to understand what college was ever supposed to be for.

    8 min

  2. Jun 5

    Catholic or American?

    Are you Catholic — or just American? Before you skip this one, hear me out. This episode is not here to make you feel like a bad Catholic. It is not an attack on America — I am American too, and proud of it. But there is a question worth sitting with: has the way you practice your faith been shaped more by growing up in America than by growing up Catholic? In this episode of New Things, we trace the rights-centric American mindset from the first Catholic colonists in the New World all the way to how it shows up in your faith life in 2026. We look at why the Church had never encountered a democratic republic before America, what the tension between Catholics and Protestants in the colonies actually looked like, and how one man's decision to pick his own priest in 1815 is still playing out in the way American Catholics relate to Church authority today. This is not about guilt. It is about awareness. And awareness is where the real work starts. Follow on Instagram @newthingspod and subscribe on YouTube for the full video experience.

    9 min

  3. Jun 2

    5 Things You NEED To Know About Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV, and AI

    The most powerful document written on AI this year did not come from Silicon Valley. It came from Rome. On May 15th, 2026 — the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum — Pope Leo XIV released Magnifica Humanitas. I have spent three years studying exactly the tradition this encyclical comes from. I still was not prepared for what is inside it. In this episode Meg breaks down five things most people are missing in the coverage of Magnifica Humanitas: — Technology is never neutral. The AI you interact with every day reflects the values of the people who built it. Leo XIV wants you to ask whose. — The Church belongs in this conversation. Leo XIV's explanation of why the Church speaks on social and technological issues is the clearest this topic has ever been addressed. And he beat every critic to the punch. — The technocratic paradigm. When efficiency, control and profit run everything, compassion gets optimized out. Leo XIV names what AI will never be able to do — and it is more specific than you think. — Private entities now have more power over AI than most governments on earth. A small group of people control the conversation. Leo XIV is calling for an open discussion on exactly that. — The digital attention economy. Platforms are designed to capture your time and attention. Data collection has turned people into products. Leo XIV called it a new form of slavery. A pope said that. In 2026. This is not an anti-technology document. That is what makes it so important. New Things is hosted by Meg Dano, a Catholic social teaching scholar and Master's graduate who has spent three years studying exactly this tradition. New Things is for a new generation of Catholics who are done being on the defensive and ready to build something new. 🕊️ Follow on Instagram: @newthingspod💻 Use code New Things for a free month of Truthly AI

    10 min

  4. Trailer

    Why Did I Start New Things?!

    My entire life as a Catholic I have been on the defensive. Defending my faith at the dinner table. Defending my beliefs at work. Defending the Church in a culture that treats these values as either irrelevant or outdated. Then I had a lightbulb moment. Being Catholic is not something to apologize for. When you look into the Catholic tradition you do not find people standing in corners. You find the builders of universities, hospitals, and cathedrals. You find the scientists, philosophers, and artists who gave Western civilization its soul. You find a Church that has buried every empire that tried to bury it. New Things is for a new generation of Catholics who want to turn the page. This is not a conservative podcast. It is not a progressive podcast. It is a podcast for those who believe the Catholic Church offers a vision for the world that most people have never fully seen — and that now is the time to build it. My name is Meg Dano. Welcome to New Things.

    2 min

Trailer

About

Welcome to New Things Podcast! The name of this podcast is drawn from Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum. Meaning 'Of New Things,' Rerum Novarum responded to the many changes of the Industrial Revolution. Today, in the midst of the Digital Revolution, New Things Podcast will analyze current social and cultural happenings from a genuinely Catholic perspective. Join us as we look at the new things that surround us and look to the future with hope!

Information

  • Creator
    with Meg Dano
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © with Meg Dano
  • Show Website
    New Things Podcast