Episodes

Prof. Raymond Hain presents John Henry Newman’s Idea of a University as a powerful defense of liberal education, arguing that a university should include theology because all knowledge forms one interconnected whole, yet also insisting that intellectual excellence is not the same as moral holiness. This lecture was given on March 26th, 2026, at University of Alabama. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Raymond Hain ...

Prof. Christopher Malloy argues that Vatican II does not permit a hermeneutic of rupture but demands one of continuity and reform, as Benedict XVI taught, rejecting both progressive over-spiritualization and traditionalist rejection of post-conciliar developments. This lecture was given on March 24th, 2026, at Franciscan University of Steubenville. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Christopher J. Malloy is married...

Fr. Brad Elliott traces the Church's evolving use of the soul-body metaphor for her relation to the state, purifying it in modern social teaching to affirm the Church as a distinct perfect society ordered to supernatural ends while leavening the temporal order. This lecture was given on March 24th, 2026, at Cornell University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Fr. Brad Elliott was raised in Dayton Ohio and studied...

Prof. James Nolan argues that Tocqueville, Weber, and Chesterton offer contrasting foreign views on American secularism, with Tocqueville and Chesterton seeing religion as essential to democracy and predicting its persistence, while Weber views Protestantism as inevitably fueling disenchantment. This lecture was given on March 23rd, 2026, at New York University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Professor James L....

Prof. Giuseppe Pezzini argues that Oscar Wilde's aestheticism and life journey reveal a Catholic imagination, where art confronts suffering and beauty leads to embracing the full reality of pain, culminating in his final reconciliation with faith. This lecture was given on March 23rd, 2026, at University of Galway. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Prof. Guiseppe Pezzini is an Associate Professor of Latin Language...

Prof. James Felak traces Catholic social teaching from Leo XIII to Francis, showing how the popes defend human dignity, a just wage, solidarity with the poor, subsidiarity, and the balance between rights and duties against both unchecked capitalism and collectivist ideologies. This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at University of Washington. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: James Felak is a Professor of His...

Dr. Carl Vennerstrom argues that the capital vices are best understood as a path of disordered desires that Christ exposes and heals, with pride standing at the root and humility as the chief remedy. This lecture was given on March 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Vennerstrom specializes in eastern patristic theology. Of particular interest are mo...

Fr. Gabriel O’Donnell argues that the Christian life is not mainly about rule-following or behavior modification, but about becoming a whole, Godward person through self-knowledge, acceptance, and relationship with Christ. This lecture was given on March 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Fr. O’Donnell grew up in Syracuse, New York. After two years as a student at Providen...

Dr. Carl Vennerstrom argues that Christ’s temptation in the desert is a perfect temptation: it reveals every major kind of temptation, shows the devil’s weakness, and becomes a means of salvation rather than merely an obstacle. This lecture was given on March 13th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Vennerstrom specializes in eastern patristic theology. Of particular interes...

Dr. Kevin Kambo argues that AI should be understood less as genuine intelligence and more as a highly sophisticated form of simulated intelligence, like a mirror that reflects patterns without understanding them. This lecture was given on March 10th, 2026, at Southern Methodist University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Kevin M. Kambo is an assist ant professor of philosophy at the University of Dallas in Irv...

Christopher Mooney argues that John Henry Newman’s teaching on conscience means conscience is not mere personal preference or social conditioning, but the practical application of divine moral law to particular actions. This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at Ohio State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Christopher Mooney is an assistant professor of theology at the Augustine Institute Gradua...

Prof. Paul Gondreau argues that disability, though a real physical wound of human nature, can also be a profound gift because it deepens participation in Christ’s suffering and points toward healing in the resurrection. This lecture was given on March 9th, 2026, at University of Oxford. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Paul Gondreau is professor of theology at Providence College, where he has taught for 28 years....

Dr. Peter Koritansky argues that Thomas Aquinas grounds punishment in natural law and retributive justice, where punishment is justified not merely to deter or rehabilitate, but to express the moral order and the common good. This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at Cornell University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Peter Karl Koritansky is a professor and Director of the Center for Civics, Culture, an...

Prof. Nina Sophie Heereman argues that the Church is not a human invention but a divinely founded reality rooted deeply in Scripture, where Israel’s story, the Eucharist, and Pentecost all reveal Christ’s intention to gather a new people of God. This lecture was given on March 5th, 2026, at Louisiana State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Heereman was born and raised in Germany. Originally trained...

Fr. Gregory Pine argues that good conversation is a real moral and spiritual practice: it matters, takes time, and should be used to draw near to others through listening well, welcoming contributions, and sharing life rather than trying to win or dominate. This lecture was given on March 4th, 2026, at Iowa State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P., is an instructor of dogmatic and...

Dr. Rebekah Lamb argues that St. John Henry Newman’s idea of the saint is deeply relational: saints are friends knit together in the communion of saints, and holiness is lived through prayer, hidden service, and ordinary fidelity. This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at Queen's University, Belfast. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Rebekah Lamb is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in theology and the ...

Dr. Wes Siscoe argues that true happiness and the good life are not found in pleasure, wealth, fame, or even bodily health, but in a fully ordered human flourishing that culminates in union with God. This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at Indiana University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Wes Siscoe is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University. He is also a Thomistic Institute...

Prof. Steven Jensen presents several arguments in favor of the conclusion that the life of a fetus has intrinsic human dignity on account of what a human being is and not merely as an effect of psychological or cognitive capacity, ultimately concluding that the intentional killing of a fetus as a means to save a mother's life is morally impermissible. This lecture was given on February 19th, 2026, at North Dakota State University. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomistici...

Dr. John-Paul Heil argues that Christians should “elect Christ as king” by judging political institutions according to whether they actually lead people toward holiness, the common good, and heaven. This lecture was given on February 17th, 2026, at Virginia Tech. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: John-Paul Heil is a Core Fellow in history, philosophy, Catholic anthropology, English, and theology at Mount St. Mary'...

Dr. Lydia Dugdale argues that the “lost art of dying” can be recovered by reviving older practices of mortality awareness, community, reconciliation, and hope rather than accepting medicalized dying as normal. This lecture was given on February 16th, 2026, at University of Galway. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Dr. Lydia Dugdale is the Silberberg Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Med...

Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau presents the Catholic disagreement over honoring Truman as a serious moral dispute rooted in differing judgments about just war, innocent life, and the necessity of the atomic bomb. This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: A native of Louisiana, Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P., entered the Dominican Province of St. Joseph in 200...

Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war principles still govern contemporary warfare, especially drone warfare and autonomous weapons, and that moral judgment cannot be replaced by technology or legal convenience. This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Michael Krom started reading Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae shortly after his conversion at the...

Prof. Michael Krom argues that just war theory remains morally necessary today because war must be judged by justice, right intention, and the common good rather than by realpolitik, legal minimalism, or national self-interest. This lecture was given on February 14th, 2026, at Dominican House of Studies. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Michael Krom started reading Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae shortly after his con...

Prof. Thomas Ward argues that Stoicism offers valuable detachment and moral discipline, but Boethius and Christianity deepen it by reordering the human person toward friendship, hope, and beatitude in God. This lecture was given on February 12th, 2026, at Franciscan University of Steubenville. For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events. About the Speakers: Thomas M. Ward is Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin...