Episode 26: Lies Breathed Through Silver

We talk about how much The Lord of the Rings has meant to us over the years. Also: small towns, myth, holiness, the corrosive influence of power, and rebellion against God. What does the Ring symbolize? Is there a divine agency in the story?

Episode 25: Fun With Gnosticism

We talk about Gnosticism, Thomas Aquinas, Christian Humanism, how modern society views the human body, transgenderism, Designer Babies, and the importance of the Incarnation in community.

Episode 24: Life, Death, and All that Jazz

We get a bit pretentious and talk about how society justifies the value of human life apart from the imago Dei, human exceptionalism, joy, sehnsucht, the Patriarch's rap career, and how That Hideous Strength is coming true.

Best of July/August 2015

Movies:

For me, July was a fairly meager month, but if I had to pick the movie that left the most impact, I'd say it was the interesting indie flick Marion Bridge. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a gentle, intelligent story, and a good way to pass the time. The story is about three sisters, the youngest of whom has just returned to their small hometown in Nova Scotia. The other two sisters have lived with the ailing mother for some years, and the impending death of the family matriarch is what it took to draw Agnes back from her wild life in the city. There's the usual confronting old demons and making new beginnings, but the writing and acting are accomplished enough to keep in interesting. Also note a cameo from a young, young Ellen Page.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was just absurdly fun. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's The Avengers of spy movies (no, I mean, like superhero Avengers, and not the actual Avengers of spy movies), but Rogue Nation may be as perfect as the Mission: Impossible franchise will ever be. Whereas Bond and Bourne lean more towards a Nolan Batman vibe (to continue the superhero similes), this - with its face-masks and "your mission, should you choose to accept it" - is inescapably campy territory. When the franchise tried to be something different (cough, cough, M:I-3) or take its own glamour seriously (cough, cough, M:I-2), it inevitably stumbles. Happily, Rogue Nation strikes just the right balance. Written review - podcast review.