maurinacademy 
Have you ever wondered if there was more to the American Dream than promises kept and promises broken (for some or for few)? If so, old sport, then this course is for you. The first session is coming up on December 3rd, and will cover the American Dream–both the Edward Albee play and the ideological … Read more
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.
The second part of Gavin Schafer’s Introduction to Native Plants will take place Friday, November 21st at 7:00 PM CST. Gavin will walk-through the basics of supporting the local ecologies in your own backyard, specifically through the lens of the Great Plains ecology. (Note: You can attend this session even if you did not attend the … Read more
Tomorrow evening at 7:00 PM CST will be the second session in Dr. Jeremy Cowan’s course “The Art of the Commonplace: Wendell Berry’s Vision for a Grounded Life.” This week, Dr. Cowan will be discussing two essays from Berry’s The Art of the Commonplace: “Think Little” and “The Pleasure of Eating.” The short essays (together … Read more
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.
Starting October 29, and running for four consecutive Wednesdays, Dr. Jeremy Cowan will lead a class for the Maurin Academy on Wendell Berry’s classic, “The Art of the Commonplace.”
Tonight, October 21, 2025 at 7 p.m. US Central Time, I’ll be having a conversation on Zoom with Stephen Paff, author of the Ethnodata blog and host of the new podcast Democracy Demythologized. See the bottom of this post for information about how to join.
The conversation between Laurie and Stephen Paff on “What AI Means (and Doesn’t Mean) for Our World” is coming right up on Tuesday, October 21, 7:00 – 8:30pm US Central Time, so set a reminder for that one! Stephen Paff is an anthropologist and data scientist who has spent years crafting AI and machine learning systems that connect with people and society. We hope you’ll be there, but if you’ve got specific questions you’d like to ask but can’t make the live discussion, reply here and Laurie will be sure to bring it up!
The Maurin Academy’s monthly Communio group will meet this Saturday at 4 p.m. US Central Time, live on Zoom, to discuss Chapter 4 of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter. We will post the Zoom link for Maurin Academy patrons on the day. As always, reading is optional–don’t be shy to come if you just want to listen, or want to take part based on your own questions.
On Thursday, October 2, at 7 p.m. US Central Time, David and Laurie will be back to discuss Chapters 3-5 (finishing Part 1) of Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. This is a classic originally published in 1985 which is all too relevant today. We are now living in the full-blast of what Postman was trying to describe and warn about back in the ’80’s. It’s a good time to reflect on what he said, in the context of what we know now.