Episodes

Prof. Catherine Peters unpacks Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy of language and reveals how the words we use do more than describe reality: they shape what we understand, how we judge, and how we act. This lecture was given on April 1st, 2026, at University of California, Los Angeles. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Catherine Peters is an associate professor of medieval philosophy at Loyola Marymount University in Los ...

Dr. Wes Siscoe tackles a big question in science and philosophy, arguing that the very fact that nature follows stable, intelligible laws points beyond brute fact and toward God as the deeper explanation. This lecture was given on April 14th, 2026, at University of Wisconsin-Madison. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Wes Siscoe is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University. He is also a Thomis...

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy brings Aquinas into the urgent modern conversation about vocation, showing why the path to a call is not endless hesitation but a grace-filled, courageous movement toward charity and the life God is asking of us. This lecture was given on April 15th, 2026, at University of South Florida. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomis...

Prof. Steven Jensen asks whether computers can really think, and he argues that while machines can imitate reasoning and behavior associated with thought, they lack the awareness that makes genuine thinking possible. This lecture was given on April 16th, 2026, at Southern Methodist University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Steven J Jensen holds the Bishop Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy at the University of St...

Prof. Paige Hochschild explores what truth is and shows, through Tolkien, how truth arises from the mind’s encounter with reality, how myth can reveal historical meaning, and how truthful storytelling can shape moral vision. This lecture was given on April 16th, 2026, at Williams College. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Dr. Paige Hochschild is a professor of historical and systematic theology at Mount St. Mary's U...

Prof. Michael Pakaluk compares Catholicism and golf in order to show how a game often dismissed as “useless” can become a surprisingly rich school of virtue, shaping humility, patience, prudence, honesty, and love of tradition. This lecture was given on April 17th, 2026, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Michael Pakaluk is Professor of Political Economy at The Catholic University of America...

This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., is an instructor of dogmatic and moral theology at the Dominican House of Studies and the Assistant Director of the Thomistic Institute. He holds a doctorate from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He is the author of Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly and Your Eucharistic ...

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy shows how Thomas Aquinas helps Catholics contemplate the presence of God in nature, grace, and the Incarnation, so that ordinary prayer and daily life become occasions for deeper awareness of divine closeness. This lecture was given on April 17th, 2026, at Vanderbilt University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, O.P. is a Coordinator for Campus Outreach at the Thomistic Ins...

This lecture was given on May 3rd, 2026, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) is professor of patristics and ancient languages at the Pontifical Faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he serves as the director of the doctoral program. He authored Christ in the Life and Teaching of Gregory of Nazianzus (Oxford University Press, ...

Dr. Joshua Hochschild asks how action, thought, and decision-making fit together, and he shows that prudent choice is the uniquely human act that unites intellect, desire, and moral formation under the guidance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This lecture was given on June 25th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Joshua Hochschild is Professor of Philosophy at Mount St. Mary’s Un...

This lecture was given on March 6th, 2026, at University of California, Berkeley. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Innocent Smith, O.P., is Assistant Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. After undergraduate studies in music and philosophy at Notre Dame, he entered the Order of Preachers in 2008 and was ordained priest in 2015. Fr. Innocent served in parish ministry for several years before completi...

Dr. Karin Öberg and Dr. Paul LaPenna take up a deceptively simple question—how can a scientist be holy?—and show how the pursuit of truth in creation can become a path to humility, charity, and wonder before God. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Professor Öberg obtained her B.Sc. in Chemistry from Caltech and her Ph.D. in Astronomy from the U...

Fr. Thomas Aquinas Pickett and Sr. Anna Wray ask the question "How did study sanctify St. Thomas Aquinas?" St. Thomas serves as an exemplar of how study becomes holy when it is ordered by charity, tempered by right desire, and lived as a way of being with God. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Fr Thomas Aquinas Pickett is a son of Ellensburg, ...

This lecture was given on April 23rd, 2026, at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Bruce D. Marshall is Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine at Southern Methodist University, and in 2023 he held the Aquinas Chair in the Thomistic Institute at the Angelicum in Rome. He is the author of Trinity and Truth and Christology in Conflict, and at present he is completing a book entitled T...

Prof. Marshall Bierson asks what it really means to be philosophical, and he takes listeners through the subtle ways our love of truth gets derailed—by winning, by approval, by self-justification, and even by mistaking the feeling of insight for insight itself. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Marshall Bierson is an assistant professor of phi...

Prof. Joshua Benson asks why we should be theological, and he answers with a vivid case for studying the faith: to think more deeply, speak more clearly to others, and let theology shape both mind and life. This lecture was given on June 27th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events About the Speaker: Joshua Benson specializes in Medieval Theology. He has taught at The Catholic University of America sinc...

Fr. Cajetan Cuddy shows why Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae still matters today, presenting it as a clear, enduring roadmap for understanding Catholic truth, teaching beginners, and thinking more carefully about God, the world, and the human person. This lecture was given on April 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Fr. Cajetan Cuddy...

Mahon McCann argues that the real AI apocalypse already happened when social media and platform algorithms took over human judgment, reshaping what we see, think, and do through an attention economy that quietly downgrades our humanity. This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Mahon McCann is an Irish phil...

Fr. Ezra Sullivan examines artificial intelligence through a theological lens, showing why AI may imitate personhood and judgment, but cannot replace the human capacity for truth, freedom, and communion with God. This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Fr. Ezra Sullivan, is a Dominican friar of the Provin...

Dr. Robert McNamara examines what remains distinctively human in the age of AI, arguing that while artificial intelligence can process and predict with remarkable speed, it cannot replace human understanding, freedom, or wisdom. This lecture was given on April 11th, 2026, at University of Maynooth. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Dr. Robert McNamara is lecturer in ph...

Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P. argues that the Holy Spirit is the real power behind evangelization, showing how Mary, the apostles, and every Christian become instruments of God’s mission through grace, witness, and prayer. This lecture was given on December 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., (Ph.D. Notre Dame) ...

Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy shows how evangelization works by grace from the inside out, arguing that its deepest “form” is the contemplative, witness-filled communication of Christ that moves others to faith. This lecture was given on December 13th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Fr. Irenaeus Dunlevy, OP is a Coordinator for Campus Out...

Prof. Paige Hochschild introduces natural law by exploring what nature is, how we know it, and why the classical tradition treats the world as an intelligible order to which human beings are truly fitted. This lecture was given on April 6th, 2026, at University of California, San Diego. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Dr. Paige Hochschild is a professor of historical...

Prof. Michael Dauphinais argues that stories are not just useful for faith—they are how human beings understand reality, and the Christian story of creation, redemption, and resurrection is the true narrative that reorders the imagination. This lecture was given on March 27th, 2026, at Florida State University. Apply for the Thomistic Institute Study Abroad program by August 1, 2026. To learn more, visit https://thomisticinstitute.org/study-abroad. About the Speaker: Michael A. Dauphinais, P...