Dustbowl Diatribes

Spencer and Laurie discuss AI, data centers and the possibility of ethical guidelines from the Church and other sources in this July 2026 episode of Dustbowl Diatribes. The "Secret Grange," for patrons of the Maurin Academy only, followed.

Spencer and Laurie interview Chris Smaje, author of (most recently) Finding Lights in a Dark Age.

Spencer and Laurie discuss Isaiah Berlin's liberal nationalism and ask whether liberalism can be held in balance with nationalism, and even whether this uncomfortable mix is inevitable.

For April Fools this year, we cover a millennial touchstone television series about growing up, or at least about trying to.

Spencer and Laurie discuss the topic of patriotism, which was touched upon briefly in the last Dustbowl episode, and also in the Secret Grange episode that followed (for patrons only), on their interview with Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. The discussion involves the value of patriotism, what ... Read more

Spencer and Laurie talk to Charles Coulombe, a monarchist and author of multiple books, including The Compleat Monarchist. His views on the intellectual and spiritual milieux leading up to the emergence of the Catholic Worker movement, as well as his views on American history, and what’s wrong and right with American Catholicism, offer a unique ... Read more

Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of the Maurin Academy, and can be found on almost all podcast platforms! https://pmaurin.org Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy John Paul II Catholic Worker Farm: https://jpiicatholicworkerfarm.com Follow the Maurin Academy and the JPII Farm on Instagram for notifications about upcoming events.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Bert and Emma Fitzgerald of the Simon Weil Catholic Worker House in Portland, OR: https://simoneweilhouse.org

This is a talk by Dr. William T. Cavanaugh, author of The Uses of Idolatry. It was originally given for the Center for Catholic Social Thought, October 9, 2025. We thought it was so good we asked if we could share it with our audience, and we got it from both Dr. Cavanaugh and the Center for Catholic Social Thought.

Spencer and Laurie discuss what they learned from their recent trips. Laurie went to Milwaukee, WI, to do research on the Peter Maurin papers and to give two talks on Maurin and Day. Spencer and Emily traveled to Pennsylvania and other spots on the East Coast to help move a friend, and along the way visited two Catholic Worker houses, the Rodale Institute, Blue Hill Farm, Dorothy Day's gravesite and more.

Laurie and Spencer talk to Colin Miller and Tyler Hambley, who trace their path to the Church through the practices of Catholic Workers: praying daily, sharing meals, and opening their homes to the homeless. Now in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, they live family-to-family alongside formerly homeless men and teach through the Center for Catholic Social Thought. They argue for “thick” Christian community over thin, optional social ties.

Spencer and Laurie discuss an article by Paul V. Stock, "The Perennial Nature of the Catholic Worker Farms: A Reconsideration of Failure," in Rural Sociology, 2014. https://pmaurin.org/get-involved/

Spencer and Laurie kick off their new season with Catholic Worker James Murphy of St. Martin de Porres, Harrisburgh, PA. The Catholic Worker movement is a testing ground for solutions to poverty, successful relationships, and the possibility of bypassing politics. We get into some of those issues in this interview.

As Spencer and Laurie segue to a new season of Dustbowl Diatribes , they look back at the people they've interviewed in 2025 so far and point the way to their next topic.

Spencer Leonard talks to us about human potential, what constitutes freedom and progress, and why it seems particularly difficult to reach.

Spencer and Laurie talk with Prof. Jodi Dean about themes from her new book Capital's Grave: Neofeudalism and the New Class Struggle (Verso, 2025). The theme of neofeudalism is one we have returned to several times as it seems more and more clear that our economy has moved well past competition into monopolies and highly concentrated wealth.

Laurie interviews a very special guest, and Spencer misses out on the best interview in Dustbowl Diatribes three seasons.

John Rao visits Dustbowl Diatribes for an episode tracing periods of "sleep" and revival in Catholic history.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Dave McKerracher of Theory Underground about his book, Timenergy, and also his plans for farming.

Spencer and Laurie talk with Benjamin Studebaker about his new book, Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies. Studebaker will give a speech for the Maurin Academy March 3, 2025.

Spencer and Laurie interview Catholic Worker and Sociology professor Harry Murray, who is also doing the "Harry Murray Sessions" for the Maurin Academy. The next Harry Murray session, this one on Nikolai Berdyaev's personalism and Christian existentialism, will be on December 16, 2024. To find out more about this and other classes from the Maurin Academy, visit our website at: https://pmaurin.org/2024/11/13/fall-2024-speaker-series-announcements-from-the-maurin-academy/

Spencer and special guest Caleb Owens interview Laurie Johnson about her newly published book, The Gap in God's Country: A Longer View on Our Culture Wars. For more information about this book and where to buy it, as well as information about a series of talks she'll give on themes from the book, check out: https://pmaurin.org/2024/11/02/the-gap-in-gods-country-themes-discussion-with-laurie-johnson-coming-up/

Spencer and Laurie visit with Chris Cutrone, a leading founder of the Platypus Affiliated Society and the author of a new book published by Sublation Media. Here's a link to Cutrone's latest book, Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory and the Party, 2006-2024, Sublation Media, 2024. Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy

Spencer and Laurie talk to Catholic Worker Renée Roden about her experiences in the Catholic Worker movement and what she is doing now as she transitions to a new community. She also discusses the upcoming Peter Maurin Conference in Chicago: Sept. https://www.stgregoryhall.org/maurin.html

Alfredo Poggi talks to Spencer and Laurie about his new book Magical Realism, Latin America, and the Appearance of Precritical Theory, published by Rowman & Littlefield. Poggi makes the bold argument for taking Marian visions at face value and seeing them as a powerful antidote to ideology. Poggi uses Latin American literary approach of magical realism to reveal a precritical perspective.

What happens when even basic business can't be effectively done? How did we get here? Spencer and Laurie digest more of John Rao's thoughts from various books and try to settle their argument from the last episode.

Laurie and Spencer discuss the implications and reverberations of the recent Maurin Academy lecture by the last Marxist, Chris Cutrone, and their interview with John Rao on Traditionalism and the Roman School. Both men discussed the time period of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy Maurin Academy Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-maurin-academy-311669 Political Philosophy: https://political-philosophy.com Dustbowl Diatribes and ... Read more

Dr. John Rao drops in to tell Laurie and Spencer about Traditionalism, The Roman School, Dorothy Day’s Catholicism, and his critique of Emmanuel Mounier’s brand of Personalism. You can find his writings here: http://jcrao.freeshell.org/, and his work with The Roman Forum here: http://www.romanforum.org/

Co-Founder of the Permaculture movement, David Holmgren, talks to Spencer and Laurie about his analysis and predictions in his book Future Scenarios, his assessment that we are still in the “Brown Tech” energy descent scenario, and the implications for society moving forward. Holmgren Design: https://holmgren.com.au Online Writing: https://holmgren.com.au/permaculture-ideas-and-actions/writings/ Future Scenarios: https://www.futurescenarios.org Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy ... Read more

The micro-micro-niche internet celebrity Zabib take time out of her busy schedule to join Spencer to cover lots of ground in little time.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Dr. Benjamin Peters about his book Called to Be Saints: John Hugo, the Catholic Worker, and a Theology of Radical Christianity. Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy Maurin Academy Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-maurin-academy-311669 Political Philosophy: https://political-philosophy.com Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of the Maurin Academy, which can be found on almost all ... Read more

Laurie and Spencer interview Lincoln Rice of Casa Maria Catholic Worker, Milwaukee, and author of Healing the Racial Divide: A Catholic Racial Justice Framework Inspired by Dr. Arthur Falls, about what Arthur Falls’ strategy to combat racism, Falls’ relationship with the CW movement, the humanity of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and issues of race ... Read more

Laurie and Spencer interview Nat Bjerke-Harvey of Piccalilli Farm in Manhattan, KS, about what it takes to run a diversified local farm, and the reasons to put more effort and resources into eating seasonally and locally. Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy Maurin Academy Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-maurin-academy-311669 Political Philosophy: https://political-philosophy.com Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of ... Read more

Spencer and Laurie talk to Michael Martin of the Regeneration podcast about his diatribe against modernity, insights from his literary knowledge, and how he operates his biodynamic farm. The Maurin Academy: https://pmaurin.org Support us on Patreon and receive all our live and recorded classes, podcasts and sessions! https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy

Maurin Academy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/maurinacademy Maurin Academy Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-maurin-academy-311669 Political Philosophy: https://political-philosophy.com Dustbowl Diatribes and Political Philosophy are podcasts of the Maurin Academy, which can be found on almost all podcast platforms! Follow the Maurin Academy on Twitter and Instagram for notifications about upcoming events, and get our free newsletter: https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/

Spencer and Laurie have a second conversation with Dr. Rich Myrick about his dissertation, "Action Libérale Populaire and the Legacy of Catholic Republicans in the French Third Republic." His work covers the period in France that was formative for Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement.

Spencer and Laurie talk to Rich Myrick about his dissertation, "Action Libérale Populaire and the Legacy of Catholic Republicans in the French Third Republic." His work covers the period in France that was formative for Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement.

Spencer and Laurie recap their conversations with Chris Cutrone and Martin Chang and contemplate what it means to be potatoes in a sack or Pringles in a tube.

The Cutrone Zone is back for an interesting discussion on the usefulness of the term 'neofeudalism' for understanding capitalism, and a fairly deep dive into what Marxists should think of religion.

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In "Take 2" of their recap of the start of season 3, Laurie and Spencer take another look at their conversations with Alex Christoyannopoulos and Sean Domencic, circling around the issues of Christian action as lived out in the Catholic Worker movement.

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In part 1 of a two-part recap of Season 3 so far, we discuss our interview with Doug Lain of Sublation Media and the Diet Soap podcast. The original interview covered Lain's trajectory, his views on the theory of neo-feudalism, and the problem of increasing online censorship. As we unpack our conversation with Lain, we spend time on Lain's discomfort with the term "neofeudal" and his preference for "society of control" as a description of the current state of capitalism. We evaluate the tension between the approval of economic concentration/centralization for the advancement of future socialism and the disapproval of the use of corporate power via government pressures to inhibit some speech. We also talk about the tension between Lain's Marxism and our own views on industrial vs. regional/local agricultural production.

Spencer and Laurie interview Sean Domencic, co-founder of the Tradistae podcast (concluded in 2022) and blog, and frequent contributor to New Polity. Both outlets identify with the Catholic Worker movement and tend to be adjacent to traditionalism, but with a critical distance. This conversation helps us explore the Church-centric wing of the Catholic Worker movement.

Here’s a repost of an interview Spencer Hess and Emily Larner did with Clark Massey, Founder of A Simple House https://www.asimplehouse.org/, and co-host of the Simpleton Podcast.

Spencer and Laurie interview Alex Christoyannopoulis, Reader in International Relations, Politics and History at Loughborough University, London. His article "Leo Tolstoy's impact on Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement" is the launchpad for an interesting discussion of Tolstoy's pacifism and his influence on Day and the movement, as well as the promises and limits of complete pacifism.

Sublation Media's Douglas Lain, YouTuber and host of the Diet Soap podcast, talks to Spencer and Laurie about what he thinks of the theory of neufuedal capitalism, his views on the campaign against "disinformation" in light of free speech rights, and how the two may relate.

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Spencer and Laurie interview Brian Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life Church, St. Joseph, MO. We discuss why some people decide to break from destructive ideas of faith, like Christian nationalism, and why many don't. We also have a conversation about the church's mission and what its role should be on grave issues like environmental destruction and war. Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for our free newsletter, which lists future Maurin Academy seminars, short series and other events. https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/ Support us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/maurinacademy?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Please fill out this form to be put on the email list for our free newsletter, which lists future Maurin Academy seminars, short series and other events. https://pmaurin.org/newsletter/